bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Favorable Outcomes Using an eHealth Approach to Promote Physical Activity and Nutrition Among Young African American Women
Authors: Staffileno Beth A. , Tangney Christy C. , Fogg Louis
Published: May 2017

Background:

Internet and mobile devices are widely used and provide alternative approaches for promoting healthy lifestyles, yet less information is available describing outcomes of these approaches when used with young African American (AA) women at risk for developing hypertension.

Objective:

In this study, we evaluated a Web-based, culturally relevant lifestyle change intervention targeting AA women (referred to as the eHealth study).

Methods:

African American women, aged 18 to 45 years, with untreated prehypertension and Internet access were eligible for a 12-week study that incorporated social cognitive theory strategies. Participants were randomized to (1) lifestyle physical activity (PA) or (2) Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) online education modules.

Results:

The 14 DASH and 12 PA participant attributes were similar at baseline. The DASH participants had a significant change in total DASH score (P = .001) and large effect sizes for DASH components (vegetables, 0.84; nonfat dairy, 0.71; fruit, 0.62). The PA participants had a favorable change (+39%) in pedometer steps (P = .055). With respect to weight change, a large effect size was observed for PA (0.84) and smaller for DASH participants (0.18). Seventy-one percent of DASH and 48% of PA participants completed program activities, corresponding to a moderate difference in program engagement between groups (d = 0.58).

Conclusion:

Our eHealth platform provides an alternative approach for reaching young AA women and was successful with respect to improving PA and dietary behaviors. Furthermore, the eHealth approach has the potential as a powerful program for changing health behaviors for other at-risk populations.
Molecular characterization of ‘Candidatus Borrelia tachyglossi’ (family Spirochaetaceae) in echidna ticks, Bothriocroton concolor
Authors: Loh Siew-May , Gillett Amber , Ryan Una , Irwin Peter , Oskam Charlotte
Published: May 2017

Recently, a novel species of the genus

Borrelia

was identified in Bothriocroton concolor and Ixodes holocyclus ticks from echidnas. Analyses of 16S rRNA and flaB genes identified three closely related genotypes of this bacterium (

Borrelia

sp. Aus A-C) that were unique and distinct from previously described borreliae. Phylogenetic analyses of flaB (763 bp), groEL (1537 bp), gyrB (1702 bp) and glpQ (874 bp) gene sequences and concatenated sequences (3585 bp) of three gene loci (16S rRNA, flaB and gyrB) were consistent with previous findings and confirm that this novel species of the genus

Borrelia

is more closely related to, yet distinct from, the Reptile-associated (REP) and Relapsing Fever (RF) groups. At the flaB locus, genotypes A, B and C shared the highest percentage sequence similarities (87.9, 88 and 87.9 %, respectively) with B.orrelia turcica (REP), whereas at the groEL and gyrB loci, these genotypes were most similar (88.2–89.4 %) to B.orrelia hermsii (RF). At the glpQ locus, genotypes A and B were most similar (85.7 and 85.4 % respectively) to

Borrelia

sp. Tortoise14H1 (REP). The presence of the glpQ gene, which is absent in the Lyme Borreliosis group spirochaetes, further emphasises that the novel species of the genus

Borrelia

characterized in the present study does not belong to this group. Phylogenetic analyses at multiple loci produced consistent topographies revealing the monophyletic grouping of this bacterium, therefore providing strong support for its species status. We propose the name ‘Candidatus

Borrelia
tachyglossi’, and hypothesize that this species of the genus

Borrelia

may be endemic to Australia. The pathogenic potential of this bacterium is not yet known.
Differentially expressed genes during spontaneous lytic switch of Marek's disease virus in lymphoblastoid cell lines determined by global gene expression profiling
Authors: Mwangi William N , Vasoya Deepali , Kgosana Lydia B , Watson Mick , Nair Venugopal
Published: May 2017

Marek’s disease virus (MDV), an alphaherpesvirus of poultry, causes Marek’s disease and is characterized by visceral CD4+TCRαβ+ T-cell lymphomas in susceptible hosts. Immortal cell lines harbouring the viral genome have been generated from ex vivo cultures of MD tumours. As readily available sources of large numbers of cells, MDV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) are extremely valuable for studies of virus–host interaction. While the viral genome in most cells is held in a latent state, minor populations of cells display spontaneous reactivation identifiable by the expression of lytic viral genes. Spontaneous reactivation in these cells presents an opportunity to investigate the biological processes involved in the virus reactivation. For detailed characterization of the molecular events associated with reactivation, we used two lymphoblastoid cell lines derived from lymphomas induced by pRB1B-UL47eGFP, a recombinant MDV engineered to express enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) fused with the UL47. We used fluorescence-activated cell sorting to purify the low-frequency EGFP-positive cells with a spontaneously activating viral genome from the majority EGFP-negative cells and analysed their gene expression profiles by RNA-seq using Illumina HiSeq2500. Ingenuity pathway analysis on more than 2000 differentially expressed genes between the lytically infected (EGFP-positive) and latently infected (EGFP-negative) cell populations identified the biological pathways involved in the reactivation. Virus-reactivating cells exhibited differential expression of a significant number of viral genes, with hierarchical differences in expression levels. Downregulation of a number of host genes including those directly involved in T-cell activation, such as CD3, CD28, ICOS and phospholipase C, was also noticed in the LCL undergoing lytic switch.
A Survey of Genome Editing Activity for 16 Cpf1 orthologs
Authors: Zetsche Bernd , Strecker Jonathan , Abudayyeh Omar O. , Gootenberg Jonathan S. , Scott David A. , Zhang Feng
Published: May 2017

The recently discovered class 2 CRISPR-Cas endonuclease Cpf1 offers several advantages over Cas9, including the ability to process its own array and requirement for just a single RNA guide. These attributes make Cpf1 promising for many genome engineering applications. To further expand the suite of Cpf1 tools available, we tested 16 Cpf1 orthologs for activity in eukaryotic cells. Four of these new enzymes demonstrated targeted activity, one of which, fromMoraxella bovoculiAAX11_00205 (Mb3Cpf1), exhibited robust indel formation. We also show that Mb3Cpf1 displays some tolerance for a shortened PAM (TTN versus the canonical Cpf1 PAM TTTV). The addition of these enzymes to the genome editing toolbox will further expand the utility of this powerful technology.
The N-terminal domain of ALS-linked TDP-43 assembles without misfolding
Authors: Tsoi Phoebe S. , Choi Kyoungjae J. , Leonard Paul G. , Sizovs Antons , Moosa Mahdi Muhammad , MacKenzie Kevin R. , Ferreon Josephine C. , Ferreon Allan Chris M.
Published: May 2017

TDP-43 forms inclusions in several neurodegenerative diseases, and both its N- and C-terminal domains are implicated in this process. We show that the folded TDP-43 N-terminal domain oligomerizes under physiological conditions and propose that, in full-length TDP-43, association between folded N-terminal domains enhances the propensity of the intrinsically unfolded C-terminal domains to drive pathological aggregation.
Pathway crosstalk enables cells to interpret TGF-β duration
Authors: Zhang Jingyu , Tian Xiao-Jun , Chen Yi-Jiun , Wang Weikang , Watkins Simon , Xing Jianhua
Published: May 2017

The detection and transmission of the temporal quality of intracellular and extracellular signals is an essential cellular mechanism. It remains largely unexplored how cells interpret the duration information of a stimulus. In this paper, through an integrated quantitative and computational approach we demonstrate that crosstalk among multiple TGF-β activated pathways forms a relay from SMAD to GLI1 that initializes and maintains SNAILl expression, respectively. This transaction is smoothed and accelerated by another temporal switch from elevated cytosolic GSK3 enzymatic activity to reduced nuclear GSK3 enzymatic activity. The intertwined network places SNAIL1 as a key integrator of information from TGF-β signaling subsequently distributed through upstream divergent pathways; essentially cells generate a transient or sustained expression of SNAIL1 depending on TGF-β duration. Other signaling pathways may use similar network structure to encode duration information.
Real-time demultiplexing Nanopore barcoded sequencing data with npBarcode
Authors: Nguyen Son Hoang , Duarte Tania , Coin Lachlan J. M. , Cao Minh Duc
Published: May 2017

Motivation

The recently introduced barcoding protocol to Oxford Nanopore sequencing has increased the versatility of the technology. Several bioinformatic tools have been developed to demultiplex the barcoded reads, but none of them support the streaming analysis. This limits the use of pooled sequencing in real-time applications, which is one of the main advantages of the technology.

Results

We introduced npBarcode, an open source and cross platform tool for barcode demultiplex in streaming fashion. npBarcode can be seamlessly integrated into a streaming analysis pipeline. The tool also provides a friendly graphical user interface through npReader, allowing the real-time visual monitoring of the sequencing progress of barcoded samples. We show that npBarcode achieves comparable accuracies to the other alternatives.

Availability

npBarcode is bundled in Japsa - a Java tools kit for genome analysis, and is freely available athttps://github.com/hsnguyen/npBarcode.
Deep Phenotyping: Deep Learning for Temporal Phenotype/Genotype Classification
Authors: Namin Sarah Taghavi , Esmaeilzadeh Mohammad , Najafi Mohammad , Brown Tim B. , Borevitz Justin O.
Published: May 2017

High resolution and high throughput, genotype to phenotype studies in plants are underway to accelerate breeding of climate ready crops. Complex developmental phenotypes are observed by imaging a variety of accessions in different environment conditions, however extracting the genetically heritable traits is challenging. In the recent years, deep learning techniques and in particular Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) and Long-Short Term Memories (LSTMs), have shown great success in visual data recognition, classification, and sequence learning tasks. In this paper, we proposed a CNN-LSTM framework for plant classification of various genotypes. Here, we exploit the power of deep CNNs for joint feature and classifier learning, within an automatic phenotyping scheme for genotype classification. Further, plant growth variation over time is also important in phenotyping their dynamic behavior. This was fed into the deep learning framework using LSTMs to model these temporal cues for different plant accessions. We generated a replicated dataset of four accessions of Arabidopsis and carried out automated phenotyping experiments. The results provide evidence of the benefits of our approach over using traditional hand-crafted image analysis features and other genotype classification frameworks. We also demonstrate that temporal information further improves the performance of the phenotype classification system.
A cell culture platform forcryptosporidiumthat enables long-term cultivation and new tools for the systematic investigation of its biology
Authors: Miller Christopher N. , Jossé Lyne , Brown Ian , Blakeman Ben , Povey Jane , Yiangou Lyto , Price Mark , Cinatl Jindrich , Xue Wei-Feng , Michaelis Martin , Tsaousis Anastasios D.
Published: May 2017

Cryptosporidiumparasites are a major cause of diarrhoea that pose a particular threat to children in developing areas and immunocompromised individuals. Curative therapies and vaccines are lacking. Currently,Cryptosporidiumoocysts for research must be freshly produced in animals and cannot be long-term stored. Here, we show that COLO-680N cells infected with two differentCryptosporidium parvumstrains (Moredun, Iowa) produce sufficient infectious oocysts to infect subsequent cultures. Oocyst identity was confirmed by specific staining (Crypt-a-glo, Vicia Villosa lectin, Sporo-glo), PCR-based amplification ofCryptosporidium-specific genes, lipidomics fingerprinting, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Antibody-stained oocysts produced unstained oocysts confirming production of novel oocysts. Infected cultures could be cryoconserved and continued to produce infectious oocysts after resuscitation. Transmission electron microscopy identified all keyCryptosporidiumlife cycle stages. Infected cultures produced thick-walled (primarily involved inCryptosporidiumtransmission between organisms) and thin-walled oocysts (important forCryptosporidiumpropagation within a host/tissue) as indicated by DAPI staining (only thin-walled oocysts are permeable to DAPI staining, thus allowing visualisation of sporozoites) and AFM. In conclusion, we present a novel, easy-to-handle cell culture system that enables the propagation, cryopreservation and detailed investigation ofCryptosporidiumat a laboratory scale. Its availability will accelerate research onCryptosporidiumand the development of anti-Cryptosporidiumdrugs.
Aubergine and piRNAs repress the proto-oncogeneCblfor germline stem cell self-renewal
Authors: Rojas-Ríos Patricia , Chartier Aymeric , Simonelig Martine
Published: May 2017

PIWI proteins have essential roles in germ cells and stem cell lineages. InDrosophila, Piwi is required in somatic niche cells and germline stem cells (GSCs) for GSC self-renewal and differentiation. Whether and how other PIWI proteins are involved in GSC biology remains unknown. Here, we show that Aubergine (Aub), another PIWI protein, is intrinsically required in GSCs for their self-renewal and differentiation. Aub loading with piRNAs is essential for these functions. The major role of Aub is in self-renewal and depends on mRNA regulation. We identify theCblproto-oncogene, a regulator of mammalian hematopoietic stem cells, as a novel GSC differentiation factor. Aub repressesCblmRNA translation for GSC self-renewal, and does so through recruitment of the CCR4-NOT complex. This study reveals the role of piRNAs and PIWI proteins in translational repression for stem cell homeostasis and highlights piRNAs as major post-transcriptional regulators in key developmental decisions.
Crystal structure and electrostatic properties of prednisolone acetate studied using a transferred multipolar atom model
Authors: Shahid Ammara , Noureen Sajida , Choudhary Muhammad Iqbal , Yousuf Sammer , Ahmed Maqsood
Published: May 2017

Prednisolone acetate {systematic name: 2-[(8S,9S,10R,13S,14S,17R)-11,17-dihydroxy-10,13-dimethyl-3-oxo-6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-3H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-17-yl]-2-oxoethyl acetate}, is an ophthalmic drug that belongs to the class of corticosteroids. Its crystal structure was refined using the classical independent atom model (IAM) and a transferred multipolar atom model using the ELMAM2 database. The results of both refinements have been compared. The ELMAM2 refinement was found to be superior in terms of the refinement statistics. It has been shown that certain electron-density-derived properties can be calculated on the basis of the transferred parameters for crystals which diffract to ordinary resolution. The procedure proves helpful in understanding the mode of action of the drug molecule.
Crystal structures of three N-(3-acetylphenyl)quinoline-2-carboxamides
Authors: Peña-Solórzano Diana , König Burkhard , Sierra Cesar A. , Ochoa-Puentes Cristian
Published: May 2017

In the title compounds, N-(5-acetyl-2-methylphenyl)quinoline-2-carboxamide [C19H16N2O2, (I)], N-(5-acetyl-2-bromophenyl)quinoline-2-carboxamide [C18H13BrN2O2, (II)] and N-(5-acetyl-2-ethynylphenyl)quinoline-2-carboxamide [C20H14N2O2, (III)], the quinoline ring system is essentially planar and forms a dihedral angles of 3.68 (5) (I), 5.59 (7) (II) and 1.87 (6)° (III) with the acetyl-substituted ring. The molecular structures of (I) and (III) each feature an intramolecular N—H...N hydrogen bond, forming an S(5) ring, while in (II) an intramolecular bifurcated N—H...(N,Br) hydrogen bond forms two S(5) rings. In the crystals, weak C—H...O hydrogen bonds link molecules of (I) into C(7) chains long [010], molecules of (II) into chains of R
2
2(8) rings along [110] and molecules of (III) into C(8) chains along [010]. In (I), there are no significant π–π stacking interactions under 4 Å, but in both (II) and (III), π–π interactions link the weak hydrogen-bonded chains into layers parallel to (001) [centroid–centroid disttances of 3.748 (1) Å in (II) and 3.577 (1), 3.784 (1) and 3.780 (1) Å in (III)].
5,7-Dibromo-8-methoxyquinoline
Authors: Çelik Ísmail , Ökten Salih , Akkurt Mehmet , Ersanlı Cem Cüneyt , Çakmak Osman , Özbakır Rana
Published: May 2017

In the title compound, C10H7Br2NO, the methoxy C atom deviates from the quinoline ring system (r.m.s deviation = 0.003 Å) by 1.204 (4) Å. In the crystal, C—H...O hydrogen bonds link the molecules into infinite chains along theb-axis direction. Aromatic π–π stacking interactions [centroid-to-centroid distance = 3.7659 (19) Å] are also observed.
Challenging deprivation of liberty: advocating for your rights
Authors: O’Kane Niall , Hall Ian , Eyeoyibo Mo
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review a case of a man with a mild learning disability and autistic spectrum disorder who successfully appealed against a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards authorisation under English law.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors wanted to identify the factors contributing to the individual’s deprivation of liberty and subsequent successful appeal. The authors examined the accounts from the experts involved on each side of the case including different views on the person’s capacity to make certain decisions. The authors examined several of the individual’s psychological and psychiatric assessments. The authors interviewed the individual on two occasions: once during the appeals process, and following his successful appeal.

Findings

The authors identified several reasons as to why the individual was successful in appealing against the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. First, the individual was able to seek legal support to appeal independently. Second, experts involved on each side of the case had differing opinions regarding capacity to make certain decisions. Third, the indication for the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards was subsequently declared not valid. Finally, the authors found that the quality of life and psychological well-being for the individual improved following removal of restrictions.

Practical implications

The authors highlight the wider issues relating to an individuals’ rights to challenge authorisations in the Court of Protection as well as to future considerations and directions of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards legislation in light of evolving case law.

Social implications

The authors highlight the importance of empowering patients in matters relating to their care and treatment, as well as protecting their human rights, dignity and autonomy.

Originality/value

The authors examine the barriers to challenging Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards authorisation and the ever-evolving Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards process.
Social networking, identity and sexual behaviour of undergraduate students in Nigerian universities
Authors: Nwagwu Williams Ezinwa
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine how the identity of undergraduates who use social networking sites in selected Nigerian universities influences the prediction of their sexual behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire survey was used to collect data from 388 students from three public universities in Nigeria.

Findings

Sex and age exerted sufficient influence on the youth’s sexual behaviour, but the identity variables seemed only to increase the tendency of younger males to form intimate relationship with partners. Specifically, young males who maintain high level of social relationships have a high tendency of developing intimate relationship with partners.

Research limitations/implications

This study that deployed identity variables provides wide-ranging information on how identity moderates sexual behaviour in the presence of traditional predictors of demographic characteristics and social networking.

Practical implications

This study demonstrates that identity has a very strong influence of the predictive power of sex and age on sexual behaviour.

Originality/value

This study is the first that examined sexual behaviour, identity and social networking together.
Why should I pay for e-books?
Authors: Zhang Min , Zhu Mingxing , Liu Xiaotong , Yang Jun
Published: May 2017

Purpose

Because mobile phones offer a new, affordable and easy-to-use portal to reading material, mobile reading is emerging as the most ultra-modern reading approach. From the perspective of mobile reading service providers, knowledge of customer purchase, and consumption behaviour is critical for their survival and success. This paper aims to provide insights into the factors that influence the purchase e-books.

Design/methodology/approach

Following means-end chain theory, the prospect theory and elaboration likelihood model, a structural equation model is proposed to investigate and identify key factors that drive the purchase intention of experienced mobile readers. In the theoretical model, utilitarian value (UV) and hedonic value (HV) are supposed as formative second-order constructs formed by related payoff.

Findings

Both UV and HV are positively associated with readers’ purchase intention. However, there are no big differences between these two path coefficients. People seem to perceive relatively low payment risk although perceived risk could still negatively affect purchase intention. As a predictor of purchase intention, UV is less important when risk perception increases or when involvement (IV) decreases. Furthermore, this study illustrates that uniqueness and convenience (CV) are significant components of UV, whereas curiosity and flow are components of HV.

Practical implications

Mobile reading providers should highlight the professional and specificity of app such as beautiful cover, page setup that similar to real books and so on. Readers should be allowed to post real-time reviews and communicate with others to improve their sense of satisfaction, participation and belonging. The payment process should be concise and simple through which readers can save their purchase time and effort. Mobile reading service providers should provide trustworthy payment approaches, especially third-party platform and guarantee the CV and safety of payment activity.

Originality value

By focusing on the impacts of relationships among UV, HV, perceived risk and IV to purchase intention, this paper not only provides a theoretical understanding of mobile reading purchase behaviour but also offers practical insights to reading material manufactures and app developers for promoting such a process.
Assimilation of social media in local government: an examination of key drivers
Authors: Zhang Hui , Xiao Jianying
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The government has included social media technology applications in the public sector as part of the fifth wave of information and communications technology adoption. Academic interest in social media in the government sector has been increasing. But there has been little empirical research on the assimilation of social media in the local government. To fill this gap, based on technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework, this study aims to investigate the key technological, organizational and environmental factors that affect the assimilation of social media in local government agencies.

Design/methodology/approach

To empirically test the model, a survey study was conducted. Data were collected from 150 government employees in the government department of X municipal government in China. The collected data were analysed quantitatively to answer five hypotheses using structural equation model.

Findings

The findings suggest that technology competence, top management support, perceived benefits and citizen readiness significantly influence assimilation of social media in local government agencies. Top management support is the strongest predictor of social media assimilation in a government agency.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first attempts that adopted the TOE framework to understand assimilation of social media in the local government. In addition, the effect of the four factors that include one technological factor, two organizational factors and one environmental factor, namely, technology competence, top management support, perceived benefits and citizen readiness, on intention to assimilate social media was investigated.
Haar wavelet quasilinearization approach for MHD Falkner–Skan flow over permeable wall via Lie group method
Authors: Jiwari Ram , Kumar Vikas , Karan Ram , Alshomrani Ali Saleh
Published: May 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to deal with two-dimensional magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) Falkner–Skan boundary layer flow of an incompressible viscous electrically conducting fluid over a permeable wall in the presence of a magnetic field.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the Lie group approach, the Lie algebra of infinitesimal generators of equivalence transformations is constructed for the equation under consideration. Using these suitable similarity transformations, the governing partial differential equations are reduced to linear and nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs). Further, Haar wavelet approach is applied to the reduced ODE under the subalgebra 4.1 for constructing numerical solutions of the flow problem.

Findings

A new type of solutions was obtained of the MHD Falkner–Skan boundary layer flow problem using the Haar wavelet quasilinearization approach via Lie symmetric analysis.

Originality/value

To find a solution for the MHD Falkner–Skan boundary layer flow problem using the Haar wavelet quasilinearization approach via Lie symmetric analysis is a new approach for fluid problems.
A semi-Lagrangian Vortex-In-Cell method and its application to high-Re lid-driven cavity flow
Authors: Wang Chao , Sun Jinju , Ba Yan
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a Vortex-In-Cell (VIC) method with the semi-Lagrangian scheme and apply it to the high-Re lid-driven cavity flow.

Design/methodology/approach

The VIC method is developed for simulating high Reynolds number incompressible flow. A semi-Lagrangian scheme is incorporated in the convection term to produce unconditional stability, which gets rid of the constraint of the convection Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy (CFL) condition; the adaptive time step is used to maintain the numerical stability of the diffusion term; and the velocity boundary condition is readily converted to the vorticity formulation to suit discontinuous boundary treatment. The VIC simulation results are compared with those produced by other gird methods reported in open literature studies.

Findings

The lid-driven cavity flow is simulated from Re = 100 to 100,000. Similar vortex birth mechanisms are exhibited though, but distinct flow characteristics are revealed. At Re = 100 to 7,500, the cavity flow is confirmed steady. At Re = 10,000, 15,000 and 20,000, the cavity flow is periodical with a primary vortex held spatially at the center. In particular, at Re = 100,000 highly turbulent characteristics is first revealed and an analogous primary vortex is formed but in motion rather than stationary, which is caused by the considerable flow separation at all the boundaries.

Originality/value

In the lid-driven cavity, the flow becomes extremely complex and highly turbulent at Re = 100,000, and the analogous primary vortex structure is observed. Boundary layer separation is observed at all walls, producing small vortices and causing the displacement of the analogous primary vortex. Such a finding original and has not yet been reported by other investigators. It may provide a basis for conducting in-depth studies of the lid-driven cavity flow.
Business co-creation for service innovation in the hospitality and tourism industry
Authors: Chen Ja-Shen , Kerr Don , Chou Cindy Yunhsin , Ang Chinhui
Published: May 2017

Purpose

This study aims to test a theoretical model of co-creation dynamics, service innovation and competitive advantage. The authors explore the dynamics of collaboration between travel agents and their suppliers in co-creating value for their customers. A research model is proposed to examine the relationship among six co-creation elements (co-creation dynamics), service innovation, competitive advantage and two antecedents: technology adoption and environmental change and the moderating effects of trust.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical survey was performed based on travel agencies in Taiwan and Malaysia. A total of 105 valid responses from Taiwan and 102 valid responses from Malaysia were received. SPSS and partial least square were used to analyze the data.

Findings

A new six-element construct of co-creation dynamics was suggested. All the proposed effects were found significant in which trust enhanced the effect of elements of innovation for Taiwan travel agencies. However, in contrast to the proposed hypotheses, technology adoption had no direct effect, whereas trust had no moderating effect for Malaysia travel agencies.

Practical implications

This study suggests that managers should include co-creation approaches with partners and customers while developing new services. The identification of areas that may be lacking can allow managers to develop capabilities to improve business co-creation competency.

Originality/value

This study links the relational view with service-dominant logic that emphasizes business co-creation and service innovation as operant resources and a key fundamental source for competitive advantage. This study also looks at interpreting business co-creation and discusses whether business co-creation affects service innovation in the hospitality and tourism industry.
Consequences of cruise line involvement: a comparison of first-time and repeat passengers
Authors: Chua Bee-Lia , Lee Sanghyeop , Han Heesup
Published: May 2017

Purpose

This study aims to test the relationships among involvement, perceived price, perceived quality, affective satisfaction, perceived value, attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty in the cruise line industry. In addition, this study attempted to identify whether the differences in these variables exist across first-time and repeat cruise customers.

Design/methodology/approach

The web-based survey was used. A total of 403 complete responses were used for data analysis. Anderson and Gerbing’s (1988) two-step approach was used to achieve study objectives.

Findings

The t-test analyses demonstrated that repeat cruise customers expressed significantly lower perceived price and higher affective satisfaction, perceived value and behavioral loyalty than first-time cruise travelers. The structural equation modeling results revealed that involvement has an important role in loyalty generation process. However, the structural model did not significantly differ across first-time and repeat customers.

Practical implications

Overall, the results indicated the critical needs to develop individuals’ interest in cruise vacation with a particular cruise line. Cruise line operators who undertake promotion efforts that enhance people involvement with their cruise line should result in greater likelihood of choosing the same cruise line in the future.

Originality/value

With a lack of research about cruise line involvement and loyalty, this research contributes to theoretical understanding of intricate attitudinal and behavioral loyalty generation process across first-time and repeat cruise passengers.
The 3-S typology of South African culinary festival visitors
Authors: Viljoen Armand , Kruger Martinette , Saayman Melville
Published: May 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to identify and cluster visitors to a premier South African cheese festival based on their motivation for attending the festival.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data from visitors over the three days of the festival, in which 519 usable questionnaires were included in the analysis. Three stages of the analysis were employed: a factor analysis examining the visitors’ motivation to attend the festival, a cluster analysis based on the motives identified by the factor analysis and an analysis of significant differences between the different market segments.

Findings

The general profile of respondents was similar to the profile of culinary tourists found in other studies. Furthermore, five key motives were identified, of which this combination has not been previously identified in the literature. The cluster analysis identified three distinct clusters, with heterogeneous behavioural and socio-demographic profile identifiers.

Practical implications

The value that this market segmentation technique holds regarding the marketing and branding of a(n) event/festival is that it could help managers/marketers to promote better culinary events/festivals in South Africa, by offering unique attributes that attract culinary visitors.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge, this study is a first attempt to segment culinary visitors based on motivational factors, especially within the South African context. Clustering based on motives proved to be a useful market segmentation tool and proposes a 3-S typology of visitors to food-related events/festivals, namely, social, serious and selective epicureans.
Early childhood teachers’ efficacy in the US rural Midwest: teaching culturally diverse learners
Authors: Atiles Julia Teresa , Douglas Jonathan Robert , Allexsaht-Snider Martha
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore early childhood teachers’ sense of efficacy for working with immigrant children. In addition, this study examined the relationship of early childhood teachers’ sense of efficacy to their multicultural attitudes.

Design/methodology/approach

Ninety early childhood teacher participants completed a demographic questionnaire, as well as the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale, long form (Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) and Teacher Multicultural Attitude Survey (Ponterotitoet al., 1998).

Findings

The statistical analysis resulted in a significant difference found between teachers’ sense of efficacy when working with Latinos versus when working with Marshallese students, t(82) = 4.64,p< 0.001, and that the teachers’ sense of efficacy was positively correlated with their multicultural attitudes score, r = 0.266,p= 0.013.

Research limitations/implications

The finding that early childhood teachers have differing levels of efficacy for working with different populations of immigrants, and that efficacy seems to be linked to multicultural attitudes, has implications for teacher educators and for professional development initiatives.

Practical implications

This appears to be an important starting point for professional learning efforts directed at teachers with lower levels of efficacy for working with their diverse students.

Originality/value

There was no prior research done focusing on different immigrant populations and the corresponding teachers’ sense of efficacy when working with them. The results shown support the idea that teachers’ multicultural attitudes appear to be significantly linked to their sense of efficacy, when working with immigrant students, especially within the area of student engagement.
Multicultural integration in British and Dutch societies: education and citizenship
Authors: Bagley Christopher Adam , Al-Refai Nader
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesize published studies and practice in the “integration” of ethnic and religious minorities in Britain and The Netherlands, 1965-2015, drawing out implications for current policy and practice.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is an evaluative review and report of results of work on citizenship education for young Muslims and their peers in English schools.

Findings

Young Muslims have positive attitudes to “good citizenship”, as Islamic socialization makes them particularly responsive to citizenship messages. But there is hard-core racial prejudice and Islamophobia in about 25 per cent of adults. In The Netherlands, this xenophobia has supported far-right politicians who are strongly anti-Muslim. This paper cites evidence that continued prejudice may lead to alienation and radicalization of some minorities.

Research limitations/implications

Unchecked prejudice concerning minorities can have negative implications for both majority and minority groups – this broad hypothesis deserves further research in both Dutch and British societies.

Practical implications

In Britain, success in Muslim schools in fostering positive citizenship implies that Muslim groups can maintain “quiet dignity” in following Islamic pathways to good citizenship.

Social implications

State support for religious-foundation schools should be offered to all religious groups and should not be withheld from Muslim minorities for “security” reasons.

Originality/value

This overview by two Muslim educators offers new insights and proposals in the acceptance of Muslim minorities in Europe.
Asian American high school students’ self-concepts and identities
Authors: Gao Jing
Published: May 2017

Purpose

This study aims to explore Asian American students’ identities and their perceptions about who they are within the Midwestern American high school setting.

Design/methodology/approach

A naturalistic inquiry (Lincoln and Guba, 1985) is employed in this qualitative study. Naturalistic inquiry assumes that reality is constructed by individuals, and there exist multiple realities as diverse people experience teaching and learning (Glesne, 1999). It is characterized by natural settings (the schools), natural language (language actually used by students and teachers), responsiveness to concerns and issues of stakeholders (what is important to students and teachers) and collaborative checks on trustworthiness.

Findings

The study finds that the participants all identify themselves as students, while they perceive differently on their racial/ethnic and cultural identity. They have employed a variety of strategies to negotiate with their dynamic, multiple and sometimes contradictory identities when confronted with challenges and opportunities within different social contexts.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of my study lie first in a small number of participants. Eight Asian American students do not represent the heterogeneous Asian American groups in the USA. More students would provide different perspectives and experiences in the study. The time for conducting this study is another limitation. Longer period on the research sites would provide thicker descriptions.

Practical implications

There are implications for educational practice and future research to help understand the diversity among Asian American students and to find ways to integrate accurate and comprehensive information related to Asian Americans into the curricular with critical reflection upon the issues of race, ethnicity, culture and identity.

Originality/value

This study will enrich the current literature on Asian American education because there is currently limited research in this area. It will give voices to Asian American students and contribute to a better understanding of how both students and teachers are responding to the challenges faced in many schools as demographics change. It will also have implications for teacher education and encourage awareness in this field that might affect future educational practices and policies.
Organizational culture for lean programs
Authors: Paro Pedro Ernesto Pereira , Gerolamo Mateus Cecilio
Published: May 2017

Purpose

Recent studies suggest that the implementation of Lean will only be successful when aligned with organizational culture (OC). The purpose of this paper is to understand an Ideal Lean Culture (ILC) in the Brazilian context.

Design/methodology/approach

This diagnosis is based on the Competing Values Framework, and it is the result of a survey with 51 experts in charge of implementation of Lean programs in organizations operating in different industry segments in Brazil.

Findings

The results show that an ILC for Brazilian organizations seems to have the dominant profile of the hierarchy culture, thus characterizing a highly structured and formal place, with rules and procedures governing the behavior of people.

Research limitations/implications

Some limitations of this study include: although a survey has been applied, the research cannot be classified as a quantitative study; it brings the opinion of a limited number of Brazilian experts about lean programs; both the sample size could be increased and the nationality of respondents could be expanded for future research.

Practical implications

It is proposed that an organization (or an area of the organization) that wants to be successful in its lean journey must, first, measure its OC and then promote a cultural profile aligned with the results presented in this paper. By doing so, it is expected that this lean journey should have a higher probability of long-term success and sustainability of lean practices, concepts and philosophy.

Originality/value

In the last two decades much has been written about the importance of OC in the success of lean programs. However, very few studies has mapped and measured an ILC in a way that allows researchers, consultants and managers to evaluate if an OC is close to or distant from an ILC.
Acquirers’ prior related knowledge and post-acquisition integration
Authors: Ai Qi , Tan Hui
Published: May 2017

Purpose

This paper examines the role of acquirers’ prior related knowledge in the post-acquisition integration process. The purpose of this paper is to identify what constitutes the key prior related knowledge that can contribute to the reverse knowledge transfer following Chinese firms’ outward mergers and acquisitions (M&As) to Europe, and explain how prior related knowledge affects such transfer of knowledge.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employ a multiple case study approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted from February 2012 to June 2013 with 24 managers.

Findings

The authors find that, in addition to knowledge about the target, prior international business experience, R&D capability, and industrial capabilities are key components of acquirers’ prior related knowledge that can contribute to the success of M&A integration and post-acquisition reverse knowledge transfer. Indeed, Chinese acquirers’ prior related knowledge can influence the reverse knowledge transfer from acquired firms to acquirers by directly improving acquirers’ absorptive capacity and building a harmonious organisational climate to facilitate such transfer.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the absorptive capacity and the cross-border M&A literature. It extends the current knowledge on the key components of an acquirer’s prior related knowledge in the outward M&A by Chinese firms. It also uncovers how post-acquisition reverse knowledge transfer is affected by acquirers’ prior related knowledge.
Corporate environmental responsibility and financial performance: does bidirectional causality work? Empirical evidence from the manufacturing industry
Authors: Testa Mario , D’Amato Antonio
Published: May 2017

Purpose

Over the past two decades, scholarly attention has focused mainly on a direct and inverse relationship between corporate environmental responsibility (CER) and corporate financial performance (CFP). This study aims to explore the bidirectional causality hypothesis, as good environmental results can lead to good financial results, which makes it possible to invest more resources in projects that improve environmental performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors test the bidirectional causality between CER and CFP on a sample of listed Italian manufacturing firms over the 2005-2014 period. The authors use a fixed effect panel data regression and check the robustness of the results with alternative econometric techniques.

Findings

Although the findings do not support bidirectional hypothesis, they establish direction/causality from CFP to CER. As a result, environmental responsibility is a consequence of prior financial performance, which supports the slack resources hypothesis.

Research limitations/implications

Given that companies’ environmental commitment is dictated by economic evaluations or by assessing the availability of resources to invest, it seems that the spread of environmentally responsible behaviours might be supported by different external pressures.

Originality/value

The paper provides further insights on sustainability management literature by establishing a bidirectional relationship between firm performance and environmental responsibility.
Antecedents of corporate social performance: the effects of task environment managerial discretion
Authors: Luth Matthew T. , Schepker Donald J.
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to better understand how industry conditions affect corporate social performance (CSP). To accomplish this objective, the authors develop and test a theoretical argument that task environment managerial discretion plays an important role in determining a firm’s level of CSP.

Design/methodology/approach

In this research, the authors utilize a longitudinal data set of archival data nested across year, firm and industry. They then test their research model using multilevel techniques, which account for the nested nature of their research design.

Findings

Firms exhibit higher levels of CSP when their industry’s environment is high in dynamism and product differentiation. Conversely, firms exhibit lower levels of CSP when capital intensity is high. Finally, the authors find that firms exhibit higher levels of both positive and negative CSP as industry munificence increases.

Research limitations/implications

A number of researchers have called for investigation into the antecedents of CSP. This research provides an important next step in understanding the factors that influence firm CSP. Specifically, this research illustrates how the task environment affects stakeholder management by influencing the degree to which firms engage in CSP.

Practical implications

Managers should be mindful of the task environment’s conditions for managerial discretion and how these conditions affect stakeholder support for CSP. Moreover, managers should understand how industry conditions affect the firm’s ability to achieve competitive advantage through the use of CSP strategies.

Originality/value

While there has been much research aimed at understanding the potential CSP-firm performance link, there has been relatively little attention paid to understanding what influences firm CSP in the first place. This research suggests that industry-level characteristics of managerial discretion strongly influence firm strategic actions toward social performance.