bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Corporate governance model of a state-owned enterprise: evidence from an Asian emerging market
Authors: Yaacob Hisham , Basiuni Jefri
Published: August 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to examine a state-owned enterprise corporate governance model in an Asian emerging market. Corporate governance has attracted much attention and is still a hot topic among shareholders, directors and company regulators. Failure of large corporations in the past decades not only affected the shareholders and investors, rather it adversely affects all the stakeholders. Good corporate governance practices are argued to curb company’s failures due to fraudulent activities, collusion schemes and mismanagement.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study took the qualitative approach. It utilized case study method. The company is designated as Company R, as the study is not allowed to reveal the company’s real name.

Findings

– The study found that the corporate governance structure of the board is of unitary or one-tier board, which is common in the Anglo-American settings. The board members are selected and appointed by the government. They are chosen from highly capable and trustworthy government officers to represent and safeguard the government’s interest in the company. As for the ownership structure, it is a typical company with the other Asian state-owned enterprises where the state has full ownership and control of the company.

Originality/value

– The study fills the gap in the corporate governance model literature, especially in the context of Asian emerging economies’ state-owned companies. Furthermore, the authors believe that this study is among the first to examine the corporate governance model in this country. It shed lights on the corporate governance model in terms of governance structure, the ownership and shareholders’ right, roles of the board, regulatory framework and control mechanism and, finally, disclosure and transparency.
Student response to e-books: study of attitude toward reading among elementary school children in Kuwait
Authors: Sattar Chaudhry Abdus
Published: August 2014

Purpose

– The paper aims to investigate the impact of e-books on attitude towards reading among elementary school students. The paper also reflects on issues related to readings and e-books.

Design/methodology/approach

– Experimental method of research was used to carry out the study. Experiment was conducted on fourth-grade students in an international school in Kuwait. The control group consisted of nine students. The experimental group had 16 students: eight read the book under the “read-to-me” feature and the other half read the book alone. Students in the two groups were assigned readings randomly and their reactions were studied and compared using different methods.

Findings

– The experiment demonstrated that students enjoyed reading the electronic medium more than the paperback alternative. The difference, however, was not significant. In addition, difference between the comprehension levels of the three conditions was also insignificant. Students did, however, finish reading the paperback book in a significantly shorter time.

Research limitations/implications

– A pilot study would have been desirable and also the number of questions asked in the comprehension test could have been expanded. The authors were also not able to explore the possibility of using an automated tool to record the reading time. The two reading instruments used (iPads and iPods) might have affected the students’ understanding and enjoyment of the book, although no noticeable differences were found.

Practical implications

– The experiment indicted that one of the apparent benefits of reading the e-book was its built-in picture dictionary, as the book used in the study incorporated a lot of word coinage in his texts. Lessons learnt from the study can benefit in enhancing features of e-books and designing reading programmes to help build more positive attitude towards reading among children.

Originality/value

– Little research has been reported in the literature on investigation of e-books towards reading attitude particularly using empirical studies or experimental research. Most literature focuses on availability of e-books and their features. This study makes a good contribution to the literature on this important aspect of research and makes available useful practical information as well.
Usage patterns and perception toward e-books: experiences from academic libraries in South Korea
Authors: Hwang Jae-Young , Kim Jayhoon , Lee Boram , Hwan Kim Jeong
Published: August 2014

Purpose

– This study aims to investigate and analyze the usage patterns of electronic book (e-book) users and their perceptions of e-books from various perspectives. Recently, e-book usage and subscriptions at university libraries in South Korea have significantly increased.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors conduct an extensive survey of 959 e-book users at the five major university libraries, which subscribe to the most e-books in South Korea. The survey contains structured questions as well as fields for open commentary to acquire various opinions. The authors also apply diverse analysis techniques, depending on the characteristics of the survey questions.

Findings

– Since the early 2000s, when e-books were first introduced, there has been a considerable change in perception and increase in usage of e-books at South Korean university libraries. Despite this progress, most functions of e-books are not fully utilized. The authors find the role of the library to be very important, as most users learn about and access e-books through the Web sites of university libraries, not through such portal sites as Google. The remarkable result is that users with higher education more easily recognize and have better experiences with e-book services.

Originality/value

– This study draws extensive samples and objective questions compared to previous research. The authors also contrast our research results with the other studies conducted within and outside of South Korea. The research shows the changes and differences in perception and usage of e-books by period and country. More importantly, the authors suggest strategies to boost e-book use based on user demands.
Road-mapping the business potential of sustainability within the European manufacturing industry
Authors: Valkokari Katri , Valkokari Pasi , Palomäki Katariina , Uusitalo Teuvo , Reunanen Markku , Macchi Marco , Rana Padmakshi , Prasanna Liyanage Jayantha
Published: August 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to explore the required changes, outline business potential and envisage the key steps that a networked manufacturing industry needs to take to reach more sustainably performing manufacturing in the future.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper utilises a visionary road-mapping approach to study the required changes and the business potential related to sustainable development in the manufacturing industry.

Findings

– The results were summarised in three sub-roadmaps empowerment of stakeholders, increase efficiency and creation of new performance criteria. On the basis of the summary of the sub-roadmaps, the framework was configured to describe the opportunities and challenges of sustainable business development in the European manufacturing industry.

Research limitations/implications

– A clear implication of this study is that a more system-oriented approach, new models for collaboration between network actors and transparently shared network-level KPIs are required before further steps towards a sustainable manufacturing industry can be taken. In addition, sustainability-driven business models are required to specify these changes concretely.

Practical implications

– The presented sub-roadmaps and framework summarising them could provide new insights to business practitioners exploring business potential of sustainability.

Social implications

– Understanding about the road-mapping process as tool that enables interaction and envisioning between different stakeholders could also have social implications supporting shared industry-level learning processes.

Originality/value

– Studies of sustainability within the manufacturing industry have focused mainly on green issues in supply-chain management or corporation-level governance models and reporting practices. The paper presents a broader view of sustainable development and recognises networked business as part of the solution.
The value of sociality
Authors: Lukinova Evgeniya , Myagkov Mikhail , Shishkin Pavel
Published: August 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to study the value of sociality. Recent experimental evidence has brought to light that the assumptions of the Prospect Theory by Kahneman and Tversky do not hold in the proposed substantive domain of “sociality”. In particular, the desire to be a part of the social environment, i.e. the environment where individuals make decisions among their peers, is not contingent on the framing. Evolutionary psychologists suggest that humans are “social animals” for adaptive reasons. However, entering a social relationship is inherently risky. Therefore, it is extremely important to know how much people value “sociality”, when the social outcomes are valued more than material outcomes and what kinds of adaptations people use.

Design/methodology/approach

– We develop a new theory and propose the general utility function that features “sociality” component. We test the theory in the laboratory experiments carried out in several countries.

Findings

– Our results suggest that when stakes are low the theory of “sociality” is successful in predicting individual decisions: on average, people do value “sociality” and it surpasses the monetary loss.

Originality/value

– The main contribution of this paper is the breakdown of the risk attitudes under low stakes and individual level of decision-making. Another advancement is the ability to formalize the social utility or the theory of “sociality” in an economic model; we use general utility function that we define both on the outcomes and on the process of the decision-making itself and test in laboratory studies.
Interactive foresight on the Hungarian SMEs
Authors: Hideg Eva , Nováky Erzsébet , Alács Péter
Published: August 2014

Purpose

– The aim of this study is to present a concept of interactive foresight process, its theoretical and methodological considerations and a foresight exercise concerning the development of knowledge economy in the Central Hungarian Region.

Design/methodology/approach

– A methodology of interactive foresight process for creating regional future concepts is developed, which is based on a specific meaning of integral futures and uses online solutions, too.

Findings

– Personal meetings with small and medium enterprise (SME) stakeholders and the works of interactive communications with feedbacks within and among stakeholder groups was organized around the research homepage. The networking created the interconnection and the feedbacks between the stakeholders and the futurist group in the process of shaping regional future ideas. The online networking is running.

Research limitations/implications

– The low number of stakeholders can limit the validity and acceptance of futures ideas created by this process.

Practical implications

– The developed interactive foresight process can also be applicable at different organizational levels and in different fields for shaping shared future ideas.

Social implications

– Application of interactive foresight process can contribute to the development of anticipatory democracy.

Originality/value

– A theoretically based interactive foresight process has been developed in which stakeholders can participate not only interactively in the foresight process but they can implement the achievements in their enterprising activity as well. The participants were interested in foresight and cooperative during the whole process because they learned the use of foresight tools through collective solution of practical tasks which were important for them.
Antecedents of discretionary risky-service behavior: an exploratory study
Authors: Sharma Bhaskar Shilpa , N. Khera Shikha
Published: August 2014

Purpose

– The purposes of this paper is to first explore, and describe positive discretionary risky-service behaviour (DRSB) of customer-contact service providers in relational context and second to model the antecedents of such actions.

Design/methodology/approach

– Employed an exploratory qualitative approach and purposive sampling. The authors gather data from field interview of 35 relationship managers in private and public banks in India. Grounded theory method using analytic induction approach was employed.

Findings

– Existing studies and field interviews are used to forward the notion of “DRS behaviour” denoting employee service behaviour that is discretionary as it is work beyond what could reasonably be expected from an employee's job role and risky in a sense that it is outside the specific rules and processes incorporated in the formal service process document. Data reveal the existence of DRS behaviour in banks. A definition of DRS behaviour is forwarded and a range of antecedents proposed.

Research limitations/implications

– To explore the generalizability of results replications among bank employees (relationship managers) in other countries (with more regulatory banking environments) required. While the exploratory data suggest the general antecedents of DRS, the specific propositions have not been tested.

Practical implications

– The paper includes implications for the management and advancement of employee-customer relationship such as employee's traits, reward structure, and system for monitoring employee-customer relationship strength.

Originality/value

– The main contribution of the study is relationship antecedent, which may be taken as a starting point for relationship advancement research.
Value proposition preferences of credit union members and patronage activity
Authors: Byrne Noreen , McCarthy Olive
Published: August 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the technical and relational value proposition preferences of credit union members and to examine the relationship between their preference and patronage activity.

Design/methodology/approach

– A total of 800 members of credit unions were surveyed. Exploratory factor analysis was used and four factors were extracted incorporating technical and relational dimensions of the credit union service. Member value proposition preferences are examined and the relationship to patronage activity of the credit union was explored.

Findings

– The majority of members express a higher or equal preference for a relational rather than a technical value proposition. Those that express a greater or equal preference for relational value are more likely to have a higher level of patronage activity.

Research limitations/implications

– Credit unions are member-owned financial institutions and hence the study is context dependent. Credit unions are member-owned financial institutions and hence relational value may be more significant than in the case of non-member owned entities.

Practical implications

– The research highlights the importance of consideration of relational value in financial services entities whose competitive advantage lies in the relational. In terms of the credit union, the impact on the relational value proposition of the credit union must be considered in the design and implementation of industry restructuring.

Originality/value

– This paper extends the emotional value and interactive quality construct to incorporate a greater relational focus which the paper suggests is of greater relevance to high-contact financial services. The research in this paper also extends beyond the criticised static focus of consumer perceived scales (consumer perceived value) and the episode focused service quality scales. Hence, it has a more longitudinal and holistic focus. The paper also incorporates a preference between benefits approach rather than an evaluative or trade-off between benefits and costs framework.
Thermal insulations of multilayer clothing systems measured by a bench scale test in low level heat exposures
Authors: Fu Ming , Weng Wenguo , Yuan Hongyong
Published: August 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to measure the thermal insulation of protective clothing with multilayer gaps in low-level heat exposures.

Design/methodology/approach

– Nine different combinations of protective clothing systems with multiple air gaps are used to measure the thermal insulation by a self-designed bench-scale test apparatus in different levels of an external thermal radiation of 2-10 kW/m2. The outside and inside surface temperatures of each fabric layer are also measured to calculate the local thermal insulation of each fabric layer and each air gap.

Findings

– The results show that the total thermal insulation of protective clothing under thermal radiation is less than that in normal environments, and the exposed thermal radiation will worsen the total thermal insulation of the multilayer fabric systems. Air gap plays a positive role in the total thermal insulation, and thus provides the enhanced thermal protection. It is also suggested that the local resistance of the air gap closer to the external thermal radiation is more easily affected by the thermal radiation, due to the different heat transfer ways in the fabric system and the external thermal radiation.

Originality/value

– Effects of air gap on the thermal insulation of protective clothing, and contribution of the local thermal resistance of each fabric layer and each air gap to the total thermal insulation.
Clothing standards compliance assessment
Authors: Duncan Kariuki Ndwiga , Wu Xiong-Ying , Gao Chang-Chun , Ding Xue-Mei
Published: August 2014

Purpose

– Clothing quality, performance, safety and health have become important considerations for consumer welfare. Properties of these aspects are encompassed on standards which regulates clothing products reaching consumers. The purpose of this paper is to categorize these aspects in a common platform by suggesting minimum requirements expected on readymade garments from which clothing standards compliance assessment is performed.

Design/methodology/approach

– With the aid of standard compliance assessment model, scored Standard Compliance Rate (SCR) values of the discussed properties of clothing standardization are synthesized from a standard compliance matrix, and the compliance of any clothing standards are assessed and assigned a “Standard Compliance Index/Level (SCI/SCL)” ranging from non compliance to full compliance at six levels.

Findings

– In reference to the standard compliance assessment model, 12 children and infant clothing standards, three from Kenya and nine from China, and eight protective clothing standards from Kenya, China, Britain and USA, two from each country, were assessed and the compliance level of each standard evaluated and results presented. The results of the study reveal the importance of every aspect of clothing standardization properties to fulfil the requirements of standard compliance assessment whereby, though they meet their role in developing Standard Compliance Index (SCI), they may have different impact depending with the context applied and the scope of every standard.

Research limitations/implications

– The selection of standardization parameters and characteristics, and the criteria for scoring some of the Standard Compliance Rating was subjective and may require mutual agreements between relevant bodies. Furthermore, this method can only be applied on clothing standards and not other textile testing standards.

Practical implications

– The proposed method can be applied when evaluating and comparing specific clothing standards between bodies or countries. Clothing SCI would be of primary importance as a guide on required clothing quality specifications to designers, manufacturers, standard regulators and consumer welfare bodies.

Originality/value

– This research reports the development of an original framework to assess compliance level of any clothing standard using standardization parameters and characteristics considered when determining the quality of a garment. It establishes a theoretical framework of clothing standards compliance assessment, which has not been reported in the literature to date.
Competence and capability in quality in the high-tech sector: an international comparison
Authors: J. Power Damien
Published: August 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to compare Chinese high-tech firms with other international firms in terms of quality capability and competence.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study uses data from the GMRG fourth round survey and provides a method for differentiating and empirically measuring quality competence and capability using a sample of 343 plants in 17 countries in the high-tech manufacturing sector.

Findings

– It is shown that the theory of performance frontiers can be used to explain differences in levels of investment in quality management, as well as competence and capability, in plants across regions with varying levels of economic development. Further, it is shown that plants in China provide an example of a special case in that they do not display the same characteristics as plants in other emerging economies.

Research limitations/implications

– The study is limited to the high-tech sector and is also constrained by the countries in which the GMRG data has been gathered.

Practical implications

– Investment in quality management methods may not always result in discernible variance in quality indicators. In this study this has been shown to be the case in plants in the industrialized world, highlighting the importance of developing a requisite proficiency in innovation. For the plants in China leverage may lie in focussing on how and where resources are being invested, and how quality management is actually valued within a plant.

Social implications

– The study indicates that although some economies in the world may experience rapid growth this also needs to be tempered by a requisite investment in building human capability.

Originality/value

– The evidence indicates that the plants in China in this study do not possess similar levels of quality competence and capability, and struggle to make investment in quality management alter outcomes.
Towards a model of trust
Authors: Martin Dick
Published: August 2014

Purpose

– This article aims to hypothesize a model of trust in both senses of the word – a model, as in something to emulate, and a model as in a structural framework that describes its components. Almost all business people agree that winning and keeping the trust of customers, investors, employees and other stakeholders is critical to business success. There is also broad agreement that trust in business and government has been in serious decline over the past few decades, as documented in a number of studies. Ironically, however, there is little agreement on the nature of trust. Researchers and strategists use the word loosely, without a common definition of its components and with no clear understanding of the process by which it is built, nurtured – and lost.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on syndicated research and the more than three-decades experience in public relations, the author suggests that trust has both rational and emotional components that arise from stakeholders’ perception of their own affinity with a brand, company or individual, as well as their judgments of its competencies and purpose. Stakeholder perceptions along these dimensions can be displayed within a three-dimensional matrix, which can explain a range of rational/emotional reactions ranging from simple disappointment and begrudging respect to complete distrust and unquestioned trust.

Findings

– The model of trust is useful for analyzing a brand, company or individual’s present trust position. It will also enable strategists to design a thoughtful, balanced approach to maintaining or improving stakeholder trust. The model allows strategists to articulate a set of actions and behaviors that will build on strengths, fill voids and correct past errors.

Research limitations/implications

– This is a theoretical hypothesis that still needs to be tested, but it appears to present a useful approach to considering issues of trust.

Originality/value

– The new model builds on existing research to address an issue that has become even more critical to organizations and individuals in a world of instant communication and everyman publishing. Applying the model to business decision-making will protect firms from inadvertently losing stakeholder trust and enhance their ability to build even stronger stakeholder relationships.
Scared enough? How terrorism threats affect US-Canadian business ties
Authors: Cimon Yan , Papadopoulos Andrew
Published: August 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine how security-related issues affect business in an integrated economic space. North America is an interesting case, as Canada and the USA have historically been highly integrated economies.

Design/methodology/approach

– Research that focuses on the relationship between security and business is reviewed. First, the perception of security issues by business leaders is examined. Second, the North American case is discussed.

Findings

– In the decade following 9-11, not all industries felt the aftermath in the same way, and business leaders from Canada and the USA did not necessarily focus on the same priorities. A thickening border is increasingly challenging for firms even though they have historically coped somewhat efficiently.

Research limitations/implications

– This paper has implications for integrated economies. Policymakers need to frame their response to security issues in a way that takes into account their effect on trade and firms.

Practical implications

– Given terrorism’s impact on industries, the differences in priority ascribed to the issue by executives and the varying responses to address the problem, ensuring the ongoing gains from transborder business activity, requires creative solutions.

Originality/value

– The effect of security on business is seldom studied. This paper provides a vivid example of the interplay between these two critical elements. This renewed understanding allows policymakers and business executives to find a common ground so that security issues are not dealt with at the expense of firms and cross-border trade.
Social-cognitive outcomes of teachers’ engagement in learning communities
Authors: Brynjulf Hjertø Kjell , Merok Paulsen Jan , Petteri Tihveräinen Saku
Published: August 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to seek to investigate Etienne Wenger's theory of social learning in a community of practice by modeling two simultaneous aspects of teachers’ collaborative learning: their engagement in close-knit internal groupings and engagement with colleagues that work externally to the core group. These two learning processes are related to two social-cognitive outcomes: teachers’ organizational commitment and their sense of impact.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study investigated a field sample of 246 individual teachers from ten Finnish primary schools. Hypotheses were developed and tested by using multiple regression and structural equation modeling.

Findings

– The results indicate that local engagement supports teachers’ organizational commitment. However, this form of collaborative learning behavior didnotsupport their sense of impact. Moreover, external engagement with trusted colleagues supported sense of impact butnotorganizational commitment.

Research limitations/implications

– The study reinforces the importance of teachers’ engagement in communities of practice. Specifically, the results suggest two specific social-cognitive outcomes related to two different learning processes situated in teachers’ community of practice. It would be highly valuable to replicate this study in various multi-level settings.

Practical implications

– The study highlights teachers’ engagement in communities of practice as a source of their motivational basis and their commitment. Findings recommend school leaders to facilitate internal and external learning communities.

Originality/value

– The study provides empirical evidence regarding the partial relationships between teachers’ local and external learning engagement and the social-cognitive outcomes of these forms of learning behaviors.
Social media marketing and communications strategies for school superintendents
Authors: D. Cox Daniel , McLeod Scott
Published: August 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to describe, analyze, and interpret the experiences of school superintendents who use multiple social media tools with stakeholders as part of their comprehensive communications practices. Additionally, it examined why superintendents have chosen to communicate with their stakeholders through social media.

Design/methodology/approach

– Qualitative interviews were conducted with a total of 12 school superintendents; three each from the northeast, south, midwest, and west regions of the USA and Canada.

Findings

– Six themes emerged from the 12 qualitative interviews with the superintendents and from the internet data regarding their social media use. The six emergent themes included: (1) more immediate and more frequent interactions between school superintendents and their stakeholders; (2) greater transparency regarding decision-making and budgeting processes; (3) impact on a school superintendent's personal and professional growth; (4) stronger connections to local stakeholders, to fellow educators, and to the world; (5) use is an expectation: it is no longer optional; and (6) accessing information from the superintendent in a multi-modal way.

Research limitations/implications

– This study was limited to the perceptions of superintendents who currently use two or more forms of social media to communicate with their stakeholders. The study did not include the thoughts and perceptions of superintendents who are only experimenting with social media use, those who have not been able to engage their stakeholders in two-way conversations, or those who have not yet implemented social media as part of a comprehensive communications approach.

Practical implications

– Implications are provided for school administrators, boards of education, and educational leadership programs.

Originality/value

– A unique study into the experiences of school superintendents who use multiple social media tools as part of their communications practices with stakeholders.
Nosocomial infection caused by vancomycin‐susceptible multidrug‐resistant Enterococcus faecalis over a long period in a university hospital in Japan
Authors: Kudo Michiaki , Nomura Takahiro , Yomoda Sachie , Tanimoto Koichi , Tomita Haruyoshi
Published: August 2014

Compared with other developed countries, vancomycin‐resistant enterococci (VRE) are not widespread in clinical environments in Japan. There have been no VRE outbreaks and only a few VRE strains have sporadically been isolated in our university hospital in Gunma, Japan. To examine the drug susceptibility of Enterococcus faecalis and nosocomial infection caused by non‐VRE strains, a retrospective surveillance was conducted in our university hospital. Molecular epidemiological analyses were performed on 1711 E. faecalis clinical isolates collected in our hospital over a 6‐year period [1998–2003]. Of these isolates, 1241 (72.5%) were antibiotic resistant and 881 (51.5%) were resistant to two or more drugs. The incidence of multidrug resistant E. faecalis (MDR‐Ef) isolates in the intensive care unit increased after enlargement and restructuring of the hospital. The major group of MDR‐Ef strains consisted of 209 isolates (12.2%) resistant to the five drug combination tetracycline/erythromycin/kanamycin/streptomycin/gentamicin. Pulsed‐field gel electrophoresis analysis of the major MDR‐Ef isolates showed that nosocomial infections have been caused by MDR‐Ef over a long period (more than 3 years). Multilocus sequence typing showed that these strains were mainly grouped into ST16 (CC58) or ST64 (CC8). Mating experiments suggested that the drug resistances were encoded on two conjugative transposons (integrative conjugative elements), one encoded tetracycline‐resistance and the other erythromycin/kanamycin/streptomycin/gentamicin‐resistance. To our knowledge, this is the first report of nosocomial infection caused by vancomycin‐susceptible MDR‐Ef strains over a long period in Japan.
Seed perishability determines the caching behaviour of a food‐hoarding bird
Authors: Neuschulz Eike Lena , Mueller Thomas , Bollmann Kurt , Gugerli Felix , Böhning‐Gaese Katrin
Published: August 2014

Many animals hoard seeds for later consumption and establish seed caches that are often located at sites with specific environmental characteristics. One explanation for the selection of non‐random caching locations is the avoidance of pilferage by other animals. Another possible hypothesis is that animals choose locations that hamper the perishability of stored food, allowing the consumption of unspoiled food items over long time periods.

We examined seed perishability and pilferage avoidance as potential drivers for caching behaviour of spotted nutcrackers (Nucifraga caryocatactes) in the Swiss Alps where the birds are specialized on caching seeds of Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra).

We used seedling establishment as an inverse measure of seed perishability, as established seedlings cannot longer be consumed by nutcrackers. We recorded the environmental conditions (i.e. canopy openness and soil moisture) of seed caching, seedling establishment and pilferage sites.

Our results show that sites of seed caching and seedling establishment had opposed microenvironmental conditions. Canopy openness and soil moisture were negatively related to seed caching but positively related to seedling establishment, i.e. nutcrackers cached seeds preferentially at sites where seed perishability was low. We found no effects of environmental factors on cache pilferage, i.e. neither canopy openness nor soil moisture had significant effects on pilferage rates. We thus could not relate caching behaviour to pilferage avoidance.

Our study highlights the importance of seed perishability as a mechanism for seed‐caching behaviour, which should be considered in future studies. Our findings could have important implications for the regeneration of plants whose seeds are dispersed by seed‐caching animals, as the potential of seedlings to establish may strongly decrease if animals cache seeds at sites that favour seed perishability rather than seedling establishment.
Rivers of milk and honey ‐ an exploration of nurturing the self in a Russian context
Authors: Bortuleva Elena
Published: August 2014

This paper is an exploration of the relationship between nurturing in all its contexts ‐ among them, the nursing couple and the therapeutic relationship ‐ and the evolution of an individual self. The ideas are illustrated by a case vignette of a Russian patient. An attempt is made to show that when the self as an integral unity of body and soul is addressed in the analytic setting, ‘nutritional dreams’ emerge as expressions of the self‐in‐action. Certain psycholinguistic features of the Russian cultural context are described which suggest a link of meaning between development of the self and secure parenting. This linguistic association may facilitate the process of self‐centering.
Weight loss in pregnancy and cardiometabolic profile in childhood: findings from a longitudinal birth cohort
Authors: Grooten IJ , Painter RC , Pontesilli M , van der Post JAM , Mol BWJ , van Eijsden M , Vrijkotte TGM , Roseboom TJ
Published: August 2014

Objective

To investigate the consequences of weight loss in pregnancy on pregnancy outcomes and cardiometabolic profile in childhood.

Design

Prospective birth cohort (ABCD study).

Setting

Between 2003 and 2004, all pregnant women in Amsterdam were approached for study participation.

Population

7818 pregnant women were included, of which 3165 consented to having their children examined at 5–6 years of age. In 1956 children fasting capillary blood samples were also taken.

Methods

At antenatal booking, women answered questions about their pregnancy and whether they suffered from severe weight loss (SWL; >5 kg). Pregnancy details and outcomes were available through the obstetric caregiver.

Main outcome measures

At birth main outcome measures were prematurity (<37 weeks) and birthweight. At follow‐up, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, glucose and lipids were assessed.

Results

SWL occurred in 6.8% of cases. Women with SWL had similar preterm birth rates compared with women without these complaints (adjusted OR 1.1, 95%CI 0.7, 1.7). Birthweight (adjusted difference – 31 g, 95%CI −76, 15) and BMI at 5–6 years of age (adjusted difference 0.2 kg/m2, 95%CI 0.0, 0.5) were similar in children born to mothers with SWL and without SWL, but blood pressure was increased. For diastolic blood pressure this association was independent of confounders (adjusted difference 1.4 mmHg, 95%CI 0.4, 2.4). Lipid and glucose levels were not significantly different between these groups.

Conclusion

Early pregnancy weight loss, usually occurring as a manifestation of hyperemesis gravidarum, could have long‐term consequences for offspring health.
Widespread non‐adherence to evidence‐based maternity care guidelines: a population‐based cluster randomised household survey
Authors: Nagpal J , Sachdeva A , Sengupta Dhar R , Bhargava VL , Bhartia A
Published: August 2014

Objective

To assess the quality of maternity care in an Indian metropolitan city.

Study design

Three‐stage cluster randomised cross‐sectional survey.

Setting

Sixty selected colonies of Delhi.

Population

One thousand eight hundred and one subjects (of 2286 eligible) were enrolled from 118 446 houses. Women who had delivered a live viable birth in the past 6 months were selected for the study.

Methods

In stage 1, 20 wards (of 150) were selected using a probability‐proportionate‐to‐size systematic method. In stage 2, one colony from each income stratum (high, middle and low) was selected from each ward by simple random sampling. In stage 3, a house‐to‐house survey was conducted to recruit 30 women for administering a peer‐reviewed and pilot‐trialled questionnaire.

Main outcome measures

Caesarean section rate, induction rate and episiotomy rate.

Results

National health targets such as iron supplementation advice (>96%), tetanus vaccination (>81%), and ≥3 antenatal visits (>90%) were largely achieved across health care facilities but not in home deliveries. Interventions were lower in public than private hospitals: caesarean section [23.7% (20.2–27.7) versus 53.8% (49.3–58.3)], induction [20.6% (17.5–24.25) versus 30.8% (26.8–33.2)] and episiotomy [57.8% (52.3–63.1) versus 79.4% (71.0–85.9)]. Private hospitals achieved better labour support rates [1.1% (0.5–2.2) versus 14.6% (8.5–24.1)] and pain relief [0.9% (0.4–2.0) versus 9.9 (6.5–14.8)]. Pubic hair shaving [16.2% (11.5–22.5) versus 36.4% (29.9–43.4)], enema [20.2% (15.5–26.0) versus 57.3% (49.5–64.8)], and IV fluids during labour [44.0% (36.2–52.2) versus 38.7% (29.3–49.1)] were widely prevalent in public and private hospitals.

Conclusion

Present practices fall short of evidence‐based guidelines, with relative overuse of interventions in private hospitals and deficiency of patient‐centred practices such as labour support in public hospitals.
Methodological Biases in Estimating the Relationship Between Alcohol Consumption and Breast Cancer: The Role of Drinker Misclassification Errors in Meta‐Analytic Results
Authors: Zeisser Cornelia , Stockwell Tim R. , Chikritzhs Tanya
Published: August 2014

Background

While alcohol consumption has been linked to breast cancer in women, few studies have controlled for possible biases created by including former or occasional drinkers in the abstainer reference group. We explored the potential for such misclassification errors as sources of bias in estimates of the alcohol–breast cancer relationship.

Methods

Meta‐analyses of population case–control, hospital case–control, and cohort studies to examine relationships between level of alcohol use and breast cancer morbidity and/or mortality in groups of studies with and without different misclassification errors.

Results

Of 60 studies identified, only 6 were free of all misclassification errors. The abstainer reference group was biased by the inclusion of former drinkers in 49 studies, occasional drinkers (<10 g ethanol [EtOH] per week) in 22 and by both these groups in 18. Occasional drinkers were also mixed with light or hazardous‐level drinkers in 22 studies. Unbiased estimates of the odds ratio (OR) for breast cancer were 1.011 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.891 to 1.148) among former drinkers (n = 11) and 1.034 (95% CI: 1.003 to 1.064) among occasional drinkers (n = 17). Hazardous‐level drinking (>20 g < 41 g EtOH/d) was not significantly associated with breast cancer in studies with occasional drinker bias. However, in studies free from occasional drinker bias, the OR for breast cancer was 1.085 (95% CI: 1.015 to 1.160) for low‐level (<21 g/d) drinkers (n = 17), 1.374 (95% CI: 1.319 to 1.431) for hazardous‐level drinkers (n = 26), and 1.336 (95% CI: 1.228 to 1.454) for harmful‐level (>40 g/d) drinkers (n = 9).

Conclusions

While the great majority of studies of the alcohol–breast cancer link include misclassification errors, only misclassification of occasional drinkers was found to bias risk estimates significantly. Estimates based on error‐free studies confirmed that low, hazardous and harmful levels of alcohol use each significantly increase the risk of breast cancer.
The Politics of Open Defecation: Informality, Body, and Infrastructure in Mumbai
Authors: Desai Renu , McFarlane Colin , Graham Stephen
Published: August 2014

This paper examines the politics of open defecation by focusing on everyday intersections of the body and infrastructure in the metabolic city, which produces profoundly unequal opportunities for fulfilling bodily needs. Specifically, it examines how open defecation emerges in Mumbai's informal settlements through everyday embodied experiences, practices and perceptions forged in relation to the materialities of informality and infrastructure. It does so by tracing the micropolitics of provision, access, territoriality and control of sanitation infrastructures; everyday routines and rhythms, both of people and infrastructures; and experiences of disgust and perceptions of dignity. It also examines open defecation as embodied spatial and temporal improvisations in order to investigate the socially differentiated efforts and risks that it entails. More broadly, the paper seeks to deepen understandings of the relationship between the body, infrastructure and the sanitary/unsanitary city.
How ‘Pastoral’ is Pastoralism? Dietary Diversity inBronzeAgeCommunities in the CentralKazakhstan Steppes
Authors: Lightfoot E. , Motuzaite‐Matuzeviciute G. , O'Connell T. C. , Kukushkin I. A. , Loman V. , Varfolomeev V. , Liu X. , Jones M. K.
Published: August 2014

Steppe communities have traditionally been viewed as pastoralist groups with similar herd‐based economies. Recent scholarship, however, warns against assumptions of homogeneity and new scientific techniques are providing a more nuanced approach to steppe archaeology, with increasing indications of diversity. This recent evidence further suggests that considering these communities as primarily pastoralist may hide a variety of subsistence strategies, such as fishing and cultivation. Here, we consider direct evidence for diet (in the form of stable isotope analysis) fromBronzeAge communities from centralKazakhstan, in the semi‐arid steppe zone. We find that the diversity recently suggested for communities across the steppe zone can be found within sites in theKaraganda region. This suggests that individuals exercised choice in their dietary habits that led to dietary differences large enough to be detectable isotopically. The results also highlight the inclusion of fish in the diet of these ‘pastoral’ populations, with indications that some individuals in theFinalBronzeAge consumed notable amounts of millet. This shows that these ‘pastoralist’ economies also engaged in fishing throughout theBronzeAge, with millet cultivation becoming increasingly important in theFinalBronzeAge. As such, our understanding of what it means, in this context, to be a pastoralist requires further consideration.
Acute Effects of Dipyrone on Renal Function in Patients with Cirrhosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Zapater Pedro , Llanos Lucia , Barquero Claudia , Bellot Pablo , Pascual Sonia , Carnicer Fernando , Palazón Jose Maria , Gimenez Paula , Esteban Angel , Llorca Lourdes , Francés Ruben , Horga Jose Francisco , Such Jose
Published: August 2014

Use of non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs in cirrhosis has been associated with impairment of renal function based on its ability to inhibit the renal production of prostaglandins. Renal effects of dipyrone in patients with cirrhosis have not been evaluated. We aimed to assess the renal effect of therapeutic doses of dipyrone used for short periods of time in patients with cirrhosis. Twenty‐nine patients with cirrhosis were included in an observer‐blind clinical trial. Patients were randomized to receive three times a day oral acetaminophen (500 mg; N = 15) or dipyrone (575 mg; N = 14) for 72 hr. Serum and urine samples were obtained at baseline, 48 and 72 hr, and cystatin C, creatinine, aldosterone, 6‐keto‐Prostaglandin‐F1 alpha and prostaglandin E2 were measured. Cystatin C and creatinine levels remained comparable in patients treated with acetaminophen and dipyrone. Urine and serum prostaglandins concentrations were significantly decreased at 72 hr in patients treated with dipyrone regardless of the status of ascites. One patient with ascites treated with dipyrone required a paracentesis and developed renal insufficiency. We conclude that dipyrone and acetaminophen did not reduce renal function when used for short periods of time (up to 72 hr) in patients with cirrhosis. However, considering that dipyrone lowered renal vasodilator prostaglandins synthesis, acetaminophen appears as the safest choice with respect to kidney function in cirrhosis.
Monitoring of chimerism following allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT): Technical recommendations for the use of Short Tandem Repeat (STR) based techniques, on behalf of the United Kingdom National External Quality Assessment Service for Leucocyte Immunophenotyping Chimerism Working Group
Authors: Clark Jordan R. , Scott Stuart D. , Jack Andrea L. , Lee Helena , Mason Joanne , Carter Geoffrey I. , Pearce Laurence , Jackson Tony , Clouston Hazel , Sproul Anne , Keen Leigh , Molloy Karen , Folarin Najeem'deen , Whitby Liam , Snowden John A. , Reilly John T. , Barnett David
Published: August 2014

Analysis of short tandem repeats (STR) is the predominant method for post‐transplant monitoring of donor engraftment. It can enable early detection of disease relapse, level of engraftment and provide useful information on the graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD)/graft‐versus‐tumour (GVT) effect, facilitating therapeutic intervention. Harmonization and standardization of techniques and result interpretation is essential to reduce the impact of laboratory variability on both clinical management and the results of multi‐centre clinical trials. However, the United Kingdom National External Quality Assessment Service for Leucocyte Immunophenotyping (UK NEQAS LI) has highlighted significant issues inherent in STR testing that impact upon inter‐ and intra‐ laboratory variation. We present here consensus best practice guidelines and recommendations for STR chimerism testing, data interpretation and reporting that have been drawn up and agreed by a consortium of 11 UK and Eire clinical laboratories. This document uses data obtained from the UK NEQAS LI Post‐Stem Cell Transplant (SCT) Chimerism Monitoring Programme.