bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cyp26b1 is required for proper airway epithelial differentiation during lung development
Authors: Daniel Edward , Sutton Gabrielle I. , Htike Yadanar , Cleaver Ondine
Published: June 2019

Proper organ development depends on coordinated communication between multiple cell types. Retinoic acid (RA) is an autocrine and paracrine signaling molecule critical for the development of most organs including the lung. Both RA excess and deficiency lead to drastic alterations in embryogenesis, often culminating in embryonic or neonatal lethality. Therefore, RA levels must be spatially and temporally titrated to ensure proper organogenesis. Despite extensive work detailing the effects of RA deficiency in early lung morphogenesis, little is known about how RA levels are modulated during late lung development. Here, we investigate the role of the RA catabolizing protein Cyp26b1 in lung development. Cyp26b1 is highly enriched in lung endothelial cells (ECs) throughout the course of development. We find that loss of Cyp26b1 impacts differentiation of the distal epithelium without appreciably affecting proximal airways, EC lineages, or stromal populations. Cyp26b1−/−lungs exhibit an increase in cellular density, with an expansion of distal progenitors at the expense of alveolar type 1 (AT1) cells, which culminates in neonatal death. Exogenous administration of RA in late gestation was able to partially reproduce this defect in epithelial differentiation; however, transcriptional analyses of Cyp26b1−/−lungs and RA-treated lungs reveal separate, but overlapping, transcriptional responses. These data suggest that the defects observed in Cyp26b1−/−lungs are caused by both RA-dependent and RA-independent mechanisms. This work highlights critical cellular crosstalk during lung development involving a crucial role for Cyp26b1-expressing endothelium, and identifies a novel RA rheostat in lung development.

HIGHLIGHTS

Cyp26b1 is highly expressed in lung ECs throughout development

Cyp26b1-null lungs fail to undergo proper differentiation of distal epithelium leading to an increase in progenitors and AT2 cells at the expense of AT1 cells

Functional and transcriptional analyses suggest both RA-dependent and RA-independent mechanisms
Social bonding, gestural complexity and displacement behaviour of wild chimpanzee
Authors: Roberts Anna Ilona , Roberts Sam George Bradley
Published: June 2019

Kinship and demography affect social affiliation in many different contexts such as co-feeding, resting, travel, grooming, visual attention and proximity. Chimpanzees may coordinate these social interactions by using gestural communication to make signaller’s goal transparent to the recipient and also by increasing commitment of the recipient through including rewarding property in communication. The rewards of gesturing can be measured through the rates of displacement behaviour made in response to these gestures by the recipient. We tested hypothesis that gestural communication affects social affiliation after controlling for kinship and demography in wild, adult chimpanzees living in Budongo Forest, Uganda. We found that affiliative but not antagonistic gestures positively predicted social affiliation. Contexts differed in their association with gestures according to complexity and association with displacement behaviour. More complex, less intense gestures predicted mutual grooming, travel, visual attention whereas less complex, more intense gestures predicted unidirectional grooming. Mirroring these patterns, reduced displacement activity occurred in response to gestures associated with unidirectional grooming but not other contexts. We highlight that these tactical decisions that wild chimpanzees make in their use of gestural communication may be driven by complexity of social environment that influences effectiveness with which signalers can influence the recipient.
Genome wide analysis of 3′ UTR sequence elements and proteins regulating mRNA stability during maternal-to-zygotic transition in zebrafish
Authors: Vejnar Charles E. , Abdel Messih Mario , Takacs Carter M. , Yartseva Valeria , Oikonomou Panos , Christiano Romain , Stoeckius Marlon , Lau Stephanie , Lee Miler T. , Beaudoin Jean-Denis , Musaev Damir , Darwich-Codore Hiba , Walther Tobias C. , Tavazoie Saeed , Cifuentes Daniel , Giraldez Antonio J.
Published: June 2019

Posttranscriptional regulation plays a crucial role in shaping gene expression. During the maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT), thousands of maternal transcripts are regulated. However, how different cis-elements and trans-factors are integrated to determine mRNA stability remains poorly understood. Here, we show that most transcripts are under combinatorial regulation by multiple decay pathways during zebrafish MZT. By using a massively parallel reporter assay, we identified cis-regulatory sequences in the 3′ UTR, including U-rich motifs that are associated with increased mRNA stability. In contrast, miR-430 target sequences, UAUUUAUU AU-rich elements (ARE), CCUC, and CUGC elements emerged as destabilizing motifs, with miR-430 and AREs causing mRNA deadenylation upon genome activation. We identified trans-factors by profiling RNA–protein interactions and found that poly(U)-binding proteins are preferentially associated with 3′ UTR sequences and stabilizing motifs. We show that this activity is antagonized by C-rich motifs and correlated with protein binding. Finally, we integrated these regulatory motifs into a machine learning model that predicts reporter mRNA stability in vivo.
ACMS: a database of alternate conformations found in the atoms of main and side chains of protein structures
Authors: Santhosh R. , Chandrasekaran P. , Michael Daliah , Rangachari K. , Bankoti Namrata , Jeyakanthan J. , Sekar K.
Published: June 2019

Proteins are usually dynamic biological macromolecules, thereby exhibiting a large number of conformational ensembles which influence the association with their neighbours and interacting partners. Most of the side-chain atoms and a few main-chain atoms of the high-resolution crystal structures deposited in the Protein Data Bank adopt alternate conformations. This kind of conformational behaviour prompted the authors to explore the relationship, if any, between the alternate conformations and the function of the protein molecule. Thus, a knowledge base of the alternate conformations of the main- and side-chain atoms of protein structures has been developed. It provides a detailed description of the alternate conformations of various residues for more than 60 000 high-resolution crystal structures. The proposed knowledge base is very user friendly and has various flexible options. The knowledge base will be updated periodically and can be accessed at http://iris.physics.iisc.ac.in/acms.
Zinc K-edge XANES spectroscopy of mineral and organic standards
Authors: Griffith Erin K. , Ingall Ellery D. , Morton Peter L. , Tavakoli David A. , Lai Barry
Published: June 2019

Zinc K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge (XANES) spectroscopy was conducted on 40 zinc mineral samples and organic compounds. The K-edge position varied from 9660.5 to 9666.0 eV and a variety of distinctive peaks at higher post-edge energies were exhibited by the materials. Zinc is in the +2 oxidation state in all analyzed materials, thus the variations in edge position and post-edge features reflect changes in zinc coordination. For some minerals, multiple specimens from different localities as well as pure forms from chemical supply companies were examined. These specimens had nearly identical K-edge and post-edge peak positions with only minor variation in the intensity of the post-edge peaks. This suggests that typical compositional variations in natural materials do not strongly affect spectral characteristics. Organic zinc compounds also exhibited a range of edge positions and post-edge features; however, organic compounds with similar zinc coordination structures had nearly identical spectra. Zinc XANES spectral patterns will allow identification of unknown zinc-containing minerals and organic phases in future studies.
Supramolecular synthon hierarchy in sulfonamide cocrystals with syn-amides and N-oxides
Authors: Bolla Geetha , Nangia Ashwini
Published: June 2019

Sulfonamide drugs are well known antibacterial and antimicrobial molecules for pharmaceutical development. Building a library of suitable supramolecular synthons for the sulfonamide functional group and understanding their crystal structures with partner coformer molecules continues to be a challenge in crystal engineering. Although a few sulfonamide cocrystals with amides and N-oxides have been reported, the body of work on sulfonamide synthons is limited compared with those that have carboxylic acids and carboxamides. To address this structural gap, the present work is primarily focused on sulfonamide–lactam and sulfonamide–syn-amide synthons with drugs such as celecoxib, hydrochlorothiazide and furosemide. Furthermore, the electrostatic potential of previously reported cocrystals has been recalculated to show that the negative electrostatic potential on the lactam and syn-amide O atom is higher compared with the charge on carboxamide and pyridine N-oxide O atoms. The potential of sulfonamide molecules to form cocrystals with syn-amides and lactams are evaluated in terms of the electrostatic potential energy for the designed supramolecular synthons.
Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of N-(2-chlorophenylcarbamothioyl)-4-fluorobenzamide and N-(4-bromophenylcarbamothioyl)-4-fluorobenzamide
Authors: Akhter Sidra , Choudhary Muhammad Iqbal , Siddiqui Hina , Yousuf Sammer
Published: June 2019

The title compounds, C14H10ClFN2OS (1) and C14H10BrFN2OS (2), were synthesized by two-step reactions. The dihedral angles between the aromatic rings are 31.99 (3) and 9.17 (5)° for 1 and 2, respectively. Compound 1 features an intramolecular bifurcated N—H...(O,Cl) link due to the presence of the ortho-Cl atom on the benzene ring, whereas 2 features an intramolecular N—H...O hydrogen bond. In the crystal of 1, inversion dimers linked by pairs of N—H...S hydrogen bonds generate R
2
2(8) loops. The extended structure of 2 features the same motif but an additional weak C—H...S interaction links the inversion dimers into [100] double columns. Hirshfeld surface analyses indicate that the most important contributors towards the crystal packing are H...H (26.6%), S...H/H.·S (13.8%) and Cl...H/H...Cl (9.5%) contacts for 1 and H...H (19.7%), C...H/H...C (14.8%) and Br...H/H...Br (12.4%) contacts for 2.
Two new glaserite-type orthovanadates: Rb2KDy(VO4)2 and Cs1.52K1.48Gd(VO4)2
Authors: Rghioui Lotfi , El Ammari Lahcen , Assani Abderrazzak , Saadi Mohamed
Published: June 2019

The crystal structures of dirubidium potassium dysprosium bis(vanadate), Rb2KDy(VO4)2, and caesium potassium gadolinium bis(vanadate), Cs1.52K1.48Gd(VO4)2, were solved from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. Both compounds, synthesized by the reactive flux method, crystallize in the space group P\overline{3}m1 with the glaserite structure type. VO4 tetrahedra are linked to DyO6 or GdO6 octahedra by common vertices to form sheets stacking along the c axis. The large twelve-coordinate Cs+ or Rb+ cations are sandwiched between these layers in tunnels along the a and b axes, while the K+ cations, surrounded by ten oxygen atoms, are localized in cavities.
Crystal structure, spectroscopic characterization and Hirshfeld surface analysis of trans-diaqua[2,5-bis(pyridin-4-yl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole]dithiocyanatonickel(II)
Authors: Rhoufal Ferdaousse , Bentiss Fouad , Guesmi Salaheddine , Ketatni El Mostafa , Saadi Mohamed , El Ammari Lahcen
Published: June 2019

The reaction of 2,5-bis(pyridin-4-yl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (4-pox) and thiocyanate ions, used as co-ligand with nickel salt NiCl2·6H2O, produced the title complex, [Ni(NCS)2(C12H8N4O)2(H2O)2]. The NiII atom is located on an inversion centre and is octahedrally coordinated by four N atoms from two ligands and two pseudohalide ions, forming the equatorial plane. The axial positions are occupied by two O atoms of coordinated water molecules. In the crystal, the molecules are linked into a three-dimensional network through strong O—H...N hydrogen bonds. Hirshfeld surface analysis was used to investigate the intermolecular interactions in the crystal packing.
Inequality and the economic participation of women in sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Asongu Simplice , Odhiambo Nicholas
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of inequality on female employment in 42 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for the period 2004–2014.

Design/methodology/approach

Three inequality indicators are used, namely, the: Gini coefficient, Atkinson index and Palma ratio. Two indicators of gender inclusion are also employed, namely: female employment and female unemployment rates. The empirical analysis is based on the generalised method of moments.

Findings

The following main findings are established. First, inequality increases female unemployment in regressions based on the Palma ratio. Second, from the robustness checks, inequality reduces female employment within the frameworks of the Gini coefficient and Palma ratio.

Originality/value

Studies on the relevance of income inequality on female economic participation in SSA are sparse.
When do high prices lead to purchase intention? Testing two layers of moderation effects
Authors: Son Junghwa , Jin Byoungho Ellie
Published: June 2019

Purpose

Most marketing practices assume that consumers will buy when prices are low. This assumption, however, may not always hold true. Employing equity theory and Veblen’s theory of the leisure class, this study tested two moderating effects to ascertain the relationship between perceived price and purchase intention. The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to examine the relationship between perceived price and willingness to purchase; second, to discover the effects of two moderators (perceived price fairness and vanity) on this relationship; and third, to compare how these moderating effects differ by consumers’ brand familiarity.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 287 usable data sets were collected from college students in the southeastern region of the USA.

Findings

The findings showed no negative relationship between perceived price and willingness to purchase. Only perceived price fairness was found to moderate the perceived price–purchase intention relationship. Furthermore, the moderating effect of price fairness was only confirmed in the high brand familiarity group, while the moderating effect of vanity was only confirmed in the low brand familiarity group.

Research limitations/implications

Generalization of the findings is cautioned because findings may vary by demographic backgrounds.

Practical implications

Since purchase intention increases when price is fair even though price is high, marketers should put efforts into promoting and creating the perception of fair price of their products and brands.

Originality/value

This study extends price perception research by incorporating two theories (equity theory and Veblen’s theory of the leisure class) that help further elaborate the relationship between perceived price and willingness to purchase.
Study on the application of government affairs micro-blog in the disclosure of government emergency information in China
Authors: Xiang Liwen
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how government affairs micro-blog (also referred to as GAM) are applied to the disclosure of government emergency information in China, to identify its existing problems and to provide solutions.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, online research, case analysis and other methods were used to analyze the application status of China’s Government micro-blog in emergency information disclosure in recent years. Based on the relevant data and cases, a systematic theoretical research is conducted according to the established research framework.

Findings

There are some problems in the application of GAM to crisis management, such as insufficient information dissemination, incomplete information disclosure, fragmentation of information and lack of dynamic updating and communication. So, it is necessary to strengthen the organization and management of GAM, establish a perfect emergency management mechanism of GAM, increase the positive influence of GAM on public opinions and establish an evaluation accountability system of administrative micro-blog management.

Originality/value

The analysis of the application of GAM to the disclosure of government emergency information and the proposed strategies for improving its performance are all original, and they are both meaningful to more effective usage of GAM and facilitation of government emergency information disclosure.
A finite element solver for hypersonic flows in thermo-chemical non-equilibrium, Part I
Authors: Seguin Jory , Gao Song , Habashi Wagdi George , Isola Dario , Baruzzi Guido
Published: June 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to describe the physical and numerical modeling of a new computational fluid dynamics solver for hypersonic flows in thermo-chemical non-equilibrium. The code uses a blend of numerical techniques to ensure accuracy and robustness and to provide scalability for advanced hypersonic physics and complex three-dimensional (3D) flows.

Design/methodology/approach

The solver is based on an edge-based stabilized finite element method (FEM). The chemical and thermal non-equilibrium systems are loosely-coupled to provide flexibility and ease of implementation. Chemical non-equilibrium is modeled using a laminar finite-rate chemical kinetics model while a two-temperature model is used to account for thermodynamic non-equilibrium. The systems are solved implicitly in time to relax numerical stiffness. Investigations are performed on various canonical hypersonic geometries in two-dimensional and 3D.

Findings

The comparisons with numerical and experimental results demonstrate the suitability of the code for hypersonic non-equilibrium flows. Although convergence is shown to suffer to some extent from the loosely-coupled implementation, trading a fully-coupled system for a number of smaller ones improves computational time. Furthermore, the specialized numerical discretization offers a great deal of flexibility in the implementation of numerical flux functions and boundary conditions.

Originality/value

The FEM is often disregarded in hypersonics. This paper demonstrates that this method can be used successfully for these types of flows. The present findings will be built upon in a later paper to demonstrate the powerful numerical ability of this type of solver, particularly with respect to robustness on highly stretched unstructured anisotropic grids.
Responses of the Yellow River basin vegetation: climate change
Authors: Li Yang , Xie Zhixiang , Qin Yaochen , Zheng Zhicheng
Published: June 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to study the temporal and spatial variation of vegetation and the influence of climate change on vegetation coverage in the Yellow River basin, China. The current study aimed to evaluate the role of a series of government-led environmental control projects in restoring the ecological environment of the Yellow River basin.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses unary linear regression, Mann–Kendall and wavelet analyses to study the spatial–temporal variations of vegetation and the response to climate changes in the Yellow River, China.

Findings

The results showed that for the past 17 years, not only the mean annual increase rate of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was 0.0059/a, but the spatial heterogeneity also yields significant results. The vegetation growth in the southeastern region was significantly better than that in the northwestern region. The variation period of the NDVI in the study area significantly shortened, and the most obvious oscillation period was half a year, with two peaks in one year. In addition, there are positive and negative effects of human activities on the change of vegetation cover of the Loess Plateau. The project of transforming cultivated land to forest and grassland promotes the increase of vegetation cover of the Loess plateau. Unfortunately, the regional urbanization and industrialization proliferated, and the overloading of grazing, deforestation, over-reclamation, and the exploitation and development of the energy area in the grassland region led to the reduction of the NDVI. Fortunately, the positive effects outweigh the negative ones.

Originality/value

This paper provides a comprehensive insight to analysis of the vegetation change and the responses of vegetation to climate change, with special reference to make the planning policy of ecological restoration. This paper argues that ecological restoration should be strengthened in areas with annual precipitation less than 450 mm.
Solar smart grid as a path to economic inclusion and adaptation to climate change in the Brazilian Semiarid Northeast
Authors: Nobre Paulo , Pereira Enio Bueno , Lacerda Francinete Francis , Bursztyn Marcel , Haddad Eduardo Amaral , Ley Debora
Published: June 2019

Purpose

This study aims to exploit the abundance of solar energy resources for socioeconomic development in the semi -arid Northeastern Brazil as a potent adaptation tool to global climate change. It points out a set of conjuncture factors that allow us to foresee a new paradigm of sustainable development for the region by transforming the sun’s radiant energy into electricity through distributed photovoltaic generation. The new paradigm, as presented in this essay, has the transformative potential to free the region from past regional development dogma, which was dependent on the scarce water resource, and the marginal and predatory use of its Caatinga Biome.

Design/methodology/approach

The research uses a pre ante design, following the procedures of scenario building, as an adaptation mechanism to climate change in the sector of energy generation and socioeconomic inclusion.

Findings

The scenarios of socioeconomic resilience to climate change based on the abundance of solar radiation, rather than the scarcity of water, demonstrates its potential as a global adaptation paradigm to climate change.

Research limitations/implications

The developments proposed are dependent on federal legislation changes, allowing the small producer to be remunerated by the energy produced.

Practical implications

The proposed smart grid photovoltaic generation program increases the country's resiliency to the effect of droughts and climate change.

Social implications

As proposed, the program allows for the reversion of a pattern of long term poverty in semi-arid Northeast Brazil.

Originality/value

The exploitation of the characteristics of abundance of the semiarid climate, i.e. its very condition of semi-aridity with abundant solar radiation, is itself an advantage factor toward adaption to unforeseen drought events. Extensive previous research has focused on weighting and monitoring drought i.e. the paradigm of scarcity. The interplay between exploiting Northeast Brazil’s abundant factors and climate change adaptation, especially at the small farmer levels constitutes a discovery never before contemplated.
Okinawa as dystopia: panoptic monitoring systems in schools
Authors: Kishimoto Kotoe , Saito Eisuke
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate a dystopian situation with special reference to how a panoptic monitoring system emerges in schools. To satisfy this aim, there will be a close analysis of the city of Nago in Okinawa Prefecture, where there is a huge debate over the new US Marine base construction and how it greatly influences people’s lives.

Design/methodology/approach

This study will employ a self-study by the first author, who is a clinical psychologist under the board of education in the city. This self-study aims to examine the lived experiences of the author based on interactions with critical friends.

Findings

The government’s selection of the site for the new base created a schism in the community, and the introduction of compensations led to the establishment of a communal panoptic monitoring system. This communal panoptic monitoring largely influences the relationships between pupils, teachers and parents. Further, another panoptic monitoring system has developed inside the Nago schools due to the intensification of the assessment policies given by the ministry in Tokyo.

Originality/value

This investigation purports to analyse a dystopian situation with special reference to how a panoptic monitoring system, a key element of a dystopia, emerges in schools.
Mediated effect of project management asset characteristics on firm performance
Authors: Jugdev Kam , Mathur Gita , Fung Tak
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study how project-level performance mediates the effect of project management assets on firm-level performance by examining the direct and mediated relationships between the project management process characteristics: valuable, rare, inimitable and organizationally supported on project-level and firm-level performance outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper analyzes data from an online survey completed by 198 North American Project Management Institute® members. Linear regression and Sobel Tests are used to examine the relationships between nine factors extracted from an exploratory factor analysis that comprise project management asset characteristics, one factor that comprises project-level performance outcomes, and one factor that comprises firm-level performance outcomes.

Findings

Not only does project-level performance positively and significantly affect firm-level performance, but project-level performance also significantly mediates the effect of project management asset characteristics (for all nine factors) on firm performance.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations of this study include sample size and self-report bias, calling for a larger sample in ongoing research.

Practical implications

This study contributes to the stream of literature on project management assets as sources of competitive advantage and makes the case for sustained organizational investments in the project management process.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the limited, but increasing interest in applying the resource-based view of the firm to project management capabilities as a source of competitive advantage.
A machine learning-based methodology to predict learners’ dropout, success or failure in MOOCs
Authors: Mourdi Youssef , Sadgal Mohamed , El Kabtane Hamada , Berrada Fathi Wafaa
Published: June 2019

Purpose

Even if MOOCs (massive open online courses) are becoming a trend in distance learning, they suffer from a very high rate of learners’ dropout, and as a result, on average, only 10 per cent of enrolled learners manage to obtain their certificates of achievement. This paper aims to give tutors a clearer vision for an effective and personalized intervention as a solution to “retain” each type of learner at risk of dropping out.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a methodology to provide predictions on learners’ behaviors. This work, which uses a Stanford data set, was divided into several phases, namely, a data extraction, an exploratory study and then a multivariate analysis to reduce dimensionality and to extract the most relevant features. The second step was the comparison between five machine learning algorithms. Finally, the authors used the principle of association rules to extract similarities between the behaviors of learners who dropped out from the MOOC.

Findings

The results of this work have given that deep learning ensures the best predictions in terms of accuracy, which is an average of 95.8 per cent, and is comparable to other measures such as precision, AUC, Recall and F1 score.

Originality/value

Many research studies have tried to tackle the MOOC dropout problem by proposing different dropout predictive models. In the same context, comes the present proposal with which the authors have tried to predict not only learners at a risk of dropping out of the MOOCs but also those who will succeed or fail.
Thermo-elastohydrodynamic simulation of the piston-cylinder contact in high-pressure pumps at 3000 bar
Authors: Özdemir Ömer , Fischer Felix , Rienäcker Adrian , Schmitz Katharina
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to show these effects in an abstracted micro gap test bench. Because of stronger emission laws, the ambition to raise the rail pressure in common-rail systems from the current 2500 bar to 3000 bar is a given. The pressure increase will allow fine atomization of fuel and therefore more efficient combustion. But within the technical system of the high-pressure pump, stronger thermal stresses of the piston–cylinder contact are expected. A pressure drop from such a high level causes high temperature gradients due to energy dissipation.

Design/methodology/approach

For a detailed examination, the critical piston–cylinder contact has been investigated in an abstracted test bench with a flat parallel gap and an equivalent thermo-elastohydrodynamic simulation model.

Findings

The simulation results show good accordance to the measurements of pressures, temperatures and leakages for pressures up to 3000 bar. Comparison with elastohydrodynamic lubrication results outlines the need to consider temperature and pressure effects viscosity and solid deformation for the simulation and design of tribological contacts at high pressures.

Originality/value

This paper describes a simulation method with high accuracy to investigate tribological contacts considering temperature effects on solid structures and the fluid film. The thermo-elastohydrodynamic lubrication simulation method is valid not only for piston–cylinder contacts in high-pressure pumps but also for journal bearings in combustion engines.
Strategic discipline: inconspicuous lessons from Germanic Mittelstand firms
Authors: Lehrer Mark , Schmid Stefan
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop the hitherto unexplored concept of strategic discipline.

Design/methodology/approach

Three fairly iconic firms of the Germanic Mittelstand (ALDI, Stihl and Hipp) are examined. The meaning and relevance of strategic discipline is derived.

Findings

Intuitively, strategic discipline may seem like the antipode to the much-discussed concept of pivoting. In fact, strategic discipline is shown to be the natural corollary of strategic pivoting as a successive phase in a company’s development.

Research limitations/implications

In fast-moving or fast-changing environments, strategic discipline may be inappropriate. Furthermore, the exercise of strategic discipline can restrain growth. Once firms have attained a certain size and saturation of the market, the desire for further growth may entail a willingness to loosen the hold of strategic discipline.

Practical implications

Strategic discipline can enable firms to avoid falling into common strategic pitfalls. From this paper, the authors distill three basic dimensions of strategic discipline: cultivating simplicity, resisting short-term temptations and focusing on implementability.

Originality/value

The success of firms depends as much on the strategic choices they make as upon the strategic choices they decide not to make. Most prior research has focused on the visible strategy choices companies have made a lot more than on the practically invisible history of strategic choices that firms have not made. This contribution does the opposite, filling an evident gap.
Sustainable built heritage: maintenance management appraisal approach
Authors: Kayan Brit Anak
Published: June 2019

Purpose

Sustainability encapsulated economic, environmental and societal parameters. Without exception, these parameters also conforms the efficiency and increasingly importance of sustainable maintenance management for built heritage. However, there is less attention to the appraisal approach for maintenance management of built heritage, twinned with inconsistent and impractical assessment upon their maintenance strategies. With the aim to support sustainability, the purpose of this paper is to give an insight to the question on how the maintenance management appraisal approach practically determines and ultimately substantiates the decision-making process that promotes sustainable built heritage, based on current scenarios and practices in Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach

Maintenance management appraisal for sampling of built heritage enables assessment of efficiency of maintenance and repair during maintenance phase based on survey (questionnaires) and statistical analysis.

Findings

It recognises the importance of maintenance management appraisal in achieving efficiency and underpinning rationale decision making for maintenance strategies and service quality (SERVQUAL).

Practical implications

It must be emphasised that maintenance management appraisal is not confined to built heritage, and can be applied to any types and forms of property. The decision made as a result of its utilisation is practically support sustainable repair.

Social implications

The implementation of this appraisal highlights the efficacy of maintenance strategies and SERVQUAL that may be adopted.

Originality/value

The paper is a rigorous appraisal of maintenance management of built heritage. This appraisal relays the “true” sustainable built heritage, contextualised within maintenance strategies and SERVQUAL that consequently allows rationale in achieving sustainable development.
Factors influencing SRI fund performance
Authors: Kiymaz Halil
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine socially responsible investment (SRI) fund performance and investigate the factors influencing fund performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses return data from the Morningstar database for 152 SRI funds from January 1995 to May 2015. The initial analysis includes the use of various risk-adjusted performance measures, including Sharpe ratio, Treynor ratio, Information ratio, Sortino ratio and M2. The study also uses four factor models, including Jensen single-factor model, Fama–French three-factor model, Carhart four-factor model and Fama–French five-factor model to explain SRI fund returns. Finally, a cross-sectional regression analysis is applied to investigate the determinants of SRI fund returns.

Findings

The results show that, on average, the SRI funds provide comparable risk-adjusted returns relative to various benchmark market indices. Market factor is significant in explaining SRI fund returns. Examining each factor model, the results do not support Fama–French’s three-factor model as neither size nor value factor is significant. The author finds weak support for Carhart’s momentum factor along with the market factor. Finally, the Fama–French five-factor model shows market, size and operating profit factors explain SRI fund returns. The study also finds the fund performance is stronger for funds with the higher turnover ratio, the larger fund size and more managerial experience and lower for funds with higher expense ratio. Also, funds formed with negative screening perform better than positive or mixed screened funds.

Originality/value

SRI funds have received considerable attention from investors. This study contributes to the literature by examining SRI fund performance and investigating factors influencing their performance using multiple factor models and cross-sectional regression analysis. The findings are relevant for investors who demand responsible investment opportunities without sacrificing returns for nonfinancial screenings. Findings also suggest that investors should consider fund characteristics when selecting SRI funds.
A pragmatist solution to the relevance gap of business school education
Authors: Asdemir Kursad , Ahrens Thomas
Published: June 2019

Purpose

Within the context of business school education, the purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual foundation in making academic knowledge more relevant to managerial practice through the use an off-shoot of pragmatist philosophy, Bridgman’s “operationalism,” in order to integrate theoretical knowledge with managerial experience.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on practice theory and Dewey’s theory of education, the paper argues that the operationalization of concepts into a set of actions brings theory closer to experience. An example from decision making during the Second World War illustrates the approach.

Findings

Facing future uncertainty, managerial practice strives to achieve goals in particular contexts. Knowledge is prospectively useful in situ when it is a source of fertile suggestion in perplexing situations. By presenting concepts as actions, students should find it easier to develop cognitive skills that can combine experience and knowledge for addressing novel decision-making situations.

Research limitations/implications

The research presents an application to decision making. More research is needed to determine how the approach can be extended into other domains of business education. Empirical testing of the effectiveness of the proposed method in different contexts may explicate how the method can be implemented, developed and improved further.

Originality/value

The debate on how to educate future business leaders has addressed concerns over the relevance of abstract knowledge, business practices, legitimacy and professionalism. It has also been marked by a lack of prescription for improving business school education. The current paper addresses this lack and will facilitate the development of teaching pedagogies that are more relevant to managerial practice in business education by providing a solid theoretical foundation.
Emerging case oriented agents for sustaining educational institutions going green towards environmental responsibility
Authors: Anthony Jnr. Bokolo , Abdul Majid Mazlina , Romli Awanis
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to design a system deployment model that integrates case-based agent technique to develop an eco-responsibility decision support tool for greening educational institutions toward environmental responsibility.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through questionnaires distributed among a statistical population that comprised practitioners across educational institutions in Malaysia that implement green practices. The questionnaire measured the feasibility of the developed tool based on factors derived from the literature. Accordingly, descriptive, exploratory and factor analysis approach using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) was used to test the feasibility of the developed tool.

Findings

Results from descriptive analysis confirm the tool is feasible based on mean values that range from 4.1619 to 3.6508 on a five-point scale, indicating that the tool is effective in sustaining educational institutions going green. Besides, results from exploratory analysis verify the reliability of the tool based on the acceptable Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient score higher than 0.7 and Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin value being above 0.5. Finally, results from factor analysis reveal that the developed tool is usable, efficient, helpful, flexible and credible and supports educational institutions in going green at 88.44 per cent of the total variance, suggesting that the respondents are satisfied with the tool.

Research limitations/implications

The sample population in this study comprises only practitioners from educational institutions in Malaysia. Theoretically, this research provides feasibility factors and associated items that can be used in evaluating developed information systems.

Practical implications

Practically, this study develops an eco-responsibility decision support tool to facilitate green strategies and provides information on how practitioners in educational institutions can improve green growth.

Social implications

This study presents how case-oriented agents aid educational institutions in going green for environmental responsibility. Socially, this research provides the strategies for green practice improvement in educational institutions toward environmental responsibility.

Originality/value

The eco-responsibility decision support tool provides a Web-based platform for promoting ecological protection by supporting the measuring of practitioners’ current green practices for environmental responsibility. Thus, research findings from this study are expected to help decision-makers generate useful insights into environment-friendly strategies to be implemented in educational institutions. Lastly, the statistical tests adopted in this paper can be used to gauge the feasibility of information system application in future.
Exploring leadership styles in government hospitals in Kuwait
Authors: ALFadhalah Talal , Elamir Hossam
Published: June 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to determine and assess leadership styles in six government general hospitals.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a cross-sectional study that uses a self-administered questionnaire to determine the leadership styles by self or followers’ rating. The participants were 66 leaders and 1,626 followers. The data were analyzed using suitable statistical methods.

Findings

The prevailing leadership style of hospitals’ leaders is the transformational style, where self-rating as transformational is higher than followers’ rating. The demographic characteristics of leaders are statistically insignificant.

Research limitations/implications

Other health-care settings were not included in the study. In addition, the study is designed to determine the relationship between variables, not to identify cause and effect. However, effective leadership has a substantial value and impact in health care. The paper confirms the existence of a transformational style effect on all organizational outcomes and represents a baseline for future studies in determining leadership styles and organizational culture types to highlight improvement areas.

Practical implications

The paper recommends designing training programs to improve transformational leadership behavior. Moreover, investment in research is needed to understand how to build transformational leaders. In addition, leaders' recruitment must be conditioned by obtaining a leadership certification.

Originality/value

This topic is under-researched in Kuwait health-care system. The use of leadership style as an indicator for a health-care organization's performance is still not well known in Kuwait.
Is radiative forcing cointegrated with temperature? A further examination using a structural time series approach
Authors: Balcombe Kelvin , Fraser Iain , Sharma Abhijit
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to re-examine the long-run relationship between radiative forcing (including emissions of carbon dioxide, sulphur oxides, methane and solar radiation) and temperatures from a structural time series modelling perspective. The authors assess whether forcing measures are cointegrated with global temperatures using the structural time series approach.

Design/methodology/approach

A Bayesian approach is used to obtain estimates that represent the uncertainty regarding this relationship. The estimated structural time series model enables alternative model specifications to be consistently compared by evaluating model performance.

Findings

The results confirm that cointegration between radiative forcing and temperatures is consistent with the data. However, the results find less support for cointegration between forcing and temperature data than found previously.

Research limitations/implications

Given considerable debate within the literature relating to the “best” way to statistically model this relationship and explain results arising as well as model performance, there is uncertainty regarding our understanding of this relationship and resulting policy design and implementation. There is a need for further modelling and use of more data.

Practical implications

There is divergence of views as to how best to statistically capture, explain and model this relationship. Researchers should avoid being too strident in their claims about model performance and better appreciate the role of uncertainty.

Originality/value

The results of this study make a contribution to the literature by employing a theoretically motivated framework in which a number of plausible alternatives are considered in detail, as opposed to simply employing a standard cointegration framework.
User’s feedback contribution to enhance professional online community: a motivational process
Authors: Zhang Tingting , Wang William Yu Chung , Techatassanasoontorn Angsana A.
Published: June 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the motivational process underlying users’ intention to provide feedback on user-contributed knowledge in professional online communities. User feedback can serve as a means of indicating the credibility of the online content, which can help community members in their knowledge-seeking process. Adopting such a user feedback mechanism is beneficial for users to identify relevant and credible content efficiently and for an online community to sustain itself.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on self-determination theory, an integrated model is proposed. In this model, behavioural intention is defined as the consequence of motivational orientations whose antecedences include various social factors. The model is empirically tested using survey data collected online and the structural equation modelling techniques.

Findings

The results show that users’ intention to provide feedback is primarily influenced by autonomous motivation. Autonomous motivation is in turn affected by social factors, including reciprocity, online reputation, trust in the user involvement mechanisms and affective and normative community commitments.

Originality/value

This study adds value to prior studies by stressing the significance and feasibility of user feedback in helping members of professional online communities with their knowledge-seeking process. It also contributes to the literature on user participation in these communities by showing the efficacy of a motivational process perspective and the role of motivational orientations, in particular, in explaining users’ behavioural intention.