bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Early Onset of Tenofovir-Induced Renal Failure: Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Patel Shilpa M. , Zembower Teresa R. , Palella Frank , Kanwar Yashpal S. , Ahya Shubhada N.
Published: July 2007

Tenofovir is an acyclic nucleotide analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitor that is commonly prescribed as part of a highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimen in HIV-infected patients. Although it is generally well tolerated, renal insufficiency has been associated with its use. We report a biopsy-proven case of acute renal failure that developed within weeks of initiating a HAART regimen containing tenofovir, and review the literature with specific attention to cases of renal failure occurring within 8 weeks of tenofovir initiation. Our patient developed renal insufficiency within 3 weeks of initiating tenofovir-containing HAART and overt renal failure was noted within 5 weeks. Renal biopsy demonstrated histopathologic changes suggestive of HIV nephropathy, despite normal baseline serum creatinine values. Thirty additional cases of tenofovir-associated renal failure have been reported. In the majority (n = 22, 73%), renal failure occurred months after initiating therapy (range: 5–26 months). However, in a significant subset (n = 8, 27%), renal failure occurred within 8 weeks of treatment initiation. Our data suggest that some patients are at risk for developing renal failure within weeks of tenofovir initiation. Thorough evaluation of renal function should be undertaken before prescription of tenofovir-containing HAART. For those in whom subclinical renal disease is discerned, added vigilance when monitoring renal function may be warranted.
A Bacterial Transgene for Catalase Protects Translation of D1 Protein during Exposure of Salt-Stressed Tobacco Leaves to Strong Light
Authors: Al-Taweel Khaled , Iwaki Toshio , Yabuta Yukinori , Shigeoka Shigeru , Murata Norio , Wadano Akira
Published: July 2007

During photoinhibition of photosystem II (PSII) in cyanobacteria, salt stress inhibits the repair of photodamaged PSII and, in particular, the synthesis of the D1 protein (D1). We investigated the effects of salt stress on the repair of PSII and the synthesis of D1 in wild-type tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum ‘Xanthi’) and in transformed plants that harbored the katE gene for catalase from Escherichia coli. Salt stress due to NaCl enhanced the photoinhibition of PSII in leaf discs from both wild-type and katE-transformed plants, but the effect of salt stress was less significant in the transformed plants than in wild-type plants. In the presence of lincomycin, which inhibits protein synthesis in chloroplasts, the activity of PSII decreased rapidly and at similar rates in both types of leaf disc during photoinhibition, and the observation suggests that repair of PSII was protected by the transgene-coded enzyme. Incorporation of [35S]methionine into D1 during photoinhibition was inhibited by salt stress, and the transformation mitigated this inhibitory effect. Northern blotting revealed that the level of psbA transcripts was not significantly affected by salt stress or by the transformation. Our results suggest that salt stress enhanced photoinhibition by inhibiting repair of PSII and that the katE transgene increased the resistance of the chloroplast's translational machinery to salt stress by scavenging hydrogen peroxide.
A Sepal-Expressed ADP-Glucose Pyrophosphorylase Gene (NtAGP) Is Required for Petal Expansion Growth in ‘Xanthi’ Tobacco
Authors: Kwak Man Sup , Min Sung Ran , Lee Si-Myung , Kim Kyung-Nam , Liu Jang Ryol , Paek Kyung-Hee , Shin Jeong Sheop , Bae Jung Myung
Published: July 2007

In this study, a tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum ‘Xanthi’) ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase cDNA (NtAGP) was isolated from a flower bud cDNA library and the role of NtAGP in the growth of the floral organ was characterized. The expression of NtAGP was high in the sepal, moderate in the carpel and stamen, and low in the petal tissues. NtAGP-antisense plants produced flowers with abnormal petal limbs due to the early termination of the expansion growth of the petal limbs between the corolla lobes. Microscopic observation of the limb region revealed that cell expansion was limited in NtAGP-antisense plants but that cell numbers remained unchanged. mRNA levels of NtAGP, ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase activity, and starch content in the sepal tissues of NtAGP-antisense plants were reduced, resulting in significantly lower levels of sugars (sucrose, glucose, and fructose) in the petal limbs. The feeding of these sugars to flower buds of the NtAGP-antisense plants restored the expansion growth in the limb area between the corolla lobes. Expansion growth of the petal limb between the corolla lobes was severely arrested in ‘Xanthi’ flowers from which sepals were removed, indicating that sepal carbohydrates are essential for petal limb expansion growth. These results demonstrate that NtAGP plays a crucial role in the morphogenesis of petal limbs in ‘Xanthi’ through the synthesis of starch, which is the main carbohydrate source for expansion growth of petal limbs, in sepal tissues.
Data preservation, the new science and the practitioner librarian
Authors: Joint Nicholas
Published: July 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to outline the information management principles of the so‐called “new science”, and to attempt to put these in the context of traditional library and information science principles.

Design/methodology/approach

A brief review of some work in the area, in particular focusing on the work show‐cased by the annual digital preservation conference series hosted by the Digital Curation Centre in Scotland (www.dcc.ac.uk/).

Findings

There is a danger that scientists (as opposed to LIS professionals) will apply the information management techniques of the new science to their own activities inappropriately, especially to research that is best curated as “old” not new science. This is something on which information professionals are well placed to give advice and make judgements.

Research limitations/implications

More practice‐oriented research is needed to enhance understanding of how traditional librarianship practices can be applied to the data‐intensive scientific research carried out by so‐called “virtual organisations”.

Practical implications

This paper makes some initial suggestions about the how the tools of library and information practice can be related to the “new science”. In particular, it highlights their relevance to distinguishing between the information management needs of the “old” and the “new” sciences: these needs are quite distinct, though easily confused.

Originality/value

This paper relates terms from pure science such as the virtual organisation, cyberinfrastructure, and e‐Science to traditional LIS concepts, and tries to create an understanding of the relationship between the two disciplines for the library practitioner.
Internet adoption and assimilation in Kenyan university libraries
Authors: Odero‐Musakali Damaris , Mutula Stephen M.
Published: July 2007

Purpose

This paper sets out to discuss internet adoption and assimilation among university libraries in Kenya.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a literature survey and the experiences of the authors with the Kenyan high education system.

Findings

The potential advantages of the internet appear to have precluded the foresight of Kenyan university libraries to the challenges that may be associated with its deployment. There is clear under‐utilization and considerable disparities between and within the libraries in their levels of general Information and Communication Technology (ICT) deployment and use in Kenya. Most public university libraries still use conventional methods of service provision, suggesting that most library employees are not ready to embrace and integrate these information technologies in their routine operations. If promising ICT applications cannot be widely deployed, then the benefits resulting from such technologies are likely to be equally curtailed.

Research limitations/implications

This paper confines itself to discussion of the internet in Kenyan university libraries. The paper also focuses only on fully fledged government, and private universities as they are among the major stakeholders of the internet initiatives taking place in institutions of higher learning in Kenya. Higher education in Kenya has expanded tremendously in the last decade and there is need for studies that address various issues that relate to technology adoption and use that include legal and regulatory frameworks, technology transfer, capacity building and management of new technologies.

Originality/value

With students and staff in higher education the world over increasingly gaining access to the internet and other new technologies, the future of universities depends on their capacity to institutionalize such technologies to meet the complex needs of the academic populace. The ubiquitous presence of ICTs in academic libraries, especially the internet and its potential impact on learning, teaching, and research, implies that any effort that would shed light on this technology is laudable. This underscores the need to understand the underlying factors that impede or promote individuals’ response to the internet‐based technology in university libraries not only in Kenya but elsewhere.
Age and exposure to computers as determinants of attitudes of librarians towards automation in Nigerian universities
Authors: Osahon Uwaifo Stephen
Published: July 2007

Purpose

The paper seeks to examine age and exposure to computers as determinants of librarians’ attitudes towards library automation in Nigerian universities.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a survey approach to determine the attitudes of academic librarians in Nigeria.

Findings

The investigation shows that an overwhelming majority of the librarians registered a high and positive attitude towards library automation. However, the two variables of interest to this study were found not to influence the librarians’ attitudes towards library automation. Also, several university libraries in Nigeria are yet to be automated due to some identified impediments like: financial constraints, shortage of IT personnel, irregular electric power supply, poor communication facilities, and absence of a national policy on information technology.

Practical implications

Generally librarians, system administrators, university authorities, IT researchers, and the National Universities Commission of Nigeria will find this paper useful. It enlightens them about the librarians’ positive attitudes towards library automation, poor state of automation in the libraries, as well as the lack of relationship between attitude of librarians and the two variables of interest to this study.

Originality/value

The paper offers new insights in the area of IT use by academic librarians in Nigeria. This study differs from others because it established that, even though the librarians registered a positive attitude towards library automation, their age and exposure to computers do not determine such an attitude.
Cataloguing e‐books in UK higher education libraries: report of a survey
Authors: Belanger Jacqueline
Published: July 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the results of a 2006 survey of UK Higher Education OPACs in order to provide a snapshot of cataloguing practices for e‐books.

Design/methodology/approach

The OPACs of 30 UK HE libraries were examined in July/August 2006 to determine which e‐books were catalogued, and the level of cataloguing treatment e‐books received. Interviews were conducted by e‐mail with representatives of eight of these libraries.

Findings

A total of 28 universities surveyed provided some OPAC records for e‐books; most of these were for subscription collections from suppliers such as ebrary and netLibrary. Five universities included records in their OPACs for individual e‐book titles from collections such as Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO); four OPACs included records for free e‐books. There are wide variations between institutions in terms of which e‐books are selected for cataloguing.

Research limitations/implications

The survey was undertaken at a particular point in time (summer 2006) and was not exhaustive of all UK HE OPACs.

Practical implications

This research suggests that it should be made easier for users to search OPACs for e‐books, and that libraries should provide more information on their websites about which e‐books are catalogued.

Originality/value

This paper addresses a gap in the UK literature on cataloguing e‐books.
E‐books from MyiLibrary at the University of Worcester: a case study
Authors: Taylor Alison
Published: July 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe how an e‐books project was set up at the University of Worcester Information and Learning Services with the aim of improving user access to the range of textbook materials available.

Design/methodology/approach

Details of the background and circumstances of the University and the effect of these on the process undertaken by the e‐books project group are described. The selection of an e‐books provider, MyiLibrary, and subsequent ordering, cataloguing and promotion activities are outlined.

Findings

This paper outlines the importance of tailoring the approach to e‐books acquisition to the individual institution. It is found that authentication is a major issue and that for e‐books packages to be successful, technical problems need to be kept to a minimum.

Practical implications

Examples to assist others in setting up e‐books provision are given. Technical difficulties and the range of titles available are both impediments to providing a full e‐books service.

Originality/value

E‐books appear to provide greater access and flexibility to library users. Information and Learning Services fully intends to extend the range of e‐books available to students. This paper looks at the practicalities of setting up and expanding such a service.
E‐books from ebrary at Staffordshire University: a case study
Authors: Parkes David
Published: July 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the use of ebrary's e‐books at Staffordshire University.

Design/methodology/approach

Details are provided of the history of Staffordshire's involvement with ebrary as a supplier of e‐books as well as methods of searching for information in the ebrary collection as well as other e‐book collections used by Staffordshire University.

Findings

In a split‐site university such as Staffordshire, and with many students never visiting campus libraries, the provision of course material and readings in e‐format is essential. ebrary provides an “instant library” solution, and the possibility of adding individual texts to this core collection strengthens this provision. The ability for students and researchers to search across the full content of 30,000 e‐books in one “go” and then capture that information quickly and easily is also very valuable.

Originality/value

The paper provides information based on some years of practical experience in providing access to e‐book collections.
Web‐based OPACs in Indian academic libraries: a functional comparison
Authors: Kapoor Kanta , Goyal O.P.
Published: July 2007

Purpose

The paper seeks to provide a comparative analysis of the functionality of five web‐based OPACs available in Indian academic libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

Same‐topic searches were carried out by three researchers on the web‐based OPACs of Libsys, VTLS's iPortal, NewGenLib, Troodon, and Alice for Windows, implemented in five academic libraries in India. Their functionality was compared using criteria selected from the literature on OPAC searching.

Findings

The web‐based OPACs investigated offered a range of facilities for searching by author, title, control number and by keywords. Federated searching across several e‐collections was limited.

Originality/value

This paper should be a useful source of information to librarians who are planning to introduce web‐based OPACs and also for software vendors who wish to improve the functionality of their products.
Merged service outcomes at Earlham College
Authors: Baker Neal , Kirk Thomas G.
Published: July 2007

Purpose

The paper aims to provide an overview of merged services arising from the integration of library and information technology units at Earlham College. These services may serve as a model or resource for other institutions.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews six years of integration experience, discussing assessment and current goals.

Findings

The paper demonstrates the benefits of integrating library and information technology units in ways that respect the unique strengths of each contributing unit and that are sensitive to local conditions.

Practical implications

Library/information technology integration can result when staff from different units work together to provide services for which responsibilities overlap. This type of integration can occur without significant restructuring if shared values and a willingness to collaborate already exist.

Originality/value

The paper provides insights for administrators and librarians considering a merger of library/information technology units, demonstrating how the integration process does not necessarily entail a radical change in doing business.
Getting everyone on the same page
Authors: MacMillan Don , McKee Susan , Sadler Shawna
Published: July 2007

Purpose

Using staff focus groups in the redevelopment of a library web site deploys their knowledge of user navigation issues and search strategies and addresses the unique needs of library staff. This paper seeks to describe the process of planning, recruiting, and conducting staff focus groups and provide a discussion of lessons learned.

Design/methodology/approach

A committee of professionals and non‐professionals from the University of Calgary Library conducted a series of five focus groups with library staff. The goals were to determine their content and service priorities for the redesigned library web site, and also to ensure that staff was included in the redesign process.

Findings

This paper makes recommendations for library staff focus group interviewing, including planning, formulating questions, recruitment, conducting sessions, and analysis and reporting.

Practical implications

Focus group interviews can be effectively conducted in‐house, with careful planning and adherence to established guidelines. Focus groups are a very useful method for gathering staff input for web site redesign or any other library‐planning project.

Originality/value

This paper will be useful to librarians interested in assessing staff needs and priorities through focus group interviews. The paper fills a void in the library literature regarding the use of library staff as both focus group leaders and participants.
Understanding our student learners
Authors: Maybee Clarence
Published: July 2007

Purpose

This research project aims to provide an understanding of Mills College undergraduate students' experience of using information, which Mills librarians can use to develop effective information literacy instructional pedagogy.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a phenomenographic methodology, 18 undergraduate students at Mills College in Oakland, California, were interviewed and the transcripts were analyzed to reveal the ways that undergraduates experience using information.

Findings

Four distinct ways that Mills undergraduates experience information use are revealed in the paper.

Research limitations/implications

The results of this research project share similarities with other phenomenographic research, supporting the phenomenographic premise that there are a limited number of ways that a phenomenon is experienced.

Practical implications

Knowing the four ways that undergraduates experience using information provides Mills librarians with the necessary tools to develop effective learner‐centered instruction.

Originality/value

Knowing the ways that Mills undergraduates understand information use is the first step to designing an effective learner‐centered pedagogy that holds tremendous potential for teaching students to use information meaningfully to learn and accomplish goals.
Information literacy education through mediated learning and multiple intelligences
Authors: Azura Mokhtar Intan , Majid Shaheen , Foo Schubert
Published: July 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to present the findings of a study that investigated the impact of information literacy (IL) teaching approaches, which are grounded in pedagogy, on students' level and applicability of IL competencies.

Design/methodology/approach

A quasi‐experimental control group study was carried out with 476 students, aged from 13 to 15 years old, from four secondary (high) schools in Singapore. The students were given a pre‐intervention test in the beginning. Out of the 476 students, 279 students (from two schools) went through a mediated learning intervention programme, while the remaining 197 students went through a multiple intelligence intervention programme. Students were organised into smaller groups of five each, and were given a group project to do. Students in the experimental sub‐clusters were exposed to the respective intervention approaches, while students in the control sub‐clusters were left on their own to carry out the project. A post‐intervention test was administered to all students at the end of the intervention programmes.

Findings

The results of the group reports and project evaluation done by three independent and neutral teacher‐examiners, as well as those from the pre‐ and post‐intervention tests, found that the application of either mediated learning (or close coaching) or multiple intelligences helped students perform better in the learning and application of IL skills.

Research limitations/implications

The study managed to involve 476 students from four secondary (high) schools only. A larger number of students from more schools would have been more desirable. In addition, the inclusion of students from primary (elementary) schools and tertiary institutions would be useful in strengthening the findings. However, the study has sufficiently provided evidence that appropriate pedagogy is important in enhancing the learning and application of IL competencies amongst students. This could in turn yield initiatives on various aspects of IL‐related research, such as in IL policy formulation, and IL pedagogy.

Practical implications

The application of appropriate pedagogical approaches in teaching IL makes the learning and application of IL competencies more effective.

Originality/value

Although it is widely accepted that IL competencies are useful in helping students perform better, both academically or otherwise, limited empirical evidence is available showing the relationship between IL education and IL competencies. The paper highlights the impact of appropriate pedagogy in imparting and entrenching IL competencies in students.
Bridging the digital divide in Nigeria: a study of internet use in Calabar Metropolis, Nigeria
Authors: Edet Ani Okon , Uchendu Chika , Atseye Emmanuel U.
Published: July 2007

Purpose

The paper aims to discuss and investigate the prevalence of digital divide in Nigeria, using University of Calabar in Calabar Metropolis as a case study.

Design/methodology/approach

Validated questionnaires were administered to internet users at designated cyber café in the University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria.

Findings

The findings of the survey show the prevalence of various forms of digital divide such as gender, marital status, age and educational level of the internet users in Nigeria.

Practical implication

The federal/state governments as well as university managements in Nigeria should formulate relevant policies to reduce various forms of digital divide that are prevalent in the Nigeria.

Originality/value

The paper recommends the need to effectively address the issue of digital divide in whatever form in Nigeria towards global integration in the digital economy.
The priorities of public libraries at the onset of the third millennium
Authors: Pacios Ana R.
Published: July 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to show the main action areas to which public libraries are devoting their efforts and resources at the onset of the twenty‐first century, despite their own particularities and needs.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology is based on a comparative analysis on a sample of so‐called “strategic” and “long‐term” plans from US public libraries covering from 1998 through 2010. Of all identified priorities, those appearing in at least 40 per cent of the plans were used for the analysis. Thus, the paper narrowed the list of priorities down to the five most repeated ones in the sample of plans, and their peculiarities are set forth here.

Findings

The paper finds that, although the method used is a simple one and the results are limited to the set of libraries whose plans have been analysed, there are coincidences with some predictions in some papers on the role public libraries should play in the twenty‐first century.

Originality/value

In the long term, this type of research permits comparison of trends among libraries from different countries and the monitoring of how they evolve with time. It can also be useful to library managers as a benchmark.
New modes of governance in activation policies
Authors: van Berkel Rik , Borghi Vando
Published: July 2007

Purpose

This editorial aims to introduce the first of a set of two special issues on New modes of governance in activation policies.

Design/methodology/approach

The article explores the concept of governance, distinguishing a broad and more narrow use of the concept. Then, it argues that issues of governance should be an integral part of studies of welfare state transformations. Not in the last instance, because governance reforms do have an impact on the content of social policies and social services such as activation. The article continues by discussing three models of the provision of social services.

Findings

The article states that the development of the modes of governance in activation in various countries reveals that a mix of service provision models is being used.

Originality/value

The article introduces the articles of the special issue.
Implementing public employment policy: what happens when non‐public agencies take over?
Authors: Bredgaard Thomas , Larsen Flemming
Published: July 2007

Purpose

The purpose of the article is to analyse the interconnections between formal policy reforms and operational policies, specifically between new governance and employment policy. The main question is what happens to public employment policies when they are contracted out to non‐public (for‐profit and not‐for‐profit) agencies?

Design/methodology/approach

The case is the contracting out of the public employment services in Australia, Holland, and Denmark. The data consists of in‐depth interviews with key respondents in the three countries, observations at service delivery agencies, and desk studies of existing research.

Findings

The new quasi‐market models seem to have difficulties in living up to the preconditions for a well‐functioning market, as well as political expectations. Contracted out employment systems do not seem to create higher efficiency, innovation, quality, and less bureaucracy than previous public bureaucracies. But a quasi‐market model, on the other hand, does seems to create a new type of employment policy, and new conditions for steering and governing the labour market and employment policy. This implies that choosing a quasi‐market model involves much more than a discussion about “technicalities” like (cost) efficiency and productivity. Some of the most important – but often neglected and depoliticised – policy changes seem to emerge from changes of the institutional set‐up rather than changes of specific laws and ministerial orders.

Originality/value

The article is innovative in trying to identify relationships between management structure and policy content. Often these changes are analysed in separate disciplines, and isolated from each other. In this article we provide an integrated and multidisciplinary approach.
Emergence of new modes of governance in activation policies: Czech experience
Authors: Sirovátka Tomáš , Horák Pavel , Horáková Markéta
Published: July 2007

Purpose

The paper deals with the question to what extent implementation conditions influence the profile of activation policies in the Czech Republic. In this way, it helps to clarify more general questions: how are broader objectives of these policies specified at the bottom level of implementation and why activation policies differ among countries, although guided by similar general objectives and principles.

Design/methodology/approach

The findings are based on implementation case studies carried out at several local labour offices during the pilot stage and later during the routine stage of implementation of Individual Action Plans (IAPs).

Findings

The paper shows that in the pilot stage of IAPs, the employability approach of enforced activation originated from the top‐down and was adopted at the local level; however, in a fragmented way due to unfavourable implementation conditions (above all poor staffing and a lack of activation programmes). It follows from these very conditions that, in the routine stage, the programme has been dying away, despite being supported by legislation and programme documents. On the other hand, processes of institutional learning have been initiated owing to IAPs and, with the availability of new policy opportunities at the local level (brought about with projects funded from the ESF), policy coalitions and activation policies emerge from the bottom‐up, giving rise to another model: capability approach of inclusion through participation.

Practical implications

The findings are signalling to policy makers the necessity to control the implementation conditions at the national, as well as local level and to take the bottom‐up processes of policy re‐formulation into consideration.

Originality/value

The analysis of the contradictions between the levels of policy‐making and of the volatility of implemented policies emerging from specific implementation conditions represents the original contribution of the study.
Assembly operations streamlined by ABB's Global Partner Programme
Authors: Connolly Christine
Published: July 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to illustrate how robots can form an efficient, versatile and cost‐effective component in assembly operations.

Design/methodology/approach

The applicability of robots is illustrated by two integrated confectionery‐packing solutions, followed by a description of a portioning machine specially developed for floppy meats. The particular advantages of ABB's FlexPicker robot are described.

Findings

ABB's Global Partner Programme encourages the use of robots in automation, and such robots can achieve a rapid pay‐back, even in the low‐pay food‐packaging industry.

Originality/value

The paper brings to the attention of assembly engineers the possibility of incorporating robots in the assembly line.
Path‐planning techniques for the simulation of disassembly tasks
Authors: Aguinaga Iker , Borro Diego , Matey Luis
Published: July 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to develop path‐planning techniques that support a general selective disassembly planner in a virtual reality environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents an automatic selective disassembly planning and two path‐planning techniques that support it. The first one is based on single translations, while the second is based on the generation of a random search tree. The methods used have been adapted and modified from available robotic path‐planning methods for their use in disassembly path planning.

Findings

The paper finds that the proposed techniques are applicable to the automatic generation of disassembly sequences.

Research limitations/implications

The paper provides an automatic tool that can be integrated in simulation software for the analysis and validation of disassembly operation.

Practical implications

Maintenance operations have a great impact in the security and life expectancy of any product. This is especially true for some applications such as aerospace that must pass rigorous security checking procedures. Geometric reasoning and virtual reality can help in reducing costs and design time by moving testing from physical mock‐ups to virtual ones.

Originality/value

The paper shows the integration of path‐planning techniques in automatic disassembly‐planning methods.
Laser micromachining for mould manufacturing: II. Manufacture and testing of mould inserts
Authors: Vasco J. , Bártolo P. J. , Silva B. , Galo C.
Published: July 2007

Purpose

Laser milling is a non‐conventional layer‐by‐layer material removal technology suitable for machining a wide range of materials. This technology is particularly suitable to produce microstructures inside cavities, also obtained by other conventional processes, though with larger material removal rates, or for the direct development of microcavities not requiring high removal rates. This paper seeks to evaluate the capacity of laser milling for manufacturing of mould inserts.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examined several specific features of laser milling, important for the manufacturing of mould inserts, such as walls verticality, unselected illuminating areas, due to an incorrect STL removal volume definition, aspiration process and orientation, to prevent welding of re‐solidified particles on the surface. Two mould inserts were produced too, assembled on a metallic mould frame and tested with different injection conditions.

Findings

The findings suggest that laser milling is a suitable technology to produce small mould insert for injection moulding, though injection conditions are different as one moves from macroscopic to microscopic injected parts. New design guidelines must be undertaken jointly with the assessment of laser milling performance to make mould microcavities. One of the major difficulties of this process is to keep the side walls vertical plus the generation of undesirable machined volumes, due to unselected illuminating areas below the STL volume, corresponding to the volume to be removed, whenever laser milling is used to operate with structures previously machined. To prevent welding of re‐solidified particles on the surface a proper aspiration must also be considered.

Originality/value

The paper describes the benefits of laser milling technology.
A function block diagnostic framework for a multi‐vendor PROFIBUS environment
Authors: Kaghazchi Hassan , Joyce Ronan , Heffernan Donal
Published: July 2007

Purpose

This paper sets out to highlight the problem associated with the development of fieldbus diagnostics in a multi‐vendor environment and to propose a solution based on diagnostic function blocks (FB).

Design/methodology/approach

The work focuses on the “master‐slave” communication model in a PROFIBUS fieldbus system, where three different vendor solutions are investigated.

Findings

Although the fieldbus standards specify the type and format of the diagnostics data, the extent, location and sequence of diagnostics data within a controller are entirely vendor‐dependent. The outcome from this work defines a framework for representing the diagnostics data in the context of a special function block.

Originality/value

This research work defines a novel unified framework for representing the fieldbus diagnostics data using FB for multi‐vendor solutions in a PROFIBUS environment.
Around the World: Sushi and Sweet Tea at the University of Mississippi
Authors: Herrera Kevin , Herrera Gail
Published: July 2007

Purpose

A brief review of recent and upcoming technology initiatives at the University of Mississippi Libraries with a dash of southern hospitality.

Design/methodology/approach

This is an introduction to a well‐established, academic library remaking itself in the age of bookstore cafes, Google, and heightened user expectations.

Findings

In an age of budgetary constraints and small staffs, the patron experience is reinvented through library technology and creature comforts.

Practical implications

Libraries have to evolve in terms of both space and technology in order to meet the expectations of 21st century users.

Originality/value

Provides a profile of the University of Mississippi Libraries.
Strategic purchasing and the evaluation of “problem” key supply relationships: what do key suppliers need to know?
Authors: Pressey Andrew , Tzokas Nikolaos , Winklhofer Heidi
Published: July 2007

Purpose

Previous research has reported that the adoption of a strategic purchasing orientation (SPO) requires closer relationships with key suppliers and greater long‐term planning in supply management. This paper aims to develop a generic framework for the evaluation of key supply relationships incorporating seven key categories and to empirically test these assumptions by comparing firms reporting high levels of strategic purchasing to those with low levels.

Design/methodology/approach

The data collection employed a mail survey sent to the senior manager responsible for purchasing in their organisation (n = 50).

Findings

The article finds that high SPO firms more closely scrutinise their supply relationships across a broad range of attributes, and, as well as perennially important issues such as quality and delivery, they emphasise “fit” between buyer and supplier (e.g. fit with the competitive strategy and organisational culture of the buying firm) as an important criterion in identifying failing relationships.

Research limitations/implications

The positioning of the current study as one of the first to address the evaluation of suppliers under strategic purchasing adoption calls for further replication.

Practical implications

The results of this study afford suppliers an understanding of the criteria by which firms adopting strategic purchasing evaluate troubled or weak relationships. This would seem particularly timely given the shift towards strategic purchasing by many organisations.

Originality/value

This study presents one of the first attempts to assess “ineffective” supplier performance and to incorporate metrics on strategic supplier selection.
Increasing returns and marketing strategy in the twenty‐first century: Nokia versus Microsoft versus Linux
Authors: Ju Choi Chong , Millar Carla C.J.M. , Ting‐Jieh Chu Robert , Berger Ron
Published: July 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop further the concept of increasing returns in technology industries, including social and critical mass factors. The paper applies this framework to the twenty‐first century with the example of the three‐way competition among Nokia, Microsoft and Linux for the global mobile software standards competition.

Design/methodology/approach

A multidisciplinary and conceptual methodology was used, integrating theories from economics, marketing, technology, innovation, sociology and psychology.

Findings

The study finds that increasing returns frameworks need to combine technology as well as social and psychology effects to reflect the dynamics of global competition in the twenty‐first century.

Originality/value

This paper illustrates how a multidisciplinary and integrated approach to analysing increasing returns and a critical mass framework can provide a richer and more holistic analysis of global competition, including Nokia, Microsoft and Linux, in the global competition for mobile software in the twenty‐first century.
A meta‐analysis of the relationship between sales orientation‐customer orientation (SOCO) and salesperson job performance
Authors: Jaramillo Fernando , Ladik Daniel M. , Marshall Greg W. , Mulki Jay Prakash
Published: July 2007

Purpose

In the years since Saxe and Weitz developed a scale to measure the selling orientation and customer orientation (SOCO) of a salesperson, research findings on the effect of SOCO on salesperson job performance have shown mixed results. This article aims to synthesize the findings from the empirical studies to identify the direction and the strength of this relationship. In addition, it aims to investigate the moderating effect of customer type (business or end user consumer) and type of job performance measure used (subjective or objective).

Design/methodology/approach

Research questions were addressed by a meta‐analysis of 16 studies containing 17 effect sizes from 3,477 respondents.

Findings

Meta‐analysis results reveal an attenuated weighted mean effect size (r) of this relationship of 0.14, with a 90 percent confidence interval of 0.04 to 0.23. The disattenuated mean effect size (rc) is 0.16. Findings also reveal that neither customer type nor type of job performance measures moderated the SOCO and job performance relationship.

Research limitations/implications

Although diligence was exercised to reduce selection bias, relevant studies may have been excluded from this meta‐analysis.

Practical implications

Study findings demonstrate that SOCO is an important predictor of salesperson job performance. High performance occurs when salespeople focus their energy on identifying the customer's individual needs and offer products to satisfy those needs.

Originality/value

This is the first published SOCO meta‐analysis.
The relationship of facets of salesperson job satisfaction with affective organizational commitment
Authors: Boles James , Madupalli Ramana , Rutherford Brian , Andy Wood John
Published: July 2007

Purpose

This paper aims to examines the relationships between various facets of salesperson job satisfaction as assessed by the INDSALES measure and salesperson organizational commitment. The paper also seeks to explore salesperson gender as a moderator of the relationship between facets of job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses survey research of one firm's business‐to‐business salespeople to examine the relationships between facets of salesperson job satisfaction and salesperson organizational commitment.

Findings

Study results indicate that various facets of job satisfaction are more strongly related to organizational commitment. Findings also indicate that these relationships are not the same for male and female salespeople.

Practical implications

Findings demonstrate to sales managers that not all types of satisfaction are related to organizational commitment, which has been strongly linked to a salesperson's propensity to leave an organization. Further, various facets of satisfaction such as pay and promotion are more important to men than to women. Women find that satisfaction with co‐workers is more closely related to organizational commitment than it is for men. These findings have significant relevance to sales managers.

Originality/value

The relationship between facets of job satisfaction and organizational commitment has not been extensively researched. This is true even though these are two very important issues when dealing with sales force management. Likewise, the issue of men and women valuing different types of satisfaction to varying degrees has not been thoroughly examined in the business‐to‐business sales force literature.
An integrated study of entrepreneurs' opportunism
Authors: Ting Shueh‐Chin , Chen Cheng‐Nan , Bartholomew Darrell E.
Published: July 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is, first, to provide a comprehensive discussion about entrepreneur opportunism's antecedents (uncertainty, information asymmetry, asset specificity and relational exchange) and consequences (transaction cost, trust, commitment, performance, and cooperation) and, second, to construct a model by linking entrepreneurs' opportunism and its antecedents and consequences.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper tests the theoretical construction empirically. In total, 200 retailers of the computer industry in Taiwan participated in the investigation. The linear regression analysis is applied to the tests of the hypotheses.

Findings

The study finds that uncertainty and information asymmetry induce the generation of entrepreneurs' opportunism, while asset specificity and relational exchange can be used to lower entrepreneurs' opportunism. Entrepreneurs' opportunism incurs transaction costs and lowers trust, commitment, performance, and cooperation.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations associate with the model variables, the cooperative willingness of retailers, the empirical industry and country, and the explored relationships. However, the model provides a basis for further studying the antecedents and consequences of an entrepreneur's opportunism.

Practical implications

Insights derived from this study will provide managers with the appropriate strategies of relationship marketing to solve opportunism's problem in a channel relationship and attain better relationship outcomes.

Originality/value

This study integrates the antecedents and consequences of entrepreneurs' opportunism in one model. From a managerial perspective, the results of this study are of importance because they provide evidences for the causal relationships of entrepreneur's opportunism.
Adoption of environmental innovations at US power plants
Authors: Bellas Allen S. , Nentl Nancy J.
Published: July 2007

Purpose

This paper is a case study that aims to trace the adoption of innovation of the fabric filter, an innovative pollution control device utilized in the industrial energy sector, in order to profile early adopters of this technology.

Design/methodology/approach

Following their introduction in the mid‐1970s, fabric filters, a new type of industrial scrubber, experienced aggressive growth, and by 1990, this new technology represented close to half of the new flue gas particulates (FGP) control units installed. The paper analyzes data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) Form 767, using t‐tests, cross tabulations and binomial regression to identify the characteristics of those boilers, plants and utilities that installed fabric filters from the late 1970s to 1990.

Findings

Analysis indicates that there are specific characteristics of early adopters of fabric filter technology such as the capacity and age of the associated boiler, the capacity and size of the utility, and whether the utility was privately or publicly owned.

Originality/value

This research is important in light of forthcoming rules for mercury control at these same units as they will likely require installation of some sort of control technology. The profile of the early adopter of environmental technology that emerges from this study can lead to a first‐to‐market advantage for firms eager to market the next innovation to this unique industrial marketplace.
Low attention advertising processing in B2B markets
Authors: Bach Jensen Morten , Lund Jepsen Anna
Published: July 2007

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to state a case for consideration of low attention processing when advertising in industrial markets.

Design/methodology/approach

Through a critical description of low attention processing the paper demonstrates how this framework can be applied in industrial markets. A case is made that it is relevant to consider low attention processing in industrial markets. Content analysis is subsequently applied to 48 advertisements for products that are deemed to invoke low attention. In the analysis, focus is on whether the advertisements employ emotional appeals in connection to brands and/or use intuitively understandable messages as would be advisable for attitude change through low attention processing.

Findings

The analysis shows that emotional appeals are used little in advertisements targeted at the selected market and that advertisements in which the brand clearly is displayed in combination with positive emotional appeals are rare. This combination was only seen in three out of 48 advertisements. In addition, most advertisements are not intuitively understandable and thus require that the message receiver is willing and able to allocate resources to cognitively process the advertisement contents.

Originality/value

This paper states a practical case for increased consideration of low attention processing and the necessity for an increased focus on customers' processing of business‐to‐business (B2B) advertising.