bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Interview with Lara Morgan, author of More Balls than Most
Authors: by Juliet Harrison Interview
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to provide an interview with Lara Morgan, founder and former CEO of Pacific Direct and author of More Balls than Most.

Design/methodology/approach

This briefing is prepared by an independent interviewer

Findings

Lara Morgan is the founder and former CEO of Pacific Direct. Basically a “world‐class saleswoman” with a massive belief in herself and her company, she revolutionized the hotel amenities market, bringing together some of the most famous brands in the world, such as Bulgari, Aveda, The White Company and Penhaligon's.

Practical implications

Lara has worked for 25 years and tried to gather every technique around growing a business, by asking others to offer their expertise in all sorts of areas. She has put all this information online, so that any business leader (or any person) can download and apply in their own company, with the objective of improving growth, improving efficiency and recruiting better people.

Originality/value

Lara discusses her book: More Balls than Most, which covers every aspect of building a profitable business, from learning to display the confidence needed to make those vital first contacts to implementing the creative decisions that will set your business apart from the rest to developing a company culture that will maintain momentum and deliver growth.
Ex ante variables and carve‐out parent returns
Authors: Thompson Thomas H.
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive initial evaluation of the changing issuer objective and partial price adjustment hypotheses as applied to carve‐out parent initial and three‐year returns for the period 1988‐2006.

Design/methodology/approach

Using five primary variables: the percentage of the subsidiary retained by the parent, the ratio of offering size to parent market capitalization, filing range adjustments, the percentage of the offering used to retire subsidiary debt or to pay dividends, and the CBOE volatility index to predict initial and three‐year returns, the paper shows that ex ante variables can predict carve‐out parent initial and three‐year returns.

Findings

The paper shows that public information known prior to the offer date influences 7.52 percent of the variation in announcement, 5.57‐38.31 percent of the variation in ex‐date and 6 percent of the variation in three‐year market‐adjusted equity carve‐out parent returns.

Originality/value

This study makes several contributions to the literature. Although prior studies focus on ex post determinants of equity carve‐out returns, this study is the first to explore ex ante predictors of equity carve‐out parent returns. The implications of these results are that publicly available information known prior to the carve‐out offering date can influence market‐adjusted initial and three‐year parent carve‐out returns and can explain 6‐17 percent of the variation.
A comparison of developed and emerging equity market return volatility at different time scales
Authors: Maharaj Elizabeth A. , Galagedera Don U.A. , Dark Jonathan
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the volatility of daily returns in a sample of developed and emerging equity markets at different time scales through wavelet decomposition. Such information is vital for international investors who have different time horizons for their investment decisions and trading strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

The wavelet technique used here allows the return series to be viewed at different frequency by decomposing the series into different time horizons known as time scales. The decomposed return series enable investigation of return variability at different return intervals.

Findings

In an analysis at different time scales, there is no evidence to suggest that the return dynamics of developed and emerging markets are different. In both types of markets, return variance is time scale dependent, satisfying a pure power law process, and the variability in returns is more likely to be due to the dynamics at the lower time scales. While emerging markets generally exhibit a higher level of volatility, the relative contribution from each time scale is quite similar to that of the developed markets.

Originality/value

The difference in the return dynamics between emerging and developed markets is observed at the lowest time scale. This is an indication that differences in the return dynamics between the two types of markets may be more likely in the short term (high frequency) rather than in the long term. A plausible reason for this is speculative trading. Such information is vital for international investors who have different time horizons for their investment decisions and trading strategies.
Building(s), cybernetically
Authors: Jachna Timothy
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a model of the architectural design process as a set of interlinked conversations, to explain the role of the artifacts of the design process in facilitating these conversations, and to demonstrate alternative perspectives on the architectural process enabled by such a model.

Design/methodology/approach

Applying concepts and terms of Pask's Conversation Theory, the conventional architectural process is analyzed in terms of the nature of the conversations and artifacts at play within each phase. The implications of a rethinking of the architectural process in terms of Conversation Theory are extrapolated.

Findings

A Conversation Theory perspective on the architectural design process reveals the arbitrariness of the convention of the building as a final and fixed product. The introduction of a new class of artifacts in the design process could support a more sustainable and open approach to architecture.

Originality/value

The conceptualization of the software dimension of a building as an “entailment mesh” preserving and perpetuating the shared concepts constructed through the design process contributes new concepts to the discourse of responsive architecture.
Student attitudes towards mobile library services for smartphones
Authors: Paterson Lorraine , Low Boon
Published: September 2011

Purpose

This paper aims to provide quantitative and qualitative data on students' use of mobile devices and to consider the benefit of academic mobile library services to students.

Design/methodology/approach

Initial mobile library research included an online survey that attracted 1,716 participants. This was followed up with two discussion groups of six undergraduate and five postgraduate students. The survey followed‐on from an earlier survey conducted by the University of Edinburgh's Information Services (IS) in March 2010.

Findings

The dramatic growth of smartphone ownership among students in an eight‐month period was surprising: a 17 per cent increase between March and November 2010. In addition, 68 per cent of students who plan to change their mobile handset would upgrade to a smartphone.

Research limitations/implications

As students were unable to provide feedback on University of Edinburgh's own mobile library services, their feedback is speculative and subject to change.

Practical implications

The paper provides evidence for libraries to determine the value of developing their own mobile services. It also demonstrates the proliferation of mobile device usage within the university and library context and indicates which services students would find most useful on a mobile device.

Originality/value

The paper provides insight into a rapidly moving area of technology as demonstrated through the research. The increasing use of mobile devices among students is important to acknowledge. The role of the academic library is to embrace changing student behaviour by providing services optimised for mobile devices.
Librarians alert
Authors: Fourie Ina
Published: September 2011

Purpose

This column aims to explore the potential of personal information management (PIM) and reference management. It seeks to focus on how librarians can stay alert on new developments regarding PIM and related issues such as plagiarism, reference techniques, information literacy and information behaviour. It also tries to stimulate interest in looking for hidden gems that can be of value in their careers as well as those of library users by considering the innovative and creative use of PIM, e.g. by also monitoring the potential of mind maps and concept maps.

Design/methodology/approach

The column is written against the background of research from information behaviour, PIM, information curation, alerts on software development and related issues, and also social bookmarking.

Findings

There are many ways in which librarians can stay abreast of what is happening with PIM, reference management and related issues. There are also many things to note such as improvement of the software, uses of PIM and reference management, teaching skills in PIM and reference management, ways of sharing information, linking to innovation and creativity, and linking to information literacy and information behaviour.

Originality/value

Although much has been published on developments in PIM and reference management, the author is not aware of other attempts to link alerting services on PIM and reference management to go beyond developments in software.
Relationship marketing in supply chain: an empirical analysis in the Brazilian service sector
Authors: Afonso Vieira Valter , Monteiro Plinio R.R. , Teixeira Veiga Ricardo
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to extend the scope of relationship marketing research in a service and developing market context. This is achieved through the development and testing of a theoretical model including antecedents (quality, opportunistic behavior and switching cost), mediators (satisfaction, trust and commitment) and consequences (propensity to maintain, cooperation and communication).

Design/methodology/approach

The study comprises data collected from a range of service firms in a national survey conducted in a Brazilian service provider. The authors sent a cover letter, accompanied by an electronic questionnaire, to suppliers of a tourism company. Confirmatory factor analysis and partial least squares were used to test the model.

Findings

The results show that trust and commitment have strong effects on the final outcome variables of propensity to maintain, cooperation and communication. Trust mediated two of the antecedents, i.e. transaction quality and opportunistic behavior. Commitment only mediated trust on the final outcomes.

Practical implications

Managers of supply relationships are encouraged to develop trust to limit potential negative aspects of the relationship. Combined with trust, commitment is the second half of the two key relationship drivers and should also be fostered.

Originality/value

The perspective of the supplier is a new perspective on the effects of trust and commitment. Contextually, a service provider in an emerging market, Brazil, provides unique extensions to the existing literature.
Can a higher education institution's marketing strategy improve the student‐institution match?
Authors: Moogan Yvonne J.
Published: September 2011

Purpose

Issues such as managing brand image, assessing advertising medium effectiveness and collecting market intelligence are common practice for higher education institutions (HEIs). Consequently, understanding the information needs of potential students to the HEI when they make their decisions is paramount. The aim of this survey is to analyse the decision‐making criteria of new undergraduates enrolling at a UK HEI on their first day in terms of marketing activities employed throughout the decision‐making period during their last 12 months. Focusing in particular on the effectiveness of the dissemination of information with the influences on their decisions of whether or not to keep this HEI in their preferred set and to enrol (purchase) will be investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was designed to establish the key marketing communication activities that contribute to the student decision‐making process. A survey of 318 students enrolling on their first day at a Welsh (traditional) university was achieved from a sampling frame of 469. In order to supplement the literature, four semi structured in‐depth interviews with university staff (the School Manager, School Admissions Tutor, Head of Central Marketing, and Head of Central Recruitment) were also held. These interviews identified the key marketing communication themes (information sources with the application of new technologies in disseminating information during the decision‐making period) that acted as the foundation for the questionnaire. The respondents were asked to consider each phase of the decision‐making process and rank the information sources that had the most impact upon them. Hence a critical incident approach was employed.

Findings

The results show that the respondents did receive adequate information, with details of the programme of study being most important, but they would have preferred greater use of electronic sources and especially from current undergraduates on a regular basis. If the HE senior management knows the impact in terms of the timing and content of marketing activities on potential HE students, there is a better chance of matching the information sources to the needs of the students.

Originality/value

HEIs can do more for potential HE students by trying to offer the most relevant information that will satisfy each of their information needs. It is beneficial for all parties concerned that potential students are better informed and prepared to make those decisions. This is especially true as potential students are frequently young and living at home, planning to consume this “good experience” over a relatively long period of time, and the financial risks with opportunity costs involved are substantial. By addressing potential students' concerns and offering more “tailor‐made” communication strategies to suit them, HEIs can easily segment the market place and then position themselves within the competitive environment.
Relational perspectives on the construction of meaning
Authors: Kyriakidou Olivia
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to defend a social constructionist approach to conceptualizing and managing organizational change. This approach requires that one pays more attention to the relational qualities of ongoing interaction processes among the parties involved, and that the individual and the organization are conceptualized as inextricably linked rather than separate entities to be related. Specifically, the authors take the relationship as constructed by employees as the focus of analysis, illustrating that by focusing on the relational quality of the interface between individuals and organizations, new possibilities for dialogue among parties can be created and new ways of intervening can be contemplated.

Design/methodology/approach

To illustrate this argument, a detailed case study of a planned change scenario is described, looking in particular at the way employees construct the change as a basis for identifying the core elements of meaning construction in this instance.

Findings

The findings reveal that contrary to management assumptions, employees interpret change as either attractive or non‐engaging rather than as either a threat or an opportunity. The findings highlight the importance of actively managing the attractiveness of the new organization (its corporate identity and image) as an integral part of the change effort rather than focusing solely on strategic issues.

Originality/value

This paper tries to develop a better understanding of “relational perspectives on the construction of meaning” as they relate to organizational change, especially the kind of broad‐ranging, transformational change. Understanding change events of this type from the perspective of those involved is an important task for organizational scholars. Moreover, it tries to integrate a number of distinct but potential complementary theoretical perspectives, including the social construction of reality, negotiation and argumentation, the negotiated order perspective, sensemaking, personal construct psychology, thematic networks, and identity. Finally, it attempts to ground its inquiry in the words and constructs of those involved in the change process, rather than trying to impose pre‐existing organizational theories on the observed events.
Product/customer scope
Authors: Pehrsson Anders
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the competition antecedents and performance effects of firm product/customer scope, and the moderating role of market growth.

Design/methodology/approach

The theoretical model follows the contingency perspective on strategy and draws on the strategy and competitive dynamics literature. A questionnaire was used to gather the quantitative data for testing the hypotheses using regression analyses. The questionnaires were completed by executives of 432 Swedish industrial firms serving business customers. The firms offering clean technology products operate in growing markets while the firms offering miscellaneous products operate in mature markets.

Findings

Competition is an antecedent of firm product/customer scope. The more competitive the action of the main competitor, the more limited the customer scope of the firm if it operates in a mature market. The impact of the main competitor's scope is robust across all market contexts. Furthermore, the broader the product scope of the firm, the better the financial performance if the firm operates in a growing market.

Research limitations/implications

The study contributes theoretically, as it extends our knowledge of crucial relationships of firm product/market scope. A firm must be aware of its main competitor's scope and action, and adapt its scope to the level of market growth.

Originality/value

The theoretical model and the tests go beyond those used in previous research. Another key value is the analysis of perceptual data gathered from executives. Earlier studies of competition assume equal perceptions among competing firms and do not acknowledge that market contexts are ambiguous realities.
Indices, firm identity and performance: implications from the European financial services
Authors: Eldomiaty Tarek , Behery Mohamed , Ju Choi Chong , Ramzy Omar A.
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine and analyze the significant qualitative factors that affect the financial performance of financial firms. The authors argue that those factors can be used as “indices of identity” or external cues that help financial firms enhance their relative position in the marketplace. This can be done by focusing on the indices that are highly and positively associated with financial performance measures. This is a practical approach since the financial products are characterized by intrinsic intangibility.

Design/methodology/approach

The researchers empirically test this framework in a sample of the European banking industry. The methodology utilizes the benefits of the “content analysis,” that focuses on the critical observed elements of firm identity as published in the most recognized publications. The indices of identity examined in this paper are reputation for clients, age, CEO, size, country of origin, geographic spread, and profits. Measures of financial performance include: return on assets, non‐performing loans/total loans, shareholder equity/total assets and deposits/total assets.

Findings

The results show that indices of identity are positively related to corporate financial performance and thus can effectively help firms be well recognized by other actors in the marketplace.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the literature in two ways. First, the paper shows how firm's indices of identity can be quantified through the use of content analysis. Second, the paper creates an association between the indices of identity and financial performance. This association offers a quantitative approach that shows the possibilities of overcoming the problems of intangibility in the marketplace.
The impact of an educational intervention to protect women against the influence of media images
Authors: Ogden Jane , Smith Lauren , Nolan Helen , Moroney Rachel , Lynch Hannah
Published: September 2011

Purpose

Media images of unrealistic beauty have been identified as a determinant of women's body dissatisfaction. This experimental study aims to explore whether the negative impact of such images could be reduced by a one‐time educational intervention consisting of a presentation and discussion, teaching women to be critical of media images.

Design/methodology/approach

Female psychology students (n=176) from a university in the UK were randomly assigned to the control or intervention group and completed measures of body dissatisfaction after being challenged by images of the perfect female body. Follow up data were collected four weeks later.

Findings

The results suggested that the intervention had no immediate buffering effect on body dissatisfaction but participants in the intervention group showed a long‐term improvement for confidence, attractiveness and body‐parts dissatisfaction.

Practical implications

This one‐time intervention could be used to protect young women against the detrimental impact of media images in the longer term.

Originality/value

This study provides an evidence base for the use of an educational intervention for young people in schools and colleges.
Health‐related barriers to learning among graduate students
Authors: Kernan William , Bogart Jane , Wheat Mary E.
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report the perceived impact of various health concerns on the academic performance of health sciences graduate students.

Design/methodology/approach

The American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment (ACHA‐NCHA), a 58‐item anonymous survey, was distributed to all graduate health science students during a five‐week period in the spring semester.

Findings

Students (n=1,355) were most likely to report a negative perceived academic impact related to psychosocial concerns such as stress, depression/anxiety, and relationship problems. The students' most pressing felt concerns were upper respiratory infections, stress, concerns about troubled loved ones and sleep difficulties. Clinical graduate students (n=712) were significantly more likely to report negative academic impacts related to upper respiratory infections (p=0.001), concern about a troubled friend or family member (p=0.001), sleep difficulties (p=0.005), relationship difficulties (p=0.030), and internet use/computer games (p=0.015) than non‐clinical graduate students. However, the magnitude of those differences was small.

Practical implications

This paper adds to one's knowledge of student health concerns, which may help to address health‐related barriers to learning.

Originality/value

This paper presents findings that further explicate the reciprocal relationship between student health and learning by suggesting methodology to identify priority health issues among a graduate student population. Findings from this study of over 20 different health concerns indicate that the priority health concerns of graduate health science students are primarily psychological and psychosocial health issues.
Learning amongst Norwegian fire‐fighters
Authors: Sommer Morten , Njå Ove
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to reveal and analyse dominant learning processes in emergency response work from the fire‐fighters' point of view, and how fire‐fighters develop their competence.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopted an explorative approach using participant observation. The objective of this open‐minded approach was to discover how, when and where learning took place.

Findings

There are several areas for learning that contribute to fire‐fighters' development of competence: training, exercises, responses to incidents, storytelling, discussions, lectures, courses, introduction of new technology/knowledge and reading of articles/literature. However, learning to act appropriately in emergency situations is mainly a result of the embodiment of skills and knowledge (getting the feel of it, or “getting it in the finger” as the Norwegian idiom puts it), personal experience and interpersonal sharing of stories.

Research limitations/implications

The study concludes that learning amongst fire‐fighters follows a process of legitimate peripheral participation, as well as learning being a personal development for the individual fire‐fighter. A combination of a socio‐cultural approach to learning and an individual cognitive approach is thus needed to fully understand learning processes.

Practical implications

Learning can be improved by actors becoming more reflexive practitioners, where responses are critically evaluated and established knowledge and practice are questioned. Efforts to improve learning amongst fire‐fighters should accordingly include systematic sharing of experiences and development of more challenging exercises which will help to enhance bodily experience of new knowledge.

Originality/value

This study extends current understanding of learning and competence development in emergency work. It presents essential learning activities, in addition to the dominant learning mechanism in personal development. The study clarifies the potential for learning through planned learning processes as opposed to the contribution from informal,ad hoc,socio‐cultural means of learning.
Restoring coverage area for WSN through simulated annealing
Authors: Habib Sami J. , Marimuthu Paulvanna N.
Published: September 2011

Purpose

Continuous exposure and over‐utilization of sensors in harsh environments can lead some sensors to fail, and thereby not covering the service area effectively and efficiently. The purpose of this paper is to propose a two‐level coverage restoration scheme for the failing sensors by the existing sensors deployed in the immediate neighborhood of the failing sensors. The restoration scheme extends the search process to the set of failed sensors' corner neighbors at a second stage, with non‐available immediate active neighboring sensors at its first stage. Thus, the coverage restoration scheme attempts to sustain a maximum area of coverage with failed sensors.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors have considered a wireless sensor network (WSN), comprised of sensors deployed in a grid‐based arrangement in an inaccessible arena. The authors have formulated the coverage restoration problem as an optimization problem, to find the nearest and most apt neighbor sensors to reach solutions of maximizing the coverage area with failed sensors, while minimizing the energy consumption. Simulated annealing has been utilized as a search algorithm to find out the neighboring sensors with maximal energy in the vicinity of the failed node to cover its area.

Findings

The experimental results within the optimization algorithm have demonstrated that the restoration scheme shows a better trade‐off in maximizing the coverage area up to 90 per cent with a decrease of 26 per cent lifespan. The performance of the algorithm is further improved with extended search space including the corner neighbors in addition to the immediate neighbors.

Practical implications

The proposed coverage restoration can be embedded within applications using WSN to restore the coverage and maintain its functionality with optimized energy consumption.

Originality/value

The paper employs a novel framework to restore the coverage of the failed sensors by doubling the sensing area of the neighborhood sensors, and it utilizes an optimization scheme to search for neighborhood sensors with maximal energy to extend the lifespan of WSN.
A method to reduce waiting time on node relay‐based webcast for selective contents
Authors: Gotoh Yusuke , Yoshihisa Tomoki , Taniguchi Hideo , Kanazawa Masanori
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reduce the waiting time on webcast for selective contents, by proposing a scheduling method called the “contents prefetched broadcasting considering user participation” (CPB‐CP) method.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors analyze and evaluate the performance of the proposed CPB‐CP method.

Findings

It is confirmed that the proposed method gives shorter average waiting time than the conventional methods.

Research limitations/implications

A future direction of this study will involve making a scheduling method in the case where the playing time of each content item is different.

Practical implications

In selective contents delivery, users may wait for the next bit of content to start playing after watching the previous one. In quiz programs, users may wait to receive the content data for their selected answer after they select their answer.

Originality/value

In the CPB‐CP method, when a provider node pulls out of the network while delivering contents, waiting time is reduced effectively by reconstructing a delivery schedule that considers the available bandwidth of each provider node.
Does a web site's country of origin impact equally on young and adult consumers?
Authors: Hadjikhani Amjad , Safari Aswo , Thilenius Peter
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose is to gain deeper knowledge of young consumers' purchasing behaviour towards web sites' country of origin and compare this with the behaviour of adults. The question is why web sites from some countries are perceived as safe and others as risky and insecure.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach was to undertake a focus group methodology for data collection. Two young consumers' groups and two adults' groups are interviewed. Their behaviours towards web sites from Sweden, Russia and Australia are examined. The theoretical view is constructed on relationship elements of trust, commitment and the surrounding networks.

Findings

The research provides an insight into the young consumers' purchasing behaviour towards web sites from different countries and concludes how and why this is similar to or different from that of the adult consumers.

Practical implications

The higher risk‐taking manner of young consumers can help families to pay more attention to their youngsters' purchasing behaviour. It aids business firms to understand why some groups of consumers avoid purchasing from their web sites.

Originality/value

It is an answer to the recent researchers' claim for the need to understand young consumers' behaviour towards web sites from different countries. The development of the theoretical view and the results obtained can add new knowledge and construct new understanding of the phenomenon.
Brand personality and customer trust in community pharmacies
Authors: Perepelkin Jason , Di Zhang David
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The community pharmacy industry is an increasingly competitive sector, where independent pharmacies must compete with national and multinational chains for market share. Each pharmacy seeks to differentiate and earn customer trust. The purpose of this paper is to seek to better understand the effectiveness of differentiating via developing a unique corporate brand personality in the pursuit of customer trust.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was conducted in a small city in Western Canada. Patients who have recently filled a prescription were asked to assess their perceptions about the brand personality of the pharmacy they last visited, and evaluate how much they trust the pharmacy. Data were analyzed using SPSS and structural equation modeling (SEM).

Findings

The results indicated that significant brand personality differences exist among various types of pharmacies. Customers rated independent pharmacies slightly more trustworthy than multinational mass merchandise and national chain pharmacies. SEM analysis revealed that sincerity and competence have the most significant impact on building customer trust.

Originality/value

The findings suggest that independent pharmacies may be able to differentiate themselves by developing a brand personality that is competent and sincere, whereby they earn the trust from their customers. The authors' findings also suggest that a sophisticated appearance might be an expensive option that does not provide satisfactory return on the investment.
Talent reviews: the key to effective succession management
Authors: Stadler Karien
Published: September 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to discuss succession management within the context of talent management, with specific reference to the role of talent reviews in the identification, development and retention of potential successors for critical job roles at different organizational levels.

Design/methodology/approach

The article utilizes a case study of talent reviews from a Saudi Arabian mining company, explores the different succession management approaches and highlights emerging best practice solutions in the field. In the case study, the primary task was to evaluate a sample of 59 executives and senior managers against the company's leadership competency framework in order to support them in a structured career development process within the context of the company's talent strategy.

Findings

The main findings indicate that the sample's strategic thinking ability and leadership skills are generally weak and that the current leadership capabilities might not be aligned with the company's growth strategy.

Practical implications

To enhance the talent review process, companies should: apply additional measures to develop a more complete picture of individual capability; fast‐track the talent review process; create a talent score card; review selection practice; determine retention risk by means of a risk‐criticality analyses; and implement individual conversations about performance and career development.

Originality/value

The article has found that talent review is a powerful intervention tool that helps to identify high‐potential employees and future leaders, determine bench strength at a specific level and identify talent gaps, organizational capability and risks. This study contributes to the practice of strategic human resources management with implications for succession management.
Managing bilingual employees: communication strategies for hospitality managers
Authors: Dawson Mary , Madera Juan M. , Neal Jack A.
Published: September 2011

Purpose

One out of four foodservice employees speaks a foreign language at home. Furthermore, 37 percent of those employees speak limited English. Given this, hospitality managers must find ways to effectively communicate with their employees. This paper seeks to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology employed a perspective‐taking manipulation. Participants were placed in the role of an individual that does not speak the native language that is used in the workplace. Groups were measured on performance, quality, and accuracy. Groups were video‐taped to measure frequency of non‐verbal behaviors. Participants were surveyed to measure their levels of positivity.

Findings

The results of this study identified effective non‐verbal communication strategies for managers (combination of gestures, demonstrating, and pointing). When the leader used these strategies, the groups were able to complete the recipes faster. Managers who spoke another language expressed a more positive behavior towards the group. The group also expressed more positive behaviors towards each other when they had a second language leader.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation is that data were collected from students and the methodology simulated an environment of limited language proficiency. Although this method has been shown to be effective, the true experiences of what non‐English speaking workers might face include more complex processes.

Practical implications

This research suggests that non‐verbal tools are effective when communication barriers exist. Managers who are multiculturally competent are more efficient in leading employees. Positive feedback must be given even if it is non‐verbal.

Originality/value

This research offers valuable strategies for hospitality managers to communicate with those employees who speak limited English.
Delay discounting by adolescents experimenting with cigarette smoking
Authors: Reynolds Brady , Fields Sherecce
Published: September 2011

Aims  To evaluate delay discounting and self‐reported impulsive behavior in a sample of adolescents experimenting with cigarette smoking compared with adolescents who had never smoked or were daily smokers.

Design  A cross‐sectional design was used to compare smoking‐status groups.

Setting  Columbus, Ohio, a city of approximately 780 000 people.

Participants  A sample of 141 male and female adolescents with a mean age of 15.37 (standard deviation = 1.09) years.

Measurements  Primary measures included a computerized assessment of delay discounting, a self‐report assessment of impulsivity [Barratt Impulsiveness Scale—adolescent (BIS‐11‐A)] and verifications of cigarette smoking status (breath carbon monoxide and urinary cotinine level).

Findings  Smokers discounted more by delay and had higher impulsivity scores than non‐smokers. Experimenters had scores intermediate to those of smokers and non‐smokers on both measures. In some analyses the difference between experimenters and non‐smokers was significant, with experimenters showing greater delay discounting, but in no case did experimenters differ significantly from the smokers.

Conclusions  Young people who experiment with cigarettes appear to be similar to those who smoke regularly in terms of tendency to discount future gains and report impulsive tendencies, and generally higher in these traits than non‐smokers.
Thermal Weight Functions and Stress Intensity Factors for Bonded Dissimilar Media Using Body Analogy
Authors: Khandelwal Ratnesh , Chandra Kishen J. M.
Published: September 2011

In this study, an analytical method is presented for the computation of thermal weight functions in two dimensional bi-material elastic bodies containing a crack at the interface and subjected to thermal loads using body analogy method. The thermal weight functions are derived for two problems of infinite bonded dissimilar media, one with a semi-infinite crack and the other with a finite crack along the interface. The derived thermal weight functions are shown to reduce to the already known expressions of thermal weight functions available in the literature for the respective homogeneous elastic body. Using these thermal weight functions, the stress intensity factors are computed for the above interface crack problems when subjected to an instantaneous heat source.
Solution of the Forward Dynamics of a Single-loop Linkage Using Power Series
Authors: Milenkovic Paul
Published: September 2011

The kinematic differential equations express the paths taken by points, lines, and coordinate frames attached to a rigid body in terms of the instantaneous screw for the motion of that body. Such differential equations are linear but with a time-varying coefficient and hence solvable by power series. A single-loop kinematic chain may be expressed by a system of such differential equations subject to a linear constraint. A single matrix factorization followed by a sequence of substitutions of linear-system right-hand-side terms determines successive orders of the joint rate coefficients in the kinematic solution for this mechanism. The present work extends this procedure to the forward dynamics problem, applying it to a Clemens constant-velocity coupling expressed as a spatial 9R closed kinematic chain.
Mueller polarimetry as a tool for detecting asymmetry in diffraction grating profiles
Authors: Novikova Tatiana , Bulkin Pavel , Popov Vladimir , Haj Ibrahim Bicher , De Martino Antonello
Published: September 2011

Reflected Mueller matrix spectra were measured and simulated for asymmetrical photoresist master diffraction gratings in conical mounting (i.e., the direction of grating grooves was not perpendicular to the plane of light incidence). From the electromagnetic reciprocity theorem, Mueller matrix of symmetric grating (composed of only reciprocal materials, and operating in zeroth-order diffraction) is invariant under transposition (M=Mt). For zeroth-order diffraction of asymmetric gratings, the lack of profile rotational symmetry violates this reciprocity and, consequently, breaks the symmetry of the above-mentioned matrix. This property of the Mueller matrix of asymmetric gratings was experimentally observed and numerically modeled at all experimental illumination conditions with the exception of planar mounting (the direction of grating grooves was perpendicular to the plane of light incidence), where there is no cross-polarization effect for the gratings composed of isotropic materials. It was demonstrated that optical nonreciprocity of diffraction gratings can be used for unambiguous detection of grating profile asymmetry. In addition, choosing optimal measurement configuration (i.e., azimuthal angles) considerably increases the sensitivity of the detection technique.
Generalized Schemes for High-Throughput Manipulation of the Desulfovibrio vulgaris Genome
Authors: Chhabra S. R. , Butland G. , Elias D. A. , Chandonia J.-M. , Fok O.-Y. , Juba T. R. , Gorur A. , Allen S. , Leung C. M. , Keller K. L. , Reveco S. , Zane G. M. , Semkiw E. , Prathapam R. , Gold B. , Singer M. , Ouellet M. , Szakal E. D. , Jorgens D. , Price M. N. , Witkowska H. E. , Beller H. R. , Arkin A. P. , Hazen T. C. , Biggin M. D. , Auer M. , Wall J. D. , Keasling J. D.
Published: September 2011

The ability to conduct advanced functional genomic studies of the thousands of sequenced bacteria has been hampered by the lack of available tools for making high-throughput chromosomal manipulations in a systematic manner that can be applied across diverse species. In this work, we highlight the use of synthetic biological tools to assemble custom suicide vectors with reusable and interchangeable DNA “parts” to facilitate chromosomal modification at designated loci. These constructs enable an array of downstream applications, including gene replacement and the creation of gene fusions with affinity purification or localization tags. We employed this approach to engineer chromosomal modifications in a bacterium that has previously proven difficult to manipulate genetically,Desulfovibrio vulgarisHildenborough, to generate a library of over 700 strains. Furthermore, we demonstrate how these modifications can be used for examining metabolic pathways, protein-protein interactions, and protein localization. The ubiquity of suicide constructs in gene replacement throughout biology suggests that this approach can be applied to engineer a broad range of species for a diverse array of systems biological applications and is amenable to high-throughput implementation.
Burkholderia Species Are Major Inhabitants of White Lupin Cluster Roots
Authors: Weisskopf Laure , Heller Stefanie , Eberl Leo
Published: September 2011

The formation of cluster roots by plants represents a highly efficient strategy for acquisition of sparingly available phosphate. This particular root type is characterized by a densely branched structure and high exudation of organic acids and protons, which are likely to influence the resident bacterial community. Until now, the identity of the bacterial populations living in cluster roots has not been investigated. We applied cultivation-dependent and cultivation-independent methods to characterize the dominant bacterial genera inhabiting the growing cluster roots of white lupin. We observed a high relative abundance of
Burkholderia
species (up to 58% of all isolated strains and 44% of all retrieved 16S rRNA sequences) and a significant enrichment with increasing cluster root age. Most of the sequences retrieved clustered together with known plant- or fungus-associated
Burkholderia
species, while only one of 98 sequences was affiliated with the
Burkholderia cepacia
complex.
In vitro
assays revealed that
Burkholderia
strains were much more tolerant to low pH than non-
Burkholderia
strains. Moreover, many strains produced large amounts of siderophores and were able to utilize citrate and oxalate as carbon sources. These features seem to represent important traits for the successful colonization and maintenance of
Burkholderia
species in white lupin cluster roots.
Molecular Detection and Identification of Bartonella Species in Xenopsylla cheopis Fleas (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) Collected from Rattus norvegicus Rats in Los Angeles, California
Authors: Billeter Sarah A. , Gundi Vijay A. K. B. , Rood Michael P. , Kosoy Michael Y.
Published: September 2011

Of 200 individual
Xenopsylla cheopis
fleas removed from
Rattus norvegicus
rats trapped in downtown Los Angeles, CA, 190 (95%) were positive for the presence of
Bartonella
DNA. Ninety-one amplicons were sequenced:
Bartonella rochalimae
-like DNA was detected in 66 examined fleas, and
Bartonella tribocorum
-like DNA was identified in 25 fleas. The data obtained from this study demonstrate an extremely high prevalence of
Bartonella
DNA in rat-associated fleas.
In Vitro
Detection and Quantification of Botulinum Neurotoxin Type E Activity in Avian Blood
Authors: Piazza Timothy M. , Blehert David S. , Dunning F. Mark , Berlowski-Zier Brenda M. , Zeytin Füsûn N. , Samuel Michael D. , Tucker Ward C.
Published: September 2011

Botulinum neurotoxin serotype E (BoNT/E) outbreaks in the Great Lakes region cause large annual avian mortality events, with an estimated 17,000 bird deaths reported in 2007 alone. During an outbreak investigation, blood collected from bird carcasses is tested for the presence of BoNT/E using the mouse lethality assay. While sensitive, this method is labor-intensive and low throughput and can take up to 7 days to complete. We developed a rapid and sensitive
in vitro
assay, the BoTest Matrix E assay, that combines immunoprecipitation with high-affinity endopeptidase activity detection by Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) to rapidly quantify BoNT/E activity in avian blood with detection limits comparable to those of the mouse lethality assay. On the basis of the analysis of archived blood samples (
n
= 87) collected from bird carcasses during avian mortality investigations, BoTest Matrix E detected picomolar quantities of BoNT/E following a 2-h incubation and femtomolar quantities of BoNT/E following extended incubation (24 h) with 100% diagnostic specificity and 91% diagnostic sensitivity.