bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Household services, social norms and bribe involvements? Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Asiedu Edward
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Understanding the drivers of corruption involvement is critical for the design of interventions aimed at reducing the incidence of corruption and easing the process of obtaining services. In many developing countries particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, traditional cultures dictate that women are responsible for performing physically demanding household chores such as fetching water, collecting and carrying firewood over long distances. This paper aims to examine the implications of these social norms on bribe involvements in sub-Saharan Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses micro-level data on bribe involvement across 20 sub-Saharan African countries. It also applies multiple estimation approaches to correct for differences in exposure to government officials, which then allows for estimating the gender differences in bribe involvement. Probit, Heckman selectivity and Lee bound estimation approaches are adopted for the purpose.

Findings

The author find that social norms impact bribe involvement of men and women in sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, the author find lower involvement of men in bribery in sub-Saharan when household services, are at stake compared to other services. In effect the gender differences in bribe involvement, even though robust for other services that are not household related, disappears when household services are at stake. The author shed light on how social and cultural norms could impact bribery outcomes.

Originality/value

Findings from this study shows that inefficiencies in public utility delivery in sub-Sahran Africa can create antisocial behavior and that interventions geared toward improvement access to utility can reduced inequality in access to services.
Developing a P2P lending platform: stages, strategies and platform configurations
Authors: Au Cheuk Hang , Tan Barney , Sun Yuan
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Online Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending platforms are becoming increasingly popular globally in recent years. Our knowledge of how to develop and manage the digital platforms that make P2P lending possible, however, is limited. Through an in-depth examination of the strategies deployed and actions taken across the various stages of development of Tuodao, one of the most successful online P2P lending platforms in China, the purpose of this study is to develop a process model of P2P Lending Platform Development to address this knowledge gap.

Design/methodology/approach

The case research method was adopted for this research, and a total of 16 informants were interviewed. The informants were composed of representatives of Tuodao’stop management, organizational IT functions as well as its various business units.

Findings

Our study reveals that the development of a P2P lending platform can unfold in a specific sequence across three stages, and the development of a particular side of the platform should be emphasized in each stage (i.e. Partners, followed by Lenders, and then Borrowers). Each stage is also distinctive in terms of their strategies and platform configuration outcomes, which are elaborated on in our paper.

Originality/value

Our process model contributes an in-depth view of how P2P lending platforms should be established and nurtured to complement the existing studies in this rapidly growing research area. In addition, our study also hints at the strategies that can facilitate the various stages. Our model can potentially serve as the foundation for formulating guidelines for the managers of P2P lending platforms, so that they are able to optimize the development of their platforms and extend the benefits of P2P lending to a broader base of customers.
Investment opportunities, corporate governance quality, and firm performance in the UAE
Authors: Al-Gamrh Bakr , Ku Ismail Ku Nor Izah , Ahsan Tanveer , Alquhaif Abdulsalam
Published: May 2020

Purpose

This paper examines the influence of investment opportunities on firm performance and evaluates corporate governance practices in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to determine whether corporate governance quality moderates that influence.

Design/methodology/approach

A fixed-effects regression was employed to examine the influence of investment opportunities on firm performance and the role of corporate governance quality as a moderator for all listed firms on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange (ADX) and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM). We examined 501 firm-year observations for the period when the corporate governance code in the UAE was coming into force, from 2008 to 2012.

Findings

The regression results indicate that investment opportunities have a negative influence on firm performance. The corporate governance index used here shows that the level of corporate governance practiced in the UAE is weak. We also find that strong corporate governance ameliorates the negative influence of investment opportunities, which supports our hypotheses. The sub-indices of corporate governance that matter the most for moderating investment opportunities are board functioning and ethics.

Practical implications

The results of this paper reflect the need to examine corporate governance in the context of the external environment represented by investment opportunities in our study. The findings could raise awareness of the importance of strong corporate governance practices, not only to directly improve firm performance but also through its influence on external variables. Legislators, regulators and other interested parties could use these results to examine practices in the UAE following the implementation of the corporate governance code.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature by evaluating the role that corporate governance quality and its components could play in firm performance and indirectly moderating other external factors (such as investment opportunities).
Inclusive human development in sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Asongu Simplice , Nnanna Joseph
Published: May 2020

Purpose

This study aims to assess the role of income levels (low and middle) in modulating governance (political and economic) to influence inclusive human development.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical evidence is based on interactive quantile regressions and 49 countries in sub-Saharan Africa for the period 2000-2002.

Findings

The following main findings are established. Firstly, low income modulates governance (economic and political) to positively affect inclusive human development exclusively in countries with above-median levels of inclusive human development. It follows that countries with averagely higher levels of inclusive human development are more likely to benefit from the relevance of income levels in influencing governance for inclusive development. Secondly, the importance of middle income in modulating political governance to positively affect inclusive human development is apparent exclusively in the median while the relevance of middle income in moderating economic governance to positively influence inclusive human development is significantly apparent in the 10th and 75th quantiles. Thirdly, regardless of panels, income levels modulate economic governance to affect inclusive human development at a higher magnitude, compared to political governance. Policy implications are discussed in light of the post-2015 agenda of sustainable development goals and contemporary development paradigms.

Originality/value

This study complements the extant sparse literature on inclusive human development in Africa.
Determinants of information communication and smart home automation technology adoption for aging-in-place
Authors: Arthanat Sajay , Chang Hong , Wilcox John
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Smart home (SH) internet of things can promote home safety, health monitoring and independence of older adults to age-in-place. Despite its commercial growth, low adoption rates of the technology among aging consumers remain a major barrier. The purpose of this study is to examine SH technology ownership of older adults and its causal pathways with demographics, health and functioning, home safety and information communication technology (ICT) use.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey on technology-mediated aging-in-place was completed by 447 respondents, 65 years and older. Structural equation modeling was used to underscore the causal pathways among demographics, health, independence and home safety, ICT and home automation technology adoption.

Findings

The study found that ICT usability, home security and independence have a significant direct effect on SH ownership. Demographics had no significant direct effect, but its influence was mediated through ICT usability. With home safety as mediator, physical impairment, falls and accidents and independence had a significant association with SH ownership. Similarly, increased social support (mediated through home security) decreased the probability of SH automation ownership.

Originality/value

The findings signify the perceived usefulness of SH automation as theorized in technology acceptance models.
Corporate governance: the inputs to outcomes evolution
Authors: de Beer Linda
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that there was a clear shift from the First King Report in 1994, which advocated an input approach to corporate governance, to the Fourth King Report in 2016 that proposed an outcomes-based approach to corporate governance. It will be demonstrated that there was a gradual shift from an “apply-or-explain” approach in the earlier editions of the King Reports, to an “apply-an-explain” approach in the fourth edition of the King Report.

Design/methodology/approach

Historical narrative and analysis.

Findings

The fourth King Report, published in 2016, encapsulates an evolution in corporate governance thinking where four good governance outcomes – ethical culture, good performance, effective control and legitimacy – are placed at the forefront of measuring governance, with governance principles and practices following from these outcomes.

Originality/value

This study is part of a special issue that looks at the contribution of the King Reports to governance globally.
Application of fuzzy DEMATEL–ANP methods for siting refugee camps
Authors: Abikova Jana
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The aim of this paper was to investigate the criteria and sub-criteria with the most impact on determining a suitable location for refugee camps. This paper also analysed the relationships between the main criteria used in the selection process.

Design/methodology/approach

This study applied a combination of fuzzy methods and the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and Analytical Network Process (ANP) methods as tools for multiple-criteria decision analysis. A questionnaire was distributed to field workers in an international humanitarian organization team.

Findings

Five main criteria and twenty sub-criteria were defined. Between them, the highest ranked sub-criteria were long-term planning, optimal distribution and opportunity for growth. These findings were specific to the interviewed respondents of presented research at the time the data were collected and offer a potential research design for future research examining different organizations and teams.

Research limitations/implications

The methods and evaluation were based on human opinions that were potentially biased.

Practical implications

The results of this study could be useful to government organizations, UN agencies, humanitarian organizations and other decision-making parties in selecting camp locations for refugees or internally displaced people according to how the importance of particular sub-criteria is understood.

Originality/value

New sub-criteria were included in this research. To date, the combination of fuzzy, DEMATEL and ANP methods has not been previously used in relation to these issues. Scientific knowledge concerning refugee camp siting problems is limited. This research extends this knowledge with the involvement of humanitarian workers as respondents. This paper also offers organizations a process for solving complex decision-making problems with long-term results or effect.
Developing a “benefits of parental feeding behaviors” questionnaire for parents of preschoolers in urban Thailand
Authors: Jongsomjitt Chollada , Chaiyawat Waraporn , Rodcumdee Branom
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Awareness concerning the benefits of an action is a consistent influential predictor of personal behavior and essential for healthcare providers in assessing the benefits of parental feeding behaviors (BePFB) toward preschoolers. Nevertheless, a valid and reliable measure of assessment has yet to be found. The objective of this study was to develop a questionnaire on the BePFB for preschoolers' parents in urban Thailand.

Design/methodology/approach

The instrument development process comprised two phases: scale construction and psychometric property testing. Phase I involved generating an item pool from the literature review and interviews with 17 preschoolers' parents as the measurement format. The items were then reviewed for content validity by five experts, with items selected by evaluating the factor loading and communality score from exploratory factor analysis (n = 310). Phase II involved testing the psychometric properties by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and reliability using internal consistency (n = 303).

Findings

The first draft of the “Benefits of Parental Feeding Behaviors Questionnaire” (BePFBQ) contained 24 items. Five items were deleted by the experts due to redundancy. Six items were then removed after evaluating the item selection process. CFA reported a good fit with the data (χ2/df ratio = 1.70, GFI = 0.97, CFI = 0.99, RMSEA = 0.048). The regression weights ranged from 0.50 to 0.74, at a statistically significant level of 0.05 with an acceptable value for Cronbach's alpha (a = 0.91). Finally, the BePFBQ contained 13 items in one dimension, with the 5-point Likert scale.

Originality/value

The BePFBQ is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring the BePFB in preschoolers' parents in urban Thailand.
Effect of infertility causes related to gender differences on Women's distress levels among patients utilizing a Turkish university hospital
Authors: Durgun Ozan Yeter , Duman Mesude
Published: May 2020

Purpose

This study aimed to examine the effect of causes of infertility related to gender differences on the distress level of women who were treated for infertility.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study. The sample consisted of 314 women who were treated for infertility between September 2016 and June 2017. Data were collected as “Sociodemographic Characteristics Form” and “Infertility Distress Scale.”

Findings

A statistically significant difference was found between the mean distress scores of the women for whom the reason for infertility was related to a female factor, and of the women for whom this reason was related to a male factor.

Research limitations/implications

The situation should be determined with quantitative studies, and the reason for the differences should be determined with qualitative studies.

Practical implications

Infertility nurses should develop a care plan that ensures that couples understand their feelings, and which enhances their mutual respect and partnership.

Social implications

The study highlights the importance of cultural awareness in the care of infertile couples.

Originality/value

The authors highlight some important aspects about the gender difference on women's distress level.
Twenty-seven years of service research: a literature review and research agenda
Authors: Furrer Olivier , Yu Kerguignas Jie , Delcourt Cécile , Gremler Dwayne D.
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The growing service sector has experienced several revolutions that have transformed the way services are created and delivered. In parallel, services increasingly pique the interest of scholars, resulting in an expanding body of knowledge. Accordingly, it is time to reflect on extant service research, assess its boundaries, and think about its future. This paper aims to consider three research questions: How has service research evolved over the past 27 years? Which articles have most influenced the evolution of service research in the past 27 years? What are the most promising research themes for the future?

Design/methodology/approach

To answer these questions, the authors analyze the contents of 3,177 service research articles published in ten major academic journals between 1993 and August 2019. Multiple correspondence analysis reveals the evolution of key service research themes and their underlying relationships.

Findings

The research themes are organized in a growth–share matrix with four quadrants (stars, question marks, cash cows and pets) and also combine into four research clusters (human resource management, organizational behavior and strategy, technology, and operations and customer behavior and marketing). Together with a specified list of influential articles that have shaped the evolution of service research, these insights suggest an agenda for research.

Originality/value

Acknowledging the vast growth of service research, this study presents an up-to-date picture of the discipline and an agenda to stimulate continued research.
Of trends and trend pyramids
Authors: Postma Albert , Papp Bernadett
Published: May 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the concept of a trend and the discourse of trend analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper concisely discusses the concept of trends, the value of trend analysis for strategic planning and hierarchical trend pyramids as a tool to scan and analyse trends.

Findings

The examples will be given of how specific mega, meso and micro trends are related within a hierarchic trend pyramid.

Practical implications

The tool of trend pyramids helps to structurally analyse and understand trends and developments. Such analysis and understanding are relevant for strategic foresight and scenario planning in leisure and tourism.

Originality/value

The literature on trend levels and pyramids is scarce and varies in interpretation. The aim of this paper is to integrate the various viewpoints into a useful instrument for the scanning and analysis of trends and developments.
Pleasing the crowd: the determinants of securities crowdfunding success
Authors: Smirnova Elena , Platt Katarzyna , Lei Yu , Sanacory Frank
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Since May 2016, small firms have been able to issue debt and equity securities in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Commission's “Regulation Crowdfunding”. This regulation provides unsophisticated investors a chance to participate in the securities markets, and it gives small businesses an opportunity to raise funds. This paper investigates the determinants of crowdfunding success, security design in a crowdfunding setting, the amount of crowdfunding campaign proceeds and campaign duration.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample used in this study is based on 750 completed securities crowdfunding offerings that were launched between May 2016 and May 2018. The data on crowdfunding issues were webscraped from Form C filings available through SEC EDGAR filing system. Additional data were hand-collected from a variety of platforms that list and aggregate crowdfunding offerings.

Findings

We show that relatively larger and more profitable companies have a better chance to achieve crowdfunding success. We find that the issuance of equity results in a lower probability of success compared to issuing debt. In addition, the issuance of equity is negatively correlated with the amount of proceeds from a crowdfunding campaign. A novel finding is that a choice of a funding instrument has a negligible impact on the amount of proceeds. This finding, combined with reduced probability of success for equity issuers, can be interpreted as a signal to rely more on debt and convertibles when designing crowdfunding campaigns.

Research limitations/implications

Organized under “Regulation Crowdfunding,” the US securities-based crowdfunding market has been operating for several years. Relative to other securities markets it is still considered to be in its infancy. Given a relatively small data sample, the results have to be interpreted with caution.

Practical implications

The paper shows that small businesses and unsophisticated investors can benefit from securities-based crowdfunding, which is subject to oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Although the mission of the regulator is to protect investors, the SEC took on a rather relaxed approach in regulating types of instruments used in crowdfunding. Our paper shows that equities, including “Simple Agreements For Future Equity” (SAFEs) might not be the best choice for crowdfunding success. This sentiment is mirrored in law literature which considers securities known as SAFEs more suitable for venture capital campaigns rather than for crowdfunding.

Originality/value

The paper adds value to the novel field of securities-based crowdfunding by testing several hypotheses on the crowdfunding success, the amount of proceeds and campaign duration.
The “comply-or-explain” principle in directive 95/2014/EU. A rhetorical analysis of Italian PIEs
Authors: Pizzi Simone , Venturelli Andrea , Caputo Fabio
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of the comply-or-explain principle in the Italian context. In particular, the analysis will evaluate, which factor impact on firms' voluntary adoption of this tool to adequate their non-financial reports to the legal requirements of Directive 95/2014/EU.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology consists of two different levels of analysis. The first part is statistical descriptive, and it consists of a rhetorical analysis on the justifications provided by the firms about their omissions to comply with Directive 95/2014/EU. The second part is inferential and its aim is to evaluate, which factors impact on comply-or-explains adoption.

Findings

The findings reveal how the comply-or-explain application in Italy has been characterized by several criticisms. The result highlight how the justifications adopted by the firms is influenced by their sector of activity and omission's type. Moreover, the analysis suggests how the sector of activity and the level of adherence to global reporting initiative influenced the average number of omissions.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of the research are represented by the focuses on a single country and by the short period of analysis. In this sense, future research could be addressed to the analysis of countries different from Italy. Moreover, accounting scholars could provide further contributions to the political debate through the evolution of the “comply-or-explain” principle’s strategies over the years.

Practical implications

The practical implications connected to the present research are twofold. The first one is represented by the possibility for policymakers to increase the degree of attention about the use of comply-or-explain as legitimization's tool. The second one is represented by the possibility for practitioners to identify a new reporting framework.

Social implications

The social implications are represented by the possibility for stakeholders to evaluate the reliability's degree of the disclosure produced by Italian public interest entities after the implementation of Directive 95/2014/EU.

Originality/value

Despite the growing attention paid by academics regard Directive 95/2014/EU, this is the first attempt to analyze the comply-or-explain from a rhetorical perspective.
Institutional complexity of host country and corporate social responsibility: developing vs developed countries
Authors: Khojastehpour Morteza , Jamali Dima
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a new trend that has swept the world of business by storm. With globalization proceeding unabated and CSR acquiring global interest and resonance, examining how companies can make adaptations to their CSR in an international context becomes a timely and important issue.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on institutional theory, this study aims to identify three types of host country institutional complexity that accompany the internationalization process, namely, cultural, regulatory and economic, hence necessitating nuanced CSR adaptations in context and as illustrated in this paper requiring different tailoring and adaptation of CSR programs and interventions between developed and developing countries.

Findings

The authors propose a series of research propositions for exploration toward broadening and deepening the understanding of the above institutional complexities and the necessity of CSR tailoring and adaptation to accompany the internationalization process.

Originality/value

The paper is one of the first to highlight the necessity of CSR tailoring in the context of the internationalization process while considering host country institutional complexity highlighting nuanced differences between developed and developing country landscapes and implications for how multinational corporations should approach CSR in these differentiated environments.
Internal marketing, employee satisfaction and cultural congruence of Gulf airlines
Authors: Chen Qian , Huang Rong , Pak Ka Ying , Hou Bing
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Little empirical research has examined the role of culture on the internal marketing-employee satisfaction (ES) relationship, and even fewer studies focus on this subject in the airline sector. This paper aims to assess whether culture moderates the contribution of internal marketing to the satisfaction of employees from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) airlines.

Design/methodology/approach

The investigation is conducted via a structured questionnaire with 310 cabin crew members who work at three GCC airlines. Multi-group analysis was used within SmartPLS 3.0 to measure whether the impact of internal marketing on ES is moderated by cultural congruence.

Findings

The results reveal the practice of internal marketing contributes to ES in GCC airlines, while cultural congruence moderates the direct relationship between internal marketing and the satisfaction of airlines’ employees. The results indicate that airlines need to satisfy the cultural needs of employees to increase their satisfaction for successful internal marketing practice.

Originality/value

This study contributes towards assessing the moderation effects of cultural congruence on internal marketing practice in the airline sector. It contributes to the current literature on aviation research, as well as specific managerial implications for the airlines and managers to achieve higher competitiveness.
Harassment and Intimidation of Parliamentary Candidates in the United Kingdom
Authors: Collignon Sofia , Rüdig Wolfgang
Published: May 2020

The use of political violence to attain political goals has long been a source of concern. Once thought to be exclusive to countries with high levels of general violence, recent evidence suggests that harassment and intimidation of political elites in the UK is more widespread than previously thought. Using data from the 2017 general election candidate survey, we find that four in every ten candidates experienced at least one type of harassment. Evidence suggests that women and young candidates are more likely to suffer from harassment and intimidation. We conclude by formulating an agenda for future research, focussing, in particular, on the perception of harassment and the effect of harassment on political careers.
Does Public Opinion Affect Political Speech?
Authors: Hager Anselm , Hilbig Hanno
Published: May 2020

Does public opinion affect political speech? Of particular interest is whether public opinion affects (i) what topics politicians address and (ii) what positions they endorse. We present evidence from Germany where the government was recently forced to declassify its public opinion research, allowing us to link the content of the research to subsequent speeches. Our causal identification strategy exploits the exogenous timing of the research's dissemination to cabinet members within a window of a few days. We find that exposure to public opinion research leads politicians to markedly change their speech. First, we show that linguistic similarity between political speech and public opinion research increases significantly after reports are passed on to the cabinet, suggesting that politicians change the topics they address. Second, we demonstrate that exposure to public opinion research alters politicians' substantive positions in the direction of majority opinion.
Selective intra‐arterial calcium stimulation test for the localization of insulinomas: an Australian hospital experience
Authors: Graf Anneke , Sarlos Stella , Farrell Stephen G. , MacIsaac Richard J. , Inder Warrick J. , Sachithanandan Nirupa
Published: May 2020

Background

Insulinomas are rare tumours of the pancreas and the most common cause of hypoglycaemia in non‐diabetic adults. They can be cured by surgery but require precise localization. The aim of this study was to assess the utility of the selective intra‐arterial calcium stimulation test (SIACST) in patients with an insulinoma to correctly localize the tumour.

Methods

Medical records of patients with a diagnosis of insulinoma or who underwent an SIACST were retrospectively reviewed. Localization of lesions by SIACST was compared to endoscopic ultrasound and radionuclide imaging studies and verified against findings at surgery.

Results

A total of 24 patients (mean age 58 years, 16 females, 20 with insulinoma) underwent SIACST. The SIACST correctly localized the insulinoma in 17 of 20 patients (85%). Localization rate for computed tomography was 55% and 75% for endoscopic ultrasound and glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor scan.

Conclusion

SIACST provided incremental diagnostic information in patients with insulinoma who had equivocal non‐invasive imaging preoperatively. This technique remains an essential diagnostic tool when a lesion is not localized by other methods.
Another type of diaphragmatic hernia to remember: parahiatal hernia
Authors: Li Junsheng , Guo Chenchen , Shao Xiangyu , Cheng Tao , Wang Yong
Published: May 2020

Background

Parahiatal hernia is a less common form of diaphragmatic hernia, with the defect lateral to the crus and oesophageal hiatus, and the unfamiliarity of this disease would cause confusion to general surgeons. In the present study, the literature on parahiatal hernia were reviewed, the clinical profile of this disease, as well as our own experience is presented and analysed.

Methods

In the present study, a thorough identification of all published reports on parahiatal hernias was made, together with our own cases, the available data were summarized, analysed and discussed.

Results

A total of 27 cases of parahiatal hernias were identified since 1987. Among them, 19 cases were primary parahiatal hernias, and eight cases were secondary or acquired parahiatal hernias. None of the 27 cases were pre‐operatively diagnosed, and the majority of them were pre‐operatively diagnosed as paraoesophageal hernias. Detailed treatment data were available in 26 of the 27 cases. Three patients received open surgery, and 23 patients were treated with laparoscopic procedures. Suture repair was used in 12 cases, and 14 cases were repaired with mesh reinforcement. In addition, two cases underwent partial gastrectomy, stomach suture was performed in another two cases.

Conclusion

Patients with parahiatal hernia have a high risk of developing hernia incarceration or gastric vovulus. Laparoscopic treatment of parahiatal hernia is feasible and safe in the majority cases. Surgeons should be aware of this disease when performing paraoesophageal hernia repair, as parahiatal hernias may occur with or without previous diaphragmatic surgery.
Primary pharyngolaryngectomy with jejunal free flap reconstruction: a single centre's evolving experience
Authors: Henrys Courtenay , Slaughter Thomas , Bernard Anne , Perry Christopher , Porceddu Sandro , Panizza Benedict
Published: May 2020

Background

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and in particular hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, has long been associated with disfiguring treatment options, significant morbidity and limited long‐term survival outcomes. Total pharyngolaryngectomy (TPL) with free flap reconstruction followed by post‐operative radiation therapy or chemoradiotherapy is a widely accepted treatment of choice for advanced disease of the hypopharynx.

Methods

Our unit undertook a 11‐year review of all primary TPL patients aiming to provide an update on survival outcomes, morbidity, post‐operative complications and evolving management strategies. We report one of the largest single‐centre series to date with 89 patients undergoing primary TPL between 2003 and 2013, and compare these outcomes to 180 patients undergoing TPL at the same facility in the previous 23 years.

Results

Between study periods, we saw a shift in patient population towards higher stage disease (T‐stage 3 or 4 97% 2003–2013; 68% 1979–2002) and increased nodal involvement (node positive 88% 2003–2013; 70% 1979–2002) without a subsequent reduction in 5‐year disease‐specific survival (52% 2003–2013; 52% 1979–2002) or 5‐year overall survival (32% 2003–2013; 33% 1979–2002).
Property rights on First Nations reserve land
Authors: Aragón Fernando M. , Kessler Anke S.
Published: May 2020

This paper examines the economic effects of existing private property rights on First Nations reserves. We focus on three regimes of land tenure: lawful possession, designated land and permits. These land regimes have been used to create individual landholdings and grant secure and transferable rights of use of reserve land. Using confidential census microdata and rich administrative data, we find evidence of a positive relationship between the use of these tenure regimes and homeownership rates, housing conditions and band's public spending. We also observe a positive relationship with average income. However, this last result is driven by the inflow of a non‐Indigenous population not by improvements in Indigenous households’ income or on‐reserve employment. Our findings thus suggest that while reforms to individual property rights on reserve have some positive effects, their scope remains limited and they are unlikely to constitute a transformative tool to alleviate poverty on reserve.
Averting transmission: A pivotal target to manage amoebiasis
Authors: Rawat Aadish , Singh Parikshit , Jyoti Anupam , Kaushik Sanket , Srivastava Vijay Kumar
Published: May 2020

Amoebiasis is a parasitic infectious disease caused by the enteric protozoan Entamoeba histolytica, a leading basis of deaths accounted to parasites, succeeding malaria and schistosomiasis. Conventional treatment methodologies used to deal with amoebiasis mainly rely on the administration of anti‐amoebic compounds and vaccines but are often linked with substantial side‐effects on the patient. Besides, cases of development of drug resistance in protozoans have been recorded, contributing further to the reduction in the efficiency of the treatment. Loopholes in the efficacious management of the disease call for the development of novel methodologies to manage amoebiasis. A way to achieve this is by targeting the essential metabolic processes of ‘encystation’ and ‘excystation’, and the associated biomolecules, thus interrupting the biphasic life cycle of the parasite. Technologies like the CRISPR‐Cas9 system can efficiently be exploited to discover novel and essential molecules that regulate the protozoan's metabolism, while efficiently manipulating and managing the known drug targets, leading to an effective halt and forestall to the enteric infection. This review presents a perspective on these essential metabolic processes and the associated molecules that can be targeted efficaciously to prevent the transmission of amoebiasis, thus managing the disease and proving to be a fruitful endeavour.
Underused Methods in Developmental Science to Inform Policy and Practice
Authors: Rioux Charlie , Little Todd D.
Published: May 2020

In this article, we offer recommendations for underused innovations and advances in research methods to enhance the quality of developmental science research. We couch our recommendations in terms of measurement innovations, design innovations, and analytic advances. We discuss six methods—the visual analog scale, the retrospective pretest–posttest design, appropriate timing and units of change, the accelerated longitudinal design, missing data treatments, and integrative data analysis. We conclude by encouraging developmental scientists to continue to incorporate advances and innovations in methods as they address the essential questions surrounding our goal to understand and improve the human condition across the life span.
MicroRNA‐100 Enhances Autophagy and Suppresses Migration and Invasion of Renal Cell Carcinoma Cells via Disruption of NOX4‐Dependent mTOR Pathway
Authors: Liu Xiumin , Zhong Lili , Li Ping , Zhao Peng
Published: May 2020

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common kidney malignancy and has a poor prognosis owing to its resistance to chemotherapy. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) have been shown to have a role in cancer metastasis and potential as prognostic biomarkers in cancer. In the present study, we aim to explore the potential role of miR‐100 in RCC by targeting nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase 4 (NOX4) through the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. Initially, microarray‐based gene expression profiling of RCC was used to identify differentially expressed genes. Next, the expression of miR‐100 and NOX4 was examined in RCC tissues and cell lines. Then, the interaction between miR‐100 and NOX4 was identified using bioinformatics analysis and dual‐luciferase reporter assay. Gain‐of‐function or loss‐of‐function approaches were adopted to manipulate miR‐100 and NOX4 in order to explore the functional roles in RCC. The results revealed the presence of an upregulated NOX4 and a downregulated miR‐100 in both RCC tissues and cell lines. NOX4 was verified as a target of miR‐100 in cells. In addition, overexpression of miR‐100 or NOX4 silencing could increase autophagy while decreasing the expression of mTOR pathway‐related genes and migration and invasion. Conjointly, upregulated miR‐100 can potentially increase the autophagy and inhibit the invasion and migration of RCC cells by targeting NOX4 and inactivating the mTOR pathway, which contributes to an extensive understanding of RCC and may provide novel therapeutic options for this disease.
The processing of rhythmic structures in music and prosody by children with developmental dyslexia and developmental language disorder
Authors: Caccia Martina , Lorusso Maria Luisa
Published: May 2020

Rhythm perception seems to be crucial to language development. Many studies have shown that children with developmental dyslexia and developmental language disorder have difficulties in processing rhythmic structures. In this study, we investigated the relationships between prosody and musical processing in Italian children with typical and atypical development. The tasks aimed to reproduce linguistic prosodic structures through musical sequences, offering a direct comparison between the two domains without violating the specificities of each one.

About 16 Typically Developing children, 16 children with a diagnosis of Developmental Dyslexia, and 16 with a diagnosis of developmental language disorder (age 10–13 years) participated in the experimental study. Three tasks were administered: an association task between a sentence and its humming version, a stress discrimination task (between couples of sounds reproducing the intonation of Italian trisyllabic words), and an association task between trisyllabic nonwords with different stress position and three‐notes musical sequences with different musical stress.

Children with developmental language disorder perform significantly lower than Typically Developing children on the humming test. By contrast, children with developmental dyslexia are significantly slower than TD in associating nonwords with musical sequences. Accuracy and speed in the experimental tests correlate with metaphonological, language, and word reading scores. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed within a multidimensional model of neurodevelopmental disorders including prosodic and rhythmic skills at word and sentence level.
The role of school leadership in Singapore's future‐ready school reform
Authors: Ng David Foo Seong , Wong Choun Pei
Published: May 2020

In this paper, we propose that successful education needs to fulfil three purposes while being cognisant of time and context: (a) learning, (b) lifework and (c) well‐being. An education system is successful if it can develop future‐ready individuals who will continue to learn beyond graduation, take on future lifework, and thrive in a changing society and environment. The future is context‐situated and context‐dependent. We have chosen to examine the economic, social and environmental context of Singapore to provide insight on the values, skills and knowledge that are required of future‐ready learners according to the three purposes. We have compared the trajectories of other high‐income nations with those of Singapore. Traditional teaching and learning practices no longer serve us well in the new realities that emerge. Education practices need to evolve in tandem to meet the demands of the 21st century. The roles that school leaders play include creating teaching and learning environments where these practices can be implemented. In our review of leadership practices and concepts, we have found that it is important for school leaders to question existing assumptions of teaching, learning and leadership practices in order to advance the development of 21st century skills, knowledge, values, and habits in learners.
Rubric Rating with MFRM versus Randomly Distributed Comparative Judgment: A Comparison of Two Approaches to Second‐Language Writing Assessment
Authors: Sims Maureen E. , Cox Troy L. , Eckstein Grant T. , Hartshorn K. James , Wilcox Matthew P. , Hart Judson M.
Published: May 2020

The purpose of this study is to explore the reliability of a potentially more practical approach to direct writing assessment in the context of ESL writing. Traditional rubric rating (RR) is a common yet resource‐intensive evaluation practice when performed reliably. This study compared the traditional rubric model of ESL writing assessment and many‐facet Rasch modeling (MFRM) to comparative judgment (CJ), the new approach, which shows promising results in terms of reliability. We employed two groups of raters—novice and experienced—and used essays that had been previously double‐rated, analyzed with MFRM, and selected with fit statistics. We compared the results of the novice and experienced groups against the initial ratings using raw scores, MFRM, and a modern form of CJ—randomly distributed comparative judgment (RDCJ). Results showed that the CJ approach, though not appropriate for all contexts, can be as reliable as RR while showing promise as a more practical approach. Additionally, CJ is easily transferable to novel assessment tasks while still providing context‐specific scores. Results from this study will not only inform future studies but can help guide ESL programs in selecting a rating model best suited to their specific needs.
Identification of novel candidate autoantibodies in Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Wang B. Z. , Zailan F. Z. , Wong B. Y. X. , Ng K. P. , Kandiah N.
Published: May 2020

Background and purpose

Accumulated failures in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) clinical trials have highlighted an urgent need to identify additional biomarkers involved in AD. Recently, mounting evidence reported that autoantibodies are ubiquitous in human sera. However, it is unknown whether autoantibodies are upregulated in amyloid‐tau biomarker‐confirmed AD.

Methods

A total of 40 subjects with mild dementia (Clinical Dementia Rating = 1) were stratified into AD (n = 16) and non‐AD (n = 24) groups according to their cerebrospinal fluid levels of tau and Aβ42. Their sera were collected and analyzed using a microarray containing > 1600 potential human autoantigens. Autoantibodies that were present exclusively in the AD group were identified and selected using the penetrance‐based fold change method with the following criteria: penetrance fold change(AD) ≥ 2, frequency(AD) ≥ 15% and frequency(non‐AD) = 0%.

Results

All controls and samples passed the quality control criteria and were further used for biomarker analysis. Six autoantibodies with elevated responses to the following autoantigens were found exclusively in the AD group: nucleosome assembly protein 1‐like 3 (31.3%, 5/16 subjects) and microtubule‐associated protein 4, pantothenic acid kinase 3, phosphoinositide‐3‐kinase regulatory subunit 1, protein tyrosine phosphatase type IVA member 1 and SRY (sex‐determining region Y)‐box 15 (all 18.8%, 3/16 subjects).

Conclusions

Although some identified autoantigens are linked to AD and cognitive dysfunction, the increased autoantibody levels have not been reported in AD. Autoantibodies may provide deeper insights into the pathogenesis of AD and serve as diagnostic biomarkers; their corresponding antigens can be further studied to assess their potential as therapeutic targets.
How have advances in genetic technology modified movement disorder nosology?
Authors: Sturchio A. , Marsili L. , Mahajan A. , Grimberg M. B. , Kauffman M. A. , Espay A. J.
Published: May 2020

The role of genetics and its technological development have been fundamental in advancing the field of movement disorders, opening the door to precision medicine. Starting from the revolutionary discovery of the locus of the Huntington’s disease gene, we review the milestones of genetic discoveries in movement disorders and their impact on clinical practice and research efforts. Before the 1980s, early techniques did not allow the identification of genetic alteration in complex diseases. Further advances increasingly defined a large number of pathogenic genetic alterations. Moreover, these techniques allowed epigenomic, transcriptomic and microbiome analyses. In the 2020s, these new technologies are poised to displace phenotype‐based classifications towards a nosology based on genetic/biological data. Advances in genetic technologies are engineering a reversal of the phenotype‐to‐genotype order of nosology development, replacing convergent clinicopathological disease models with the genotypic divergence required for future precision medicine applications.
Regulatory stress testing and bank performance
Authors: Ahnert Lukas , Vogt Pascal , Vonhoff Volker , Weigert Florian
Published: May 2020

This paper investigates the impact of stress testing results on banks’ equity and CDS performance using a large sample of 12 tests from the US CCAR and the European EBA regimes in the time period from 2010 to 2018. Passing banks experience positive abnormal equity returns and tighter CDS spreads, while failing banks show strong drops in equity prices and widening CDS spreads. We also document strong market reactions at the announcement date of the stress tests. We complement existing studies by investigating the predictability of stress test outcomes and evaluating strategic options for affected banks and investors.