bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
High intensity and reduced volume training attenuates stress and recovery levels in elite swimmers
Authors: Elbe Anne‐Marie , Rasmussen Camilla P. , Nielsen Glen , Nordsborg Nikolai B.
Published: April 2015

This study investigated the effect of increased high‐intensity interval training (HIT) at the expense of total training volume on the stress and recovery levels of elite swimmers. Forty‐one elite swimmers participated in the study and were randomly assigned to either a HIT or a control group (CON). Eleven swimmers did not complete the questionnaires. For 12 weeks both groups trained ~12 h per week. The amount of HIT was ~5 h vs. 1 h, and total distance was ~17 km vs. ~35 km per week for HIT and CON, respectively. HIT was performed as 6–10 × 10–30 s maximal effort interspersed by 2–4 min of rest. The Recovery Stress Questionnaire – Sport was used to measure the swimmers’ stress and recovery levels. After the 12 week intervention, the general stress level was 16.6% (2.6–30.7%; mean and 95% CI) lower and the general recovery level was 6.5% (0.7–12.4%) higher in HIT compared to the CON, after adjusting for baseline values. No significant effects could be observed in sports‐specific stress or sports‐specific recovery. The results indicate that increasing training intensity and reducing training volume for 12 weeks can reduce general stress and increase general recovery levels in competitive swimmers.
The relationship between physical characteristics and match performance in rugby sevens
Authors: Ross A. , Gill N. , Cronin J. , Malcata R.
Published: April 2015

Rugby sevens is a sport that requires a multitude of well‐developed physical fitness qualities. Understanding the degree to which different physical characteristics relate to match performance provides practitioners with useful information for training programme design. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the relationship between physical characteristics and activities related to success in rugby sevens matches. Fitness test and match activity data were collected from 40 international and provincial rugby sevens players. Sprint speed over 10 m and 40 m had moderate to large (0.32–0.51) negative correlations (r) with line breaks, defenders beaten and tackle effectiveness. Repeated sprint ability and maximal aerobic capacity were moderately related to a measure of work rate (~0.38). Mixed‐model analysis revealed a decrease of two between‐player standard deviations in 10 m sprint time to be associated with an increase of 74% more line breaks per match. The results of this study suggest multiple physical characteristics are related to match performance in rugby sevens.
Excision of translesion synthesis errors orchestrates responses to helix-distorting DNA lesions
Authors: Tsaalbi-Shtylik Anastasia , Ferrás Cristina , Pauw Bea , Hendriks Giel , Temviriyanukul Piya , Carlée Leone , Calléja Fabienne , van Hees Sandrine , Akagi Jun-Ichi , Iwai Shigenori , Hanaoka Fumio , Jansen Jacob G. , de Wind Niels
Published: April 2015

In addition to correcting mispaired nucleotides, DNA mismatch repair (MMR) proteins have been implicated in mutagenic, cell cycle, and apoptotic responses to agents that induce structurally aberrant nucleotide lesions. Here, we investigated the mechanistic basis for these responses by exposing cell lines with single or combined genetic defects in nucleotide excision repair (NER), postreplicative translesion synthesis (TLS), and MMR to low-dose ultraviolet light during S phase. Our data reveal that the MMR heterodimer Msh2/Msh6 mediates the excision of incorrect nucleotides that are incorporated by TLS opposite helix-distorting, noninstructive DNA photolesions. The resulting single-stranded DNA patches induce canonical Rpa–Atr–Chk1-mediated checkpoints and, in the next cell cycle, collapse to double-stranded DNA breaks that trigger apoptosis. In conclusion, a novel MMR-related DNA excision repair pathway controls TLS a posteriori, while initiating cellular responses to environmentally relevant densities of genotoxic lesions. These results may provide a rationale for the colorectal cancer tropism in Lynch syndrome, which is caused by inherited MMR gene defects.
TMEM231, mutated in orofaciodigital and Meckel syndromes, organizes the ciliary transition zone
Authors: Roberson Elle C. , Dowdle William E. , Ozanturk Aysegul , Garcia-Gonzalo Francesc R. , Li Chunmei , Halbritter Jan , Elkhartoufi Nadia , Porath Jonathan D. , Cope Heidi , Ashley-Koch Allison , Gregory Simon , Thomas Sophie , Sayer John A. , Saunier Sophie , Otto Edgar A. , Katsanis Nicholas , Davis Erica E. , Attié-Bitach Tania , Hildebrandt Friedhelm , Leroux Michel R. , Reiter Jeremy F.
Published: April 2015

The Meckel syndrome (MKS) complex functions at the transition zone, located between the basal body and axoneme, to regulate the localization of ciliary membrane proteins. We investigated the role of Tmem231, a two-pass transmembrane protein, in MKS complex formation and function. Consistent with a role in transition zone function, mutation of mouse Tmem231 disrupts the localization of proteins including Arl13b and Inpp5e to cilia, resulting in phenotypes characteristic of MKS such as polydactyly and kidney cysts. Tmem231 and B9d1 are essential for each other and other complex components such as Mks1 to localize to the transition zone. As in mouse, the Caenorhabditis elegans orthologue of Tmem231 localizes to and controls transition zone formation and function, suggesting an evolutionarily conserved role for Tmem231. We identified TMEM231 mutations in orofaciodigital syndrome type 3 (OFD3) and MKS patients that compromise transition zone function. Thus, Tmem231 is critical for organizing the MKS complex and controlling ciliary composition, defects in which cause OFD3 and MKS.
Thinking big with small molecules
Authors: Mruk Karen , Chen James K.
Published: April 2015

Synthetic chemistry has enabled scientists to explore the frontiers of cell biology, limited only by the laws of chemical bonding and reactivity. As we investigate biological questions of increasing complexity, new chemical technologies can provide systems-level views of cellular function. Here we discuss some of the molecular probes that illustrate this shift from a “one compound, one gene” paradigm to a more integrated approach to cell biology.
A small part of myosin IIB takes on a big role in cell polarity
Authors: Fenix Aidan M. , Burnette Dylan T.
Published: April 2015

A migrating cell must establish front-to-back polarity in order to move. In this issue, Juanes-Garcia et al. (2015. J. Cell Biol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201407059) report that a short serine-rich motif in nonmuscle myosin IIB is required to establish the cell’s rear. This motif represents a new paradigm for what determines directional cell migration.
Modal analysis of kagome-lattice structures
Authors: Perez E , Blakley S , Zheltikov A M
Published: April 2015

The first few lowest order circularly symmetric electromagnetic eigenmodes of a full kagome lattice are compared to those of a kagome lattice with a hexagonal defect. This analysis offers important insights into the physics behind the waveguiding properties of hollow-core fibers with a kagome-lattice cladding.
On the equivalence between coarse and uniform embeddability of quasi-Banach spaces into a Hilbert space
Authors: Kraus Michal
Published: April 2015

We give a direct proof of the fact that a quasi-Banach space coarsely embeds into a Hilbert space if and only if it uniformly embeds into a Hilbert space.
CIDANE: Comprehensive isoform discovery and abundance estimation
Authors: Canzar Stefan , Andreotti Sandro , Weese David , Reinert Knut , Klau Gunnar W.
Published: April 2015

We present CIDANE, a novel framework for genome-based transcript reconstruction and quantification from RNA-seq reads. CIDANE assembles transcripts with significantly higher sensitivity and precision than existing tools, while competing in speed with the fastest methods. In addition to reconstructing transcriptsab initio, the algorithm also allows to make use of the growing annotation of known splice sites, transcription start and end sites, or full-length transcripts, which are available for most model organisms. CIDANE supports the integrated analysis of RNA-seq and additional gene-boundary data and recovers splice junctions that are invisible to other methods. CIDANE is available athttp://ccb.jhu.edu/software/cidane/.
The role of team leadership in achieving LEED certification in a green building project
Authors: Senaratne Sepani , Hewamanage Prasanna Rajitha
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– Leadership of the project team is vital for green building projects in achieving LEED certification. Literature findings confirm the need for managing green building projects differently from ordinary projects. The team leader should be able to work with the project team to manage the general project activities while following the LEED certification procedure to finally achieve LEED certification. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper presents a research project which was aimed to explore the role of team leadership in achieving LEED certification in a green building project through a case study research approach.

Findings

– The research findings revealed the importance of utilizing the appropriate leadership roles of project team members in addition to the project leader’s role to achieve LEED certification for green building projects successfully. The research proposed four team leadership processes required to meet the LEED challenges; namely, proactive planning and visualization; collective implementation; teamwork for win-win; and, continuous learning and knowledge sharing.

Originality/value

– Based on these findings, the research suggests a new project team environment enabled by effective team leadership to meet the LEED challenges. It is argued that the team leadership role of every team member is unique and best suited when used synergistically to achieve LEED certification for the project. The research is original in applying team leadership concepts to green building projects in a real-life setting.
Contractor use of productivity and sustainability indicators for building refurbishment
Authors: Sezer Ahmet Anil
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyse the use of building refurbishment productivity and sustainability indicators among construction contractors.

Design/methodology/approach

– Theories of organisational culture and incentives predict that contractor size affects dependency on routines and the implementation of company policies on site. Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with three general or site managers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and five site managers of large contractors involved in housing and office refurbishment projects in Sweden.

Findings

– Both SMEs and large contractors track resource use on refurbishment sites. Resource use is measured through cost recording systems and a few area-based key indicators. SMEs may have sustainability policies, but routines derived from such policies were weak on site. However, for SMEs, refurbishment technology choices are often made by the client’s designer, and sustainability requirements are included in the contract specifications. For large contractors, sustainability policies are more developed and are reflected in site routines. Large contractors are usually public companies with stakeholders who expect such routines.

Practical implications

– Contractors that develop strategies for increasing productivity and sustainability can benefit from a deeper understanding of implementation issues. The outcome of this paper is useful while designing new indicators and building certification schemes.

Originality/value

– Much has been written about key performance indicators for construction, but little attention has been paid to indicators for building refurbishment, or the use of measurement routines.
Leadership style of sustainability professionals in the UK construction industry
Authors: Opoku Alex , Ahmed Vian , Cruickshank Heather
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– Leadership is a significant success factor in promoting sustainability practices in the construction industry. Sustainability is an integral part of the construction industry and affects all aspects of construction business operations. The purpose of this paper is to investigate if there is any particular leadership style associated with intra-organizational leaders within UK construction organizations charged with the promotion of sustainability practices. The paper therefore examines the effective leadership style of sustainability professionals responsible for developing sustainable construction strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

– Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interview with 15 leaders, followed by an industry-wide survey of 200 intra-organizational leaders in contractor and consultant organizations in the UK construction industry.

Findings

– The results showed that while there is no one best leadership style for all situation, most leaders charged with the role of promoting sustainable construction are strategic in their style or behaviour.

Originality/value

– Although leadership and sustainability has been widely covered as separate issues, little rigorous research has been done on the link between leadership and sustainability in construction management research. The findings could guide organizational leaders with the responsibility of promoting sustainability practices.
Consumer awareness, perception and attitudes towards genetically modified foods in Turkey
Authors: Tas Mürsel , Balci Melek , Yüksel Alev , Sahin Yesilçubuk Nese
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate awareness and perception of GM foods of Turkish consumers living in Istanbul, Turkey.

Design/methodology/approach

– A consumer survey consisting of 23 questions has been prepared. Totally 1,315 people participated in the survey. Awareness of the consumers about genetically modified organisms, willingness to purchase GM foods, acceptability of GM foods by consumers and legislations and information sources were assessed in the questionnaire. Nonparametric test were applied in order to unravel demographic differences.

Findings

– The results of the survey showed that consumers generally know what genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are, but they do not have enough information about the genetic modification process. The main concerns of consumers about GMFs are their carcinogenic effects to human. In addition, corn was found to be the most concerned GMF. The usage of GMOs in health sector and in preventing environmental pollution were the most approved areas by the consumers, whereas the majority of consumers disapproved the use of genetic modifications in food applications.

Research limitations/implications

– A limitation of this study is the sample including high percentage of educated young consumers. Hence, the survey can be improved and applied to higher number of participants living in different regions in Turkey for being more representative for all Turkish consumers.

Practical implications

– Some suggestions for food producers and food policy makers are also provided in this study.

Originality/value

– There has been little research concerning Turkish consumers’ attitude and knowledge towards gene technology and GMFs. Also, there has not been a similar survey in the province of Istanbul.
Understanding the purchasing behaviour of Taiwanese meat consumers in light of rising sustainability concerns
Authors: Jen Meng Yuan , Wang Shun-mei
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide an exploratory study of how Taiwanese consumer concerns about sustainability issues relating to pork are linked to their purchasing behaviours, using the case of “warm” meat.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study is based on qualitative semi-structured interviews of a cluster random sample of meat-purchasing consumers in Taiwan. The study data are analysed in light of grounded theory, to provide a clearer understanding of interviewees’ sustainability concerns arising from meat consumption.

Findings

– Results indicate that consumers do make meat-purchasing decisions based on to their sustainability concerns, and that there are a wide variety of such concerns, which can be broadly categorised as food security, animal welfare, and the environment. These implicate a variety of factors including ways of selling (e.g. fresh or frozen), the provision of information about production methods, certification, and traceability. By comparing consumers in supermarkets and traditional markets, the paper identifies divergent perspectives on food security in the context of local dining culture, and concludes that trust is a significant factor influencing purchasing behaviour.

Originality/value

– Prior research about consumers’ meat-purchasing habits and sustainability concerns is limited and de-contextualised. The present findings have implications for future communications to consumers, in that greater emphasis should be given to the local cultural contexts of food. It will be valuable to academics, livestock producers, consumer organisations, and policymakers interested in enhancing communication and trust between and among producers, consumers, retailers and government agencies.
Salt, chefs, and public health: an exploratory investigation of hospitality professionals’
Authors: Murray Douglas W. , Hartwell Heather , Feldman Charles H. , Mahadevan Meena
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– Public health policy has long called for significant reductions in salt intake. To date most research has been confined to processed foods. This approach fails to include the foodservice industry and its impact on population health. The purpose of this paper is to understand perceptions of what responsibility, if any, these professionals felt they had within the public health agenda. International comparisons were made to assess whether previous reductions of salt intake among UK adults was attributable to groundswell attitudinal changes at the chef/manager level, which US counterparts may not have embraced.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study took the qualitative approach of phenomenology as the research strategy to explore prevailing perceptions of the role and responsibility of food service regarding salt intake. Chefs and managers who deal directly with consumers were given in-depth semi-structured interviews designed to reveal the underlying themes that inform the participant’s perceptions of added salt.

Findings

– Major findings from both the USA and UK indicate that ground-level chef/managers do not feel a social responsibility to limit public salt consumption. Chef/managers of both countries exhibited little nutritional understanding of the health impacts of salt intake and strong reluctance to make any reductions in salt use in their daily operations. The participants cite a lack of consumer interest and the fear that any salt adjustment would change the food’s sensory acceptability putting them at a competitive disadvantage.

Originality/value

– To the authors’ knowledge this is the first study to examine professional foodservice personnel’s perceptions and knowledge of salt intake and the public health perspective.
Food exporters and co-opetition relationships: an analysis on the vegetable supply chain
Authors: Galdeano-Gómez Emilio , Pérez-Mesa Juan Carlos , Giagnocavo Cynthia Lynn
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on the influence of co-opetition on food exporting in different distribution channels, taking as reference the vegetable farming-marketing sector in southeast Spain.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study analyses the data collected from vegetable exporters’ associations and the firms’ individual financial reports. A multivariate empirical model is developed to measure the impact of cooperation and competition relationships (both horizontal and vertical ones) on exporting. This model includes the influence of main buyers distinguishing basically between retailers and wholesalers.

Findings

– The results obtained show that diverse forms of collaboration with competitors, in both horizontal (such as logistics and research projects) and vertical dimensions (such as promotion and quality certifications) have positive effects on vegetable export propensity. These influences become more apparent when large retailers are the main buyers.

Research limitations/implications

– The analysed farming-marketing sector features certain singular characteristics, for example the type of products and firms, which should be taken into account when extrapolating the results to other agrifood industries.

Practical implications

– For farming-marketing firms with little bargaining power in the supply chain of fresh produce, horizontal and vertical collaboration is a key factor in improving their exporting activity. A greater balance in co-opetition relationships is required to reduce the traditionally negative effect of competition among Spanish firms in the vegetable marketing sector.

Originality/value

– These findings should be of value to researchers into co-opetition policies and to managers responsible for strategy formation in international agrifood firm environment.
Message framing and consumer responses to organic seafood labeling
Authors: Cucchiara Courtney , Kwon Soyeon , Ha Sejin
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of different label-message formats (positively vs negatively framed messages) on consumers’ purchase intentions in an organic seafood shopping setting, along with the moderating effects of two individual characteristics (purchase-decision involvement and perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE)) on the message-framing performance.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data were gathered from 1,698 consumers of a supermarket chain in the northeast region of the USA using a web-based experiment.

Findings

– Results of this study support the superiority of a positively framed message over a negatively framed message in persuading consumers to buy organic food. In addition, this effect of framing on persuasion is contingent upon different levels of consumer purchase-decision involvement as well as PCE concerning organic products.

Practical implications

– This study offers managerial implications for marketers and retailers, messages appealing the environmental and health benefits of organic seafood consumption (positively framed arguments) would be more persuasive to increase consumer purchase intention than negatively framed ones. In addition, individual characteristics of their target market should be taken into account in communication design and implementation.

Originality/value

– This survey research offers insights into the organic food consumption literature by validating the applicability of message framing in the organic seafood labelling setting and identifying consumers’ individual characteristics (purchase-decision involvement regarding organic seafood and PCE) moderating the message framing effectiveness.
EU organic logo and its perception by consumers
Authors: Zander Katrin , Padel Susanne , Zanoli Raffaele
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– With the introduction of the mandatory European Union (EU) organic logo for all organic food products in 2010, the European Commission aimed at fostering the internal organic food market. This needs consumers’ knowledge of the logo. According to earlier research consumers’ knowledge of the EU organic logo is low. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to elicit consumers’ attitudes towards organic certification and labelling and to develop recommendations on how to improve consumers’ knowledge of the EU organic logo.

Design/methodology/approach

– By means of an online survey with 3,000 participants in six European countries, knowledge of the logo and attitudes towards organic farming and European labelling, as well as organic food purchase behaviour and socio-demographic indicators were elicited. Factor and cluster analysis based on several statements on the test persons’ attitudes towards organic farming and corresponding EU legislation were conducted in order to segment consumers.

Findings

– The results indicate that knowledge of the logo is low. Only about 15 per cent of all respondents knew its meaning. Four clusters of consumers could be identified: “Committed organics”, “Pragmatic organics”, “Organic sceptics” and Organic disinterested’. With reference to the EU organic legislation’s aim of promoting the organic market, particularly “Organic sceptics” should be addressed by emphasising the trustworthiness of the organic certification and labelling system.

Originality/value

– Segmenting consumers according to their attitude towards organic farming, its labelling and certification allows for targeted and efficient communication and organic market development.
Hidden consumption behaviour: an alternative response to social group influence
Authors: Thomas Veronica L. , Jewell Robert D. , Wiggins Johnson Jennifer
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to examine how conflicting brand preferences between a social group and an individual may lead the individual to hide their consumption. Specifically, the authors examine the conditions under which hiding behaviour is most likely to occur and the impact of susceptibility to interpersonal influence on the decision to hide.

Design/methodology/approach

– Two experiments were conducted using a combination of student and adult samples. Analysis of variance and regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

– Findings suggest that individuals are most likely to hide their consumption behaviour when group sanctions for non-conformity are severe, but the likelihood of being caught is low. Further, individual differences in susceptibility to interpersonal influence are found to affect individuals’ decisions to hide their consumption behaviour.

Research limitations/implications

– By identifying hidden consumption behaviour as a possible response to preference conflict, this research contributes to the literature on social influence and extends our understanding of how consumers behave when influenced by social group pressure.

Originality/value

– The present work establishes hiding behaviour (a concept which has yet to be thoroughly explored in the literature) as an alternative yet viable response to preference conflict.
Converting service encounters into cross-selling opportunities
Authors: Yu Ting , Patterson Paul , de Ruyter Ko
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to examine how the motivation and ability of individual employees to sell influences their units’ capability to align their service delivery with sales in a way that satisfies customers. It also addresses the potential influence of employees’ confidence in their supervisor’s ability to sell, such that they predict a joint influence of personal and proxy agency.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study uses hierarchical linear modeling to address the research issues.

Findings

– Employees’ learning orientation has a positive influence on service-sales ambidexterity, but the impact of a performance-avoidance goal orientation is negative, and a performance-prove orientation has no influence. Proxy efficacy enhances the positive impact of learning orientations due to the manager’s ability to lead by example, facilitate knowledge sharing and provide advice. However, it attenuates the impact of self-efficacy on service-sales ambidexterity, because skilled supervisors tend to take over and eliminate opportunities for employees to build their own skills. It also confirms the positive influence of service-sales ambidexterity on branch performance.

Originality/value

– To examine the emerging service-sales ambidexterity issues raised in frontline service units, this study adopts a motivation and capability paradigm. It is among the first studies to address service-sales ambidexterity issues by considering both individual and branch contextual factors.
Analysis of natural convection in tall vertical cavities heated by a linear heat flux and cooled isothermally
Authors: El Moutaouakil Lahcen , Zrikem Zaki , Abdelbaki Abdelhalim
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This work is devoted to the numerical analysis of laminar natural convection in two-dimensional vertical cavities, filled with air and of high aspect ratios. One of the sidewalls is cooled isothermally while the other is heated by a uniform or linear heat flux whose average is located at mid-height of the wall. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The governing equations are discretized by the finite volume method and solved, in transient regime, by using the SIMPLE algorithm.

Findings

– The flow structure, air temperature field, local convective heat flux on the cold wall, variation of the temperature along the heated wall as well as its average and its maximum are analyzed for various combinations of the controlling parameters. These parameters are the linear heat flux slope γ (γ=0, 1 and −1, for a uniform, increasing and decreasing heat flux, respectively), the average Rayleigh number Ra

m
(103Ra

m
3×104) and the aspect ratio A (10A80). It was found that for a given A and Ra

m
, the highest (lowest) mean temperature of the hot wall is obtained when the linear heating is descending (ascending). While the maximum temperature increases with the three controlling parameters.

Practical implications

– Accurate correlations which allow calculating the average and maximum temperatures of the heated wall are developed for each type of heating. Also, an empirical relationship for the position of the maximum temperature is provided for γ=−1.

Originality/value

– Despite its fundamental and practical interest, natural convection in cavities with 10A80 and submitted to non-uniform heat flux was not examined before. Development of original correlations.
Numerical simulation of the rheological properties of fiber suspensions in turbulent pipe flows
Authors: Liang Xiaoyu , Yang Wei , Zhang Lingxin
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study numerically the rheological properties of fiber suspensions flowing through turbulent pipe flows.

Design/methodology/approach

– The work presented in this paper is derived the fluctuating equation for fiber orientation distribution function (FODF) in turbulent flows and solved using the method of characteristics. The FODF is predicted numerically. The numerical results of root-mean-square velocities generated by kinetic simulation sweeping model and are compared with the experimental data.

Findings

– The fiber orientation distribution becomes wider with increasing Re. The components of the fourth-order orientation tensor increase with the increase of Re, and also increase along the radial direction and reach the maximum at the center line. The first normal stress difference is much less than the shear stress. For different Re the shear stress increases rapidly in the region far from the pipe center, and reaches its maximums at center, while the first normal stress difference decreases rapidly in the region far from the pipe center, and reaches its minimum at center finally.

Originality/value

– By solving numerically the equation in a turbulent pipe flow with Reynolds number ranging from 2,500 to 1,000, the authors obtain the mean FODF which is in agreement with the experimental one qualitatively. Then the shear stress and first normal stress difference of suspensions are calculated based on the mean FODF.
Numerical simulation of a phase transition problem with natural convection using hybrid FEM/EFGM technique
Authors: Singh Sonam , Bhargava Rama
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study the flow and heat transfer characteristics of a phase transition, melting problem. In this problem, phase transition between solid and liquid takes place within a square enclosure in the presence of natural convection.

Design/methodology/approach

– The physical problem, described with non-linear partial differential equations, is simulated using a hybrid finite element and element free Galerkin method (FEM/EFGM) approach. In energy conservation equation, the fixed-domain, effective heat capacity method is used to take into account the latent heat of phase change. The governing partial differential equations are solved with a meshfree, EFGM near the phase transition front while in the region away from the front with uniform nodal distribution; problem is simulated with traditional FEM.

Findings

– A sensitivity analysis of characteristic dimensionless numbers Rayleigh number (Ra), Prandtl number (Pr), Stefan number (ste) is presented in order to investigate their impact on thermal and flow fields. Typically computational times of EFGM are higher than that of FEM. Therefore, by using EFGM only in that portion of physical problem where phase transition occurs, the hybrid FEM/EFGM strategy employed in present paper could reduce the computational time of EFGM while still retaining its accuracy. Also, the consistent performance of the results obtained with this hybrid approach is validated with those already available in literature for some special cases.

Originality/value

– The hybrid methodology adopted in this paper, is quite new for solving such type of phase transition problem.
Turbulent smoke flow in evacuation staircases during a high-rise residential building fire
Authors: Chen Yanqiu , Zhou Xiaodong , Zhang Taolin , Hu Yuqi , Yang Lizhong
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study the behavior of smoke flow in a typical high-rise residential building fire in six common smoke control systems.

Design/methodology/approach

– The pressure, temperature and CO2 concentration were used to trace the motion of turbulent smoke flow through CFD.

Findings

– It is found that the hot smoke could rise up and spread into the indoor space on the upper floors through the staircase. When the pressure in the evacuation staircase is higher, it would be more difficult for the smoke to enter the staircase and transport vertically. On the other hand, the smoke would soon transport to the indoor space on the upper floors horizontally. During this process, the smoke shows a more disorder horizontal transport under the sole effect of thermal buoyancy than the co-existence of thermal buoyancy and the air inlet.

Research limitations/implications

– Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may need to be tested by further experiments.

Practical implications

– The paper includes implications for the design of smoke control systems and evacuation in a building fire.

Originality/value

– This paper fulfils an identified need to study the behavior of smoke in a fire and optimize the design of smoke control systems.
Self-employment, the informal economy and the marginalisation thesis
Authors: Williams Colin C , Horodnic Ioana Alexandra
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate which groups of the self-employed engage in the informal economy. Until now, self-employed people participating in the informal economy have been predominantly viewed as marginalised populations such as those on a lower income and living in deprived regions (i.e. the “marginalisation thesis”). However, an alternative emergent “reinforcement thesis” conversely views the marginalised self-employed as less likely to do so. Until now, no known studies have evaluated these competing perspectives.

Design/methodology/approach

– To do this, the author report a 2013 survey conducted across 28 countries involving 1,969 face-to-face interviews with the self-employed about their participation in the informal economy.

Findings

– Using multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analysis, the finding is that the marginalisation thesis applies when examining characteristics such as the age, marital status, tax morality, occupation and household financial circumstances of the self-employed engaged in the informal economy. However, when gender and regional variations are analysed, the reinforcement thesis is valid. When characteristics such as the urban-rural divide and educational level are analysed, no evidence is found to support either the marginalisation or reinforcement thesis.

Research limitations/implications

– The outcome is a call for a more nuanced understanding of the marginalisation thesis that the self-employed participating in the informal economy are largely marginalised populations.

Originality/value

– This is the first extensive evaluation of which self-employed groups participate in the informal economy.
Exploring different cultural configurations: how do they affect subsidiaries’ knowledge sharing behaviors?
Authors: Cavaliere Vincenzo , Lombardi Sara
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of different cultural typologies (i.e. innovative, competitive, bureaucratic and community) on employees’ knowledge-sharing processes within multinational corporations (MNCs) by taking a subsidiary perspective. It particularly applies the competing values framework to the study of individuals’ orientations toward sharing knowledge with others while also investigating the influence of top management support on such orientations.

Design/methodology/approach

– To test the proposed hypotheses, in this paper, survey data of 389 employees from six Italian subsidiaries are empirically analyzed by running hierarchical regressions on the two dimensions of knowledge-sharing processes, i.e. knowledge donating and knowledge collecting.

Findings

– The results show that the four types of organizational culture differently affect the knowledge-sharing sub-processes and confirm the importance of a strong top management support to facilitate interpersonal relationships.

Research limitations/implications

– Despite the cross-sectional nature of the data and the limitations arising from the subsidiaries’ position in the country, the findings suggest managers to pay great attention to the positive side of bureaucracy by emphasizing the need for order and efficiency while, at the same time, providing employees with a constant and encouraging support toward knowledge-sharing activities.

Originality/value

– The paper adds empirical evidence to the limited existing research on knowledge-sharing sub-processes of knowledge donating and collecting, extends the understanding of how different organizational cultures affect such processes, and contributes to the literature on MNCs’ knowledge-based activities by adopting a subsidiary perspective.
With whom shall I share my knowledge? A recipient perspective of knowledge sharing
Authors: Zhang Xiao , Jiang Jane Yan
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to examine knowledge-sharing phenomena from the perspective of recipients’ characteristics. Specifically, this study examines the influence of knowledge recipients’ competence, learning attitude and personal relationship with knowledge sharer on knowledge sharers’ willingness to share.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors conducted two studies, a scenario experimental study and a field survey study to test their hypotheses about the effects of recipients’ characteristics on knowledge sharers’ willingness to share.

Findings

– The results revealed that recipients’ characteristics play different roles in different situations (responsive and proactive knowledge sharing) in triggering the knowledge sharers’ motivation to share. In responsive knowledge sharing, a recipient’s learning attitude and personal relationship with the knowledge sharer affected the sharer’s willingness to share. In proactive knowledge sharing, a recipient’s professional ability and personal relationship with the sharer significantly affected the sharer’s willingness to share.

Research limitations/implications

– The scenario experiment may suffer from the problem of social desirability and the external validity; this study only focuses on the simple main effect of knowledge recipients’ characteristics.

Practical implications

– First, managers should encourage employees to seek information and knowledge from other colleagues, and organizations could provide support for their interaction. Second, managers need to consider the composition of team members. Third, team managers may encourage each member to develop their own special skill or knowledge. Fourth, managers could make some efforts to develop a climate of trust among employees.

Social implications

– Some organization can also use practice like recognition of internal copyright or patent to protect employees’ new ideas or knowledge.

Originality/value

– First, this study clarifies the relationship between knowledge sharing and other working behaviors. Second, this study contributes to the understanding of how episodic factors affect working behaviors, which has been given little attention in previous research.
Citation classics published in knowledge management journals. Part I: articles and their characteristics
Authors: Serenko Alexander , Dumay John
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to develop a list of citation classics published in knowledge management (KM) journals and to analyze the key attributes and characteristics of the selected articles to understand the development of the KM discipline.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study identifies 100 citation classics from seven KM-centric journals based on their citation impact reported by Google Scholar and analyzes their attributes.

Findings

– The KM discipline is at the pre-science stage because of the influence of normative studies espousing KM practice. However, KM is progressing toward normal science and academic maturity. While the discipline does not exhibit the signs of the superstar effect, scholars from the USA and UK have made the most significant impact on the development of the KM school of thought. KM scholars should be more engaged in international collaboration.

Practical implications

– Practitioners played a key role in the development of the KM discipline and thus there is an opportunity to develop more scientific research approaches based on critical and performative research agenda.

Originality/value

– The study is novel and a must read for KM scholars because it is the first to comprehensively analyze the ideas that are the origins of the KM discipline.
Designing workspaces for cross-functional knowledge-sharing in R & D: the “co-location pilot” of Novartis
Authors: Coradi Annina , Heinzen Mareike , Boutellier Roman
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This paper examines co-location as an important solution to design workspaces in research and development (R & D). It argues that co-locating R & D units in multi-space environments serves knowledge creation by leveraging knowledge sharing across boundaries.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study is based on a co-location project of the knowledge-intensive, multi-national company Novartis. To compare communication and collaboration patterns, we interviewed and observed employees before and after co-location into the “co-location pilot” and investigated a control group that was not co-located. The use of data and method triangulation as a research approach underlines the inherent dynamics of the co-location in this study.

Findings

– The study suggests findings leveraging knowledge sharing in two different ways. Co-location of dispersed project team members increases unplanned face-to-face communication leading to faster and more precise flows of knowledge by transcending knowledge boundaries. Co-location to an open multi-space environment stimulates knowledge creation by enabling socialization, externalization and combination of knowledge.

Practical implications

– This study provides managerial implications for implementing co-location to achieve greater knowledge sharing across functions. The design of the work environment provides the framework for successful co-location.

Originality/value

– This paper reports the findings of an empirical case study conducted within the “co-location pilot” of the pharmaceutical company Novartis. This study contributes to an in-depth understanding of the phenomena on a qualitative and micro-level.
Encouraging knowledge contribution in IT support: social context and the differential effects of motivation type
Authors: Wang Xuequn , Clay Paul F. , Forsgren Nicole
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to investigate how to promote two types of knowledge contribution tasks. The authors focus on the role of supervisor and coworker support on motivation, and their effects on two different contribution tasks. Motivating employees to contribute knowledge is quite challenging. While previous studies have tried to understand how to promote knowledge contribution, few have differentiated between knowledge contribution tasks.

Design/methodology/approach

– Information technology support was chosen as the context of this study, and data were collected from system administrators within a Fortune 500 company via a web-based survey.

Findings

– Results show the differential effects of two forms of motivation on different contribution tasks, and supervisor support is positively associated with intrinsic motivation. Specifically, while intrinsic motivation is positively associated with challenging knowledge contribution, external motivation is positively related to mundane knowledge contribution and negatively related to challenging knowledge contribution.

Originality/value

– This study contributes to the current literature by providing a deeper theoretical understanding of knowledge contribution tasks, and contributes to practice by offering suggestions on how to better motivate employees within organizations and promote different knowledge contribution tasks.
A set of motives to unite them all?
Authors: Cuervo-Cazurra Alvaro , Narula Rajneesh
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to introduce the debate forum on internationalization motives of this special issue of Multinational Business Review.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors reflect on the background and evolution of the internationalization motives over the past few decades, and then provide suggestions for how to use the motives for future analyses. The authors also reflect on the contributions to the debate of the accompanying articles of the forum.

Findings

– There continue to be new developments in the way in which firms organize themselves as multinational enterprises (MNEs), and this implies that the “classic” motives originally introduced by Dunning in 1993 need to be revisited. Dunning’s motives and arguments were deductive and atheoretical, and these were intended to be used as a toolkit, used in conjunction with other theories and frameworks. They are not an alternative to a classification of possible MNE strategies.

Originality/value

– This paper and the ones that accompany it, provide a deeper and nuanced understanding on internationalization motives for future research to build on.
Determining the Optimal Size of Local Government: The Case of Tasmanian Councils
Authors: Marques Rui Cunha , Kortt Michael A. , Dollery Brian
Published: April 2015

We estimated the optimal size of the most significant functions performed by Tasmanian councils between 1999 and 2008 using a non‐parametric technique based on the shared input data envelopment analysis model. The principal advantage of this technique is that it not only provides an overall estimate of efficiency but it also allows for the estimation of ‘partial efficiencies’ and ‘cost shares’ when one input is shared among multiple outputs. Our results indicate that water supply and sewerage services, on average, were more efficient, whereas activities related to community health and safety and information systems warrant improvement. However, because the costs associated with water supply and sewerage services are considerably higher than the costs related to community health and safety and information systems, the elimination of these inefficiencies would result in greater cost savings for the Tasmanian local government sector.