bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Action at a distance
Authors: Ekanayake Athula
Published: November 2017

Purpose

By using Latour’s notion of “action at a distance” (Latour, 1987), the purpose of this paper is to examine the ways in which the government acts at a distance to achieve corporate governance of public sector banks, and the extent to which accounting enables such actions of the government.

Design/methodology/approach

This study follows the qualitative research approach and adopts the case study research method. A major public sector bank in Sri Lanka was selected as the case organization for this study. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews with organizational participants and document study.

Findings

The study provides evidence to suggest that inscriptions produced through four areas of accounting, namely external reporting, external auditing, management accounting and internal auditing, have the capacity to develop strong explanations enabling action at a distance and good corporate governance in the case organization. The study also provides evidence to show how the role of accounting in long-distance control and corporate governance in the case organization is influenced by various contextual factors. In particular, the study finds that undue government interference over the case organization to gain the long-distance control have resulted in deteriorating the level of corporate governance.

Research limitations/implications

The findings support the literature that examines the accounting in its social context.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that actors should be allowed to operate independently, particularly without political expedience and undue influences from pressure groups, which ensure effective utilization of accounting inscriptions by the actors in long-distance control as well as good corporate governance of public sector banks.

Originality/value

Although research into accounting in public sector organizations has gained considerable importance in recent times, those studies examining public sector banks are still lacking. The paper aims to fill this gap.
Adherence to responsibility in organic dry food supply chains
Authors: Jacob-John Jubin
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the sharing of sustainability and social responsibility-centric values along the export-oriented organic dry food supply chain (ODFSC) using an institutional lens.

Design/methodology/approach

To understand the perceptions of the shared ethos of the organic food industry along the entire supply chain, the research employed a multi-tier qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews and observations. The study focussed on supply chain actors including farmers and traders from the Indian sub-continent, and traders and retailers based in Europe and North America.

Findings

Isomorphism, brought about by the vertical channelling of consumer preferences and values resulted in a higher degree of responsibility within the industry. The responsibility-centric ethos of the supply chain affected the responsibility-orientation of the supply chain actors and their operations.

Research limitations/implications

The research focused mainly on the ODFSC actors in Kerala, a state in India, and this focus of the research could be a significant limitation in generalizing the findings to the rest of the emerging economy context because of cultural and educational differences.

Originality/value

Literature lacks in the studies of sharing of responsibility-centric values in supply chains through an institutional lens and this investigation contributes to the scant literature on isomorphism, shared values and responsible supply chain management.
An entrepreneurial learning approach to assessment of internships
Authors: Ramsgaard Michael Breum , Østergaard Sara Juul
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how using an entrepreneurial learning approach for assessment of internships could increase the reflected value of combining theory and practice articulated in students’ learning outcomes. Furthermore, the purpose was to investigate whether the applied approach led to enhanced perception of professional identity and new understandings of employability for students in the internship course.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research design was the basis for investigation of the topics in focus. The data consisted of five focus groups, observation notes, and documentation from the exam situations. Two consecutive groups of students (2015 and 2016) participated in the study at a university of applied science in Denmark.

Findings

Results from the study provided evidence that students in internships collectively develop a comprehensive understanding of how to apply theory to practical settings. By working with an entrepreneurial learning approach in the professional practice, students reported an enhanced reflective understanding of learning outcomes and the theory-practice gap, developed an ability for opportunity identification, and established a grounded feeling of professional identity and employability.

Practical implications

The current pilot project serves as a full and context-rich case study that can inform educators about formative and summative assessment practices when designing internships courses. Furthermore, internship supervisors can get valuable insight into learning processes during an internship.

Originality/value

The suggested model for an entrepreneurial learning approach to assessment of internships provides a basis for further research within entrepreneurial learning and the application to design of assessment practices in this context.
Does public sector crowd out entrepreneurship? Evidence from the EU regions
Authors: Zikou Eva , Varsakelis Nikos , Sarri Aikaterini K.
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The decision to engage in entrepreneurial activities is grounded in personal characteristics (motivation) and external environmental factors. One of the main external factors might be the structure of the regional economic activity. Does a high share of the public sector affect positively regional entrepreneurship or vice versa? Does the diversity in regional economic activity is conducive for entrepreneurial development or the regional comparative advantage as expressed by spatial economies of scale offering more entrepreneurial opportunities? Even though economic analysis has extensively examined the impact of the public sector size on the overall national economic activity (the crowding out effect), this impact has not been into scrutiny at regional level on microeconomic issues, such as the decision to engage in entrepreneurial activities. The authors further investigate the relation between diversity and entrepreneurship at regional level. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses data for 264 NUTS II EU regions. The time span of the data set is 1999-2008. The paper applies panel data analysis to explain the cross-time cross-section variation of the dependent variable: the self-employment share in total employment at regional level. In order to measure the existence of crowding out from public sector to regional entrepreneurship, the authors use the share of regional public sector gross value added over total regional gross value added. The diversity of the regional economic activity is measured by the Herfindahl-Hirschman Concentration Index across sectors.

Findings

The findings of the paper show that there is a negative correlation between public sector share and regional entrepreneurship. Hence, as at national level, the increase in the role of the public sector in the regional economic system crowds out regional entrepreneurship. The second finding indicates that the impact of the diversity of the regional economic activity on regional entrepreneurship is inconclusive.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper is due to the fact that the role of the public sector on regional economic phenomena, such as entrepreneurship, is examined for the first time. Also, the investigation of the relationship between diversity (vs localization economies) and entrepreneurship is performed using data for the full sample of regions of the European Union. The findings of the paper have significant policy implications since they provide useful inputs for the design of the regional development policy. The reduction of the public sector at regional level may contribute in entrepreneurial development and finally in regional economic growth and prosperity. Besides, the regional industrial policy should focus on the exploitation of the spatially constraint economies of scope in the framework of the Triple Helix model.
House prices and superstition among ethnic Chinese and non-Chinese homebuyers in Auckland, New Zealand
Authors: Rehm Michael , Chen Shuzhen , Filippova Olga
Published: November 2017

Purpose

Numerical superstition is well-known in Asian countries and can influence decision-making in many markets, from financial investment to purchasing a house. This study aims to determine the house price effects of superstition and understand if these have changed over time.

Design/methodology/approach

Using sales transactions of freestanding houses in Auckland, New Zealand, the authors use hedonic price analysis to investigate whether superstitious beliefs associated with lucky and unlucky house numbers affect property values.

Findings

The analysis reveals ethnic Chinese buyers in Auckland displayed superstitious home buying behaviour in the period 2003-2006 by attributing value to homes with street addresses starting or ending with the lucky number eight. However, this willing to pay higher prices for lucky numbers was not reflected in the analysis of 2011-2015 sales transactions. The disappearance of superstition price effects may indicate that ethnic Chinese in the Auckland housing market have, over time, assimilated New Zealand’s Western culture and have become less superstitious.

Originality/value

Unlike previous studies, the authors parse buyers into two populations of homebuyers, ethnic Chinese and non-Chinese purchasers, and model the two groups’ housing transactions independently to more accurately establish if numerical superstition influences house prices.
Supply chain integration: value creation through managing inter-organizational learning
Authors: Zhu Quan , Krikke Harold , Caniëls Marjolein C.J.
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how inter-organizational learning (including supply chain learning and imitation prevention) mediates the relationships between supply chain integration (SCI) and two dimensions of focal firm performance (i.e. customer service performance and innovation performance).

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional approach was adopted with primary data collected through a survey in China. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with partial least-squares estimations.

Findings

The findings verify that inter-organizational learning mediates the relationship between SCI and focal firm performance. The results of sub-group model analysis illustrate that both powerful and weak focal firms benefit from inter-organizational learning, but in different ways.

Research limitations/implications

The responses were all from young executives who had four years’ work experience on average. Top-level executives may provide more comprehensive and accurate input for similar future research.

Practical implications

The results suggest that successfully integrating the supply chain to create customer value requires both supply chain learning and imitation prevention.

Originality/value

This paper responds to calls for an inter-disciplinary research between supply chain management and inter-organizational learning by taking into account supply chain learning and imitation prevention as links between SCI and both customer service performance for current success and innovation performance for future prosperity.
The role of human resource-related quality management practices in new product development
Authors: Gutierrez-Gutierrez Leopoldo J. , Barrales-Molina Vanesa , Kaynak Hale
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to adopt the dynamic capability (DC) view as a theoretical framework to empirically investigate the relationships among human resource (HR)-related quality management (QM) practices: new product development (NPD) as a specific DC, learning orientation, knowledge integration, and strategic flexibility. Learning orientation and knowledge integration represent two antecedents of strategic flexibility, and strategic flexibility is the developed ability that facilitates NPD.

Design/methodology/approach

To empirically test the relationships, the authors used data from 236 European firms and performed structural equation modeling.

Findings

Results indicate that HR-related QM practices contribute to creating a learning-oriented company, integrating knowledge, and supporting successful NPD. Furthermore, knowledge integration is positively related to NPD through strategic flexibility.

Practical implications

This study is relevant for practitioners because it identifies key points in QM implementation that enable firms to be more strategically flexible and thus better able to regularly develop new products.

Originality/value

When organizations must sustain their competitive positions by continuously adapting to environmental changes, it is important to study not only how QM implementation is positively related to the firm performance on which a significant portion of the QM literature has focused but also to study whether QM implementation is related to strategic variables and can make a contribution to strategic processes. To fill the void in the HR and QM literature, this study offers an integrated framework with empirical support that identifies the role of HR-related QM practices in learning orientation, knowledge integration, strategic flexibility, and NPD.
Academic spinoffs as a value driver for intellectual capital: the case of the University of Pisa
Authors: Mariani Giovanna , Carlesi Ada , Scarfò Alfredo Antonino
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss academic spinoffs (ASO) as an expression of the value creation of university technology transfer (TT) investments. More recently, scholars have emphasised intellectual capital’s (IC) importance, also for universities in obtaining competitive advantages and by creating value. Such spinoffs are key to regional development, as a primary aspect of universities’ IC.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors tested the aim through a sample of the University of Pisa’s spinoffs. The authors measured the value the university’s third mission investment generates on the area by means of entrepreneurship through two different approaches. First, the authors defined a multiplier of the TT investment (university TT multiplier) and then explored the IC components’ contributions to the ASOs’ enterprise value (EV).

Findings

The results show that the University of Pisa’s TT investments positively impact the local community through the spinoff system, both in economic terms and in IC. In the long term, these investments can enrich scientific humus and entrepreneurial mindsets.

Research limitations/implications

This is an exploratory study of the University of Pisa’s impacts on the local economy. The results are limited to the context of Pisa and to the TT policy. Another limitation is the subjectivity of the EV estimation.

Practical implications

The results can have some practical implications. The large portfolio of university stakeholders (policymakers, families, students, companies, financiers, etc.) ask for information, especially on long-term results: in a simple way, the multiplier is able to communicate important feedbacks to support their decision-making process.

Social implications

With the multiplier, the authors give a tool to measure the social enrichment.

Originality/value

In the study, the authors propose a new tool to measure the impact of the investment in TT on the local community.
Evolving roles and structures of triadic engagement in healthcare
Authors: Keeling Debbie Isobel , Laing Angus , De Ruyter Ko
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the changing nature of healthcare service encounters by studying the phenomenon of triadic engagement incorporating interactions between patients, local and virtual networks and healthcare professionals.

Design/methodology/approach

An 18-month longitudinal ethnographic study documents interactions in naturally occurring healthcare consultations. Professionals (n=13) and patients (n=24) within primary and secondary care units were recruited. Analysis of observations, field notes and interviews provides an integrated picture of triadic engagement.

Findings

Triadic engagement is conceptualised against a two-level framework. First, the structure of triadic consultations is identified in terms of the human voice, virtual voice and networked voice. These are related to: companions’ contributions to discussions and the virtual network impact. Second, evolving roles are mapped to three phases of transformation: enhancement; empowerment; emancipation. Triadic engagement varied across conditions.

Research limitations/implications

These changing roles and structures evidence an increasing emphasis on the responsible consumer and patients/companions to utilise information/support in making health-related decisions. The nature and role of third voices requires clear delineation.

Practical implications

Structures of consultations should be rethought around the diversity of patient/companion behaviours and expectations as patients undertake self-service activities. Implications for policy and practice are: the parallel set of local/virtual informational and service activities; a network orientation to healthcare; tailoring of support resources/guides for professionals and third parties to inform support practices.

Originality/value

Contributions are made to understanding triadic engagement and forwarding the agenda on patient-centred care. Longitudinal illumination of consultations is offered through an exceptional level of access to observe consultations.
Reckless driving promotion and prevention: priming effects
Authors: Lemarié Linda , Chebat Jean-Charles , Bellavance François
Published: November 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to examine how reckless driving scenes in action movies affect young male drivers’ perception of reckless drivers and proposes a targeted social marketing strategy to counteract this effect.

Design/methodology/approach

The hypotheses were tested through a 2 (reckless driving scenes vs control) × 2 (road safety advertising vs control) online experiment with 151 young male drivers.

Findings

Reckless driving scenes in action movies prime a positive image of reckless drivers which impacts young male drivers’ attitudes and reckless driving intention. However, a road safety message specifically addressing the positive image of reckless drivers efficiently counteracts this effect.

Research limitations/implications

A few studies have experimentally tested the impact of reckless driving promotion on young drivers’ attitudes and intention, but none have analysed this impact in terms of the development of a positive image of reckless drivers. In addition, this study emphasises that a targeted message based on social norms can cancel the effect of reckless driving promotion and have a beneficial impact on the most risk-prone drivers.

Practical implications

Social marketers working in the field of road safety can improve the efficacy of their social marketing programmes by taking into consideration the positive image of reckless drivers promoted by the media.

Social implications

Practitioners should develop interventions and targeted messages that help young drivers cultivate a less idealised and masculine social image of reckless drivers.

Originality/value

This paper enhances the awareness of the effect that the media’s positive depiction of reckless drivers can have on the youth and proposes a strategy to counteract this effect.
Linking social media marketing activities with brand love
Authors: Algharabat Raed Salah
Published: November 2017

Purpose

This research aims to investigate the link between social media marketing (SMM) activities and brand love. It further investigates the mediating impact of self-expressive brands (inner and social) between the relationships of SMM activities and brand love, which in turn impact brand loyalty. Using the context provided by Facebook, the author contributes in three ways to the nascent marketing literature: by linking SMM activates with brand love, by investigating the mediating impact of self-expressive brands between SMM activities and brand love and by investigating the impact of brand love on brand loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a sample of 400 followers of Facebook pages, data were collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Findings

The findings reveal that SMM activities positively affect self-expressive brands (inner and social), which in turn impact brand love. The author also finds that brand love positively affects brand loyalty. The author further finds that self-expressive brand (inner) fully mediates the relationship between SMM activities and brand love, whereas self-expressive brand (social) partially mediates this relationship.

Originality/value

Previous researchers neither have the chance to link SMM activities with brand love nor to explain its role as an antecedent to self-expressive brand. Therefore, the author contributes to nascent literature by linking and investigating the mediating impact of self-expressive brands between the relationships of SMM activities and brand love which in turn impact brand loyalty.
Beyond the thinking and doing dichotomy: integrating individual and institutional rationality
Authors: Bigirimana Stanislas
Published: November 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a dynamic and integrative epistemology as a substitute to normative epistemology.

Design/methodology/approach

A philosophical argument based on the critique of literature.

Findings

Normative epistemology implies that knowing leads to certainty, and it has to be objective and universal because it is an accurate representation of reality. Dynamic and integrative epistemology uphold that knowing leads to accumulating insights though information processing. Knowing is a unified but fourfold process of experiencing, understanding, judging and acting (Lonergan, 1990). It occurs at four levels of consciousness: the empirical, the intellectual, the evaluative and the pragmatic (Lonergan, 1990). Dynamic and integrative epistemology extends rationality, knowledge and intelligence to non-humans because institutions have substantive, structural, behavior and teleological dimensions and processes that enable them to process information, i.e. to know.

Research limitations/implications

Translating a conceptual paper into practical action, organizational structuring or product design can be difficult.

Practical implications

Extending the concept of rationality to non-humans implies realizing that human abilities are limited and need to be augmented by proper institutional design and artificial tools.

Social implications

The design of intelligent organizations, societies and artificial tools.

Originality value

Normative epistemology which considers reason and faith, empirical (experience) and rational (understanding), positive (facts) and ideal (principles, representations or wishes), physical (objects) and “mental” (ideas or concepts), practice and theory, knowledge (episteme) and opinion (doxa), reflection and action as opposed and mutually exclusive can be replaced by a dynamic and integrative epistemology which puts emotional, intellectual, evaluative and pragmatic dimensions of human knowing in an order of succession through a unified but yet differentiated process which can be augmented by non-human “experts”.
Applying the bootstrap method to newsvendor model incorporating group buying for optimal price discount and order quantity
Authors: Chen Yan-Kwang , Chen Chih-Teng , Chiu Fei-Rung , Lian Jiunn-Woei
Published: November 2017

Purpose

Group buying (GB) is a shopping strategy through which customers obtain volume discounts on the products they purchase, whereas retailers obtain quick turnover. In the scenario of GB, the optimal discount strategy is a key issue because it affects the profit of sellers. Previous research has focused on exploring the price discount and order quantity with a fixed selling price of the product assuming that customer demand is uncertain (but follows a known distribution). This study aims to look at the same problem but goes further to examine the case where not only customer demand is certain but also the demand distribution is unknown.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, optimal price discount and order quantity of a GB problem cast as a price-setting newsvendor problem were obtained assuming that the distribution of customer demand is unknown. The price–demand relationship is considered in addition form and product form, respectively. The bootstrap sampling technique is used to develop a solution procedure for the problem. To validate the usefulness of the proposed method, a simulated comparison of the proposed model and the existing one was conducted. The effects of sample size, demand form and parameters of the demand form on the performance of the proposed model are presented and discussed.

Findings

It is revealed from the numerical results that the proposed model is appropriate to the problem at hand, and it becomes more effective as sample size increases. Because the two forms of demand indicate restrictive assumptions about the effect of price on the variance of demand, it is found that the proposed model seems to be more suitable for addition form of demand.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the growing literature on GB models by developing a bootstrap-based newsvendor model to determine an optimal discount price and order quantity for a fixed-price GB website. This model can assist the sellers in making decisions on optimal discount price and order quantity without knowing the form of customer demand distribution.
Model selection using information criteria, but is the “best” model any good?
Authors: Mac Nally Ralph , Duncan Richard P. , Thomson James R. , Yen Jian D. L.
Published: November 2017

Information criteria (ICs) are used widely for data summary and model building in ecology, especially in applied ecology and wildlife management. Although ICs are useful for distinguishing among rival candidate models, ICs do not necessarily indicate whether the “best” model (or a model‐averaged version) is a good representation of the data or whether the model has useful “explanatory” or “predictive” ability.

As editors and reviewers, we have seen many submissions that did not evaluate whether the nominal “best” model(s) found using IC is a useful model in the above sense.

We scrutinized six leading ecological journals for papers that used IC to compare models. More than half of papers using IC for model comparison did not evaluate the adequacy of the best model(s) in either “explaining” or “predicting” the data.

Synthesis and applications. Authors need to evaluate the adequacy of the model identified as the “best” model by using information criteria methods to provide convincing evidence to readers and users that inferences from the best models are useful and reliable.
How to use (and not to use) movement‐based indices for quantifying foraging behaviour
Authors: Halperin Topaz , Kalyuzhny Michael , Hawlena Dror
Published: November 2017

Movement‐based indices such as moves per minute (MPM) and proportion time moving (PTM) are common methodologies to quantify foraging behaviour. We explore fundamental drawbacks of these indices that question the ways scientists have been using them and propose new solutions.

To do so, we combined analytical and simulation models with lizards foraging data at the individual and species levels.

We found that the maximal value of MPM is constrained by the minimal durations of moves and stops. As a result, foragers that rarely move and those that rarely stop are bounded to similar low MPM values. This implies that (1) MPM has very little meaning when used alone, (2) MPM and PTM are interdependent, and (3) certain areas in the MPM‐PTM plane cannot be occupied. We also found that MPM suffers from inaccuracy and imprecision.

We introduced a new bias correction formula for already published MPM data, and a novel index of changes per minute (CPM) that uses the frequency of changes between move and stop bouts. CPM is very similar to MPM, but does not suffer from bias. Finally, we suggested a new foraging plane of average move and average stop durations. We hope that our guidelines of how to use (and not to use) movement‐based indices will add rigor to the study of animals’ foraging behaviour.
Crop production structure and stability under climate change in South America
Authors: Ferrero R. , Lima M. , Gonzalez‐Andujar J.L.
Published: November 2017

Southern South America is expected to play an increasingly important role in global food production, but climate change could seriously threaten it. Here we have analysed long‐term historical data for major crops (rice, oats, barley, sunflower, soybean, sorghum, wheat, maize) at subnational scale to (a) look for common features among crop yield dynamics, evaluating their structure and implications for the persistence of that crop; (b) address complex crop responses to changes in environmental growing conditions; and (c) identify climate impact hotspots that are crucial for adaptation and mitigation. We have proposed a novel methodological approach based on dynamics systems in order to understand the processes behind annual crop yield fluctuations. We report the results of general patterns in the internal process (biophysical adjustments by rapid negative feedbacks) regulating crop production and analyse how it influences crop persistence and yield ceilings. The structure of a crop yield dynamic system defines its behaviour, but climate variations could displace it from yield equilibrium and affect its stability. Our findings suggest that weather conditions have a stronger impact on yield growth at high rather than at low yield levels (non‐additive impacts). This allows agriculture management to be refined and applied more efficiently, weakening the relationship between crop productivity and climate change and predicting the response of crop production to yield‐improvement strategies. We have identified those crops and regions which are most vulnerable to the current climate change trends in southern South American agroecosystems. Our results allow us to point to new ways to enhance self‐regulatory success, maximising the efficiency of crop production and reducing climate impacts. We have discussed important implications for crop management and climate change mitigation in an area where agriculture plays a key role in its socioeconomic and ecologic dimensions.
The adequate rocuronium dose required for complete block of the adductor muscles of the thigh
Authors: Fujimoto M. , Kawano K. , Yamamoto T.
Published: November 2017

Background

Rocuronium can prevent the obturator jerk during transurethral resection of bladder tumors. We investigated the adequate rocuronium dose required for complete block of the thigh adductor muscles, and its correlation with individual responses of the adductor pollicis muscle to rocuronium.

Methods

Eleven patients scheduled for transurethral resection of bladder tumors under general anesthesia were investigated. After general anesthesia induction, neuromuscular monitoring of the adductor pollicis muscle and ultrasonography‐guided stimulation of the obturator nerve was commenced. Rocuronium, 0.15 mg/kg, was repeatedly administered intravenously. The adequate rocuronium dose required for complete block of the thigh muscles, defined as the cumulative dose of rocuronium administered until that time, and its correlation with the first twitch response of the adductor pollicis muscle on train‐of‐four stimulation after initial rocuronium administration was analyzed.

Results

The rocuronium dose found adequate for complete block of the thigh muscles was 0.30 mg/kg in seven patients and 0.45 mg/kg in the remaining four patients, which did not correlate with the first twitch response. At the time of complete block of the thigh muscles, the neuromuscular blockade level of the adductor pollicis muscle varied greatly, although the level was never more profound than a post‐tetanic count of 1.

Conclusion

Although the response of the adductor pollicis muscle to rocuronium cannot be used to determine the adequate rocuronium dose required for complete block of the thigh muscles, intense blockade, with maintenance of post‐tetanic count at ≤ 1 in the adductor pollicis muscle is essential to prevent the obturator jerk.
Choice of acquisition form in Australia and the post‐takeover employment of target firm directors on the acquiring firm board
Authors: Bugeja Martin , da Silva Rosa Raymond , Izan H Y , Ngan Susan
Published: November 2017

In Australia, a corporate acquisition can be structured as either a scheme of arrangement or a takeover. We investigate the association between deal structure and the retention of target directors on the merged entity board. We find that the odds of a target director subsequently sitting on the merged entity's board are significantly higher in schemes. The results also show that premiums are lower in schemes of arrangement when additional target directors are appointed to the board of the acquiring firm. The findings indicate that target director appointment is unrelated to the merged entity's post‐acquisition performance.
Increased plasma oleoylethanolamide and palmitoleoylethanolamide levels correlate with inflammatory changes in alcohol binge drinkers: the case of HMGB1 in women
Authors: Antón María , Rodríguez‐González Alicia , Rodríguez‐Rojo Inmaculada Concepción , Pastor Antoni , Correas Ángeles , Serrano Antonia , Ballesta Antonio , Alén Francisco , Gómez de Heras Raquel , de la Torre Rafael , Rodríguez de Fonseca Fernando , Orio Laura
Published: November 2017

Alcohol binge drinking is a heavy pattern of alcohol consumption increasingly used by young people. In a previous study, we reported that young drinkers with a 2‐year history of binge alcohol consumption had an overactivation of the innate immune system and peripheral inflammation when compared with controls. In the present study, we measured several biolipids that are fatty acid derivatives belonging to the acylethanolamide or 2‐acylglycerol families in the plasma of the same subjects (n = 42; 20 men and 22 women). We found that during abstinence, alcohol binge drinkers had elevated plasma levels of oleoylethanolamide, palmitoleoylethanolamide, arachidonoylethanolamide, dihomo‐γ‐linolenoyl ethanolamide and linoleoyl ethanolamide, which positively correlated with changes in the mRNA expression of key inflammatory markers in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, such as toll‐like receptors (TLR4), pro‐inflammatory cytokines/chemokines interleukin‐1 beta, interleukin‐6 and monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1, and cyclooxygenase‐2. Additionally, plasma oleoylethanolamide positively correlated with plasma levels of high mobility group box‐1, which is a danger‐associated molecular pattern and an endogenous TLR4 agonist, specifically in female alcohol binge drinkers. No changes were observed in 2‐acylglycerols in alcohol binge drinkers, although sex‐related differences in these bioactive lipids as well as in palmitoleoylethanolamide and docosatetraenoylethanolamide levels were detected. These results extend the previous clinical findings observed in patients diagnosed with long‐term alcohol use disorder to young users and suggest a prominent role for these lipids in the response to acute alcohol exposure.
Genetic variants in IL15 promoter affect transcription activity and intramuscular fat deposition in longissimus dorsi muscle of pigs
Authors: He D. , Jiang Z. , Tian Y. , Han H. , Xia M. , Wei W. , Zhang L. , Chen J.
Published: November 2017

Intramuscular fat (IMF) content is a key aspect of pork quality. Elucidation of intramuscular adipocyte regulation mechanisms is important for improving IMF content. Intramuscular adipocytes are dispersed among muscle fibers, so they are inclined to be affected by muscle‐derived factors. Interleukin‐15 is a major muscle‐secreted factor. In this study, the genetic and physiological impacts of IL15 on adipogenesis is investigated. The promoter region of IL15 was scanned by comparative sequencing using two DNA pools of high‐ and low‐IMF individuals. Two SNPs, c.–342C>T (ss2137497757) and c.–334G>A (ss2137497756) (the translation start site is designated as +1), were identified with reverse allele distribution in these two groups. Genotyping by allele‐specific PCR revealed that the two SNPs were completely linked. The IMF content of TA/TA individuals was lower than that for CG/CG ones, whereas the IL15 expression level was higher in T‐A/T‐A individuals. Luciferase assaying also revealed that the T‐A haplotype promoter had higher transcription activity. Meanwhile, the effect of interleukin‐15 on adipocyte differentiation was further assessed in vitro. Results showed that interleukin‐15 suppressed preadipocyte proliferation in a dose‐dependent manner. The cell cycle of preadipocytes was arrested, and apoptosis was induced. Oil Red O staining and triglyceride quantification indicated that adipocyte differentiation was also inhibited by interleukin‐15. The mRNA levels of PPARG and FABP4 decreased markably upon interleukin‐15 treatment. Taken together, we identified two completely linked SNPs in the porcine IL15 promoter region that could alter IL15 transcription activity. As interleukin‐15 can inhibit porcine adipocyte differentiation, these promoter mutations could affect IMF deposition by producing differential levels of muscle‐derived interleukin‐15.
Seasonal patterns of habitat selection in the insectivorous bat‐eared fox
Authors: Périquet Stéphanie , le Roux Aliza
Published: November 2017

Understanding how animals utilize their habitat provides insights about their ecological needs and is of importance for both theoretical and applied ecology. As changing seasons impact prey habitat selection and vegetation itself, it is important to understand how seasonality impacts microhabitat choice in optimal foragers and their prey. We followed habituated bat‐eared foxes (Otocyon megalotis) in the Kalahari, South Africa, to study their seasonal habitat selection patterns and relate them to the habitat preferences of their main prey, termites (Hodotermes mossambicus). We used Resource Selection Functions (RSFs) to study bat‐eared foxes’ 3rd‐ and 4th‐order habitat selection by comparing used locations to random ones within their home ranges. Third‐order habitat selection for habitat type and composition was weak and varied little between seasons. We found that patterns of fox habitat selection did not mirror habitat selection of Hodotermes (quantified using RSFs), even when feeding on them (4th‐order). Taken together, these results might indicate that bat‐eared foxes’ food resources are homogenously distributed across habitats and that prey other than Hodotermes play an important role in bat‐eared foxes’ space use.
Specific immunotherapy in local allergic rhinitis: A randomized, double‐blind placebo‐controlled trial with Phleum pratense subcutaneous allergen immunotherapy
Authors: Rondón C. , Blanca‐López N. , Campo P. , Mayorga C. , Jurado‐Escobar R. , Torres M. J. , Canto G. , Blanca M.
Published: November 2017

Background

Allergen immunotherapy has been shown to be an effective treatment for local allergic rhinitis (LAR) to house dust mites. Studies with pollen allergen immunotherapy are limited to observational studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Phleum pratense subcutaneous immunotherapy (Phl‐SCIT) in LAR.

Methods

In a randomized double‐blind placebo‐controlled study, 56 patients with moderate‐severe LAR to grass pollen received Phl‐SCIT with a depigmented polymerized pollen vaccine or placebo for the first year, and Phl‐SCIT the second one. The blind was maintained throughout the study. Primary outcome was combined symptom medication score (CSMS) during grass pollen season (GPS). Secondary clinical outcomes included organ‐specific symptoms, medication‐free days, rhinitis severity and asthma control. Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ), nasal allergen provocation test (NAPT), skin testing, serum levels of specific IgG4 and specific IgE and safety were also evaluated.

Results

Subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) had a short‐term and sustained effect with significant improvements of all primary and secondary clinical outcomes and RQLQ score. SCIT significantly increased serum sIgG4 levels and allergen tolerance, from the 6th to 24th months of treatment. At the end of the study, 83% of patients treated with ≥6 months of SCIT tolerated a concentration of P. pratense over 50 times higher than baseline, and 56% gave a negative NAPT. SCIT was well tolerated; six mild local reactions occurred, and there were no serious adverse events related to the study medication.

Conclusions

Subcutaneous immunotherapy with depigmented polymerized allergen extracts is a safe and clinically effective treatment for LAR to P. pratense.
Is theFSHR2039A>G variant associated with susceptibility to testicular germ cell cancer?
Authors: Bang A. K. , Busch A. S. , Almstrup K. , Gromoll J. , Kliesch S. , Rajpert‐De Meyts E. , Skakkebæk N. E. , Juul A. , Tüttelmann F. , Jørgensen N.
Published: November 2017

Testicular germ cell cancer (TGCC) is derived from germ cell neoplasiain situ(GCNIS), which arises due to niche disturbances affecting the Sertoli cells. It is believed that exogenous endocrine factors have a crucial role in governing neoplastic transformation but on a strong hereditary background. Follicle‐stimulating hormone (FSH) is the major regulatory hormone of the Sertoli cells.FSHsignalling‐related single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have previously been shown to affectFSHaction in men at different levels. We aimed to investigate whether threeFSH‐relatedSNPs (FSHR2039A>G,FSHR‐29G>A andFSHB‐211G>T) are associated with development ofTGCC. A total of 752 Danish and German patients withTGCCfrom two tertiary andrological referral centres were included. Three control groups comprising 2020 men from the general population, 679 fertile men and 417 infertile men, were also included. Chi‐squared test was performed to compare genotype‐ and allele frequencies. Kruskal–Wallis test was performed to compare age at diagnosis. Patients withTGCChad a higher frequency of the A‐allele ofFSHR2039A>G compared to the group of fertile men with anAA‐genotype frequency of 30.2% vs. 22.0%, respectively,p = 0.002. This variant is associated with higherFSHreceptor activity. The distribution of theFSHR2039A>G did not differ significantly between the patients withTGCCand the infertile or the general population. The frequency of the two otherSNPs did not differ between patient withTGCCand any of the control groups. No differences were detected between genotypes and age distribution or histological subtype of the tumours. In conclusion, we observed that a genetic variant associated withFSHRactivity may modulate the susceptibility to TGCC.
Work in Britain's Informal Economy: Learning from Road‐Side Hand Car Washes
Authors: Clark Ian , Colling Trevor
Published: November 2017

The United Kingdom has over 10,000 hand car washes (HCWs). This article examines two research questions: what do HCWs reveal about the informalization of employment? and what is the prospect of regulation of them? Setting HCWs in a theoretical framework shows that they are part of a growing industry which is becoming an increasingly familiar and visible part of the economy, where control of labour costs is a key factor. Employers make a strategic choice to engage precarious and vulnerable, usually migrant, labour securing further competitive advantage at the cost of pronounced labour exploitation and long hours — the tendency towards informalization. Therein a low‐cost business model disciplines competition to usurp higher productivity mechanized car washing.
Extra‐Institutional Changes under Pressure from Posting
Authors: Arnholtz Jens , Andersen Søren Kaj
Published: November 2017

The posting of workers has become a key topic in debates about how national labour relations respond to pressures from EU market making. While most prior studies have shown that national employment relations are under pressure from above (via EU regulation) and from below (due to increasing use of posting), the question is whether these pressures will lead to erosion of employment relations or adaptation at the national level. Taking the case of posting in the Danish construction sector, the article shows that, while formal institutions stay the same through minor adaptation, the increasing use of posting has led to changes in the strategies of the social partners, shifts in predominant policy arenas and the appearance of new actors on the regulatory scene. As such, we argue that conflicts regarding posting are driving a process of extra‐institutional change.