bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Using children as informal interpreters in pediatric consultations
Authors: Russell Bethany R , Morales Alejandro , Ravert Russell D
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– Health care professionals (HCPs) face numerous barriers in providing services to limited English proficient (LEP) patients and their families. The purpose of this paper is to explore and expand on the limited scholarship concerning HCPs’ experiences using children as informal interpreters in pediatric consultations.

Design/methodology/approach

– Ten HCPs from five different fields participated in this study. They were interviewed over the phone and replied to follow-up correspondence about their knowledge on policies for communicating with LEP patients and/or their families when providing medical care.

Findings

– Using a thematic analysis five themes emerged across all cases: cultural awareness, communication quality, live interpreters as a solution, use of child language brokers (CLBs), and the norm of child language brokering. Through the development of the aforementioned themes, HCPs’ limited awareness of implications when using CLBs and of the established policies related to this phenomenon were apparent.

Originality/value

– This lack of knowledge, acknowledged by HCPs, provides a platform from which to create awareness of the need for further education about the potential risks CLBs face when interpreting medical information and of the negative impact this process can have on the overall medical outcome of a patient. Furthermore, it allows the authors to address the ignorance within the health care system that has allowed vulnerabilities to LEP individuals being treated in health care facilities.
Discussing race, racism and mental health: two mental health inquiries reconsidered
Authors: Cummins Ian
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The failings of “community care” in the late 1980s and early 1990s led to a number of inquiries. The purpose of this paper is to examine one of these key issues that is rarely if ever at the forefront of the inquiry process – the experiences of young black men of African-Caribbean origin within mental health services and the Criminal Justice System (CJS).

Design/methodology/approach

– It sets out to do this by exploring the way in which two inquiries, both from the early 1990s, approached the issues of race, racism and psychiatry. The two inquiries are the Ritchie Inquiry (1994) into the Care and Treatment of Christopher Clunis and Report of the Committee of Inquiry into the death of Orville Blackwood and a Review of the Deaths of Two Other African-Caribbean Patients (Prins, 1994). The Ritchie Inquiry was established following the murder of Jonathan Zito by Christopher Clunis. The Prins Inquiry examined the circumstances of the death of Orville Blackwood at Broadmoor Special Hospital.

Findings

– These two inquiries are used as contrasting case studies as a means of examining the approaches to the questions of race and racism. However, the attitudes and approaches that the inquiries took to the issue of race are startlingly different. The Prins Inquiry takes a very clear position that racism was a feature of service provision whilst the Ritchie Inquiry is much more equivocal.

Originality/value

– These issues remain relevant for current practice across mental health and CJS systems where young black men are still over-represented. The deaths of black men in mental health and CJS systems continue to scar these institutions and family continue to struggle for answers and justice.
Inequalities of general physicians and specialists visits’ utilization and its determinants in Iran: a population based study
Authors: Homaie Rad Enayatollah , Ghaisi Akbar , Arefnezhad Masoud , Bayati Mohsen
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study, inequalities between general physicians’ and specialists’ visits in Shiraz. Also, the factors effecting the utilization of visits were determined.

Design/methodology/approach

– Concentration index and curves, ranked by income and quality of life were used to estimate the amount of inequality in the utilization of services. Health utilization data which had been gathered already were used for this purpose. Poisson regression was used to construct the models.

Findings

– Results of the study showed that, inequalities in specialists’ visits were higher than GPs’. Complementary insurances users and females used more specialist services. People with higher quality of life utilized fewer GPs’ and specialists’ services.

Originality/value

– New evidences about inequality in health services utilization and its components in Iran was surveyed.
Business leaders’ views on the importance of strategic and dynamic capabilities for successful financial and non-financial business performance
Authors: Simon Alan , Bartle Chloe , Stockport Gary , Smith Brett , Klobas Jane E. , Sohal Amrik
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to report on research that identifies the relationships that senior managers believe exist between capabilities and business success. In doing so, it addresses the need for more empirical research about the role of strategic and dynamic capabilities in organisational performance. It also highlights the critical strategic and dynamic capabilities that are most valuable for practising managers.

Design/methodology/approach

– A multi-method study was conducted. Eight types of strategic capability and ten types of dynamic capability commonly found in organisations were identified through consecutive literature review, web site content analysis and interviews with senior executives. A questionnaire survey was then used to ask senior officers of publicly listed Australian firms about the importance of each capability and financial and non-financial performance indicators. The relationship between capabilities and performance was measured by regression modelling.

Findings

– Good leadership with an innovative vision and selection and retention of good staff and developing their skills and capabilities were the stand out strategic capabilities. Strategic thinking about the big picture and the long-term and flexible leaders who can lead and manage adaptation to change were considered to be the most important dynamic capabilities. Strategic capabilities were more often associated with indicators of financial success, and dynamic capabilities were more often associated with non-financial measures of organisational performance.

Originality/value

– This is the first study to make a distinction between strategic and dynamic capabilities in examining the relationship between capabilities and business success. The results demonstrate that the distinction has both theoretical and practical value.
A cultural approach of embedding KPIs into organisational practices
Authors: Zakaria Zamzulaila
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to discuss the ways in which organisations embedding key performance indicators (KPIs) as part of their organisational activities. Specifically this paper shows the role of cultural change programme in enabling the implementation of KPIs in the context of this study.

Design/methodology/approach

– The present study was conducted using ethnographic approach. Consistent with tradition in doing ethnographic studies, observation was the main method employed in this study. Additionally, this study employed interview and document review methods.

Findings

– This study concludes that the operation of KPIs in this organisation were made to work through a programme of cultural change. This finding suggests that accounting measurements such as KPIs can be embedded as part of organisational activities through cultural intervention.

Practical implications

– This study provides empirical evidence of the actions people do in making performance measurement works in organisations.

Originality/value

– This study adds to the limited number of literatures that link culture and performance measurement.
Effectiveness of full range leadership development among middle managers
Authors: Chaimongkonrojna Teerapun , Steane Peter
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the Full Range Leadership Development Program (FR-LDP) of middle managers of a furniture company in Thailand and explore how they experience the leadership development phenomenon. It addresses the fundamental question of how effective leadership behaviors occur and are sustained.

Design/methodology/approach

– In total, 31 middle managers completed a six-month multi-methods development program of three alternating training sessions and on-the-job practice. A 360-degree feedback survey of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire 5X Short, comprising 284 questionnaires of “leaders” and “raters,” was used to measure the change in effective leadership behaviors and the overall leadership outcome. A sub-sample of 20 participants from these managers was selected for in-depth interviews at the end of the intervention. Semi-structured interviews and critical incident analysis was applied to understand the leadership experience of these managers.

Findings

– The study revealed that leadership behavior and overall outcome performance had improved over the course of the FR-LDP. The program did contribute positively to individual learning. Sustained effectiveness was not due solely to the development or intervention process, but also on individual objectives and action, together with supervisor interest and support.

Research limitations/implications

– The study provides a valid, in-depth insight into leadership in Thailand, which has practical application. However, the size of the sample may not be sufficient for broad generalizations in other cultural contexts or environments.

Originality/value

– The study extends the understanding of how middle managers develop transformational leadership in Thailand. The study contributes to how middle managers learn what they need to know, how they get to know it and factors that influence their practice of transformational leadership in their workplace. The findings provide to organizations options on resources, talent retention and sustaining organizational performance.
An empirical investigation of factors affecting small business success
Authors: Omri Anis , Frikha Maha Ayadi , Bouraoui Mohamed Amine
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to develop a mediational model of small businesses success. In this paper, the authors investigate how the human, social, and financial capital of entrepreneurs influences the capacity of small business to succeed. The objective through this model is to demonstrate that it is through the process of innovation these capitals are converted into success.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper suggests an original, conceptual framework for how small businesses can succeed.

Findings

– To validate this mediational model, the authors used the conditions/steps proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986).

Research limitations/implications

– The results of this study have implications for both research and practice. This study provides a new contribution to the existing literature by introducing the innovation in the explanation of the links between these capitals and small business success, i.e. business with greater access to human and financial resources are more likely to undertake an innovation, which, in turn, ensures small business success and access to more financial capital facilitates the pursuit of resource-intensive success strategies because, it is argued, that slack resources can be used for experimentation with new strategies and practices, allowing the business to pursue new opportunities of success.

Practical implications

– The proposition is consistent that managers with considerable human capital, social, and finacial capital know where to look for opportunities, can more accurately assess the value of potential opportunities, and have the ability to exploit these opportunities, which encourages innovation. It is this innovation that then facilitates small business success. These resources are important to achieve small business success, but primarily because they encourage innovation, and it is the innovation that drives the small business success.

Originality/value

– In this paper, the authors extend the entrepreneurial literature by developing a mediation model of small business success. To the authors’ knowledge, it is the first study that examined the indirect effect of human, social, and financial capital of entrepreneurs on small business success through the mediation of innovation. This model has the indirect effect of human, social, and financial capital on success through their impact on innovation, i.e., through the innovation process such capital is converted into success.
Exploring organizational trust and organizational justice among junior and middle managers in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Tlaiss Hayfaa A , Elamin Abdallah M.
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– Few studies consider the relationship between organizational justice (OJ) and trust in Non-western contexts. In an attempt to address this gap, the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between organizational trust (OT) and OJ in Saudi Arabia. First, the authors examine two foci of trust and explore whether trust in an immediate supervisor/manager is correlated with trust in an organization. Second, the authors test the relationship three widely used constructs of OJ and two aspects of OT. Third, the authors examine the mediating role played by trust in immediate supervisor in the relationship between the various aspects of OJ and trust in an organization.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using Social Exchange Theory, this study reports the responses of 231 junior and middle managers from eight organizations in Saudi Arabia. Data were collected through a structured survey questionnaire that used standard scales on distributive justice, procedural justice (PJ), and interactional justice (IJ), as well as trust in immediate supervisor and trust in organization.

Findings

– Consistent with studies conducted in western contexts, the findings revealed a positive, significant, direct relationship between trust in immediate supervisor and trust in organization. However, contrary to what has been reported in the majority of western studies, among the three dimensions of OJ, IJ was the only predictor for trust in immediate supervisor. PJ and IJ were predictors of trust in organization, with PJ the stronger predictor. Finally, trust in immediate supervisor mediates some of the relationship between OJ and trust in organization.

Originality/value

– The current study is the first to explore the relationship between OJ and OT, with the latter being measured in more than one focus, in the Arab Middle East. Therefore, this study contributes to bridging the gap in the understanding of the relationship between OJ and OT in non-western, Arab and Muslim Middle Eastern contexts. The interconnectedness between the organizational experiences of Saudi Arabian managers and cultural values highlighted in this study has significant implications for researchers, managers, and HR departments.
Factors related to public health laboratory management in northern Thailand
Authors: Pobkeeree Vallerut , Nongkhai Surachart Na , Vittayanan Sangkom
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine organizational-related factors of a public health laboratory in northern Thailand through the perspectives of staff.

Design/methodology/approach

– A quantitative research on organizational factors that affected management. Staff at the public health laboratory provided their perceptions and facts existing within the organization with regards to the following factors that could affect management performance; leadership, organizational culture, work environment and organizational commitment.

Findings

– It was found that leadership, work environment and organizational commitment had a significant impact on management performance while organizational culture did not.

Practical implications

– The research on management could be applied to enhance leadership, work environment and organizational commitment to achieve management performance.

Originality/value

– The quantitative research on organizational factors could help determine management performance. Moreover, leadership, work environment and organizational commitment can significantly predict the organization’s management performance.
Celebrity endorsements and branding strategies: event study from India
Authors: Jaikumar Saravana , Sahay Arvind
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to evaluate the economic value of celebrity endorsements to Indian firms based on their branding strategy – corporate or house-of-brands – and their “congruence” or “fit” with the celebrity. The overall economic value of endorsements to firms in India, a moderately collectivist culture, is also assessed.

Design/methodology/approach

– Standard “event study” methodology is used to evaluate the economic value of endorsements under different branding strategies (47 endorsement announcements – 25 corporate brands and 22 house-of-brands). The impact of the level of congruence (assessed using brand personality scales) on abnormal returns is also examined.

Findings

– Event study results indicate significant positive abnormal returns for corporate brands and insignificant returns to house-of-brands. Moreover, the level of congruence is found to have an insignificant effect on endorsement announcement returns. Overall, celebrity endorsements result in positive economic value to Indian firms.

Originality/value

– This study evaluates the differences in the effectiveness of celebrity endorsements (which might form a significant part of advertising costs) to firms following different branding strategies. Findings from this study indicate that celebrity endorsement announcements from house-of-brands do not lead to any significant stock market returns (in terms of market value). Further, contrary to current literature, the results indicate that the congruence between brand and celebrity has no impact on returns to endorsements in India, warranting further examination of whether congruence or likeability is important in endorsements.
Overcoming resistance to product rebranding
Authors: Collange Véronique , Bonache Adrien
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this article is to understand how and why consumers resist or accept product rebranding. It seeks to identify and to quantify the drivers of attitudes toward this marketing practice to guide marketing managers in the execution of an effective changeover.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research is conducted in three stages. First, a qualitative study is run among 45 consumers to identify variables that might influence attitudes toward product rebranding. Second, a review of literature on the emotion of surprise is carried out to specify the relationships between the variables previously identified and to formulate hypotheses. Third, a quantitative study is conducted among 480 consumers to test the hypotheses and to quantify the impact of each variable.

Findings

– Surprise impacts attitudes toward product rebranding through a three-way process (automatic, higher-order cognitive, higher-order affective): a direct negative effect, an indirect effect mediated by incomprehension about the reasons for the change and an indirect effect mediated by the negative emotions generated by the change. Moreover, trust in firms diminishes the negative effects of anger, fear and sadness on attitudes toward product rebranding.

Research limitations/implications

– The research offers a better understanding of processes involved in the building of consumer attitudes toward brand name change. However, it only constitutes a first step in the attempt to understand the phenomena.

Practical implications

– This practice of brand name change is increasingly popular, but marketing managers are skeptical about the best way to implement it. The paper provides a better understanding of consumer reactions to product rebranding, so that marketing managers can make better decisions. It reveals guidance for successful brand name changes.

Originality/value

– This paper is the first to propose and to test a comprehensive model of the mental processes involved in the building of consumer attitudes toward product rebranding.
Knowledge strategy and business model conditions for sustainable growth of SMEs
Authors: Yun JinHyo Joseph , Jung WooYoung , Yang JeongHo
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to figure out the factors for sustainable growth of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Design/methodology/approach

– In all, 27 SMEs in the area of IT (Information Technology) in Korea were analysed through interview method basically.

Findings

– It is found that sustainable development of SMEs requires two kinds of open innovation which are knowledge strategy and business model. According to developing process, SMEs change their open innovation strategy in knowledge strategy and business model. The highest growth limit of SMEs depends on open innovation in knowledge strategy and business model in sequence from closed innovation in both, through open innovation in both, to open innovation in knowledge strategy and closed innovation in business model and to closed innovation in knowledge strategy and open innovation in business model.

Research limitations/implications

– First, the present study was conducted with IT sector SMEs in Korea. It is true that the IT sector is one of the most rapidly changing industrial sectors and is one of representative business types of SMEs in which manufacturing and service industries coexist and diverse sizes of SMEs exist (Malerba, 2002). Second, the present study relies on case study methods. It is true that case study is a method that gives excellent qualitative analysis in firm studies (Yin, 2008).

Practical implications

– SMEs cannot survive if they do not accept open innovation in knowledge strategy and business model. SMEs that show absolute limitations in resources and manpower should absolutely implement open innovation strategies to secure more diverse resources from markets and external knowledge bases rather than preparing all resources and capabilities by themselves (Van de Vrandeet al., 2009; Yun and Mohan, 2012a, 2012b).

Social implications

– SMEs should bear in mind the two different levels of open innovation, such as knowledge strategies and business models (Chesbrough, 2007; Chesbrough and Appleyard, 2007).

Originality/value

– SMEs should not confuse between temporally sustainable development and infinite sustainable development. Firms that take closed innovation strategies in both knowledge strategies and business models can also grow for some time. However, because of the deepening of knowledge-based economy, not only the amount of knowledge existing in the world and the speed of knowledge distribution increased but also the customers’ demands and expectations have been observed to increase in the market immediately through social networking sites (SNS), etc. (Yun and Ryu, 2012).
Factors affecting the development of e-government using a citizen-centric approach
Authors: Sorn-in Kanda , Tuamsuk Kulthida , Chaopanon Wasu
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study the factors affecting the development of e-government by using a citizen-centric approach.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper is a mixed-methods study consisting of qualitative and quantitative research. Data were collected from government agencies using a structured interview and questionnaire about e-government services. The research was collected from the people responsible for the management of an e-government project in 75 government agencies. In addition, the researcher collected data from 1,400 citizens by using an e-Survey questionnaire that grouped participants by age.

Findings

– By using a citizen-centric approach, the paper identified the factors affecting the development of e-government. There were five factors from the viewpoint of government agencies and citizen groups: quality of e-government services, policy and governance, information technology infrastructure, organization and economy and society.

Research limitations/implications

– The research covered the development patterns of e-government for services from government to citizens only.

Practical implications

– Seeing the importance of environmental factors for both service providers and service users would facilitate continuous improvement of e-government service provision by government agencies.

Social implications

– The results reflect citizens’ need for e-government services; quality is their priority. Hence, government agencies must consider the quality of the delivery of information and e-government services as they relate to the lifestyles and needs of citizens.

Originality/value

– The creation of knowledge from merging e-government concepts with citizen-centric principles is a modern government sector management theory. This research stresses the need for the government sector to see the need for e-government and to recognize the factors for its successful development. This means the design and development of e-government services should respond to the increasing needs of the citizens.
The impact of demographic characteristics of CEOs and directors on audit fees and audit delay
Authors: Harjoto Maretno Agus , Laksmana Indrarini , Lee Robert
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of gender and ethnicity of CEO and audit committee members (directors) on audit fees and audit delay in the US firms.

Design/methodology/approach

– Audit-related corporate governance literature has extensively examined the determinants of audit fees and audit delay by focusing on board characteristics, specifically board independence, diligence and expertise. The authors provide empirical evidence that gender and ethnicity diversity in corporate leadership and boardrooms influence a firm’s audit fees and audit delay.

Findings

– This study finds that firms with female and ethnic minority CEOs pay significantly higher audit fees than those with male Caucasian CEOs. The authors also find that firms with a higher percentage of ethnic minority directors on their audit committee pay significantly higher audit fees. Further, the authors find that firms with female CEOs have shorter audit delay than firms with male CEOs and firms with a higher percentage of female and ethnic minority directors on their audit committee are associated with shorter audit delay. Results indicate that female CEOs and both female and ethnic minority directors are sensitive to the market pressure to avoid audit delay.

Research limitations/implications

– The results suggest that gender and ethnic diversity could improve audit quality and the firms’ overall financial reporting quality.

Practical implications

– This study provides insights to regulators and policy-makers interested in increasing diversity within a firm’s board and top executives. Recently, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the European Commission have been pressing publicly traded companies to improve diversity among their directors. This study provides evidence and perspective on how diversity can enhance financial reporting quality measured by audit fees and audit delay.

Originality/value

– Previous studies have not given much attention on the impact of racial ethnicity in addition to gender characteristics of top executives and audit committee directors on audit fees and audit delay.
The management audit as a tool to foster corporate governance: an inquiry in Switzerland
Authors: Brender Nathalie , Yzeiraj Bledi , Fragniere Emmanuel
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to investigate management auditing, a thorough examination of an organization and the management in place, through an empirical research to gather data about how management audits are perceived and implemented among Geneva’s (Switzerland) business community. The board of directors is in charge of a corporation’s overall supervision. The internal auditing function works under the aegis of the board to ensure that the directors will properly execute their responsibilities as defined by corporate governance rules. Management auditing could thus be used to improve corporation performance. However, management audits are not commonly used or referred to as a tool to address corporate governance. Findings enable the authors to both explain why management audits are not commonly used or referred to as a tool to address corporate governance and generate related research hypotheses.

Design/methodology/approach

– In this paper, the authors rely on an ethnographic study aimed at exploring perceptions of management audits in service companies from the Geneva region. This study is based on transcripts from 85 semi-directed interviews, conducted over a three-year period, of professionals with managerial and auditing backgrounds. The economic context during these three years was consistently characterized by the Swiss and international financial crises, ensuring that the findings remain comparable over this time period.

Findings

– This paper identified three main factors that influence the integration of management audits into corporate practices: the degree of acceptance of the tools and requirements of management audits, the national culture and values embodied in the practice and the degree of corporate governance maturity. This paper presents the findings in the form of hypotheses that can be tested on any adoption of good corporate governance practices – not on management audits alone.

Research limitations/implications

– Notwithstanding the limitations due to its nature and extent, this study’s main limitation is its lack of validation of the hypotheses. In further research, the authors intend to use a quantitative survey to validate the research hypotheses and make statistical inferences.

Originality/value

– This paper contributes to the literature because it is, to the authors’ knowledge, the first study to empirically examine the significant link between management audits and corporate governance. The findings could be interesting for an international audience because they indicate possible action points that boards of directors can leverage to carry out management audits. The findings also bridge a gap between the literature on management audits and the expanding role of the internal audit function. This study also examines the way companies – in the Swiss context – understand, perceive and may be ready to apply management audits as a good corporate governance practice.
An investigation into the roles, characteristics, expectations and evaluation practices of audit committees
Authors: Martinov-Bennie Nonna , Soh Dominic S.B. , Tweedie Dale
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to investigate how the roles, characteristics, expectations and evaluation practices of audit committees have adapted to regulatory change and what practices are most conducive to effective audit committees.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper uses semi-structured interviews with audit committee chairs and chief audit executives.

Findings

– While new regulation is a primary driver of changes in the roles of audit committees, the audit committee’s role has evolved beyond regulatory requirements. Audit committees are taking a more active role in organisational governance and performance in key areas such as risk management. However, while audit committees have a clear concept of what characteristics committee members require, conceptual frameworks and mechanisms for evaluating the performance of committees and their members remain underdeveloped.

Research limitations/implications

– The responses of audit committees in Australia to broader regulatory trends suggest that more research is required into how audit committees function in practice, and into developing new frameworks for evaluating the committees’ performance. This paper provides an in-depth exploration of key areas of audit committee performance, and identifies aspects that might be further investigated.

Practical implications

– The paper identifies key attributes of effective audit committees and especially the characteristics of audit committee members. The paper also identifies a need to improve – and in many cases create – performance evaluation frameworks and mechanisms. Given the international regulatory trend towards greater reliance on audit committees to improve governance, more policy attention is required on developing guidelines and assessment processes that evaluate whether audit committees are fulfilling their legislative mandate in practice.

Originality/value

– The paper contributes to the relatively new and more specific discussion on reviewing and evaluating the performance of the board and its subcommittees.
Transparency report disclosure by Australian audit firms and opportunities for research
Authors: Fu Yi , Carson Elizabeth , Simnett Roger
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to compare the information disclosed by leading Australian audit firms in their first-time audit firm transparency reports. Australia has mandated the preparation and release of transparency reports by audit firms in 2013 to provide better information to stakeholders about audit firms, their governance and their internal governance systems. These reports promote increased transparency regarding issues which are believed to contribute to audit quality.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper takes the form of an archival analysis where the authors summarise the governance and other information for the 21 leading Australian audit firms as disclosed in their first-time 2013 transparency reports.

Findings

– The authors find that audit firms meet the minimum transparency report disclosure requirements, but have different approaches to governance in the areas which may impact audit quality. These areas include: the internal quality control systems, independence practices, continuing education and partners’ remuneration structures. The authors identify specific areas where transparency reports may give rise to future research opportunities.

Originality/value

– Australia is one of the first countries to require audit firms to publish transparency reports, and this is the first study to examine these reports. By summarising transparency report disclosures, we present a comprehensive picture of how Australian leading audit firms govern and oversee their business activities. This is useful to transparency report preparers, report users and regulators.
Was Andersen’s audit quality lower than its peers?
Authors: Kumar Krishna , Lim Lucy
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to examine whether Andersen’s audit quality in the five years preceding its collapse lagged that of other Big-Five auditors.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper compares Andersen’s audit quality and the other Big-Five auditors using five methodologies, namely, earnings response coefficients, magnitudes of abnormal accruals, propensities to issue going-concern opinions, usefulness of going-concern opinions in predicting bankruptcy and the frequency of Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases. The comparisons are based on both pooled samples of all observations and propensity-score-based matched-pairs.

Findings

– The preponderance of evidence shows that Andersen’s audit quality did not differ materially in audit quality from other Big-Five auditors prior to its failure. However, it was found that Andersen’s independence was compromised in the year leading to its collapse (2000), as indicated by the lower likelihood to issue going-concern opinions.

Originality/value

– This paper complements and improves on Cahanet al.(2011) by using more measures of audit quality, as no one measure is perfect, showing that their results using discretionary accruals are sensitive to the model used and showing that there is a more powerful direct measure of audit quality, namely, going-concern opinions.
Barriers to Open Access uptake for researchers in Africa
Authors: Fox Moya , Hanlon Susannah Micaela
Published: September 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent of visibility of researchers in African countries, in the Open Access (OA) arena and aims to identify main causes of reduced uptake in OA in Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

– Extent of visibility is explored by quantitative analysis of institutional repository and OA journals data sets followed by qualitative analysis of OA foundation documents and literature on OA in Africa published mainly between 2003 and 2013.

Findings

– Visibility in institutional repositories or OA journals for African researchers remains low. Causes include insufficient educational support for librarians and administrators in required new roles; inability of national, organisational and technological infrastructures to support OA; impracticality of western-based and costly publishing models; and disincentives relating to intellectual property and researcher perceptions. Complex language and literacy issues also inhibit engagement. Recommendations include strong OA advocacy, development of support initiatives, integration of international knowledge for local conditions and vice versa, sensitive preservation of indigenous knowledge and development of mechanisms of funding and research assessment mechanisms, which are economically and technically viable.

Originality/value

– Earlier attempts were made to raise awareness about the lack of uptake of OA in Africa. This paper shows that the situation has hardly changed and now requires urgent attention. Otherwise OA will not “become the default method for distributing new peer-reviewed research in every field and country” by 2022 (BOAI, 2012).
Turning the inside out: the microbiology of atopic dermatitis
Authors: Brüssow Harald
Published: September 2015

Allergy is on the rise worldwide. The hygiene hypothesis of atopic diseases linked microbes with atopic dermatitis (AD) both as drivers and modulators of skin pathology. The earlier literature favoured an inside–outside model of AD where an immunological abnormality compounded by a gut microbiota dysbiosis is the primary event. Probiotic intervention trials with lactobacilli and bifidobacteria as well as the application of bifidogenic oligosaccharide prebiotics showed indeed promising clinical results, but no consistent gut microbiota dysbiosis could be linked with AD. An alternative hypothesis known as outside–inside model of AD considers a genetic skin barrier effect compounded by a skin microbiota dysbiosis as primary pathogenic event. Cultivation microbiology has demonstrated strong skin colonization with superantigen‐encoding Staphylococcus aureus in AD patients; microbiota and molecular microbiome analyses demonstrated that S. aureus abundance fluctuates and parallels clinical symptoms. In a mouse model, δ‐toxin of S. aureus induced mast cell degranulation, leading to AD‐like symptoms. Mutant mice developing AD symptoms showed increased skin colonization with S. aureus; antibiotic treatment alleviated the symptoms. Clinical trials showed that various treatments reducing S. aureus skin load also reduced AD symptoms, suggesting S. aureus as a potential critical driver of AD and a target for antimicrobial interventions other than antibiotics.
Seeing the world differently: variability in the photosensory mechanisms of two model fungi
Authors: Dasgupta Arko , Fuller Kevin K. , Dunlap Jay C. , Loros Jennifer J.
Published: September 2015

Light plays an important role for most organisms on this planet, serving either as a source of energy or information for the adaptation of biological processes to specific times of day. The fungal kingdom is estimated to contain well over a million species, possibly 10‐fold more, and it is estimated that a majority of the fungi respond to light, eliciting changes in several physiological characteristics including pathogenesis, development and secondary metabolism. Two model organisms for photobiological studies have taken centre‐stage over the last few decades – Neurospora crassa and Aspergillus nidulans. In this review, we will first discuss our understanding of the light response in N. crassa, about which the most is known, and will then juxtapose N. crassa with A. nidulans, which, as will be described below, provides an excellent template for understanding photosensory cross‐talk. Finally, we will end with a commentary on the variability of the light response among other relevant fungi, and how our molecular understanding in the aforementioned model organisms still provides a strong base for dissecting light responses in such species.
Dynamic exometabolome analysis reveals active metabolic pathways in non‐replicating mycobacteria
Authors: Zimmermann Michael , Kuehne Andreas , Boshoff Helena I. , Barry Clifton E. , Zamboni Nicola , Sauer Uwe
Published: September 2015

An organism's metabolic activity leaves an extracellular footprint and dynamic changes in this exometabolome inform about nutrient uptake, waste disposal and signalling activities. Using non‐targeted mass spectrometry, we report exometabolome dynamics of hypoxia‐induced, non‐replicating mycobacteria that are thought to play a role in latent tuberculosis. Despite evidence of active metabolism, little is known about the mechanisms enabling obligate aerobic mycobacteria to cope with hypoxia, resulting in long‐term survival and increased chemotherapeutic tolerance. The dynamics of 379 extracellular compounds of Mycobacterium smegmatis were deconvoluted with a genome‐scale metabolic reaction‐pair network to generate hypotheses about intracellular pathway usage. Time‐resolved 13C‐tracing and mutant experiments then demonstrated a crucial, energy‐generating role of asparagine utilization and non‐generic usage of the glyoxylate shunt for hypoxic fitness. Experiments with M. bovis and M. tuberculosis revealed the general relevance of asparagine fermentation and a variable contribution of the glyoxylate shunt to non‐replicative, hypoxic survival between the three species.
Urban Policy Mobilities Research: Introduction to a Debate
Authors: Baker Tom , Temenos Cristina
Published: September 2015

An increasing number of scholars are focusing attention on the circulation of urban policies and the concept of ‘policy mobilities’. This collection of short commentaries identifies emerging areas of interest and contention for urban policy mobilities researchers. Exploring issues from conceptual dualisms and topological thinking to interdisciplinarity and slow methodologies, the commentaries offer refinements and suggest new pathways for urban policy mobilities research in the future.
Effectiveness of Coupled Application of AmpFℓSTR Yfiler Kit and Reduced Size Y‐chromosomal Short Tandem Repeat Analysis for Archeological Human Bones
Authors: Oh Chang Seok , Lee Soong Deok , Shin Kyoung‐Jin , Shin Dong Hoon
Published: September 2015

The AmpFℓSTR Yfiler PCR Amplification (Yfiler) kit continues to be improved for a better analytical efficiency in cases of highly degraded DNA. The authors endeavored to determine whether coupling of the Yfiler kit with supplemental multiplex amplification of some Y‐STR loci is a more efficient analytical mode for poorly preserved human femurs (n = 15) discovered at Korean archeological sites. To reveal locus profiles not easily obtained by Yfiler analysis, custom‐designed primers were adopted for the DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS438, DYS439, and DYS635 loci. The success rate for 16 Y‐STR locus profiles obtained from the 15 femurs was improved from 18.33% (in the use of Yfiler kit only) to 49.17% (the coupled use of Yfiler and custom‐designed primers). In this study, the authors established that the custom‐designed primers offer a markedly improved success rate for obtainment of Y‐STR profiles from degraded aDNA not easily identified by sole use of the Yfiler assay.
Rare and Severe Maxillofacial Injury Due to Tear Gas Capsules: Report of Three Cases
Authors: Çorbacɩoğlu Şeref Kerem , Güler Sertaç , Er Erhan , Seviner Meltem , Aslan Şahin , Aksel Gökhan
Published: September 2015

Tear gases are used by police or armed forces for control of riots or social events or by the general population for private self‐defense. These agents are used widely throughout the world, but some harmful effects have reported. In addition, despite well‐defined chemical side effects documented in the literature, data are insufficient regarding mechanical injury due to tear gas capsules. We report three cases of severe maxillofacial injury in patients who had these capsules fired from tear gas guns directly to their faces. The capsules penetrated the patients' faces, causing potentially fatal injuries. To our knowledge, reports of this kind of injury related to tear gas capsules are very rare in the literature. In conclusion, tear gas guns may be very dangerous in terms of human health and they may cause severe injuries, especially when they are not used according to strict guidelines.
Introducing Computed Tomography Standards for Age Estimation of Modern Australian Subadults Using Postnatal Ossification Timings of Select Cranial and Cervical Sites,
Authors: Lottering Nicolene , MacGregor Donna M. , Alston Clair L. , Watson Debbie , Gregory Laura S.
Published: September 2015

Contemporary, population‐specific ossification timings of the cranium are lacking in current literature due to challenges in obtaining large repositories of documented subadult material, forcing Australian practitioners to rely on North American, arguably antiquated reference standards for age estimation. This study assessed the temporal pattern of ossification of the cranium and provides recalibrated probabilistic information for age estimation of modern Australian children. Fusion status of the occipital and frontal bones, atlas, and axis was scored using a modified two‐ to four‐tier system from cranial/cervical DICOM datasets of 585 children aged birth to 10 years. Transition analysis was applied to elucidate maximum‐likelihood estimates between consecutive fusion stages, in conjunction with Bayesian statistics to calculate credible intervals for age estimation. Results demonstrate significant sex differences in skeletal maturation (p < 0.05) and earlier timings in comparison with major literary sources, underscoring the requisite of updated standards for age estimation of modern individuals.
Effects of Ultrasound on Spoilage Microorganisms, Quality, and Antioxidant Capacity of Postharvest Cherry Tomatoes
Authors: Wang Wenjun , Ma Xiaobin , Zou Mingming , Jiang Peng , Hu Weixin , Li Jiao , Zhi Zijian , Chen Jianle , Li Shan , Ding Tian , Ye Xingqian , Liu Donghong
Published: September 2015

Mature‐green cherry tomato fruits (Lycopersicon esculentum cv. Jinyu) were exposed to different power densities of ultrasound (66.64, 106.19, and 145.74 W/L) at 25 °C to study ultrasound non‐thermal effects on the storage properties. Among the three levels of ultrasound irradiation, 106.19 W/L ultrasound was effective in reducing the spoilage microorganisms, delaying postharvest ripening through inhibiting ethylene production and respiration rates, and consequently maintaining fruit firmness, flavor, enzyme activities, antioxidants (total phenolics, total flavonoids), and the total antioxidant capacity of cherry tomatoes. The 66.64 W/L ultrasound had similar effects but to a lesser extent. Meanwhile, although 145.74 W/L ultrasound resulted in higher content of ascorbic acid (AA), it showed many negative effects on the storage quality of fruits. These results demonstrated that ultrasound of appropriate power density had great potentials in inhibiting decay, maintaining flavor and nutritional quality of cherry tomatoes.