bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Human Trafficking
Authors: McCarthy Lauren A.
Published: June 2016

In 2000, 117 countries signed an optional protocol of the United Nations’ (UN) Convention on Transnational Organized Crime that obligated them to fight trafficking by prosecuting its perpetrators, protecting its victims, and undertaking prevention activities. Since then, the phenomenon has gained widespread attention with advocacy and media campaigns, a flurry of new laws and celebrities taking on the cause of fighting modern-day slavery. The UN protocol defines trafficking as a set of actions (recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt) that if undertaken by one of a set of specified means (threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, or the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person) results in exploitation. The protocol notes that at a minimum, exploitation includes “the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.” If the victim is under eighteen, the means become irrelevant. Exploitation comes in many forms and in many industries—sex, factories, construction, fishing, domestic labor, to name a few—and involves men, women, and children alike. No country is unaffected. The subject of human trafficking is the province of many academic disciplines as it touches on a variety of areas of inquiry including migration, human rights, women’s rights, border security, prostitution, and labor rights. At the same time, it also has a strong history of being rooted in advocacy. In fact, much of the early research on human trafficking was carried out by advocacy organizations and journalists who brought much-needed attention to the issue. Scholars were relative latecomers to the game. However, over the past decade, scholarly research has exploded in volume and increased in quality as both qualitative and quantitative methods have been applied to better understand the phenomenon and its manifestations. The works contained here are a guide to the major issues in human trafficking and are intended to be accessible to students, academics, practitioners, and advocates. When they are particularly well suited for one group, I identify that in the brief annotation about the source.
Television
Authors: Sterling Christopher H.
Published: June 2016

Television began with experimentation a century ago in many countries, though chiefly Britain and the United States. During the 1930s those experimental systems improved dramatically, enabling the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to begin the world’s first scheduled television service in 1936—the United States followed with an improved system five years later. World War II froze television in place with almost no broadcast activity for its duration. After 1945, broadcast television expanded to become the most important news and entertainment medium around the world. Starting about 1970, a variety of alternate ways to distribute television (cable, satellite, and digital) have further extended its reach. TV service is, in fact, ubiquitous save in a very few isolated areas (e.g., North Korea). As defined here, “television” generally means broadcast or satellite/cable-delivered video signals, though thanks to the post-1990 creation of countless home and mobile viewing devices, the viewing audience has splintered. “Networks” include the traditional broadcast ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC—and hundreds of newer (since 1980) cable networks as well. Several factors underlie the citations in this bibliography. First and foremost, the English-language literature on most aspects of television is both huge and constantly growing. Thousands of books have been published, many devoted to a single program or star. The choices included here are the best and most recent examples (but a small portion) of the whole. Second, TV’s literature falls into two broad categories: Popular writing for a general audience, and serious titles by and for researchers. This essay emphasizes the latter. Third, books on television are often lumped with those on film, usually devoting more space to cinema than video. This listing avoids most such sources. And, increasingly, writing about television is becoming more specialized. The emphasis here is on recent work, with a relatively small number of important older titles noted as well. Save where noted, most of the citations concern American television.
Sense-Making/Sensemaking
Authors: Urquhart Christine , Lam Louisa Mei Chun , Cheuk Bonnie , Dervin Brenda L.
Published: June 2016

Sense-making/sensemaking are terms commonly understood as the processes through which people interpret and give meaning to their experiences. The three different spelling variations (i.e., sense-making, sensemaking, sense making) are used deliberately by the authors included here, in different academic discourse communities that share some common thrusts. The terms originally focused on the five senses but have expanded in meaning to cover physical, emotional, spiritual, and intuitional responses posited as involved in human sense-makings of their worlds, both internal and external. Since the 1970s, sense-making/sensemaking has been used by researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds, with significant applications in the fields of human-computer interaction (HCI), cognitive systems engineering, knowledge management, communication studies, and library/information science (human information behavior). At the highest level of abstraction, the differences in the underlying theories used by researchers can best be understood in tensions between cognitivist and constructivist strands and the focus on either a micro or macro framework. As the different streams of attention differ in so many ways (e.g., context, informants, methods, intended audiences, etc.), comparisons are difficult. It is necessary to understand the historical origins, philosophical assumptions, and methodological roots of five major research approaches labeled as sense-making or sensemaking: Dervin’s sense-making in user studies, human information behavior; Weick’s sensemaking in organizational communication; Snowden’s organizational sense-making in knowledge management; Russell’s sensemaking in HCI; and Klein’s sensemaking in cognitive systems engineering. Applications of the approaches, emerging perspectives, and uses are reviewed. Applications increasingly merge some sense-making/sensemaking ideas together or use sense-making/sensemaking with other theories (e.g., Brenda Dervin: Sense-Making Methodology: Methodology, Daniel Russell: Sensemaking and Searching: Philosophy and Methodology, Gary Klein: Sensemaking in Cognitive Systems Engineering: Application).
Bandwagon Effect
Authors: Schmitt-Beck Rüdiger
Published: June 2016

The term “bandwagon effect” denotes a phenomenon of public opinion impinging upon itself. Conceptually, it is somewhat ambiguous, so that definitions in the literature vary. Often, it is defined as a tendency of people to affiliate with the winning side of a competition. More generally, it can be defined as an inclination of persons to join in their preferences or behaviors what they perceive to be existing or emerging majorities or dominant positions in society. This implies that success breeds further success, and alternatives that appear to enjoy a broad popular backing are likely to gain even stronger support. Sometimes, it is correspondingly claimed that minorities or losing alternatives, because of their weakness, suffer further losses of support. In any case, the notion of bandwagon effects implies the idea that perceived public opinion exhibits the quality of a self-fulfilling prophecy. For public opinion perceptions, information conveyed by the mass media is crucial. Reporting on public opinion polls is the most important, but not the only, source of such impressions. The notion of the bandwagon effect started its scientific life as a rather vague idea without a well-developed theoretical basis. Accordingly, it lacked conceptual precision and proved empirically elusive. But a number of carefully designed studies have succeeded in demonstrating that bandwagon effects do exist. The theoretical background of bandwagon effects has only recently come to be better understood. Whether they emerge and how large they are is strongly contingent on personal and situational circumstances as well as attributes of the triggering messages. Bandwagon effects have been most intensely explored in politics. Some studies have also investigated their functioning in other areas of life, such as consumer behavior. The bandwagon effect is one of several hypothesized manifestations of “impersonal influence”—effects on individuals’ attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors that derive from these persons’ impressions about the attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors of collectives of anonymous others outside their personal contact sphere. Other examples of impersonal influence are the “underdog effect,” which complements the bandwagon effect by stating a positive impact of perceptions of failure or losing, and—with specific reference to elections—the notion of “strategic” voting, which expects voters to support a less attractive alternative at an election if they can thereby avoid “wasting” their vote. The literature on bandwagon and underdog effects has for a long time been dominated by weakly theorized attempts to demonstrate the existence of these phenomena. More recently, stronger interest has emerged in the mechanisms that bring them about.
Stakeholders
Authors: Harrison Jeffrey S.
Published: June 2016

Stakeholders are groups and individuals that have an interest in the actions and outcomes of an organization and upon whom the organization relies to achieve its own objectives. Note in this definition that there is a two-way interdependent relationship. It is not enough for a particular group or individual to claim a “stake” in the firm, such as suppliers, financiers, customers, shareholders, and communities. Genuine stakeholders are those that either contribute to or have the ability to undermine the productive activities of an organization. Because of its breadth, stakeholder theory holds multiple interpretations, but at its heart the theory suggests that firms that take excellent care of a broad group of these stakeholders (as opposed to focusing on one group, such as shareholders or customers) will gain benefits that are not available to other organizations. For example, employees are expected to work harder, customers to buy more, suppliers to provide the best resources and terms, financiers to offer the best interest rates, and so forth. These sorts of benefits lead an organization to create more value, which is then distributed back to the stakeholders that helped to create it. In spite of what many scholars and practitioners might think, this theory is not the same as corporate social responsibility (CSR), which tends to focus on social issues such as the environment or sustainability. While it may be true that firms that take exceptionally good care of their stakeholders may also be good corporate citizens, the objective behind stakeholder theory is on effective and efficient management in an increasingly turbulent business environment rather than pursuing social welfare for its own sake.
Conceptual Art and Conceptualism
Authors: Bailey Robert
Published: June 2016

In the visual arts and in art history, the term “conceptualism” has acquired a meaning distinct from its usage in other fields such as philosophy. Where art is concerned, conceptualism refers to a tendency toward a highly intellectualized mode of artistic practice that has grown particularly pronounced in the art of the world since the decline of modernism around the middle of the 20th century. Though the term is rather loosely applied and there exists no rigorous set of criteria for distinguishing conceptualists from other kinds of artists, a number of characteristics recur in much conceptualist art: a proclivity to downplay the importance of the discrete and unique art object, extensive use of language rather than conventional visual imagery, an anti-aesthetic inclination and a related rejection of traditional artistic mediums in favor of various new media, a critical attitude toward the discourses and institutions of art worlds, an analytical questioning of the concept of art as it has historically been defined, an interest in information and communication, interdisciplinary borrowings from various academic disciplines, and a propensity to seek social and political ends through art. During the 1960s and 1970s in North America, western Europe, and Australia, as well as in Latin America and eastern Europe, a distinct and recognized movement called conceptual art flourished and received considerable attention from art critics, curators, and, somewhat later, art historians. In other parts of the world, conceptualisms emerged more or less independently of this movement (and sometimes prior to it), usually in response to the local cultural and social concerns of each nation or region. Writing on conceptualism has grown steadily since the 1960s, beginning largely with statements by conceptual artists and initial impressions of conceptual art from art critics. The late 1980s through the late 1990s witnessed a surge of retrospective interest, pronounced among art historians and curators, in the early manifestations of conceptual art. Around the same time appeared the first intimations that conceptualism is a global phenomenon and perhaps the first artistic tendency to emerge roughly simultaneously around the world. Art historians who write on conceptualism tend to stress its deep significance for the larger transition from modern to contemporary art during the second half of the 20th century as well as its pervasive influence on the art of the present.
Homozygous loss of autism-risk geneCNTNAP2results in reduced local and long-range prefrontal functional connectivity
Authors: Liska Adam , Bertero Alice , Gomolka Ryszard , Sabbioni Mara , Galbusera Alberto , Barsotti Noemi , Panzeri Stefano , Scattoni Maria Luisa , Pasqualetti Massimo , Gozzi Alessandro
Published: June 2016

Functional connectivity aberrancies, as measured with resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI), have been consistently observed in the brain of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) patients. However, the genetic and neurobiological underpinnings of these findings remain unclear. Homozygous mutations in Contactin Associated Protein-like 2 (CNTNAP2), a neurexin-related cell-adhesion protein, are strongly linked to autism and epilepsy. Here we used rsfMRI to show that homozygous mice lackingCntnap2exhibit reduced long-range and local functional connectivity in prefrontal and midline brain “connectivity hubs”. Long-range rsfMRI connectivity impairments affected heteromodal cortical regions and were prominent between fronto-posterior components of the mouse default-mode network (DMN), an effect that was associated with reduced social investigation, a core “autism trait” in mice. Notably, viral tracing revealed reduced frequency of prefrontal-projecting neural clusters in the cingulate cortex ofCntnap2−/−mutants, suggesting a possible contribution of defective mesoscale axonal wiring to the observed functional impairments. Macroscale cortico-cortical white matter organization appeared to be otherwise preserved in these animals. These findings reveal a key contribution of ASD-associated gene CNTNAP2 in modulating macroscale functional connectivity, and suggest that homozygous loss-of-function mutations in this gene may predispose to neurodevelopmental disorders and autism through a selective dysregulation of connectivity in integrative prefrontal areas.
Characterization of Methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureusIsolates from Fitness Centers in Memphis Metropolitan Area, USA
Authors: Mukherjee Nabanita , Sulaiman Irshad M. , Banerjee Pratik
Published: June 2016

Indoor skin-contact surfaces of public fitness centers may serve as reservoirs of potential human transmission of methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA). We found a high prevalence of multi-drug resistant (MDR)-MRSA of CC59 lineage harboring a variety of extracellular toxin genes from surface swab samples collected from inanimate surfaces of fitness centers in Memphis metropolitan area, USA. Our findings underscore the role of inanimate surfaces as potential sources of transmission of MDR-MRSA strains with considerable genetic diversity.
Simulations reveal increased fluctuations in estrogen receptor-alpha conformation upon antagonist binding
Authors: Ng Ho Leung
Published: June 2016

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been used to model dynamic fluctuations in the structure of estrogen receptor-alpha (ER-α) upon binding to the natural agonist 17β-estradiol (E2) and to the active metabolite of the breast cancer drug and antagonist, 4-hydroxytamoxifen (OHT). We present the most extensive MD simulations to date of ER-α with over 1 μs of combined simulations for the monomer and dimer forms. Simulations reveal that the antagonist-bound complex includes significant fluctuations while the agonist-bound complex is tightly restrained. OHT increases dynamic disorder in the loops located to either side of the tail H12 helix; H12 has been associated with the activation status of ER-α. We also report that fluctuations near H12 lead to greater conformational variation in the binding mode of the ethylamine tail of OHT. Both the agonist and antagonist conformations are stable throughout the 240 ns simulations, supporting the hypothesis that there are no transitions between these two states or into intermediate states. The stable position of H12 in the OHT-bound conformation suggests that OHT stabilizes a well-defined antagonist conformational ensemble rather than merely blocking the agonist-driven activation of ER-α. Simultaneously, the increased dynamic properties of the OHT-bound complex is a potential source of binding entropy.
FF12MC: A revised AMBER forcefield and new protein simulation protocol
Authors: Pang Yuan-Ping
Published: June 2016

Specialized to simulate proteins in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with explicit solvation, FF12MC is a combination of a new protein simulation protocol employing uniformly reduced atomic masses by tenfold and a revised AMBER forcefield FF99 with (i) shortened CH bonds, (ii) removal of torsions involving a nonperipheralsp3atom, and (iii) reduced 1-4 interaction scaling factors of torsionsϕandψThis article reports that in multiple, distinct, independent, unrestricted, unbiased, isobaric-isothermal, and classical MD simulations FF12MC can (i) simulate the experimentally observed flipping between left-and right-handed configurations for C14-C38 of BPTI in solution, (ii) autonomously fold chignolin, CLN025, and Trp-cage with folding times that agree with the experimental values, (iii) simulate subsequent unfolding and refolding of these miniproteins, and (iv) achieve a robust Z score of 1.33 for refining protein models TMR01, TMR04, and TMR07. By comparison, the latest general-purpose AMBER forcefield FF14SB locks the C14-C38 bond to the right-handed configuration in solution under the same protein simulation conditions. Statistical survival analysis shows that FF12MC folds chignolin and CLN025 in isobaric-isothermal MD simulations 2-4 times faster than FF14SB under the same protein simulation conditions. These results suggest that FF12MC may be used for protein simulations to study kinetics and thermodynamics of miniprotein folding as well as protein structure and dynamics.
Frequency-specific neuromodulation of local and distant connectivity in aging & episodic memory function
Authors: Davis Simon W. , Luber Bruce , Murphy David L. K. , Lisanby Sarah H. , Cabeza Roberto
Published: June 2016

A growing literature has focused on the brain’s ability to augment processing in local regions by recruiting distant communities of neurons in response to neural decline or insult. In particular, both younger and older adult populations recruit bilateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) as a means of compensating for increasing neural effort to maintain successful cognitive function. However, it remains unclear how local changes in neural activity affect the recruitment of this adaptive mechanism. To address this problem, we combined graph theoretical measures from functional MRI (fMRI) with diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in order to resolve a central hypothesis:how do aged brains flexibly adapt to local changes in cortical activity?Specifically, we applied neuromodulation to increase or decrease local activity in a cortical region supporting successful memory encoding (left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex or DLPFC) using 5Hz or 1Hz rTMS, respectively. We then assessed a region’s localwithin-module degree(WMD), or the distributedbetween-module degree(BMD) between distant cortical communities. We predicted that (1) local stimulation-related deficits may be counteracted by boosting BMD between bilateral PFC, and that this effect should be (2)positively correlatedwith structural connectivity. Both predictions were confirmed; 5Hz rTMS increased local success-related activity and local increases in PFC connectivity, while 1Hz rTMS decreases local activity and triggered a more distributed pattern of bilateral PFC connectivity to compensate for this local inhibitory effect. These results provide an integrated, causal explanation for the network interactions associated with successful memory encoding in older adults.
Post-mortem molecular profiling of three psychiatric disorders
Authors: Ramaker Ryne C. , Bowling Kevin M. , Lasseigne Brittany N. , Hagenauer Megan H. , Hardigan Andrew A. , Davis Nick S. , Gertz Jason , Cartagena Preston M. , Walsh David M. , Vawter Marquis P. , Jones Edward G. , Schatzberg Alan F. , Barchas Jack D. , Watson Stan J. , Bunney Blynn G. , Akil Huda , Bunney William E. , Li Jun Z. , Cooper Sara J. , Myers Richard M.
Published: June 2016

Background

Psychiatric disorders are multigenic diseases with complex etiology contributing significantly to human morbidity and mortality. Although clinically distinct, several disorders share many symptoms suggesting common underlying molecular changes exist that may implicate important regulators of pathogenesis and new therapeutic targets.

Results

We compared molecular signatures across brain regions and disorders in the transcriptomes of postmortem human brain samples. We performed RNA sequencing on tissue from the anterior cingulate cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and nucleus accumbens from three groups of 24 patients each diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depressive disorder, and from 24 control subjects, and validated the results in an independent cohort. The most significant disease differences were in the anterior cingulate cortex of schizophrenia samples compared to controls. Transcriptional changes were assessed in an independent cohort, revealing the transcription factorEGR1as significantly down regulated in both cohorts and as a potential regulator of broader transcription changes observed in schizophrenia patients. Additionally, broad down regulation of genes specific to neurons and concordant up regulation of genes specific to astrocytes was observed in SZ and BPD patients relative to controls. We also assessed the biochemical consequences of gene expression changes with untargeted metabolomic profiling and identified disruption of GABA levels in schizophrenia patients.

Conclusions

We provide a comprehensive post-mortem transcriptome profile of three psychiatric disorders across three brain regions. We highlight a high-confidence set of independently validated genes differentially expressed between schizophrenia and control patients in the anterior cingulate cortex and integrate transcriptional changes with untargeted metabolite profiling.
Monitoring photo-induced transformations in crystals of 2,6-difluorocinnamic acid under ambient conditions
Authors: Galica Tomasz , Bąkowicz Julia , Broda Piotr , Turowska-Tyrk Ilona
Published: June 2016

Several conditions need to be fulfilled for a photochemical reaction to proceed in crystals. Some of these conditions, for example, geometrical conditions, depend on the particular type of photochemical reaction, but the rest are common for all reactions. The mutual directionality of two neighbouring molecules determines the kind of product obtained. The influence of temperature on the probability of a photochemical reaction occurring varies for different types of photochemical reaction and different compounds. High pressure imposed on crystals also has a big influence on the free space and the reaction cavity. The wavelength of the applied UV light is another factor which can initiate a reaction and sometimes determine the structure of a product. It is possible, to a certain degree, to control the packing of molecules in stacks by using fluoro substituents on benzene rings. The crystal and molecular structure of 2,6-difluorocinnamic acid [systematic name: 3-(2,6-difluorophenyl)prop-2-enoic acid], C9H6F2O2, (I), was determined and analysed in terms of a photochemical [2 + 2] dimerization. The molecules are arranged in stacks along theaaxis and the values of the intermolecular geometrical parameters indicate that they may undergo this photochemical reaction. The reaction was carried outin situand the changes of the unit-cell parameters during crystal irradiation by a UV beam were monitored. The values of the unit-cell parameters change in a different manner,viz.cell lengthaafter an initial increase starts to decrease,bafter a decrease starts to increase,cincreases and the unit-cell volumeVafter a certain increase starts to decrease. The structure of a partially reacted crystal,i.e.containing both the reactant and the product, namely 2,6-difluorocinnamic acid–3,4-bis(2,6-difluorophenyl)cyclobutane-1,2-dicarboxylic acid (0.858/0.071), 0.858C9H6F2O2·0.071C18H12F4O4, obtainedin situ, is also presented. The powder of compound (I) was irradiated with UV light and afterwards crystallized [as 3,4-bis(2,6-difluorophenyl)cyclobutane-1,2-dicarboxylic acid toluene hemisolvate, C18H12F4O4·0.5C7H8] in a space group different from that of the crystal containing thein-situdimer.
Members of the Scottish Parliament on Twitter: good constituency men (and women)?
Authors: Baxter Graeme , Marcella Rita , O'Shea Mary
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of Twitter by Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) for the provision of constituency-related information, or in support of their constituency service work.

Design/methodology/approach

– Content analysis of 10,411 tweets sent by the 105 MSPs on Twitter during four weeks in early-2014.

Findings

– While there was some evidence of MSPs on Twitter acting as a promoter of local community interests and as a conduit for information on local policy issues and events, their tweets were dominated by the wider, national, political agenda and by the Scottish independence debate. Compared with their online behaviour as parliamentary candidates three years earlier, MSPs placed an even greater emphasis on the one-way broadcast of information to their followers. They were reluctant to respond to contentious local policy questions, or to enter into any visible, meaningful, political debate with their constituents.

Research limitations/implications

– Although the research was conducted seven months before the Scottish independence referendum on 18 September 2014, the independence debate still dominated proceedings on Twitter. It might, therefore, be appropriate to revisit MSPs’ use of Twitter at some point during a truer “peacetime” period.

Originality/value

– This is the first systematic content analysis of tweets sent by all MSPs on Twitter. It allows the authors to compare their actual Twitter use with that envisaged by the Scottish Parliament, as a way of MSPs communicating about their work and engaging with their constituents.
A study of user profile representation for personalized cross-language information retrieval
Authors: Zhou Dong , Lawless Séamus , Wu Xuan , Zhao Wenyu , Liu Jianxun
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– With an increase in the amount of multilingual content on the World Wide Web, users are often striving to access information provided in a language of which they are non-native speakers. The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive study of user profile representation techniques and investigate their use in personalized cross-language information retrieval (CLIR) systems through the means of personalized query expansion.

Design/methodology/approach

– The user profiles consist of weighted terms computed by using frequency-based methods such as tf-idf and BM25, as well as various latent semantic models trained on monolingual documents and cross-lingual comparable documents. This paper also proposes an automatic evaluation method for comparing various user profile generation techniques and query expansion methods.

Findings

– Experimental results suggest that latent semantic-weighted user profile representation techniques are superior to frequency-based methods, and are particularly suitable for users with a sufficient amount of historical data. The study also confirmed that user profiles represented by latent semantic models trained on a cross-lingual level gained better performance than the models trained on a monolingual level.

Originality/value

– Previous studies on personalized information retrieval systems have primarily investigated user profiles and personalization strategies on a monolingual level. The effect of utilizing such monolingual profiles for personalized CLIR remains unclear. The current study fills the gap by a comprehensive study of user profile representation for personalized CLIR and a novel personalized CLIR evaluation methodology to ensure repeatable and controlled experiments can be conducted.
Benchmarking the competitiveness of the ASEAN 5 equity markets
Authors: Jarungkitkul Wanida , Sukcharoensin Sorasart
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study the competitiveness of the stock markets in ASEAN 5, which are the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), the Singapore Exchange (SGX), Bursa Malaysia (BM), the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

Design/methodology/approach

– This research applies Porter’s (1990) diamond model to analyze the competitiveness and the data were collected from World Economic Forum, International Institute for Management Development, the World Federation of Exchanges database, and DataStream.

Findings

– The results show that SGX is the most competitive exchange in ASEAN 5 region. It dominates other exchanges in every dimension. It gains its reputation for being the region’s most prominent exchange, followed by BM, SET, IDX, and the PSE, respectively.

Practical implications

– The results of this investigation provide rank for competitiveness of stock exchanges among ASEAN 5 and identify the way to improve its competitive position.

Social implications

– It is useful for public and private sectors involved in the development and policy making to promote funding and investment efficiency of the exchanges. It will be benefit to establish the well-planned development strategy and policy to build up the competitive advantage of the nations.

Originality/value

– Identifying and benchmarking the competitiveness of the stock markets in ASEAN economies. By using Diamond Model, the authors propose indicators to assess the competitiveness of the stock markets in ASEAN 5 countries. Assessing the competitiveness of the ASEAN stock markets in this paper will lead us to better understand about each country’s strengths and weaknesses and to promote a mutual collaboration among the region toward ASEAN Economic Community.
Identification of a standard AI based technique for credit risk analysis
Authors: Punniyamoorthy M. , Sridevi P.
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– Credit risk assessment has gained importance in recent years due to global financial crisis and credit crunch. Financial institutions therefore seek the support of credit rating agencies to predict the ability of creditors to meet financial persuasions. The purpose of this paper is to construct neural network (NN) and fuzzy support vector machine (FSVM) classifiers to discriminate good creditors from bad ones and identify a best classifier for credit risk assessment.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study uses artificial neural network, the most popular AI technique used in the field of financial applications for classification and prediction and the new machine learning classification algorithm, FSVM to differentiate good creditors from bad. As membership value on data points influence the classification problem, this paper presents the new FSVM model. The instances membership is computed using fuzzy c-means by evolving a new membership. The FSVM model is also tested on different kernels and compared and the classifier with highest classification accuracy for a kernel is identified.

Findings

– The paper identifies a standard AI model by comparing the performances of the NN model and FSVM model for a credit risk data set. This work proves that that FSVM model performs better than back propagation-neural network.

Practical implications

– The proposed model can be used by financial institutions to accurately assess the credit risk pattern of customers and make better decisions.

Originality/value

– This paper has developed a new membership for data points and has proposed a new FCM-based FSVM model for more accurate predictions.
Exploring added value through the service process: a comparative multiple case study
Authors: Pekkola Sanna , Ukko Juhani
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to evaluate how the service process of the market leader differs from the other actors’ processes and whether the service process explains the success of the market leader; second, to identify the success factors of the service process; and third, to test and analyse how the mystery shopping method works as a measurement tool to evaluate the service processes, including the quality of such processes.

Design/methodology/approach

– The case study focuses on the service processes of kitchen fitments. The paper is an explorative multiple case study. The results of the study are based on seven service processes of seven different kitchen fitment stores in Finland. The mystery shopping method has been utilised in an empirical data collection process.

Findings

– The study revealed the most important factors in the service process that differentiate the market leader from the other operators. The results indicated that there are three main aspects highlighted in the market leader’s service process. The results also reveal that mystery shopping is a workable tool for analysing service processes.

Practical implications

– The study identifies the key factors that affect the success of the service process of kitchen fitments companies. By developing these factors, companies can increase service quality. The results also reveal that the mystery shopping method can be a workable tool to evaluate service processes.

Originality/value

– The study reveals the most important factors in the service process that differentiate the market leader from the other operators. It can be stated that these factors also explain their success. Thus, the results of the study are applicable at least in companies which operate in the kitchen fitments industry. Furthermore, the results can be utilised to some extent in companies which are developing their service processes.
A conceptual framework for product service system design for machine tools
Authors: Zine Pankaj U. , Kulkarni Makarand S , Ray Arun K. , Chawla Rakesh
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework for product service system (PSS) design for machine tools and discuss the PSS implementation issues focusing on the Indian machine tool business sector.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper opted for an exploratory survey conducted in the Indian machine tool sector including 39 in-depth interviews with employees of different organizations representing middle and senior management having decision-making authority. It also involves proposing a framework to address the stakeholder’s requirements for services that offers foundation for PSS designers.

Findings

– The paper helps get an insights about key issues for PSS implementation by the Indian machine tool sector. The hybrid PSS model proposed in the paper can address the stakeholder’s requirements for flexibility in business models through different business phases.

Practical implications

– The paper offers suggestions for the development of PSS for machine tools for designers and identify issues to be considered particularly in Indian machine tools business context.

Originality/value

– This paper provides an insight to judge the feasibility of PSS concept for machine tools in Indian context and offers framework for PSS designers.
Enterprise education in initial teacher education in Ireland
Authors: Tiernan Peter
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of enterprise education on students’ understanding of and attitudes to entrepreneurship and enterprise education in initial teacher education.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper builds on current literature by introducing student teachers to the theory and practice of entrepreneurship and enterprise education, with a particular focus on experience-based approaches. Quantitative and qualitative data are used to evaluate student understanding and attitudes.

Findings

– Findings indicate that exposing student teachers to entrepreneurship and enterprise education specifically targeted at their subject area greatly increases their understanding of its importance and relevance. Students developed their ability to think and act in enterprising ways while recognising the benefits of incorporating enterprise education into their classrooms of the future.

Originality/value

– While literature on the value of entrepreneurship and enterprise education outside of business contexts is widespread, relatively few studies have been conducted which examine the impact of interventions in initial teacher education. This paper provides a unique look at the implementation of an entrepreneurship in education module and its impact on student teachers.
Entrepreneurial skills and socio-cultural factors
Authors: Rosique-Blasco Mario , Madrid-Guijarro Antonia , García-Pérez-de-Lema Domingo
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore how entrepreneurial skills (such as creativity, proactivity and risk tolerance) and socio-cultural factors (such as role model and businessman image) affect secondary education students’ propensity towards entrepreneurial options in their future careers.

Design/methodology/approach

– A sample of secondary education students in the Region of Murcia (Spain) has been used. Data were collected through questionnaires and analysed using logit estimation. Confirmatory factorial analysis was used to validate the measures.

Findings

– The results of this research study show that both the skills and socio-cultural factors positively affect entrepreneurial intention of secondary education students. Creativity, proactivity and risk taking promote entrepreneurial career. In addition, those students whose role model is an entrepreneur and have a better understanding of him or her, show a greater propensity towards entrepreneurial career.

Originality/value

– The contribution to the literature on entrepreneurship is twofold. First, although there are studies focused on identifying the entrepreneurial profile of university students, there is a paucity of empirical evidence relating to entrepreneurial skills at earlier stages of learning. This paper sets out to bridge this research gap. Second, evidence of the importance of socio-cultural factors, role models and entrepreneurial image upon the career orientation of secondary education students is identified and empirically verified. These findings involve are useful in practice, in aiding the design of better and more relevant education programmes at early learning stages.
Connecting the dots
Authors: Hägg Gustav , Kurczewska Agnieszka
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to justify, elaborate and elucidate the concepts of action, experience and reflection, and how they are intertwined when discussing contemporary entrepreneurship education. These concepts have been given a meaning in entrepreneurship education, but have not been discussed in-depth, and by that have been abridged in meaning and purpose, and mostly been treated in isolation from each other.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper is conceptual and takes its starting point in the historical development of the field and discusses the concepts, from philosophical roots and their application, in entrepreneurship education.

Findings

– Neither of the discussed concepts are enough to generate learning one by one, as they are intertwined within the learning process that aims to generate knowledge. From this perspective, an understanding of how these concepts work, both individually and in synergy, is of importance for entrepreneurship education.

Research limitations/implications

– The discussion presented in this paper may be a starting point for future empirical studies on entrepreneurial learning, by developing the meaning of action, reflections and experience, or by trying to conceptualize them.

Practical implications

– The study indicates that entrepreneurship education should not concentrate only on one dimension of the entrepreneurial learning process, as for example, on actions, but should try to combine all of its discussed elements.

Originality/value

– By exploring the origins and developments around the concepts, the paper brings a deepened understanding of what the field considers as important when learning entrepreneurship. By decomposing and mutually referring the concepts, the authors contribute to the call of strengthening the theoretical and philosophical understanding in entrepreneurship education.
Contracting out parks and roads maintenance in England
Authors: Dempsey Nicola , Burton Mel , Selin Johanna
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– Different models have been adopted in England over time to organise public service delivery. The purpose of this paper is to explore contracting-out, a prevalent model of public service delivery in England, in relation to parks and roads maintenance delivery by examining private contractors’ performance according to local authority stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

– Since the Conservative Government was in power during the 1980s, local authorities have been an arena for experimentation of contracting-out to private and other sectors. This paper provides a review of the academic and grey literature, and findings are presented from a large-scale online questionnaire survey (n=103) which was distributed to the relevant public realm managers in English local authorities.

Findings

– The paper shows that contracting-out of parks and roads maintenance happens across the country in different ways. By and large, local authorities are satisfied with the performance of contractors, particularly as a response to economic constraints. Responsibilities, particularly for parks, are increasingly shared with non-governmental organisations, including community groups, although this is not reflected in budget distribution.

Research limitations/implications

– Despite the efforts, the response rate was relatively low (32 per cent), potentially due to the e-mail communication and online nature of the questionnaire.

Originality/value

– The research provides empirical evidence about how contracting-out is currently delivering public services and how it has changed in recent years. The findings suggest that responsibilities (and to a lesser extent, budgets) are increasingly shared in England between different combinations of public, private, third and community sector stakeholders. This marks a shift away from in-house public sector delivery of parks and roads services.
Marketization trajectories in the Danish road and park sectors
Authors: Lindholst Andrej Christian , Hansen Morten Balle , Petersen Ole Helby
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of the evolution of marketization in the public sector as a process of institutional change.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper is based on a study of marketization and gradual changes in the involvement of private contractors (as providers of maintenance services) in the municipal road and park sectors in Denmark over the past 30 years. The study draws theoretically on historical institutionalism as an interpretive framework and empirically on findings from earlier research, register data from municipal accounts as well as new survey data.

Findings

– Marketization within the road and park sectors has historically taken place through gradual changes, in particular by processes of layering and displacement, which has added up to substantial transformations in both sectors. Transformations relate to the levels of private sector involvement, the purpose of using private contractors, the extent of competition and the design of contractual arrangements. The road sector has been a frontrunner in this marketization process, while the park sector increasingly has been “catching up.”

Originality/value

– The paper contributes to the understanding of the historical development and differential pathways of marketization within the public sector. In particular, the study highlights how pathways of gradual change, spurred by the influx of long-term policy pressures, over time can lead to substantial institutional transformations.
Controlling privacy disclosure of third party applications in online social networks
Authors: Tomy Sarath , Pardede Eric
Published: June 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the problem of privacy disclosure of third party applications in online social networks (OSNs) through Facebook, investigate the limitations in the existing models to protect users privacy and propose a permission-based access control (PBAC) model, which gives users complete control over users’ data when accessing third party applications.

Design/methodology/approach

A practical model based on the defined permission policies is proposed to manage users information accessed by third party applications and improve user awareness in sharing sensitive information with them. This model is a combination of interfaces and internal mechanisms which can be adopted by any OSN having similar architecture to Facebook in managing third party applications, without much structural changes. The model implemented in Web interface connects with Facebook application programming interface and evaluates its efficacy using test cases.

Findings

The results show that the PBAC model can facilitate user awareness about privacy risks of data passed on to third party applications and allow users who are more concerned about their privacy from releasing such information to those applications.

Research limitations/implications

The study provides further research in protecting users’ privacy in OSNs and thus avoid the risks associated with that, thereby increasing users’ trust in using OSNs.

Originality/value

The research has proven to be useful in improving user awareness on the risk associated with sharing private information on OSNs, and the practically implemented PBAC model guarantees full user privacy from unwanted disclosure of personal information to third party applications.