bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Once bitten, twice shy? Past breach and present exchange relationships
Authors: Buch Robert , Kuvaas Bård , Shore Lynn , Dysvik Anders
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between previous employer's psychological contract breach and exchange perceptions with the current employer, and seeks to uncover moderating influences of perceived organizational support (POS).

Design/methodology/approach

– Data were obtained from a cross-lagged sample of 314 employees in Norway. Hierarchical moderated regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

– The authors found a positive relationship between previous employer's psychological contract breach and economic exchange with the current employer, and a negative relationship between previous employer's psychological breach and social exchange with the current employer. The authors also found that POS from the current employer attenuates the positive association between previous employer's breach and economic exchange with the current employer.

Research limitations/implications

– The data were cross-lagged, so causal inferences should be made with caution.

Practical implications

– Managers should be aware that past employment experiences may relate to present employment exchange relationships. In addition, POS from current employer may serve to counterbalance the “carry over” effects of past employment experiences.

Social implications

– In light of the present global economic climate, increasing POS among employees could decrease the likelihood that they assume that the employment relationship constitutes an economic exchange relationship.

Originality/value

– This study contributes to a more complete understanding of factors that shape employees’ relationships with their organization. Furthermore, this study suggests a way by which organizations can repair damages incurred by previous employer's psychological contract breach.
Supervisor attribution of subordinates’ organizational citizenship behavior motives
Authors: Cheung Millissa , Z. Peng Kelly , Wong Chi-Sum
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the agreement between supervisors and subordinates concerning the motives of organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) and how the supervisors’ attributions affect their OCB ratings.

Design/methodology/approach

– With the permission of seven large organizations in Macau, the authors conducted a survey of 500 employee-supervisor-co-worker triads. The final sample stood at 176 such triads with three hypotheses tested.

Findings

– First, supervisors are more accurate when judging altruistic motives of subordinates’ OCB than with egoistic motives. Second, supervisor attribution of subordinates’ altruistic motives positively affects the supervisors’ OCB ratings. Third, employees who are motivated by altruistic motives perform more OCB actions those egoistically motivated.

Originality/value

– The study adds to knowledge of how supervisor attribution of subordinates’ OCB motives affects their evaluation of the subordinates. It also provides evidence about the effect of OCB motives on the actual engagement in OCB. Findings of this study support the work of Organet al.regarding the motives behind OCB and strengthen the role of attribution theory in studying OCB.
Experience psychology – a proposed new subfield of service management
Authors: B. Chase Richard , Dasu Sriram
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– In their seminal book, The Experience Economy, Pine and Gilmore point out that customers buy experiences and are willing to pay a steep premium for them and hence service organizations should try to make them more fun. The purpose of this paper (and the premise of the recent book) is that services can be redesigned using psychological principles to deliver positive experiences for any kind of service, not just those that lend themselves to fun; by definition, satisfaction with a subconscious aspect of a service cannot be explained by the customer; and the psychological aspects of service interactions have to be approached with the same level of rigor as that are used to design processes that deliver the technical features of the service.

Design/methodology/approach

– A point of view on the gap and opportunities in the field.

Findings

– The authors show that there is an opportunity to extend the service operations field.

Practical implications

– Enables managers and researchers to think about new approaches for designing experiences.

Social implications

– Valuable in a number of areas including healthcare.

Originality/value

– Presents a new point of view.
Organizing complex engineering operations throughout the lifecycle
Authors: Zhang Yufeng , Zhang Lihong
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– Strategic trends towards service operations have been widely reported in the recent literature, but organisational capabilities to support such service-centred strategies are less well understood. The purpose of this paper is to identify key organisational issues in managing complex engineering service operations throughout the lifecycle.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using instruments developed from the product lifecycle management technologies and the network configuration concept, key organisational issues for engineering service operations were identified through case studies focusing on complex engineering products and services systems across a variety of industrial sectors.

Findings

– The case studies demonstrated different organisational features and strategic priorities of engineering service operations along the whole lifecycle. A generic trend has been observed for engineering systems to move from being design, development and manufacturing focused to embracing support and end-of-life recycling matters.

Originality/value

– This paper provides an overall framework for integrating key organisational issues in engineering service operations. It contributes to the service literature by highlighting the need of developing appropriate organisational capabilities to support service-centred strategies with engineering cases. It also provides guidance for companies to manage their engineering network operations throughout the whole lifecycle of complex products and services systems.
An innovative uncertainty management framework to support contracting for product-service availability
Authors: Ahmet Erkoyuncu John , Roy Rajkumar , Shehab Essam , Kutsch Elmar
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– In the light of challenges experienced in cost estimation at the bidding stage of complex engineering services in the defence industry (e.g. contracting for availability), the purpose of this paper is to present a framework to manage the influence of uncertainty on cost estimates.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research applied the Soft Systems Methodology and benefitted from interaction with four major organisations in the defence industry through document sharing, semi-structured interviews, workshops, and case studies.

Findings

– The framework is composed of seven stages to plan, identify, prioritise, classify, and manage cost uncertainties. Through the validation of three case studies some of the key benefits of the framework were realised in project planning, uncertainty visualisation, and capability management.

Research limitations/implications

– The research has been applied in the defence sector in the UK and focuses on the bidding stage. Further research needs to be applied to confirm that the findings are applicable across industries and across the life cycle.

Originality/value

– The paper builds on the theory behind risk and uncertainty management and proposes an innovative framework that avoids the assumption of “perfect” knowledge by raising questions about the validity of the input data.
Solution business models based on functional modularity – the case of complex capital goods
Authors: Hellström Magnus
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of the paper is to outline a business model for product system solutions that is based on functional modularity.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper employs an illustrative case study design. The cases constitute two action research projects in two organisations delivering complex product systems.

Findings

– The paper illustrates the viability of a movement towards a solution business model based on the use of modular networks and integrated sub-supplies for complex product systems. It develops the idea of suppliers assuming responsibility for larger functional wholes in the delivery of large capital goods.

Research limitations/implications

– Future research should strive to further validate and falsify the proposed model, and for other product systems too, with a particular focus on their operational phases.

Practical implications

– The paper outlines a business model based on modularity for both main suppliers and sub-suppliers that wish to extend their scope of delivery and to share responsibility with their networks.

Originality/value

– The proposed model is in considerable contrast to conventional models in which the main supplier typically assumes most of the responsibility itself.
Reverse use of customer data: implications for service-based business models
Authors: Saarijärvi Hannu , Grönroos Christian , Kuusela Hannu
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to explore and analyze the implications of reverse use of customer data for service-based business models. In their quest for competitive advantage, firms traditionally use customer data as resources to redesign and develop new products and services or identify the most profitable customers. However, in the shift from a goods-dominant logic toward customer value creation, the potential of customer data for the benefit of the customer, not just the firm, is an emerging, underexplored area of research.

Design/methodology/approach

– Business model criteria and three service examples combine to uncover the implications of reverse use of customer data for service-based business models.

Findings

– Implications of reverse use of customer data for service-based business models are identified and explored. Through reverse use of customer data, a firm can provide customers with additional resources and support customers’ value-creating processes. Accordingly, the firm can move beyond traditional exchanges, take a broader role in supporting customers’ value creation and diversify the value created by the customer through resource integration. The attention shifts from internal to external customer data usage; customer data transform from the firm’s resource to the customer’s, which facilitates the firm’s shift from selling goods to supporting customers’ value creation.

Originality/value

– Reverse use of customer data represent a new emerging research phenomenon; their implications for service-based business models have not been explored.
The effects of anticipatory emotions on service satisfaction and behavioral intention
Authors: Koenig-Lewis Nicole , Palmer Adrian
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to contribute critical discussion about the role of expectations and anticipation in subsequent satisfaction by incorporating anticipated emotions into a model to measure satisfaction. Emotions have provided a foundation for many causative models in marketing, notably advertising, brand development and buyer behavior. However, models of customer satisfaction have been dominated by cognition rather than affect which has been under-researched in this context. Furthermore, a significant omission in the current literature is the impact of affective expectations.

Design/methodology/approach

– A series of hypotheses relating anticipated and experienced emotions to satisfaction and behavioral intention are tested in the context of a relatively high involvement, hedonistic service encounter in a longitudinal quantitative study involving 304 participants.

Findings

– The results indicate that the emotions expressed by respondents when thinking about the forthcoming event were significantly associated with post-experience emotions. Furthermore, it was observed that positive emotions had no effect on satisfaction, but there was a significant effect of negative emotions on (dis)satisfaction.

Practical implications

– The results indicate a complex relationship between emotions, satisfaction and behavioral intention. Implications for management during the pre-consumption phase are discussed, including the benefits to be gained from pre-consumption communication that seeks to engage with consumers by arousing an anticipatory affect.

Originality/value

– The paper makes a methodological contribution by using longitudinal data rather than retrospectively collected data of emotions, and uses an actual service encounter rather than a hypothetical scenario which has limited many previous studies of emotions.
Brand knowledge transfer via sponsorship in the financial services industry
Authors: Yang Sujin , Ha Sejin
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The main aim of this study is to develop a framework of brand knowledge transfer through sponsorship for sponsors within an insurance industry in South Korea. To this end, this study explores: how pre-event brand knowledge and perceived sponsor–event fit contribute to post-event brand knowledge and if and how consumers’ attitudes toward insurance agents play a role as a moderator in the model. Brand knowledge is examined in terms of brand awareness and corporate image.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using a paper-and-pencil survey method, data were gathered from consumers (n = 330) who participated in a parenting education program in which an insurance company partnered with a baby food manufacturer in South Korea. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling.

Findings

– The results confirm the occurrence of brand knowledge transfer for sponsors via sponsorship. Pre-event brand awareness and corporate image affect post-event brand awareness and corporate image, respectively, while perceived event–sponsor fit affects both attributes of post-event brand knowledge. Further, consumer attitude toward sales agents partially moderates brand knowledge transfer.

Research limitations/implications

– Because the data focused on a single segment of sponsorship events in the financial service industry in South Korea, the results must be carefully applied to other forms of sponsorship, industries and cultures.

Practical implications

– This study highlights the effectiveness of sponsorship in the financial services industry. By aligning sponsorship events with sponsors’ characteristics and managing their brand knowledge, companies can maximize brand knowledge transfer contributing to brand equity.

Originality/value

– This study identifies consumers’ pre-extant attitudes toward sales agents as a moderator that controls brand knowledge transfer, the pre-event and post-event corporate image relationship, specifically.
The role of knowledge management in creating a culture of learning
Authors: Haak-Saheem Washika , K. Darwish Tamer
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the role of knowledge management (KM) in creating a culture of learning and creativity in a non-western context. It further seeks to stimulate broader empirical and theoretical discussions on this topic.

Design/methodology/approach

– As little is known about KM approaches in the regional context, the qualitative approach was chosen as an appropriate method of studying this phenomenon. The openness of the qualitative method enables data collection that is not constrained by predetermined categories of analysis, and thus allows for a level of depth and detail that quantitative methods cannot provide. The empirical investigation is based on semi-structured interviews and conducted in the KM department of Dubai Municipality.

Findings

– Results indicate that the impact of KM on organisational learning (OL) is below expectations. Written official statements or policies are not sufficient to enforce learning and creativity. Notably, institutional changes at the extreme produce conditions that might reduce the rate of OL. The role of KM is to develop context-specific strategies to embrace learning and creativity.

Research limitations/implications

– The developmental process as it unfolds in Dubai has hardly been addressed by academics. However, because of the absence of research related to the regional context in general and KM and OL in particular the authors recommend future researchers to explore the impact of institutional settings on managing knowledge and learning. Researchers can identify in this regard the complexity of an emerging economy and attempt to develop a more fine-tuned understanding of its relationship to KM and OL.

Practical implications

– In light of the institutional structures, the findings on KM and OL provide managers guidance in making decisions under extremely uncertain institutional settings.

Originality/value

– KM and OL have been discussed within organisational and management research; however, the majority of these studies adopt a western-based perspective. This paper contributes to the understanding of the relationship between KM and OL in an emerging market setting, which has so far received insufficient attention.
Managing knowledge and going global at FragraAroma
Authors: Gupta Nakul , P. Jaiswal Mahadeo , Pardasani Rupali
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to help students understand how companies combine and leverage their existing knowledge capabilities in order to build strategic advantage for the company. The case also throws some light on the opportunities and challenges faced by SME's of emerging markets in going international in turbulent macroeconomic scenarios.

Design/methodology/approach

– The case has been written for the purpose of teaching and class discussion. Interviews with protagonist provided the primary data and published reports and archives of the company provided the secondary data for the case.

Findings

– After the class discussion, students will be able to figure out how SME's can best leverage their existing knowledge base, efficiently manage that knowledge base and accurately assess the impact of these knowledge management activities for international expansion.

Originality/value

– This is among the first few cases in the area of knowledge management from the perspective of SME's in emerging markets in the fragrance and other allied industries.
The complexity and the case method
Authors: Grandon Gill T.
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework that uses complexity as a means of better understanding the role that case studies can play in the classroom and in building bridges between research and practice.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper synthesizes complexity theory and the practical classroom and case writing experiences of the author into a framework.

Findings

– A narrow view of the impact of case studies severely limits their widespread adoption. Rather than treating a case study as a document of very limited value to an academic career, the author needs to recognize their role in building relationships between research and practice. Through these relationships, opportunities for students and two-way flows of knowledge between academia and practice can be achieved.

Research limitations/implications

– The framework developed assumes that domain of study is complex – involving many interacting elements taking place in a context where an objectively “right” or “best” answer is unlikely to be realized. It is less clear that it is applicable to situations where optimal procedures are available and can be taught or learned.

Practical implications

– A key implication of the framework is that separating the use of case studies in the classroom (i.e. case facilitation) from the development of case studies in the field (i.e. case writing) can greatly diminish their value.

Social implications

– The proposed framework argues for greater interaction between the academic and practitioner communities.

Originality/value

– The paper offers a comprehensive perspective on cases that is rarely expressed. It should be of particular value to faculty and administrators seeking to justify the development and use of case studies.
Improving Value for Money in Italian Project Finance
Authors: Moro Visconti Roberto
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to detect how Value for Money (VfM) in Italian Project Finance (PF) investments can be enhanced and challenging criticalities minimized, with a synergistic interaction of macroeconomic, legal and institutional actions.

Design/methodology/approach

– Analysis of VfM quantitative key drivers, within a public-private partnership (PPP) framework with specific reference to a recession context, with infrastructural capital rationing implications. Empirical evidence is given by an Italian PF healthcare model, testing the impact of legal and macroeconomic changes.

Findings

– Deleverage, ignited byW-shaped recession, disinflates PPP investments, so forcing to innovative and penniless solutions. Unreliable and short-sighted legislation and consequent unfriendly business climate may frighten investors, so decreasing competition and VfM.

Research limitations/implications

– VfM sensitivity to macroeconomic and legal/institutional parameters is too wide and capriciously erratic to be comprehensively modeled. Tips for further research include pro-growth tax and budgetary policies, risk minimization issues and other synergistic targets.

Practical implications

– Guidance to regulators to fine tune legal and institutional tools, so as to create a stable, business friendly environment. Recessions may be softened by sensitive policymaking, or exacerbated by short-sighted ignorance and lack of strategic focus.

Originality/value

– Unprecedented analysis of legal and macroeconomic changes on VfM in Italian PF investments, with original tips for VfM optimization, in a comprehensive PPP framework.
Engaging with a Laclau & Mouffe informed discourse analysis: a proposed framework
Authors: Walton Sara , Boon Bronwyn
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to present an analytical method through which a political analysis of intra and inter-organizational conflicts may be conducted.

Design/methodology/approach

– The iterative method of data analysis the paper presents is based on a consolidation of work using Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory across both management and organization and social science disciplinary domains.

Findings

– While the politically orientated discourse theory of Laclau and Mouffe has begun to be used by management and organization researchers, little guidance is available for how to actually conduct the analysis of data using this discourse approach. The method the paper proposes involves making explicit an analytical process for reading available textual data.

Originality/value

– The value of this paper is primarily for management and organization researchers who are attracted to discourse theory but feel intimidated or confused about how to operationalize this theory into data analytic practice.
Do emotions affect insurance demand?
Authors: Brighetti Gianni , Lucarelli Caterina , Marinelli Nicoletta
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore how psychological variables are related to real-life insurance consumption. Specifically, the authors focus on whether emotions and psychological traits can improve the predictability of insurance demand, taking traditional socioeconomic variables under control.

Design/methodology/approach

– The approach used was in-person survey, based on a traditional questionnaire, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and a psycho-physiological task (Iowa Gambling Task (IGT)).

Findings

– A selective role of emotions and psychological traits has been proven to exist when comparing different insurance policies. Life and casualty insurance are affected by emotional arousal to losses; indemnity insurance by fear of the unknown, whereas health insurance by impulsivity.

Research limitations/implications

– The findings indicate that individual insurance consumption may be amplified by not cognitive components. Future research should concentrate on testing the effect of further psychological traits related to pure risk coverage.

Practical implications

– The results may be of interest for insurers in order to know what drives insurance demand with respect to different kinds of pure risks.

Social implications

– For policymakers, it is important to understand how psychological factors affect consumer behavior in order to incorporate such perspective into modern insurance policy measures. An analysis of such factors may also increase the self-consciousness of insurance consumers and enrich consumer self-protection.

Originality/value

– The authors propose an interdisciplinary approach to analyze insurance demand and test different kinds of insurance coverage, suggesting not homogenous hedging behaviors in relation to specific ambiguous events.
On the impact of market mergers over herding: evidence from EURONEXT
Authors: Andrikopoulos Panagiotis , Albin Hoefer Andreas , Kallinterakis Vasileios
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to present and empirically test for the first time the hypothesis that herding in a market increases following the market's merger in an exchange group.

Design/methodology/approach

– The hypothesis is tested empirically in EURONEXT's four European equity markets (Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Portugal) on the premise of the Hwang and Salmon (2004) measure which allows us insight into the significance, structure and evolution of market herding. Tests are conducted for each market for the period prior to and after its merger into EURONEXT, controlling for a series of variables (market conditions, common risk factors, size) to gauge the robustness of the findings.

Findings

– Results indicate that, with the exception of Portugal, herding grows in significance, yet declines in momentum post-merger. The authors ascribe the findings to EURONEXT's enhanced transparency (which makes it easier for investors to observe their peers’ trades, thus allowing them to infer and free-ride on their information) and its fast-moving informational dynamics that render herding movements shorter-lived. These results are robust when controlling for various market states and common risk factors, with deviations being observed when controlling for size and market volatility.

Originality/value

– The study presents results for the first time on the impact of exchange mergers on herd behavior. The authors believe these to constitute useful stimulus for further research on the issue and bear important implications for regulators/policymakers in view of the ongoing proliferation of exchange mergers that has been underway since the 1990s.
In‐planta sporulation phenotype: a major life history trait to understand the evolution of Alnus‐infective Frankia strains
Authors: Pozzi Adrien C. , Bautista‐Guerrero Hector H. , Nouioui Imen , Cotin‐Galvan Laëtitia , Pepin Régis , Fournier Pascale , Menu Frédéric , Fernandez Maria P. , Herrera‐Belaroussi Aude
Published: October 2014

Two major types of Frankia strains are usually recognized, based on the ability to sporulate in‐planta: spore‐positive (Sp+) and spore‐negative (Sp−). We carried out a study of Sp+ and Sp− Frankia strains based on nodules collected on Alnus glutinosa, Alnus incana and Alnus viridis. The nodules were phenotyped using improved histology methods, and endophytic Frankia strain genotype was determined using a multilocus sequence analysis approach. An additional sampling was done to assess the relation between Sp+ phenotype frequency and genetic diversity of Frankia strains at the alder stand scale. Our results revealed that (i) Sp+ and Sp− Alnus‐infective Frankia strains are genetically different even when sampled from the same alder stand and the same host–plant species; (ii) there are at least two distinct phylogenetic lineages of Sp+ Frankia that cluster according to the host–plant species and without regard of geographic distance and (iii) genetic diversity of Sp+ strains is very low at the alder stand scale compared with Sp− strains. Difference in evolutionary history and genetic diversity between Sp+ and Sp− Frankia allows us to discuss the possible ecological role of in‐planta sporulation.
Estimation of Binary Response Models With Endogenous Regressors
Authors: Kang Changhui , Lee Myoung‐jae
Published: October 2014

This paper reviews six approaches to binary response (y1) structural forms with an endogenous regressory2: (i) the two‐stage least squares estimator‐like substitution approach, (ii) the control function approach, (iii) the system reduced‐form approach, (iv) the artificial instrumental regressor approach, (v) the transformed‐response instrumental variable estimator approach and (vi) the classical maximum likelihood estimator approach. The applicability of the six methods differs greatly, depending on whethery2is a continuously distributed random variable or a discrete transformation of a latent. We conduct a real‐data‐based simulation study, and provide an empirical illustration. Our overall recommendation is using (i) and (ii), as the others have undesirable features such as analytic complexity in (iii), computational difficulty in (iv) and (vi), and poor finite‐sample performance in (v).
Sexual behavior and male volatile compounds in wild and mass‐reared strains of the Mexican fruit fly Anastrepha ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae) held under different colony management regimes
Authors: Bosa Carlos Felipe , Cruz‐López Leopoldo , Zepeda‐Cisneros Cristina Silvia , Valle‐Mora Javier , Guillén‐Navarro Karina , Liedo Pablo
Published: October 2014

We compared the calling and mating behavior and volatile release of wild males Anastrepha ludens (Loew) with males from 4 mass‐reared strains: (i) a standard mass‐reared colony (control), (ii) a genetic sexing strain (Tap‐7), (iii) a colony started from males selected on their survival and mating competitiveness abilities (selected), and (iv) a hybrid colony started by crossing wild males with control females. Selected and wild males were more competitive, achieving more matings under field cage conditions. Mass‐reared strains showed higher percentages of pheromone calling males under field conditions except for Tap‐7 males, which showed the highest percentages of pheromone calling males under laboratory cage conditions. For mature males of all strains, field‐cage calling behavior increased during the last hour before sunset, with almost a 2 fold increase exhibited by wild males during the last half hour. The highest peak mating activity of the 4 mass‐reared strains occurred 30 min earlier than for wild males. By means of solid phase microextraction (SPME) plus gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS), the composition of volatiles released by males was analyzed and quantified. Wild males emitted significantly less amounts of (E,E)‐α‐farnesene but emitted significantly more amounts of (E,E)‐suspensolide as they aged than mass‐reared males. Within the 4 mass‐reared strains, Tap‐7 released significantly more amounts of (E,E)‐α‐farnesene and hybrid more of (E,E)‐suspensolide. Differences in chemical composition could be explained by the intrinsic characteristics of the strains and the colony management regimes. Characterization of calling behavior and age changes of volatile composition between wild and mass‐reared strains could explain the differences in mating competitiveness and may be useful for optimizing the sterile insect technique in A. ludens.
Carotid ultrasound pulsatility indices and cardiovascular risk in Australian women
Authors: Oughton Justin Alexander , Rose Stephen , Galloway Graham , Khoo Soo Keat , O'Neill Sheila , Coulthard Alan
Published: October 2014

Introduction

Ultrasound‐acquired internal carotid arterial (ICA) pulsatility indices (PI) have been demonstrated to be useful measures of cerebrovascular disease. The purpose of this cross‐sectional study was to investigate the association between carotid artery PI, cardiovascular risk and ischaemic heart disease in aging women.

Methods

One hundred and fifty‐eight female participants of the Longitudinal Assessment of Ageing in Women study, aged 48–85 years, were evaluated. The relationships between common carotid artery (CCA) and ICA Doppler PI to cardiovascular risk factors (age, body mass index, systolic and mean arterial blood pressure, smoking and diabetes), carotid–femoral (femPWV) and carotid–radial (radPWV) pulse wave velocities, and ischaemic heart disease (IHD) were assessed using Spearman's rank correlation (ρ), multiple regression and logistic regression. Dependent variables were Box–Cox transformed to meet linear regression assumptions.

Results

CCA and ICA PI were significantly correlated to femPWV (ρ = 0.414 and ρ = 0.544, respectively). Cardiovascular risk factors were significantly predictive of CCA PI (Adj R2 = 0.176, P < 0.01); however, their relationship to ICA PI (Adj R2 = 0.508, P < 0.01) was stronger. This result was comparable with the relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and femPWV (Adj R2 = 0.561, P < 0.01). Age and systolic blood pressure were the dominant risk factors for IHD in this group.

Conclusion

ICA PI is comparable with femPWV in its association with cardiovascular disease. PI does not improve the prediction of IHD over age and systolic blood pressure.
Percutaneous microwave ablation for early‐stage non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the elderly: A promising outlook
Authors: Acksteiner Christian , Steinke Karin
Published: October 2014

Introduction

Microwave ablation (MWA) is a relatively new minimally invasive treatment option for lung cancer with substantially lower morbidity and mortality than surgery. This retrospective study was performed to evaluate the safety, effectiveness and follow‐up imaging of MWA in the elderly aged 75 years and above.

Methods

Eleven percutaneous computed tomography (CT)‐guided MWA of early‐stage non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were performed in 10 patients aged 75 years and older. All but one patient were treated with a high‐powered MWA system delivering maximally 140 W. Follow‐up with CT and fludeoxyglucose‐positron emission tomography (FDG‐PET) was carried out over a maximum period of 30 months and a median period of 12 months.

Results

There were no peri‐procedural deaths or major complications. Seven patients were disease free at the time of manuscript submission. Three patients showed growth of the treated lesions, one patient aged 90 years deceased due to unknown cause after approximately 18 months. One patient presented with local progression and disseminated metastatic disease at 12 months; he is still alive. One patient showed increasing soft tissue at the ablation site 15 months post‐treatment. Three consecutive core biopsies over 2 months failed to confirm tumour recurrence.

Conclusions

MWA therapy is a promising option of treating early‐stage NSCLC in the elderly with good treatment outcome and negligible morbidity. Determining successful treatment outcome may be challenging at times as local tissue increase and PET‐CT positivity do not seem to necessarily correlate with reccurrence of malignancy.
Standard Business Reporting in Australia: efficiency, effectiveness, or both?
Authors: Robb David A. , Rohde Fiona H. , Green Peter F.
Published: October 2014

The benefits of using eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) as a business reporting standard have been widely canvassed in the extant literature, in particular, as the enabling technology for standard business reporting tools. One of the key benefits noted is the ability of standard business reporting to create significant efficiencies in the regulatory reporting process. Efficiency‐driven cost reductions are highly desirable by data and report producers. However, they may not have the same potential to create long‐term firm value as improved effectiveness of decision making. This study assesses the perceptions of Australian business stakeholders in relation to the benefits of the Australian standard business reporting instantiation (SBR) for financial reporting. These perceptions were drawn from interviews of persons knowledgeable in XBRL‐based standard business reporting and submissions to Treasury relative to SBR reporting options. The combination of interviews and submissions permit insights into the views of various groups of stakeholders in relation to the potential benefits. In line with predictions based on a transaction‐cost economics perspective, interviewees who primarily came from a data and report‐producer background mentioned benefits that centre largely on asset specificity and efficiency. The interviewees who principally came from a data and report‐consumer background mentioned benefits that centre on reducing decision‐making uncertainty and decision‐making effectiveness. The data and report consumers also took a broader view of the benefits of SBR to the financial reporting supply chain. Our research suggests that advocates of SBR have successfully promoted its efficiency benefits to potential users. However, the effectiveness benefits of SBR, for example, the decision‐making benefits offered to investors via standardised reports, while becoming more broadly acknowledged, remain not a priority for all stakeholders.
Postprocessing of pelvic floor ultrasound data: How repeatable is it?
Authors: Dietz Hans P. , Rojas Rodrigo Guzman , Shek Ka Lai
Published: October 2014

Aims

Translabial 3D/4D pelvic floor ultrasound (PFUS) is increasingly used in the evaluation of pelvic floor disorders. Commonly, this involves the analysis of stored volume data sets by postprocessing. In this study, we aimed to assess the time requirement to reaching acceptable repeatability for commonly employed outcome measures in PFUS.

Methods

Between 2010 and 2013, 20 individuals from 11 countries underwent training in postprocessing of PFUS volume data sets. They undertook test–retest series (n ≥ 20) between day 2 and day 15 of training. Outcome measures tested included levator hiatal area on Valsalva, descent of the bladder neck, bladder, uterus and rectal ampulla, and rectocele depth. After an initial training session of 10–20 cases, test–retest series were undertaken between the trainee and measurements obtained by the author or senior trainees.

Results

Trainees were obstetricians/gynaecologists in training (n = 4), obstetricians/gynaecologists or subspecialty trainees (n = 13), medical students (n = 1) and physiotherapists (n = 2). A total of 58 repeatability series were analysed, obtained between days 2 and 15 of training. When second or third retest series were necessary, there always was improvement in repeatability except for one series in one individual. Satisfactory repeatability (ICC > 0.7) was achieved by all trainees for all parameters required by them. Training lasted from 3 to 15 days, with means between 4 and 5.8 days.

Conclusions

Postprocessing analysis of commonly used PFUS parameters can be taught to an acceptable standard within 1 week. Most commonly used ultrasound parameters obtained by postprocessing for prolapse assessment can be taught to an acceptable standard of repeatability within one week.
Effectiveness of medical treatment with methotrexate for interstitial pregnancy
Authors: Hiersch Liran , Krissi Haim , Ashwal Eran , From Anat , Wiznitzer Arnon , Peled Yoav
Published: October 2014

Background

In the last three decades, systemic methotrexate (MTX) has become widely accepted as the primary treatment for unruptured tubal pregnancy. This has prompted investigations into the use of MTX in the management of interstitial pregnancy.

Aim

To determine the effectiveness of methotrexate for treatment of interstitial pregnancy.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed 17 haemodynamically stable women admitted to our tertiary, university‐affiliated medical centre with an intact interstitial pregnancy from January 2003 through February 2013. First‐line treatment consisted of intramuscular MTX 1 mg/kg/day x4 alternating with folinic acid 0.1 mg/kg or, in cases of low beta‐human chorionic gonadotropin (β‐hCG) and no embryonic pole, one dose of 50 mg/m2 body surface area. Uterine artery MTX injection was administered on the ipsilateral side of the pregnancy followed by uterine artery embolisation as second‐line treatment. Failure criteria were <15% decrease in β‐hCG or sonographic evidence of pregnancy development. Second‐line failures were referred for surgery.

Results

Twelve women (70.5%) underwent successful first‐line treatment and 5 (29.5%) required second‐line treatment. Baseline characteristics were similar except for a higher rate of two previous ectopic pregnancies in the first‐line failures (80% versus 8.3%, P = 0.01). Two women eventually required surgery, both with two previous ectopic pregnancies. Of the three women with fetal cardiac activity on admission, two had successful first‐line treatment and one required surgery.

Conclusion

Systemic MTX is effective for treatment of intact interstitial pregnancy in haemodynamically stable women. The success rate is increased with uterine artery MTX injection as second‐line treatment.
Do hormone‐modulating chemicals impact on reproduction and development of wild amphibians?
Authors: Orton Frances , Tyler Charles R.
Published: October 2014

Globally, amphibians are undergoing a precipitous decline. At the last estimate in 2004, 32% of the approximately 6000 species were threatened with extinction and 43% were experiencing significant declines. These declines have been linked with a wide range of environmental pressures from habitat loss to climate change, disease and pollution. This review evaluates the evidence that endocrine‐disrupting contaminants (EDCs) – pollutants that affect hormone systems – are impacting on wild amphibians and contributing to population declines. The review is limited to anurans (frogs and toads) as data for effects of EDCs on wild urodeles (salamanders, newts) or caecilians (limbless amphibians) are extremely limited. Evidence from laboratory studies has shown that a wide range of chemicals have the ability to alter hormone systems and affect reproductive development and function in anurans, but for the most part only at concentrations exceeding those normally found in natural environments. Exceptions can be found for exposures to the herbicide atrazine and polychlorinated biphenyls in leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) and perchlorate in African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis). These contaminants induce feminising effects on the male gonads (including ‘intersex’ – oocytes within testes) at concentrations measured in some aquatic environments. The most extensive data for effects of an EDC in wild amphibian populations are for feminising effects of atrazine on male gonad development in regions across the USA. Even where strong evidence has been provided for feminising effects of EDCs, however, the possible impact of these effects on fertility and breeding outcome has not been established, making inference for effects on populations difficult. Laboratory studies have shown that various chemicals, including perchlorate, polychlorinated biphenyls and bromodiphenylethers, also act as endocrine disrupters through interfering with thyroid‐dependent processes that are fundamental for amphibian metamorphosis. Perchlorate has also been shown to induce these effects in wild anuran populations from perchlorate‐contaminated environments. Overall, the published data available suggest that some health effects observed in wild anuran populations, most notably intersex, likely have a chemical aetiology; however they derive only from very few anuran species and for a few pesticides at field sites in the USA. To understand better the impacts of EDCs on wild anuran populations, as well as other amphibian groups, assessment of fertility in exposed animals are required. Development of non‐destructive biomarkers that are indicative of specific EDC‐effect mechanisms are also needed to allow the study of vulnerable populations. This will help to distinguish the effects of EDCs from other environmental and/or genetic influences on development and reproduction.
Tiotropium may improve asthma symptoms and lung function in asthmatic patients with irreversible airway obstruction: the real‐life data
Authors: Abadoglu Oznur , Berk Serdar
Published: October 2014

Background and Aims

Some patients with asthma have poorly controlled disease despite the use of high‐dose inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), long‐acting β2 agonists (LABAs) and antileukotrienes. The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of tiotropium as an add‐on therapy to the standard treatment with high‐dose ICS/LABA on asthma control and lung function in patients with severe asthma.

Methods

Of the 633 asthmatic patients, 64 (10.1%) patients with severe asthma who were add‐on treated at least for 3 months were evaluated. Number of exacerbations, emergency department visits, hospitalizations and lung functions of patients belonging to 12 months before starting add‐on treatment were compared with those of 12 months after starting add‐on treatment.

Results

The mean duration of add‐on tiotropium treatment was 8.3 ± 0.5 months. For patients with severe asthma that was poorly controlled with standard combination therapy, tiotropium improved asthma control in 42.2%, decreased the number of emergency department visits in 46.9% and decreased the number of hospitalizations in 50.0% of them. The mean baseline forced expiratory volume in 1 s before add‐on tiotropium was 57.5 ± 1.9% and forced vital capacity was 74.3 ± 15.6%. However, after 12 months of add‐on tiotropium treatment, these rates became 65.5 ± 1.9% and 82.5 ± 15.1%, respectively. The addition of tiotropium significantly improved the percentages of the number of emergency department visits, the number of hospitalizations (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Our study has suggested that, for patients with poorly controlled asthma despite of the use of ICS/LABA, the addition of tiotropium to standard care may be beneficial.