bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Muscle–spring dynamics in time-limited, elastic movements
Authors: Rosario M. V. , Sutton G. P. , Patek S. N. , Sawicki G. S.
Published: September 2016

Muscle contractions that load in-series springs with slow speed over a long duration do maximal work and store the most elastic energy. However, time constraints, such as those experienced during escape and predation behaviours, may prevent animals from achieving maximal force capacity from their muscles during spring-loading. Here, we ask whether animals that have limited time for elastic energy storage operate with springs that are tuned to submaximal force production. To answer this question, we used a dynamic model of a muscle–spring system undergoing a fixed-end contraction, with parameters from a time-limited spring-loader (bullfrog:Lithobates catesbeiana) and a non-time-limited spring-loader (grasshopper:Schistocerca gregaria). We found that when muscles have less time to contract, stored elastic energy is maximized with lower spring stiffness (quantified as spring constant). The spring stiffness measured in bullfrog tendons permitted less elastic energy storage than was predicted by a modelled, maximal muscle contraction. However, when muscle contractions were modelled using biologically relevant loading times for bullfrog jumps (50 ms), tendon stiffness actually maximized elastic energy storage. In contrast, grasshoppers, which are not time limited, exhibited spring stiffness that maximized elastic energy storage when modelled with a maximal muscle contraction. These findings demonstrate the significance of evolutionary variation in tendon and apodeme properties to realistic jumping contexts as well as the importance of considering the effect of muscle dynamics and behavioural constraints on energy storage in muscle–spring systems.
Matrilineal inheritance of a key mediator of prenatal maternal effects
Authors: Tschirren Barbara , Ziegler Ann-Kathrin , Pick Joel L. , Okuliarová Monika , Zeman Michal , Giraudeau Mathieu
Published: September 2016

Sex-linkage is predicted to evolve in response to sex-specific or sexually antagonistic selection. In line with this prediction, most sex-linked genes are associated with reproduction in the respective sex. In addition to traits directly involved in fertility and fecundity, mediators of maternal effects may be predisposed to evolve sex-linkage, because they indirectly affect female fitness through their effect on offspring phenotype. Here, we test for sex-linked inheritance of a key mediator of prenatal maternal effects in oviparous species, the transfer of maternally derived testosterone to the eggs. Consistent with maternal inheritance, we found that in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) granddaughters resemble their maternal (but not their paternal) grandmother in yolk testosterone deposition. This pattern of resemblance was not due to non-genetic priming effects of testosterone exposure during prenatal development, as an experimental manipulation of yolk testosterone levels did not affect the females' testosterone transfer to their own eggs later in life. Instead, W chromosome and/or mitochondrial variation may underlie the observed matrilineal inheritance pattern. Ultimately, the inheritance of mediators of maternal effects along the maternal line will allow for a fast and direct response to female-specific selection, thereby affecting the dynamics of evolutionary processes mediated by maternal effects.
Monomorphic genotypes within a generalist lineage of Campylobacter jejuni show signs of global dispersion
Authors: Llarena Ann-Katrin , Zhang Ji , Vehkala Minna , Välimäki Niko , Hakkinen Marjaana , Hänninen Marja-Liisa , Roasto Mati , Mäesaar Mihkel , Taboada Eduardo , Barker Dillon , Garofolo Giuliano , Cammà Cesare , Di Giannatale Elisabetta , Corander Jukka , Rossi Mirko
Published: September 2016

The decreased costs of genome sequencing have increased the capability to apply whole-genome sequencing to epidemiological surveillance of zoonotic Campylobacter jejuni. However, knowledge of the genetic diversity of this bacteria is vital for inferring relatedness between epidemiologically linked isolates and a necessary prerequisite for correct application of this methodology. To address this issue in C. jejuni we investigated the spatial and temporal signals in the genomes of a major clonal complex and generalist lineage, ST-45 CC, by analysing the population structure and genealogy as well as applying genome-wide association analysis of 340 isolates from across Europe collected over a wide time range. The occurrence and strength of the geographical signal varied between sublineages and followed the clonal frame when present, while no evidence of a temporal signal was found. Certain sublineages of ST-45 formed discrete and genetically isolated clades containing isolates with extremely similar genomes regardless of time and location of sampling. Based on a separate data set, these monomorphic genotypes represent successful C. jejuni clones, possibly spread around the globe by rapid animal (migrating birds), food or human movement. In addition, we observed an incongruence between the genealogy of the strains and multilocus sequence typing (MLST), challenging the existing clonal complex definition and the use of whole-genome gene-by-gene hierarchical nomenclature schemes for C. jejuni.
Evidence that lower socioeconomic position accentuates genetic susceptibility to obesity
Authors: Tyrrell Jessica , Wood Andrew R , Ames Ryan M , Yaghootkar Hanieh , Beaumont Robin N. , Jones Samuel E. , Tuke Marcus A , Ruth Katherine S. , Freathy Rachel M , Smith George Davey , Joost Stéphane , Guessous Idris , Murray Anna , Strachan David P. , Kutalik Zoltán , Weedon Michael N , Frayling Timothy M
Published: September 2016

Susceptibility to obesity in today’s environment has a strong genetic component. Lower socioeconomic position (SEP) is associated with a higher risk of obesity but it is not known if it accentuates genetic susceptibility to obesity. We aimed to use up to 120,000 individuals from the UK Biobank study to test the hypothesis that measures of socioeconomic position accentuate genetic susceptibility to obesity. We used the Townsend deprivation index (TDI) as the main measure of socioeconomic position, and a 69-variant genetic risk score (GRS) as a measure of genetic susceptibility to obesity. We also tested the hypothesis that interactions between BMI genetics and socioeconomic position would result in evidence of interaction with individual measures of the obesogenic environment and behaviours that correlate strongly with socioeconomic position, even if they have no obesogenic role. These measures included self-reported TV watching, diet and physical activity, and an objective measure of activity derived from accelerometers. We performed several negative control tests, including a simulated environment correlated with BMI but not TDI, and sun protection use. We found evidence of gene-environment interactions with TDI (Pinteraction=3×10−10) such that, within the group of 50% living in the most relatively deprived situations, carrying 10 additional BMI-raising alleles was associated with approximately 3.8 kg extra weight in someone 1.73m tall. In contrast, within the group of 50% living in the least deprivation, carrying 10 additional BMI-raising alleles was associated with approximately 2.9 kg extra weight. We also observed evidence of interaction between sun protection use and BMI genetics, suggesting that residual confounding may result in evidence of non-causal interactions. Our findings provide evidence that relative social deprivation best captures aspects of the obesogenic environment that accentuate the genetic predisposition to obesity in the UK.
Optokinetic nystagmus reflects perceptual directions in the onset binocular rivalry in Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Fujiwara Mana , Ding Catherine , Kaunitz Lisandro , Stout Julie C , Thyagarajan Dominic , Tsuchiya Naotsugu
Published: September 2016

Optokinetic nystagmus (OKN), the reflexive eye movements evoked by a moving field, has recently gained interest among researchers as a useful tool to assess conscious perception. When conscious perception and stimulus are dissociated, such as in binocular rivalry —when dissimilar images are simultaneously presented to each eye and perception alternates between the two images over time — OKN correlates with perception rather than with the physical direction of the moving field. While this relationship is well established in healthy subjects it is yet unclear whether it also generalizes to clinical populations, for example, patients with Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease is a motor disorder, causing tremor, slow movements and rigidity. It may also be associated with oculomotor deficits, such as impaired saccades and smooth pursuit eye movements. Here, we employed short-duration, onset binocular rivalry (2 s trial of stimulus presentation followed by 1 s inter-trial interval) with moving grating stimuli to assess OKN in Parkinson’s disease patients (N=39) and controls (N=29) of a similar age. Each trial was either non-rivalrous (same stimuli presented to both eyes) or rivalrous, as in binocular rivalry. We analyzed OKN to discriminate direction of stimulus and perception on a trial-by-trial basis. OKN reflected conscious perceptions in both groups. Treatment with anti-Parkinson drugs and deep brain stimulation improved motor ability of patients assessed by a standard scale of Parkinson’s disease, but did not impact on OKN. Furthermore, OKN-based measures were robust and their latencies were shorter than manual button-based measures in all subjects, regardless of stimulus condition. Our findings suggest that OKN can be used as an indicator of conscious perception in binocular rivalry even in Parkinson’s disease patients in whom impaired manual dexterity may render button-press reports less reliable.
Cotranslational assembly imposes evolutionary constraints on homomeric proteins
Authors: Natan Eviatar , Endoh Tamaki , Haim-Vilmovsky Liora , Chalancon Guilhem , Flock Tilman , Hopper Jonathan TS. , Kintses Bálint , Daruka Lejla , Fekete Gergely , Pál Csaba , Papp Balázs , Horvath Peter , Marsh Joseph A. , Elcock Adrian H. , Babu M Madan , Robinson Carol V. , Sugimoto Naoki , Teichmann Sarah A.
Published: September 2016

There is increasing evidence that some proteins fold during translation,i.e.cotranslationally, which implies that partial protein function, including interactions with other molecules, could potentially be unleashed early on during translation. Although little is known about cotranslational assembly mechanisms, for homomeric protein complexes, translation by the ribosome, folding and assembly, should be well-coordinated to avoid misassembly in the context of polysomes. We analysed 3D structures of homomers and identified a statistically significant trend conserved across evolution that supports this hypothesis: namely that homomeric contacts tend to be localized towards the C-terminus rather than N-terminus of homomeric polypeptide chains. To probe this in more detail, we expressed a GFP-based library of 611 homomericE. coligenes, and analyzing their folding and assemblyin vivo. Consistent with our hypothesis, interface residues tend to be located near the N-terminus in cotranslationally aggregating homomers. In order to dissect the mechanisms of folding and assembly under controlled conditions, we engineered a protein library with three variable components: (i) the position and type homomerization domain, (ii) the reporter domain and (iii) the linker length that connects the two. By analyzing the misassembly rates of these engineered constructsin vivo,in vitroandin silico, we confirmed our hypothesis that C-terminal homomerization is favorable to N-terminal homomerization. More generally, these results provide a set of spatiotemporal constraints within polypeptide chains that favor efficient assembly, with implications for protein evolution and design.
Architecture and Co-Evolution of Allosteric Materials
Authors: Yan Le , Ravasio Riccardo , Brito Carolina , Wyart Matthieu
Published: September 2016

We introduce a numerical scheme to evolve functional materials that can accomplish a specified mechanical task. In this scheme, the number of solutions, their spatial architectures and the correlations among them can be computed. As an example, we consider an “allosteric” task, which requires the material to respond specifically to a stimulus at a distant active site. We find that functioning materials evolve a less-constrained trumpet-shaped region connecting the stimulus and active sites, and that the amplitude of the elastic response varies non-monotonically along the trumpet. As previously shown for some proteins, we find that correlations appearing during evolution alone are sufficient to identify key aspects of this design. Finally, we show that the success of this architecture stems from the emergence of soft edge modes recently found to appear near the surface of marginally connected materials. Overall, our in silico evolution experiment offers a new window to study the relationship between structure, function and correlations emerging during evolution.
Hand2 Inhibits Kidney Specification While Promoting Vein Formation Within the Posterior Mesoderm
Authors: Perens Elliot A. , Garavito-Aguilar Zayra V. , Guio-Vega Gina P. , Peña Karen T. , Schindler Yocheved L. , Yelon Deborah
Published: September 2016

Proper organogenesis depends upon defining the precise dimensions of organ progenitor territories. Kidney progenitors originate within the intermediate mesoderm (IM), but the pathways that set the boundaries of the IM are poorly understood. Here, we show that the bHLH transcription factor Hand2 limits the size of the embryonic kidneyby restricting IM dimensions. The IM is expanded in zebrafishhand2mutants and is diminished whenhand2is overexpressed. Within the posterior mesoderm,hand2is expressed laterally adjacent to the IM. Venous progenitors arise between these two territories, andhand2promotes venous development while inhibiting IM formation at this interface. Furthermore,hand2and the co-expressed zinc-finger transcription factorosr1have functionally antagonistic influences on kidney development. Together, our data suggest thathand2functions in opposition toosr1to balance the formation of kidney and vein progenitors by regulating cell fate decisions at the lateral boundary of the IM.

IMPACT STATEMENT

The Hand2 transcription factor regulates the dimensions of the kidney by controlling cell fate decisions at the interface between organ fields.
Information seeking and use in the context of minimalist lifestyles
Authors: Pollak Angela
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe information seeking and use (ISU) within the context of minimalist lifestyles and connect characteristics of living with less to theories of information poverty and resilience.

Design/methodology/approach

Naturalistic methods of inquiry describe minimalist lifestyles in a remote, rural context through semi-structured interviews with 24 adults. Environmental scanning and visual methods extended data collection retrospectively and longitudinally to span almost 118 years of community history. Qualitative thematic coding and analysis proceeded inductively and reflexively.

Findings

Living minimally in this environment results in adaptive strategies that compensate for lack of resources in general, and information resources specifically. Positive psycho-social attitudes such as optimism, creativity, curiosity, resourcefulness, and self-sufficiency continue to be important factors in developing resilience in information seeking practices.

Research limitations/implications

Information poverty is usually defined relatively, and often in relation to formal, macro-level environments. Focussing attention on informal, local level ISU reveals alternate varieties of knowledge, ways of knowing and characteristics that create information resilience in the face of sometimes profound deficits.

Practical implications

Highlights of positive aspects to ISU in this remote, rural context will be of interest to researchers and practitioners serving rural library systems.

Originality/value

This study provides an historical and contemporary glimpse into the ISU patterns of a previously unexamined population and context, those who live minimalist lifestyles in a remote and rural location.
Illusions of a “Bond”: tagging cultural products across online platforms
Authors: Desrochers Nadine , Laplante Audrey , Martin Kim , Quan-Haase Anabel , Spiteri Louise
Published: September 2016

Purpose

Most studies pertaining to social tagging focus on one platform or platform type, thus limiting the scope of their findings. The purpose of this paper is to explore social tagging practices across four platforms in relation to cultural products associated with the bookCasino Royale, by Ian Fleming.

Design/methodology/approach

A layered and nested case study approach was used to analyse data from four online platforms: Goodreads, Last.fm, WordPress, and public library social discovery platforms. The top-level case study focuses on the bookCasino Royale, by Ian Fleming and its derivative products. The analysis of tagging practices in each of the four online platforms is nested within the top-level case study.Casino Royalewas conceptualized as a cultural product (the book), its derived products (e.g. movies, theme songs), as well as a keyword in blogs. A qualitative, inductive, and context-specific approach was chosen to identify commonalities in tagging practices across platforms whilst taking into account the uniqueness of each platform.

Findings

The four platforms comprise different communities of users, each platform with its own cultural norms and tagging practices. Traditional access points in the library catalogues focused on the subject, location, and fictitious characters of the book. User-generated content across the four platforms emphasized historical events and periods related to the book, and highlighted more subjective access points, such as recommendations, tone, mood, reaction, and reading experience. Revealing shifts occur in the tags between the original book and its cultural derivatives: Goodreads and library catalogues focus almost exclusively on the book, while Last.fm and WordPress make in addition cross-references to a wider range of different cultural products, including books, movies, and music. The analyses also yield apparent similarities in certain platforms, such as recurring terms, phrasing and composite or multifaceted tags, as well as a strong presence of genre-related terms for the book and music.

Originality/value

The layered and nested case study approach presents a more comprehensive theoretical viewpoint and methodological framework by which to explore the study of user-generated metadata pertaining to a range of related cultural products across a variety of online platforms.
Linking physicians’ medical practice information needs, resources and barriers to job satisfaction
Authors: Kostagiolas Petros , Gorezis Panagiotis , Martzoukou Konstantina , Deligeorgis Dimitrios , Niakas Dimitris
Published: September 2016

Purpose

Medical doctors seek information in order to satisfy their demanding everyday work practices and professional development endeavours. Information seeking is a continuous goal-related process that has impact on how they perceive and experience their job. The purpose of this paper is to explore the association of doctors’ awareness of medical practice information needs (MPIN), their frequency of using online information resources and the barriers they encountered during information seeking with their overall job satisfaction. More specifically, the research examined the mediating role of these information seeking related variables (information needs, online scholarly resources and information barriers) on doctors’ overall job satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employed a questionnaire survey of 138 medical doctors working within the context of a University Hospital in Greece. The survey took place between February and March 2014. To test the hypotheses the authors conducted regression analysis, hierarchical moderated analysis and bootstrapping using SPSS macro developed by Preacher and colleagues.

Findings

The statistical analysis found that higher awareness of MPIN had an indirect effect on doctors’ overall job satisfaction when they used online information scholar resources. In addition, this indirect effect was contingent on information-related barriers.

Originality/value

This study provides evidence for supporting the pivotal role of doctors’ information seeking preferences in fostering job satisfaction. This is an understudied research area that deserves a unique focus particularly with the constantly expanding medical information space that has impact on doctors’ medical practices and professional activities.
The role of agency in historians’ experiences of serendipity in physical and digital information environments
Authors: Martin Kim , Quan-Haase Anabel
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the changing research practices of historians, and to contrast their experiences of serendipity in physical and digital information environments.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 20 historians in Southwestern Ontario participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed employing grounded theory. The analytical approach included memoing, the constant comparative method, and three phases of coding.

Findings

Four main themes were identified: agency, the importance of the physical library experience, digital information environments, and novel heuristic forms of serendipity. The authors found that scholars frequently used active verbs to describe their experience with serendipity. This suggests that agency is more involved in the experience than previous conceptualizations of serendipity have suggested, and led us to coin the term “incidental serendipity.” Other key findings include the need for digital tools to incorporate the context surrounding primary sources, and also to provide an organizational context much like what is encountered by patrons in library stacks.

Originality/value

The increased emphasis on digital materials should not come at the expense of the physical information environment, where historians often encounter serendipitous finds. A fine balance and a greater integration between digital and physical resources is needed in order to support scholars’ continued ability to make connections between materials. By showing the active role that historians take in their serendipitous encounters, this paper suggests that historical training is critical for eliciting incidental serendipitous encounters. The authors propose a novel approach, one that examines verbs in serendipity accounts.
Australian motor sport enthusiasts’ leisure information behaviour
Authors: Joseph Pauline
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the leisure information behaviour of motor sport enthusiasts, examining: their information needs; their information seeking and sharing; what personal information they had; and their satisfaction with their information seeking and personal information management efforts.

Design/methodology/approach

This exploratory study examined participants’ information behaviour from a postpositivist and inductive research approach. An online survey was completed by 81 motor sport enthusiasts. The quantitative survey data were analysed using descriptive statistics, whilst the qualitative data were analysed using thematic coding.

Findings

The research findings highlighted that enthusiasts engaged in mixed serious leisure. They required information before, during and after race events, and sought this primarily from online sources, as well as from other individuals. Totally, 90 participants shared information about their interest in motor sport with family, friends and fellow enthusiasts, primarily via e-mails (69 per cent) and Facebook (49 per cent). They also gathered information about motor sport, including photographs and memorabilia. Participants were satisfied with their information management strategies for their personal collections.

Research limitations/implications

Participants were limited to motor sport enthusiasts in Australia, hence findings cannot be generalised more broadly.

Practical implications

Understandings of enthusiasts’ information behaviour provide information management professionals with insights to work with this user community.

Originality/value

This study fills a gap in the literature about leisure information behaviour of motor sport enthusiasts in Australia. It identifies and provides a typology of the 12 categories of information needed by enthusiasts. Provides a preliminary motor sport information behaviour model guided by the conceptual frameworks of the everyday life information seeking model; general models on information behaviour; and the information problem solving behaviour model.
Exchange rate fluctuations and macroeconomic performance
Authors: Yildirim Zekeriya , Ivrendi Mehmet
Published: September 2016

Purpose

Recent turbulence in global financial markets implies that emerging economies are likely to soon enter a new era with greater pressure for currency depreciation and capital outflows. This will likely bring challenges, including macroeconomic instability and inflationary pressures due to potential rapid depreciation. In this context, certain key questions about emerging economies have become focal points of discussion in political and academic spheres: what are the effects of exchange rate depreciation on economic activity? Does exchange rate depreciation create inflationary pressure? Finding answers to these questions is critical for policymakers and financial market participants. As such, the purpose of this paper is to shed light on these questions and thus provides guidance on mitigating the negative impacts of shocks in four fast-growing emerging economies.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use a vector autoregression model with sign restrictions to examine the dynamic effects of exchange rate movements on fundamental macroeconomic indicators for four fast-growing countries, namely, Brazil, Turkey, Russia, and South Africa. Following Berumentet al.(2012a), Ncube and Ndou (2013), Bjørnland and Halvorsen (2013), and Anet al.(2014), the authors adopt the sign restriction methodology to identify exchange rate shocks alongside other macroeconomic shocks (monetary policy and productivity shocks) leading to exchange rate fluctuations.

Findings

The results show that exchange rate depreciation typically generates a deep recession and high inflation while improving the trade balance in the four emerging economies. This indicates that depreciation has strong “stagflationary” effects, which are transmitted to the macroeconomy primarily via supply-side channels, especially through the cost of import. Furthermore, the authors find that monetary policy reacts immediately to a domestic currency depreciation in all four emerging countries.

Practical implications

The results imply that these countries’ monetary policies are not and cannot be neutral to exchange rate shocks. However, in these import-dependent countries, monetary tightening (i.e. rate hikes in response to an exchange rate shock) plays a limited role in mitigating the negative effects of depreciation on inflation and economic activity due to the presence of a dominant supply-side channel. In this framework, policymakers should pay greater attention to structural reforms that aim to reduce import dependency. These reforms may increase the effectiveness of domestic monetary policy in mitigating the negative effects of external shocks.

Originality/value

This paper provides a useful perspective for policymakers designing economic interventions to mitigate the adverse effects of exchange rate depreciation and to those who borrow or lend in domestic or international financial markets.
Cross-sectoral differences in the drivers of innovation
Authors: Doran Justin , Jordan Declan
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse differences in the drivers of firm innovation performance across sectors. The literature often makes the assumption that firms in different sectors differ in their propensity to innovate but not in the drivers of innovation. The authors empirically assess whether this assumption is accurate through a series of econometric estimations and tests.

Design/methodology/approach

The data used are derived from the Irish Community Innovation Survey 2004-2006. A series of multivariate probit models are estimated and the resulting coefficients are tested for parameter stability across sectors using likelihood ratio tests.

Findings

The results indicate that there is a strong degree of heterogeneity in the drivers of innovation across sectors. The determinants of process, organisational, new to firm and new to market innovation varies across sectors suggesting that the pooling of sectors in an innovation production function may lead to biased inferences.

Research limitations/implications

The implications of the results are that innovation policies targeted at stimulating innovation need to be tailored to particular industries. One size fits all policies would seem inappropriate given the large degree of heterogeneity observed across the drivers of innovation in different sectors.

Originality/value

The value of this paper is that it provides an empirical test as to whether it is suitable to group sectoral data when estimating innovation production functions. Most papers simply include sectoral dummies, implying that only the propensity to innovate differs across sectors and that the slope of the coefficient estimates are in fact consistent across sectors.
Workers’ health and social relations in Italy
Authors: Fiorillo Damiano
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether social relations are associated with the health of workers. It uses two types of health status measures – self-reported and more objective health – and it considers two types of social relationships: individual social relations, measured through the frequency of meetings with friends; and contextual social relations, the average frequency with which people meet friends at the community level.

Design/methodology/approach

A probit model is estimated from the worker sample accounting for the possibility of selecting individuals in the labour market (selection equation). Then expanded probit models (including inverse Mills ratio) are used on both self-reported and more objective health measures using new data from an income and living conditions survey carried out in 2006 by the Italian Statistics Office. Robustness checks are employed to deal with possible problems when interpreting the results.

Findings

The study finds that social relations are correlated with health status of workers with differences among health outcomes. Social relations at the individual level are positively correlated with self-perceived health (SPH), negatively associated with chronic condition (CC) but not related to limitations in daily activities. Contextual social relations are negatively linked with CC and limitations in daily activities but not correlated with SPH.

Research limitations/implications

Although the results are consistent with the argument that individual and contextual social relations influence workers’ health, the author cannot prove causality.

Social implications

Improving the health of workers could reduce health inequalities and could increase work performance. The implication at a macro-economic level of an improvement in the health conditions of workers is relevant in Italy, where the level of labour productivity is low compared to the other developed countries (OECD, 2013). Policy makers should consider the benefits, both at social and economic level, of public policies designed to improve the social and physical infrastructure of social relations.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to relate individual and contextual social relations simultaneously to workers’ health. Moreover, it makes several other contributions to this area: it control for unobserved worker heterogeneity; it uses both subjective self-reported health as well as a more objective measure of health based on CC and limitations in activities of daily living; it adopts a multilevel approach to examine in the same framework the individual and contextual relationship of social relations with individual health status of workers, in so doing, filling a gap in the literature on social capital and public health.
Intellectual capital in action: evidence from Italian local governments
Authors: Manes Rossi Francesca , Citro Francesca , Bisogno Marco
Published: September 2016

Purpose

Intellectual capital (IC) is attracting increasing attention from scholars and practitioners in the private sector, while research in the public sector is still in its embryonic stage, especially in regards to local governments. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap by channelling conceptual and empirical findings from the large body of IC literature.

Design/methodology/approach

The research investigates IC in action in the local government domain. A survey has been carried out involving both managers and politicians of all Italian local governments (ILGs) with more than 40,000 inhabitants. In order to define the constituents of each IC dimension perceived by ILGs, principal component analysis was used in investigating the results.

Findings

Results highlights how IC components are perceived in ILGs: human capital is a combination of aptitudes in pursuing target performances, sense of ownership and motivations; relational capital is a combination of values, relationships and acts; structural capital includes procedures and routines supporting the decision-making process, the ability of achieving objectives and handling changes.

Research limitations/implications

While the research findings are limited due to being based on a survey in a single country, they present opportunities for future research regarding further testing of how IC is perceived in LGs in different context. The conclusion could be beneficial also for standard setters, providing a path to support the IC disclosure by LGs.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to a narrow strand of research – IC in LGs – adding new knowledge in “IC in action” research stream.
The transformation of the organization’s intellectual capital: from resource to capital
Authors: Lentjušenkova Oksana , Lapina Inga
Published: September 2016

Purpose

Over the last three decades, the role of intellectual capital (IC) in ensuring an organization’s competitiveness has increased significantly. The purpose of this paper is to analyse and evaluate the evolution of the concept of (IC) by showing its transformation from resource to capital, while offering a new perspective on the structure of (IC).

Design/methodology/approach

The formation and development of (IC) is studied on the basis of literature review, logical and comparative analysis. The new structural components of (IC) are defined upon studying the relationships of the relevant concepts and the content of the concept at organizational level today.

Findings

In the scientific literature, (IC) is mainly viewed as a resource or set of resources an organization uses for creation of competitive advantage and value. Using the information gathered about different views on (IC), this study shows the development of the sources of the organization’s competitiveness: from resource to (IC).

Research limitations/implications

This study offers the authors’ view on the nature of the concept of (IC) showing (IC) as a business asset. The analysis of the concept is focused at organizational level.

Originality/value

The study explains the differences between the interrelated concepts: knowledge, competence, performance and (IC). The authors offer an improved definition of (IC) by showing the evolution of its content and offer their own approach to the structure of (IC) that might facilitate tracking this asset in the organization’s accounts and promote effective management of the asset.
Linking peripheral vision with relational capital through knowledge structures
Authors: Cegarra-Navarro Juan-Gabriel , K.P. Wensley Anthony , Garcia-Perez Alexeis , Sotos-Villarejo Antonio
Published: September 2016

Purpose

Peripheral vision (PV) or side vision refers to that which is visible to the eye while being outside of its central area of focus. PV enables organisms to detect movement and potential threats in their environment. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the concept of PV in the business environment, as well as its relationship with knowledge structures in the form of technology knowledge and absorptive capacity. The relative importance and significance of technology knowledge and absorptive capacity as mediators between “relational capital” (RC) and “PV” are also examined.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reports an empirical investigation involving 125 employees from the banking sector. Data collected was statistically analysed using PLS-graph software version 03.00. Results of the data analysis show relationships uncovered in the existing literature.

Findings

The creation of RC by employees from the banking sector relies to a large extent on managers’ ability to perceive, analyse and understand activity that is often outside the focus of their attention.

Practical implications

Managers who explicitly value their RC have a wider vision of their environment. In turn, a wider understanding of the activity in the environment drives the strengthening of the organisation and its RC.

Originality/value

PV can have a direct impact on the organisation’s appetite for the development of its technology knowledge base, thus contributing to enhance the firm’s absorptive capacity as well as the extent, quality and value of its RC.
Designing a model for measuring and analyzing the relational capital using factor analysis
Authors: Hosseini Maryam , Owlia Mohammad Saleh
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a model for measuring relational capital in banks by using measurement indicators defined in previous studies and according to the conditions of the banking industry and in particular the Ansar bank in Iran.

Design/methodology/approach

The study identifies measurement indicators of relational capital from the related resources and articles and uses content analysis and factor analysis methods. It also measures the selected indicators through a questionnaire analyzing them using the SPSS software to create a model to measure relational capital in the bank.

Findings

By using the measurement model created in this research, relational capital in Ansar bank is determined to be comprised of eight principal components. The total score of these components is the starting point of promoting the relational capital in the banking industry.

Research limitations/implications

This study may not have thoroughly covered the peer- reviewed articles on intellectual capital, but it can be assumed with high confidence that it has made a serious attempt at studying the most important papers on the subject as of date. Moreover, the model presented in this study is valid only when applied in comparing banks. It should further be noted that time limitation, non-availability of relevant experts as well as the required data may have affected the accuracy and reliability of the results. However, the final model has been utilized to try to optimally minimize each limitation according to the existing resources, and through their proper management.

Practical implications

This study provides a new approach that can significantly help bank managers in comparing their banks in the field of relational capital and reacting to their weaknesses and performance advantages of relational capital over its rivals.

Originality/value

In addition to creating a new framework for relational capital indicators, this study offers a model for measuring relational capital in the banks.
The influence of smartphones on academic performance
Authors: Yi Yong Jeong , You Soeun , Bae Beom Jun
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that influence college students’ smartphone use for academic purposes by identifying the task-technology fit (TTF) of smartphones. A research model is proposed to explain how TTF of smartphones affects college students’ perceived academic performance and smartphone use.

Design/methodology/approach

Online surveys were administered to college students at a South Korean university that has offered online academic services for more than five years, and 1,923 valid responses were analyzed. The study used partial least squares path modeling to evaluate the measurement model, and the bootstrapping technique to test the significance of the hypotheses.

Findings

The findings highlight that the TTF of smartphones has a direct influence on students’ perceptions of performance impact and an indirect influence on smartphone use through a precursor of utilization, such as attitude toward smartphone use, social norms and facilitating conditions.

Research limitations/implications

Despite a reasonably large sample, a single cross-sectional survey has a likelihood of selection bias in the sample.

Practical implications

This study applies the TTF model to smartphone use among college students and suggests an effective way to motivate them to use mobile technologies for their academic activities.

Originality/value

The present study develops an empirical model to assess the adoption of smartphones and its effect on college students’ academic performance. Above all, the study identifies a causal relationship among TTF, precursor of utilization, smartphone use and a perceived impact on academic performance based on the development and validation of the TTF constructs of smartphones.
How curiosity and uncertainty shape children’s information seeking behaviors
Authors: Wu Ko-Chiu , Chen Hung-Chun
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether children adopt a survey or a route approach when seeking information in a virtual world (VW), and whether their approach differs depending on whether they are experiencing positive or negative motivation. Different models were used based on disparate spatial recognition and conceptual abilities.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 127 children operated a three-dimensional VW interface then they filled out a questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze weighted relationships among latent variables. Motivation (positive vs negative), information-seeking model (heuristic survey or detailed route) and the spatial markers, and complexity of patterns of the VW were examined.

Findings

The authors discovered that a highly motivated child tends to take a central route in the process of information seeking, whereas a child experiencing negative emotions and uncertainty prefers a survey approach using spatial markers to obtain information. In short, the type of motivation influences whether children adopt a heuristic or detailed perspective when searching for information on virtual interfaces.

Originality/value

It is believed that users combine perceptual activities (low-level cognition) with conceptual activities (high-level cognition) in order to save energy. Yet this study is the first to investigate the conditions under which children are prone to utilize spatial markers (based on visual working memory) or the sequencing of patterns (based on verbal working memory) to find information in a heuristic or detailed fashion. This study provides a fresh perspective regarding perceptual and conceptual integration for information visualization technology.
Li-Fi technology in libraries: an introduction and overview
Authors: Yuvaraj Mayank
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The paper aims to introduce the emerging Li-Fi technology and provide an outlook of its current and potential application.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a literature review.

Findings

The merits and demerits of the technology are discussed.

Originality/value

The paper makes first observation toward the concept of Li-Fi technologies.
Getting acquainted with social networks and apps: WhatsApp-ening with mobile instant messaging?
Authors: Anderson Katie Elson
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The use of mobile messaging (MM) or mobile instant messaging has grown in the past few years at astonishing rates.

Design/methodology/approach

This growth has prompted data gatherers and trend forecasters to look at the use of MM apps in different ways than in the past.

Findings

In a 2015 survey, The Pew Research Center asked about the use of MM apps separately from cell phone texting for the first time (Duggan, 2015).

Originality/value

Digital marketing site eMarketer.com published their first ever worldwide forecast for MM in 2015. This forecast report shows 1.4 billion current users of MM apps or 5 per cent of smartphone users accessing an MM app at least once a month. This is a 31.6 per cent increase from the previous year. The forecast predicts that by 2018, there will be two billion users, representing 80 per cent of smartphone users (eMarketer.com, 2015).
Drivers of SMEs’ exporting activity: a review and a research agenda
Authors: Francioni Barbara , Pagano Alessandro , Castellani Davide
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic and updated assessment of studies on key exporting stimuli for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and to propose a research agenda on this topic.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors develop a review of empirical articles on SMEs’ exporting stimuli and outline future research directions based on key emerging drivers.

Findings

Research on SMEs’ exporting drivers focuses mainly on human resources’ competences, skills and subjective characteristics and on the role of relevant network actors (customers, intermediaries).

Originality/value

This paper provides an original contribution with regard to updating the framework on export drivers by Leonidou et al. (2007), highlighting an emerging research perspective based on internal/external network dimensions and proposing future research directions on internal individual and organisational actors and on new external network actors.