bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Information activities as serious leisure within the fanfiction community
Authors: Hill Heather , Pecoskie Jen J.L.
Published: September 2017

Purpose

Fanfiction communities are actively engaged in creating cultural products. These large online communities have created and developed conventions that guide their solutions to gathering and presenting their work. The purpose of this paper is to investigate those conventions looking for evidence of information-related pursuits as serious leisure (SL) (Stebbins, 2007).

Design/methodology/approach

A diverse collection of fanfiction publishing platforms, blogs, and associated websites were subject to a qualitative inductive analysis (Lincoln and Guba, 1985). Platforms included both generalist sites like Archive of Our Own and more focused sites such as Teen Wolf Fic Finder.

Findings

Findings show significant information-related activities around collecting, wayfinding, and organizing. Collecting centers on platform policies focused on scope. Wayfinding relates to peer review as well as various reference-like work including reader’s advisory, reference questioning, and the creation of pathfinders. Organizing looks to the unique organizational schema created and used by the fanfiction communities.

Research limitations/implications

The authors explore implications of these activities in reference to the fanfiction community and the library and information science (LIS) discipline. The fanfiction community is shifting out of an ephemeral existence and into one of a more permanent digital heritage. Fanfiction is an SL pursuit that also has much to offer for consideration to the LIS discipline.

Practical implications

With respect to the wayfinding and organizing conventions of fanfiction communities, these activities provide librarianship with the opportunity to consider traditional activities in new ways.

Originality/value

Fanfiction is a little studied phenomenon in SL and in LIS. This research provides connections to both areas.
Modelling the asymmetric impact of defence spending on economic growth
Authors: Ahad Muhammad , Dar Adeel Ahmad
Published: September 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the non-linear impact of defence spending on economic growth for the USA, the UK and Russia by using quarterly frequency from 1992 to 2014.

Design/methodology/approach

The unit root property is tested by ADF and PP unit root test. Further, BDS test is applied to test the linear independence. To verify the results of BDS test, we apply short and long-run symmetry test. The cointegration non-linear relationship is examined by NARDL approach. Further, Multipliers predict the speed of adjustments by considering the nonlinearity.

Findings

The short and long-run symmetry test confirms the existence of asymmetry in all countries. Further, asymmetric cointegration is confirmed through Wald statistics of Pesaran and Banerjee for all countries. The long-run asymmetric coefficient predicts negative and significant impact of defence spending on economic growth for the USA and the UK, but, these impacts were positive and significant in the case of Russia. The multiplier effect of defence spending on economic growth confirms the findings of NARDL model.

Originality/value

This study contributes in existing literature by applying newly developed non-linear ARDL approach, including a Wald test for long and short-run symmetry, asymmetric cointegration and asymmetric long run parameters in case of the USA, the UK and Russia.
The importance of social ties in mental health
Authors: Hare Duke Laurie
Published: September 2017

Purpose

Loneliness is associated with a variety of physical and mental health problems as well as mortality. In the mental health context, loneliness is sometimes viewed as a symptom of mental disorder rather than a problem in its own right. The purpose of this paper is to assess the importance of addressing loneliness amongst mental health service users.

Design/methodology/approach

Narrative overview of current literature on loneliness and health outcomes.

Findings

Loneliness is highly prevalent amongst adults with a variety of different mental health diagnoses in the UK. Preliminary evidence suggests that loneliness is not a symptom of mental health conditions themselves, and thus is likely to be either a cause or a consequence of mental ill-health. Lacking good quality social relationships is a risk factor for a wide range of health problems. The evidence for interventions targeting loneliness in different populations is lacking. New interventions and further research to tackle loneliness amongst service users is warranted.

Originality/value

Loneliness has not historically been a key target for intervention within mental health services. This paper collates the evidence base to provide the foundation for a new wave of interventions to target the perceived social isolation of service users.
Customer engagement on social media: how to enhance continuation of use
Authors: Hussein Rania , Hassan Salah
Published: September 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine antecedents of customer engagement on social media and how these platforms can enhance customers’ continuation intention. Customer engagement is manifested by the continued use of social media and is expected to occur when customers have a positive attitude toward social media. Thus, the main objective of this research is to explore the factors that affect customers’ attitude toward social media, which in turn is expected to result in customer engagement. Attitude toward social media is proposed to have an impact on levels of use and satisfaction is proposed to have a direct impact on customer engagement. An extended technology acceptance model (TAM) is used as the basic model guiding this research.

Design/methodology/approach

The theoretical model is tested drawing on the results of empirical work in the form of a large scale survey conducted on a random sample of the US general population. Data collection resulted in 388 usable questionnaires. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze data.

Findings

Results of this research provide support to the research objectives. Two of the three proposed factors extending TAM, namely, perceived connectedness and enjoyment were found to have a significant effect on attitude toward social media use. Attitude toward social media use was found to have a significant effect on level of use and level of use was found to have a significant effect on continuation intention. Additionally, satisfaction was found to have a significant direct effect on continuation intention.

Practical implications

Findings of this research provide managers with useful insights about what they need to focus on when designing their social media strategies.

Originality/value

This study provides a different way of theorizing customer engagement by incorporating new variables to TAM that are particularly relevant to the social media context. It also draws a link between attitude toward social media and levels of use, which has been understudied in literature.
Researching in volatile environments and the importance of adaptive methods for junior researchers
Authors: Doyle Caroline , McCarthy-Jones Anthea
Published: September 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the importance of adaptive methods for junior researchers undertaking research in volatile and dangerous environments.

Design/methodology/approach

Through the presentation of two case studies of the authors’ own experiences in the field, the authors demonstrate the way the use of adaptive methods is crucial for junior researchers to overcome unforeseen obstacles and day-to-day difficulties presented by field studies in volatile locations. Finally, the authors address the gap in the methodological literature on how junior researchers can best communicate adaptive methods in the methodology section of his/her research project.

Findings

The authors argue the importance of embedding a first-person narrative into the methodology sections of the project as a clear way for a junior researcher to demonstrate elements fundamental to the data collection experience, thereby engaging the reader with crucial aspects of the research findings.

Originality/value

The need for junior researchers to draw on a greater degree of flexibility in the field when confronted by the challenges of conducting research in volatile environments is paramount to the success of the project. The authors offer, based on the experiences in the field, pragmatic techniques to addresses some of the “messiness” of field studies that allows the researcher to demonstrate the crucial importance of adaptive methods in the doctoral projects.
Using relational cultural theory in education research design
Authors: Ticknor Anne Swenson , Averett Paige
Published: September 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an emic view of how one researcher negotiated complex relationships in teacher education research and learned to employ the principles of the relational cultural theory (RCT) to create a research design aimed at building and sustaining relationships with participants.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors offer illustrative qualitative data examples from teacher education research to highlight complexities in research relationships, essential elements of the RCT, and the affordances RCT can offer qualitative researchers invested in similar work.

Findings

By engaging pre-service teachers and ourselves as mutually engaged in this process, the authors put into practice a sense of community and relationship building the authors hope pre-service teachers will practice with their future students.

Research limitations/implications

This paper provides a qualitative research design employing tenets of the RCT which centers relationships as critical to the research process. The authors offer affordances and limitations to using the RCT in research.

Practical implications

Several affordances are offered to researchers interested in engaging in similar work.

Originality/value

This paper offers an original perspective of how one researcher in teacher education negotiated complex relationships and learned to employ the principles of the RCT within these to build a research design aimed at widening research and practice in teacher education through productive and lasting relationships.
Phenomenological social research: some observations from the field
Authors: Priya Arya
Published: September 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to undertake a phenomenological study of the working conditions and living standards of private security guards (private police) in New Delhi. The focus here is to bring forth their lived experiences as security guards.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper touches briefly upon the theoretical formulations on phenomenological sociology. The principal emphasis here is on the field application of phenomenology as a methodology of social inquiry – how phenomenology was put to use, the research problems encountered and how these research conundrums were navigated. The research makes use of interview as the technique of data collection. The study uses purposive and convenience sampling.

Findings

The research has tried to bring forth the lived experiences of the private security guards as regards to their job and living conditions, by “bracketing off” the author’s biases to the best of the author’s capacity. From the interview responses, some higher level concepts have been formulated, called the “essence” of lived experiences.

Research limitations/implications

As the sample size is small, the research cannot be considered a peremptory account of the “lived experiences” applicable to all the private security guards in Delhi. Such sweeping generalizations need to be avoided.

Practical implications

Besides highlighting the lived experiences of the private security guards, the larger purpose of this paper to solicit critical comments from the readers so that the field application of phenomenology could be better understood and refined further.

Originality/value

This is an original research work carried out by the author. During the fieldwork, “reflexivity” has been the author’s constant companion, where the author has tried best to keep the author’s prejudices at bay. Its value is twofold: first, as phenomenological research works on private security guards are few in India, this study can stimulate further research works in this field and second, the research can carry forward the debate on how to improve further phenomenological research works.
Family+Stories=Research
Authors: Bobongie Francis
Published: September 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to draw on the author’s research involving girls who leave their Torres Strait Island communities for boarding colleges in regional Queensland, Australia, and the academic, social and cultural implications that impede the transition process between community and school. While this paper discusses some of the research outcomes, its main focus is the unique indigenous research paradigm “Family+Stories=Research”, devised for and utilised within this project. This paradigm centres on the Australian indigenous kinship system and was implemented in two specific phases of the research process. These were: the preliminary research process leading up to the implementation of the research project; and the data collection phase. In turn, both phases enable the cultural significance of the kinship system to be better understood through the results. Because observations and storytelling or “yarning” were primarily used through both phases, these results also endorse the experience of the participants, and the author – both professionally and personally – without requiring further analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

The indigenous research paradigm and methodology unique to this research project implements the kinship system, allowing the researcher to access the appropriate resources and people for the project. Prior to the data collection phase, contact with significant community members in both boarding colleges and the Torres Strait Region was made. The methodology implemented for the research project was ethnographic and used observations, individual interviews and focus groups. The views and experiences of 26 past and present students, and 15 staff, both indigenous and non-indigenous, across three different boarding colleges were recorded.

Findings

Through both phases of the research project, the kinship system played a significant role in the ethnographic research process and data collection phase, which focussed on two key areas encompassed within the kinship system: “business” and the “care of children”. Stories from the researcher and the participants confirm the significant role that the kinship system can play within the indigenous research paradigm: Family+Stories=Research.

Originality/value

The paper introduces an indigenous research paradigm and methodology designed around two factors: family and stories. This paper brings to light the impact of the kinship system used within communities of the Torres Strait Islands and explains how this system advantaged the research process and the data collection phase by enabling the researcher to freely access stories specific to the research project.
Audit quality and attributes of management earnings forecasts
Authors: Chi Yu-Ho , Ziebart David A.
Published: September 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of auditor type on management’s choice of forecast precision and management forecast errors, including the effects of corporate governance. The authors use a different sample and a larger period of years to determine whether prior inferences are robust across these dimensions as well as various corporate governance and other control variables.

Design/methodology/approach

This quasi-experimental study uses archival data in regression-based analyses.

Findings

The authors find firms with Big 5 auditors issue forecasts that have larger forecast errors are biased downward and are less precise. The inferences of this study are robust to the inclusion of corporate governance variables, along with an extensive number of control variables found important in prior studies.

Research limitations/implications

While the sample and time period may be limited, the authors have no evidence this biases the results.

Practical implications

More stringent auditing may have an unintended consequence of reducing the informativeness of management forecasts, as managers act strategically in regards to forecast accuracy, bias and precision.

Social implications

The inferences of this study indicate that while higher quality audits could constrain earnings management, higher quality audits may induce management to provide forecasts that have greater errors, may be biased and may be less informative.

Originality/value

The results and inferences of this study suggest that the inferences in prior studies hold across a different sample and a different time period. This is important given concerns in the academic community regarding the extent to which prior studies can be replicated.
Audit deficiency and auditor workload: evidence from PCAOB triennially inspected firms
Authors: Chang C. Janie , Luo Yan , Zhou Linying
Published: September 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of workloads at public accounting firms on the likelihood of an audit deficiency being identified during a triennial inspection by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).

Design/methodology/approach

Using the human resource information disclosed in PCAOB inspection reports, this study constructs two firm-specific workload measures: the ratio of issuer clients to audit partners; and the ratio of issuer clients to professional staff. Firm-level audit deficiency is measured at three levels of severity: Do any of the audit engagements inspected by the PCAOB reveal an audit deficiency? Are any of the identified audit deficiencies directly related to the auditors’ failure to identify a departure from GAAP in the client’s financial statement? Are any of the identified audit deficiencies associated with a significant adjustment or restatement in the client’s subsequent period financial statements? This study uses logistic regression to examine the association between audit deficiency and the workload of public accounting firms.

Findings

The empirical evidence suggests that the workload of public accounting firms is positively associated with the likelihood of a deficient audit, auditor’s failure to identify client’s GAAP departure and/or an audit deficiency resulting in a significant adjustment or even a restatement of the client’s financial statements in the subsequent period.

Originality/value

This study is among the first to investigate the impact of firm workload on deficient audits.
The influence of internal corporate governance mechanisms on capital structure decisions of Chinese listed firms
Authors: Boateng Agyenim , Cai Huifen , Borgia Daniel , Gang Bi Xiao , Ngwu Franklin Nnaemeka
Published: September 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of internal corporate governance mechanisms on the capital structure decisions of Chinese-listed firms.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a large and more recent data set consisting of 2,386 Chinese-listed firms over the period from 1998 to 2012, the authors use different statistical methods (OLS, fixed effects and system GMM) to analyse the effects of firm-specific and corporate governance influences on capital structure.

Findings

The authors find that the proportion of independent directors and ownership concentration exert significant influence on the level of Chinese long-term debt ratios after controlling for firm-specific determinants and split share reforms. Further analysis separating the sample of this paper into state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and privately owned enterprises (POEs) suggests that ownership concentration in the hands of the state leads to decrease in debt ratios.

Research limitations/implications

The finding implies that concentrated ownership in the hands of the state appears more efficient compared to their private counterparts in their monitoring role.

Originality/value

This paper extends prior literature, which has concentrated disproportionately on firm-specific influences on capital structure, to the effects of within-firm governance mechanisms on capital structure decisions. The paper contributes to the agency theory–capital structure discourse in an emerging country context where corporate governance system appears weak.
Perspectives on the destination image of Tunisia
Authors: Selmi Noureddine , Dornier Raphaël
Published: September 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this viewpoint paper is to discuss the current situation of tourism in Tunisia after the revolution and to explore new ways to improve its image.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a literature review of tourism crisis and the current trends in Tunisian tourism.

Findings

The paper observes that a crisis can be a source of opportunity for a destination and that a carefully developed communication plan can improve its image.

Practical implications

The sharp decrease in international tourism flows in Tunisia makes it necessary for the destination to set a new tourism strategy aimed at improving its image among European tour operators and tourists.

Originality/value

This paper considers the extent to which a crisis in destination image affords an opportunity to reconsider its tourism strategy and improve its competitive positioning.
Moderating relationship of institutions for opportunity entrepreneurship and economic development
Authors: Ghura Hasan , Li Xiaoqing , Harraf Arezou
Published: September 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework that illustrates how resource-based countries, such as those in the Gulf Cooperation Council, can move their economies towards a more sustainable diversified model, through creating and fostering institutions that are conducive for opportunity entrepreneurship.

Design/methodology/approach

Several key variables pertaining to formal and informal institutions which impact opportunity entrepreneurship are presented in a conceptual framework based on a comprehensive, non-systematic literature review.

Findings

Findings from the comprehensive literature review suggest that institutions play a moderating role between opportunity entrepreneurship and economic development. Institutions can stimulate entrepreneur’s behaviour leading to economic growth and subsequently development. Proposals worth pursuing in empirical studies in the future are presented based on the review of the literature.

Practical implications

This framework offers a model for oil-based countries in resolving structural problems in fostering entrepreneurship when responding to economic challenges.

Originality/value

The proposed framework in this study takes into consideration a comprehensive set of formal and informal institutional factors, rarely discussed in the existing literature, that link opportunity entrepreneurship and economic growth and development. Insights offered by this study have implications for government policy changes in developing effective institutions.
Nexus between visitor arrivals and residential property rents in Hong Kong
Authors: Chong Terence Tai‐Leung , Yiu Alex Wing‐Ho
Published: September 2017

The cost of living in Hong Kong is among the highest in the world. This paper investigates the effect of tourist arrivals on the residential property market in Hong Kong. It is demonstrated that the soaring number of tourists from Mainland China is pushing up property rents in Hong Kong. The substantial accommodation need generated by the increasing number of students from China is another contributing factor.
Why Sasquatch and Other Crypto‐Beasts Haunt Our Imaginations
Authors: Simon Edward
Published: September 2017

The Sasquatch pastoral attempts to define the parameters of why mythic accounts of wild‐men are so common. As a concept, it is a critically useful way of understanding how Sasquatch, Bigfoot, the Yeti, and other cryptozoological accounts fulfill a deep‐seated and seemingly universal desire to understand humanity's own mythic origins. Whether such accounts have any veracity or not, the Sasquatch pastoral provides a theoretical vocabulary for conceptualizing the archetypal attractions of such accounts.
Introduction to the Special Issue: Way Out Voices: A Phenomenology of Interbeing
Authors: Hagens Bethe
Published: September 2017

Interbeing is a foundational teaching of Thiền Sư (Zen master) Thích Nhất Hạnh, beloved Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist who has worked closely with Chân Không, an expatriate Vietnamese Buddhist nun. Together they founded Plum Village retreat center in the Dordogne region of France. This volume of invited essays – taken as a whole – reveals the inspirational power of the word interbeing as a focus for creating common ground within scholarship for voices not so often heard. Metaphorically, this phenomenology is what Nhất Hạnh might call a “hugging meditation.”
Prevalence of subchondral bone pathological changes in the distal metacarpi/metatarsi of racing Thoroughbred horses
Authors: Bani Hassan E , Mirams M , Mackie EJ , Whitton RC
Published: September 2017

Objectives

To investigate the prevalence of microscopic subchondral bone injury in the distal metacarpi/tarsi of Thoroughbred racehorses and associations with recent and cumulative training history.

Methods

Metacarpi/metatarsi were obtained from postmortem examination of Thoroughbred racehorses. The severity of palmar/plantar osteochondral disease (POD) was graded in forelimbs from 38 horses and in hindlimbs from a separate cohort of 45 horses. Forelimb samples were embedded in methyl methacrylate and examined using backscattered scanning electron microscopy. Microfracture density in the condylar subchondral bone was determined. Horizontal subchondral bone fractures were identified in hindlimb samples using sections of demineralised tissue. Empty osteocyte lacunae were quantified in hindlimb samples using sections of demineralised tissue.

Results

The prevalence of gross POD was 65.8% (95% confidence interval (CI) 48.7–80.4%) in the forelimb and 57.8% (95% CI 42.2–72.3%) in the hindlimb cohort of horses. Microfractures occurred in the forelimbs of 97.4% (95% CI 86.2–99.9%) of horses. Microfracture density in forelimbs increased with age (rs = 0.50, P = 0.001), the number of race starts (rs = 0.47, P = 0.003) and was greater in the medial condyles of horses in training than in those not in training (n = 21, median: 3.1/mm; range: 0.8–10.0 vs n = 17, 1.4/mm; 0–4.5, P = 0.008). Empty osteocyte lacunae were observed in the subchondral bone of hindlimbs in 97.7% (95% CI 88.0–99.9%) of 44 horses.

Conclusions

Subchondral bone pathology occurs with a high prevalence in Thoroughbred racehorses presented for postmortem examination. The accumulation of subchondral bone damage with longer career duration is consistent with bone fatigue.
Surgery for constipation: systematic review and practice recommendations
Authors: Knowles C. H. , Grossi U. , Horrocks E. J. , Pares D. , Vollebregt P. F. , Chapman M. , Brown S. , Mercer‐Jones M. , Williams A. B. , Yiannakou Y. , Hooper R. J. , Stevens N. , Mason J. ,   the NIHR CapaCiTY working group,   The Pelvic floor Society and,   European Society of Coloproctology
Published: September 2017

Aim

This manuscript forms the final of seven that address the surgical management of chronic constipation (CC) in adults. The content coalesces results from the five systematic reviews that precede it and of the European Consensus process to derive graded practice recommendations (GPR).

Methods

Summary of review data, development of GPR and future research recommendations as outlined in detail in the ‘introduction and methods’ paper.

Results

The overall quality of data in the five reviews was poor with 113/156(72.4%) of included studies providing only level IV evidence and only four included level I RCTs. Coalescence of data from the five procedural classes revealed that few firm conclusions could be drawn regarding procedural choice or patient selection: no single procedure dominated in addressing dynamic structural abnormalities of the anorectum and pelvic floor with each having similar overall efficacy. Of one hundred ‘prototype’ GPRs developed by the clinical guideline group, 85/100 were deemed ‘appropriate’ based on the independent scoring of a panel of 18 European experts and use of RAND‐UCLA consensus methodology. The remaining 15 were all deemed uncertain. Future research recommendations included some potential RCTs but also a strong emphasis on delivery of large multinational high‐quality prospective cohort studies.

Conclusion

While the evidence base for surgery in CC is poor, the widespread European consensus for GPRs is encouraging. Professional bodies have the opportunity to build on this work by supporting the efforts of their membership to help convert the documented recommendations into clinical guidelines.
Models for truth‐telling in physician‐patient encounters: What can we learn from Yoruba concept of Ooto?
Authors: Ewuoso Cornelius
Published: September 2017

Empirical studies have now established that many patients make clinical decisions based on models other than Anglo American model of truth‐telling and patient autonomy. Some scholars also add that current medical ethics frameworks and recent proposals for enhancing communication in health professional‐patient relationship have not adequately accommodated these models. In certain clinical contexts where health professional and patients are motivated by significant cultural and religious values, these current frameworks cannot prevent communication breakdown, which can, in turn, jeopardize patient care, cause undue distress to a patient in certain clinical contexts or negatively impact his/her relationship with the community.

These empirical studies have now recommended that additional frameworks developed around other models of truth‐telling; and which take very seriously significant value‐differences which sometimes exist between health professional and patients, as well as patient's cultural/religious values or relational capacities, must be developed.

This paper contributes towards the development of one. Specifically, this study proposes a framework for truth‐telling developed around African model of truth‐telling by drawing insights from the communitarian concept of ootọ́ amongst the Yoruba people of south west Nigeria. I am optimistic that if this model is incorporated into current medical ethics codes and curricula, it will significantly enhance health professional‐patient communication.
Un modèle multidimensionnel pour appréhender les formes de travail inacceptables
Authors: McCANN Deirdre , FUDGE Judy
Published: September 2017

À l'approche de son centenaire, l'OIT a inclus la lutte contre les formes de travail inacceptables parmi les «domaines de première importance» devant guider son action. Cependant, pour les auteures, ces modalités particulières, leurs causes, leurs dimensions et leurs manifestations appellent encore une analyse exhaustive. Elles s'attaquent donc à ce projet, en commençant par exploiter les apports des différents courants d'analyse sur le travail contemporain, puis en proposant un modèle multidimensionnel novateur, que les acteurs sur le terrain devraient pouvoir utiliser pour repérer et traiter les formes de travail inacceptables à l'échelon national, quel que soit le niveau de revenu du pays.
Les services à la personne, toujours dévalorisés? Analyse et classification dans une optique comparative
Authors: LIGHTMAN Naomi
Published: September 2017

L'auteure compare la rémunération des travailleurs des services à la personne selon le prestige de la profession exercée dans différents pays (Canada, États‐Unis, Japon, République de Corée et Taïwan (Chine)), en s'appuyant sur des microdonnées de la Luxembourg Income Study. Elle classe ces professions selon leur degré de «fermeture sociale» et analyse la pénalité ou la prime salariale qui leur est associée dans chaque pays. Elle mesure aussi empiriquement les similarités et différences entre les États‐providence «libéraux» et ceux qui sont plutôt «développeurs productivistes», ainsi qu'au sein de ces régimes, confirmant la nette convergence internationale des services à la personne sous l'effet de la mondialisation.
¿Trabajo no productivo? Desglose del sector del cuidado desde una perspectiva comparada
Authors: LIGHTMAN Naomi
Published: September 2017

La autora analiza los ingresos de los trabajadores del cuidado en el Canadá, Estados Unidos, Japón, República de Corea y Taiwán (China) con microdatos del Luxembourg Income Study. Desagregando las definiciones existentes del trabajo del cuidado, distingue entre ocupaciones de categoría superior e inferior, según el grado de «cierre social», revelando la prima o penalización salarial asociadas en los países del estudio. También estima empíricamente las similitudes y diferencias entre países en función de su régimen de bienestar, «liberal» o de «desarrollo productivista», corroborando la hipótesis de que la globalización ha fomentado una convergencia sustancial del mercado internacional del cuidado.
Subsidios a la contratación de personas con discapacidades. Resultados de un pequeño experimento de campo
Authors: DEUCHERT Eva , KAUER Lukas
Published: September 2017

La eficacia de los subsidios a la contratación de personas con discapacidades es dudosa debido a posibles efectos de peso muerto, sustitución y señalización. Para evaluarla, los autores proponen un experimento natural basado en candidaturas de empleo que revelan o no (aleatoriamente) el derecho al subsidio del candidato. Según la tasa de convocatorias a entrevista logradas, concluyen que el subsidio es ineficaz o contraproducente para un grupo de adolescentes con su formación profesional recién terminada, pero el efecto negativo de señalización resulta mucho más débil para los clientes de un servicio de orientación laboral que contrajeron su discapacidad durante su vida activa.
Religious Identity, Expression, and Civility in Social Media: Results of Data Mining Latter‐Day Saint Twitter Accounts
Authors: Kimmons Royce , McGuire Kristin , Stauffer McKell , Jones J. Evan , Gregson Marie , Austin Madison
Published: September 2017

This study explores religious self‐identification, religious expression, and civility among projected Latter‐Day Saint Twitter accounts (201,107 accounts and 1,542,229 tweets). Novel methods of data collection and analysis were utilized to test hypotheses related to religious identity and civility against social media data at a large scale. Results indicated that (1) projected LDS Twitter accounts tended to represent authentic (rather than anonymous or pseudonymous) identities; (2) local minority versus majority status did not influence users’ willingness to religiously self‐identify; (3) isolation stigma did not occur when users religiously self‐identified; (4) participants exhibited much lower degrees of incivility than was anticipated from previous studies; and (5) religious self‐identification was connected to improved civility. Results should be of interest to scholars of religion for better understanding participation patterns and religious identity among Latter‐Day Saints and for exploring how these results may transfer to other groups of religious people.
Changes in pollution indicators in Lake Victoria, Kenya and their implications for lake and catchment management
Authors: Kundu Rodrick , Aura Christopher M. , Nyamweya Chrispine , Agembe Simon , Sitoki Lewis , Lung'ayia Henry B. O. , Ongore Collins , Ogari Zachary , Werimo Kenneth
Published: September 2017

Monitoring of aquatic pollution is important for ascertaining the relationship between fisheries and the general ecosystem health of a lake. This study evaluated the use of changes in pollution indicators in Lake Victoria, Kenya, as a decision support tool for fisheries management and productivity. Principal component analysis (PCA; R2 ≥ 0.5, P < 0.05) of physical and chemical parameters delineated sampling sites into ecological cluster zones consisting of the inner gulf (C1), mid‐gulf (C2) and open lake (C3). Test results for lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) levels in the Nile perch tissues were found to be compliant with EU standards. The inner and mid‐gulfs of the Winam Gulf had high levels of total (1818.8 ± 102–1937.78 ± 94 cfu 100 mL−1) and faecal (390 ± 21 cfu 100 mL−1) coliforms attributable to urban sewage and industrial effluents exceeded WHO standards. Similarly, Winam Gulf was more polluted than the open lake, with higher total phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations, turbidity levels and electrical conductivity. Low phytoplankton biovolume and a low number of macroinvertebrates genera, and high zooplankton densities and pollution‐tolerant catfishes (e.g., Schilbe victoriae; Clarias gariepinus) were observed in Winam Gulf. Faecal coliforms and dissolved oxygen influenced the abundance of tolerant fish species (e.g., S. victoriae) in the lake. This study indicated a declining trend of ecological integrity in the Winam Gulf, compared with the open waters of Lake Victoria. An integrated management approach directed to minimizing pollution levels, especially in the Winam Gulf, is recommended to enhance fishery production.
Focused breastfeeding counselling improves short‐ and long‐term success in an early‐discharge setting: A cluster‐randomized study
Authors: Nilsson Ingrid M. S. , Strandberg‐Larsen Katrine , Knight Christopher H. , Hansen Anne Vinkel , Kronborg Hanne
Published: September 2017

Length of postnatal hospitalization has decreased and has been shown to be associated with infant nutritional problems and increase in readmissions. We aimed to evaluate if guidelines for breastfeeding counselling in an early discharge hospital setting had an effect on maternal breastfeeding self‐efficacy, infant readmission and breastfeeding duration. A cluster randomized trial was conducted and assigned nine maternity settings in Denmark to intervention or usual care. Women were eligible if they expected a single infant, intended to breastfeed, were able to read Danish, and expected to be discharged within 50 hr postnatally. Between April 2013 and August 2014, 2,065 mothers were recruited at intervention and 1,476 at reference settings. Results show that the intervention did not affect maternal breastfeeding self‐efficacy (primary outcome). However, less infants were readmitted 1 week postnatally in the intervention compared to the reference group (adjusted OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.37, −0.81), and 6 months following birth, more infants were exclusively breastfed in the intervention group (adjusted OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.02, −1.81). Moreover, mothers in the intervention compared to the reference group were breastfeeding more frequently (p < .001), and spend more hours skin to skin with their infants (p < .001). The infants were less often treated for jaundice (p = 0.003) and there was more paternal involvement (p = .037). In an early discharge hospital setting, a focused breastfeeding programme concentrating on increased skin to skin contact, frequent breastfeeding, good positioning of the mother infant dyad, and enhanced involvement of the father improved short‐term and long‐term breastfeeding success.
It's not all about wealth and beauty: Changing perceptions of fatness among Makola market women of Accra, Ghana
Authors: Wrigley‐Asante Charlotte , Agyei‐Mensah Samuel , Obeng Faustina Adomaa
Published: September 2017

Within the African context, body shape preferences may be influenced by culture without necessarily taking into consideration health implications. Thus, fatness is culturally associated with beauty, prosperity, and prestige while thinness is perceived as a sign of ill‐health or poverty. Using a cross section of Makola market women, who traditionally are perceived as fat and affluent, our findings revealed that the perception of fatness as a sign of richness and beauty is changing due to women's access to knowledge and information on the health implications of fatness. The challenge for these women however, is adhering to healthy lifestyles despite living sedentary lives in the market place which is a conducive environment for one to become fat. We recommend that qualified professionals should encourage these women through continuous programmes on regenerative health and nutrition aimed at healthy lifestyle behaviour at the market places. The social groups that women belong to should be targeted, trained and equipped with the right information on healthy living so that they can disseminate this information to other members of their networks.
Facile synthesis of gold nanostars over a wide size range and their excellent surface enhanced Raman scattering and fluorescence quenching properties
Authors: Khan Hafsa Ikhtiar , Khalid Muhammad Umer , Abdullah Ameer , Ali Awais , Bhatti Arshad Saleem , Khan Sajid Ullah , Ahmed Waqqar
Published: September 2017

Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is an excellent technique for detecting the trace concentration of targets. However, SERS based detection of fluorescent targets is tricky as the fluorescence signal can severely interfere with the SERS signal upon resonance excitation. This can limit the trace detection capability of SERS. Herein, the authors demonstrate that Au nanostars (NSs) are excellent for fluorescence quenching and trace detection by SERS. The NS based SERS substrate was used to measure the R6G concentrations as low as 10 pM upon laser excitation that are in resonance with the fluorescence absorption. The authors used a simple seed-mediated and surfactant assisted method to synthesize AuNSs in a wide size range. The size of the NSs can be tuned from 55 nm to about 1 μm simply by varying the seed to HAuCl4 ratio in the growth solution.
Hurricane damage threatens Arecibo's future
Authors: Clery Daniel
Published: September 2017

As Puerto Rico reels, researchers take stock of their aging but beloved radio dish.
Critics pan wolf plan
Authors: Carswell Cally
Published: September 2017

Recovery plan for Mexican wolf promises no new U.S. habitat. States are pleased; some biologists are dismayed.
Webinar | The rise of whole genome microbial sequencing: A new era for human microbiome analysis
Authors: Segre Julie , Pollard Katie
Published: September 2017

Our knowledge of the role of the human microbiome in health and disease has been growing in recent years, but analysis of the microbiome—such as amplicon sequencing of the highly conserved 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene—has proved challenging. Thanks to the rapidly declining costs of next-generation sequencing, whole-genome microbial sequencing is now emerging as a viable alternative for disease research, providing a more detailed analysis of the species present in the microbiome. Together with our invited experts, we will explore how this shift is changing the way researchers are approaching microbiome analysis, and what the additional information obtained can tell us about how the health of the microbiome impacts human health and well-being.
Junk cognition
The Influential Mind
Tali Sharot
Henry Holt, 2017. 255 pp.
Authors: Enfield N. J.
Published: September 2017

A science-based guide offers tips for exploiting and overcoming faulty decision-making
Tsunami debris spells trouble
Authors: Chown Steven L.
Published: September 2017

Human-made objects swept out to sea after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake carried over 300 species to new locations
New insights into melanoma development
Authors: Shay Jerry W.
Published: September 2017

Telomerase promoter mutations extend cellular life span and increase melanoma susceptibility
Preprint ecosystems
Authors: Berg Jeremy
Published: September 2017

In 1991, an electronic system through which interested parties could access non-peer-reviewed physics papers was launched by Paul Ginsparg at Los Alamos National Laboratory. This evolved into the “preprint” server arXiv, which has played a central role in information sharing in physics, mathematics, and related fields over many years. Recently, other preprint servers have been or are being developed to serve other fields including biological sciences, chemistry, and medicine (see the News story on p. 1344). Given the different cultures associated with these disciplines, and other external factors, policies and practices must evolve as these servers become integrated into their communities.
Postexercise serum hepcidin response to repeated sprint exercise under normoxic and hypoxic conditions
Authors: Goto Kazushige , Kasai Nobukazu , Kojima Chihiro , Ishibashi Aya
Published: September 2017

We determined the effects of repeated sprint exercise under normoxic and hypoxic conditions on serum hepcidin levels. Ten male athletes (age: 20.9 ± 0.3 years; height: 175.7 ± 6.0 cm; weight: 67.3 ± 6.3 kg) performed 2 exercise trials under normoxic (NOR; fraction of inspiratory oxygen (FiO2): 20.9%) or hypoxic conditions (HYPO; FiO2: 14.5%). The exercise consisted of 3 sets of 5 × 6 s of maximal pedaling (30-s rest periods between sprints, 10-min rest periods between sets). Blood samples were collected before exercise, immediately after exercise, and 1 and 3 h after exercise. Serum hepcidin levels were significantly elevated after exercise in both trials (both P < 0.01), with no significant difference between the trials. The postexercise blood lactate levels were significantly higher in the HYPO than the NOR (P < 0.05). Both trials caused similar increases in plasma interleukin-6 and serum iron levels (P < 0.001), with no significant difference between the trials. A significant interaction (trial × time) was apparent in terms of serum erythropoietin (EPO) levels (P = 0.003). The EPO level was significantly higher in the HYPO than the NOR at 3 h after exercise (P < 0.05). In conclusion, repeated sprint exercise significantly increased serum hepcidin levels to similar extent in 2 trials, despite differences in the inspired oxygen concentrations during both the exercise and the 3-h postexercise period.
Soft-sediment deformation structures induced by rapid sedimentation in Early Cretaceous turbidites, Lingshan Island, eastern China
Authors: Liang Zhao , Zhou Yaoqi , van Loon A.J. (Tom)
Published: September 2017

Turbidites of the Early Cretaceous Lingshandao Formation on Lingshan Island, eastern China, show numerous soft-sediment deformation structures. The turbidites accumulated in a rift basin plain on the distal part of a low-energy fan, together with autochthonous fine-grained sediments that settled from suspension. Occasionally, sets of both types of sediments slumped down the basin slope. The turbidites were studied in two sections. Paleocurrent directions, measured from sole marks at the base of the sandy turbidites, indicate a slope from SE to NW; this is consistent with the dip direction of the axial planes of the major slump folds. Among the numerous types of soft-sediment deformation structures that are present, two types are of special interest because of their specific genesis, viz. rip-up clasts and dome structures. It appears that rapid sedimentation must be considered as the main trigger behind these deformations: the rapid accumulation of particularly the sandy turbidites resulted in overloading of the underlying beds and then consequently in an increase in their pore-water pressure that induced liquefaction and fluidization, which triggered the formation of the rip-up clasts and dome structures. The downslope movement of freshly deposited turbidites after slope failure over the inclined sedimentary surface induced shear stresses, which resulted in the complication of the rip-up clasts and the preferred orientation of some dome structures. Both the dip directions of the axial planes of some of the dome structures and microfolds within the rip-up clasts are consistent with the paleocurrent direction indicated by the sole marks and the slump folds.