bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Chikungunya virus requires an intact microtubule network for efficient viral genome delivery
Authors: Hoornweg Tabitha E. , Bouma Ellen M. , van de Pol Denise P.I. , Rodenhuis-Zybert Izabela A. , Smit Jolanda M.
Published: March 2020

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a re-emerging mosquito-borne virus, which has rapidly spread around the globe thereby causing millions of infections. CHIKV is an enveloped virus belonging to theTogaviridaefamily and enters its host cell primarily via clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Upon internalization, the endocytic vesicle containing the virus particle moves through the cell and delivers the virus to early endosomes where membrane fusion is observed. Thereafter, the nucleocapsid dissociates and the viral RNA is translated into proteins. In this study, we examined the importance of the microtubule network during the early steps of infection and dissected the intracellular trafficking behavior of CHIKV particles during cell entry. We observed two distinct CHIKV intracellular trafficking patterns prior to membrane hemifusion. Whereas half of the CHIKV virions remained static during cell entry and fused in the cell periphery, the other half showed fast-directed microtubule-dependent movement prior to delivery to Rab5-positive early endosomes and predominantly fused in the perinuclear region of the cell. Disruption of the microtubule network reduced the number of infected cells. At these conditions, membrane hemifusion activity was not affected yet fusion was restricted to the cell periphery. Furthermore, follow-up experiments revealed that disruption of the microtubule network impairs the delivery of the viral genome to the cell cytosol. We therefore hypothesize that microtubules may direct the particle to a cellular location that is beneficial for establishing infection or aids in nucleocapsid uncoating.

Author Summary

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an alphavirus that is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes. Disease symptoms can include fever, rash, myalgia, and long-lasting debilitating joint pains. Unfortunately, there is currently no licensed vaccine or antiviral treatment available to combat CHIKV. Understanding the virus:host interactions during the replication cycle of the virus is crucial for the development of effective antiviral therapies. In this study we elucidated the trafficking behavior of CHIKV particles early in infection. During cell entry, CHIKV virions require an intact microtubule network for efficient delivery of the viral genome into the host cell thereby increasing the chance to productively infect a cell.
Delineating the Genetic Component of Gene Expression in Major Depression
Authors: Dall’Aglio Lorenza , Lewis Cathryn M. , Pain Oliver
Published: March 2020

Background

Major Depression (MD) is determined by a multitude of factors including genetic risk variants which regulate gene expression (GE). Here, we examined the genetic component of GE in MD by performing a Transcriptome-Wide Association Study (TWAS), inferring GE-trait relationships from genetic, transcriptomic and phenotypic information.

Method

Genes differentially expressed in depression were identified with the TWAS FUSION method, based on summary statistics from the largest genome-wide association analysis of MD (Ncases= 135,458) and GE levels from 20 tissue datasets. Follow-up analyses were performed to extensively characterize the identified associations: colocalization, conditional, and fine-mapping analyses together with functionally-enriched pathway investigations.

Results

Transcriptome-wide significant GE differences between cases and controls were found at 91 genes, 50 of which were not found in previous MD TWASs. Of the 91 significant genes, eight represented strong, colocalized, and potentially causal associations with depression, which were independent from the effect of nearby genes. Such “high-confidence associations” includeNEGR1, CTC-467M3.3, TMEM106B, CTD-2298J14.2, CCDC175, ESR2, PROX2, ZC3H7B.Lastly, TWAS-based enrichment analysis highlighted dysregulation of gene sets for long term potentiation, dendritic shaft, and memory processes in MD.

Conclusion

This study has shed light on the genetic component of GE in depression by characterizing the identified associations, unravelling novel risk genes, and determining which associations are congruent with a causal model. These findings can be used as a resource for prioritizing and designing subsequent functional studies of MD.
The Synergy of Damage Repair and Retention Promotes Rejuvenation and Prolongs Healthy Lifespans in Cell Lineages
Authors: Schnitzer Barbara , Borgqvist Johannes , Cvijovic Marija
Published: March 2020

Damaged proteins are inherited asymmetrically during cell division in the yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiae, such that most damage is retained within the mother cell. The consequence is an ageing mother and a rejuvenated daughter cell with full replicative potential. Daughters of old and damaged mothers are however born with increasing levels of damage resulting in lowered replicative lifespans. Remarkably, these prematurely old daughters can give rise to rejuvenated cells with low damage levels and recovered lifespans, called second-degree rejuvenation. We aimed to investigate how damage repair and retention together can promote rejuvenation and at the same time ensure low damage levels in mother cells, reflected in longer health spans. We developed a dynamic model for damage accumulation over successive divisions in individual cells as part of a dynamically growing cell lineage. With detailed knowledge about single-cell dynamics and relationships between all cells in the lineage we can infer how individual damage repair and retention strategies affect the propagation of damage in the population. We show that active damage retention lowers damage levels in the population by reducing the variability across the lineage, and results in larger population sizes. Repairing damage efficiently in early life, as opposed to investing in repair when damage has already accumulated, counteracts accelerated ageing caused by damage retention. It prolongs the health span of individual cells which are moreover less prone to stress. In combination, damage retention and early investment in repair are beneficial for healthy ageing in yeast cell populations.
The effect of a novel powerful ABA mimic on the improvement of color in grapes and its mechanism
Authors: Ding Shanshan , Che Chuanliang , Xu Zhihong , Du Xiaoying , Li Junkai , Li Jia-Qi , Xiao Yumei , Qin Zhaohai
Published: March 2020

Pigment content is an important quality attribute in the grape industry, and anthocyanins are the major fruit pigments. iso-PhABA is a novel and excellent ABA analog capable of the antimetabolic inactivation of ABA. In this study, we found that iso-PhABA improved the coloration of grape berries more obviously than ABA at concentrations of 2 mg/L and 5 mg/L in two grape varieties in China. iso-PhABA treatment enhanced the anthocyanin content in the two grape varieties; specifically, the anthocyanin and delphinidin contents increased in both the ‘Jufeng’ and ‘Xiahei’ varieties. An enzymatic activity test showed that iso-PhABA significantly promoted four key enzyme activities catalyzing anthocyanin biosynthesis. We also determined the affinity between iso-PhABA and ABA receptors using ABA as a control. The results indicated that iso-PhABA had significantly to moderately higher affinities for some ABA receptors, including PYR1, PYL2, PYL1, PYL3 and PYL10, which resulted in higher inhibition of the PP2C HAB1 in the presence of iso-PhABA than in the presence of ABA. iso-PhABA treatment increased the content of soluble sugars and grape yield without any apparent accompanying adverse effects on the quality of the grapes.
A reversibly induced CRISPRi system targeting Photosystem II in the cyanobacteriumSynechocystissp. PCC 6803
Authors: Liu Deng , Johnson Virginia M. , Pakrasi Himadri B.
Published: March 2020

The cyanobacteriumSynechocystissp. PCC 6803 is used as a model organism to study photosynthesis, as it can utilize glucose as the sole carbon source to support its growth under heterotrophic conditions. CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) has been widely applied to repress the transcription of genes in a targeted manner in cyanobacteria. However, a robust and reversible induced CRISPRi system has not been explored inSynechocystis6803 to knock down and recover the expression of a targeted gene. In this study, we built a tightly controlled chimeric promoter, PrhaBAD-RSW, in which a theophylline responsive riboswitch was integrated into a rhamnose-inducible promoter system. We applied this promoter to drive the expression of ddCpf1 (DNase-dead Cpf1 nuclease) in a CRISPRi system and chose the PSII reaction center genepsbD(D2 protein) to target for repression.psbDwas specifically knocked down by over 95% of its native expression, leading to severely inhibited Photosystem II activity and growth ofSynechocystis6803 under photoautotrophic conditions. Significantly, removal of the inducers rhamnose and theophylline reversed repression by CRISPRi. Expression of PsbD recovered following release of repression, coupled with increased Photosystem II content and activity. This reversibly induced CRISPRi system inSynechocystis6803 represents a new strategy for study of the biogenesis of photosynthetic complexes in cyanobacteria.
SWI/SNF antagonizes SIR heterochromatin to promote transcription of genes expressed during mitotic exit inSaccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Rege Mayuri , Feldman Jessica L. , Adkins Nicholas L. , Peterson Craig L.
Published: March 2020

Heterochromatin is a repressive, specialized chromatin structure that is central to eukaryotic transcriptional regulation and genome stability. In the budding yeast,Saccharomyces cerevisiae, heterochromatin formation requires Sir2p, Sir3p, and Sir4p, and these Sir proteins create specialized chromatin structures at telomeres and silent mating type loci. Previously, we reported that the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling enzyme can evict Sir3 from chromatin fibersin vitro, though whether this activity contributes to the role of SWI/SNF as a transcriptional activator at euchromatic loci is unknown. Here, we characterize genetic interactions between theSIRgenes (SIR2,SIR3, andSIR4) and genes encoding subunits of the chromatin remodelers SWI/SNF and INO80C, as well genes encoding the histone deacetylases Hst3 and Hst4. We find that loss ofSIRgenes partially rescues the growth defects ofswi2,ino80, andhst3/hst4mutants during replication stress conditions. Interestingly, partial suppression ofswi2,ino80, andhst3 hst4mutant phenotypes is due to the pseudo-diploid state ofsirmutants, but a significant portion is due to more direct functional interactions. Consistent with this view, transcriptional profiling of strains lacking Swi2 or Sir3 identifies a set of genes whose expression in the M/G1 phase of the cell cycle requires SWI/SNF to antagonize the repressive impact of Sir3.
Extracellular microRNA 3’ end modification across diverse body fluids
Authors: Koyano Kikuye , Bahn Jae Hoon , Xiao Xinshu
Published: March 2020

microRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that play critical roles in gene regulation. The presence of miRNAs in extracellular biofluids is increasingly recognized. However, most previous characterization of extracellular miRNAs focused on their overall expression levels. Alternative sequence isoforms and modifications of miRNAs were rarely considered in the extracellular space. Here, we developed a highly accurate bioinformatic method, called miNTA, to identify 3’ non-templated additions (NTAs) of miRNAs using small RNA-sequencing data. Using miNTA, we conducted an in-depth analysis of miRNA 3’ NTA profiles in 1047 extracellular RNA-sequencing data sets of 4 types of biofluids. This analysis identified abundant 3’ uridylation and adenylation of miRNAs, with an estimated false discovery rate of <5%. Strikingly, we found that 3’ uridylation levels enabled segregation of different types of biofluids, more effectively than overall miRNA expression levels. This observation suggests that 3’ NTA levels possess fluid-specific information insensitive to batch effects. In addition, we observed that extracellular miRNAs with 3’ uridylations are enriched in processes related to angiogenesis, apoptosis and inflammatory response, and this type of modification may stabilize base-pairing between miRNAs and their target genes. Together, our study provides a comprehensive landscape of miRNA NTAs in human biofluids, which paves way for further biomarker discoveries. The insights generated in our work built a foundation for future functional, mechanistic and translational discoveries.
Autophagy is responsible for the accumulation of proteogenic dipeptides in response to heat stress inArabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Thirumalaikumar Venkatesh P. , Wagner Mateusz , Balazadeh Salma , Skirycz Aleksandra
Published: March 2020

Proteogenic dipeptides are intermediates of proteolysis as well as an emerging class of small-molecule regulators with diverse and often dipeptide-specific functions. Herein, prompted by differential accumulation of dipeptides in a high-densityArabidopsis thalianatime-course stress experiment, we decided to pursue an identity of the proteolytic pathway responsible for the buildup of dipeptides under heat conditions. By querying dipeptide accumulation versus available transcript data, autophagy emerged as a top hit. To examine whether autophagy indeed contributes to the accumulation of dipeptides measured in response to heat stress, we characterized the loss-of-function mutants of crucial autophagy proteins to test whether interfering with autophagy would affect dipeptide accumulation in response to the heat treatment. This was indeed the case. This work implicates the involvement of autophagy in the accumulation of proteogenic dipeptides in response to heat stress in Arabidopsis.
Role of endothelial microRNA-150 in pulmonary arterial hypertension
Authors: Russomanno Giusy , Jo Kyeong Beom , Abdul-Salam Vahitha B. , Morgan Claire , Alzaydi Mai , Wilkins Martin R. , Wojciak-Stothard Beata
Published: March 2020

Endothelial dysfunction contributes to the vascular pathology in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Circulating levels of endothelial miR-150 are reduced in PAH and act as an independent predictor of patient survival. The role of endothelial miR-150 in vascular dysfunction in PAH is not well understood.

Endothelium-targeted miR-150 delivery prevented the disease in Sugen/hypoxia mice, while endothelial knockdown of miR-150 had adverse effects. miR-150 target genes revealed significant associations with PAH pathways, including proliferation, inflammation and phospholipid signaling, with PTEN-like mitochondrial phosphatase (PTPMT1) most markedly altered. PTPMT1 reduced inflammation, apoptosis and improved mitochondrial function in human pulmonary endothelial cells and blood-derived endothelial colony forming cells (ECFCs) from idiopathic PAH. Beneficial effects of miR-150in vitroandin vivowere linked with PTPMT1-dependent biosynthesis of mitochondrial phospholipid cardiolipin and reduced expression of pro-apoptotic, pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic genes, includingc-MYB, NOTCH3, TGF-βandCol1a1.

In conclusion, we are first to show that miR-150-PTPMT1-cardiolipin pathway attenuates pulmonary endothelial damage induced by vascular stresses and may be considered as a potential therapeutic strategy in PAH.
Exploring the complex map of insulin polymorphism: a novel crystalline form in the presence ofm-cresol
Authors: Karavassili Fotini , Valmas Alexandros , Dimarogona Maria , Giannopoulou Anastasia E. , Fili Stavroula , Norrman Mathias , Schluckebier Gerd , Beckers Detlef , Fitch Andrew N. , Margiolaki I.
Published: March 2020

In this study, the first crystal structure of a novel crystal form of human insulin bound tometa-cresol in an acidic environment is reported. The combination of single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction crystallography led to the detection of a previously unknown monoclinic phase (P21). The structure was identified from the powder patterns and was solved using single-crystal diffraction data at 2.2 Å resolution. The unit-cell parameters at pH 6.1 area= 47.66,b = 70.36,c = 84.75 Å, β = 105.21°. The structure consists of two insulin hexamers per asymmetric unit. The potential use of this insulin form in microcrystalline drugs is discussed.
Confidence maps: statistical inference of cryo-EM maps
Authors: Beckers Maximilian , Palmer Colin M. , Sachse Carsten
Published: March 2020

Confidence maps provide complementary information for interpreting cryo-EM densities as they indicate statistical significance with respect to background noise. They can be thresholded by specifying the expected false-discovery rate (FDR), and the displayed volume shows the parts of the map that have the corresponding level of significance. Here, the basic statistical concepts of confidence maps are reviewed and practical guidance is provided for their interpretation and usage inside theCCP-EMsuite. Limitations of the approach are discussed and extensions towards other error criteria such as the family-wise error rate are presented. The observed map features can be rendered at a common isosurface threshold, which is particularly beneficial for the interpretation of weak and noisy densities. In the current article, a practical guide is provided to the recommended usage of confidence maps.
Flori Pharma: maintaining ethics in an unethical sales environment
Authors: Sattar Muhammad Muzamil , Qazi Asad Ali , Shahzad Farhan , Shaikh Abdul Rehman
Published: March 2020

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes are as follows: what tasks are to be done by medical representatives in pharmaceutical industry? This study also highlights various competencies required to do effective selling in this industry; analyzes and discusses different unethical practices going on in the market; explains why ethical norms are necessary in sales context when sales targets are already achievable with unethical means; and develops and comments on strategies Flori Pharmaceutical can make to overcome on these unethical issues. What should be the response of Dahar to the email of Naveed khan? What course of action should be taken by Dahar in the deceitful reporting case of Mohsin Ali?

Case overview/synopsis

Flori is considered a leading and growing multinational organization in the highly competitive environment of Pakistan pharmaceutical industry with over 40 years of experience. The company aims to command a leading position in developing new health-care products as it offers a wide range of diabetic, cardiovascular, respiratory and vitamin products based on quality as a result of high research and examination. Recently, an email to Bilal Dahar on March 2017 from Flori’s star sales person Naveed Khan has forced management to take some strong decisions regarding ethical norms and values to be adopted by medical representatives of Flori pharmaceuticals. The email highlighted the issues related to sales pressure which are leading toward unethical sales practices. Dahar just not have to maintain Flori’s ethical code of conduct but he and his team also has to work hard to achieve more than 26% growth rate in sales revenue as compared to last year. Dahar knew that the highly competitive environment of pharmaceutical industry has led most of the stake holders to indulge in unethical behavior to achieve their individual targets. He knew that this is dangerous in long term for the multinational organizations such as Flori pharmaceuticals as if the similar behavior continues, the sales culture and values of the organization would be on stake. He also has to decide what decision to be taken against deceitful reporting issue of one of the top-performer territory managers, who was key person in helping Flori to close the sales year 2016 with the revenue of Rs. 6.4bn, a 26% growth over the last year. The case is rich enough to provide a platform regarding management of several ethical challenges in pharmaceutical selling and developing strategies based on them.

Complexity academic level

BBA, MBA final year.

Supplementary materials

Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CSS 8: Marketing.
Impact of policy initiatives and collaborative synergy on sustainability and business growth of Indian SMEs
Authors: Das Maitreyee , Rangarajan Krishnamachari
Published: March 2020

Purpose

The influence of sustainability practices, especially those related to the environment and society in driving business growth is evident from the annual sustainability reports of big corporations. Also, there has been a plethora of research relating sustainability performance to the financial performance of these companies. However, in the case of small and medium-sized enterprises, a very limited research study has been done so far considering the societal and environmental aspects of their business operations. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially those in the emerging economy have grossly neglected their responsibilities and obligations towards the environment and society. SMEs are considered as growth engines for any nation. However, literature has shown that a large percentage of SMEs across the world fail within a few years of their incorporation. This paper aims to verify the relationship between sustainability performance and business growth for SMEs in the developing economy.

Design/methodology/approach

In the paper, the authors have tried to develop a model taking a sample of 200 SMEs from Indian leather and chemical sectors and find out how the factors like collaborative synergy and government policy initiatives impact the sustainability performance of small and medium firms and how in turn, their improved sustainability performance helps them to drive sustainable business growth. Data were mainly collected through primary survey and also from the company websites.

Findings

Empirical results of the study reveal that both policy initiatives and collaborative synergy positively influence the firm’s sustainability performance and, in turn, the company’s business growth is positively impacted by their enhanced sustainability performance. Company size was found to have a moderating effect on this relationship.

Originality/value

There are theoretical and conceptual papers elaborating on the importance of adoption of sustainability practices in SME business operations but no empirical study has been conducted to mathematically relate the factors of sustainability and business growth. The authors have tried to build a model relating the factors of sustainability improvement with those of the business growth of the firm and also verified the influence of control variables like company size on the proposed relationship.
Organisational culture, leadership behaviour and job satisfaction in the Vietnam context
Authors: Tran Quan H.N.
Published: March 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to challenge the influence of organisational culture types on leadership behaviour and job satisfaction. The theory of culture was divided into four characteristics, namely, clan, hierarchy, adhocracy and market.

Design/methodology/approach

A purposive questionnaire was adapted to collect surveys from 294 working people in several sector organisations in Vietnam. The questionnaire included two main parts. The first part comprising demographic questions. The second part included three constituted scales to evaluate organisational culture types, leadership behaviour and job satisfaction. Correlation and linear regression analysis were adapted to use to challenge connections among variables.

Findings

Hierarchy culture negatively connected to relationship-oriented leadership behaviour. Adhocracy culture positively affected job satisfaction. Clan and market cultures insignificantly predicted leadership style and job satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

The research is structured in 294 working people in various Vietnamese sector organisations. This small sample is unlikely to represent the popularity of the findings. Further research should collect samples in more organisations and industries in Vietnam to improve the efficiency of the results. The research findings may support leaders and superiors to choose a proper organisational culture that will reduce employee dissatisfaction.

Originality/value

The research is conducive to the studies on organisational culture, especially the association between leadership behaviour and job satisfaction in Vietnamese sector organisations
How to balance interfirm relationships? A case from high-speed railway industry
Authors: Zhang Na , Deng Xiaopeng , Hwang Bon-Gang , Niu Yanliang
Published: March 2020

Purpose

Balancing interfirm relationships is important for firms’ long-term superior performance. However, prior studies mainly focus on interfirm competition or interfirm cooperation separately, ignoring the balance of interfirm relationships. To bridge this gap in knowledge, this study aims to develop a framework to evaluate the balance of interfirm competition and interfirm cooperation and propose strategies to optimize a firm’s interfirm relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

After an in-depth literature review, a framework was developed for evaluating and optimizing the interfirm relationships. Taking the high-speed railway industry as an example, the proposed framework was implemented.

Findings

The results of the case confirm that the balancing of interfirm relationships can lead to more superior firm performance. Also, rather than mutual suppression, the interfirm competition and interfirm cooperation present a roughly positive relationship.

Originality/value

This study would contribute to the existing knowledge body by developing a framework for balancing interfirm relationships. Also, this study can aid practitioners in evaluating and optimizing their interfirm relationship structures.
A system proposal for rapid detecting of anthropometric data and affecting design strategies
Authors: Erkan Ilker
Published: March 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study on architecture, design, ergonomics and anthropometry was to ensure compliance with the human-machine-work environment, minimize human error and obtain anthropometric measurements accurately, safely and rapidly.

Design/methodology/approach

The developed system efficiently extracted anthropometric data for 15,243 individuals with an accuracy rate of 98.8 per cent, focusing on the values for “shoulder breath” and “body depth.” In this study, a new anthropometric measurement system was developed and subsequently applied to obtain anthropometric measurements easily and quickly. The effect of the newly collected anthropometric data on the design discipline was evaluated.

Findings

The findings highlighted the need to update the anthropometric data used in other design studies. In addition to contributing to designing discipline, the updated anthropometric data are considered suitable for use in many different fields.

Research limitations/implications

The design discipline and related disciplines are expected to take advantage of these measurements. Updating the aforementioned data will also be easier and faster because of the simplicity and affordability of the system.

Originality/value

This is the first and only such study in Turkey with regard to the up-to-date anthropometric measurements obtained and the size of the database created.
Do online consumer reviews help to evaluate the performance of automobile manufacturers?
Authors: Singh Amit , Jenamani Mamata , Thakkar Jitesh
Published: March 2020

Purpose

This research proposes a text analytics–based framework that examines the utility of online customer reviews in evaluating automobile manufacturers and discovering their consumer-perceived weaknesses.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed framework integrates aspect-level sentiment analysis with the house of quality (HoQ), TOPSIS, Pareto chart and fishbone diagram. While sentiment analysis mines and quantifies review-embedded consumer opinions on various automobile attributes, the integrated HoQ-TOPSIS analyzes the quantified opinions and evaluates the manufacturers. The Pareto charts assist in discovering consumer-perceived weaknesses of the underperforming manufacturers. Finally, the fishbone diagram visually represents the results in the form with which the manufacturing community is acquainted.

Findings

The proposed framework is tested on a review data set collected from CarWale, a well-known car portal in India. Selecting five manufacturers from the mid-size car segment, the authors identified the worst-performing one and discovered its weak attributes.

Practical implications

The proposed framework can help the manufacturers in evaluating competitor; identifying consumers' contemporary interests; discovering own and their competitors' weak attributes; assessing the suppliers and sending early warnings; detecting the hazardous defects. It can assist the component suppliers in devising process improvement strategies; improving their customer network; comparing them with competitors. It can support the customers in identifying the best available alternative.

Originality/value

The proposed framework is first of its kind to integrate the sentiment analysis with (1) HoQ-TOPSIS to assess the manufacturers; (2) Pareto chart to discover their weaknesses; (3) fishbone diagram to visually represent the results.
Great corruption – theory of corrupt phenomena
Authors: Monteverde Vicente
Published: March 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to formulate a new theory of corruption based on the discretionary decisions of the government and the distribution of income in the economy, where corruption pays taxes and is in the legal channels of the economy.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology is the practical exploration, based on events in the current Argentine economy, where this theory of corrupt phenomena is fulfilled, changing the approach to corruption, transforming corruption into legal.

Findings

The document concludes that the model is applicable to any country in the world, given the conditions of the theory formulated.

Research limitations/implications

There is a paradigm shift, it transforms corruption into legal.

Practical implications

In this new theory of great corruption, the consequence is that it is very difficult to combat it, because it is developed based on legal, regulatory and ethical norms.

Social implications

The social implications are through discretionary decisions of governments, large inequitable income redistributions, in favour of interest groups, pressure groups, private companies and the same state, with negative social consequences for the population.

Originality/value

This theory is original; it has not been formulated in the study of the types of corruption in the world.
Some dynamic macroeconomic perspectives for India’s economic growth
Authors: Rahman Matiur , Islam Anisul
Published: March 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study impacts of changes in crude oil price, money supply, fiscal deficit and effective exchange rate on India’s economic growth (expressing all variables in real term).

Design/methodology/approach

First, a simple macroeconomic model is formulated to this effect. Next, linear autoregressive distributed lag procedure and vector error-correction model are applied for growth empirics. Annual data are used from 1977 through 2015.

Findings

Rises in real crude oil price and monetized real fiscal deficits have negative short-run and long-run effects on real economic growth. Increase in real money supply and real effective exchange rate appreciation helps promote real economic growth in both short run and long run. In all cases, there is evidence of net interactive positive feedback effects among the variables in the short run. Real effective exchange rate appreciation dampens exports, but it is helpful to imports of capital goods and crude oil that contribute to economic growth. So, the net effect on the economy may be conjecturally positive.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is unique because of the formulation of macro-economic model pertaining to the topic and its subsequent empirical verification. Moreover, this paper seems more comprehensive than some other studies, cited in the literature review.
The global entrepreneurship index as a benchmarking tool? Criticisms from an efficiency perspective
Authors: Inacio Junior Edmundo , Dionisio Eduardo Avancci , Fischer Bruno Brandão , Li Yanchao , Meissner Dirk
Published: March 2020

Purpose

Based on an efficiency analysis of the Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI), the purpose was to demonstrate that the Key Performance Indicators’ analysis leads to a misinterpretation of the dynamics of National Systems of Entrepreneurship (NSEs). This might hamper the formulation of sound initiatives in other economies, with relevant implications for developing countries.

Design/methodology/approach

This study categorized GEI indicators into output and input indicators. Following this procedure, each dimension was analyzed separately and then compared to each other, considering countries’ productivity rates. The main focus is given to the case of the US, the usual benchmark for NSEs and leader in the GEI Index. Lastly, a taxonomy of NSEs according to their efficiency levels was developed.

Findings

The findings of the analysis demonstrates that innovation-driven economies with lower positions in GEI ranking often have higher productivity rates when compared to economies with higher positions in GEI ranking. Specifically, the US appears not to be a good benchmark in terms of NSE efficiency.

Research limitations/implications

The study’s approach is limited in scope by data availability on NSEs and the use of GEI, a representation of aggregate patterns of country-level entrepreneurial dynamics. More refined data are needed in order to clarify some insights from this research.

Practical implications

The perception of systemic efficiency should be considered more thoroughly when designing dedicated entrepreneurship-oriented policies in other countries that aim at establishing a more vibrant entrepreneurial system while facing resource constraints.

Social implications

Simplistic views of systemic aspects may hamper the formulation of sound entrepreneurship-oriented initiatives with particularly relevant implications for public policy in laggard economies.

Originality/value

The value of this article relies on applied a simple metric – efficiency ratio – order than, e.g. data envelopment analysis to portray a key issue related to the interpretation of supranational rankings related to the entrepreneurship ecosystem make mainly by policymakers and scholars that is: pick the 1st one, follow the leader.
Product-centrichalalbusiness: a critique from an Islamic perspective
Authors: Shahabuddin Abu Saim Md. , Sukor Mohd Edil Abd , Hashim Noor Hazarina
Published: March 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain the importance of the understanding of thehalalbusiness from an Islamic perspective. Business use of the Quranic andfiqhiwordhalalis now conspicuous because of the penetration ofhalalproduct ideas not only into the food products but also into the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, leisure and entertainment industries.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper evaluates the Islamic authenticity of the prevailinghalalbusiness initiatives. Toward this evaluation, explains the frame of reference and shows the Islamic ethical excellence of business enterprises. This framework is based on the Quranic injunctions and instructions regarding usury (riba), intoxicants (khamr), trade with mutual consent (taradim minkum) and trading during Friday prayer (Jumuah), which have direct or indirect implications for the management of business enterprises. Then, it describes and evaluates two cases, namely,halalchicken and Sharīʿah-compliant hotel. Materials for these cases are obtained through an internet blog and literature review.

Findings

The evaluation reveals that thesehalalbusiness cases are overwhelmingly product-centric and they violate or neglect people’s rights. On the scale of ethics and social responsibility, while they largely maintain legal responsibility, moral and spiritual responsibilities hardly draw their attention. Hence, a need for a fundamental reorientation ofhalalbusiness thought is suggested in the conclusion.

Practical implications

The findings may serve as a useful input forhalalbusiness owners in improving their practices to confirm with all moral and spiritual standards of Islamic business conduct, and not the only product. These standards have significant implications for equitable growth in a society and a blissful eternal life.

Originality/value

The topic of product-centrichalalbusiness has not been fully explored and understood by its stakeholders. This paper aims to give insights to an overwhelming trend toward equatinghalalproducts with the whole of thehalalbusiness.
Modeling the barriers toward the growth of higher education institutions
Authors: Talib Faisal , Rahman Zillur
Published: March 2020

Purpose

In recent years, sustainable issues have gained increasing importance in the higher education sector across the country. To remain competitive, higher education institutions (HEIs) have to engage themselves in providing world-class opportunities for higher education and research so that the beneficiaries may not be at a disadvantage in the international level. However, many HEIs still encounter barriers that can affect their growth. The purpose of this study is to identify and interpret the most significant barriers affecting the growth of HEIs in India and understand the mutual interactions and interdependence among them.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, 12 barriers affecting the growth of HEIs in India were identified and sorted by literature review, and these were validated through discussion with experts. Contextual relationships were drawn between them during brainstorming sessions. A hierarchical, seven-level structural model of these barriers affecting the growth of HEIs was developed by utilizing the total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) approach.

Findings

The results of this study showed “lack of climate change research” as the topmost outcome of the model having the highest dependence and lowest driving power. “Facilitator domination over academic experts” occupied the bottom-level input, compared to other barriers of the model, with highest driving power and lowest dependence. Further, Matrice d'Impacts Croisés – Multiplication Appliquée à un Classement (MICMAC) analysis was also performed to categorize the identified barriers for better understanding. Under MICMAC analysis, five barriers were categorized as driver barriers, four barriers as dependent barriers and the rest as linkage barriers, while none as autonomous. A TISM-based model that partitioned the barriers into different levels was developed, showcasing direct and important transitive relations.

Practical implications

The TISM-based model developed in this study may provide a more realistic approach to the problems faced by decision-makers, academicians and top managers in the growth of HEIs in India. Thus, it will provide a roadmap to focus on the most influential barriers and reduce or eliminate them.

Originality/value

The present study identified major barriers that when dealt with can help overcome the effect of other barriers preventing the growth of HEIs in India. It also introduces a model to identify and manage the barriers by understanding the effectiveness of each barrier and minimizing the overall effect in Indian HEIs. Moreover, the analysis of interdependence and interactions studied among these barriers may also help decision-makers, academicians and top managers to find deeper insights, prioritize and rectify them, to re-establish the growth of HEIs and gain a competitive advantage.
Epistemology, social inquiry and quantum theory
Authors: Monk-Turner Elizabeth
Published: March 2020

Purpose

This work examines assumptions of positivism and the traditional scientific method.

Design/methodology/approach

Insights from quantum mechanics are explored especially as they relate to method, measurement and what is knowable. An argument is made that how social scientists, particularly sociologists, understand the nature of “reality out there” and describe the social world may be challenged by quantum ideas. The benefits of utilized mixed methods, considering quantum insights, cannot be overstated.

Findings

It is the proposition of this work that insights from modern physics alter the understanding of the world “out there.” Wheeler suggested that the most profound implication from modern physics is that “there is no out there” (1982; see also Baggott, 1992). Grappling with how modern physics may alter understanding in the social sciences will be difficult; however, that does not mean the task should not be undertaken (see Goswami, 1993). A starting point for the social sciences may be relinquishing an old mechanistic science that depends on the establishment of an objective, empirically based, verifiable reality. Mechanistic science demands “one true reality – a clear-cut reality on which everyone can agree…. Mechanistic science is by definition reductionistic…it has had to try to reduce complexity to oversimplification and process to statis. This creates an illusionary world…that has little or nothing to do with the complexity of the process of the reality of creation as we know, experience, and participate in it” (Goswami, 1993, pp. 64, 66).

Research limitations/implications

Many physicists have popularized quantum ideas for others interested in contemplating the implications of modern physics. Because of the difficulty in conceiving of quantum ideas, the meaning of the quantum in popular culture is far removed from the parent discipline. Thus, the culture has been shaped by the rhetoric and ideas surrounding the basic quantum mathematical formulas. And, over time, as quantum ideas have come to be part of the popular culture, even the link to the popularized literature in physics is lost. Rather, quantum ideas may be viewed as cultural formations that take on a life of their own.

Practical implications

The work allows a critique of positivist method and provides insight on how to frame qualitative methodology in a new way.

Social implications

The work utilizes popularized ideas in quantum theory: the preeminent theory that describes all matter. Little work in sociology utilizes this perspective in understanding research methods.

Originality/value

Quantum insights have rarely been explored in highlighting limitations in positivism. The current work aims to build on quantum insights and how these may help us better understand the social world around us.
From karma to sin: a kaleidoscopic theory of mind and Christian experience in northern Thailand
Authors: Aulino Felicity
Published: March 2020

In this essay, I argue for a ‘kaleidoscopic’ theory of mind implicit in people's common‐sense awareness of themselves, others, and reality in northern Thailand. Phenomenal experience is here generally understood as contingent on a host of factors, from personal habits to the influence of others, such that sensory perceptions themselves are in part a consequence of prior action (karma) with moral import. When Thai people convert to Christianity, they reject karma in favour of a God who will absolve a believer of all offence. Drawing on both neo‐Pentecostal and Buddhist Thais’ rich descriptions of their encounters with the divine and a host of other ‘supernatural’ experiences, I show how many Thai Christians maintain an abridged sense of karmic contingency. With attention to local theory of mind, non‐monotheistic knowledge formations come into focus, highlighting the unique nature of the individualism emerging among Thai congregants and the stakes such individuation has for them.
Adwenhoasem: an Akan theory of mind
Authors: Dzokoto Vivian Afi
Published: March 2020

This essay explores the way the domain of what English‐speakers call the mind – believing, thinking, feeling, and other mental acts – is represented and mapped by Ghana's Akan ethno‐linguistic group. It uses several sources of evidence: mind and mind‐related words in Fante (an Akan language); the largest Akan (Twi) proverb compendium; longsemi‐structured interviews with forty adult Christians and African traditional religion practitioners; and short‐term ethnographic fieldwork by a Ghanaian scholar. The work finds four dimensions of what we might call an Akan theory of mind that seem to be shaped by local language and culture. First, the central function of the mind is planning – not identity. Second, one of the most salient qualities of the mind is its moral valence. The ‘bad minds’ of others are an ever‐present potential threat to social harmony and personal well‐being. Third, the mind is understood to be porous in nature. The minds of all people are vulnerable to supernatural influences, and some spiritually powerful people can exert supernatural power through mental action. Fourth and finally, some elements which English‐speakers would imagine as part of the mind (like feeling) are instead identified with the body.
The mind and the Devil: porosity and discernment in two Chinese charismatic‐style churches
Authors: Ng Emily
Published: March 2020

This essay explores otherworldly encounters and notions of mind across two charismatic‐style churches in China. In Zhao Village Church in rural Henan province, Christian congregants more often approached the mind as porous to the Devil's corruption. In Living Church in Shanghai, congregants were more influenced by bounded, psychological notions of the mind as an entity; although the mind was also held to be permeable to spiritual personae, its interior workings stood as the central hindrance to discernment, rather than the externality of the Devil. And while those in Shanghai stressed a gradual, retroactive verification of potential spiritual signs, those in Henan strove for a rhythm of immediate response. Meanwhile, Shanghai congregants described fewer sensory and embodied encounters with divine voice, pain, and healing than congregants in Henan. Such divergent theories of mind, virtuous rhythms, and distributions within the Christian spiritual sensorium might be understood in part through styles of engagement accentuated at these churches, and in part through the uneven unfolding of religious abolition and revival in China, including the heightened urban presence of psychotherapeutic genres and the rural presence of spirit mediumship in recent decades. These variations in personhood and otherworldly encounter, including deeply porous ones, were thus co‐present in an atheist secular milieu, after what have been seen as some of the most thorough secularization campaigns conducted by a modern state.
Empowered imagination and mental vulnerability: local theory of mind and spiritual experience in Vanuatu
Authors: Smith Rachel E.
Published: March 2020

‘Theory of mind’ in developmental psychology focuses on how children develop the ability to infer others’ beliefs, desires, and intentions. Anthropologists have taken up the notion of ‘theory of mind’ to explore the way cultural differences in representations of beliefs, desires, and intentions affect everyday lives. In Oceania, anthropologists have noted that inferences about others’ intentions are not accorded a privileged role in social interaction. In Vanuatu, I find, it is often the material, rather than immaterial, aspects of relatedness that are elaborated upon. People think about knowledge, creativity, meaning, and intention not as confined to a bounded mental or inner domain, but as discoverable through the body, and in the world at large. I argue here that this propensity to locate meaning and moral purpose as external to the mind corresponds to a ‘porous’ view of self and mind, and that this in turn may open people to experience vivid, intense, and often tangible forms of spiritual encounter.