bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Functionalization of aerogels by the use of pre-constructed monomers: the case of trifluoroacetylated (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane
Authors: Lermontov Sergey A. , Sipyagina Nataliya A. , Malkova Alena N. , Yarkov Alexander V. , Baranchikov Alexander E. , Kozik Vladimir V. , Ivanov Vladimir K.
Published: October 2014

A novel strategy for aerogels' functionalization, based on the preliminary modification of monomers before gelation, is proposed.
Synthesis of Cu@Fe3O4 nanowire arrays electrode for Li-ion batteries
Authors: Han Bing , Zhang Shichao , Zhou Rong , Wu Xiaomeng , Wei Xing , Xing Yalan , Wang Shengbin , Qi Tao
Published: October 2014

Three-dimensional (3D) electrodes of Cu@Fe3O4 nanowire arrays for Li-ion batteries are prepared by an electrochemical route.
Complexation of Bi(iii) with 3-mercaptopropionic acid in aqueous solutions: a combined experimental and theoretical study
Authors: Petrov A. I. , Dergachev I. D. , Trubina S. V. , Erenburg S. B. , Lutoshkin M. A. , Golovnev N. N. , Kondrasenko A. A. , Dergachev V. D.
Published: October 2014

The coordination mode for interactions between Bi(iii) and 3-mercaptopropionic acid has been established by combined experimental and theoretical investigation.
Enhanced oxidized regenerated cellulose with functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes for hemostasis applications
Authors: Chakoli Ali Nabipour , He Jinmei , Cheng Weilu , Huang Yudong
Published: October 2014

The hemostatic effect of oxidized regenerated cellulose (ORC) was enhanced using aminated MWCNTs which covalently grafted to the surface of ORC. The aminated MWCNTs increases the water uptake and hemostatic effect of ORC gradually.
A turn-on NIR fluorescent probe for the detection of homocysteine over cysteine
Authors: Zhang Jian , Jiang Xin-Dong , Shao Xiangmin , Zhao Jiuli , Su Yajun , Xi Dongmei , Yu Haifeng , Yue Shuai , Xiao Lin-jiu , Zhao Weili
Published: October 2014

A BODIPY-based turn-on NIR fluorescent probe containing a partially exposed aldehyde group at themesoposition for the detection of homocysteine over cysteine was developed. Such a probe is potentially useful for the discrimination of Hcy from Cys.
Toughening of epoxy resin using Zn4O (1,4-benzenedicarboxylate)3 metal–organic frameworks
Authors: Manju Manju , Roy Prasun Kumar , Ramanan Arunachalam
Published: October 2014

The potential of metal–organic frameworks (MOF 5) towards toughening of brittle cycloaliphatic epoxy thermosetting resin has been demonstrated.
Al2O3/yttrium compound core–shell structure formation with burst nucleation: a process driven by electrostatic attraction and high surface energy
Authors: Guo Daidong , Zhao Lili , Sang Yuanhua , Liu Hong , Liu Shaohong , Sun Xudong
Published: October 2014

A partial wet chemical route has been developed, in which aluminium oxide (Al2O3) nanoparticles in a Y(NO3)3 solution are induced to form a core–shell-structured yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) precursor based on a burst nucleation synthesis.
Highly efficient imide functionalized pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,3-dione-based random copolymer containing thieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6-dione and benzodithiophene for simple structured polymer solar cells
Authors: Tamilavan Vellaiappillai , Roh Kyung Hwan , Agneeswari Rajalingam , Lee Dal Yong , Cho Shinuk , Jin Youngeup , Park Sung Heum , Hyun Myung Ho
Published: October 2014

A highly efficient random copolymer showing a record PCE of 7.03% was prepared.
Mixed lineage leukaemia histone methylases 1 collaborate with ERα to regulate HOXA10 expression in AML
Authors: Yao Jie , Fang Li-Chao , Yang Zai-Lin , Huang Hui , Li Yan , Deng Jun , Zheng Junsong
Published: October 2014

HOXA10, a homeobox-containing gene involved in definitive haematopoiesis, which implicated in the pathogenesis of AML (acute myeloid leukaemia), has been studied extensively. But the regulatory mechanism that drives HOXA10 expression is still unclear. In the present paper, HOXA10 regulated by MLL1 (mixed lineage leukaemia histone methylase 1) with an epigenetic way has been demonstrated. The HOXA10 promoter contains several EREs (oestrogen response elements), including ERE1 and ERE2, which are close to the transcription start site, and are associated with E2-mediated activation of HOXA10. It has been shown that knockdown of the ERα (oestrogen receptor α) suppresses E2-mediated activation of HOXA10. Similarly, knockdown of MLL1 suppresses activation of HOXA10 and is bound to the ERE of HOXA10 promoter in an E2-dependent manner by forming complex with ERα. Knockdown of ERα affects the E2-dependent binding of MLL1 into HOXA10 EREs, suggesting critical roles of ERα in recruiting MLL on the HOXA10 promoter. More interestingly, the methylation status of histone protein H3K4 (H3 at lysine 4) with E2 is much higher than without E2 treatment in leukaemia cell. On the contrary, the methylation status of HOXA10 promoter with E2 treatment is much lower, which elevate the HOXA10 expression. Moreover, with ERα knockdown, the H3K4 methylation level is also decrease in myeloid cell. Overall, it has been clearly demonstrated that HOXA10 is transcriptionally regulated by MLL1, which, in coordination with ERα, plays a critical role in this process with epigenetic way and suggests a potential anti-E2 treatment of AML.
Novel multiuser ultra‐wideband receiver based on adaptive modelling of generalised normal‐Laplace distribution
Authors: An Jinyoung , Kim Sangchoon
Published: October 2014

This study takes a new receiving approach to detect an ultra‐wideband (UWB) signal in the presence of multiple access interference (MAI). A generalised normal‐Laplace (GNL) distribution is exploited for designing a novel multiuser UWB receiver. To more accurately comply with real statistical behaviours of the MAI‐plus‐noise in time‐hopping multiple access UWB systems, a modified parameter estimator, which is an adaptive method of moments estimation (aMME), is proposed. In the existing studies, the analysis about GNL model shows appropriate results for UWB simulations, while it requires heavy complexity to obtain the precise distribution because of no existence of a closed‐form probability density function (PDF) expression. To practically evaluate the GNL PDF, the fast Fourier transform, which can significantly reduce the computational complexity is considered. The GNL using the aMME outperforms the conventional matched filter UWB receiver, the soft‐limiting receiver, the Gaussian–Laplace mixture receiver, the p‐order metric receiver and the previous GNL receivers, especially in high SNR ranges. Furthermore, the presented GNL receiving method is applied to each finger of the conventional Rake receiver for signal detection in IEEE UWB multipath channels. The proposed Rake receiver based on the GNL distribution performs better than the conventional Rake receiver in multipath fading channels.
High diversity downlink two‐cell coordination with low backhaul load
Authors: Xu Jing , Lv Gangming , Zhang Chao , Zhang Yizhai
Published: October 2014

In this study, the authors present a novel low backhaul load cooperative transmission framework for the two‐cell multiple‐input–single‐output systems. In this framework, the neighbouring two base stations (BSs) take turns to transmit data in two consecutive slots. In each slot, only one BS is active, transmitting the preprocessed data symbols of both its own serving user and the cooperative user in neighbouring cell, and sharing its preprocessed data symbols to the other cooperative BS for next transmission. Linear constellation spreading is utilised for preprocessing which helps the system to exploit the macro‐diversity without reducing the multiplexing gain. Besides, zero‐forcing beamforming is applied in each transmission slot so as to cancel the multiuser interference. In this way, the inter‐cell links become beneficial rather than detrimental. Pairwise error probability analysis demonstrates that the multi‐cell spatial diversity gain can be achieved for each data stream. Both theoretical analysis and simulation results confirm that the proposed scheme outperforms the existing relevant strategies with less channel estimation overhead. It is shown that because of the higher diversity order it achieved, the proposed scheme can significantly improve the error performance in a distributed manner while maintaining the same multiplexing gain.
A 99%‐efficiency GaN converter for 6.78 MHz magnetic resonant wireless power transfer system
Authors: Akuzawa Yoshiyuki , Ito Yuki , Ezoe Toshihiro , Sakai Kiyohide
Published: October 2014

The authors developed a high‐efficiency gallium‐nitride (GaN) Class‐E converter for a 6.78 MHz magnetic resonant wireless power transfer system. A negative‐bias gate driver circuit made it possible to use a depletion mode GaN high‐electron‐mobility transistor (HEMT), and simplified the converter circuit. As the depletion mode GaN HEMT with very small gate–source capacitance provided almost ideal zero‐voltage switching, the authors attained a drain efficiency of 98.8% and a total efficiency of 97.7%, including power consumption of a gate driver circuit, at a power output of 33 W. In addition, the authors demonstrated a 6.78 MHz magnetic resonant wireless power transfer system that consisted of the GaN Class‐E converter, a pair of magnetic resonant coils 150 mm in diameter with an air‐gap distance of 40 mm, and a full‐bridge rectifier using Si Schottky barrier diodes. The system achieved a dc–dc efficiency of 82.8% at a power output of 25 W. The efficiencies of coil coupling and the rectifier were estimated to be ∼ 94 and 90%, respectively.
Dequeísmo and queísmo in Portuguese  and Spanish
Authors: Delicado Cantero Manuel
Published: October 2014

This chapter explores the nature and scope of two non-normative phenomena typical of Portuguese and Spanish: dequeísmo and queísmo. In so doing, it concentrates on specific goals: to establish coherent definitions for both languages that provide a lens through which to re-examine the data, to test the scope of the existing labels – both in the present and in the past–, to highlight discrepancies in the analyses presented in literature, and finally to comment on the theoretical implications derived from such tasks.
The intonational phonology of Peninsular Spanish and European Portuguese
Authors: Armstrong Meghan E. , Cruz Marisa
Published: October 2014

The study of Spanish and Portuguese intonation within the Autosegmental Metrical (AM) framework has developed substantially over the past 30 years, and recent applications of common methodology make comparative studies more feasible. Here we compare the intonational systems of Peninsular Spanish (PS) and European Portuguese (EP), considering previous research on prosodic hierarchy, phrasing and tonal density. Finally, we compare the two tonal inventories and their respective (ToBI) labeling conventions. We find a considerable amount of overlap in terms of phonetic implementations of the tonal categories, showing, at times, labeling differences. We use this comparative analysis (i) to discuss these labeling differences and (ii) to motivate the need for uniform but also transparent labeling conventions in order to account for variation across Ibero-Romance varieties and as the field moves forward, Romance varieties.
Similar and differing patterns of allomorphy in the Spanish and Portuguese verbs
Authors: O'Neill Paul
Published: October 2014

This chapter focuses on the different patterns of stem allomorphy in the Spanish and Portuguese verbs and the best way to capture these patterns. It presents synchronic and diachronic evidence along with theoretical arguments to claim that the present tense system of both languages is organized around a number of purely morphological structures, or morphomes (in the sense of Maiden, 2005; inspired by Aronoff, 1994); sets of paradigmatic cells which share a common form but no coherent grammatical/semantic property. The allomorphy in these morphomes cannot be derived in terms of phonology or semantics, but by simple morphological stipulation. This conclusion lends support to the need for a morphomic level in the grammar, one that is intermediate between form and meaning.
On clitic attachment in Ibero-Romance
Authors: Luís Ana R.
Published: October 2014

Within inflectional studies on cliticisation, it has been convincingly argued that clitics may either attach to a morphological host or a phrasal host (Klavans, 1980; Miller, 1992; Halpern, 1995; Spencer, 2001). In this chapter, it is claimed that the distinction between morphological and phrasal attachment of clitics plays a crucial role in accounting for the distributional and scopal differences between Spanish and Portuguese clitic pronouns. Although clitic pronouns in both Ibero-Romance varieties share a number of inflectional properties, evidence also shows that they differ with respect to their attachment patterns. In particular, while Spanish clitic pronouns attach morphologically to the verb (both in preverbal and postverbal position), Portuguese clitics are split between morphological and phrasal attachment: postverbal clitics attach to a morphological host while preverbal clitics select a phrasal host. The attachment patterns of Portuguese and Spanish clitic pronouns will be captured within Paradigm-Function Morphology (Stump, 2001), by formulating realisation rules, which generate clitics as pronominal affixes, and separate attachment rules, which position affixal clitics within the relevant grammatical domain (Luís & Spencer, 2005a, 2012; Luís, 2009).
The development of future participles and future tense markers from motion predicates
Authors: Ouhalla Jamal
Published: October 2014

In this paper I outline an analysis for the development of the Moroccan Arabic motion participles ġadi ‘going’ and maši ‘going’ into future participles and future tense markers, and explore the implications of this process for the nature of the lexicon and word-derivation. The analysis is framed in the context of the approach to grammaticalization outlined in Ouhalla (2012a & b), which assumes that words are derivational constructs with no existence outside the sentence-contexts that include them. This approach entails a principled distinction between grammaticalization and lexical change: the former targets selected word forms such as the participle in sentence-contexts, while the latter targets roots in isolation and is reflected in all the words based on the root. I will argue for a distinction between Lexicon, that may consist of abstract semantic and morphosyntactic primitives that are uniform across languages, and vocabulary, consonantal roots and functional morphemes with phonological features. Instances of grammaticalization of the type discussed here affect vocabulary rather than Lexicon.
Prosodic constituency and locality  in Levantine Arabic
Authors: M. Hoyt Frederick
Published: October 2014

This paper examines negative concord sentences in Southern Levantine Arabic (Palestinian and Jordanian), providing evidence that locality restrictions on negative concord licensing are in fact restrictions on prosodic rather than syntactic locality. While negative concord is generally a clause-local dependency, a set of exceptions is examined in which the licensing relationship crosses subordinate clause boundaries. These examples involve a set of subordinating verbs with a high frequency in the Maamouri, Buckwalter, Graff, & Jin (2006a,b) corpus. Acoustic analysis of these data shows a strong correlation between the frequency of a subordinating verb in the corpus, its acceptability with non-local negative concord and reduced prosodic prominence in its pronunciation. This suggests that non-local negative concord licensing correlates with a subordinating verb structure being pronounced as a single prosodic constituent.
Negation and the subject position  in San’ani Arabic
Authors: Benmamoun Elabbas , Al-Asbahi Khaled
Published: October 2014

In this paper, we discuss a topic that has not received extensive attention within the lively debate about the syntax of sentential negation in Arabic varieties. The topic concerns the interaction between the subject of the sentence, particularly the pronominal subject, and the sentential negative. In most Arabic varieties, the pronominal subject precedes the sentential negative on a par with its lexical subject counterpart. San’ani Arabic, however, allows for the pronominal subject to follow the sentential negative. Assuming that the structure of sentential negation, and of the clause in general, is to a large extent uniform across dialects, we will provide an account that derives the somewhat peculiar pattern in San’ani Arabic and contrast it with a different pattern in Moroccan Arabic that illustrates a different manifestation of the interaction between negation and the pronominal subject. San’ani relies on cliticization (without movement) while Moroccan Arabic relies on head movement. In the course of the paper, we introduce data that have not figured prominently in the debate about sentential negation in Arabic varieties and also draw diachronic parallels between San’ani Arabic and Classical Arabic, where cliticization may have been the process that gave rise to the negative laysa.
Cyclic AGREE derives restrictions  on cliticization in classical Arabic
Authors: Walkow Martin
Published: October 2014

Person based restrictions on clitic combinations serve as testing grounds for theories of syntactic locality and the means of avoiding them as windows into last resort mechanisms. Clitic restrictions in the verbal domain in Classical Arabic can be derived by Cyclic AGREE, rather than (defective) intervention. This offers a unified, syntactic analysis of the ultrastrong Person Case Constraint and restrictions on combinations of third person clitics. The alternative structures used when cliticization is blocked are the PF realization of independently established syntactic relations, not a last resort mechanism. Several properties of person restrictions are shown to follow from the causative structure of double object verbs in Classical Arabic.
Terms of endearment and anger  in Levantine Arabic
Authors: Mohammad Mohammad A.
Published: October 2014

This article provides a detailed description of a specific structure in Arabic referred to as “God-wishes” by Fergusson (1997). In spite of their singular third person agreement features, the article argues that they are actually imperatives in disguise. Evidence supporting this conclusion is cited across the paper. The data described is derived from hundreds of hours of television series in Levantine Arabic broadcast in Ramadan over the last fifteen or so years.
Gabriel Fauré's Middle-Period Songs, Editorial Quandaries and the Chimera of the ‘Original Key’
Authors: Howat Roy , Kilpatrick Emily
Published: October 2014

The years 1886–91 saw Gabriel Fauré developing a new boldness and intensity in his composition of mélodies, prompted in part by the discovery of new poets (notably including Villiers de l'Isle Adam and Verlaine), and arguably also by his acquaintance with the excellent tenor Maurice Bagès. In particular, the songs of this period (spanning the opus groups 43–58) reveal an intriguingly exploratory approach to transposition, tessitura, timbre and texture. These songs are also remarkable for the seriousness and complexity of their pre- and post-publication revisions. The present study considers these revisions in relation to what is known of Fauré's habits and performing preferences, and in the light of his relationship with Bagès. It explores the practical and conceptual challenges the songs pose for the critical editor: how do we balance the logical principle of Fassung letzter Hand against the occasional musical compromise that appears to have ensued?
Don Juan in Nadsat: Kubrick's Music for A Clockwork Orange
Authors: Code David J.
Published: October 2014

The critical reception of Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971) often circles around two related questions: its relationship to Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel and the implications of its classical ‘compilation’ soundtrack. Revisiting both, this article challenges the pervasive emphasis in existing musicological literature on the film's use of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony by offering a formal analysis of its excerpts by (among others) Rossini, Elgar and Purcell. A fresh look at Purcell's Funeral Music for Queen Mary (1695) serves to open a dramatic lineage leading back to the seventeenth-century ‘Don Juan’ archetype, which brings in tow the vast musicological literature on Don Giovanni along with philosophical accounts from Kierkegaard through Bernard Williams. The film's notorious references to Gene Kelly's dance routine in Singin’ in the Rain (1952) add to its confrontation with individual and collective ideals of ‘liberty’ a cinematic reflexivity that can serve (with some help from Marshall McLuhan's influential 1964 study Understanding Media) to shed new light on Luis Buñuel's assertion that this is ‘the only movie about what the modern world really means’.
Study on the expression of specific chimeric-orfs of C type cytoplasmic male sterile in maize
Authors: Wang Jiyue , Zeng Lihua , Wang Shengqing , Wang Jing , Lu Yanli , Zhang Suzhi , Lan Hai , Cao Moju
Published: October 2014

In the present study, a mutated chimericorf364, namedorf366-c, was identified in a maize C type cytoplasmic male sterile line (CMS-C) by PCR and RT-PCR. Four base pair adjacent base substitution mutations (CAAA to TTTT) and eight bp insertion mutations were found inorf366-ccompared withorf364. ORF366-C was predicted to contain one membrane-spanning domain using TMHMM online software. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis showed thatorf366-cwas upregulated in the CMS-C line in comparison to its maintainer line at the uninucleate stage. The protokaryotic protein expression oforf366-cinEscherichia colishowed that ORF366-C could be a cytotoxic protein. All the results indicated thatorf366-cmay be associated with maize CMS-C.
What Works? An Empirical Perspective on how to Retain Youth in Longitudinal Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Substance Risk Reduction Studies
Authors: Montanaro Erika , Feldstein Ewing Sarah W. , Bryan Angela D.
Published: October 2014

Background

Low retention rates are a problem for longitudinal studies involving adolescents, and this is particularly true for justice-involved youth.

Methods

This study evaluates (1) strategies used to retain high-risk adolescents participating in a longitudinal research project; (2) the extent to which retention efforts were different in a justice-involved versus a non–justice-involved (school-based) sample; and (3) differential characteristics of justice-involved versus school-based adolescents that might explain differences in retention difficulty.

Results

Compared with the school-based youth, justice-involved youth required significantly more phone calls to be successfully reached. Additionally, baseline substance use (alcohol and marijuana use frequency) was higher in the justice-involved sample and significantly related to retention difficulty.

Conclusions

High retention rates for justice-involved and substance-using youth are possible with focused efforts on frequent communication and effortful contact.
A Pilot Study to Examine the Feasibility and Potential Effectiveness of Using Smartphones to Provide Recovery Support for Adolescents
Authors: Dennis Michael L. , Scott Christy K. , Funk Rodney R. , Nicholson Lisa
Published: October 2014

Background

Smartphone applications can potentially provide recovery monitoring and support in real-time, real-life contexts. Study aims included determining feasibility of (a) adolescents completing ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) and utilizing phone-based ecological momentary interventions (EMIs); and (b) using EMA and EMI data to predict substance use in the subsequent week.

Methods

Twenty-nine adolescents were recruited at discharge from residential treatment, regardless of their discharge status or length of stay. During the 6-week pilot, youth were prompted to complete an EMA at 6 random times per day and were provided access to a suite of recovery support EMI. Youth completed 87% of the 5580 EMAs. Based on use in the next 7 days, EMA observations were classified into 3 risk groups: “Current Use” in the past 30 minutes (3% of observations), “Unrecognized Risk” (42%), or “Recognized Risk” (55%). All youth had observations in 2 or more risk groups and 38% in all 3. Youth accessed an EMI on average 162 times each week.

Results

Participants were 31% female, 48% African American, 21% Caucasian, 7% Hispanic, and 24% Mixed/Other; average age was 16.6 years. During the 90 days prior to entering treatment, youth reported using alcohol (38%), marijuana (41%), and other drugs (7%). When compared with the “Recognized Risk” group's use in the following week (31%), both the “Unrecognized Risk” (50%, odds ratio [OR] = 2.08) and “Current Use” (96%, OR = 50.30) groups reported significantly higher rates of use in the next week. When an EMI was accessed 2 or more times within the hour following an EMA, the rate of using during the next week was significantly lower than when EMIs were not accessed (32% vs. 43%, OR = 0.62).

Conclusions

Results demonstrate the feasibility of using smartphones for recovery monitoring and support with adolescents, with potential to reduce use.
The relationship between critical speed and the respiratory compensation point: Coincidence or equivalence
Authors: Broxterman R. M. , Ade C. J. , Craig J. C. , Wilcox S. L. , Schlup S. J. , Barstow T. J.
Published: October 2014

It has previously been suggested that the respiratory compensation point (RCP) and critical speed (CS) parameters are equivalent and, therefore, like CS, RCP demarcates the boundary between the heavy‐ and severe‐intensity domains. However, these findings are equivocal and therefore must be interpreted cautiously. Thus, we examined the relationship between CS and RCP across a wide range of subject fitness levels, in an attempt to determine if CS and RCP are equivalent. Forty men and 30 women (age: 23.2 ± 2.5 year, height: 174 ± 10 cm, body mass: 74.1 ± 15.7 kg) completed an incremental and four constant‐speed protocols on a treadmill. RCP was determined as the point at which the minute ventilation increased disproportionately to CO2 production and the end‐tidal CO2 partial pressure began to decrease. CS was determined from the constant‐speed protocols using the linearized 1·time−1 model. CS and RCP, expressed as speed or metabolic rate, were not significantly different (11.7 ± 2.3 km·h−1 vs. 11.5 ± 2.3 km·h−1, p = 0.208; 2.88 ± 0.80 l·min−1 vs. 2.83 ± 0.72 l·min−1, p = 0.293) and were significantly correlated (r2 = 0.52, p < 0.0001; r2 = 0.74, p < 0.0001, respectively). However, there was a high degree of variability between the parameters. The findings of the current study indicate that, while on average CS and RCP were not different, the high degree of variability between these parameters does not permit accurate estimation of one from the other variable and suggests that these parameters may not be physiologically equivalent.
Translational control in germline stem cell development
Authors: Slaidina Maija , Lehmann Ruth
Published: October 2014

Stem cells give rise to tissues and organs during development and maintain their integrity during adulthood. They have the potential to self-renew or differentiate at each division. To ensure proper organ growth and homeostasis, self-renewal versus differentiation decisions need to be tightly controlled. Systematic genetic studies in Drosophila melanogaster are revealing extensive regulatory networks that control the switch between stem cell self-renewal and differentiation in the germline. These networks, which are based primarily on mutual translational repression, act via interlocked feedback loops to provide robustness to this important fate decision.
Raphael Valdivia: How Chlamydia settles in
Authors: Sedwick Caitlin
Published: October 2014

Valdivia studies how the pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis interacts with its host cell.
Standing out from the crowd: niche product choice as a form of conspicuous consumption
Authors: Schaefers Tobias
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to define the niche market concept and to investigate the extent to which purchasing niche products represents a form of conspicuous consumption. Consumers increasingly seek products that differ from the mainstream, and companies regard niche markets as a promising opportunity beyond saturated mass markets.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on survey data that combines self-report scales and actual purchase decisions, the effects of different dimensions of conspicuous consumption on niche product choice are investigated using binary logistic regression.

Findings

– Choosing niche products over mass market products is mainly influenced by differentiation tendencies. Moreover, consumers use niche products to strengthen their role as opinion leaders. Choice of mass market products, on the other hand, is influenced by assimilation tendencies. In contrast to common assumptions, status-seeking consumers are more likely to choose a mass market alternative over niche products.

Research limitations/implications

– Based on the conceptualization of niche markets, this study reveals that niche products are a means for consumers to distinguish themselves. Limitations include the focus on a single product domain and country. Future research should replicate the study for other types of niche products and in other cultural settings.

Practical implications

– Niche firms should explicitly consider the social effects of conspicuous consumption as a key driver of demand. Specifically, the unique nature of a niche product should be highlighted and recognizable to increase the acceptance among potential customers. Moreover, instead of focussing the status of niche products, marketing activities should address opinion leaders’ desire to maintain their standing among the social group by providing in-depth information and enhanced customer experience.

Originality/value

– This paper addresses the call for a conceptual definition of niche markets. Moreover, while previous work focussed on the company perspective, this study allows for an improved understanding of consumer behaviour with regard to niche markets.
The mediating impact of stickiness and loyalty on word-of-mouth promotion of retail websites
Authors: Kumar Roy Sanjit , M. Lassar Walfried , T. Butaney Gul
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of the study is to develop and empirically test a model which examines the relationship between e-servicescape dimensions, website quality dimensions, website stickiness, website loyalty and word-of-mouth (WOM). The role of WOM in influencing consumer behaviour is documented in literature. However, despite its growing importance, research on the antecedents of WOM in the e-retail context is sparse.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data were collected by circulating the questionnaire using an online survey from the graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in a large university in the northeastern USA. Out of 660 questionnaires distributed, 509 were usable. Data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling.

Findings

– Results show that website stickiness and website loyalty are two different constructs which form the immediate antecedents of WOM. Results also show the indirect effects of e-servicescape and website quality dimensions on WOM.

Practical implications

– The findings of the study provides a better understanding of the factors likely to influence the WOM behaviour of e-retail store customers. Findings also provide valuable insights into the factors which managers need to focus on to make their e-retail website increasingly stickier.

Originality/value

– The contribution of the paper lies in eliciting the differences between stickiness to and loyalty to retail websites and extending the research on e-servicescapes.
Rethinking brand architecture: a study on industry, company- and product-level drivers of branding strategy
Authors: Strebinger Andreas
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– This study aims to compare academic prescriptive models on how to choose a branding strategy on the continuum from a “branded house” to a “house of brands” with real-life branding strategies of leading companies.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data from an executive survey, observations and desk research on 75 leading companies in Austria are analysed with multilevel weighted least squares (WLS) regression.

Findings

– Branding strategies for products are determined by industry (23 per cent of variance), the overall strategy of the company (28 per cent), the remaining variance being product-level decisions deviating from both. Service and consumer durables companies lean more towards corporate branding than consumer nondurables. On the company level, synergies in advertising, e-commerce and e-CRM (customer-relationship management) increase the usage of shared brands. A higher company age leads to brand proliferation. On the product level, quality differences between products, the emphasis on and differences in experiential product positioning and, marginally, the symbolic differences between products favour individual brands.

Research limitations/implications

– Future research should investigate additional markets, additional drivers, small and medium-sized entreprises (SMEs) and employ additional measures.

Practical implications

– The study informs brand-architecture audits with benchmarks from leading companies, calls for a view of brand architecture more flexible than ideal-type categories proposed in literature and cautions against management inertia, industry standards and trends in designing branding strategies.

Originality/value

– This study is the first quantitative cross-industry multi-level study on real-life branding strategies. It also applies a new conceptualisation and measurement of branding strategy.
Gender and family business: new theoretical directions
Authors: Al-Dajani Haya , Bika Zografia , Collins Lorna , Swail Janine
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– This editorial aims to investigate the interface between gendered processes and family business by exploring the extent to which gendered processes are reinforced (or not) in family business operations and dynamics. This approach will complement the agency and resource-based view theoretical bases that dominate family business research (Chrismanet al., 2009) and further contribute to extending gender theories.

Design/methodology/approach

– Acknowledging that gender is socially constructed, this editorial discusses the interface between gendered processes and family business within entrepreneurship research.

Findings

– Despite a growing interest in gender and family business, there is limited literature that explores gender theory within family business research. A gender theory approach embracing family business research contributes to a needed theoretical deconstruction of existing perspectives on the operations, sustainability and succession of family businesses in the twenty-first century.

Originality/value

– This editorial makes a contribution to extant scholarship by extending gender theories through an exploration of the gendered processes in family business research.
The learned intermediary doctrine: the case of advertising medicine and medical devices in the United States
Authors: Sergius Koku P.
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine a unique marketing and legal problem that manufacturers of prescription drugs and medical devices face in the USA, under the theory of “overpromotion” and the Learned Intermediary Doctrine (the LID), and suggests a solution to the problem.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study uses a critical review of the literature and decided legal cases to analyze the problem of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs and medical devices under the LID and “overpromotion” doctrines.

Findings

– The study suggests a different approach to advertising drugs that divides the audiences into primary and secondary targets to immunize drug and medical device manufacturers against liability.

Research limitations/implications

– Because the laws guiding advertising are different in different countries, the findings of this study are relevant only to the US market.

Practical implications

– The paper gives practical guidance on an alternative communication strategy that could immunize drugs and medical device manufacturers against liability.

Originality/value

– The study uses knowledge of law and marketing to tackle an issue that, even though is useful and relevant, is rarely discussed in the marketing literature.
The effect of Affordable Care Act on the competition in the post-patent ethical drug market
Authors: Yu Yu , Zhao Yi
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to study the post-patent ethical drug market and simulate the impact of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) on individuals, health-care providers and pharmaceutical firms. US policymakers have been looking at various ways to curb rising health-care costs in USA, including ways to promote the use of generic drugs in lieu of brand drugs. In this broader context, the implementation of ACA in December 2013 will introduce major changes in the pharmaceutical market.

Design/methodology/approach

– To fully understand the impact of such policy changes, we develop a structural model to study consumers’ buying behavior and firm competition in the post-patent ethical drug markets. We use the estimated model parameters to conduct four policy simulations to illustrate the effect of Obamacare on increasing the relative size of price-insensitive segment, reducing price sensitivity in the price-sensitive segment, providing brand price discount to Medicare patients previously in the “donut hole” and the effect of change in people’s attitude toward generics.

Findings

– Our model estimation reveals two classes of consumers with different price sensitivities. This heterogeneity explains the increase in the brand price after generic entry. We identify consumers’ switching costs between generic and brand drugs, as well as among different generics. From the policy simulation, we find that except the closure of Medicare donut hole, all other policy changes lead to increased usage of the focal molecule, and the efforts to increase insurance coverage and reduce the out of pocket payment for prescription drugs lead to increase in firm profit.

Originality/value

– This paper is the first to illustrate the potential policy effect of Obamacare through a structural model on post-patent ethical drug market.
The relationship between capital structure and performance of Islamic banks
Authors: Tarek Al-Kayed Lama , Raihan Syed Mohd Zain Sharifah , Duasa Jarita
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to examine the effect of capital structure on Islamic banks’ (IBs) performance to provide guidance to finance managers for raising capital funds. As newcomers to the markets, IBs are facing a trade-off. They can either use high capital ratios which increase the soundness and safety of the bank and lower the required return by investors, or depend on deposits and Islamic bonds which are considered cheaper sources of funds due to their tax rebate. An IB’s management must carefully decide the appropriate mix of debt and equity, i.e. capital structure, to maximize the value of the bank.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using a sample of 85 IBs covering banking systems in 19 countries, the study uses a two-stage least squares method to examine the performance determinants of IBs to control the reverse causality from performance to capital structure.

Findings

– After control of the macroeconomic environment, financial market structure and taxation, results indicate that IBs’ performance (profitability) responds positively to an increase in equity (capital ratio). The result is consistent with the signaling theory which predicts that banks expected to have better performance credibly transmit this information through higher capital. Optimal capital structure results of the IBs found a non-monotonic U-shaped relationship between the capital-asset ratio and profitability, supporting the efficiency risk and franchise value hypotheses.

Research limitations/implications

– Due to limitations for market data, the study uses book accounting ratios. Future research where market data are available could use performance measures, such as Tobin’s Q in performance determinants models.

Practical implications

– The non-monotonic relationship found between IBs’ return on equity and capital ratios suggests that equity issuances for IBs’ with low capital ratios (lower than the turning point of 37.41 per cent) are expensive and have a negative effect on their profitability. On the other hand, managers of well-capitalized IBs (banks with capital ratios beyond 37.41 per cent) are advised to rely on equity when faced by a decision to raise capital, as the capital ratio starts to affect their profitability positively.

Originality/value

– Islamic banking literature has been silent on IBs’ capital structure and its relevance; this study will try to fill in the existent gap.
“Conventional” accounting vs “Islamic” accounting: the debate revisited
Authors: Velayutham Sivakumar
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the arguments that the assumptions underlying conventional accounting are incompatible with Islamic values, hence the need for new accounting objectives and assumptions.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper adopts an analytic approach based on a combination of archival and bibliographic data sources.

Findings

– It is shown that this belief of incompatibility can be traced to misconceptions about the assumptions underlying “conventional accounting”. It is then argued that the neglect of Islamic accounting in Islamic countries could be attributed to Islamic accounting not meeting the needs of users rather than acculturation or economic dependency.

Research limitations/implications

– The study relies solely on the literature and highlights important issues in the area but does not provide any empirical evidence. The implications are significant for the future development of Islamic accounting and the economies of Islamic countries. The objective of accounting is to provide useful information for economic decision-making and the adoption of wrong assumptions would limit the usefulness of accounting information.

Originality/value

– Few scholars have questioned the assumptions underlying Islamic accounting, and this debate is important for the continued development of Islamic accounting. The paper also attempts to contribute to the debate on the poor adoption of Islamic accounting.
Islamic environmental ethics
Authors: R. Rizk Riham
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to elaborate and discuss key Islamic principles of relevance to environmental ethics and sustainability agendas and reflect on implications for the operations of Islamic financial institutions (IFIs).

Design/methodology/approach

– An exploration of the tenets of environmental sustainability enshrined in Islamic Shariah through a review of key Islamic texts and relevant prior literature.

Findings

– The Islamic approach to the environment is holistic and unequivocal. Qur’anic verses describing nature and natural phenomena outnumber verses dealing with commandments and sacraments. Centrality of the environment in the Shari’ah and the Islamic injunction to command right and forbid wrong are suggestive of an affirmative sustainability agenda for IFIs.

Practical implications

– Implications and opportunities for corporate managers, environmental movements and policy makers.

Originality/value

– By encouraging Muslim engagement in Ijtihad, this work contributes to conceptual development within Islam. It will also be of value to accountability and ecology researchers seeking a better understanding of ecological practices and the internal histories of religions.
Does location in a science park really matter for firms’ intellectual capital performance?
Authors: Schiavone Francesco , Meles Antonio , Verdoliva Vincenzo , Del Giudice Manlio
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of being located in a science park (SP) on the level of a firm's intellectual capital (IC) performance.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using a sample of 183 Italian firms (i.e. 61 tenant and 122 non-tenant firms), and through the GLS technique, the authors regress the firms’ IC performance across various explicative variables including a dummy that discriminates tenant and non-tenant firms.

Findings

– Consistently with expectations, the results show that the location of a firm in a SP leads to improved IC performance. Moreover, the authors find that some other firm characteristics, such as size, age, and leverage, are important predictors of its IC-based performance.

Research limitations/implications

– The sample is small and the impact on performance might be biased by factors related to the regional context (e.g. level of industrialization, quality of education, and science system).

Practical implications

– Implications for policy makers: support the growth of firms in SPs especially in those industries full of firms with scarce performance in IC. Implications for SP managers: they could “sell” (in terms of marketing) to both entrepreneurs to attract and policy makers this result. Implications for institutional investors: they should look at SPs with greater interest to find high-quality firms and improve their screening activity.

Originality/value

– This paper aims to extend literature about factors explaining the level of a firm's IC performance and the current understanding of the impact of SPs at firm level.