bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Strain relaxation in InGaN/GaN epilayers by formation of V-pit defects studied by SEM, XRD and numerical simulations
Authors: Stránská Matějová Jana , Horák Lukáš , Minárik Peter , Holý Václav , Grzanka Ewa , Domagała Jaroslaw , Leszczyński Michal
Published: December 2020

V-pit defects in InGaN/GaN were studied by numerical simulations of the strain field and X-ray diffraction (XRD) reciprocal space maps. The results were compared with XRD and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) experimental data collected from a series of samples grown by metal–organic vapor phase epitaxy. Analysis of the principal strains and their directions in the vicinity of V-pits explains the pseudomorphic position of the InGaN epilayer peak observed by X-ray diffraction reciprocal space mapping. The top part of the InGaN layer involving V-pits relieves the strain by elastic relaxation. Plastic relaxation by misfit dislocations is not observed. The creation of the V-pits appears to be a sufficient mechanism for strain relaxation in InGaN/GaN epilayers.
Facing the unknown: pandemic and higher education in Malaysia
Authors: Sia Joseph Kee-Ming , Abbas Adamu Adamu
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide commentary on the challenges and impacts of the pandemic crisis to higher education institutions (HEIs) in Malaysia. It also outlines mitigation plans, innovative strategies adopted and implications and recommendations to HEIs.

Design/methodology/approach

The research study uses a discourse analysis to examine the higher education challenges and impacts of the pandemic in Malaysia.

Findings

The findings reveal that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the higher education sector in Malaysia significantly. Both lecturers and students in HEIs are faced with multiple challenges in teaching and learning. The effect was more severe in East Malaysia due to poor Internet connectivity for online learning. Nevertheless, COVID-19 also provides an opportunity to HEIs to reconstruct the education system and establish updated programmes and assessments. The success of online learning to mitigate the impacts is still unknown.

Research limitations/implications

The review of the literature and news are not comprehensive as the current pandemic crisis is not over.

Originality/value

This paper is presumably representing a frontier review with more empirical research studies to be conducted to investigate the extent of the current crisis affecting teaching and learning in HEIs in Malaysia. Though there were some commentaries on how the pandemic affects education, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first commentary paper in higher education realm in Malaysia.
Can the adoption of health information on social media be predicted by information characteristics?
Authors: Wang Zhibing , Sun Zhumei
Published: December 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the relationship between the characteristics of social media health information and its adoption. The purpose is to identify information characteristics that can be used to estimate the level of health information adoption in advance.

Design/methodology/approach

According to the Information Adoption Model (IAM), the study extracted ten information characteristics from the aspects of information quality and information source credibility. The sample data was collected from the top ten influential health accounts based on the Impact List of Sina Weibo to test the effectiveness of these characteristics in distinguishing information at different levels of adoption. The forecasting of information adoption level is regarded as a binary classification question in the study and support vector machine (SVM) is used to do the research.

Findings

The results indicate that ten information characteristics chosen in this study are related to information adoption. Based on these information characteristics, it is feasible to estimate the level of health information adoption, and the estimation accuracy is relatively high.

Originality/value

A lot of work has been done in previous researches to reveal the factors that influence information adoption. The theoretical contribution of this work is to further discuss how to use the influencing factors to do some predictive work for information adoption. In practice, it will help health information publishers to disseminate high-quality health information more effectively as well as promote the adoption of health information.
Organizing so Black Lives Matter
Authors: Cole Courtney , Grace Audrey
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to respond to racial injustice and white supremacy, within the context of ongoing Black Lives Matter activism against police brutality through public protests.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the authors consider the work of organizing institutions of higher education so that Black Lives Matter.

Findings

The authors offer a number of practical insights and suggestions in order to deal with racial injustice and white supremacy and better support Black faculty, staff and students on college campuses.

Originality/value

In addressing issues of racial injustice and white supremacy on college campuses, the authors bring together our experiences and perspectives as diversity officer and faculty member, respectively.
Analysis of performance-based issues in green transportation management systems in smart cities
Authors: Chen Liang , Anandhan Prathik , S. Balamurugan
Published: December 2020

Purpose

In this paper, an intelligent information assisted communication transportation framework (II-CTF) has been introduced to reduce congestion, data reliability in transportation and the environmental effects.

Design/methodology/approach

The main concern of II-CTF is to mitigate public congestion using current transport services, which helps to improve data reliability under hazardous circumstances and to avoid accidents when the driver cannot respond reasonably. The program uses machine learning assistance to predict optimal routes based on movement patterns and categorization of vehicles, which helps to minimize congestion of traffic.

Findings

In II-CTF, scheduling traffic optimization helps to reduce the energy and many challenges faced by traffic managers in terms of optimization of the route, average waiting time and congestion of traffic, travel, and environmental impact due to heavy traffic collision.

Originality/value

The II-CTF definition is supposed to attempt to overcome some of the problems of the transportation environment that pose difficulties and make the carriage simpler, safer, more efficient and green for all.
Spotlight on UK artisan entrepreneurs' situated collaborations: through the lens of entrepreneurial capitals and their conversion
Authors: Hill Inge R.
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The article's purpose is to demonstrate how UK artisan entrepreneurs organise entrepreneurial activities within the context of a creative industry organisation. The research asks how artisan entrepreneurs draw on contexts to manage entrepreneurial activities. The article investigates how these entrepreneurs organise collaborative business solutions through the lens of entrepreneurial capitals and their conversion.

Design/methodology/approach

The research study employed a phenomenological approach to analyse the situated entrepreneurial activities of artisan entrepreneurs. Ethnographic methods assisted in capturing these activities.

Findings

The findings demonstrated the context-dependent collaborative business solutions by artisan entrepreneurs. Such solutions emerge from the interplay of the materiality of buildings, social relations management and personal resources. This materiality facilitates creative forms of social relations management for entrepreneurial activities between artisan entrepreneurs.

Practical implications

The discussed entrepreneurial collaborative solutions are beneficial for many entrepreneurs in fragmented working conditions.

Originality/value

The detailed discussion of how artisan entrepreneurs organise entrepreneurial activities individually and collaboratively sheds light on dynamic microprocesses in context. The lens of entrepreneurial capitals and their conversion for these microprocesses integrates the literature on capital conversions with context as the main contribution to theory. This lens allows to home in on social relations and material environment management adding more fine-grained insights into how these micro-exchange processes work. These insights contribute to the literature on artisan entrepreneurship in the creative industries and entrepreneurship and context.
Tensions and territoriality: the dark side of servitization
Authors: Wagstaff Scott , Burton Jamie , Zolkiewski Judith
Published: December 2020

Purpose

This paper focusses on the darker side of the dynamics of servitization by exploring the tensions and territoriality that emerge between manufacturers and customers during the servitization process in the oil industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The Delphi method is used to explore the perspectives of three management tiers in oil organisations and the manufacturers who work with them. The views of these managers were synthesized over three iterations: semi-structured interviews, a questionnaire and resolution/explanation, where consensus was not obtained.

Findings

The findings of the study highlight perceptions of change, resulting tensions and territoriality and the impact of management commitment, resources and strategy. They reveal significant differences between customers and their suppliers and different management levels and highlight territorial behaviour and the negative impact this has on buyer supplier relationships during the implementation of servitization.

Research limitations/implications

Further research is required to explore why there is a variation in understanding and commitment at different managerial levels and the causes of tensions and territoriality.

Practical implications

Servitization is not a “quick fix” and management support is essential. A fundamental element of this planning is to anticipate and plan for tensions and territoriality caused by the disruption servitization creates.

Originality/value

The research provides empirical evidence of tensions and territoriality relating to servitization that potentially can damage supplier–buyer relationships and suggest that there is a darker side to servitization. It also shows that differences in strategic intent across organizations and between different managerial layers impedes to servitization efforts.
Sex work and online platforms: what should regulation do?
Authors: Cowen Nick , Colosi Rachela
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The purpose is to assess the impact of online platforms on the sex industry, focusing specifically on direct sex work, and evaluate what approaches to platform regulation is likely to align with the interests of sex workers.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a review of interdisciplinary conceptual and empirical literature on sex work combined with analysis of key issues using a transaction cost framework.

Findings

Online platforms generally make sex work safer. Regulation aimed at preventing platforms from serving sex workers is likely to harm their welfare.

Research limitations/implications

Regulation of online platforms should take great care to differentiate coercive sex from consensual sex work, and allow sex workers to experiment with governance mechanisms provided by entrepreneurs.

Originality/value

The paper demonstrates how a transactions costs approach to market behaviour as applied to personal services like ridesharing can also shed light on the challenges that sex workers face, partly as a result of criminalisation, and the dangers of over-regulation.
Behavioural intention to adopt blockchain for a transparent and effective taxing system
Authors: Kabir Mohammad Rokibul
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to assess the tax stakeholders’ intention towards the adoption of blockchain technology (BT) for a transparent and effective taxing system in Bangladesh. It examines the factors influencing the behavioural intention of the users to adopt BT with a blended model built on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and self-determination theory (SDT). This research develops a prescriptive model to demonstrate how the stakeholders are interested in adopting BT for the taxing system.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were obtained through a structured questionnaire from the stakeholders of the taxing system, including tax policymakers, tax commissioners, tax officers, lawyers, tax consultants and the taxpayers. Statistical analyses were performed using partial least square-structural equation modelling.

Findings

Results reveal that out of the two primary TAM antecedents known as usefulness (PU) and ease of use (PEU), PU has a significant influence on the BT adoption intention. The only cognitive variable called autonomous motivation picked from SDT has a positive and significant impact on BT adoption for tax purpose as well. Finally, trust is found to be another important determinant for explaining stakeholders’ intention to adopt BT for an efficient taxing system where transparency can be ensured.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed model does not include any moderator though there might be a moderating effect in this regard. The variation described in the behavioural intention to adopt BT by the predictors is half of the total possible variations. Hence, the inclusion of variables such as social influence and controlled motivation could be interesting.

Practical implications

This study is expected to provide valuable insights into policymaking for tax administrations to enhance the tax collection net and maintain transparency and efficiency in the taxing system.

Social implications

This research has social consequences for a recently graduated developing economy such as Bangladesh, where transparency and efficiency are a matter of question. Because BT adoption can assure a convenient and favourable environment for the taxpayers upholding the principles of taxation, it can play a significant role by ensuring social justice and equity through a transparent and effective taxing system.

Originality/value

This research is among the first few studies to address the issue of implementing a modern technology such as BT for an efficient taxing system from a developing country perspective. Furthermore, it combined TAM and SDT to propose a hybrid model for explaining behavioural intention to adopt an emerging technology such as blockchain, which is a new phenomenon.
Implementing disruptive technological change in UK healthcare: exploring development of a smart phone app for remote patient monitoring as a boundary object using qualitative methods
Authors: Sharp Charlotte A. , Bresnen Mike , Austin Lynn , McCarthy Jillian , Dixon William G. , Sanders Caroline
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Developing technological innovations in healthcare is made complex and difficult due to effects upon the practices of professional, managerial and other stakeholders. Drawing upon the concept of boundary object, this paper explores the challenges of achieving effective collaboration in the development and use of a novel healthcare innovation in the English healthcare system.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study is presented of the development and implementation of a smart phone application (app) for use by rheumatoid arthritis patients. Over a two-year period (2015–2017), qualitative data from recorded clinical consultations (n = 17), semi-structured interviews (n = 63) and two focus groups (n = 13) were obtained from participants involved in the app's development and use (clinicians, patients, researchers, practitioners, IT specialists and managers).

Findings

The case focuses on the use of the app and its outputs as a system of inter-connected boundary objects. The analysis highlights the challenges overcome in the innovation's development and how knowledge sharing between patients and clinicians was enhanced, altering the nature of the clinical consultation. It also shows how conditions surrounding the innovation both enabled its development and inhibited its wider scale-up.

Originality/value

By recognizing that technological artefacts can simultaneously enable and inhibit collaboration, this paper highlights the need to overcome tensions between the transformative capability of such healthcare innovations and the inhibiting effects simultaneously created on change at a wider system level.
Exploring microfoundations of dynamic capabilities – challenges, barriers and enablers of organizational change
Authors: Bojesson Catarina , Fundin Anders
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to identify factors affecting an organization’s dynamic capability and, consequently, its ability to manage organizational change.

Design/methodology/approach

A single case study was conducted to provide a deeper understanding of the situation that the case company experienced during a specific phase of reconfiguration. Data were collected through nine in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the Gioia methodology.

Findings

Challenges, barriers and enablers affecting the organization's dynamic capability in the reconfiguration phase were identified.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the theory of dynamic capabilities and to the current investigatory stream regarding microfoundations by presenting practical examples of challenges, barriers and enablers that affect an organization’s ability to succeed during an organizational reconfiguration. These examples are intended to aid in discussions on microfoundations of dynamic capabilities and their impact in practice.
What is new after Liu: unsettled questions surrounding SEC disgorgement
Authors: Koch M. Alexander , Lawrence Carmen J. , Lipson Aaron , Ryan Russ , Walker Richard H. , Rapoport Jessica , Barry Katie
Published: December 2020

Purpose

To analyze the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Liu v. SEC, where the Court confronted the issue of whether the SEC can obtain disgorgement in federal district court proceedings.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper provides an overview of the authors’ prior work analyzing courts’ treatment of SEC disgorgement and a summary of the background and opinion in Liu v. SEC. This article then focuses on the practical implications of Liu on SEC disgorgement by considering questions left open by the decision.

Findings

The Court in Liu held that the SEC is authorized to seek disgorgement as “equitable relief” as long as it “does not exceed a wrongdoer’s net profits and is awarded for victims.” But the Court left many unanswered questions, such as whether disgorged funds must always be returned to investors for disgorgement to be a permissible equitable remedy, whether the SEC can obtain joint-and-several disgorgement liability from unrelated co-defendants, what “legitimate expenses” should be deducted in disgorgement calculations, and to what extent the SEC can seek disgorgement in cases when victims are difficult to identify.

Originality/value

Original, practical guidance from experienced lawyers in financial services regulatory and enforcement practices, many of whom have previously worked in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.
Beneish M-score and Altman Z-score as a catalyst for corporate fraud detection
Authors: Kukreja Gagan , Gupta Sanjay M. , Sarea Adel Mohammed , Kumaraswamy Sumathi
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The increasing incidence of fraudulent financial reporting by firms in recent years raises concerns about investors' confidence in capital markets. Academicians and industry practitioners adopt diverse risk management techniques to detect fraudulent reporting of financial statements. This paper aims to determine the effectiveness of the Beneish M-score and Altman Z-score models for the early detection of material misstatements at Comscore, Inc., a media analytics firm in the United States of America.

Design/methodology/approach

The financial statements of Comscore Inc. from 2012 to 2018 were analyzed with the primary objective of early fraud detection by employing the Beneish M-score and the Altman Z-score.

Findings

The study’s outcomes indicate that the Beneish M-score is less predictable in fraud detection compared to the Altman Z-score. The study results did not confirm the efficacy of the Beneish model in predicting fraudulent financial statements. The study concludes that the choice of forensic tool greatly influences fraud detection outcomes.

Practical Implication

The research findings can guide the policy decision-making of investors, financial auditors, and forensic auditors as this study provides some evidence of the effectiveness of forensic tools in the detection of financial statement fraud in corporate entities.

Originality/value

This is the first study to apply these two widely used tools to the most recent big corporate scandal: Comscore, Inc.
Using technology to support financial services regulatory compliance: current applications and future prospects of regtech
Authors: Freij Åke
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The conflict between the burden from regulations and the desire to introduce new offerings to the market is a concern for both researchers and business managers alike. Over the last 10 years significant increases in resources required to comply with regulations have been observed. The use of technology solutions to manage complex regulations (a.k.a. “Regtech”) is emerging as a potential solution to the compliance demand. This paper poses the question, “Which support do current Regtech solutions offer?”.

Design/methodology/approach

This study analyzed a global set of 550 providers to understand what support Regtech solutions provide.

Findings

The analysis shows how regulatory compliance work is supported as well as specific examples of firms providing support and which regulations are covered. Results highlight that the main focus in the current Regtech industry is on supporting internal and operations tasks rather than external and analytical activities.

Practical implications

Recommendations to business managers are to combine regulatory support with a clear strategic vision, carefully plan integration scenarios, and to look for the support of broader regulatory management rather than individual functions or specific regulations.

Social implications

If RegTech providers, financial services firms, regulators, and researchers look towards a future where the balance of proactive regulatory management and efficient compliance is achieved, there are substantial benefits for customers of the industry. The result will be increased transparency and quality in all industries.

Originality/value

The result from this study is one of the first specific illustrations of the nature of “RegTech,” which can serve as a basis for further research into aspects of technology and capabilities.
A bibliometric review on COVID-19 and accounting research
Authors: Sarea Adel
Published: December 2020

Purpose

This paper is to review COVID-19 and Accounting research published during the pandemic up to July 2020.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted bibliometric anlaysis and used the Scopus database to collect the data during the COVID-19 pandemic research published in the area of COVID-19 and accounting research.

Findings

This paper has acknowledged the most relevant and scientific contributors in terms documents, institutions, sources and countries.

Originality/value

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first study to review COVID-19 and Accounting research agenda during the pandemic.

Research limitations

This study used only articles published in journals indexed in Scopus database.
Conditions for workplace learning: a gender divide?
Authors: Sjöberg Forssberg Karin , Parding Karolina , Vänje Annika
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine and discuss conditions for workplace learning in gender-segregated workplaces in the public sector, how social constructions of gender contribute to (or constrain) the workplace learning conditions within two workplace contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was carried out through an interactive approach with data from 12 semi-structured interviews with workers and first-line managers from technical maintenance and home care in a Swedish municipality, validated at an analysis seminar with 27 participations, from both workplace contexts the Swedish Work Environment Authority and us researchers.

Findings

The results indicate that gender affects conditions for workplace learning and contributes to an enabling learning environment in the male-dominated workplace context and to a constraining learning environment in the female-dominated workplace context. The identified differences are created in both organisational structures and the organisations’ cultures.

Research limitations/implications

When analysing conditions for workplace learning from a gender perspective, the approach of comparative, cross-case analyses is useful. An interactive approach with women and men describing and analysing their work experiences together with researchers is a fruitful way of making gender visible.

Practical implications

The theoretical approach in this study illuminates how social constructions of gender operate and affect conditions for workplace learning and contributes to a deeper understanding of underlying causes to unequal conditions in different workplace contexts.

Social implications

The findings imply a gender divide which, from the theoretical strands, can be seen as an expression of asymmetrical power relations and where these gendered learning conditions probably also affect the quality of the services.

Originality/value

The findings contribute to existing gender theoretical literature by demonstrating that gender is essential to take into consideration when understanding working conditions in different workplace contexts. This study contributes to workplace learning literature by exploring the different ways in which social constructions of gender contribute to enabling and constraining learning environments.
Exploitation of groundwater in the oasis of Masāfī (UAE): A diachronic perspective
Authors: Charbonnier Julien , Crépy Maël , Régagnon Émmanuelle , Calastrenc Carine , Sagory Thomas , Benoist Anne , Purdue Louise
Published: December 2020

In order to understand the role of water resources in the establishment and long‐term evolution of settlements investigated by the French Archaeological Mission in the UAE in the oasis of Masāfī, wells and springs of all periods, identified at the surface and in stratified contexts, were mapped and studied thanks to a multidisciplinary approach combining archaeology, geomorphology, geoarchaeology and ethnography. Our study demonstrates that:

The Masāfī oasis was located in a specific geological setting entailing the accumulation of groundwater resources at reachable depth.

The groundwater resources remained rather stable from the mid‐second millennium BC to the second half of the twentieth century AD. In this respect, the apparent abandonment of the oasis during some periods cannot be explained by water depletion.

The groundwater resources have decreased sharply since the second half of the twentieth century AD, due to the introduction of new water extraction technologies, motor pumps and then drillings, as a result of the modernisation and industrialisation of UAE economy.

Our study also stresses the importance of well and spring irrigation in the development of the sedentary settlements in south‐eastern Arabia, technologies that have often been neglected in the regional archaeological literature in favour of theqanāt.
Machine Learning Versus Usual Care for Diagnostic and Prognostic Prediction in the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review
Authors: Kareemi Hashim , Vaillancourt Christian , Rosenberg Hans , Fournier Karine , Yadav Krishan
Published: December 2020

Objective

Having shown promise in other medical fields, we sought to determine whether machine learning (ML) models perform better than usual care in diagnostic and prognostic prediction for emergency department (ED) patients.

Methods

In this systematic review, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, Central, and CINAHL from inception to October 17, 2019. We included studies comparing diagnostic and prognostic prediction of ED patients by ML models to usual care methods (triage‐based scores, clinical prediction tools, clinician judgment) using predictor variables readily available to ED clinicians. We extracted commonly reported performance metrics of model discrimination and classification. We used the PROBAST tool for risk of bias assessment (PROSPERO registration: CRD42020158129).

Results

The search yielded 1,656 unique records, of which 23 studies involving 16,274,647 patients were included. In all seven diagnostic studies, ML models outperformed usual care in all performance metrics. In six studies assessing in‐hospital mortality, the best‐performing ML models had better discrimination (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUROC] =0.74–0.94) than any clinical decision tool (AUROC =0.68–0.81). In four studies assessing hospitalization, ML models had better discrimination (AUROC =0.80–0.83) than triage‐based scores (AUROC =0.68–0.82). Clinical heterogeneity precluded meta‐analysis. Most studies had high risk of bias due to lack of external validation, low event rates, and insufficient reporting of calibration.

Conclusions

Our review suggests that ML may have better prediction performance than usual care for ED patients with a variety of clinical presentations and outcomes. However, prediction model reporting guidelines should be followed to provide clinically applicable data. Interventional trials are needed to assess the impact of ML models on patient‐centered outcomes.
Associations of Alcohol Consumption With Epigenome‐Wide DNA Methylation and Epigenetic Age Acceleration: Individual‐Level and Co‐twin Comparison Analyses
Authors: Stephenson Mallory , Bollepalli Sailalitha , Cazaly Emma , Salvatore Jessica E. , Barr Peter , Rose Richard J. , Dick Danielle , Kaprio Jaakko , Ollikainen Miina
Published: December 2020

Background

DNA methylation may play a role in the progression from normative to problematic drinking and underlie adverse health outcomes associated with alcohol misuse. We examined the association between alcohol consumption and DNA methylation patterns using 3 approaches: a conventional epigenome‐wide association study (EWAS); a co‐twin comparison design, which controls for genetic and environmental influences that twins share; and a regression of age acceleration, defined as a discrepancy between chronological age and DNA methylation age, on alcohol consumption.

Methods

Participants came from the Finnish Twin Cohorts (FinnTwin12/FinnTwin16; N = 1,004; 55% female; average age = 23 years). Individuals reported the number of alcoholic beverages consumed in the past week, and epigenome‐wide DNA methylation was assessed in whole blood using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip.

Results

In the EWAS, alcohol consumption was significantly related to methylation at 24 CpG sites. When evaluating whether differences between twin siblings (185 monozygotic pairs) in alcohol consumption predicted differences in DNA methylation, co‐twin comparisons replicated 4 CpG sites from the EWAS and identified 23 additional sites. However, when we examined qualitative differences in drinking patterns between twins (heavy drinker vs. light drinker/abstainer or moderate drinker vs. abstainer; 44 pairs), methylation patterns did not significantly differ within twin pairs. Finally, individuals who reported higher alcohol consumption also exhibited greater age acceleration, though results were no longer significant after controlling for genetic and environmental influences shared by co‐twins.

Conclusions

Our analyses offer insight into the associations between epigenetic variation and levels of alcohol consumption in young adulthood.
A review of the trunk‐boring cycad weevils in Australia, with description of a second species ofDemyrsusPascoe, 1872 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)
Authors: Hsiao Yun , Oberprieler Rolf G.
Published: December 2020

The Australian trunk‐boring cycad weevils of the generaDemyrsusPascoe, 1872 andSiratonHustache, 1934 (Molytinae) are sometimes considered as cycad pests when they infest planted cycads and can be transported to other countries. In the present study, the taxonomy ofDemyrsusandSiratonis reviewed, and four species are recognised:D. meleoidesPascoe, 1872,D. digmon sp. nov., S. internatus(Pascoe, 1870) andS. roei(Boheman, 1843). The discovery of a second species ofDemyrsusillustrates a larger diversity of cycad‐associated weevils in Australia than currently known and identifies a further species with the potential to damage and kill cultivated cycads. The species descriptions and diagnoses are supplemented with illustrations of the habitus and salient structures, a distribution map and an identification key to all species of trunk‐boring cycad weevils in Australia. Their potential hosts are identified from a spatial analysis of their distributions and the distributions of the cycad taxa occurring in this range.
Taxonomic revision of species in the New Zealand endemic genera Peniticus Sharp, 1876 and Pilacolaspis Sharp, 1886 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
Authors: Gómez‐Zurita Jesús
Published: December 2020

In this work, two endemic genera of Eumolpinae from New Zealand, Pilacolaspis Sharp, 1886 and Peniticus Sharp, 1876, are revised for the first time since the description of their constituent species in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The five taxa of Pilacolaspis are considered to comprise two species, P. huttoni (Broun, 1880) (=P. wakefieldi Sharp, 1886 n. syn. =P. rugiventris Broun, 1914 n. syn.) and P. latipennis Broun, 1912 (=P. angulatus Broun, 1912 n. syn.), with allopatric distributions in the Canterbury/Otago lowlands and the Marlborough areas around the Kaikouras, respectively. The following five species are recognised in Peniticus, one of which is new: P. antiquus Sharp, 1876, P. wallacei Broun, 1909, P. microreticulatus sp. nov., P. suffusus Sharp, 1876 (=P. robustus Sharp, 1880 n. syn.) and P. plicatus Broun, 1921. A key to the New Zealand genera of Eumolpinae and the species of Pilacolaspis and Peniticus is provided.
Chusqueaspis Amouroux, gen. nov., a new genus of armoured scale insects (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) on bamboos in southern South America
Authors: Amouroux Paul , Wei Jiufeng , Claps Lucía E , Normark Roxanna D , Normark Benjamin B
Published: December 2020

To date, there are 74 described species of armoured scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Diaspididae) whose only known hosts are bamboos (Poaceae: Bambuseae) and 12 armoured scale insect genera that consist mainly or entirely of bamboo feeders. Fully 71 of the species and all 12 of the genera are native to Asia. Another region where bamboos dominate the forest understory is southern South America, which has high diversity and endemism of bamboos of the genus Chusquea Kunth. We have sampled armoured scale insects from Chusquea from eight different sites in Chile and three sites in Argentina. The most common species were Prodigiaspis riverae (Cockerell) and a morphologically similar undescribed species. We sequenced fragments of four genetic loci from both species: the D2 region of the large ribosomal subunit (28S), elongation factor‐1 alpha (EF‐1α) and two mitochondrial regions, namely, a fragment of cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and a fragment spanning the parts of cytochrome oxidase I and II (COI–II). We conducted phylogenetic analyses of these sequences, together with previously published sequences of other Neotropical genera of the same tribe (Lepidosaphidini), including an undescribed species of the genus Prodigiaspis Ferris. The results show that the Chusquea‐feeding species, including P. riverae, comprise a clade that is closely related to the genus Pseudoparlatoria Cockerell and distant from the Prodigiaspis species. Here, we place them in the new genus Chusqueaspis Amouroux gen. nov., with a total of three species, two of which are described here for the first time: Chusqueaspis riverae (Cockerell), comb. nov.; Chusqueaspis patriciae Wei, Claps, Normark & Normark, sp. nov.; and Chusqueaspis gonzalezi Amouroux, Normark & Normark, sp. nov. We also describe a Prodigiaspis species as Prodigiaspis megalobus Normark & Normark, sp. nov. on Marila (Calophyllaceae). Illustrations of the adult females of each of the four species and a key to the species of the new genus are provided.
Conservation management of the green carpenter bee Xylocopa aerata (Hymenoptera: Apidae) through provision of artificial nesting substrate
Authors: Hogendoorn Katja , Glatz Richard V , Leijs Remko
Published: December 2020

The green carpenter bee, Xylocopa aerata (Smith, 1851), has undergone a severe reduction in its distribution over the previous century, in part because of habitat loss and fragmentation and its dependency on old‐growth heathland habitats. In 2007, the last remaining South Australian population, on Kangaroo Island, was negatively affected by a shortage of nesting substrate as a consequence of a series of large, intense wildfires. In an attempt to prevent yet another extirpation of this species, we developed artificial nesting substrates (stalk nests and trunk nests) and placed them at various locations within the current range of the population. Monitoring showed that the bees readily used the alternative nesting substrate in sites where very little natural substrate was left. Reproductive activity was evaluated using X‐ray images of winter nests. Based on tunnel lengths and number of individuals, we conclude that conservation action has resulted in successful reproduction and that the number of nests used has increased each year. This is the first time that provision of nesting substrate is shown to substantially improve the breeding capacity of a threatened population of endemic bees in their natural habitat. However, reproduction in artificial substrate was significantly higher in 2016 than in 2017 and 2018. The most obvious reason for the decline in breeding was climatic – low spring and summer rain in the later years limited floral resources and hence reproduction. Global climate change is causing drier conditions and more frequent and intense fires, which are reducing the likelihood of survival of this species. This effect is demonstrated by the latest fire season which left only 5% of the bees' habitat intact on Kangaroo Island. Each large‐scale fire locally annihilates bees and destroys old growth nesting substrate which takes at least 35 years to recover, thus increasing the overall risk of extinction.
“So, Is Gentrification Good or Bad?”: One Teacher’s Implementation of the Fourth Goal in Her TWBE Classroom
Authors: Heiman Daniel
Published: December 2020

Two‐way bilingual education (TWBE) is guided by three traditional goals: academic achievement, bilingualism/biliteracy, and sociocultural competence. The rapid growth, whitening, and gentrification of TWBE programs have prompted a call for an extension of the three traditional goals to include a fourth one: critical consciousness. This critical ethnography examines how the author and a fifth‐grade TWBE teacher prioritized this fourth goal in the curriculum by positioning gentrification processes impacting the school and community as a generative theme.

Los programas de la educación bilingüe de doble inmersión son basados en tres metas tradicionales, el desempeño académico, bilingüismo/bialfabetismo y la competencia sociocultural. El crecimiento rápido, whiteness y gentrificación de dichos programas han provocado una extensión de las tres metas para incluir una cuarta meta: la conciencia crítica. Esta etnografía crítica examina como el autor y una maestra de quinto grado priorizaron la cuarta meta al posicionar la gentrificación impactando la escuela y comunidad como un tema generador.
Supplementation of cryoprotectant withPinus massonianabark extract improves human sperm vitality and fertility potential
Authors: Li Yingya , Zhang Tingyu , Jia Yanping , Yang Hao , Liu Wenqiang , Pan Jiaping , Wang Yu , Liang Shanshan , Li Kunming
Published: December 2020

Background

Sperm cryopreservation is commonly used to preserve fertility but often decreases sperm quality by inducing oxidative stress.Pinus massonianabark extract (Pinus massoniana, PMBE) exhibits strong antioxidant activity and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Objectives

The objective was to determine whether adding PMBE to cryoprotectant could improve human sperm quality after cryo‐resuscitation and to investigate the potential regulatory mechanisms.

Methods

PMBE was used as a cryoprotectant supplement. Hydrogen peroxide was applied to generate oxidative stress. The changes in sperm quality upon cryo‐resuscitation and hydrogen peroxide treatment were measured by computer‐aided sperm analysis and fluorescein isothiocyanate‐labeled peanut (Pisum sativum) agglutinin staining. Oxidative stress was evaluated by dichlorofluorescein diacetate staining and the malondialdehyde content. The antioxidant capacity was determined by the glutathione peroxidase activity and the reduced glutathione content. Mass spectrometry was utilized to screen factors potentially regulated by PMBE, and the screened factors were evaluated by Western blot. Mouse in vitro fertilization was used to assess the effectiveness and safety of PMBE on the fertilization outcome of damaged spermatozoa.

Results

PMBE addition to cryoprotectant could effectively promote post‐thaw vitality and acrosome reaction rates, reduce intracellular reactive oxygen species, and preserve antioxidant capacity and mitochondrial function in the presence of cryo‐resuscitation and hydrogen peroxide treatment. Decreased in the expression of critical proteins such as inositol‐3‐phosphate synthase 1 (ISYNA1) and AKT1 upon resuscitation was rescued by PMBE supplementation, further reducing the cytoplasmic Nrf2 protein level and markedly increasing the nuclear level. PMBE dramatically enhanced the mRNA and protein expression of superoxide dismutase (SOD2). PMBE effectively alleviated the hydrogen peroxide‐induced decline in the two‐cell embryo rates.

Conclusion

Supplementing cryoprotectant with PMBE improves human sperm quality after cryo‐resuscitation by reducing oxidative stress and stabilizing the functional proteins ISYNA1 and AKT1. PMBE addition improves the fertilization outcome of oxidative stress‐damaged spermatozoa.
Praeclariat: Theorising Precarious Labour Geographies of Solar Energy
Authors: Stock Ryan
Published: December 2020

Rapid development of solar energy is reconfiguring global labour geographies. Beneath the formal economy of solar exists a hidden infra‐economy of informal and marginalised labourers that toil in valuable yet precarious nodes of solar development (i.e. mining, generation, disposal). These labourers comprise a lumpenproletariat class (or solar lumenproletariats) that is defined by its informality, flexibility, precarity and disposability. Through political struggles and reflexivity, the lumenproletariats develop class consciousness. Although still precariously positioned in solar’s infra‐economy, they develop a praeclarus (Latin: “bright”) understanding of their shared class interests and become praeclariats resisting the reproduction of solar capital. Solar praeclariats unified in class struggle can alter the exploitative relations of production and usher in a truly “just” low‐carbon energy transition.
Supporting pre‐service teachers’ motivation beliefs and approaches to instruction through an online intervention
Authors: Daniels Lia M. , Goegan Lauren D. , Radil Amanda I. , Dueck Bryce S.
Published: December 2020

Background

Previous research has shown that pre‐service teachers have low responsibility for student motivation and feel underprepared to deal with motivational issues. As an extension, researchers have designed interventions to shift teachers’ beliefs about motivation or equip them with approaches to instruction, but never both. Aims: Following best practices for motivation interventions, we created a one‐session online intervention and tested its efficacy to shift pre‐service teachers’ self‐reported beliefs and approaches to instruction to be more supportive of student motivation. The intervention included priming, materials designed for mindsets and/or for approaches to instruction, a consolidation activity, and take‐home materials.

Sample

A convenience sample of 384 pre‐service teachers from one Canadian university participated.

Methods

We embedded an experimental design into multiple sections of a required assessment course. After completing a pre‐test, participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: beliefs‐only, approaches‐only, combined beliefs and approaches, or control. After completing the online module, students received a lecture on assessment practices and motivation.

Results

The results from our MANCOVA showed that pre‐service teachers who participated in the beliefs‐only condition reported increased levels of responsibility for student motivation, more growth mindset beliefs, and less fixed mindset beliefs than participants in the other conditions. The approaches‐only condition did not influence self‐reported mastery or performance approaches to instruction and the combined condition had no effect on beliefs or approaches.

Conclusions

We discuss the implications for educating pre‐service teachers about student motivation and suggest that beliefs and approaches to instruction need to be addressed separately.
Inherited predisposition to haematopoietic malignancies: overcoming barriers and exploring opportunities
Authors: Trottier Amy M. , Godley Lucy A.
Published: December 2020

Inherited predisposition to haematopoietic malignancies, due to deleterious germline variants in a variety of genes, is an important clinical entity with implications for the health and management of patients and their family members. Unfortunately, there remain several common misconceptions in this field that can result in patients going unrecognised and/or having incomplete or improper testing including: the impression that inherited haematological malignancy syndromes are rare, that myeloid and lymphoid malignancy predisposition syndromes are mutually exclusive, and that solid tumour predisposition syndromes are unique and distinct from haematopoietic malignancy predisposition syndromes. In the present review, we challenge these ideas with our insights into germline genetic testing for these conditions with the hope that increased awareness and knowledge will overcome barriers and lead to improved diagnosis and management.