bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Succession planning and staff development – a winning combination
Authors: Hall-Ellis Sylvia D.
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this column is to explain the importance of succession planning. Departures of retiring employees and colleagues moving to another workplace can have significant consequences on the organization. A well-designed and coordinated succession plan that is integrated with leadership development can enable the library administrator to avoid reliance on a replacement process that is narrowly focused on finding a new version of the departed colleague. Selecting the most qualified and well-prepared candidate for a leadership position is a critical decision because of its paramount impact on current and future activities. The library or information center benefits when transitions and professional development become opportunities to embed succession planning into the organizational culture.

Design/methodology/approach

– The column is an opinion piece based on literature review.

Findings

– A well-designed and coordinated succession plan that is integrated with leadership development can enable the library administrator to avoid reliance on a replacement process that is narrowly focused on finding a new version of the departed colleague.

Originality/value

– This is an original article with perspectives not frequently found in library literature.
Transaction costs and performance variation of agricultural operators
Authors: Yu Kangkang , Zhu Xinkai , Chen Xuan
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between transaction costs and the performance variance of peasant households and specialized cooperatives, as well as to explore whether or not this relationship varies across different regions in China.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on the transaction cost theory (TCT) and the contingency theory (CT), a survey was undertaken at county level to support the main effects and moderating effects and the results were analyzed using a general linear model. A complementary case study was also used to further discuss the results.

Findings

– It was found that the change rate of peasant households’ scope of operation is sensitive to inadequate market information, purchase and sales expense and resolving disputes expense. In terms of specialized cooperatives, the change rate of their scale of operations is sensitive to inadequate market information, the chances of violating an agreement and incomplete norms. The moderating effect of regional classification is supported in terms of purchase and sales expenses on the performance variance of peasant households, and in terms of inadequate market information on the performance variance of specialized cooperatives.

Research limitations/implications

– First, the data were collected at the county level, which could only reflect the conditions of the macro-environment. Second, many variables were designed as dummies for the sake of brevity and efficiency, because the respondents were officers in local agricultural departments. Third, transaction costs may not have a direct effect on the variance of productivity but indirect through many potential mediators.

Practical implications

– The results not only provide useful information for agricultural operators to analyze the transaction costs related to their forms of organization, but also impartial advice for policy makers to consider the form of agricultural operators in different regions.

Originality/value

– This study focusses on the role of the external environment by integrating the TCT and CT theory. Furthermore, it seeks to explore whether the relationship between transaction costs and the performance variance of peasant households and specialized cooperatives varies across different regions of China.
Social capital influences farmer participation in collective irrigation management in Shaanxi Province, China
Authors: Miao Shanshan , Heijman Wim , Zhu Xueqin , Lu Qian
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of four components of social capital on farmers’ participative behaviour in collective actions for constructing and operating small-scale groundwater irrigation systems on the Guanzhong Plain, Shaanxi Province, China.

Design/methodology/approach

– The four components (social networks, social trust, social reciprocity and social participation) were derived by employing exploratory factor analysis. Logistic model was used to estimate the influence of these components on farmers’ participative behaviour. Information was obtained from a field survey covering six counties in 2011 of Shaanxi Province, China.

Findings

– The findings indicate that considering different components of social capital allows for a better understanding of farmers’ participative behaviour. The authors find that higher levels of social trust and social participation lead to a higher propensity for collective action, while social reciprocity reduces the probability of participation. Other socio-economic factors and farming characteristics such as education levels, cultivated area, cropping patterns and grain subsidies also have a significant impact.

Practical implications

– The findings suggest creating favourable conditions for communication and information exchanges between households, which enhance their trust of each other, and encourage farmers to participate in collective affairs. Moreover, supportive rules are necessary for the future development of collective action. The results of this study also have implications for national irrigation plans for small-scale irrigation facilities in other developing countries.

Originality/value

– A consideration of the different components of social capital allows for a more precise understanding of farmers’ participative behaviour.
Is China the price taker in soybean futures?
Authors: Liu Bruce Jianhe , Wang Yubin , Wang Jingjing , Wu Xin , Zhang Shu
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine whether China is still a passive price taker from the US soybean futures, or instead domestic futures market has developed certain degrees of pricing power through time. The finding helps to identify the importance of China soybean futures in the perspective of portfolio selection for international futures traders. If China soybean futures market is no longer a price taker after the subprime crisis, traders need to include it as a separate category in their portfolio.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper uses exponential generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity-generalized error distribution (EGARCH-GED) and generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity-generalized error distribution (GARCH-GED) models to test spillover effects between Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) and Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybean futures. The authors divide daily samples into three subperiods based on the subprime crisis. Three research questions – whether China is still the price taker, the importance of Chinese soybean futures in international futures portfolio selection, and the influences of subprime crisis on soybean futures volatility relationship – are examined by comparing estimation results through time and different contracts.

Findings

– The spillover effect from CBOT soybean futures to DCE No. 1 soybean futures becomes weaker through time. China is no longer a soybean futures price taker after the subprime crisis. The authors also find the shocks of bearish news on DCE soybeans are greater than those of bullish news. Potential volatility of DCE in long positions is bigger than that in short positions.

Practical implications

– China is the largest soybean importer. DCE is a very important futures market for non-genetically modified soybeans. It is necessary for both international and domestic futures traders to understand the changes in international soybean futures price relationship and take corresponding strategies. It is also important for market to realize that DCE soybean futures are to a less degree price taker after the subprime crisis.

Originality/value

– The paper applies EGARCH-GED and GARCH-GED models to identify changes in spillover effects before, during, and after the subprime crisis. Different from other studies, this paper finds after the subprime crisis, China is no longer the soybean futures price taker. This paper also compares the spillover effects of non-genetically modified soybean futures (No. 1 soybean futures) with genetically modified soybean futures (No. 2 soybean futures).
The effects of location-based-services on consumer purchase intention at point of purchase
Authors: Gazley Aaron , Hunt Adam , McLaren Lachlan
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to empirically test a conceptual model, analysing the effects that features of mobile phone location-based advertising (MLBA) services (customisation, permission and intrusiveness) have on attitudes and purchase intentions, using the theory of interactive advertising. In addition, the moderating effect of receiving such messages at point of purchase (POP) is assessed.

Design/methodology/approach

– Scenario-based online surveys were used, which manipulated the timing and levels of customisation of the message. Responses were received from 422 “net generation” consumers.

Findings

– Customisation, permission and intrusiveness all have a direct effect on consumer attitudes towards MLBA messages, and subsequently purchase intention. In addition, receiving such messages at POP strengthens the relationships between intrusiveness and attitudes, but surprisingly weakens the effect of customisation on attitudes.

Research limitations/implications

– Future research could consider more widespread product categories and try to measure actual behaviour. There is also potential to investigate mobile relationship marketing.

Practical implications

– Through permission, consumers can control the flow of messages and customise the messages they receive. While consumers benefit greatly, managers also gain opportunities through facilitating co-creative functions. These efforts will be in vain, however, if the consumer perceives the messages to be intrusive.

Originality/value

– While there is much research that looks at the impact of interactive advertising features on attitudes and behaviour, research has yet to consider these factors in an MLBA context. In addition, it has not considered how providing such messages at POP can influence these relationships.
How sales manager experience and historical data trends affect decision making
Authors: DeCarlo Thomas , Roy Tirthankar , Barone Michael
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to examine how trends in historical data influence two types of predictive judgments: territory selection and salesperson hiring. Sales managers are confronted frequently with decisions that explicitly or implicitly involve forecasting with limited information. In doing so, they conceptualize how the magnitude of these trend effects may be affected by the experience managers have in making these types of judgments. Study 1 provides evidence of a curvilinear relationship between experience and reliance on the trend data whereby the sales territory selections of novice sales managers exhibited greater susceptibility to informational trends than did the evaluations of naïve and expert decision-makers. A benchmark analysis in Study 2 further revealed that the salesperson selections made by novice and expert sales managers were equally biased, albeit in opposite directions, with novices overweighting and experts underweighting historical performance trends. Implications of these findings are discussed, as are avenues for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors employ an online experimental design methodology of practicing managers. For Study 1, they use regression, whereas Study 2 uses a deterministic process to develop a priori predictive benchmark forecasts. Ordinary least squares is then used to estimate manager’s decisions, which are then compared to the predictive forecasts to determine accuracy.

Findings

– Study 1 provides evidence of a curvilinear relationship between experience and reliance on the trend data whereby the sales territory selections of novice sales managers exhibited greater susceptibility to informational trends than did the evaluations of naïve and expert decision-makers. A benchmark analysis in Study 2 further revealed that the salesperson selections made by novice and expert sales managers were equally biased, albeit in opposite directions, with novices overweighting and experts underweighting historical performance trends.

Originality/value

– The present inquiry is the first to provide insights into an important issue that has been the subject of equivocal findings, namely, whether experience in a judgmental domain exerts a facilitating or debilitating effect on sales manager decision-making. In this regard, some research supports the intuition that experience in making a particular type of decision can insulate managers from judgmental bias and, in doing so, improve decision quality (see Shanteau, [1992a] for a summary). In contrast, other work provides a more pessimistic view by demonstrating that the quality of decision-making is either unaffected by or can erode with additional experience (Hutchinsonet al., 2010). To help reconcile these conflicting findings, the authors presented and tested a theoretical framework conceptualizing how trends may influence predictive judgments across three levels of decision-maker experience.
When James Bond shows off his Omega: does product placement affect its media host?
Authors: Marchand Andre , Hennig-Thurau Thorsten , Best Sabine
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to contribute to the marketing literature and practice by examining the effect of product placements on the host brand. The declining effectiveness of traditional advertising has prompted increasing interest in strategies for placing products in media programming. Most existing research adopt the perspective of the brands embedded in media products, with limited attention to the impact that product placement has on the media product that serves as a host brand for the embedded brands. The authors investigate this effect in the context of motion pictures and develop a theory-driven conceptual model.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors test their hypotheses with two experiments in which randomly assigned participants view one of seven versions of a custom-made, seven-minute short film that differ in their level of placement prominence.

Findings

– The results from a mediation analysis indicate that, after controlling for audiences’ general attitudes toward the embedded brand, greater placement prominence heightens consumers’ reactance to persuasion attempts and negatively affects their evaluations of the host brand. Apost hocexperiment confirms that even very low levels of placement prominence can worsen host brand evaluations.

Originality/value

– This research is among the first to investigate the effects of product placement from a host brand perspective. It issues a warning to producers of entertainment content: a product placement strategy may generate additional earnings, but it also can lower audiences’ evaluations of the focal entertainment product.
Local revenue response to service quality: spatial effects in seasonal ticket revenue data
Authors: Müller Sven , Haase Knut
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to consider spatial effects in the analysis of the relationship of revenue and service quality. When firms’ customers are located in spatially dispersed areas, it can be difficult to manage service quality on a geographically small scale because the relative importance of service quality might vary spatially. Moreover, standard approaches discussed so far in the marketing science literature usually neglect spatial effects, such as spatial dependencies (e.g. spatial autocorrelation) and spatial drift (spatial non-stationarity).

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors propose a comprehensive but intelligible approach based on spatial econometric methods that cover spatial dependencies and spatial drift simultaneously. In particular, they incorporate the spatial expansion method (spatial drift) into spatial econometric models (e.g. spatial lag model).

Findings

– Using real company data on seasonal ticket revenue (dependent variable) and service quality (independent variables) of a regional public transport service provider, the authors find that the elasticity for the length of the public transport network is between 0.2 and 0.5, whereas the elasticity for the headway is between −0.2 and 0.6, for example. The authors control for several socio-economic, socio-demographic and land-use variables.

Practical implications

– Based on the empirical findings, the authors show that addressing spatial effects of service data can improve management’s ability to implement programs aimed at enhancing seasonal ticket revenue. Therefore, they derive a spatial revenue response function that enables managers to identify small-scale areas that are most efficient in terms of increasing revenue by service improvement.

Originality/value

– The paper addresses the need to account for spatial effects in revenue response functions of public transport companies.
“Obviously in the cool group they wear designer things”
Authors: Nairn Agnes , Spotswood Fiona
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to propose the lens of social practice theory (SPT) as a means of deepening insights into childhood consumer culture.

Design/methodology/approach

– The data comprise four qualitative interviews and ten focus groups with 58 8-13 year olds in six diverse schools across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Transcripts were coded with NVIVO10. Analysis was guided by the three elements of SPT: materials, meaning and competence.

Findings

– Branded technology products and clothes consistently combined with both the socially sanctioned objective of achieving and maintaining a place in the peer hierarchy and also the three skills the authors have labelled “social consumption recognition”, “social consumption performance” and “social consumption communication” in regular, predictable ways to produce an ordered and, thus, reproducible nexus of actions. Analysis of the inter-relationship between these elements showed that children’s consumption is a specific practice, embedded in their everyday routines. Consumption is also linked inextricably to social position; children’s variable performance of it links with their degree of social acceptance and popularity.

Research limitations/implications

– Although the study included a broad cross-section of school catchment areas, they cannot be said to represent all British children. Nonetheless, SPT provides an alternative theoretical perspective on children’s consumption by shifting the focus away from the child, the social context or even the products, thus ceasing to privilege the notion that consumption is something external to children that they learn to be socialised into; or to consciously use for their own symbolic or other purposes; or that they have to be protected from.

Social implications

– Consumption practice is deeply embedded in children’s relationships and is inextricably linked to their well-being. Policies seeking to tackle any single element of the practice, such as media literacy training, are only likely to have limited effectiveness. This research implies that responsible marketing measures need to concentrate on the links between all the elements.

Originality/value

– This SPT analysis of children’s consumption makes three contributions. First, it provides a much-needed new theoretical perspective beyond the dominant but limited “consumer socialisation” research paradigm that confines analysis of children’s consumption to the functioning of their individual cognitive capacity. Second, it suggests new research methodologies for understanding the interaction between children and the commercial world. Third, it offers a different approach to policymakers tasked with the controversial issue of regulating marketing to children.
Which workers are more vulnerable to work intensification? An analysis of two national surveys
Authors: Le Fevre Mark , Boxall Peter , Macky Keith
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify whether there are particular employee groups that are more vulnerable to work intensification and its outcomes for well-being.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper utilises data collected in two representative national surveys in 2005 (n=1,004) and 2009 (n=1,016), first to determine which employee groups are most vulnerable to work intensification and, second, to identify who is more vulnerable to the impacts of high work intensity on well-being, in terms of job (dis)satisfaction, stress, fatigue, and work-life imbalance.

Findings

– Professionals reported significantly higher levels of work intensity than all other occupational groups, and higher levels of stress and work-life imbalance. In addition, full-time employees experienced greater work intensity than part-timers, and union members than non-union members. Public-sector employees reported greater stress and work-life imbalance than those in the private sector. There was also a small, but significant and consistent, interaction effect that identified women as more negatively impacted by high work intensity than men.

Research limitations/implications

– Professionals have become vulnerable workers, in the sense of high levels of work demand, and the notion of worker vulnerability needs to recognise this. Future research on vulnerable employees would benefit from a broader conception of what constitutes vulnerability, exploring a wider range of employee groups who might be considered vulnerable, and including a wider range of potential outcomes for the lives and well-being of the individuals concerned. In particular, a more finely grained examination of the working conditions of professionals would be desirable, as would a more detailed examination of the reasons for the higher negative impact of work intensity on women.

Practical implications

– One way of improving the sustainability of professional working is to foster higher rates of part-time working, which brings better outcomes in terms of stress and work-life balance. This, however, is hardly a societal remedy and the question of how to reverse deteriorating job quality among professionals, particularly those struggling to balance work and family demands, is something that needs much greater attention.

Originality/value

– The paper expands the notion of “vulnerable workers” to recognise those groups most at risk of work intensification, and the outcomes of that intensification for satisfaction, stress, fatigue, and work-life balance. The authors add to the small group of studies highlighting the degradation of professional work, as well as identifying other types of employee who are more vulnerable to work intensification. The use of two large-scale surveys, with a four-year gap, has allowed a high degree of consistency in the patterns of vulnerability to be revealed.
Vulnerable groups in Canada and labour market exclusion
Authors: Fang Tony , Gunderson Morley
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyse the labour market exclusion of the groups in Canada that have been defined as vulnerable in that they were persistently in poverty over a defined period of time. The vulnerable groups were: unattached individuals age 45-64, disabled persons, recent immigrants, lone parents, Aboriginal persons and youth not in school.

Design/methodology/approach

– Five panels of data from the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics are used over the period from 1993 to 2010 to compare the vulnerable groups with a benchmark non-vulnerable in various dimensions: a descriptive profile of their labour market exclusion and characteristics; a portrayal of their trends in labour market exclusion; an analysis of the persistence of being excluded from the labour force; and an econometric analysis of the determinants of their probability of transitioning into the labour force and out of the labour force.

Findings

– The vulnerable groups tend to be disproportionately excluded from the labour force and to be persistently excluded for longer periods of time. They are generally more likely to be female, lower educated, in poorer health and to find their life to be stressful and to have recently experienced a negative life event. Exclusion from the labour market tends to trend downward over time for both the non-vulnerable benchmark group and the various vulnerable groups. There is considerable variability in the patterns across the different groups with respect to transitions into and out of the labour market.

Practical implications

– The labour market is a first line of defense against social and economic exclusion. While labour market exclusion is trending downward it remains stubbornly high for the vulnerable groups. Their diversity of experiences suggest a one-size-fits all solution to exclusion is not appropriate for the different vulnerable groups. Different policy initiatives are appropriate and they are discussed for each vulnerable group.

Originality/value

– The paper is the first to systematically examine a wide range of dimensions of the labour market exclusion of the vulnerable groups in Canada and to highlight their similarities and differences. It also highlights the various policy initiatives that are appropriate for the different groups.
Determinants of immigrant self-employment in Spain
Authors: Cueto Begoña , Rodríguez Álvarez Vanesa
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine immigrant self-employment in Spain. The study aims to determine the likelihood of immigrants being self-employed, the differences between Spaniards and immigrants in terms of self-employment and differences among immigrants from different regions of origin.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data from the Labour Force Survey for 2005-2011 are used for a descriptive analysis of self-employment. Logit regressions allow us to study the determinants of immigrant self-employment.

Findings

– Unlike research conducted in other countries, the rate of immigrant self-employment in Spain is lower than that of nationals, although differences exist according to the region of origin. Men and older individuals are more likely to be self-employed. Those with higher levels of education are also more likely to be self-employed – this may be attributable to the decreased availability of skilled positions for immigrants.

Research limitations/implications

– The sample size does not allow for differential analyses regarding the region of origin or the existence and influence of enclaves.

Practical implications

– Self-employment may be an opportunity for immigrants to improve their position in the labour market, especially in the case of highly skilled workers.

Originality/value

– In Spain, analyses of immigrant self-employment are rare and generally focus on case studies. However, this study covers the whole population within a highly specific economic situation.
Simple step-stress model for an extension of the exponential distribution with type-I censoring
Authors: Haghighi Firoozeh
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to design a simple step-stress model under type-I censoring when the failure time has an extension of the exponential distribution.

Design/methodology/approach

– The scale parameter of the distribution is assumed to be a log-linear function of the stress and a cumulative exposure model is hold. The maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters, as well as the corresponding Fisher information matrix are derived. Two real examples are given to show the application of an extension of the exponential distribution in reliability studies and a numerical example is presented to illustrate the method discussed here.

Findings

– A simple step-stress test under cumulative exposure model and type-I censoring for an extension of the exponential distribution is presented.

Originality/value

– The work is original.
The level of TQM application by construction contractors in Hong Kong
Authors: Lau Andrew  W.T. , Tang S.L. , Li Y.S.
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– In 2000, the Hong Kong Government commissioned the Construction Industry Review Committee (CIRC) to provide a thorough review of the strengths/weaknesses of the Hong Kong construction industry and to recommend improvement measures. The CIRC’s report, released in 2001, recommended many improvement measures related to total quality management (TQM) principles. Despite many of these improvement recommendations being fulfilled in the ten years following the release of the report, there is a lack of literature documenting these achievements and the corresponding level of TQM application. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the level of TQM application by construction contractors in Hong Kong using a questionnaire survey.

Design/methodology/approach

– A literature review was conducted and a survey questionnaire was then designed for a full-scale survey. The data collected from the survey were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Correlations between the respondents’ scores on the survey questions were established.

Findings

– The survey findings indicate a moderately high level of application of TQM principles, reflecting a moderately high achievement in implementing the CIRC’s intended improvements. The TQM application level is comparable to that of Singapore, which is also a country with a high Chinese population. The findings further suggest that organisational learning and supplier management are the two major TQM principles that contractors should focus on to sustain their long-term businesses.

Practical implications

– The Hong Kong experience should be of interest to other developing and developed countries, both regionally and globally, in search of a similar paradigm for improving quality.

Originality/value

– This research is the first one done as to the level of TQM application in the Hong Kong construction industry. No one has done it before so this is the originality. The results are not only valuable to the stakeholders in construction in Hong Kong, but also to other developing and developed countries, both regionally and globally, in search of a similar paradigm for raising their quality culture.
The impact of quality culture on quality management practices and performance in Chinese manufacturing firms
Authors: Wu Sarah J.
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– One of the commonly cited problems in the implementation of quality practices is related to cultural resistance to change. While the importance of organizational culture to quality management (QM) practices has been recognized in the recent literature, little is known about how quality culture influences quality performance. The purpose of this paper is to examine the mechanism of how the nurture of quality culture in a firm influences quality performance.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study empirically assesses the path from quality culture to infrastructure practices, core practices, and finally to quality performance using data collected from 397 Chinese manufacturing firms in a structural equitation model.

Findings

– The results indicate a chain effect that quality culture serves as an antecedent for infrastructure practices to take effect and infrastructure practices provide a supporting foundation for core practices to generate positive impact on quality performance. Anything that breaks on the chain will cause a problem in quality practices implementation.

Originality/value

– The results of this study contribute to understanding the cultural implications for successful QM implementation. The study emphasizes that quality implementation needs to be considered as a system work where culture is an indispensible part. This offers practical insights of how firms operating in China could build quality advantages other than cost.
Marketing communications in a post-modern world
Authors: Kitchen Philip J. , Proctor Tony
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss information accessibility in today’s world alongside the accompanying demise of corporate invisibility. This is an ever-present communications reality for businesses and consumers in the twenty-first century.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper reviews the relevant extant literature relating to economic, social and technological developments and their impact on the post-modern world of marketing communications. It discusses the rip tides of change that impact on that world. Discussion focuses on the changing global environment as a backdrop to observing new trends in the marketplace underpinned by an information explosion. Consumer typologies and their significance are considered generationally in terms of X, Y and Z and explored in the context of postmodernism.

Findings

– The pace of change in marketplaces and market-spaces everywhere is continuous and accelerating. Inexorably – and perhaps inevitably – marketing communications are changing shape, metamorphosing into new configurations and forms as a result of underlying technological changes and in the face of ongoing recessionary influences. For the first time in history, people are exerting more influence and control over marketing processes. Medias are moving in tandem with the technological drivers, implying that managers, brands and companies should all be proactive in taking advantage of the changing times.

Practical implications

– Different communications are needed for different markets, but always based on a sound understanding of the dynamics of the markets they address. Not only is an understanding of the needs and wants of different generations important, but also the different economic, social and cultural settings in which consumption takes place.

Social implications

– Constant technological change is here to stay and has consequences for the ways companies design and implement marketing communications.

Originality/value

– This paper is original in its assessment of the problems of creating effective marketing communication and in highlighting the issues facing companies in today’s post-modern world. Using generational types presents an interesting way of examining and addressing different markets with different needs.
Managing the wickedness of socially responsible marketing
Authors: Fodness Dale
Published: August 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify the wicked problems inherent in socially responsible marketing and to provide practical insights into their management.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper applies learning from three related conceptual areas (the Cynefin framework, complexity science and wicked problems) to think about sustainable marketing in new ways.

Findings

– Sustainability challenges the effectiveness of traditional marketing thought and action. New and emerging approaches and tools in sense-making, complexity science and problem recognition are needed to help ensure the successful development and implementation of sustainable marketing.

Originality/value

– Growing concern for so-called “wicked problems” appears in the literature of a number of disciplines in both the hard and soft sciences. Although the concept has appeared in the management and strategy literature, it is relatively unknown in marketing.
Gut feelings of safety: tolerance to the microbiota mediated by innate immune receptors
Authors: Swiatczak Bartlomiej , Cohen Irun R.
Published: August 2015

To enable microbial colonization of the gut mucosa, the intestinal immune system must not only react to danger signals but also recognize cues that indicate safety. Recognition of safety, paradoxically, is mediated by the same environmental sensors that are involved in signaling danger. Indeed, in addition to their well‐established role in inducing inflammation in response to stress signals, pattern recognition receptors and a variety of metabolic sensors also promote gut‐microbiota symbiosis by responding to “microbial symbiosis factors”, “resolution‐associated molecular patterns”, markers of energy extraction and other signals indicating the absence of pathogenic infection and tissue damage. Here we focus on how the paradoxical roles of immune receptors and other environmental sensors define the microbiota signature of an individual.
Reading and spelling gains following one year of Orton‐Gillingham intervention in Singaporean students with dyslexia
Authors: Lim Lois , Oei Adam C.
Published: August 2015

Despite the widespread use of Orton‐Gillingham (OG) based approaches to dyslexia remediation, empirical support documenting its effectiveness is lacking. Recently, Chia and Houghton demonstrated the effectiveness of the OG approach for remediation of dyslexia in Singapore. As a conceptual replication and extension of that research, we report results of 39 students with dyslexia aged between six and 14 years enrolled in an OG intervention programme over a period of one year in a single‐subject research (pre‐test/post‐test) design. Analyses of variance showed that students significantly improved in standardised tests of reading and spelling with moderate effect sizes (Cohen's d = 0.52–0.58). Additionally, an inverse relationship was found between students' ages when they began intervention and gains made during the intervention. Results thus indicate the effectiveness of an OG approach in remediating literacy difficulties in students with dyslexia and, taken together with previous studies, further suggest the importance of early identification and intervention.
Comparative study of the validity of three regions of the 18S‐rRNA gene for massively parallel sequencing‐based monitoring of the planktonic eukaryote community
Authors: Tanabe Akifumi S. , Nagai Satoshi , Hida Kohsuke , Yasuike Motoshige , Fujiwara Atushi , Nakamura Yoji , Takano Yoshihito , Katakura Seiji
Published: August 2015

The nuclear 18S‐rRNA gene has been used as a metabarcoding marker in massively parallel sequencing (MPS)‐based environmental surveys for plankton biodiversity research. However, different hypervariable regions have been used in different studies, and their utility has been debated among researchers. In this study, detailed investigations into 18S‐rRNA were carried out; we investigated the effective number of sequences deposited in international nucleotide sequence databases (INSDs), the amplification bias, and the amplicon sequence variability among the three variable regions, V1–3, V4–5 and V7–9, using in silico polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification based on INSDs. We also examined the primer universality and the taxonomic identification power, using MPS‐based environmental surveys in the Sea of Okhotsk, to determine which region is more useful for MPS‐based monitoring. The primer universality was not significantly different among the three regions, but the number of sequences deposited in INSDs was markedly larger for the V4–5 region than for the other two regions. The sequence variability was significantly different, with the highest variability in the V1–3 region, followed by the V7–9 region, and the lowest variability in the V4–5 region. The results of the MPS‐based environmental surveys showed significantly higher identification power in the V1–3 and V7–9 regions than in the V4–5 region, but no significant difference was detected between the V1–3 and V7–9 regions. We therefore conclude that the V1–3 region will be the most suitable for future MPS‐based monitoring of natural eukaryote communities, as the number of sequences deposited in INSDs increases.
A novel environmental DNA approach to quantify the cryptic invasion of non‐native genotypes
Authors: Uchii Kimiko , Doi Hideyuki , Minamoto Toshifumi
Published: August 2015

The invasion of non‐native species that are closely related to native species can lead to competitive elimination of the native species and/or genomic extinction through hybridization. Such invasions often become serious before they are detected, posing unprecedented threats to biodiversity. A Japanese native strain of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) has become endangered owing to the invasion of non‐native strains introduced from the Eurasian continent. Here, we propose a rapid environmental DNA‐based approach to quantitatively monitor the invasion of non‐native genotypes. Using this system, we developed a method to quantify the relative proportion of native and non‐native DNA based on a single‐nucleotide polymorphism using cycling probe technology in real‐time PCR. The efficiency of this method was confirmed in aquarium experiments, where the quantified proportion of native and non‐native DNA in the water was well correlated to the biomass ratio of native and non‐native genotypes. This method provided quantitative estimates for the proportion of native and non‐native DNA in natural rivers and reservoirs, which allowed us to estimate the degree of invasion of non‐native genotypes without catching and analysing individual fish. Our approach would dramatically facilitate the process of quantitatively monitoring the invasion of non‐native conspecifics in aquatic ecosystems, thus revealing a promising method for risk assessment and management in biodiversity conservation.
The microbial community structure of the cotton rat nose
Authors: Chaves‐Moreno Diego , Plumeier Iris , Kahl Silke , Krismer Bernhard , Peschel Andreas , Oxley Andrew P. A. , Jauregui Ruy , Pieper Dietmar H.
Published: August 2015

The cotton rat nose is commonly used as a model for Staphylococcus aureus colonization, as it is both physiologically and anatomically comparable to the human nares and can be easily colonized by this organism. However, while the colonization of the human anterior nares has been extensively studied, the microbial community structure of cotton rat noses has not been reported so far. We describe here the microbial community structure of the cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) nose through next‐generation sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons covering the V1‐V2 region and the analysis of nearly full length 16S rRNA genes of the major phylotypes. Roughly half of the microbial community was composed of two undescribed species of the genus Campylobacter, with phylotypes belonging to the genera Catonella, Acholeplasma, Streptobacillus and Capnocytophaga constituting the predominant community members. Thus, the nasal community of the cotton rat is uniquely composed of several novel bacterial species and may not reflect the complex interactions that occur in human anterior nares. Mammalian airway microbiota may, however, be a rich source of hitherto unknown microbes.
Periodontal diagnosis in private dental practice: a case‐based survey
Authors: Bailey DL , Barrow S‐Y , Cvetkovic B , Musolino R , Wise SL , Yung C , Darby I
Published: August 2015

Background

Despite the prevalence of periodontitis in Australia, there are few reports regarding periodontal diagnosis and therapies in the general dental practice setting. This study aimed to assess the degree of diagnostic accuracy in periodontal cases of Victorian general dental practitioners.

Methods

Following ethics approval, dentists were invited to complete a scenario‐based questionnaire on the Australian Dental Association Victorian Branch (ADAVB) website. Five text‐based clinical scenarios (from a total of 10) were randomly presented, representing patients with a range of disease levels from periodontal health/gingivitis to severe periodontitis, and respondents were asked what examinations they would usually perform. Based upon the presented results of periodontal and radiographic examinations, a periodontal diagnosis was requested.

Results

One hundred and thirty‐five dentists attempted the survey. Most were in group practice and based in Melbourne; 22.5% of respondents worked in a practice employing a hygienist. The clinical parameters most commonly measured to diagnose periodontal disease were pocket depth and mobility. The majority of respondents diagnosed health, gingivitis and mild periodontitis correctly compared to American Academy of Periodontology guidelines. However, moderate periodontitis tended to be diagnosed as severe.

Conclusions

Dentists in Victoria used appropriate clinical parameters when assessing periodontal disease and were generally accurate in their diagnoses. There is a need for consensus regarding diagnostic definitions.
Unopposed Estrogen Supplementation/Progesterone Deficiency in Post‐Reproductive Age Affects the Secretory Profile of Resident Macrophages in a Tissue‐Specific Manner in the Rat
Authors: Stanojević Stanislava , Kovačević‐Jovanović Vesna , Dimitrijević Mirjana , Vujić Vesna , Ćuruvija Ivana , Blagojević Veljko , Leposavić Gordana
Published: August 2015

Problem

The influence of unopposed estrogen replacement/isolated progesterone deficiency on macrophage production of pro‐inflammatory/anti‐inflammatory mediators in the post‐reproductive age was studied.

Method of study

Considering that in the rats post‐ovariectomy the circulating estradiol, but not progesterone level rises to the values in sham‐operated controls, 20‐month‐old rats ovariectomized at the age of 10 months served as an experimental model. Estrogen and progesterone receptor expression, secretion of pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory cytokines, and arginine metabolism end‐products were examined in splenic and peritoneal macrophages under basal conditions and following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation in vitro.

Results

Almost all peritoneal and a subset of splenic macrophages expressed the intracellular progesterone receptor. Ovariectomy diminished cytokine production by splenic (IL‐1β) and peritoneal (TNF‐α, IL‐1β, IL‐10) macrophages and increased the production of IL‐10 by splenic and TGF‐β by peritoneal cells under basal conditions. Following LPS stimulation, splenic macrophages from ovariectomized rats produced less TNF‐α and more IL‐10, whereas peritoneal macrophages produced less IL‐1β and TGF‐β than the corresponding cells from sham‐operated rats. Ovariectomy diminished urea production in both subpopulations of LPS‐stimulated macrophages.

Conclusion

Although long‐lasting isolated progesterone deficiency in the post‐reproductive age differentially affects cytokine production in the macrophages from distinct tissue compartments, in both subpopulations, it impairs the pro‐inflammatory/anti‐inflammatory cytokine secretory balance.
A Trust‐Based Pact in Research Biobanks. From Theory to Practice
Authors: Sanchini Virginia , Bonizzi Giuseppina , Disalvatore Davide , Monturano Massimo , Pece Salvatore , Viale Giuseppe , Di Fiore Pier Paolo , Boniolo Giovanni
Published: August 2015

Traditional Informed Consent is becoming increasingly inadequate, especially in the context of research biobanks. How much information is needed by patients for their consent to be truly informed? How does the quality of the information they receive match up to the quality of the information they ought to receive? How can information be conveyed fairly about future, non‐predictable lines of research? To circumvent these difficulties, some scholars have proposed that current consent guidelines should be reassessed, with trust being used as a guiding principle instead of information. Here, we analyse one of these proposals, based on a Participation Pact, which is already being offered to patients at the Istituto Europeo di Oncologia, a comprehensive cancer hospital in Milan, Italy.