bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Guidelines for applying Porter's five forces framework: a set of industry analysis templates
Authors: E. Dobbs Michael
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide practitioners and students a practical yet comprehensive set of templates for applying Michael Porter's five forces framework for industry analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on experiences with practicing managers, small business owners, industry analysts, academics, and students, a set of industry analysis templates that systematically guides an analyst through a comprehensive assessment of the five forces is presented with the following: copies of the templates themselves, descriptions of their structure and use, an example of a completed template (spectator sports industry), and a discussion of possible modifications and extensions.

Findings

– The industry analysis templates described in this paper retain the comprehensiveness of Porter's framework but in a format much more student/manager-oriented using graphics, visual cues, a uniform structure, and straightforward descriptions of concepts. Template users show evidence of deeper strategic insights and have a sophisticated tool for future analysis.

Practical implications

– Managers, analysts, students, and others wanting robust industry analysis are provided with a comprehensive, structured, and practical set of templates to use in assessing an industry using the five forces framework.

Originality/value

– Leading strategic management texts and other sources provide no comprehensive, systematic, and robust format for conducting a five forces analysis of an industry. The set of industry analysis templates described in this paper provides a visually compelling, user-friendly format that can assist those analyzing industries gain important strategic insights not only into industry drivers, but also important competitive advantages for individual firms.
Why pandemic response is unique: powerful experts and hands-off political leaders
Authors: Baekkeskov Erik , Rubin Olivier
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to show that 2009 H1N1 “swine” influenza pandemic vaccination policies deviated from predictions established in the theory of political survival, and to propose that pandemic response deviated because it was ruled by bureaucratized experts rather than by elected politicians.

Design/methodology/approach

– Focussing on the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, the paper employs descriptive statistical analysis of vaccination policies in nine western democracies. To probe the plausibility of the novel explanation, it uses quantitative and qualitative content analyses of media attention and coverage in two deviant cases, the USA and Denmark.

Findings

– Theories linking political survival to disaster responses find little empirical support in the substantial cross-country variations of vaccination responses during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. Rather than following a political logic, the case studies of media coverage in the USA and Denmark demonstrate that the response was bureaucratized in the public health agencies (CDC and DMHA, respectively). Hence, while natural disaster responses appear to follow a political logic, the response to pandemics appears to be more strongly instituted in the hands of bureaucratic experts.

Research limitations/implications

– There is an added value of encompassing bureaucratic dynamics in political theories of disaster response; bureaucratized expertise proved to constitute a strong plausible explanation of the 2009 pandemic vaccination response.

Practical implications

– Pandemic preparedness and response depends critically on understanding the lessons of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic; a key lesson supported by this paper is that expert-based agencies rather than political leaders are the pivotal actors.

Originality/value

– This paper is the first to pinpoint the limitations of political survival theories of disaster responses with respect to the 2009 pandemic. Further, it is among the few to analyze the causes of variations in cross-country pandemic vaccination policies during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.
Marriage following the 1997 Umbria-Marche (Italy) earthquake
Authors: Prati Gabriele , Pietrantoni Luca
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to replicate Cohan and Cole (2002) Hurricane Hugo study in the context of a different type of natural hazard and in a different country.

Design/methodology/approach

– Change in marriage following the 1997 Umbria-Marche (Italy) earthquake was examined prospectively from 1987 to 2007 for the 15 municipalities declared disaster areas and for the whole Marche region and country.

Findings

– Autoregressive integrated moving average time-series analysis showed that the year following the earthquake marriage rates decreased only in the 15 municipalities declared disaster areas.

Originality/value

– In the present study, the paper found results in the opposite direction to Cohan and Cole (2002) Hurricane Hugo study. Taken together, the findings suggest that the direction of the change may be in either direction and depends on the characteristics of the disaster, of the response to it, and on social and economic conditions of the context.
Resilience – an emerging paradigm of danger or of hope?
Authors: I. Sudmeier-Rieux Karen
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore whether “resilience” offers any positive inputs to international discourse in the field of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation and if so, what recommendations can be made for further research on the topic.

Design/methodology/approach

– In addition to an in-depth literature review, observations on resilience were made based on interdisciplinary research conducted in Nepal 2008-2011 with landslide affected communities, to map local understandings of resilience in contrast to issues of risk and vulnerability.

Findings

– Resilience has the potential to offer a more systemic and cross-cutting approach to disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and the humanitarian sector. However, it needs to be assessed critically as one attribute of sustainable development, not as a lesser substitute.

Originality/value

– This paper provides new insights to the emerging contrast between proponents and critics of the resilience paradigm with recommendations for avoiding potential dangers that this paradigm brings.
Managing the health risks of extreme weather events by managing hospital infrastructure
Authors: Loosemore Martin , Chow Vivien , McGeorge Denny
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– A predicted increase in climate change-related extreme weather events will present hospitals with new health-related and physical risks which were not originally anticipated in building and infrastructure designs. Markus et al.'s building systems model is used to analyse a range of adaptive strategies to cope with such events. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– Focus group interviews were conducted with a wide range of hospital stakeholders across three case study hospitals in Australia and New Zealand which have experienced extreme weather events.

Findings

– It is concluded that effective adaptive strategies must balance responses across different organisational sub-systems. Contrary to previous research, the findings indicate that hospital managers do see hospital infrastructure as an important component of disaster response. However, it is the least adaptable of all response subsystems, making other options more attractive in the heat of a crisis.

Research limitations/implications

– A focus on three case studies allowed the researchers to explore in-depth the experiences of stakeholders who had experienced extreme weather events. While producing highly valid results, the inherent limitation of this approach is the lack of breath. So further case studies are needed to generalise from the results.

Practical implications

– Recommendations are made to improve the adaptive capacity of healthcare facilities to cope with the future health challenges of climate change risk.

Originality/value

– By acknowledging that no one group holds all the knowledge to deal with extreme weather events, this paper capture the collective knowledge of all key stakeholders who have a stake in the process of responding effectively to such an event. It shows that hospital adaptation strategies cannot be considered in isolation from the surrounding emergency management systems in which a hospital is imbedded.
Educator challenges using participatory methods in group-based patient education
Authors: Helms Andersen Tue , Folmann Hempler Nana , Willaing Ingrid
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore educators’ experiences of putting a participatory and patient-centered education model, “The Health Education Juggler,” into practice after having attended a one-day seminar. The model consists of four educator roles in participatory group-based patient education in chronic illness: embracer (takes care of the group), facilitator (generates dialogue and participation), translator (communicates professional knowledge) and initiator (motivates action in patients).

Design/methodology/approach

– Qualitative analysis of observations of eight group-based patient education sessions and seven in-depth semi-structured interviews with 11 educators.

Findings

– Educators find it difficult to include disease-specific knowledge when working with a flexible patient-centered approach. They tend to stay in the role they find most comfortable during education sessions (most often that of embracer), rather than adopting new and more challenging roles in the teaching process. Educators theoretically understand the role of facilitator, but they do not know how to perform in this role in practice. The ability to juggle all educator roles depends on the ability to master each.

Practical implications

– The Health Education Juggler model shows promise in promoting participation and patient-centeredness and as a reflection tool for educators and an analytic tool for quality assessment of patient education. These findings support further development of model use.

Originality/value

– This model of educator roles in group-based patient education in chronic illness provides a new approach to patient education. It indicates the need for various professional competencies among educators to provide patient-centered education in a flexible way, with a strong focus on patient-identified problems and challenges, social learning processes and generation of internal motivation in patients.
Linking satisfaction to share of deposits: an application of the Wallet Allocation Rule
Authors: Aksoy Lerzan
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– Despite the fact that customer satisfaction is among the most widely used metrics by managers, the link with share of deposits tends to be weak. Using a recent innovative approach termed the “Wallet Allocation Rule (WAR)” this research investigates whether measuring satisfaction relative to other competitors used exhibits a stronger correlation to share of deposits compared to measuring absolute satisfaction with the focal firm/product.

Design/methodology/approach

– A survey approach was used with a sample of 4,712 banking customers across the USA. Using the WAR, each respondent's satisfaction ratings were transformed into relative rankings and used to estimate their share of deposits.

Findings

– The results confirmed that at both the individual and the aggregate level examining relative ranked satisfaction correlates strongly with customers’ share of deposits. At the individual level relative satisfaction explains 55 percent of the variance in share of deposits, as opposed to only 9 percent for absolute satisfaction.

Practical implications

– The findings indicate that managers need to rethink their current approach to satisfaction measurement and consider measuring their customers’ satisfaction relative to competitors used. Furthermore, using aggregate level absolute satisfaction in managerial decision making can be misleading.

Originality/value

– This research provides a significant contribution to both the banking literature and the scientific literature in general by examining the robustness of a relative metrics approach within the retail banking and credit union market.
How much can we trust the financial report?
Authors: Li Shaomin , Ho Park Seung , Shuji Bao Rosey
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The success and reliability of business transactions and research in emerging markets depend on the quality of financial information. Due to the institutional and historical backgrounds, financial information provided by firms in emerging markets has often been questioned for their accuracy. This study aims to examine the reliability of financial information through various descriptive and statistical analyses in major emerging markets, including Brazil, Russia, India, and China (the BRICs).

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors use firm-level data from the BRIC countries and apply statistical models to identify patterns of profit misreporting by firms in these countries.

Findings

– The results show significant and systemic signs of misreporting of financial information in these countries, particularly in China and Russia, which are further examined to understand the possible reasons behind their more severe misreporting.

Originality/value

– The study then concludes with practical and specific recommendations for investors, managers, and policy makers on how to detect and avoid potential risks due to inaccurate financial information and improve the overall quality of decision making.
Market spectacle: immigration policy along the US/Mexico border
Authors: Michael Garrett Terence
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The central contribution of the paper aims to provide a new way of thinking and reflecting about using a more critical public policy approach as opposed to the heretofore dysfunctional dichotomist approach common to the immigration policy debate.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using critical theoretical approaches primarily based on Debord and Agamben, the author compares and contrasts the approaches made by immigration reform policy advocates and opponents to obtain a better understanding of these complex issues and the motivations behind them.

Findings

– Viewing the policy immigration and border policy discourse from the market spectacle lens allows the author to see the seemingly never-ending conflict to be fully disclosed. Corporate profit-seekers have used effectively the politics of fear surrounding the terrorist attacks of 9-11, the ongoing fear generated against undocumented border crossers along with the property takings of US citizens through the use of the complexities of the dominant market language in the name of the 9-11 and the subsequent War on Terror. The author's primary intention was to expose the motivations of public policy makers and place their policy decisions into a critical context.

Originality/value

– In this original paper, the author analyzes events such as the border fence construction – and the corporatist influence behind its development, the push to politically disenfranchise Latinos in Arizona, and the inability of the US Congress to pass legislation for meaningful immigration reform and border security – that have all been subject to the limitations of language, symbols and images portrayed by protagonists and antagonists of market-driven immigration policy. The value of the paper is that the author demonstrates the problems and limitations on public policy.
Child health and schooling achievement in Bangladesh
Authors: Khanam Rasheda
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to examine the impact of child health (measured by nutritional status) on schooling performance of Bangladeshi children.

Design/methodology/approach

– The data set used in this study comes from a survey titled “Micronutrient and Gender Study (MNGS) in Bangladesh”. The survey was administered by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). The author controls for the potential endogeneity of child health by an instrumental variables approach. The results indicate that the impact of child health on school achievement will be overestimated if endogeneity of child health is ignored.

Findings

– The results reveal that child health has significant effects on school enrolment and grade attainment, although it does not affect the current school attendance. The impact of child health is stronger for school enrolment compared to grade attainment.

Originality/value

– This study improves the understanding on the relationship between child health and schooling in several ways. First, the author controls for the potential endogeneity of child health by an instrumental variables approach. The chosen instrumental variables (i.e. heights of father and mother) are strong predictors of child health and satisfy the validity test. Second, this study examines the effects of child health on wide ranges of schooling measures: enrolment, attendance and attainment.
Collective internationalization – a new take off route for SMEs from China
Authors: Sandberg Susanne , Jansson Hans
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the establishments of Chinese wholesale and retail market platforms in China and Europe, which create a new take-off route for SMEs from China, and to theorize on this as a new collective route to internationalization.

Design/methodology/approach

– An exploratory case study has been undertaken covering four Chinese market platforms: the role model in Yiwu, China, and the establishments in Warsaw, Poland; Budapest, Hungary; and Kalmar, Sweden.

Findings

– A new collective internationalization route is identified, driven by the collectivistic Chinese culture. Here Chinese SMEs diverge from traditionally suggested paths of internationalization, taking off independently from the domestic business network but form a joint market platform in the foreign market. This collective behavior compensates for the resource constraints of internationally inexperienced Chinese SMEs. From the market platform, they plug into the local market network and are provided with economies of scale and scope, ultimately making them internationally competitive. This collective route offers the potential for joint learning and risk reduction when entering distant markets in the early internationalization stages.

Research limitations/implications

– For Chinese SMEs, co-location in a market platform in foreign market offers the advantages of lowering institutional distance and uncertainty as the firms collectively handle these matters. A limitation of the study concerns the generalizability, as few cases are studied. Still, being an unstudied phenomena there are important empirical contributions to be made.

Originality/value

– The paper reports on an overlooked empirical phenomenon, namely the establishment of Chinese wholesale and retail market platforms in China and Europe. Through this establishment a new collective route into the global market by Chinese SMEs is identified and theorized.
The politics of sensemaking and sensegiving at work
Authors: Filstad Cathrine
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The aim of this paper is to investigate how political activities and processes influence sensemaking and sensegiving among top management, middle management and employees and to examine its consequences for implementing new knowledge.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data were collected in a Norwegian bank using in-depth interviews with middle managers and financial advisers. Observations of meetings, informal conversations and verbatim notes were also used in data collection among top managers. A practice-based approach was used as an analytical lens.

Findings

– Top managers' political activities of excluding others from the decision process affect their sensemaking and resulted in sensegiving contradictions between spoken intent and how to change practice. Middle managers' political activities were to accept top managers' sensegiving instead of managing themselves in their own sensemaking to help financial advisers with how to change their role and practice. As a result, middle managers' sensemaking affects their engagement in sensegiving. For financial advisers, the political processes of top and middle managers resulted in resistance and not making sense of how to change and implement new knowledge.

Research limitations/implications

– A total of 30 in-depth interviews, observations of five meetings and informal conversations might call for further studies. In addition, a Norwegian study does not account for other countries' cultural differences concerning leadership style, openness in decisions and employee autonomy.

Originality/value

– To the author's knowledge, no studies identify the three-way conceptual relationship between political activities, sensemaking and sensegiving. In addition, the author believes that the originality lies in investigating these relationships using a three-level hierarchy of top management, middle management and employees.
Insights from a Bourdieusian lens
Authors: Yuen Sze Goh Adeline
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to extend the workplace learning literature by conceptualising the relationship between college-based and workplace learning, through critically examining how trainee teachers learn when they enter an initial teacher training programme.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper draws on the findings of a completed research study which explores how individuals learn to become a vocational and technical teacher (VTE) in Brunei. The research comprises a qualitative study of a group of student teachers enrolled on a one-year teacher training programme that consists of a combination of college-based and workplace learning. This approach argues that it is necessary to look beyond demarcating what is formal and informal learning.

Findings

– From a theoretical point-of-view, Bourdieu's theoretical tools can be used to extend Lave and Wenger's notion of legitimate peripheral participation in understanding how individuals learn in a learning context. This approach provides us with a way to think of learning as relational to the individuals. That is, learning is influenced by the roles and practices of each individual, even within the same learning context. Thus, to label the college-based learning as formal and workplace learning as informal is unhelpful in understanding this relationship.

Practical implications

– Understanding that roles and practices in different learning sites such as college and workplace influence learning has practical significance for teacher training organisations wanting to focus on learning issues and opportunities for the development of trainee teachers. More specifically, such an understanding also acts as a reminder to teacher training organisations of the importance of considering learning within a teacher training programme as a whole, rather than focusing only on the practices within each of the learning sites.

Originality/value

– This paper highlights the importance of roles and practices in relation to particular situations which are often overlooked in the learning literature. In addition, the paper focuses on both college-based and workplace learning in order to understand learning within a vocational and technical teacher training programme.
Selective laser sintering of Mo-CuNi composite to be used as EDM electrode
Authors: L. Amorim Fred , Lohrengel Armin , Neubert Volkmar , F. Higa Camila , Czelusniak Tiago
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– This work is focused on the investigation of direct production of electrical discharge machining (EDM) electrodes through the selective laser sintering (SLS) technique using a new metal-matrix composite material made of molybdenum and a copper-nickel alloy (Mo-CuNi). The influence and optimization of the main SLS parameters on the densification behavior and porosity is experimentally studied. Additionally, EDM experiments are performed to evaluate the electrodes performance under different machining conditions. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The new EDM electrode material used was a powder system composed of Mo and pre-alloyed CuNi. A systematic experimental methodology was designed to evaluate the effects of layer thickness, laser scan speed and hatch distance. The densification behavior, porosity and surface morphology of the samples were analyzed through microstructural and surface analysis. EDM experiments were conducted under three different regimes in order to observe the electrodes behavior and performance. The results were compared with copper powder electrodes manufactured by SLS and solid copper electrodes EDMachined under the same conditions.

Findings

– The experimental results showed that the direct SLS manufacturing of composite electrodes is feasible and an adequate combination of parameters can produce parts with good quality. The laser scan speed has a great effect on the densification behavior of the samples, while the effect of hatch distance on the porosity is more visible when the overlapping degree is considered. The overlapping also had a significant effect on the surface morphology. The EDM results showed that the Mo-CuNi electrodes had superior performance to the copper powder electrodes made by SLS for all the EDM regimes applied, but inferior to those achieved with solid copper electrodes.

Originality/value

– Significant results on the direct SLS manufacturing of a new material which has a great technological potential to be used as an EDM electrode material are presented. Valuable guidelines are given in regard to the SLS optimization of Mo-CuNi material and its performance as an EDM electrode. This work also provides a systematic methodology designed to be applied to the SLS process to produce EDM electrodes.
Vision-based defect detection in laser metal deposition process
Authors: Barua Shyam , Liou Frank , Newkirk Joseph , Sparks Todd
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– Laser metal deposition (LMD) is a type of additive manufacturing process in which the laser is used to create a melt pool on a substrate to which metal powder is added. The powder is melted within the melt pool and solidified to form a deposited track. These deposited tracks may contain porosities or cracks which affect the functionality of the part. When these defects go undetected, they may cause failure of the part or below par performance in their applications. An on demand vision system is required to detect defects in the track as and when they are formed. This is especially crucial in LMD applications as the part being repaired is typically expensive. Using a defect detection system, it is possible to complete the LMD process in one run, thus minimizing cost. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the research on a low-cost vision system to study the deposition process and detect any thermal abnormalities which might signify the presence of a defect.

Design/methodology/approach

– During the LMD process, the track of deposited material behind the laser is incandescent due to heating by the laser; also, there is radiant heat distribution and flow on the surfaces of the track. An SLR camera is used to obtain images of the deposited track behind the melt pool. Using calibrated RGB values and radiant surface temperature, it is possible to approximate the temperature of each pixel in the image. The deposited track loses heat gradually through conduction, convection and radiation. A defect-free deposit should show a gradual decrease in temperature which enables the authors to obtain a reference cooling curve using standard deposition parameters. A defect, such as a crack or porosity, leads to an increase in temperature around the defective region due to interruption of heat flow. This leads to deviation from the reference cooling curve which alerts the authors to the presence of a defect.

Findings

– The temperature gradient was obtained across the deposited track during LMD. Linear least squares curve fitting was performed and residual values were calculated between experimental temperature values and line of best fit. Porosity defects and cracks were simulated on the substrate during LMD and irregularities in the temperature gradients were used to develop a defect detection model.

Originality/value

– Previous approaches to defect detection in LMD typically concentrate on the melt pool temperature and dimensions. Due to the dynamic and violent nature of the melt pool, consistent and reliable defect detection is difficult. An alternative method of defect detection is discussed which does not involve the melt pool and therefore presents a novel method of detecting a defect in LMD.
Supply chain interfaces between a port utilizing organisation and port operator
Authors: Demirbas Dilek , Flint Helen , Bennett David
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– This research revolves around understanding the interfaces of ports in supply chains. The main aim of the research is to explore the role of ports within supply chains.

Design/methodology/approach

– Collecting information representative of the range of experiences, perspectives, perceptions and the behaviours of managers relevant to the research was obtained through purposeful sampling. The data for this paper is derived from a literature review of research papers and studies in addition to conducting seven face-to-face and one telephone interviews.

Findings

– The responses were analysed utilising themes and presenting summaries of transcripts in tabulated form to ease clarification. The findings reveal that integration between ports and organisations resembles other industries and therefore enhances the scope of ports within supply chains and the adaption of best practice techniques.

Research limitations/implications

– Although in depth case studies were conducted the limitations are within the breadth of interviews undertaken.

Practical implications

– The findings reveal that integration between UK ports and organisations resembles other industries and therefore enhances the scope of ports within supply chains and the adaption of best practice techniques.

Originality/value

– The originality value of the research is the exploration of the on-going role of ports within operational supply chains.
A system of human vital signs monitoring and activity recognition based on body sensor network
Authors: Wang Zhelong , Zhao Cong , Qiu Sen
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to develop a health monitoring system that can measure human vital signs and recognize human activity based on body sensor network (BSN).

Design/methodology/approach

– The system is mainly composed of electrocardiogram (ECG) signal collection node, blood oxygen signal collection node, inertial sensor node, receiving node and upper computer software. The three collection nodes collect ECG signals, blood oxygen signals and motion signals. And then collected signals are transmitted wirelessly to receiving node and analyzed by software in upper computer in real-time.

Findings

– Experiment results show that the system can simultaneously monitor human ECG, heart rate, pulse rate, SpO2 and recognize human activity. A classifier based on coupled hidden Markov model (CHMM) is adopted to recognize human activity. The average recognition accuracy of CHMM classifier is 94.8 percent, which is higher than some existent methods, such as supported vector machine (SVM), C4.5 decision tree and naive Bayes classifier (NBC).

Practical implications

– The monitoring system may be used for falling detection, elderly care, postoperative care, rehabilitation training, sports training and other fields in the future.

Originality/value

– First, the system can measure human vital signs (ECG, blood pressure, pulse rate, SpO2, temperature, heart rate) and recognizes some specific simple or complex activities (sitting, lying, go boating, bicycle riding). Second, the researches of using CHMM for activity recognition based on BSN are extremely few. Consequently, the classifier based on CHMM is adopted to recognize activity with ideal recognition accuracies in this paper.
Vibration of sensor diaphragm with residual stress coupled with liquids: effect of the residual stress
Authors: Wu Huayong , Zhou Shenjie
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The natural frequency of a diaphragm with residual stress in contact with a liquid is investigated theoretically in this paper. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– An analytical calculation using the nondimensional added virtual mass incremental (NAVMI) factors is performed to find the dependency of the natural frequency on the residual stress when the diaphragm vibrating in contact with a liquid.

Findings

– The analysis gives the residual stress contribution to the added virtual mass.

Originality/value

– The magnitude of the added virtual mass depends on the residual stress. However, the magnitude of the natural frequency is found to be insignificant to the residual stress.
Implementing Web 2.0 tools in organisations
Authors: James Baxter Gavin
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– This special issue aims to increase the awareness of the organisational factors that enterprises must reflect on and address when introducing Web 2.0 technologies into their organisations. In contrast to empirical studies that review the impact of Web 2.0 technologies in organisations in terms of how they might support knowledge sharing or communities of practice, this special issue intends to identify the salient criteria that management practitioners must address to assist in the implementation of Web 2.0 technologies in the work place.

Design/methodology/approach

– This special issue aims to increase the awareness of the organisational factors that enterprises must reflect on and address when introducing Web 2.0 technologies into their organisations. In contrast to empirical studies that review the impact of Web 2.0 technologies in organisations in terms of how they might support knowledge sharing or communities of practice, this special issue intends to identify the salient criteria that management practitioners must address to assist in the implementation of Web 2.0 technologies in the work place.

Findings

– One of the principal findings that have emerged from this special issue is that it indicates the importance of reviewing social and cultural factors in organisations when introducing Web 2.0 technologies in the work place. In addition to assessing technical issues that might impact on the implementation of Web 2.0 technologies in organisations this special issue also explores subject matters such as the dilemma of whether a top-down or a bottom-up approach is more effective towards engaging staff in the adoption of Web 2.0 tools at work.

Originality/value

– The research presented in this special issue provides an important academic contribution towards an area that is, at present, under researched namely, whether there is a structured approach that can be universally applied by organisations when internally implementing Web 2.0 technologies into their work place.
Socio-technical systems theory as a diagnostic tool for examining underutilization of wiki technology
Authors: J. Hester Andrea
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to examine organizational information systems based on Web 2.0 technology as socio-technical systems that involve interacting relationships among actors, structure, tasks and technology. Alignment within the relationships may facilitate increased technology use; however, gaps in alignment may impede technology use and result in poor performance or system failure. The technology examined is an organizational wiki used for collaborative knowledge management.

Design/methodology/approach

– Results of a survey administered to employees of an organization providing cloud computing services are presented. The research model depicts the socio-technical component relationships and their influence on use of the wiki. Hierarchical latent variable modelling is used to operationalize the six main constructs. Hypotheses propose that as alignment of a relationship increases, wiki use increases. The partial least squares (PLS) method is used to examine the hypotheses.

Findings

– Based on the results, increased perceptions of alignment among technology and structure increase wiki use. Further analysis indicates that low usage may be linked to gaps in alignment. Many respondents with lower usage scores also indicated “low alignment” among actor-task, actor-technology, and task-structure.

Research limitations/implications

– The sample size is rather small; however, results may give an indication as to the appropriateness of dimensions chosen to represent the alignment relationships. Socio-technical systems theory (STS) is often utilized in qualitative studies. This paper introduces a measurement instrument designed to evaluate STS through quantitative analysis.

Practical implications

– User acceptance and change management continue to be important topics for both researchers and practitioners. The model proposed here provides measures that may reveal predictive indicators for increased information system use. Alternatively, practitioners may be able to utilize a diagnostic tool as presented here to assess underlying factors that may be impeding effective technology utilization.

Originality/value

– The paper presents a diagnostic tool that may help management to better uncover misaligned relationships leading to underutilization of technology. Practical advice and guidelines are provided allowing for a plan to rectify the situation and improve technology usage and performance outcomes.
Implementing a social intranet in a professional services environment through Web 2.0 technologies
Authors: Hamadani Janes Shimrit , Patrick Keith , Dotsika Fefie
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– Research into professional services firms that have successfully implemented and adopted Web 2.0 tools are still rare, with no widely known accepted methodologies or frameworks. The purpose of this case study is to investigate a medium-sized law firm that embarked on a KM programme that makes explicit use of emergent enterprise-based Web 2.0 tools.

Design/methodology/approach

– The overlying research methodology applied is action research, in particular participatory action research (PAR). The study draws on interviews with practitioners, consultants and knowledge workers and takes into consideration multiple stakeholder views and value conflicts. The project is part of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between RPC LLP and Westminster Business School.

Findings

– Implementation of Web 2.0 tools in professional services requires the blending of a number of approaches to address the intrinsic tension between the open, participative behaviour and iterative development methodologies encouraged by social tools, and more traditional management styles and methods of developing IT solutions.

Research limitations/implications

– This article presents a single case study based on a law firm that, at the start of the research, was operating from a single location in London and at the time of writing has expanded to multiple locations, including overseas. There may be a limitation to implementing lessons learned and methodologies to larger organisations and organisations outside the legal sector.

Originality/value

– While many organisations are still attempting to understand how they can practically implement Web 2.0 tools, this case study presents findings from a law firm that has had an internal Web 2.0-based knowledge solution in place for over two years. The research also makes use of a KM maturity model in order to assess the impact of the Web 2.0 implementation.
Epiphytes improve host plant water use by microenvironment modification
Authors: Stanton Daniel E. , Huallpa Chávez Jackelyn , Villegas Luis , Villasante Francisco , Armesto Juan , Hedin Lars O. , Horn Henry
Published: January 2014

Epiphytes have the potential to modify the canopy environments in which they grow. Accurately evaluating the impact of epiphytes can be challenging, since plants without epiphytes may also otherwise differ from host plants, and experimental removal is impractical and difficult to replicate in many forests.

We studied the impacts of epiphytes (primarily fruticose lichens and Tillandsia spp.) on host plants (Eulychnia saint‐pieana and Caesalpinia spinosa) in two fog ecosystems in Chile (Pan de Azucar) and Peru (Atiquipa). These desert ecosystems sustain very high epiphyte loads and depend heavily on fog‐water inputs. Using a combination of artificial substrates and epiphyte removals, we show significant impacts of epiphytes on their host plants.

The presence of epiphytes reduced throughfall volumes, reducing fog and rainfall inputs to the soil beneath host plant canopies.

Soil moisture loss rate was increased below cacti after removal of epiphytes from sun‐facing but not shade‐facing branches. This suggests epiphyte effects on hosts are microclimatic.

Epiphytes also buffered temperature fluctuations and reduced daytime vapour pressure deficit.

Epiphytes can have strong effects on host plant ecophysiology and forest ecosystem processes, making them an important component for models and studies of canopy environments.
Competition as a mechanism structuring mutualisms
Authors: Warren Robert J. , Giladi Itamar , Bradford Mark A.
Published: January 2014

Hutchinsonian niche theory posits that organisms have fundamental abiotic resource requirements from which they are limited by competition. Organisms also have fundamental biotic requirements, such as mutualists, for which they also might compete.

We test this idea with a widespread ant–plant mutualism. Ant‐mediated seed dispersal (myrmecochory) in eastern North America involves a few ant species that can effectively disperse the seeds of many plant species. This imbalance suggests that ant‐dispersed plants (myrmecochores) might compete for ant dispersers. We hypothesized that, because larger seeds are more attractive to ants, myrmecochores might segregate the timing of seed release by size to relieve competition.

Comparative literature analysis across plant species reveals that myrmecochore seed size increases with the fruiting season in a staggered pattern so that small‐ and large‐seeded co‐occurring species do not release seeds at the same time – a pattern not observed in plants using other dispersal modes.

We then presented foraging ants with small and large seeds in field trials throughout the fruiting season to test whether the observed temporal segregation in myrmecochore seed size is consistent with plant competition for ant dispersers.

Our results show that dispersal rates for smaller seeds increase across the growing season, but only in the absence of large seeds. Our combined literature and field data suggest that myrmecochores stagger fruiting by seed size so that small seeds are set earlier to avoid competition for dispersal mutualists with larger seeds.

Synthesis. Ecological interactions are often treated as either positive or negative, but our data blur this distinction by revealing that a positive interaction (mutualism) might be structured by a negative interaction (competition). Moreover, the recognition of biotic resources as critical niche requirements blurs the classic dichotomy between the fundamental (abiotic) versus realized (biotic limited) niche.
Anchor placement and subsequent movement in a mesh kit with self‐fixating tips: 6‐month follow‐up of a prospective cohort
Authors: Brennand EA , Bhayana D , Tang S , Birch C , Murphy M , Cenaiko D , Ross S , Robert M
Published: January 2014

Objective

To describe the initial placement of Elevate single‐incision mesh kit device tips relative to the sacrospinous ligament, and to measure tip movement over a 6‐month period from initial placement.

Design

Prospective cohort.

Setting

Tertiary care urogynaecology centre in Calgary, Canada.

Population

Women electing for surgical management of anterior vaginal wall prolapse.

Methods

Ten women underwent anterior prolapse repair using the Elevate single‐incision mesh kit with a metallic fiducial marker attached to the tips of the surgical device. Women were imaged by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) within 48 hours of surgery, and again 6 months later to investigate the position of the device tips and change ≥4 mm over the 6‐month postoperative period.

Main outcome measure(s)

Position of self‐fixating tips within 48 hours of surgery, and at six months post‐operative.

Results

Anchor insertion was directly into the sacrospinous ligament in 10 of 20 insertion points (50%, 95% CI 27–73%). Movement was most often noted in the cranial‐caudal direction: a change in location of ≥4 mm was observed for 8/20 anchors (40%, 95% CI 19–64%). Cranial‐caudal movement was observed less frequently among sacrospinous anchors than among anchors inserted into other pelvic structures (1/10 versus 7/10, P = 0.020, difference in proportion −60%, 95% CI −94 to −26%). PFDI‐20 scores improved statistically significantly by 6 months (P = 0.008, mean change −62.9%, 95% CI −105.1 to −20.7%), but PFIQ‐7 scores did not change statistically significantly over the same time period (P = 0.523, mean change −12.4%, 95% CI −54.5 to 29.8%).

Conclusions

The novel self‐fixating anchoring tips of this single‐incision mesh kit do not reliably anchor into the sacrospinous ligament. The tips have been shown to move with time, although not all cases of anchor movement were associated with recurrent prolapse.
Increased risk of preterm delivery and pre‐eclampsia in women with polycystic ovary syndrome and hyperandrogenaemia
Authors: Naver KV , Grinsted J , Larsen SO , Hedley PL , Jørgensen FS , Christiansen M , Nilas L
Published: January 2014

Objective

To study the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and to examine the role of hyperandrogenaemia.

Design

Cohort study.

Setting

Singleton pregnancies in women with PCOS identified at a private fertility clinic during 1997–2010 and a background population including all singleton deliveries at Hvidovre Hospital, Denmark, in 2005.

Population

A cohort of 459 women with PCOS and a background population of 5409 women.

Methods

Obstetric outcomes were extracted from national Danish registries and odds ratios (ORs) were calculated by multiple logistic regression analysis, adjusting for age, parity, and body mass index.

Main outcome measures

Risk of pre‐eclampsia, preterm delivery, and small for gestational age offspring in the entire PCOS population and in a subsample with hyperandrogenaemia.

Results

Women with PCOS had an increased risk of preterm delivery <37 weeks of gestation (OR 2.28; 95% confidence interval, 95% CI, 1.51–3.45; P < 0.0001). The elevated risk was confined to hyperandrogenic women with PCOS: preterm delivery before 37 weeks of gestation (OR 2.78; 95% CI 1.62–4.77; P < 0.0001), and was not seen in normoandrogenic women with PCOS (OR 1.35; 95% CI 0.54–3.39; P = 0.52). The overall risk of pre‐eclampsia was not elevated (OR 1.69; 95% CI 0.99–2.88; P = 0.05) compared with the background population, but was significantly increased in the hyperandrogenic subsample (OR 2.41; 95% CI 1.26–4.58; P < 0.001). The risk of small for gestational age offspring was similar in all groups.

Conclusion

Women with PCOS had an increased risk of preterm delivery compared with the background population. The increased risk was confined to hyperandrogenic women with PCOS who had a two‐fold increased risk of preterm delivery and pre‐eclampsia.