bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Predicting Patients at Risk for 3-Day Postdischarge Readmissions, ED Visits, and Deaths
Authors: Agrawal Deepak , Chen Cheng-Bang , Dravenstott Ronald W. , Strömblad Christopher T. B. , Schmid John Andrew , Darer Jonathan D. , Devapriya Priyantha , Kumara Soundar
Published: May 2016

Background:

Transitional care interventions can be utilized to reduce post-hospital discharge adverse events (AEs). However, no methodology exists to effectively identify high-risk patients of any disease across multiple hospital sites and patient populations for short-term postdischarge AEs.

Objectives:

To develop and validate a 3-day (72 h) AEs prediction model using electronic health records data available at the time of an indexed discharge.

Research Design:

Retrospective cohort study of admissions between June 2012 and June 2014.

Subjects:

All adult inpatient admissions (excluding in-hospital deaths) from a large multicenter hospital system.

Measures:

All-cause 3-day unplanned readmissions, emergency department (ED) visits, and deaths (REDD). The REDD model was developed using clinical, administrative, and socioeconomic data, with data preprocessing steps and stacked classification. Patients were divided randomly into training (66.7%), and testing (33.3%) cohorts to avoid overfitting.

Results:

The derivation cohort comprised of 64,252 admissions, of which 2782 (4.3%) admissions resulted in 3-day AEs and 13,372 (20.8%) in 30-day AEs. The c-statistic (also known as area under the receiver operating characteristic curve) of 3-day REDD model was 0.671 and 0.664 for the derivation and validation cohort, respectively. The c-statistic of 30-day REDD model was 0.713 and 0.711 for the derivation and validation cohort, respectively.

Conclusions:

The 3-day REDD model predicts high-risk patients with fair discriminative power. The discriminative power of the 30-day REDD model is also better than the previously reported models under similar settings. The 3-day REDD model has been implemented and is being used to identify patients at risk for AEs.
Preliminary Effectiveness and Sustainability of Group Aerobic Exercise Program in Patients with Schizophrenia
Authors: Yoon Sol , Ryu Je-Kwang , Kim Chan-Hyung , Chang Jhin-Goo , Lee Hwa-Bock , Kim Do-Hoon , Roh Daeyoung
Published: May 2016

The objective of this study was to examine the feasibility and sustained effect of a group aerobic exercise program in patients with schizophrenia. Twenty-four schizophrenic patients participated in a group-based individually tailored 90-minute outdoor cycling session per week for 3 months with intervention to enhance motivation. Physical health was evaluated by anthropometric measures, cardiorespiratory (CR) fitness, and blood tests. Mental health was assessed on self-esteem, interpersonal relationship, quality of life, and global function. Attrition rate for the exercise program was 8.3%. Exercise program significantly increased participant’s self-esteem, positive relationship, global function, and quality of life. CR fitness significantly improved after 3 months. At the 9-month follow-up, 6 months after program completion, only in interpersonal relationship change the improved effects were maintained. These findings support the feasibility of group aerobic exercise program with high level of adherence and its long-term benefits in positive relationship change.
The interaction of fire and mankind: Introduction
Authors: Scott Andrew C. , Chaloner William G. , Belcher Claire M. , Roos Christopher I.
Published: May 2016

Fire has been an important part of the Earth system for over 350 Myr. Humans evolved in this fiery world and are the only animals to have used and controlled fire. The interaction of mankind with fire is a complex one, with both positive and negative aspects. Humans have long used fire for heating, cooking, landscape management and agriculture, as well as for pyrotechnologies and in industrial processes over more recent centuries. Many landscapes need fire but population expansion into wildland areas creates a tension between different interest groups. Extinguishing wildfires may not always be the correct solution. A combination of factors, including the problem of invasive plants, landscape change, climate change, population growth, human health, economic, social and cultural attitudes that may be transnational make a re-evaluation of fire and mankind necessary. The Royal Society meeting on Fire and mankind was held to address these issues and the results of these deliberations are published in this volume.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘The interaction of fire and mankind’.
The discovery of fire by humans: a long and convoluted process
Authors: Gowlett J. A. J.
Published: May 2016

Numbers of animal species react to the natural phenomenon of fire, but only humans have learnt to control it and to make it at will. Natural fires caused overwhelmingly by lightning are highly evident on many landscapes. Birds such as hawks, and some other predators, are alert to opportunities to catch animals including invertebrates disturbed by such fires and similar benefits are likely to underlie the first human involvements with fires. Early hominins would undoubtedly have been aware of such fires, as are savanna chimpanzees in the present. Rather than as an event, the discovery of fire use may be seen as a set of processes happening over the long term. Eventually, fire became embedded in human behaviour, so that it is involved in almost all advanced technologies. Fire has also influenced human biology, assisting in providing the high-quality diet which has fuelled the increase in brain size through the Pleistocene. Direct evidence of early fire in archaeology remains rare, but from 1.5 Ma onward surprising numbers of sites preserve some evidence of burnt material. By the Middle Pleistocene, recognizable hearths demonstrate a social and economic focus on many sites. The evidence of archaeological sites has to be evaluated against postulates of biological models such as the ‘cooking hypothesis' or the ‘social brain’, and questions of social cooperation and the origins of language. Although much remains to be worked out, it is plain that fire control has had a major impact in the course of human evolution.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘The interaction of fire and mankind’.
Multiscale perspectives of fire, climate and humans in western North America and the Jemez Mountains, USA
Authors: Swetnam Thomas W. , Farella Joshua , Roos Christopher I. , Liebmann Matthew J. , Falk Donald A. , Allen Craig D.
Published: May 2016

Interannual climate variations have been important drivers of wildfire occurrence in ponderosa pine forests across western North America for at least 400 years, but at finer scales of mountain ranges and landscapes human land uses sometimes over-rode climate influences. We reconstruct and analyse effects of high human population densities in forests of the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico from
ca
1300 CE to Present. Prior to the 1680 Pueblo Revolt, human land uses reduced the occurrence of widespread fires while simultaneously adding more ignitions resulting in many small-extent fires. During the 18th and 19th centuries, wet/dry oscillations and their effects on fuels dynamics controlled widespread fire occurrence. In the late 19th century, intensive livestock grazing disrupted fuels continuity and fire spread and then active fire suppression maintained the absence of widespread surface fires during most of the 20th century. The abundance and continuity of fuels is the most important controlling variable in fire regimes of these semi-arid forests. Reduction of widespread fires owing to reduction of fuel continuity emerges as a hallmark of extensive human impacts on past forests and fire regimes.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘The interaction of fire and mankind’.
The deforestation story: testing for anthropogenic origins of Africa's flammable grassy biomes
Authors: Bond William , Zaloumis Nicholas P.
Published: May 2016

Africa has the most extensive C4 grassy biomes of any continent. They are highly flammable accounting for greater than 70% of the world's burnt area. Much of Africa's savannas and grasslands occur in climates warm enough and wet enough to support closed forests. The combination of open grassy systems and the frequent fires they support have long been interpreted as anthropogenic artefacts caused by humans igniting frequent fires. True grasslands, it was believed, would be restricted to climates too dry or too cold to support closed woody vegetation. The idea that higher-rainfall savannas are anthropogenic and that fires are of human origin has led to initiatives to ‘reforest’ Africa's open grassy systems paid for by carbon credits under the assumption that the net effect of converting these system to forests would sequester carbon, reduce greenhouse gases and mitigate global warming. This paper reviews evidence for the antiquity of African grassy ecosystems and for the fires that they sustain. Africa's grassy biomes and the fires that maintain them are ancient and there is no support for the idea that humans caused large-scale deforestation. Indicators of old-growth grasslands are described. These can help distinguish secondary grasslands suitable for reforestation from ancient grasslands that should not be afforested.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘The interaction of fire and mankind’.
At the nexus of fire, water and society
Authors: Martin Deborah A.
Published: May 2016

The societal risks of water scarcity and water-quality impairment have received considerable attention, evidenced by recent analyses of these topics by the 2030 Water Resources Group, the United Nations and the World Economic Forum. What are the effects of fire on the predicted water scarcity and declines in water quality? Drinking water supplies for humans, the emphasis of this exploration, are derived from several land cover types, including forests, grasslands and peatlands, which are vulnerable to fire. In the last two decades, fires have affected the water supply catchments of Denver (CO) and other southwestern US cities, and four major Australian cities including Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide and Melbourne. In the same time period, several, though not all, national, regional and global water assessments have included fire in evaluations of the risks that affect water supplies. The objective of this discussion is to explore the nexus of fire, water and society with the hope that a more explicit understanding of fire effects on water supplies will encourage the incorporation of fire into future assessments of water supplies, into the pyrogeography conceptual framework and into planning efforts directed at water resiliency.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘The interaction of fire and mankind’.
Global combustion: the connection between fossil fuel and biomass burning emissions (1997–2010)
Authors: Balch Jennifer K. , Nagy R. Chelsea , Archibald Sally , Bowman David M. J. S. , Moritz Max A. , Roos Christopher I. , Scott Andrew C. , Williamson Grant J.
Published: May 2016

Humans use combustion for heating and cooking, managing lands, and, more recently, for fuelling the industrial economy. As a shift to fossil-fuel-based energy occurs, we expect that anthropogenic biomass burning in open landscapes will decline as it becomes less fundamental to energy acquisition and livelihoods. Using global data on both fossil fuel and biomass burning emissions, we tested this relationship over a 14 year period (1997–2010). The global average annual carbon emissions from biomass burning during this time were 2.2 Pg C per year (±0.3 s.d.), approximately one-third of fossil fuel emissions over the same period (7.3 Pg C, ±0.8 s.d.). There was a significant inverse relationship between average annual fossil fuel and biomass burning emissions. Fossil fuel emissions explained 8% of the variation in biomass burning emissions at a global scale, but this varied substantially by land cover. For example, fossil fuel burning explained 31% of the variation in biomass burning in woody savannas, but was a non-significant predictor for evergreen needleleaf forests. In the land covers most dominated by human use, croplands and urban areas, fossil fuel emissions were more than 30- and 500-fold greater than biomass burning emissions. This relationship suggests that combustion practices may be shifting from open landscape burning to contained combustion for industrial purposes, and highlights the need to take into account how humans appropriate combustion in global modelling of contemporary fire. Industrialized combustion is not only an important driver of atmospheric change, but also an important driver of landscape change through companion declines in human-started fires.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘The interaction of fire and mankind’.
Experiment-friendly kinetic analysis of single molecule data in and out of equilibrium
Authors: Schmid Sonja , Götz Markus , Hugel Thorsten
Published: May 2016

We present a simple and robust technique to extract kinetic rate models and thermodynamic quantities from single molecule time traces. SMACKS (Single Molecule Analysis of Complex Kinetic Sequences) is a maximum likelihood approach that works equally well for long trajectories as for a set of short ones. It resolves all statistically relevant rates and also their uncertainties. This is achieved by optimizing one global kinetic model based on the complete dataset, while allowing for experimental variations between individual trajectories. In particular, neither apriorimodels nor equilibrium have to be assumed. The power of SMACKS is demonstrated on the kinetics of the multi-domain protein Hsp90 measured by smFRET (single molecule Förster resonance energy transfer). Experiments in and out of equilibrium are analyzed and compared to simulations, shedding new light on the role of Hsp90’s ATPase function. SMACKS pushes the boundaries of single molecule kinetics far beyond current methods.
Beta regression improves the detection of differential DNA methylation for epigenetic epidemiology
Authors: Triche Timothy J. , Laird Peter W. , Siegmund Kimberly D.
Published: May 2016

Background

DNA methylation is the most readily assayed epigenetic mark, possessing confirmed relationships with gene expression, imprinting, and chromatin accessibility.Given the increasingly widespread use of DNA methylation microarrays in population-scale epidemiological applications, we sought to determine which methods provided the greatest statistical power to reproducibly detect differences in DNA methylation across various conditions,using publicly available data sets on tissue type and aging.

Results

Beta regression, as proposed originally by Ferrari and Cribari-Neto, yielded more validated hits in each of our comparisons than any other method under consideration, both in a regression setting and in comparisons to two-group tests such as the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney, Student t, and Welch t tests.In large cohorts of whole blood samples, we corrected for compositional differences and batch effects, and found that marginal likelihood ratio tests from beta regression models uniformly dominate popular alternatives based on linear models.The superior sensitivity and specificity exhibited by beta regression in epidemiologically relevant cohort sizes corresponded to approximately a 2% increase in sensitivity at the same specificity when compared to linear models fitted on raw beta values (proportion of signal intensity due to the methylated allele), M-values, or rankquantile normalized values.

Conclusions

Investigators should consider beta regression to maximize statistical power in studies of DNA methylation using microarrays.At epidemiologically relevant sample sizes, with typical quality control procedures (compositional and batch effect correction), cross-cohort agreement uniformly favors beta regression over popular alternatives.
Lattice bending in three-dimensional Ge microcrystals studied by X-ray nanodiffraction and modelling
Authors: Meduňa Mojmír , Falub Claudiu Valentin , Isa Fabio , Marzegalli Anna , Chrastina Daniel , Isella Giovanni , Miglio Leo , Dommann Alex , von Känel Hans
Published: May 2016

Extending the functionality of ubiquitous Si-based microelectronic devices often requires combining materials with different lattice parameters and thermal expansion coefficients. In this paper, scanning X-ray nanodiffraction is used to map the lattice bending produced by thermal strain relaxation in heteroepitaxial Ge microcrystals of various heights grown on high aspect ratio Si pillars. The local crystal lattice tilt and curvature are obtained from experimental three-dimensional reciprocal space maps and compared with diffraction patterns simulated by means of the finite element method. The simulations are in good agreement with the experimental data for various positions of the focused X-ray beam inside a Ge microcrystal. Both experiment and simulations reveal that the crystal lattice bending induced by thermal strain relaxation vanishes with increasing Ge crystal height.
OnDA: online data analysis and feedback for serial X-ray imaging
Authors: Mariani Valerio , Morgan Andrew , Yoon Chun Hong , Lane Thomas J. , White Thomas A. , O'Grady Christopher , Kuhn Manuela , Aplin Steve , Koglin Jason , Barty Anton , Chapman Henry N.
Published: May 2016

This article describes a free and open-source data analysis utility designed for fast online feedback during serial X-ray diffraction and scattering experiments:OnDA(online data analysis). Three complete real-time monitors for common types of serial X-ray imaging experiments are presented. These monitors are capable of providing the essential information required for quick decision making in the face of extreme rates of data collection. In addition, a set of modules, functions and algorithms that allow developers to modify the provided monitors or develop new ones are provided. The emphasis here is on simple, modular and scalable code that is based on open-source libraries and protocols.OnDAmonitors have already proven to be invaluable tools in several experiments, especially for scoring and monitoring of diffraction data during serial crystallography experiments at both free-electron laser and synchrotron facilities. It is felt that in the future the kind of fast feedback thatOnDAmonitors provide will help researchers to deal with the expected very high throughput data flow at next-generation facilities such as the European X-ray free-electron laser.
Crystal structure of glutamate-1-semialdehyde-2,1-aminomutase fromArabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Song Yingxian , Pu Hua , Jiang Tian , Zhang Lixin , Ouyang Min
Published: May 2016

Glutamate-1-semialdehyde-2,1-aminomutase (GSAM) catalyzes the isomerization of glutamate-1-semialdehyde (GSA) to 5-aminolevulinate (ALA) and is distributed in archaea, most bacteria and plants. Although structures of GSAM from archaea and bacteria have been resolved, a GSAM structure from a higher plant is not available, preventing further structure–function analysis. Here, the structure of GSAM fromArabidopsis thaliana(AtGSA1) obtained by X-ray crystallography is reported at 1.25 Å resolution.AtGSA1 forms an asymmetric dimer and displays asymmetry in cofactor binding as well as in the gating-loop orientation, which is consistent with previously reportedSynechococcusGSAM structures. While one monomer binds PMP with the gating loop fixed in the open state, the other monomer binds either PMP or PLP and the gating loop is ready to close. The data also reveal the mobility of residues Gly163, Ser164 and Gly165, which are important for reorientation of the gating loop. Furthermore, the asymmetry of theAtGSA1 structure supports the previously proposed negative cooperativity between monomers of GSAM.
Structure of the I-SceI nuclease complexed with its dsDNA target and three catalytic metal ions
Authors: Prieto Jesús , Redondo Pilar , Merino Nekane , Villate Maider , Montoya Guillermo , Blanco Francisco J. , Molina Rafael
Published: May 2016

Homing endonucleases are highly specific DNA-cleaving enzymes that recognize and cleave long stretches of DNA. The engineering of these enzymes provides instruments for genome modification in a wide range of fields, including gene targeting. The homing endonuclease I-SceI from the yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiaehas been purified after overexpression inEscherichia coliand its crystal structure has been determined in complex with its target DNA. In order to evaluate the number of ions that are involved in the cleavage process, thus determining the catalytic mechanism, crystallization experiments were performed in the presence of Mn2+, yielding crystals that were suitable for X-ray diffraction analysis. The crystals belonged to the orthorhombic space groupP212121, with unit-cell parametersa= 80.11,b= 80.57,c= 130.87 Å, α = β = γ = 90°. The self-rotation function and the Matthews coefficient suggested the presence of two protein–DNA complexes in the asymmetric unit. The crystals diffracted to a resolution limit of 2.9 Å using synchrotron radiation. From the anomalous data, it was determined that three cations are involved in catalysis and it was confirmed that I-SceI follows a two-metal-ion DNA-strand cleavage mechanism.
Plant-specific DUF1110 protein fromOryza sativa: expression, purification and crystallization
Authors: Harada Kenichi , Yamashita Eiki , Inoue Kento , Yamaguchi Koji , Fujiwara Toshimichi , Nakagawa Atsushi , Kawasaki Tsutomu , Kojima Chojiro
Published: May 2016

The Os01T0156300 protein fromOryza sativahas been classified into the domain of unknown function (DUF) family DUF1110. DUF1110 family members exist in monocotyledons but not in dicotyledons, and share no sequence identity with proteins for which structures have been reported. In this study, the Os01T0156300 protein was crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. X-ray diffraction data were collected to 1.84 Å resolution. The crystal belonged to space groupP21, with unit-cell parametersa= 89.9,b= 89.8,c= 107.1 Å, β = 106.6°. The asymmetric unit was estimated to contain 6–11 molecules.
The VapBC1 toxin–antitoxin complex fromMycobacterium tuberculosis: purification, crystallization and X-ray diffraction analysis
Authors: Lu Zuokun , Wang Han , Zhang Aili , Tan Yusheng
Published: May 2016

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a major human pathogen, encodes at least 88 toxin–antitoxin (TA) systems. Remarkably, more than half of these modules belong to the VapBC family. Under normal growth conditions, the toxicity of the toxin VapC is neutralized by the protein antitoxin VapB. When bacteria face an unfavourable environment, the antitoxin is degraded and the free toxin VapC targets important cellular processes in order to inhibit cell growth. TA systems function in many biological processes, such as in the stringent response, in biofilm formation and in drug tolerance. To explore the structure of the VapBC1 complex, the toxin VapC1 and the antitoxin VapB1 were separately cloned, co-expressed and crystallized. The best crystal was obtained using a crystallization solution consisting of optimized solution with commercial sparse-matrix screen solutions as additives. The crystal diffracted to a resolution of 2.7 Å and belonged to space groupP21, with unit-cell parametersa= 59.3,b= 106.7,c = 250.0 Å, β = 93.75°.
Piperazin-1-ium 4-aminobenzoate monohydrate
Authors: Sivakumar P. , Mani A. , Sudhahar S. , Israel S. , Chakkaravarthi G.
Published: May 2016

The asymmetric unit of the title hydrated salt, C4H11N2+·C7H6NO2−·H2O, contains a piperazin-1-ium cation, a 4-aminobenzoate anion and a water molecule. One NH group of the piperazine ring is protonated and this ring adopts a chair conformation. The anion of this salt is generated by deprotonation of the OH group of the carboxylic acid substituent of 4-aminobenzoic acid. The benzene ring makes a dihedral angle of 2.6 (2)° with the carboxylate substituent. The anion and the solvent water molecule are linked by an N—H...O hydrogen bond. Additional N—H...O and O—H...O hydrogen bonds connect adjacent anions through the water molecules, generating a two-dimensional network parallel to (100), formingR33(12) ring motifs. Adjacent cations are linked by N—H...N hydrogen bonds into infinite chains along (001). These chains are linked to the two-dimensional network of anions and water molecules by another N—H...O hydrogen bond, forming a three-dimensional network.
Competencies for entrepreneurship as a career option in a challenging employment environment
Authors: Pérez-López María Carmen , González-López María José , Rodríguez-Ariza Lázaro
Published: May 2016

Purpose

– Entrepreneurship is an increasing relevant career option in the present labour market, which is complex and ever less rigidly structured. In this context, individuals need to develop a range of competencies, and one of major importance is resilience, defined as the ability to cope with difficult situations and to adapt to adverse environments. Taking into account the theory of planned behaviour, the purpose of this paper is to determine the direct relationship between resilience and entrepreneurship as a career option, and to analyse the mediating role of resilience in the relation between entrepreneurial intention (EI) and underlying factors such as attitudes towards entrepreneurship, social norms and self-efficacy.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using structural equation modelling, the authors studied a sample of 1,251 business students at a Spanish university.

Findings

– The results obtained reveal positive and significant relationships between resilience and EI, and highlight the mediating role played by resilience.

Practical implications

– Since resilience is a competency that can be developed, and taking into account the positive relationship observed between antecedents of EI and resilience, training activities should be designed in which these factors are jointly stimulated. In addition, the findings highlight the need for institutional actions to reinforce the social esteem of the entrepreneur.

Originality/value

– This paper contributes a valuable and relatively unexplored line of research concerning the relationship between one of the components of psychological capital and the choice of an entrepreneurial career.
Addressing perceptions of opiate-using prisoners to take-home naloxone: findings from one English region
Authors: Sondhi Arun Charles
Published: May 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to understand prisoner perceptions on being trained and having received take-home naloxone (THN) kits once released from prison back into the community, in order to prevent an opiate-related overdose.

Design/methodology/approach

– A survey was run of all prisoners receiving THN training across ten prisons in one English region. In total, 142 prisoners were surveyed out of 206 (69 per cent) being trained in THN across the ten prisons. Five focus groups (n=26) with prisoners were conducted across four remand and one open prison that included discussions on THN within a range of topics. Discussions were recorded using short-hand and the data were subsequently thematically interpreted using visual mapping techniques.

Findings

– The survey highlighted a high degree of exposure amongst prisoners to overdose either directly (54 per cent) or having witnessed another person’s overdose (73 per cent). For prisoners who had overdosed, only a minority (38 per cent) were taken to hospital by an ambulance. In total, 81 per cent of prisoners surveyed also expressed little or no knowledge about THN prior to training. Prisoners were resistant to THN as an intervention resulting from this lack of prior knowledge. Focus group interviews suggested that there was a confused and mixed message in providing a harm reduction initiative within the context of recovery-orientated treatment. Prisoners also exhibited name confusion with other drugs (naltrexone) and there was some degree of resistance to being trained based on perceived side-effects brought on by its administration. Prisoners were also acutely aware of official agency perceptions (e.g. police) if seen to be in possession of THN kits.

Practical implications

– The distribution of THN within a custodial setting requires consideration of wider marketing approaches to address levels of confusion and misapprehension amongst prisoners.

Originality/value

– The study is one of the few focused on THN based on a UK prison environment.
Developing Alberta’s greenhouse gas offset system within Canadian and international policy contexts
Authors: Swallow Brent M. , Goddard Thomas W.
Published: May 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to track the development of climate policy in the province of Alberta, Canada, particularly the province’s unique greenhouse gas emission offset mechanism. The analysis shows how the policy has influenced, and been influenced by, policy processes at the national and international levels.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper begins with an analytical framework that recognizes different types of influence between international, national and provincial climate policy processes. That framework is used to structure a review of four historical periods of climate policy change: prior to 1992, 1992 to 2002, 2002 to 2012 and between 2012 and mid-2015.

Findings

The analysis illustrates the interplay between the Alberta approach to climate policy and the international and national policy contexts. A period of intense policy conflict between Canada’s federal and provincial governments led to a situation in which the Alberta Government sought to lead rather than follow national policy. Subsequent periods have seen the Canadian national government oscillate between following the lead of Alberta or the USA.

Research limitations/implications

Rather than national and international policies simply setting the context for Alberta’s policy, the paper identifies multiple flows of influence between the three levels of governance. The results illustrate the need to consider forward and backward flows of influence between the different levels of government that set climate change policies. Elements of several models of policy change are supported.

Practical implications

The Alberta climate mitigation policy has many elements that can be effective in reducing carbon emissions in a way that is both flexible and predictable. These elements are of interest to other jurisdictions. Other elements of the current policy, however, limit its effectiveness in reducing emissions. More concerted policy action is needed to mitigate carbon emissions in Alberta for Canada to meet its agreed targets.

Originality/value

No other paper has tracked the historical evolution of climate policy at the provincial/state level in a way that clarifies the forward and backward linkages with national and international policy.
Negotiating stakeholder participation in the Ghana national climate change policy
Authors: Lawson Elaine Tweneboah
Published: May 2016

Purpose

Stakeholder consultation and participation are central to the climate change policymaking process. The purpose of this paper is to assess the level of stakeholder participation in the Ghana National Climate Change Policy. It examines the actors in the policy space and the negotiations and tradeoffs made during the policymaking process. Finally, it outlines the steps undertaken to make the process participatory and consultative.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative method has been used for this paper. The research design involves a review of relevant literature on Ghana’s climate change regime, meeting reports and key informant interviews.

Findings

The findings indicate that the processes the policy underwent had extensive stakeholder participation. An uptake of evidence was from existing impact and vulnerability assessments, the first and second communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), scientific and research documents and expert knowledge. Key actors were identified and involved right from the beginning of the policymaking process. Although stakeholder participation was time-consuming, expensive and elongated, the policy process was vital for buy-in and ownership. The results also identified the need to include more stakeholders at the sub-regional levels in policymaking.

Originality/value

The study is the first of its kind detailing stakeholder participation in the climate change policy process in Ghana. It forms a good basis for comparative studies with similar policies in other countries. Thus, this paper fills an identified gap of the need to document climate change policymaking processes.
Human resources management and performance in the hotel industry
Authors: Domínguez-Falcón Carmen , Martín-Santana Josefa D. , De Saá-Pérez Petra
Published: May 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to analyse the effects of high-commitment human resources (HR) practices on organisational performance through the commitment and satisfaction of both managers and supervisors.

Design/methodology/approach

An empirical study was carried out, based on the perceptions of 68 managers and 296 supervisors at four- and five-star hotels in Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain).

Findings

The results obtained reveal that: high-commitment HR practices have a positive and significant effect on the commitment and satisfaction of both groups; managers’ commitment and satisfaction do not lead to improved organisational performance; however, supervisors’ commitment and satisfaction do lead to better economic results because of an improvement in customer results.

Practical implications

This research revealed that it is important for hotel companies to adopt high-commitment HR practices because these practices contribute to managers’ and supervisors’ affective connection to the company, leading them to feel positively satisfied with their jobs. In addition, hotels should focus on supervisors because they feel more customer-oriented and tend to stay longer in the company, which probably leads them to better meet the needs of customers, allowing hotels to obtain better economic results.

Originality/value

This study contributes to HR management in the hotel industry by obtaining the views of two key informants – managers and supervisors – about the implementation of HR practices and their own levels of commitment and satisfaction.
Perceived impacts of special events by organizers: a qualitative approach
Authors: Xie Philip , Sinwald Andy
Published: May 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to focus on: first, what major impacts do organizers perceive special events to create, and how do they measure an event’s success? second, do these perceived impacts align with the major themes of economic benefits, social impacts, and community cohesiveness revealed in the existing literature? and third, why do event organizers perceive these major impacts?

Design/methodology/approach

– In order to gain a better understanding of the types of community impact event organizers anticipate from, and attempt to solicit through special events, this study makes use of a survey with open-ended questions. Such questions enable a broader discussion between interviewees and interviewers, giving interviewees greater response leeway and generating more material for the researcher’s analysis.

Findings

– Findings suggest that bringing the community together, producing economic benefits for local businesses, and creating socializing and educational opportunities for visitors are the primary impacts anticipated by interviewed event organizers. In particular, providing a positive experience by getting the community involved proves to be the key element to the success of any special event discussed.

Research limitations/implications

– There are a couple of limitations to the study. First, the study presented a relatively small sample. Second, these results may relate to the institutions located along Lake Erie where parks and recreation have long been viewed as an integral part of community life.

Originality/value

– This study represents a first attempt to complement the quantitative data in the former research with a qualitative study. Through in-depth interviews, it sets out to create a dialogue from the event organizers along Lake Erie in the USA to help better understand the impacts of special events prepared by Parks and Recreation Departments.
The Pransky interview: Melonee Wise, CEO, Fetch Robotics
Authors: Pransky Joanne
Published: May 2016

Purpose

The following paper is a “Q&A interview” conducted by Joanne Pransky of Industrial Robot Journal as a method to impart the combined technological, business and personal experience of a prominent, robotic industry engineer-turned successful business leader, regarding the commercialization and challenges of bringing technological inventions to market while overseeing a company. This paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The interviewee is Melonee Wise, an entrepreneur and veteran robot designer. In this interview, Wise candidly discusses her career journey, including the successes and lessons learned in the transitioning from an engineer to the CEO of two robotic start-up companies in just six years.

Findings

Melonee Wise had a love for building mechanical things since childhood. At the age of eight, she built and programmed a plotter out of Legos. Wise received BS degrees in mechanical engineering and physics engineering, and an MS degree in mechanical engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. While in school, Wise spent her summers interning at Alcoa, DaimlerChrysler and Honeywell Aerospace. She was able to parlay her passion of building robots when she had the opportunity to work on the DARPA Urban Challenge through her university. From there, Wise joined the start-up Willow Garage as a Senior Engineer in 2007. In 2013, she left her position as Manager of Robot Development at Willow to co-found Unbounded Robotics. When Unbounded unexpectedly shut down 18 months later, Ms Wise gave birth to Fetch Robotics, a manufacturer of autonomous and affordable robots for the warehouse and logistics industries.

Originality/value

Melonee Wise is an ambitious robot engineer-turned-entrepreneur in pursuit of fast-paced career and personal growth, and taking on unprecedented challenges. After interning at three large US manufacturing companies, Wise decided to pursue her PhD until the right company and opportunity came along. In 2007, she was asked by a Willow Garage co-founder to leave her PhD studies and join them as their second employee. Willow Garage, the creator of Robot Operating System (ROS) open source software and the PR2 hardware platforms, would go on to become one of the most significant robot incubators of the decade. Wise was one of the co-creators of TurtleBot, a consumer robotics product developed in nine months, and she helped with the design of the PR2 and ROS. Additionally, while at Willow Garage, Wise created the Intern Program, increasing the number of interns from one to over 60. Melonee Wise spun-off Unbounded Robotics in 2013 and headed Fetch Robotics in 2014. Wise and Fetch recently raised more than US$20 million in Series A funding. Wise holds the patent for a steering column lock assembly and has been honored with the prestigious awards: MIT Technology Review’s 35 Innovators under 35; The 2014 Business Insider’s 15 Most Important People Working in Robotics; and Robohub’s 2013 25 Women in Robotics you need to know about.
Hybrid position/force control of 6-dof hydraulic parallel manipulator using force and vision
Authors: Gao Changhong , Cong Dacheng , Liu Xiaochu , Yang Zhidong , Tao Han
Published: May 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a hybrid position/force control scheme using force and vision for docking task of a six degrees of freedom (6-dof) hydraulic parallel manipulator (HPM).

Design/methodology/approach

The vision system consisted of a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera, and a laser distance sensor is used to provide globe relative position information. Also, a force plate is used to measure local contact forces. The proposed controller has an inner/outer loop structure. The inner loop takes charge of tracking command pose signals from outer loop as accurate as possible, while the outer loop generates the desired tracking trajectory according to force and vision feedback information to guarantee compliant docking. Several experiments have been performed to validate the performance of the proposed control scheme.

Findings

Experiment results show that the system has good performance of relative position tracking and compliant contact. In whole docking dynamic experiment, the amplitudes of contact forces are well controlled within 300 N, which can meet perfectly the requirement of the amplitude being not more than 1,000 N.

Originality/value

A hybrid position/force control scheme using force and vision is proposed to make a 6-dof HPM dock with a moving target object compliantly.
Call of duty: an exploration of the factors influencing NHS professionals to report adult protection concerns
Authors: Fennell Kate
Published: May 2016

Purpose

– The Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 places a duty on Councils to investigate the circumstances of adults who, because of a disability, health condition or illness are unable to safeguard themselves from harm. Public partner agencies, including the NHS have a statutory obligation to bring to the attention of the Council those individuals who may be at risk of harm. Health professionals cooperate with adult protection investigations and participate in the development of adult support and protection plans, yet do not appear to be initiating adult protection referrals with the Council. Low reporting by health has also been recognised as a national issue. The purpose of this paper is to explore what promotes and what prohibits the identification and reporting of situations of abuse within the Scottish Legislative Framework. Understanding the decision-making processes of prospective reporters would potentially allow the barriers to be reduced and the supports to be strengthened.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research strategy is based on a literature review, a web-based survey and semi-structured interviews with health professionals within community learning and community mental health teams.

Findings

– The findings point to a number of inter-related factors which impinge upon the professional’s confidence to initiate adult protection referrals. Workers must first recognise harm as conduct which needs to be reported and addressed. They need to be familiar with referral procedures and be assured that their concerns will be dealt with appropriately. Health professionals are more likely to report if they are based in an environment which supports honest and open discussion regarding harm, without over-concern about agency reputation or resources. Access to multi-disciplinary consultation and support, particularly in relation to more ambiguous protection situations, was viewed as fundamental to reporting.

Originality/value

– This small scale study adds to a developing bank of literature providing a Scottish perspective on protecting adults. It offers some insight into reporting decisions from the viewpoint of community health professionals.
Foreign aid via 3-Party Covenant Financings of capital-intensive infrastructure
Authors: Simshauser Paul , Smith Leonard , Whish-Wilson Patrick , Nelson Tim
Published: May 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to analyse electricity supply in the Solomon Islands face extraordinarily expensive electricity tariffs – currently set at 96 c/kWh – making them amongst the highest in the world. Power is supplied by a fleet of diesel generators reliant on imported liquid fuels. In this article, the authors model the 14,100 kW power system on the island of Guadalcanal and demonstrate that by investing in a combination of hydroelectric and solar photovoltaic generating capacity, power system costs and reliability can be improved marginally. However, when the authors model a 3-Party Covenant (3PC) Financing structure involving a credit wrap by the Commonwealth of Australia, electricity production costs fall by 50 per cent, thus resulting in meaningful increases in consumer welfare.

Design/methodology/approach

This study’s approach uses an integrated levelised cost of electricity model and dynamic partial equilibrium power system model. Doing so enables the authors to quickly analyse the rich blend of fixed, variable and sunk costs of generating technology options. The authors also focus on the cost of capital that is likely to be achieved under various policy settings.

Findings

The authors find that a 3PC Financing policy can substantially reduce the production costs associated with capital-intensive power projects in an unrated sovereign nation. Such a policy and associated prescriptions are not specific to the Solomon Islands or power generation. The conceptual framework and associated financial logic that underpins the initiative can be generalised to other “user pays” infrastructure projects and to other developing nations. The broad applicability of 3PC financing means that it is not country specific, project specific or asset class specific.

Research Limitations/implications

It is important to note that the analysis in this paper has a number of limitations in that the authors do not deal with rural electrification or distribution network costs. The focus of this paper is to identify policy interventions that are capable of making profound changes to the cost and the reliability of wholesale electricity production.

Originality/value

The focus of this paper is to identify a policy intervention capable of making profound changes to the cost and the reliability of wholesale electricity production. While there is nothing novel associated with a 3PC Financing per se, the authors are unaware of its direct use as a form of delivering foreign aid. A 3PC Financing has the effect of shifting the source of aid funding from fiscal account surplus/deficit (i.e. cash outlays) to balance sheet (i.e. credit wrap). However, this is not a “magic pudding” – 3PC Financing creates an asset-backed contingent liability and will have the effect of reducing the donor country’s own debt capacity by a commensurate amount, holding the nation’s credit rating constant.
Agile manufacturing practices for new product development: industrial case studies
Authors: Leite Marco , Braz Vanessa
Published: May 2016

Purpose

– For decades multiple management philosophies directed toward lean production and mass were assumed as to respond to process inefficiencies and rampant consumerism, optimizing operation costs. However, new customization and flexible productions philosophies have been gaining ground in some industries, such as the agile manufacturing. From a literature review that addresses the history of this philosophy, it is clear that agile manufacturing is not fully comprehended, with very scarce information about practical cases. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– In this paper the authors describe an exploratory methodology approach, with three semi-structured case study interviews. The goal is to study which of agile manufacturing practices are being applied in the studied companies and what is the perceived effect that these have on operational performance. Since most of these companies develop highly customized products, the role of agility on new product development can have a huge impact on their operational performance.

Findings

– Agile manufacturing is not yet a widespread philosophy of managing for the companies studied, being virtually unknown as a global concept. However, it was found that many of the practices of agile manufacturing are already implemented in these companies without association with this philosophy. It was also concluded, by the finding through respondents opinions, that agile practices contribute positively to the studied companies operating performance.

Originality/value

– The novelty of this research derives from observation of agile manufacturing practices in SMEs. This research is useful to SMEs implementing agile manufacturing principles.