bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hospital Care and Early Breastfeeding Outcomes Among Late Preterm, Early‐Term, and Term Infants
Authors: Goyal Neera K. , Attanasio Laura B. , Kozhimannil Katy B.
Published: October 2014

Background

Compared with term infants (39–41 weeks), early‐term (37–38 weeks) and late preterm (34–36 weeks) infants have increased breastfeeding difficulties. We evaluated how hospital practices affect breastfeeding by gestational age.

Methods

This Listening to Mothers III survey cohort included 1,860 mothers who delivered a 34–41‐week singleton from July 2011 to June 2012. High hospital support was defined as at least seven practices consistent with the Baby‐Friendly Hospital Initiative's Ten Steps for United States hospitals. Logistic regression tested mediating effects of hospital support on the relationship between gestational age and breastfeeding at 1 week postpartum.

Results

High hospital support was associated with increased exclusive breastfeeding (AOR 2.21 [95% CI 1.58–3.09]). Just 16.4 percent of late preterm infants experienced such support, compared with early‐term (37.9%) and term (30.7%) infants (p = 0.004). Although overall breastfeeding rates among late preterm, early‐term, and term infants were 87, 88, and 92 percent, respectively, (p = 0.21), late preterm versus term infants were less likely to exclusively breastfeed (39.8 vs. 62.3%, p = 0.002). Inclusion of hospital support in multivariable modeling did not attenuate the effect of late preterm gestation.

Discussion

Differences in practices do not account for decreased exclusive breastfeeding among late preterm infants. Hospital supportive practices increase the likelihood of any breastfeeding.
Board Diversity: Beginning to Unpeel the Onion
Authors: Hillman Amy J.
Published: October 2014

Despite progress understanding the costs and benefits of diversity in corporate boardrooms we continue to have many unanswered questions. As questions begin to be partially answered, more questions arise. Here I explore those layers of the boardroom diversity onion.
FGF23 is associated with disease severity and prognosis in chronic heart failure
Authors: Poelzl Gerhard , Trenkler Christian , Kliebhan Johannes , Wuertinger Philipp , Seger Christoph , Kaser Susanne , Mayer Gert , Pirklbauer Markus , Ulmer Hanno , Griesmacher Andrea
Published: October 2014

Background

Elevated levels of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) are associated with incident heart failure in individuals with or without chronic kidney disease. We aimed to investigate the association between serum FGF23 concentrations and disease severity and long‐term outcome in patients with stable heart failure.

Materials and methods

Serum levels of C‐term FGF23 (Ct‐FGF23) concentrations, inorganic phosphate (Pi), parathormone (PTH) and 25‐hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) were measured in 208 patients with nonischaemic heart failure (age 48 ± 15 years; 70% male; NYHA Class I 27·8%, NYHA Class II 43·4%, NYHA Class III/IV 28·8%; LV‐EF 34 ± 15%; eGFR ≥60 mL/min/1·73 m2 in 86%).

Results

Median Ct‐FGF23 levels were 18·2 RU/mL (7·5–40·8RU/mL). A dose–response relationship was found between median Ct‐FGF23 levels and increasing NYHA class (I: 11·9 RU/mL, II: 15·8 RU/mL, III/IV: 38·8 RU/mL; P < 0·001). Ct‐FGF23 correlated with NTproBNP (r = 0·307, P < 0·001), central venous pressure, mean pulmonary arterial pressure, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure and inversely correlated with cardiac output after adjustment for renal function (eGFR) and Pi. LnCt‐FGF23 was related with the combined endpoint of death or heart transplantation (hazard ratio 1·452 [1·029–2·048]; P = 0·034) independent of Pi, PTH, 25(OH)D, age and sex.

Conclusion

The phosphatonin FGF23 is strongly associated with disease severity and long‐term outcome in patients with nonischaemic heart failure and preserved renal function. Further studies are needed to evaluate the pathophysiologic role of FGF23 and its potential as a biomarker in heart failure.
The pleasures of the past: history and identity in the early Middle Ages
Authors: McKitterick Rosamond
Published: October 2014

The theme of ‘pleasure’ chosen for the 2013 Leeds International Medieval Congress celebrated not only concepts and perceptions of pleasure in the past, but also our fundamental intellectual enjoyment of the study of the past. Those whom medievalists study also engaged with the past at many levels and for many reasons, which included the sheer pleasure of it. In particular, the place of Rome in the historical imagination of the people of early medieval Europe is reflected in many sources, both textual and material. The particular use made of the resources of the past, and the cultural affiliations thereby proclaimed, together offer one composite expression of identity. That identity in its turn contributes to the essential sense of harmony and consequential pleasure in knowing one's place in time and space. I offer four examples by way of illustration of these creative uses of the resources of the past. I further propose that the perception of Rome is a significantly striking aspect of the engagement with the past in the early Middle Ages and had a crucial impact on the subsequent place of the Roman past in the cultural memory of Latin Europe as a whole. I consider the degree to which changes in the representation and understanding of the Roman past might have shaped or had an impact on the identity of those in Rome and responsible for writing history.
Preaching Romanness in the early Middle Ages: the sermon De litaniis from the Eusebius Gallicanus collection
Authors: Pollheimer Marianne
Published: October 2014

During the fifth century, the Roman population of southern Gaul was confronted with continuously changing power relations and the transformation of traditional Roman social, political and economic structures. This article seeks to address differing perceptions of the new barbarian rule by analysing a sermon from the so‐called Eusebius Gallicanus collection. The sermon reflects the tense atmosphere in a community located in southern Gaul at the end of the fifth century. The preacher, however, attempted to put the people's fears into perspective by assigning the qualities of Christian Roman morality to the Goths, while dismissing the behaviour of the Romans as impious and barbarous.
Cash Limits, Hospital Prescribing and Shrinking Medical Jurisdiction
Authors: Jackson William J. , Paterson Audrey S. , Pong Christopher K. M. , Scarparo Simona
Published: October 2014

In recent years substantial research effort has been applied to the study of the introduction of accounting logics into medical practice, but little of that effort has been applied to the area of the prescribing of medicines, especially in the hospital setting. This paper uses the sociology of the professions as a lens to analyse how policy and managerial initiatives promoting cost and budgetary concerns have affected medical jurisdiction and prescribing practice within the setting of Scottish acute hospitals. The findings suggest that the introduction of accounting logic is shrinking medical jurisdiction and stratifying the profession within the hospital setting.
Commentaries on the IAALS' Honoring Families Initiative White Paper
Authors: Babb Barbara A.
Published: October 2014

Family courts are not likely to disappear, as they currently constitute the largest proportion of trial court filings in most states. It appears as though family courts have become an emergency room for family problems. Thus, we need to enhance our efforts to improve the family justice system. In order to revamp family courts most effectively, there must be a focus on the creation of unified family courts that are grounded in therapeutic jurisprudence and the ecology of human development. This framework allows for a more responsive and holistic approach to families' legal and underlying nonlegal needs. The goal of a unified family court is to aim to improve the lives of families and children through judicial action, informal court proceedings, alternative dispute resolution, and the provision of appropriate social services.

Key Points for the Family Court Community

The need for family court reform

An underlying theoretical foundation to guide the family court reform process

Employing therapeutic jurisprudence to ensure an outcome that can positively affect the lives of the families and children involved in each legal proceeding

Utilizing the ecology of human development to assist with obtaining a holistic view of families' legal and underlying nonlegal issues

A blueprint to create a unified family court to provide an effective, efficient, comprehensive resolution to each family's dispute
Book Review: Leonard Edwards' The Role of the Juvenile Court Judge: Practice and Ethics
Authors: Rosa Janice M.
Published: October 2014

This article reviews the first of its kind book on judicial ethics for juvenile and family court judges, written by Judge Leonard Edwards, retired California judge and national leader for the voice of families and children engaged in court action. The author's unique style of instructing by scenarios is both engaging and easily available to judges and nonlawyers alike.

Key Points for the Family Court Community

Judge Edwards brings decades of real‐time experience to the many questions that confront juvenile and family court judges

Edwards' organization of the material by topic and issue makes it quickly understandable, the logic easy to follow

It is the only book published to focus entirely on everyday events, and the ethical implications, faced by every juvenile and family court judge

Those who desire to act as judicial leaders for systems change will find a roadmap through ethical quagmires that will empower.
Ignorance is not Bliss: Why States Should Adopt California's Independent Counsel Requirement for the Enforceability of Prenuptial Agreements
Authors: Kennedy Sandra
Published: October 2014

Prenuptial agreements are gaining popularity among Americans as an effective means of financial protection in the event of death or divorce. It is widely accepted that prenuptial agreements merit additional procedural and substantive fairness requirements. However, states have very different requirements for enforcement, and courts often enforce agreements despite the use of unfair bargaining tactics. Requiring the advice of independent counsel ensures that the parties to a prenuptial agreement are aware of the terms of the agreement and demonstrates to the court that it was executed voluntarily. While independent counsel is often one factor that courts consider when examining procedural fairness, it is not a dispositive factor in the majority of states. In order to promote enforceability, create more predictable outcomes, and achieve greater equality in the bargaining process, this Note proposes that states adopt California's statutory provision, or a similar standard, which requires that the party against whom enforcement is sought obtained independent legal counsel prior to the execution of the agreement. In order to preserve the freedom of contract, the statute includes a waiver provision, which allows a party to waive the right to independent counsel as long as that party is fully informed, typically by the other party's lawyer, of the basic terms and effect of the agreement and the rights and obligations he or she is giving up by signing it.

Key Points for the Family Court Community

Prenuptial agreements differ from ordinary commercial contracts because the parties do not deal at arm's length with each other.

States have varying procedural and substantive fairness standards for prenuptial agreements, but many do not provide sufficient protection for vulnerable parties.

California requires independent counsel, or waiver, to find that a prenuptial agreement has been voluntarily executed.

By adopting an independent counsel requirement like California's, states can ensure informed consent and bargaining equality, while promoting enforceability and predictability.
Land‐use effects on terrestrial consumers through changed size structure of aquatic insects
Authors: Stenroth Karolina , Polvi Lina E. , Fältström Emma , Jonsson Micael
Published: October 2014

We assessed the influence of agricultural land use on aquatic–terrestrial linkages along streams arising from changes in the emergence of aquatic insects. We expected that terrestrial predators would respond to a change in the abundance and/or the size structure of the emerging aquatic insects by an increase or decrease in population size.

We measured the flux of emergent aquatic insects and the abundance of terrestrial invertebrate predators and birds along 10 streams across a forest‐to‐agriculture land‐use gradient. We also performed stable isotope analyses (hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen) of terrestrial invertebrate predators.

Small aquatic insects (Nematocera) were most abundant under agricultural land use, whereas larger bodied aquatic insects (Plecoptera and Trichoptera) were more associated with forest land use. Carabid beetles and linyphiid spiders were associated with agricultural streams (where there was a high abundance of small aquatic insects), whereas lycosid spiders and birds were associated with forest streams and a high abundance of large‐sized aquatic insects.

The contribution of aquatic insects to the diets of riparian Lycosidae, Linyphiidae and Carabidae was estimated to be 44%, 60% and 43%, respectively, indicating the importance of aquatic subsidies to the terrestrial system.

Our results show that agricultural land use in an overall forested landscape can have significant effects on the abundance and diet of terrestrial consumers through its impact on the size structure of the assemblage of emerging insects, rather than the overall magnitude (numbers) of the aquatic subsidy. Hence, our results suggest that the composition, not just quantity, of a cross‐habitat resource may influence the recipient system.
Microbial methane cycling in the bed of a chalk river: oxidation has the potential to match methanogenesis enhanced by warming
Authors: Shelley Felicity , Abdullahi Frah , Grey Jonathan , Trimmer Mark
Published: October 2014

Many rivers are oversaturated in methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) relative to the atmosphere, but we know little about the biological controls on the balance between these two important greenhouse gases and how they might respond to warming.

We characterise the potential response to temperature in the biological production of CO2 and CH4 and the subsequent microbial oxidation of that CH4, that is the sink and source components of the CH4 cycle, in contrasting river bed sediments: fine sediments, which are largely anoxic, and oxic, coarse gravels.

In the fine sediments, anaerobic production of both CH4 and CO2 increased with temperature, with apparent activation energies for each being 0.51 eV and 0.24 eV, respectively. The difference between the two resulted in a 4% increase in the ratio of CH4:CO2 production for a 1 °C increase in temperature.

In the coarse gravels, microbial CH4 oxidation showed no response to temperature at CH4 concentrations characteristic of these gravel beds (30–200 nmol CH4 L−1), due to strong substrate limitation. In contrast, at higher (although still rate limiting) CH4 concentrations, more characteristic of the fine sediment patches (2–4 μmol CH4 L−1), CH4 oxidation exhibited an increasingly strong response to temperature, eventually exceeding that for CH4 production.

In the fine sediment, the surface layers had a CH4 oxidation capacity over 100 times greater than the gravels and the kinetic response to differing pore water CH4 concentrations meant CH4 was oxidised some 2000 times faster in the fine sediment patches compared with the coarse gravels.

The calculated kinetic and temperature responses showed that with warming, methanogenesis is unlikely to outstrip methanotrophy and the ratio of CO2 to CH4 emitted could be conserved. Consequently, any changes in the efflux ratio of CH4 to CO2 are unlikely to be due to the incapacity of methanotrophy to respond to CH4 production, but rather to a physical bypassing of the methanotrophic community (e.g. through ebullition or transport via plant stems) or contraction of the oxic layer.
Characterisation of the hypoglycaemic activity of glycoprotein purified from the edible brown seaweed, Undaria pinnatifida
Authors: Rafiquzzaman S.M. , Min Lee Jong , Ahmed Raju , Lee Jong‐Hee , Kim Jin‐Man , Kong In‐Soo
Published: October 2014

Seaweed has been reported to control postprandial hyperglycaemia in various ways. We recently reported the characterisation of a glycoprotein from Undaria pinnatifida (UPGP) with antioxidant activities. In this study, we characterised the hypoglycaemic effect of UPGP through monitoring α‐glucosidase inhibition and glucose transport across yeast cell. Dose‐dependent inhibitions of UPGP against yeast and rat intestinal α‐glucosidase were observed with IC50 values of 0.11 and 0.29 mg mL−1, respectively. UPGP showed stable inhibition following incubation at different temperatures and metal ions. Regarding bioaccessibility, the inhibition was decreased slightly during the gastric phase compared to undigested UPGP, with an increase during the duodenal phase. Kinetics and membrane dialysis revealed mixed and reversible inhibition, respectively. Furthermore, UPGP with acarbose showed synergistic inhibition against α‐glucosidase, and UPGP increased the rate of glucose transport across the yeast cell. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that UPGP may be used as bioaccessible food additives for controlling postprandial hyperglycaemia.
Synthesis of ZrC–SiC Powders from Hybrid Liquid Precursors with Improved Oxidation Resistance
Authors: Wang Xiao‐Fei , Liu Jia‐Chen , Hou Feng , Hu Ji‐Dong , Sun Xin , Zhou Yan‐Chun
Published: October 2014

ZrC–SiC powders are synthesized by high‐temperature pyrolysis of hybrid liquid precursors, which are prepared from organic Zr‐containing precursor (PZC) and liquid polycarbosilane (LPCS). Due to the excellent miscibility between PZC and LPCS, the hybrid liquid precursors are formed by dissolving PZC into LPCS without adding organic solvent. The viscosity and elemental content of Zr and Si of the hybrid precursors are readily adjustable by controlling the LPCS/PZC mass ratio. SEM and TEM observations reveal that the ZrC–SiC powders pyrolyzed at 1550°C exhibit spherical morphology with characteristic dimension of less than 60 nm, and the two phases are uniformly distributed in composite powders. The advantage of the ZrC–SiC powders synthesized by this novel method is demonstrated by investigating the oxidation behavior of powders with different amount of SiC and ZrC. Below 700°C, ZrC quickly oxidizes to generate an almost nonprotective ZrO2 scale, whereas at ~ 1000°C, dense and protective SiO2 forms that improves the oxidation resistance of the ZrC–SiC composite powders.
Why some children with externalising problems develop internalising symptoms: testing two pathways in a genetically sensitive cohort study
Authors: Wertz Jasmin , Zavos Helena , Matthews Timothy , Harvey Kirsten , Hunt Alice , Pariante Carmine M. , Arseneault Louise
Published: October 2014

Background

Children with externalising problems are at risk of developing internalising problems as they grow older. The pathways underlying this developmental association remain to be elucidated. We tested two processes that could explain why some children with externalising problems develop internalising symptoms in preadolescence: a mediation model whereby the association between early externalising and later new internalising symptoms is explained by negative experiences; and a genetic model, whereby genes influence both problems.

Methods

We used data from the Environmental Risk (E‐Risk) Study, a 1994–1995 birth cohort of 2,232 twins born in England and Wales. We assessed externalising and internalising problems using combined mothers’ and teachers’ ratings at age 5 and 12. We measured bullying victimisation, maternal dissatisfaction and academic difficulties between age 7 and 10 and used linear regression analyses to test the effects of these negative experiences on the association between early externalising and later internalising problems. We employed a Cholesky decomposition to examine the genetic influences on the association.

Results

Children with externalising problems at age 5 showed increased rates of new internalising problems at age 12 (r = .24, p < .001). Negative experiences accounted for some of the association between early externalising and later internalising problems. Behavioural‐genetic analyses indicated that genes influencing early externalising problems also affected later internalising problems.

Conclusions

Our findings highlight the role of genetic influences in explaining why some children with externalising problems develop internalising symptoms in preadolescence. Negative experiences also contribute to the association, possibly through gene–environment interplay. Mental health professionals should monitor the development of internalising symptoms in young children with externalising problems.
Economic Regulation of Next-Generation Sequencing
Authors: Evans Barbara J.
Published: October 2014

The genetic testing industry is in a period of potentially major structural change driven by several factors. These include weaker patent protections after Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics (the “Myriad decision”) and Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc.; a continuing shift from single-gene tests to genome-scale sequencing; and a set of February 2014 amendments to the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) regulations and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. This article explores the nature of these changes and why they strain existing regulatory frameworks for protecting patients, research subjects, and other consumers who receive genetic testing.

Oversight of genetic testing has, at least to date, had two major thrusts: (1) privacy and ethical protections and (2) traditional consumer health and safety regulations. Examples of the first are the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act and the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which after 2013 amendments expressly protects genetic privacy as well as other medical privacy.
Finding Meaning in Life Following Emergency Postpartum Hysterectomy: What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us Stronger
Authors: Elmir Rakime
Published: October 2014

Introduction

Childbirth is generally perceived to be a triumphant and joyous moment in a woman's life. However, current research indicates that it can also be a time of fear, dread, and apprehension, particularly when the birth experience is traumatic. Some women attempt to seek the positives of their traumatic or unexpected childbirth experience to be able to cope with their experience. However, little attention is directed toward how women rebuild their lives and grow following traumatic birth experiences such as severe postpartum hemorrhage and emergency hysterectomy.

Methods

Twenty‐one Australian women, aged 24 to 57 years, who had experienced severe postpartum hemorrhage and emergency hysterectomy were interviewed in an in‐depth qualitative study about their experiences.

Results

Thematic analysis revealed the major theme of moving forward and 4 subthemes: appreciating life and what you have; what really counts: learning and growing; accepting it: it's just the way it is; and reframing the experience: seeking the positives All of the women found meaning following their hysterectomy, which produced a positive perspective on their lives.

Discussion

The way that women find meaning and cope with the trauma of having a severe postpartum hemorrhage and emergency hysterectomy is significant to their ability to move forward and live life to the fullest. Midwives and other health care providers may be in a position to provide support for women in the aftermath of severe postpartum hemorrhage and emergency hysterectomy.
A Socioecological Predication Model of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Low‐Income, High‐Risk Prenatal Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Women
Authors: Dodgson Joan E. , Oneha Mary Frances , Choi Myunghan
Published: October 2014

Introduction

Only recently has perinatal posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) been researched in any depth; however, the causes and consequences of this serious illness remain unclear. Most commonly, childbirth trauma and interpersonal violence have been reported as contributing factors. However, not all Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (NHPI) women who experience these events experience PTSD. The factors affecting PTSD are many and complex, intertwining individual, family, and community contexts. Using a socioecological framework, 3 levels of contextual variables were incorporated in this study (individual, family, and social/community). The purpose of this study was to determine the socioecological predictors associated with prenatal PTSD among NHPI.

Methods

A case‐control design was used to collect retrospective data about socioecological variables from medical record data. The sample was low‐income, high‐risk NHPI women receiving perinatal health care at a rural community health center in Hawaii who screened positive (n = 55) or negative (n = 91) for PTSD.

Results

Hierarchical logistic regression was conducted to determine socioecological predictors of positive PTSD screening. Although the majority of women (66.4%) experienced some form of interpersonal violence, a constellation of significant predictor variables from all 3 levels of the model were identified: depression (individual level), lack of family support and family stress (family level), and violence (social/community level).

Discussion

Each of the predictor variables has been identified by other researchers as significantly affecting perinatal PTSD. However, it is because these variables occur together that a more complex picture emerges, suggesting the importance of considering multiple variables in context when identifying and caring for these women. Although additional research is needed, it is possible that the significant predictor variables could be useful in identifying women who are at higher risk for PTSD in other similar populations.
Effects of a continuum of care intervention on frail older persons’ life satisfaction: a randomized controlled study
Authors: Berglund Helene , Hasson Henna , Kjellgren Karin , Wilhelmson Katarina
Published: October 2014

Aims and objectives

The aim of this study was to analyse effects of a comprehensive continuum of care (intervention group) on frail older persons’ life satisfaction, as compared to those receiving usual care (control group). The intervention included geriatric assessment, case management, interprofessional collaboration, support for relatives and organising of care‐planning meetings in older persons’ own homes.

Background

Improvements in older persons’ subjective well‐being have been shown in studies including care planning and coordination by a case manager. However, effects of more complex continuum of care interventions on frail older persons’ life satisfaction are not well explored.

Design

Randomised controlled study.

Methods

The validated LiSat‐11 scale was used in face‐to‐face interviews to assess older persons’ life satisfaction at baseline and at three, six and 12 months after the baseline. The odds ratio for improving or maintaining satisfaction was compared for intervention and control groups from baseline to three‐month, three‐ to six‐month as well as six‐ to 12‐month follow‐ups.

Results

Older persons who received the intervention were more likely to improve or maintain satisfaction than those who received usual care, between 6 and 12 month follow‐ups, for satisfaction regarding functional capacity, psychological health and financial situation.

Conclusions

A comprehensive continuum of care intervention comprising several components had a positive effect on frail older persons’ satisfaction with functional capacity, psychological health and financial situation.

Relevance to clinical practice

Frail older persons represent a great proportion of the persons in need of support from the health care system. Health care professionals need to consider continuum of care interventions’ impact on life satisfaction. As life satisfaction is an essential part of older persons’ well‐being, we propose that policy makers and managers promote comprehensive continuum of care solutions.
Brand Extension Effects and Core Attributes of Experience Product Franchises: ABayesian Approach
Authors: Yalcinkaya Goksel , Aktekin Tevfik
Published: October 2014

An experience product's quality is difficult to assess prior to purchase, largely due to the limited availability of information before consumption. In the absence of perfect information, firms routinely use certain market signals to provide product quality information to consumers. Accordingly, drawing from signaling theory, this research aims to identify a collection of product core attributes in the form of signals and brand extension features to successfully manage experience product franchises. In doing so, we make use ofBayesian models with both deterministic effects via the use of predictor variables and probabilistic effects via the use of brand extension properties. Such models allow us to explore specifically the relative performance effects of the parent product of a franchise and of its extensions given the same level of product core attributes. The results of this study, based on the motion picture franchise data, indicate that there are critical product core attributes such as continuity, timing, and prior perception that collectively lead to successful successive generations. Furthermore, our study shows that brand features measured by the relationships between the parent product and its subsequent extensions at the infancy of the franchise are essential for the continuation of experience products. Similarly, our results indicate that the parent product's success on later extensions' performance starts to diminish, implying that the established “brand name” is what carries the franchise forward.
First Product Success: A Mediated Moderating Model of Resources, Founding Team Startup Experience, and Product‐Positioning Strategy
Authors: Zhao Y. Lisa , Libaers Dirk , Song Michael
Published: October 2014

The success of the first product is of paramount importance for the future development of the new venture. Developing and launching a first product in the Chinese market is even more challenging than in a well‐developed market economy because of weak enforcement of intellectual property laws, a general consumer distrust of new products developed by Chinese firms, and the immediate threat of copycat.

This article develops a mediated moderating model to examine first product success in Chinese new ventures, in which product‐positioning strategy (conceptualized as the degree of product differentiation) mediates the impacts of marketing resources, technical resources, and founding team startup experience on product success (conceptualized as timing of product launch and product market and financial performance). Furthermore, we argue that founding team startup experience moderates the impact of marketing and technical resources on building strong product‐positioning strategy.

We test our conceptual model using a sample of 909 new products developed by 909 Chinese new ventures in a two‐step selection model. The empirical results provide important insight for new ventures' first product development. Product differentiation does not mediate the impact of marketing resource on product success; but it fully mediates the impact of technical resources on timing of product launch and partially mediates the impact of technical resources on product performance. Marketing resources have significant direct positive effects on both product performance and timing of product launch. Surprisingly, the impacts of marketing resources on product differentiation and product performance are negatively, not positively, moderated by founding team experience. When the founding team has nine years or less startup experience, an increase in marketing resources leads to a significant increase in product differentiation; and when the founding team has more than nine years of startup experience, an increase in marketing resources will not lead to an increase in product differentiation. The impact of marketing resources on product performance is smaller for founding teams with more prior startup experience than those with less prior startup experience. The impacts of technical resources are not moderated by founding team startup experience. Technical resources positively affect product market and financial performance directly as well as through its positive impacts on product differentiation. However, technical resources can negatively affect timing of the product launch because developing a highly differentiated produce can potentially delay the launch of the product. Therefore, new ventures have to be mindful in managing the available resources to succeed in the first product development.
It Won't Fit! For Innovative Products, Sometimes That's for the Best
Authors: Stanko Michael A. , Molina‐Castillo Francisco‐Jose , Harmancioglu Nukhet
Published: October 2014

The degree of overlap (i.e., fit) between product development organizations' resources and the product development projects pursued has powerful performance implications. Drawing on organizational learning theory and the resource‐based view, this research conceptualizes and empirically tests the interrelationships between the levels of fit, innovativeness, speed to market, and financial new product performance. After reviewing the research literature relevant to resource fit and new product performance, the level of innovativeness is posited to be an important moderating and mediating factor, which is validated by analysis of data gathered from 279 product developing firms. Technological fit has a negative direct effect on both technological and market innovativeness, while the use of existing marketing resources (i.e., a high degree of marketing fit) positively impacts technological innovativeness. This suggests, consistent with findings from market orientation research, that a deep, long‐held customer understanding can promote technological innovativeness. The moderating hypotheses proposed are also well supported: First, a high degree of marketing fit has a more positive impact on performance for market innovative products (e.g., products which address a new target market or use a nontraditional channel for the firm). Drawing on a deep customer understanding is more critical to performance for market innovative products. Conversely, the benefits of marketing fit are limited where market innovativeness is lacking. Interestingly, the counterpart moderating role of technological innovativeness on technological fit's performance effect is not significant; the level of technological innovativeness does not significantly impact the performance impact of technological fit. There are also significant moderating effects across dimensions. Our results show that the financial benefit of using existing marketing resources is lessened for technologically innovative products. Technological innovations necessitate drastic adaptation of marketing resources (i.e., channel and brand); firms drawing only on existing marketing resources for a technologically innovative new product will incur reduced profit. Similarly, the positive implications of using existing technological resources are limited for products which are highly market innovative. Generally, resource fit is seen to have an (oft‐overlooked) dark side in product development, though several of our findings suggest that marketing resources are more flexible than are technological resources.
Trust Formation in University–Industry Collaborations in the U.S. Biotechnology Industry: IP Policies, Shared Governance, and Champions*,†
Authors: Bstieler Ludwig , Hemmert Martin , Barczak Gloria
Published: October 2014

Haggling over rights to potential inventions can be a major roadblock to successful university–industry (UI) collaborations. Yet such collaborations are critical for innovation in science‐based industries. This study examines the roles of universities' intellectual property (IP) policies and of shared governance for trust formation between academe and industry. The study also examines how UI champions moderate this process and how trust between university and industry partners affects UI collaboration outcomes. The analysis of survey data of 105 recent UI collaborations in the U.S. biotechnology industry indicates that the flexibility and transparency of university IP policies and shared governance by UI partners are both positively related to trust formation. The activities of UI champions amplify the positive effects of shared governance and at the same time reduce the importance of university IP policies for trust formation between UI partners. The amount of trust between partners is positively related to knowledge transfer and innovation performance. The findings suggest that despite widely reported industry concerns over the control of IP, UI research partners can develop a trustful environment and thereby plant the seeds for a successful collaboration. In order to enhance trust, companies should not only consider university IP policies, but also need to actively engage in shared governance with university partners. UI collaboration champions can help shift the attention of company managers from formal rules set by university IP policies toward shared project planning, coordination, and implementation with university partners.
Information Technology Tools in New Product Development: The Impact of Complementary Resources*,†
Authors: Kawakami Tomoko , Barczak Gloria , Durmuşoğlu Serdar S.
Published: October 2014

Emergent research has examined the antecedents to using information technology (IT) in the new product development (NPD) process and the impact of IT on NPD performance. Based on the resource‐based view (RBV) of the firm, this study hypothesizes that particular resources create IT capabilities that significantly enhance NPD outcomes. More specifically, this research extends previous work by investigating whether three complementary resources, namely an executive champion for IT, global engagement, and organizational innovativeness, influence IT capabilities (IT use frequency and IT replacement frequency), which in turn affect NPD outcomes (NPD task proficiency and NPD performance).

To test the conceptual model, survey data were collected from 220 NPD and IT managers in a variety of large Japanese firms. The results show that an executive champion for IT and global engagement are predictors of both IT tool use and replacement frequency while organizational innovativeness contributes only to IT tool replacement frequency. The results also indicate that both IT tool use and replacement frequency have a positive effect on NPD task proficiency, which improves NPD performance.

This research contributes to the literature by adding understanding of the role of IT in NPD at the firm level in four ways. First, it examines particular organizational complementary resources and their relationship to IT capabilities. Second, it examines the RBV and IT in the context of NPD, an important business process. Third, it measures IT usage in a more granular fashion (i.e., IT tool use frequency and IT replacement frequency) rather than simply IT usage as a dichotomy. Finally, through testing the proposed model with data collected from Japanese firms, this study provides empirical evidence from an Asian country to answer the call for more NPD research to be conducted in countries other than North American and Western European contexts.

The findings of the study also provide implications for managers. Importantly, they indicate that an executive level champion for IT is a key influencer in facilitating IT usage and replacement, and likely can help generate awareness of and support for greater IT investments so the firm can create IT capabilities for effective NPD.
Salutogenic Education? Movement and Whole Child Health in a Waldorf (Steiner) School
Authors: Sobo Elisa J.
Published: October 2014

Waldorf education, an independent alternative to public schooling, aims to produce holistically healthy graduates in a formulation that rejects the conventional distinction between education and health. Also striving to bridge that divide, this article characterizes the pedagogically salutogenic techniques Waldorf teachers use in pre‐kindergarten (pre‐K) and lower grade classes and explicates the ethnomedical understandings underlying them. Waldorf teachers position children as budding participants in a unified field of spiritual and other forces, prioritizing whole‐child activities that keep these forces healthfully motile. Their work entails a critique not only of mainstream public schooling's ostensibly pathogenic “head‐to‐head” focus, but also of the biomedical approach to pediatric health. My analysis of this conjoined critique takes into account the cultural, structural, and existential realities within which Waldorf education's salutary pedagogy is daily framed and fabricated. Further, it explores the implications for anthropology of attending to movement as a key feature of healthful human experience.
Contemporary population structure and post‐glacial genetic demography in a migratory marine species, the blacknose shark, Carcharhinus acronotus
Authors: Portnoy D. S. , Hollenbeck C. M. , Belcher C. N. , Driggers W. B. , Frazier B. S. , Gelsleichter J. , Grubbs R. D. , Gold J. R.
Published: October 2014

Patterns of population structure and historical genetic demography of blacknose sharks in the western North Atlantic Ocean were assessed using variation in nuclear‐encoded microsatellites and sequences of mitochondrial (mt)DNA. Significant heterogeneity and/or inferred barriers to gene flow, based on microsatellites and/or mtDNA, revealed the occurrence of five genetic populations localized to five geographic regions: the southeastern U.S Atlantic coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the western Gulf of Mexico, Bay of Campeche in the southern Gulf of Mexico and the Bahamas. Pairwise estimates of genetic divergence between sharks in the Bahamas and those in all other localities were more than an order of magnitude higher than between pairwise comparisons involving the other localities. Demographic modelling indicated that sharks in all five regions diverged after the last glacial maximum and, except for the Bahamas, experienced post‐glacial, population expansion. The patterns of genetic variation also suggest that the southern Gulf of Mexico may have served as a glacial refuge and source for the expansion. Results of the study demonstrate that barriers to gene flow and historical genetic demography contributed to contemporary patterns of population structure in a coastal migratory species living in an otherwise continuous marine habitat. The results also indicate that for many marine species, failure to properly characterize barriers in terms of levels of contemporary gene flow could in part be due to inferences based solely on equilibrium assumptions. This could lead to erroneous conclusions regarding levels of connectivity in species of conservation concern.
Strokes of Luck
Authors: Coffman E. J.
Published: October 2014

This essay aims to reorient current theorizing about luck as an aid to our discerning this concept's true philosophical significance. After introducing the literature's leading theories of luck, it presents and defends counterexamples to each of them. It then argues that recent luck theorists’ main target of analysis—the concept of an event's being lucky for a subject—is parasitic on the more fundamental notion of an event's being a stroke of luck for a subject, which thesis serves as at least a partial diagnosis of the leading theories’ failure. Next, it develops an analysis of strokes of luck that utilizes insights from the recent luck literature. Finally, having set out a comprehensive new analysis of luck—the Enriched Strokes Account of lucky events—the essay revisits the initial counterexamples to the literature's leading theories and argues that the Enriched Strokes Account properly handles all of them.
Frankfurt in Fake Barn Country
Authors: Levy Neil
Published: October 2014

It is very widely held that Frankfurt‐style cases—in which a counterfactual intervener stands by to bring it about that an agent performs an action but never actually acts because the agent performs that action on her own—show that free will does not require alternative possibilities. This essay argues that that conclusion is unjustified, because merely counterfactual interveners may make a difference to normative properties. It presents a modified version of a fake barn case to show how a counterfactual intervener can make the difference between an agent knowing a fact or merely truly believing that fact, by eliminating veretic epistemic luck. If counterfactual interveners can make this kind of difference to the epistemic status of agents, the essay argues, there is no reason why they can't make an analogous difference to agents' moral responsibility. It concludes that reflection on these cases reveals that despite the mountains of words spilled on the topic, we still don't fully understand what role access to alternative possibilities plays in whether or not agents are morally responsible for their actions.
Luck and Free Will
Authors: Mele Alfred R.
Published: October 2014

This essay sketches a problem about luck for typical incompatibilist views of free will posed inAlfredMele,Free Will and Luck(2006), and examines recent reactions to that problem. Reactions featuring appeals to agent causation receive special attention. Because the problem is focused on decision making, the control that agents have over what they decide is a central topic. Other topics discussed include the nature of lucky action and differences between directly and indirectly free actions.
Getting Moral Luck Right
Authors: Whittington Lee John
Published: October 2014

Moral luck, until recently, has been understood either explicitly or implicitly through using a lack of control account of luck. For example, a case of resultant moral luck is a case where an agent is morally blameworthy or more morally blameworthy or praiseworthy for an outcome despite that outcome being significantly beyond that agent's control (Nagel 1993). Due to a shift in understanding the concept of luck itself in terms of modal robustness, however, other accounts of moral luck have surfaced. Both Duncan Pritchard (2006) and Julia Driver (2013) have offered an alternative way of understanding moral luck by employing versions of a modal account of luck. This essay considers some problems with these accounts and attempts to resolve them.
You Make Your Own Luck
Authors: McKinnon Rachel
Published: October 2014

This essay takes up two questions. First, what does it mean to say that someone creates her own luck? At least colloquially speaking, luck is conceived as something out of an agent's control. So how could an agent increase or decrease the likelihood that she'll be lucky? Building on some recent work on the metaphysics of luck, the essay argues that there is a sense in which agents can create their own luck because people with more skill tend to have more opportunities to benefit from luck. Second, what implications does this conception of luck have for related topics such as how we evaluate performances (like shooting an arrow), including coming to know something? The ubiquitous presence of luck in our actions is often underappreciated. The essay argues that when we combine an expected outcomes view of luck with a counterfactual view of causation, the distinction between environmental and intervening veritic luck seems to disappear. We need a more nuanced view of how luck sometimes undermines credit for success in agents' actions. The upshot of this view is that while luck may undermine the creditworthiness of an agent's success, it only partially undermines creditworthiness.