bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On rational points of varieties over local fields having a model with tame quotient singularities
Authors: Hartmann Annabelle
Published: February 2015

We study rational points on a smooth variety

X
X

over a complete local field

K
K

with algebraically closed residue field, and models

X

\mathcal {X}

of

X
X

with tame quotient singularities. If

X

\mathcal {X}

is the quotient of a Galois action on a weak Néron model of the base change of

X
X

to a tame Galois extension of

K
K

, then we construct a canonical weak Néron model of

X
X

with a map to

X

\mathcal {X}

, and examine its special fiber. As an application we get examples of singular models

X

\mathcal {X}

such that there are

K
K

-rational points of

X
X

specializing to a singular point of

X

\mathcal {X}

. Moreover we obtain formulas for the motivic Serre invariant and the rational volume, and the existence of

K
K

-rational points on certain

K
K

-varieties with potential good reduction.
The Schur-Horn Theorem for operators with finite spectrum
Authors: Bownik Marcin , Jasper John
Published: February 2015

We characterize the set of diagonals of the unitary orbit of a self-adjoint operator with a finite spectrum. Our result extends the Schur-Horn theorem from a finite dimensional setting to an infinite dimensional Hilbert space, analogous to Kadison’s theorem for orthogonal projections, and the second author’s result for operators with three point spectrum.
Identification of cell types from single-cell transcriptomes using a novel clustering method
Authors: Xu Chen , Su Zhengchang
Published: February 2015

Motivation: The recent advance of single-cell technologies has brought new insights into complex biological phenomena. In particular, genome-wide single-cell measurements such as transcriptome sequencing enable the characterization of cellular composition as well as functional variation in homogenic cell populations. An important step in the single-cell transcriptome analysis is to group cells that belong to the same cell types based on gene expression patterns. The corresponding computational problem is to cluster a noisy high dimensional dataset with substantially fewer objects (cells) than the number of variables (genes).

Results: In this article, we describe a novel algorithm named shared nearest neighbor (SNN)-Cliq that clusters single-cell transcriptomes. SNN-Cliq utilizes the concept of shared nearest neighbor that shows advantages in handling high-dimensional data. When evaluated on a variety of synthetic and real experimental datasets, SNN-Cliq outperformed the state-of-the-art methods tested. More importantly, the clustering results of SNN-Cliq reflect the cell types or origins with high accuracy.

Availability and implementation: The algorithm is implemented in MATLAB and Python. The source code can be downloaded at http://bioinfo.uncc.edu/SNNCliq.

Contact:  zcsu@uncc.edu

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Mapping the vulnerability of animal community to pressure in marine systems: disentangling pressure types and integrating their impact from the individual to the community level
Authors: Certain Grégoire , Jørgensen Lis Lindahl , Christel Isadora , Planque Benjamin , Bretagnolle Vincent
Published: February 2015

Assessing the vulnerability of biological communities to anthropic pressures in marine systems may be challenging because of the difficulty to properly model each species' response to the pressure due to lack of information. One solution is to apply factor-mediated vulnerability assessment which combines (i) information on species ecological traits and conservation status organized in a matrix of so-called “vulnerability factors”, (ii) a conceptual model of how these factors affect species vulnerability, and (iii) data on the spatial distribution and abundance of each species issued from at-sea surveys. Such factor-mediated vulnerability assessment was originally introduced in the seabird–wind farm context by Garthe and Hüppop (2004. Scaling possible adverse effects of marine wind farms on seabirds: developing and applying a vulnerability index. Journal of Applied Ecology, 41: 724–734) and has since then been expanded to many case studies. However, the mathematical formulations that were proposed at that time are overly simplistic and may overlook critical components of the impact assessment. Our study briefly reviews the original approach and highlights its hidden assumptions and associated interpretation problems, for example, the overestimation of disturbance pressure to the detriment of collision, or the very high contribution of log abundances in vulnerability maps. Then, we propose a revised framework that solves these issues and permits easy transposition to other community-pressure case studies. To illustrate the usefulness and generality of the revised framework, we apply it to two case studies, one concerning the vulnerability assessment of a seabird community to offshore wind farms in the Bay of Biscay, and another focusing on the vulnerability assessment of the benthic megafauna community to trawling pressure in the Barents Sea.
Seasonal Community Succession of the Phyllosphere Microbiome
Authors: Copeland Julia K. , Yuan Lijie , Layeghifard Mehdi , Wang Pauline W. , Guttman David S.
Published: February 2015

The leaf microbiome is influenced by both biotic and abiotic factors. Currently, we know little about the relative importance of these factors in determining microbiota composition and dynamics. To explore this issue, we collected weekly leaf samples over a 98-day growing season from multiple cultivars of common bean, soybean, and canola planted at three locations in Ontario, Canada, and performed Illumina-based microbiome analysis. We find that the leaf microbiota at the beginning of the season is very strongly influenced by the soil microbiota but, as the season progresses, it differentiates, becomes significantly less diverse, and transitions to having a greater proportion of leaf-specific taxa that are shared among all samples. A phylogenetic investigation of communities by reconstruction of unobserved states imputation of microbiome function inferred from the taxonomic data found significant differences between the soil and leaf microbiome, with a significant enrichment of motility gene categories in the former and metabolic gene categories in the latter. A network co-occurrence analysis identified two highly connected clusters as well as subclusters of putative pathogens and growth-promoting bacteria. These data reveal some of the complex ecological dynamics that occur in microbial communities over the course of a growing season and highlight the importance of community succession.
Notification that new names of prokaryotes, new combinations, and new taxonomic opinions have appeared in volume 64, part 11, of the IJSEM
Authors: Oren Aharon , Garrity George M.
Published: February 2015

This listing of names of prokaryotes published in a previous issue of the IJSEM is provided as a service to bacteriology to assist in the recognition of new names and new combinations. This procedure was proposed by the Judicial Commission [Minute 11(ii), Int J Syst Bacteriol 41 (1991), p. 185]. The names given herein are listed according to the Rules of priority (i.e. page number and order of valid publication of names in the original articles).
Actinomadura darangshiensis sp. nov., isolated from a volcanic cone
Authors: Lee Soon Dong , Kim Seung Bum
Published: February 2015

An actinobacterium, designated strain DLS-70T, was isolated from a soil sample from the surface of a rock on the peak of Darangshi Oreum (a volcanic cone) in Jeju, Republic of Korea. Substrate mycelium was produced abundantly on most of the media tested. Spiral chains of spores with warty surface developed on the aerial hyphae. A phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain DLS-70T belonged to the genus

Actinomadura

and was most closely related to

Actinomadura bangladeshensis

DSM 45347T (98.9 % sequence similarity),

Actinomadura madurae

DSM 43067T (98.8 %) and

Actinomadura chokoriensis

DSM 45346T (98.6 %). Chemotaxonomic observations supported the assignment of the isolate to the genus

Actinomadura

. DNA–DNA relatedness values between strain DLS-70T and the type strains of the closest phylogenetic relatives were less than 20 %. On the basis of data from this polyphasic study, strain DLS-70T ( = KCTC 29224T = DSM 45941T) is considered to represent a novel species of the genus

Actinomadura

, for which the name Actinomadura darangshiensis sp. nov. is proposed.
Bacillus encimensis sp. nov. isolated from marine sediment
Authors: Dastager Syed G. , Mawlankar Rahul , Mual Poonam , Verma Ashish , Krishnamurthi Srinivasan , Joseph Neetha , Shouche Yogesh S.
Published: February 2015

A Gram-stain-positive, rod-shaped, endospore-forming, aerobic bacterium designated SGD-V-25T was isolated from Veraval sediment sample, India. Strain SGD-V-25T was capable of growing at 25–50 °C (optimum 37 °C), pH 6–12 (optimum pH 7.0) and with 0–5 % (w/v) NaCl. The taxonomic position of this strain was deduced using a polyphasic approach and the 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that the isolate belongs to the phylum

Firmicutes

, forming the cluster with

Bacillus badius

MTCC 1548T, with which it shares highest similarity of 99.1 % with 13 nt differences. Other type strains of the genus

Bacillus

showed less than 96 % similarity. The cell wall contained meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid. The polar lipid profile of strain SGD-V-25T showed the presence of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phsophoglycolipid and two aminophospholipids. The predominant isoprenoid quinone was MK-7. The major cellular fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0, anteiso-C15 : 0, anteiso-C17 : 0, iso-C16 : 0, C16 : 1ω11c and C16 : 0. The genomic DNA G+C content of strain SGD-V-25T was 37.6 mol%. On the basis of phenotypic characteristics, phylogenetic analysis and DNA–DNA hybridization, strain SGD-V-25T could be clearly distinguished from closely related members of the genus

Bacillus

, and the name Bacillus encimensis sp. nov., is proposed to accommodate this strain. The type strain is SGD-V-25T ( = NCIM 5513T = DSM 28241T).
Microbacterium populi sp. nov., isolated from Populus×euramericana bark
Authors: Li Yong , Wang Tao , Fang Wei , Xue Han , Piao Chun-gen , Guo Min-wei , Zhu Tian-hui
Published: February 2015

Five non-spore-forming, aerobic and Gram-stain-positive bacterial strains, 10-107-8T, 1C-4, NHI3_6, 4107_1_2, and 3D-3, were isolated from Populus×euramericana bark collected in Puyang City, Henan Province, PR China. The isolates grew at 15–40 °C and pH 5–10. The optimum temperature and pH for growth were 30 °C and pH 8.0, respectively. Chemotaxonomic features included MK-10 and MK-11 as major menaquinones (type strain); predominating iso- and anteiso-branched cellular fatty acids; diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol as major polar lipids (type strain); ornithine as the principal diamino acid of the cell-wall peptidoglycan (type strain); glycolyl type as cell-wall acyl type; and DNA G+C content of 66.8–67.6 mol%. These features were consistent with classification in the genus

Microbacterium

. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequence data indicated that the five isolates belonged to the genus

Microbacterium

and were closely related to

Microbacterium halotolerans

. A high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 96.97 % to

M. halotolerans

YIM 70130T was observed. The five isolates showed less than 96.20 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to the other species of the genus

Microbacterium

with validly published names. DNA–DNA relatedness of the five isolates with

M. halotolerans

JCM 13013T ranged from 35.62 % to 44.36 %. Considering the results of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and the physiological and biochemical characteristics, we propose that the five strains should be assigned to a novel species of the genus

Microbacterium

. The name proposed for the five strains is Microbacterium populi sp. nov., and the type strain is 10-107-8T ( = CFCC 11275T = KCTC 29152T).
Dynamics of chromatin accessibility and long-range interactions in response to glucocorticoid pulsing
Authors: Stavreva Diana A. , Coulon Antoine , Baek Songjoon , Sung Myong-Hee , John Sam , Stixova Lenka , Tesikova Martina , Hakim Ofir , Miranda Tina , Hawkins Mary , Stamatoyannopoulos John A. , Chow Carson C. , Hager Gordon L.
Published: February 2015

Although physiological steroid levels are often pulsatile (ultradian), the genomic effects of this pulsatility are poorly understood. By utilizing glucocorticoid receptor (GR) signaling as a model system, we uncovered striking spatiotemporal relationships between receptor loading, lifetimes of the DNase I hypersensitivity sites (DHSs), long-range interactions, and gene regulation. We found that hormone-induced DHSs were enriched within ±50 kb of GR-responsive genes and displayed a broad spectrum of lifetimes upon hormone withdrawal. These lifetimes dictate the strength of the DHS interactions with gene targets and contribute to gene regulation from a distance. Our results demonstrate that pulsatile and constant hormone stimulations induce unique, treatment-specific patterns of gene and regulatory element activation. These modes of activation have implications for corticosteroid function in vivo and for steroid therapies in various clinical settings.
Influence of multiple small-angle neutron scattering on diffraction peak broadening in ferritic steel
Authors: Woo Wanchuck , Em Vyacheslav , Shin Eunjoo , Mikula Pavol , Ryukhtin Vasyl
Published: February 2015

Peak broadening of neutron diffraction was studied at various neutron wavelengths (1.24–2.61 Å). As the neutron beam path through a specimen increased, significant peak broadening was observed in ferritic steel, but not in austenitic steel. The peak broadening was reduced under a magnetic field applied perpendicular to the beam direction. Small-angle neutron scattering results showed significant reduction in scattering intensities under a magnetic field of 1.2 T. It is suggested that the peak broadening can be attributed to multiple small-angle neutron scattering by magnetic domains. Thus, a sufficiently strong magnetic field could enhance the deep penetration capability of neutron diffraction by reducing the peak broadening.
57Fe polarization-dependent synchrotron Mössbauer spectroscopy using a diamond phase plate and an iron borate nuclear Bragg monochromator
Authors: Mitsui Takaya , Imai Yasuhiko , Masuda Ryo , Seto Makoto , Mibu Ko
Published: February 2015

Energy-domain57Fe polarization-dependent synchrotron radiation Mössbauer spectroscopy was developed by using a diamond X-ray phase plate and an iron borate nuclear Bragg monochromator. The former controls the polarization of the incident synchrotron radiation X-rays and the latter filters the57Fe-Mössbauer radiation with a narrow bandwidth of ∼3.4 Γ0(Γ0≃ 4.7 neV: natural linewidth of the57Fe nucleus) from the broadband synchrotron radiation. The developed nuclear diffraction optics allowed57Fe-Mössbauer studies to be performed with various polarization states,i.e.linear polarization, circular polarization and non-polarization. In this paper, the spectrometer system, beam characterization, performance-test experiments and a grazing-incidence Mössbauer measurement of an isotope-enriched (57Fe: 95%) iron thin film are described.
Tris(tri-o-tolyl phosphite-κP)nickel: a coordinatively unsaturated nickel(0) complex
Authors: Kampmann Sven S. , Skelton Brian W. , Wild Duncan A. , Koutsantonis George A. , Stewart Scott G.
Published: February 2015

A previously reported complex, [Ni(C21H21O3P)3] or Ni[P(O-o-tolyl3)3] [Gosser & Tolman (1970).Inorg. Chem.9, 2350–2353], crystallized in the monoclinic space groupC2/c, and its solid-state structure was determined. The Ni0atom adopts an essentially trigonal-planar geometry as a consequence of the steric congestion of the ligands. Three of the phenoxy rings on two phosphite ligands were modelled as being disordered over two sets of sites, and the occupancy factors were set at 0.5 after trial refinement and intramolecular contact considerations. The exact ligand cone angle has been calculated to be 163.6°.
Key performance indicators for the maintenance of public hospitals buildings in the Gaza Strip
Authors: Enshassi Adnan Ali , El Shorafa Farida
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify and assess the key performance indicators (KPIs) for the maintenance of public hospital buildings in the Gaza Strip.

Design/methodology/approach

– Four KPIs were identified and evaluated in this paper: building performance indicators (BPI), maintenance efficiency indicators (MEI), annual maintenance expenditure (AME) and urgent repair request indicator. Twenty-one buildings in 13 public hospitals in Gaza Strip Governorate were taken as the sample of this study.

Findings

– The results indicated that the European Gaza hospital has the highest BPI score (81.66) and the Dorra hospital has the lowest BPI score (68.26). The findings revealed that the average AME for all hospitals was $13.8/m2 which is considered to be below the standard level of expenditure. The MEI for Gaza public hospital buildings was found to be equal to 0.3 which indicated low level of maintenance expenditure.

Research limitations/implications

– Unavailability of certain data, lack of maintenance documentation and comparison difficulty between the Gaza Strip and Israel due to political, cultural and financial situation were some of the limitations of this study.

Practical implications

– The Ministry of Health (MoH) can utilize the results of this study and consider it as benchmarking for maintenance management in public hospital buildings. This can improve the current maintenance situation which ultimately will improve the health-care situation in Palestine. The Palestinian MoH should look for external funding to increase the AME, as well as aim at increasing the MEI.

Social implications

– The health-care situation in Palestine will be improved.

Originality/value

– This study is considered the first study to identify and assess the KPIs in the Gaza Strip. KPIs will assist the MoH to compare the actual and estimated performance in terms of effectiveness, efficiency and quality of workmanship.
Potential for long-term sustainability
Authors: Keung Chung Wai , Yiu Tak Wing
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual framework of bidding model for maintenance contractors. Sustainability is closely linked with the maintenance of facilities or infrastructure. From maintenance contractor’s perspective, one of their key business processes is to bid projects under fierce competition. Their competitiveness is critically affected by their bidding behaviours and bid makeup selections.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper aims at identifying critical and important objectives of bidding and items affecting bidding strategies and developing a bidding model for maintenance contractors.

Findings

– With the questionnaire surveys of 50 maintenance contractors, two critical objectives of bidding have been identified. Likewise, a total of eight critical and 12 important items affecting bidding strategy have also been identified. A bidding model for maintenance contractors is presented.

Research limitations/implications

– This model formulates the maintenance contractors’ bidding behaviors in a rational manner, and acts as a guideline to new and less experienced maintenance contractors to have a brief understanding about the bidding process and to assist them for establishing their own bidding strategies. With this knowledge, clients or maintenance contractors themselves would become easier to achieve their sustainability goals.

Originality/value

– Many academic researches on contractor’s bidding strategy emphasized on the general building works, and less attention has been given to maintenance works. Because of the fact that the community is awash with sustainability, and sustainability development is closely related to maintenance work, the business operation of maintenance contractors should be understood. This shall contribute to the achievement of sustainability goals for the society.
Can game theory explain poor maintenance of regional government facilities?
Authors: Hopland Arnt O.
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of the paper is to analyze the decision to postpone maintenance expenditures in regional governments using a game-theoretical approach and investigate whether there may be rational reasons for regional governments to carry a maintenance backlog.

Design/methodology/approach

– A theoretical political economy model, originally used to explain fiscal deficits in regional governments, is revisited and used to explain maintenance backlogs.

Findings

– It can be fully rational for regional governments to carry maintenance backlogs, given that they expect the central government to “bail out” this backlog, e.g. through an extra grant earmarked for upgrading of facilities. Hence, a balanced budget regulation (BBR) demanding fiscal balance in regional governments is not sufficient to avoid bailouts. The results suggest that the central government should consider including maintenance of facilities in formal BBRs.

Originality/value

– The paper is relevant for policy makers, as it can give guidance with respect to the design of BBRs. The paper illustrates that regulations that only take fiscal balance into account are too narrow to secure that bailouts are avoided. The reason is that regional governments can strategically use maintenance backlogs to generate bailouts even when regional government borrowing is abolished. To avoid this, the central government could make the regulations more extensive, and also include demands regarding maintenance in the regulations.
Assessing the impact of revitalized old industrial buildings on the value of surrounding properties
Authors: Wadu Mesthrige Jayantha , Poon Hei Lam
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of revitalization of old industrial buildings on the market value of the neighbourhood residential properties. Hong Kong’s economy has undergone a remarkable transformation in the past three decades. The most visible phenomenon in this transformation is the relocation of traditional manufacturing activities from Hong Kong to China since the 1990s. This has led many of the old industrial buildings in Hong Kong to be empty/underutilized and dilapidated. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government launched the “Revitalizing Industrial Buildings Policy” to revitalize these underutilized properties with the aim to provide suitable land and premises to meet local’s economic and social needs.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study used a hedonic price model to determine whether there is a relationship between revitalization projects and neighbourhood residential property values and the influence of revitalization programmes on the residential property price if there is such a relationship. The study is based on a sample of 4,015 residential transactions obtained from the residential developments located near three large-scale revitalization projects in an old industrial district, Kwun Tong.

Findings

– Empirical findings suggest that revitalization programmes have not brought net positive price effects on the value of neighbourhood residential properties. This is in line with findings of some previous studies. However, it reveals that both the mode and scale of revitalization projects have different impacts on the neighbourhood: wholesale conversion has less negative impacts compared with redevelopment, while the larger the scale of a revitalization programme, the greater are the negative impacts on nearby property values. The study also finds that negative externalities generated by the revitalization during and post-revitalization stages are almost similar in magnitudes.

Research limitations/implications

– The results imply that industrial revitalization projects located adjacent to residential developments both reduce the value of the latter and discourage potential property buyers. The negative public perception of these properties diminishes their value and hence decreases the value of the property.

Practical implications

– The paper raises the concern about the importance of adequately addressing issues of planning and zoning to minimize the negative externalities arising from urban renewal projects.

Originality/value

– This research paper is first of its kind to analyze the effects of revitalized industrial buildings on the value of neighbourhood properties in Hong Kong. The tangible benefits identified in this study would be incentives, or otherwise, to motivate the revitalization policy in general.
Prioritizing technical requirements in QFD by integrating grey relational analysis method and analytic network process approach
Authors: Mi Chuanmin , Xia Weiguo
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– No matter in product design stage or product quality improvement stage, the product technical requirements (PTRs) impacting on product performance are mainly identified and improved to optimize customer needs (CNs) as greatly as possible. The purpose of this paper is to use a new approach to accurately and properly prioritize PTRs in Quality Function Deployment (QFD).

Design/methodology/approach

– Considering the relationship between CNs and PTRs in QFD hard to quantitatively measure and lack of adequate information, the grey relational analysis (GRA) is applied. Besides, owing to the inherent inner dependencies of CNs as well as QFD, the analytic network process (ANP) which is an effective tool to take into account the inner dependencies with network is utilized. Finally, an integrated framework based on GRA method and ANP approach is proposed to determine the importance degrees of PTRs in designing a product.

Findings

– The calculation results of the application show that the proposed framework by integrating GRA and ANP is able to determine the importance degrees of PTRs in design a product well.

Practical implications

– In the application part the authors can see the proposed framework can be applied to PVC window systems. Owing to that traditional QFD method has been widely used in many fields such as manufacturing industry and service industry, actually the proposed framework has great potential application in the real word.

Originality/value

– This paper succeeds in proposing a new framework by integrating GRA and ANP to determine the importance degrees of PTRs in QFD.
Organizational structure, employee problem solving, and lean implementation
Authors: Worley June M. , Doolen Toni L.
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between organizational structure and lean implementation success and to explore the impact of a lean implementation on the development of employee problem-solving skills. Organizations that implement lean manufacturing strategies experience widely differing results, with unexpected outcomes for some organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study was conducted using qualitative research methodologies. Specifically, a case study was performed at an electronics manufacturer in the northwestern USA over a three-month time period. The researchers collected data from a variety of sources at the manufacturing site.

Findings

– Two significant findings emerged. First, the lack of dedicated personnel for the lean implementation inhibited the widespread adoption of lean practices. Second, evidence supported the role of the lean implementation in positively affecting employee problem-solving skills.

Research limitations/implications

– This paper is relevant to most manufacturing organizations; however, lean implementations are likely as unique as the organizations themselves. Given that the study used a single-site case study, utilizing qualitative methods, additional research is needed to confirm the findings for a larger range of manufacturing organizations. The results do indicate, however, that an organization with fewer resources to dedicate to the lean effort may find the transformation process slow and may experience fewer performance benefits. Likewise, further empirical study would help strengthen the findings regarding the relationship between the lean implementation and noticeable improvement in employee problem-solving skills.

Originality/value

– The literature stream for lean manufacturing provides examples of how lean implementations have not only noticeably affected tangible metrics related to profits and expenses but have also helped positively influence factors such as employee safety, morale and empowerment. For some organizations, considering the effect of these intangible factors before committing to a new manufacturing approach may prove useful. This study focused on exploring, in a much deeper way, through qualitative methods, how organizational structure can impact a lean implementation and how it ultimately acts as a catalyst for the increased development of employee problem-solving skills.
Extending the mentor role in initial teacher education: embracing social justice
Authors: Duckworth Vicky , Maxwell Bronwen
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore how mentors can act as change agents for social justice. It examines mentors’ roles in initial teacher education in the lifelong learning sector (LLS) and how critical spaces can be opened up to promote a flow of mentor, trainee teacher, learner and community empowerment.

Design/methodology/approach

– Two thematic literature reviews were undertaken: one of UK LLS ITE mentoring and the other an international review of social justice in relation to mentoring in ITE and the first year of teaching. Bourdieu’s concepts of capital, field and habitus (Bourdieu, 1986) are used as sensitising tools to explore LLS mentors’ practices and the possibilities for increasing the flow of “pedagogical capital” between mentors, trainee teachers, learners and communities, in such a way that would enable mentors to become agents for social justice.

Findings

– LLS mentors and trainee teachers are uncertain about their roles. In the UK and several countries, mentoring is dominated by an instrumental assessment-focused approach, whereby social justice is marginalised. In contrast, what we call social justice mentors establish collaborative democratic mentoring relationships, create spaces for critical reflection, support trainees to experience different cultures, develop inclusive critical pedagogies, and generally act as advocates and foster passion for social justice.

Research limitations/implications

– While the literature reviews provide timely and important insights into UK and international approaches, the existing literature bases are limited in scale and scope.

Practical implications

– A model for mentoring that promotes social justice and recommendations for mentor training are proposed.

Originality/value

– The paper addresses the omission in policy, research and practice of the potential for mentors to promote social justice. The proposed model and training approach can be adopted across all education phases.
Supply chain management as the key to a firm’s strategy in the global marketplace
Authors: Gonzalez-Loureiro Miguel , Dabic Marina , Kiessling Timothy
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyze the intersection of two literature streams: that of strategy and supply chain management (SCM). This review should create a better understanding of “strategic SCM” by focussing on relevant theories in the strategic management field and their intersection with SCM to develop a joint research agenda.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors conducted a correspondence analysis on the content of 3,402 articles from the top SCM journals. This analysis provides a map of the intellectual structure of content in this field to date. The key trends and changes were identified in strategic SCM research from 1990-2014 as well as the intersection with the key schools of strategic management.

Findings

– The results suggest that SCM is key to a successful deployment of strategy for competing in the global marketplace. The main theoretical foundations for research in this field were identified and discussed. Gaps were detected and combinations of theoretical foundations of strategic management and SCM suggest four poles for future research: agents and focal firm; distributions and logistics strategic models; SCM competitive requirements; SCM relational governance.

Research limitations/implications

– Scholars in both the strategy and the SCM fields continue to search for competitive advantages. Much recent research indicates that strategic SCM can be a critical source for that advantage. One of the limitations of the research is that the analysis does not include every journal that published an article mentioning SCM. However, the 34 journals selected are reputed to be the most influential on SCM and focussed primarily on SCM.

Practical implications

– The map of the intellectual structure of research to strategic SCM highlights the need to combine different theoretical approaches to the complex phenomenon of SCM. Practitioners should consider the supply chain as an informal organization and should devote time and resources to build a shared advantage across the supply chain. They should also consider the inherent benefits and risks that sharing.

Originality/value

– The paper demonstrates that strategic SCM needs a balanced and rigorous combination of theoretical approaches to deliver more theory-driven evidences. The research combines both a qualitative analysis and a quantitative methodology that summarizes gaps and then outlines future research from a large sample of articles. This methodology is an original contribution to this field and offers some assistance for enlarging the sample of future literature reviews.
Design of global production and distribution networks
Authors: Olhager Jan , Pashaei Sebastian , Sternberg Henrik
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to systematically and critically review the extant literature on the design of global production and distribution networks to identify gaps in the literature and identify future research opportunities. The design aspects deal with strategic and structural decisions such as: opening or closing of manufacturing plants or distribution centres, selection of locations for manufacturing or warehousing, and making substantial capacity changes in manufacturing or distribution.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors examine the peer-reviewed literature on global production and distribution networks written in English. The search strategy is based on selected keywords and databases. The authors identify 109 articles from 1974 to 2012.

Findings

– The authors categorize the literature according to research methodology: case studies, conceptual modelling, surveys, and mathematical modelling. The amount of literature up to 2,000 is rather sparse, while there is a positive trend from 2,000 and onwards. The content analysis shows that different research methodologies focus on different but complementary aspects. The authors propose a research agenda for further research on design of global production and distribution networks.

Research limitations/implications

– The authors identify research opportunities related to complementary actor perspectives, extended supply chains that explicitly include transportation and suppliers, contingency factors, and new perspectives such as facility roles within production and distribution networks.

Originality/value

– This paper is to the author’s knowledge the first broad review that investigates the design aspects of the interrelationships between production and distribution facilities as well as transportation in global production and distribution networks across multiple research methodologies.
Strategic responses to power dominance in buyer-supplier relationships
Authors: Habib Farooq , Bastl Marko , Pilbeam Colin
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify the strategic options available to a weaker actor to counteract the dominance of a stronger actor in a buyer-supplier relationship, and identifies those factors that influence the choice of individual options.

Design/methodology/approach

– Following a systematic literature review methodology, a five-phase approach of planning, searching, screening, extraction and synthesis was rigorously employed. In total, 48 studies were used to draw conclusions about the phenomena of interest.

Findings

– Captured in an integrated conceptual framework, this study identified five strategic options available to the weaker actor in order to counteract a power dominance of a stronger player, which were underpinned by seven influencing factors.

Research limitations/implications

– The proposed conceptual framework requires first qualitative empirical validation using an abductive multi-case strategy, followed by a theory testing phase, employing a configurational approach.

Practical implications

– The proposed framework suggested that the weaker actor in a buyer-supplier relationship has five options to address power dominance. These options were available within as well as beyond a focal dyadic relationship. For the stronger actor, the authors showed that power dominance is a temporary state rather than permanent.

Originality/value

– This study marks one of the first attempts to present a coherent set of strategic options and underpinning factors to counteract power dominance in a buyer-supplier relationship from the perspective of a weaker actor. Given the underexplored nature of the topic, the study also provides guidelines for further research.
Stakeholder pressure in sustainable supply chain management
Authors: Meixell Mary J , Luoma Patrice
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to summarize and analyze what is known regarding the ways in which stakeholder pressure may influence supply chain sustainability. The authors extend this understanding to develop a number of research questions and propositions for future investigation on this topic.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors used a systematic review process to study the empirical evidence pertaining to how a stakeholder perspective helps to understand sustainability in the supply chain management domain.

Findings

– The review has three main findings: stakeholder pressure on sustainability in supply chain management may result in sustainability awareness, adoption of sustainability goals, and/or implementation of sustainability practices; different types of stakeholders have dissimilar influence in the sustainable supply chain decision areas; different stakeholders appears to be more or less influential depending on whether the sustainability issue is environmental or social.

Originality/value

– This synthesis contributes to the literature by developing insight into the processes by which stakeholder pressure influences SSCM decisions.
Studying the influence of entrepreneurial attributes, subjective norms and perceived desirability on entrepreneurial intentions
Authors: Yousaf Usman , Shamim Amjad , Siddiqui Hafsa , Raina Maham
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of entrepreneurial attributes, subjective norms and perceived desirability on entrepreneurial intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

– The data were collected from the business students of the Quaid-i-Azam School of Management Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. In total, 200 questionnaires were circulated among students of which, 185 were returned, representing 92.5 per cent response rate. After discarding incomplete and biased questionnaires, 170 were left for further analysis. The SPSS 20.0 was used to perform statistical analysis.

Findings

– The research finds that students’ entrepreneurial attitude, perceived desirability and subjective norms significantly lead to the development of students’ intentions to become entrepreneurs. Interestingly, the student’s existing skills and capabilities do not prove to be a significant predictor of their intentions to become entrepreneurs. The study concludes that the students can become successful entrepreneurs even without existing entrepreneurial skills and capabilities, provided that they have the entrepreneurial attitude, desirability and support by the community.

Research limitations/implications

– Limited sample size is one of the main limitations which confines its generalizability. Nonetheless, this research can create a ripple effect to further explore the factors on a large-scale sample in different cities, universities and countries.

Originality/value

– In the existing economic crises in the country, developing entrepreneurs is one of the important ways to boost-up financial growth. Students are one of the best potential segments, in this regard, to be developed as potential future entrepreneurs. Research on student’s intentions to become entrepreneurs in Pakistan is limited. This research had added value in both theory and practice by identifying the factors that can develop students’ intentions to become entrepreneurs.
Strategic human capital management for a new University: a case study of Suan Dusit Rajabhat University
Authors: Thienphut Danai , Jiamprachanarakorn Suriya , sirasirirusth jirusth , Boonloisong Rachen
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to study the key success factors (KSFs) that determine the direction and context of a new university, Suan Dusit Rajabhat University (SDU), to formulate strategic human capital management (SHCM) for the university, and also to recommend a proposal for the human resources (HR) structure and systems that supports SHCM for a new university.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study used mixed methods. There were four steps, including documentary research to develop a draft of SHCM prototype, in-depth interview and knowledge-sharing technique with 17 key informants to develop the underlying final SHCM prototype, collecting the quantitative data from a questionnaire to develop a prototype of SHCM, and validation and confirmation of the suitability and feasibility of SHCM for a new university by using a focus group and knowledge-sharing technique with 14 HR experts and re-confirm for practical implementation with SDU’s executive team.

Findings

– The four KSFs were university positioning, talent capability, harmonization, and transformation. The SHCM formulation was categorized into two sections: components including strategy on thinking and planning, implementation and measurement; and procedures including HR policy committee, strategic and operational HR management. The HR proposal for implementation was emerging.

Originality/value

– The tacit knowledge in SHCM, including human capital-centric driving for KSFs and innovative HR in university transformation comprising of the strategic and operational levels, was revealed.
Fostering knowledge sharing behaviour among public sector managers: a proposed model for the Malaysian public service
Authors: Tangaraja Gangeswari , Mohd Rasdi Roziah , Ismail Maimunah , Abu Samah Bahaman
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to propose a conceptual model of knowledge sharing behaviour among Malaysian public sector managers.

Design/methodology/approach

– An extensive literature review method was used to identify and analyse relevant literature in order to propose a knowledge sharing model.

Findings

– The authors identified three potential predictor groups of knowledge sharing behaviour among Malaysian public sector managers. The groups are intrinsic motivational factors, extrinsic motivational factors and organisational socialisation factors. The paper proposes organisational commitment as the mediating variable between the identified predictors and knowledge sharing behaviour (knowledge donating and knowledge collecting).

Research limitations/implications

– The paper offers a number of propositions, which leads to a knowledge sharing model. Future research should validate and examine the predictive power of the proposed model.

Practical implications

– Upon model validation, the paper could offer practical interventions for human resource development (HRD) practitioners to assist organisations towards fostering knowledge sharing behaviour. The paper highlights the importance of employee’s organisational commitment in order to engage in organizational-related behaviours such as knowledge sharing.

Originality/value

– The paper used a new approach in theorising knowledge sharing behaviour by integrating the General Workplace Commitment Model, Self-Determination Theory and Social Capital Theory. The suggestion of public service motivation as one of the intrinsic motivational factors could provide new insights to the HRD practitioners on fostering knowledge sharing behaviour in the public service subject to model validation.
An optimization method of technological processes to complex products using knowledge-based genetic algorithm
Authors: Yao Yuchun , Wang Yan , Xing Lining , Xu Hao
Published: February 2015

Purpose

– This paper applies the knowledge-based genetic algorithm to solve the optimization problem in complex products technological processes.

Design/methodology/approach

– The knowledge-based genetic algorithm (KGA) is defined as a hybrid genetic algorithm (GA) which combined the GA model with the knowledge model. The GA model searches the feasible space of optimization problem based on the “neighborhood search” mechanism. The knowledge model discovers some knowledge from the previous optimization process, and applies the obtained knowledge to guide the subsequent optimization process.

Findings

– The experimental results suggest that the proposed KGA is feasible and available. The effective integration of GA model and knowledge model has greatly improved the optimization performance of KGA.

Originality/value

– The technological innovation of complex products is one of effective approaches to establish the core competitiveness in future. For this reason, the KGA is proposed to the technological processes optimization of complex products.