bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
FGF-23 and cardiovascular disease: review of literature
Authors: Batra Jasveen , Buttar Rupinder Singh , Kaur Pardeep , Kreimerman Jacqueline , Melamed Michal L.
Published: September 2016

Purpose of review

This review examines associations between fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23) and cardiovascular disease.

Recent findings

FGF-23 is a hormone produced by osteocytes and osteoblasts that aids with phosphate excretion by the kidney and acts as a negative feedback regulator for activated vitamin D synthesis. Recent studies have found associations between elevated FGF-23 levels and a number of cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy, endothelial dysfunction, cardiovascular events and mortality.

Conclusion

Recent studies have explored the possible effects of FGF-23 on the cardiovascular system. In animal and observational human studies, there is a link between elevated FGF-23 levels and multiple cardiovascular outcomes, including hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy and cardiovascular events and mortality. Further studies are required to evaluate whether decreasing FGF-23 levels improves cardiovascular outcomes.
Review on current and future molecular diagnostic tests for bancroftian filariasis
Authors: MK Showkhat Ali
Published: September 2016

In a public health perspective, filariasis is still a problem in tropical countries, which warrants an appropriate diagnosis and drug-based prophylaxis in the endemic areas to reduce the number of diseased individuals. Among the four species causing filariasis,Wuchereria bancroftiis reported to cause 90% of infections globally. Difficulty in accurate diagnosis of filarial infections remains a problem in filariasis control programs. Improved simple methods are needed for monitoringW. bancroftiinfection and thereby to accomplish success in elimination programs. Conventional methods available are tedious and time consuming with low sensitivity and specificity. Recently designed filarial molecular diagnostic assays are highly sensitive and specific for clinical use. These molecular assays have vast advantage over the conventional techniques wherein only a small quantity of samples is required for diagnosis without expert training in parasitological techniques. Molecular diagnostic methods alleviate surveillance activities, help in monitoring and evaluating newer drugs and vaccines. With the anticipated success in filariasis elimination, DNA-based methods gain more importance in the population diagnostic surveillance. Furthermore, molecular techniques are more sensitive enabling species identification and greatly facilitate the collection of epidemiological data. Proper research on filariasis may help to bridge the host–parasite interface by coordinating research and social outcomes that is vitally important for human public health.
Identifying Patient Characteristics Associated With Deficits in Surgical Decision Making
Authors: Cooper Zara , Hevelone Nathanael , Sarhan Mohammad , Quinn Timothy , Bader Angela
Published: September 2016

Background

Patient involvement in surgical decisions is formalized in the informed consent process, which should reflect that the patient understands their diagnosis, planned procedure, and the associated risks and benefits before consenting to treatment. If high-quality shared decision making has occurred, the treatment chosen should best match the goals and preferences of the patient. Little information currently exists that analyzes factors associated with decisional quality in surgery. Identifying patient factors correlated with specific deficits in preoperative decision making is essential for improvement of the shared decision-making process. This study aims to identify patient characteristics and coping strategies associated with the presence of knowledge deficits regarding their diagnosis and procedure so that interventions can be targeted to these vulnerable groups.

Methods

Approximately 882 preoperative patients were assessed regarding understanding of their diagnosis and procedure. Sociodemographic and decision-making variables were evaluated using validated measures. Univariate analysis and logistic regression models assessed factors associated with lower decisional quality.

Results

Approximately 136 (15%) of 882 patients had deficits in knowledge of diagnosis and/or procedure. Older patients were more likely to demonstrate these deficits (P = 0.0002). Using multivariate analysis, independent predictors of knowledge deficits included patients who identified themselves as Black, Asian, or other race (odds ratio [OR], 2.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19–5.85; and OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.00–3.55, respectively); were older (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01–1.04); and used denial as a coping strategy (OR, 2.61; 95% CI, 1.29–5.28). The use of acceptance as a coping strategy negatively predicted knowledge deficits (OR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.36–0.84).

Conclusions

Specific patient factors and coping strategies are associated with deficiencies in decisional quality. Identifying vulnerable groups at risk for these issues can help target methodologies and resources to ensure high-quality surgical decision making.
Pelvic Organ Prolapse Stage and the Relationship to Genital Hiatus and Perineal Body Measurements
Authors: Dunivan Gena C. , Lyons Katherine E. , Jeppson Peter C. , Ninivaggio Cara S. , Komesu Yuko M. , Alba Frances M. , Rogers Rebecca G.
Published: September 2016

Objectives

This study aimed to describe the relationship between genital hiatus (GH) and perineal body (PB) measurements with increasing pelvic organ prolapse (POP) stage in a large cohort of women referred to Urogynecology clinic for pelvic floor disorders.

Methods

Retrospective chart review of all new patients seen in an academic Urogynecology clinic between January 2007 and September 2011 was performed. Data were extracted from a standardized intake form. All patients underwent a Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POPQ) examination. Descriptive statistics compared the study population. Analysis of variance was used to compare GH and PB measurements by prolapse stage. Fisher least significant differences were used for post hoc comparisons of means between prolapse stages. Pearson correlations were used to evaluate the associations between GH and PB measurements and patient characteristics.

Results

A total of 1595 women with POPQ examinations comprised the study population. The mean age was 55.3 ± 14.8 years with a body mass index of 30.3 ± 7.6 kg/m2, most women were parous (90%), 40% were Hispanic, and 33% had undergone prior hysterectomy for indications exclusive of POP. Women with any prior prolapse repair were excluded, 6.5% had a prior incontinence procedure. Perineal body measurements were slightly larger for stage 2 POP, but overall did not vary across other prolapse stages (all P > 0.05). In contrast, GH measurements increased through stage 3 POP, GH measurements decreased for stage 4 POP.

Conclusions

Mean PB measurements did not demonstrate large changes over prolapse stage, whereas GH measurements increased through stage 3 POP. Genital hiatus serves as an important marker for underlying pelvic muscle damage.
What do you mean by a periodical? Forms and functions
Authors: Corsi Pietro
Published: September 2016

The word ‘periodical’ immediately calls to mind huge stacks of bound volumes neatly arranged on library shelves. Yet, in historical terms, it would be hard to claim that ‘periodical’ is a word endowed with a definite and univocal connotation. Even the criterion of ‘periodicity’ leaves a lot out of account. Forms historically assumed by periodicals often envisaged regular schedules of appearance, but this was often more of a wish than a reality. Thus, great care needs to be taken in accepting at face value the dating of issues and volumes. Scientific periodicals, whether purely professional or purely commercial (and the many forms in between), existed in given historical circumstances and had to compete with different and alternative forms of publication which were also issued in instalments (especially dictionaries and encyclopaedias). They were not the only or even the preferred vehicle for a scientist to communicate or engage in debate. The role of the reading public, in science as well as in many other matters, was never one of a passive receiver: during the long nineteenth century, in several countries, readers claimed the right to intervene in scientific debates, and favoured publications that appeared to accommodate their demands.
Differential sub-nuclear distribution of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIF)-1 and -2 alpha impacts on their stability and mobility
Authors: Taylor S. E. , Bagnall J. , Mason D. , Levy R. , Fernig D. G. , See V.
Published: September 2016

Cellular adaptation to hypoxia occurs via a complex programme of gene expression mediated by the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF). The oxygen labile alpha subunits, HIF-1α/-2α, form a heterodimeric transcription factor with HIF-1β and modulate gene expression. HIF-1α and HIF-2α possess similar domain structure and bind to the same consensus sequence. However, they have different oxygen-dependent stability and activate distinct genes. To better understand these differences, we used fluorescent microscopy to determine precise localization and dynamics. We observed a homogeneous distribution of HIF-1α in the nucleus, while HIF-2α localized into speckles. We demonstrated that the number, size and mobility of HIF-2α speckles were independent of cellular oxygenation and that HIF-2α molecules were capable of exchanging between the speckles and nucleoplasm in an oxygen-independent manner. The concentration of HIF-2α into speckles may explain its increased stability compared with HIF-1α and its slower mobility may offer a mechanism for gene specificity.
Heterozygous mutation toChd8causes macrocephaly and widespread alteration of neurodevelopmental transcriptional networks in mouse
Authors: Gompers Andrea L. , Su-Feher Linda , Ellegood Jacob , Stradleigh Tyler W. , Zdilar Iva , Copping Nycole A. , Pride Michael C. , Schaffler Melanie D. , Riyadh M. Asrafuzzaman , Kaushik Gaurav , Mannion Brandon , Plajzer-Frick Ingrid , Afzal Veena , Visel Axel , Pennacchio Len A. , Dickel Diane , Lerch Jason P. , Crawley Jacqueline N. , Zarbalis Konstantinos S. , Silverman Jill L. , Nord Alex S.
Published: September 2016

The chromatin remodeling geneCHD8represents a central node in early neurodevelopmental gene networks implicated in autism. We examined the impact of heterozygous germlineChd8mutation on neurodevelopment in mice. Network analysis of neurodevelopmental gene expression revealed subtle yet strongly significant widespread transcriptional changes inChd8+/−mice across autism-relevant networks from neurogenesis to synapse function.Chd8+/−expression signatures included enrichment of RNA processing genes and a Chd8-regulated module featuring altered transcription of chromatin remodeling, splicing, and cell cycle genes.Chd8+/−mice exhibited increased proliferation during brain development and neonatal increase in cortical length and volume. Structural MRI confirmed regional brain volume increase in adultChd8+/−mice, consistent with clinical macrocephaly. AdultChd8+/−mice displayed normal social interactions, and repetitive behaviors were not evident. Our results show thatChd8+/−mice exhibit neurodevelopmental changes parallelingCHD8+/−humans and show thatChd8is a global genomic regulator of pathways disrupted in neurodevelopmental disorders.
Genome-wide association study of HIV whole genome sequences validated using drug resistance
Authors: Power Robert A. , Davaniah Siva , Derache Anne , Wilkinson Eduan , Tanser Frank , Gupta Ravindra K. , Pillay Deenan , de Oliveira Tulio
Published: September 2016

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have considerably advanced our understanding of human traits and diseases. With the increasing availability of whole genome sequences (WGS) for pathogens, it is important to establish whether GWAS of viral genomes could reveal important biological insights. Here we perform the first proof of concept viral GWAS examining drug resistance (DR), a phenotype with well understood genetics.

We performed a GWAS of DR in a sample of 343 HIV subtype C patients failing 1stline antiretroviral treatment in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The majority and minority variants within each sequence were called using PILON, and GWAS was performed within PLINK. HIV WGS from patients failing on different antiretroviral treatments were compared to sequences derived from individuals naive to the respective treatment.

GWAS methodology was validated by identifying five associations on a genetic level that led to amino acid changes known to cause DR. Further, we highlighted the ability of GWAS to identify epistatic effects, identifying two replicable variants within amino acid 68 of the reverse transcriptase protein previously described as potential fitness compensatory mutations. A possible additional DR variant within amino acid 91 of the matrix region of the Gag protein was associated with tenofovir failure, highlighting the ability of GWAS to identify variants outside classical candidate genes. Our results also suggest a polygenic component to DR.

These results validate the applicability of GWAS to HIV WGS data even in relative small samples, and emphasise how high throughput sequencing can provide novel and clinically relevant insights. Further they suggested that for viruses like HIV, population structure was only minor concern compared to that seen in bacteria or parasite GWAS. Given the small genome length and reduced burden for multiple testing, this makes HIV an ideal candidate for GWAS.
Domain-general brain regions do not track linguistic input as closely as language-selective regions
Authors: Blank Idan , Fedorenko Evelina
Published: September 2016

Language comprehension engages a cortical network of left frontal and temporal regions. Activity in this network is language-selective, showing virtually no modulation by non-linguistic tasks. In addition, language comprehension engages a second network consisting of bilateral frontal, parietal, cingulate, and insular regions. Activity in this “Multiple Demand (MD)” network scales with comprehension difficulty, but also with cognitive effort across a wide range of non-linguistic tasks in a domain-general fashion. Given the functional dissociation between the language and MD networks, their respective contributions to comprehension are likely distinct, yet such differences remain elusive. Critically, given that each network is sensitive to some linguistic features, prior research has assumed – implicitly or explicitly – that both networks track linguistic input closely, and in a manner consistent across individuals. Here, we used fMRI to directly test this assumption by comparing the BOLD signal time-courses in each network across different people listening to the same story. Language network activity showed fewer individual differences, indicative of closer input tracking, whereas MD network activity was more idiosyncratic and, moreover, showed lower reliability within an individual across repetitions of a story. These findings constrain cognitive models of language comprehension by suggesting a novel distinction between the processes implemented in the language and MD networks.

Significance Statement

Language comprehension recruits both language-specific mechanisms and domain-general mechanisms that are engaged in many cognitive processes. In the human cortex, language-selective mechanisms are implemented in the left-lateralized “core language network”, whereas domain-general mechanisms are implemented in the bilateral “Multiple Demand (MD)” network. Here, we report the first direct comparison of the respective contributions of these networks to naturalistic story comprehension. Using a novel combination of neuroimaging approaches we find that MD regions track stories less closely than language regions. This finding constrains the possible contributions of the MD network to comprehension, contrasts with accounts positing that this network has continuous access to linguistic input, and suggests a new typology of comprehension processes based on their extent of input tracking.
Extraction of ultrashort DNA molecules from herbarium specimens
Authors: Gutaker Rafal M. , Reiter Ella , Furtwängler Anja , Schuenemann Verena J. , Burbano Hernán A.
Published: September 2016

DNA extracted from herbarium specimens is highly fragmented and decays at a faster rate than DNA from ancient bones. Therefore, it is crucial to utilize extraction protocols that retrieve short DNA molecules. Improvements in extraction and library preparation protocols for animal remains have allowed efficient retrieval of molecules shorter than 50 bp. We adapted those improvements to extraction protocols for herbarium specimens and evaluated their performance by shotgun sequencing, which allows an accurate estimation of the distribution of fragment lengths. Extraction with PTB buffer decreased median fragment length by 35% when compared to CTAB. Modifying the binding conditions of DNA to silica allowed for an additional decrease of 10%. We did not observe a further decrease in length when we used single-stranded instead of double-stranded library preparation methods. Our protocol enables the retrieval of ultrashort molecules from herbarium specimens and will help to unlock the genetic information stored in herbaria.
Global oligopolistic competition and foreign direct investment
Authors: Hansen Michael W. , Hoenen Anne
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to re-visit and re-invigorate the oligopolistic industry perspective on multinational corporations (MNC) strategy.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on insights from the industrial organization tradition and strategic management, the paper brings the original insights of the oligopolistic industry perspective into a modern context by outlining a conceptual framework that may guide future international business (IB) research on MNC strategy in oligopolistic industries.

Findings

This paper demonstrates how contemporary IB literature pays little attention to a key insight of the early IB literature, namely, that foreign direct investment (FDI) often is driven by strategic interaction among MNCs in oligopolistic industries. Instead, the contemporary IB literature focuses on the FDI as a way to reduce transaction costs and/or as a way to leverage and build capabilities across borders. The paper argues that progressing global concentration in many industries warrants a rediscovery of the oligopolistic perspective on FDI.

Originality/value

The paper provides a comprehensive and unique literature review of the literature on MNC strategy in oligopolistic industries. Based on this review, the paper develops a novel conceptual framework that may inspire future IB research on MNC strategy in oligopolistic industries.
The status of intervention research in HRD
Authors: Kalis Lindsay Elizabeth , Garza Natalie M. , Chermack Thomas J. , Dzirasa Victor A. , Hutt Mark J.
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to determine the quantity, nature and frequency of intervention research published in Human Resource Development (HRD) journals.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology for this study was a literature review, analysis and synthesis with specific attention to locating intervention research in HRD journals.

Findings

Based on the results of this study, it seems clear that intervention research is not a fundamental research method for HRD professionals and is not being consistently conducted across the HRD field. This raises potential questions about the extent to which HRD professionals are integrating research and practice. The presence and conduct of intervention research applied to HRD-related problems may provide another means for practitioners and scholars to work together toward optimal, practical solutions with evidence to support them.

Originality/value

Creating a community of professionals who assess and/or evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions and disseminate the information that lean toward causal claims is critical. Intervention research could represent a cultural shift for the HRD discipline because it lends weight to claims of causality and practical recommendations. Under these circumstances, HRD intervention research could be used with confidence by HRD practitioners to inform, shape or evaluate the content of their management and leadership training programs, including the training and development of coaching managers and coaching leaders.
Guest editorial
Authors: Nimon Kim , Robinson Daniel H.
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this editorial is to introduce the special issue, “The Quest for Scientific Discipline in HRD Research: Designs that Support Causal Inference”.

Design/methodology/approach

This special issue presents seven papers that consider human resource development (HRD) research though the lens of scientific rigor, as well as techniques and considerations that researchers might use to strengthen claims of causality.

Findings

Based on the research reported in this special issue, it appears that the field of HRD is not necessarily distinct from educational research in the level of scientific rigor used in studies as reported in a group of HRD journals.

Originality/value

The seven papers provide practical advice for researchers who wish to move their research up the hierarchy of evidence and conduct rigorous research that answers “what works” questions.
Workplace spirituality and employee well-being: an empirical examination
Authors: Pawar Badrinarayan Shankar
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The existing literature suggests that employee well-being is an important concern for organizations. The purpose of this paper is to carry out an empirical examination to assess whether employee experience of workplace spirituality has positive relationships with multiple forms of employee well-being.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper focussed on four forms of employee well-being, namely: emotional well-being, psychological well-being, social well-being, and spiritual well-being. It specified and empirically tested, using a survey design, four hypotheses, each proposing a positive relationship between workplace spirituality and one of the four forms of employee well-being.

Findings

All four hypotheses were supported indicating that workplace spirituality has a positive relationship with emotional, psychological, social, and spiritual well-being.

Research limitations/implications

This paper may encourage future research to assess whether various forms of employee well-being result from specific dimensions of workplace spirituality.

Practical implications

Organizations may implement workplace spirituality for simultaneously enhancing multiple forms of employee well-being.

Social implications

As employee well-being is a matter of social concern, the findings of this study indicating a positive association between workplace spirituality and employee well-being have a social relevance.

Originality/value

To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to examine the relationship between workplace spirituality and four forms of employee well-being, namely; emotional, psychological, social, and spiritual well-being. As employee well-being is an important concern for organizations, the contribution of the study findings is that workplace spirituality implementation can simultaneously enhance multiple forms of employee well-being.
The “knowledge front”, women, war and peace
Authors: Horne Julia
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the idea of the “knowledge front” alongside ideas of “home” and “war” front as a way of understanding the expertise of university-educated women in an examination of the First World War and its aftermath. The paper explores the professional lives of two women, the medical researcher, Elsie Dalyell, and the teacher, feminist and unionist, Lucy Woodcock. The paper examines their professional lives and acquisition and use of university expertise both on the war and home fronts, and shows how women’s intellectual and scientific activity established during the war continued long after as a way to repair what many believed to be a society damaged by war. It argues that the idea of “knowledge front” reveals a continuity of intellectual and scientific activity from war to peace, and offers “space” to examine the professional lives of university-educated women in this period.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is structured as an analytical narrative interweaving the professional lives of two women, medical researcher Elsie Dalyell and teacher/unionist Lucy Woodcock to illuminate the contributions of university-educated women’s expertise from 1914 to the outbreak of the Second World War.

Findings

The emergence of university-educated women in the First World War and the interwar years participated in the civic structure of Australian society in innovative and important ways that challenged the “soldier citizen” ethos of this era. The paper offers a way to examine university-educated women’s professional lives as they unfolded during the course of war and peace that focuses on what they did with their expertise. Thus, the “knowledge front” provides more ways to examine these lives than the more narrowly articulated ideas of “home” and “war” front.

Research limitations/implications

The idea of the “knowledge front” applied to women in this paper also has implications for how to analyse the meaning of the First World War-focused university expertise more generally both during war and peace.

Practical implications

The usual view of women’s participation in war is as nurses in field hospitals. This paper broadens the notion of war to see war as having many interconnected fronts including the battle front and home front (Beaumont, 2013). By doing so, not only can we see a much larger involvement of women in the war, but we also see the involvement of university-educated women.

Social implications

The paper shows that while the guns may have ceased on 11 November 1918, women’s lives continued as they grappled with their war experience and aimed to reassert their professional lives in Australian society in the 1920s and 1930s.

Originality/value

The paper contains original biographical research of the lives of two women. It also conceptualises the idea of “knowledge front” in terms of war/home front to examine how the expertise of university-educated career women contributed to the social fabric of a nation recovering from war.
Universities, war and the professionalization of dentistry
Authors: Pietsch Tamson
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to bring together the history of war, the universities and the professions. It examines the case of dentistry in New South Wales, detailing its divided pre-war politics, the role of the university, the formation and work of the Dental Corps during the First World War, and the process of professionalization in the 1920s.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on documentary and archival sources including those of the University of Sydney, contemporary newspapers, annual reports and publication of various dental associations, and on secondary sources.

Findings

The paper argues that both the war and the university were central to the professionalization of dentistry in New South Wales. The war transformed the expertise of dentists, shifted their social status and cemented their relationship with the university.

Originality/value

This study is the first to examine dentistry in the context of the histories of war, universities and professionalization. It highlights the need to re-evaluate the changing place of the professions in interwar Australia in the light both of the First World War and of the university’s involvement in it.
British academics, liberalism, and the First World War
Authors: Sherington Geoffrey
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the War on two prominent academic liberal historians.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based on a narrative of their lives and careers before and during the War.

Findings

The findings include an analysis of how the War engaged these academic liberals in the pursuit of the War effort.

Originality/value

By the end of the War, both sought to reaffirm much of their earlier academic liberalism despite the political and social changes in the post-war world.
Portrait of an artist as an ex-war surgeon
Authors: Stephen Ann
Published: September 2016

Purpose

To examine how art is shaped by war, outside of the official commemorative projects of the First World War. The purpose of this paper is to examine the experience of a surgeon/artist who knew first-hand the horror of industrial scale of destruction. It speculates on how his medical education and surgical knowledge in the treatment of the casualties informed his art and considers how such scientific discourses may have contributed to a new modernist language.

Design/methodology/approach

The double career of J.W. Power – a surgeon then an artist – provides a case study to probe such questions. The paper speculates about the connections between these different careers, and considers the implications of becoming an artist for someone who had pre-war university-training, medical expertise and experience as a war surgeon. In particular, consideration is given to how surgical knowledge and contemporary medical debates may have informed a group of later paintings.

Findings

A group of J.W. Power’s late paintings stand apart from his other subjects as they suggest states of physical or psychological damage. Indeed by the 1930s shell shock was recognised as a war-related psychological injury. These paintings then may not only be an act of remembrance, but also potentially a reflection on that new discourse.

Research limitations/implications

It remains a compelling idea that by the 1930s Power had found a modern abstract language capable of revisiting the traumatic subject of his hospital sketches. The implications of the war-time surgery on his art was delayed and remains highly ambiguous, however it invites, indeed encourages, such speculation.

Originality/value

The paper is the first to examine the cultural impact of the medical career of the artist J.W. Power. His medical training and experience as a war-time surgeon is shown to have been significant to his later painting, for he knew the regenerative powers of modern surgery, of how such knowledge had the power to repair and to heal.
Human resource management in a healthcare environment: framework and case study
Authors: Ramadevi D. , Gunasekaran Angappa , Roy Matthew , Rai Bharatendra K. , Senthilkumar S.A.
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for the improvement of healthcare services through an effective human resource management system. The case study highlights a need to analyze human resource management processes that exist in healthcare sector and suggests better ways to achieve higher levels of patient satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology consists of first developing a conceptual framework for human resource management in healthcare industry. The proposed framework comprises of three parts: inputs which include determining employee competencies, HR planning, job analysis, recruitment, selection, compensation benefits, pay/rewards, labor and employee relations; processes (training and development) focus on healthcare systems; and outputs which include quality, cost, technology, and responsiveness leading to patient satisfaction. Then, the framework has been studied with help of a case study conducted in a hospital in India.

Findings

The most important skill required for healthcare workforce to deliver high-quality care to patients is the human resource development. By appropriate workforce development, healthcare organizations can provide high-quality services to patients. Finally, it derives a set of conclusions from the case study research. Further research would be needed to validate the framework through empirical data.

Originality/value

This research is a new attempt as there is a limited research done earlier on the framework of human resource management in healthcare system and services. It is designed to facilitate training and development at both the individual and at organizational levels, advocating a balance between “healthcare employee” and “healthcare system.”
Assessment of factors for e-learning: an empirical investigation
Authors: Agrawal Vivek , Agrawal Akash , Agarwal Sucheta
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The growth of internet, cloud technology, and mobile usage in the present scenario has spread in every aspect of human life. The usage of e-learning (electronic-learning) has been stretching wings in every sector and creating many opportunities. The education market has significantly developed over the past few years and e-learning has emerged as a major contributor toward the development of the education sector. The purpose of this paper is to study the perception of students of different universities in Uttar Pradesh and National Capital Region (India) toward e-learning usage.

Design/methodology/approach

With the help of exploratory factor analysis followed by confirmatory factor analysis, factors of e-learning were explored through a survey of 298 students involved in the e-learning process.

Findings

Six factors were explored and validated. These six factors are: supportive factors, system quality, learners’ perspective, instructor perspective, information quality, and service quality.

Practical implications

Policymakers and future researchers need to focus on the facilitation of e-learning in rural and urban areas of India.

Originality/value

Results will be useful in the implementation of e-learning applications.
Strategic leadership competencies: what is it and how to develop it?
Authors: Norzailan Zumalia , Othman Rozhan B. , Ishizaki Hiroyuki
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the nature of strategic leader competencies and the learning methodologies that should be used to develop them.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of the literature on strategizing was done to formulate a model of strategic leadership competencies. This paper also draws from various work on learning to propose how strategic leadership competencies program should be designed.

Findings

The literature highlights the importance of incorporating deliberate practice, experience density, reflective learning and mentoring into strategic leadership development programs.

Research limitations/implications

This is a conceptual work that draws from secondary material. Further empirical examination can help validate the ideas proposed here.

Practical implications

This paper provides a better understanding of how developing strategic leadership competencies are distinct from other leadership programs. It also provides practitioners with an understanding on how to design their strategic leadership development programs.

Originality/value

This paper adds a new dimension to the discourse on strategic leadership development programs by bringing together learning theories from sports education and managerial learning.
Finding the niche towards performance excellence
Authors: Douglas Muhammad Umbugala
Published: September 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to address the often fragmented approach to performance issues to maximise services quality and returns. With the increased emphasis on corporate reforms, the research presents a model framework as logic to strategy viability and competitive advantage for better outsourcing services delivery and excellence. The global change requires models with logic and variability to practically see the reality and challenges of all times.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on comprehensive literature search on performance research, nine influence factors were deduced as models for performance measure. This model is used to evaluate the performance of outsourcing firms in Malaysia. Over 200 questionnaires were sent out to outsourcing services delivery firms in Malaysia by post or personal visits; 68 of them responded. The study applied multivariate analysis to ascertain strategy capability and perception about factors that influence performance in the firms.

Findings

The outsourcing strategy performance revealed by the principal component analysis has given the strategy capability of the firms to be above-average, however not in a state to guarantee achievement of sustaining quality and excellence in services delivery. Conversely, to remain at the edge requires strategy that is flexible, integrated and sustainable, which most firms do not have. The results have also shown that more than half of the sampled population opted for a high-performance delivery goal; however, this vision was not supported adequately by a viable strategy. This inflexibility in strategy by most firms gives rise to usurpation and sub-optimality, which failed to take the facilities management (FM) profession beyond the reactive maintenance culture of the past century.

Research limitations/implications

This research paper is one of the few strategic models from Malaysia that holistically evaluates performance in outsourcing firms.

Practical implications

The paper provides a model that can integrate and sustain the workplace which is a valuable insight to the FM and research world.

Originality/value

This study introduced a paradigm using influence factors (timeless practice) to ensure excellency in outsourcing services delivery. Today savvy customers are looking for reliability and quality services with cost certainty, which is partly the reason for the expanding interests on outsourcing. The workplaces require strategic reforms to foster better facilities performance and value.
The correspondence model of cross-cultural adjustment: exploring exchange relationships
Authors: Haslberger Arno , Dickmann Michael
Published: September 2016

Purpose

There has been tremendous interest in the field of cultural adjustment in the past decades. The work of Black and his colleagues has inspired many researchers. However, critics have pointed out that their original conceptualization has limitations; most of the insights building on their model have probably been harvested. Therefore, it is appropriate to investigate alternative ways at understanding the challenges in international assignments. The purpose of this paper is to outline a model rooted in person-environment fit theory. The authors follow Dawis and Lofquist’s Theory of Work Adjustment, which has had only a small influence on expatriate research to date.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper develops a correspondence model of cross-cultural adjustment and explores the diverse factors and their interactions in-depth. The satisfaction of individual needs and corresponding environmental supplies (macro, micro, and organizational factors) as well as the satisfactoriness of individual abilities and corresponding environmental requirements (macro, micro, and organizational) is outlined.

Findings

Based on the literature and the model a large number of hypotheses in relation to cross-cultural adjustment are proposed which allow new avenues in adjustment research.

Originality/value

The contribution of this paper is to propose a model that addresses the main criticisms to the adjustment conceptualization of Black and his colleagues.
Engaged and energized in the Energy industry
Authors: Valk Reimara , Hannon Sandra
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore engagement of flexpatriates on rotational and regular field assignments in the energy industry, theoretically grounded in the “Four Fundamental Pillars of Engagement”.

Design/methodology/approach

In an exploratory case study within a global organisation in the energy industry, in a post-merger/acquisition integration stage, the authors interviewed 24 rotational and regular field assignees of seven different nationalities, residing at nine different global locations.

Findings

The results of the case study show that the following newly identified drivers within the “Four Fundamental Pillars of Engagement” are crucial for engagement of flexpatriate rotational and regular field assignees in the energy industry: information, communication and technology; training, learning and growth; support from colleagues and line managers (“capacity to engage”); job ownership/control; respect, recognition and appreciation (“reason to engage”); freedom to be creative and innovative; pride and promises; client satisfaction (“freedom to engage”); alignment between the organisation and the individual (“alignment to engage”), especially in a post-merger and acquisition (M&A) organisational context during a downturn in the oil and gas industry.

Research limitations/implications

The case study focused on rotational assignees from one particular organisation in the energy industry, which restricts the generalisability of the findings on engagement of rotational assignees to other organisations, industries and geographies.

Practical implications

Organisations in the energy industry that actively promote engagement of rotational assignees, especially during the post-M&A integration stage and economic turmoil, will strengthen their sustainable global competitive advantage.

Originality/value

The contribution of this paper is that it presents a refinement and expansion of the drivers of engagement within the “Four Fundamental Pillars of Engagement”, conceptualised in an international post-M&A organisational context during a downturn in the oil and gas industry.
The impact of team performance and fan interest on NCAA football revenues
Authors: Brook Stacey
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the drivers of NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision total revenues from the 2007 to 2012 seasons.

Design/methodology/approach

The author uses both ordinary least squares and quantile regression to estimate the impact that winning and lagged attendance have on real total revenue.

Findings

The author finds that the marginal revenue of winning changes substantially from one end of the conditional distribution to the other end of the conditional distribution but the marginal revenue of lagged attendance is more consistent as compared to winning.

Originality/value

This will have implications for researchers investigating NCAA football coaches’ salaries and NCAA football player valuation.
Publicly subsidized sports events and stadiums
Authors: Potter Joel M.
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the economics literature of publicly subsidized sports stadiums and mega-events. Let it be noted, however, that the author was unable to find any substantial economics literature in terms of how publicly funded stadiums and events affect income and wealth inequality.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper was designed for coherent legibility with the intention of reviewing economic literature on the effects of publicly funded sports stadiums and events. However, upon investigation it was found that there is a surprising dearth of relevant literature pertaining to the implications of publicly funded stadiums and sports events and their effects on income and wealth inequality.

Findings

Although the author discovered research performed by non-economists, they were unable to find research wherein economists explicitly investigate the impact of stadium subsidies on income and wealth inequality.

Social implications

The social implications of publicly funded sports-related constructions and events, though surprisingly under-reported by economists, can be startlingly extensive in terms of sheer numbers. In all, 1.5 million individuals were purportedly displaced in order to make room for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In total, 250,000 people were likewise forced to move in order to accommodate the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. These numbers warrant further investigation by economists.

Originality/value

The author was unable to find any literature pertaining to the effects on income or wealth inequality of publicly funded sports stadiums and mega-events. This review would therefore appear to be unique.
Evaluating co-branded products: the socioeconomic strata effect
Authors: Cordeiro Rafaela Almeida , Ponchio Mateus Canniatti , Mazzon José Afonso
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify whether consumer evaluations of products are influenced by the presence of co-branding with a well-known reputable ingredient brand and whether differences in evaluations are related to the socioeconomic stratum of the consumer.

Design/methodology/approach

These questions were investigated by way of two experiments: the first, using a between-subjects approach that was carried out with 210 subjects and the second, using between- and within-subjects approaches that were carried out with 305 subjects.

Findings

The results show that: products produced by both little-known and well-known brands are evaluated more favourably when they are co-branded with a well-known ingredient brand; there is no evidence that the co-branding effect on product evaluation is stronger for little-known brand products than for well-known brand products; and there is weak evidence that the co-branding effect on product evaluation is stronger among subjects from lower socioeconomic strata than among subjects from the upper stratum.

Research limitations/implications

The theory of anchoring alone is insufficient for explaining differences in product evaluations when the co-branding strategy is adopted. It is believed that positive effects can be also interpreted by the assimilation and signalling theories.

Practical implications

As for the managerial implications, the authors offer insights into the impacts of using a strategic co-branding alliance on the products of little-known brands among consumers from lower and upper strata.

Originality/value

The study contributes to consumer behaviour literature, specifically with regard to ingredient-brand effects in co-branding strategies from the perspective of the end consumer.
Social media brand building strategies in B2B companies
Authors: Cawsey Timothy , Rowley Jennifer
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a unique overview of business-to-business (B2B) companies engagement with and strategic approach to use of social media in brand building. This research complements the much more extensive knowledge base regarding social media use in business-to-consumer (B2C) contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

Since social media marketing is a relatively new activity for B2B companies an interpretivist stance that is inductive in nature is adopted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with marketing professionals involved in managing social media programmes in France, Ireland, the UK and the USA.

Findings

The study found that the level of enagement with social media marketing varied, as summarised in the B2B Social Media Engagement Taxonomy. Enhancing brand image, extending brand awareness and facilitating customer engagement were the most common social media objectives. There was no evidence to suggest that companies saw social media as heralding a paradigm shift in brand management and control of the kind discussed and experienced in B2C social media contexts. The B2B social media strategy framework is proposed; this identifies the following six components of a social media strategy: monitoring and listening, empowering and enagaging employees, creating compelling content, stimulating electronic word of mouth, evaluating and selecting channels, and enhacning brand presence through integrating social media.

Originality/value

The research contributes to the knowledge base associated with social media marketing by offering insights into and a framework summarising B2B social media strategy.