bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Build trust in the organization because it matters: exploring the nexus of enablers of organizational trust through DEMATEL
Authors: Dahiya Rinki
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Researchers have worked diligently to find the factors that foster organizational trust, but the causal relationships between the enablers of organizational trust have remained unexplored. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to map and analyze the causal link structures of organizational trust enablers.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were gathered from employees working in Indian manufacturing organizations. The decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) approach was used to test the cause-and-effect linkages among organizational trust enablers.

Findings

The empirical evidence shows that 6 out of 14 enablers are causal, namely, organizational justice, person–organization fit, corporate citizenship, positive leadership behavior, relational quality and job satisfaction.

Practical implications

The findings of the study offer a deeper understanding of identified enablers of organizational trust and their linkages with other outcome enablers. Furthermore, the findings provided in the current study will assist top authorities, practitioners and HR managers in focusing on the select causal organizational trust enablers. In addition, the ranking established in this study will help organizations in directing their efforts and resources toward the few select enablers that help to facilitate other consequent enablers of organizational trust. In other words, the results of the study would help in gaining the advantages of efficiency in fostering trust at work.

Originality/value

By providing the empirically valid causal framework of organizational trust enablers, the present study makes a novel contribution to the field. Also, the findings of this study would help organizational policymakers, HR managers and organizational behavior practitioners in developing a better understanding of inculcating trust at work. Furthermore, the use of these enablers will help to foster a trustworthy environment at work.
The impact of female board directors on effective investment management: evidence from Korean firms
Authors: Kwon HyukJun , Moon Changjin , Kim Jinhwan
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Board gender diversity is an important component of sound corporate governance. This paper aims to examine the influence that female board directors in listed firms in Korea have on effective investment decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used 4,117 data items related to finance and governance from FnGuide for listed Korean firms between 2014 and 2019. The authors analyzed the data using Heckman’s two-stage regression, controlling the ordinary least square regression and endogeneity, to resolve the problem of selection bias. Gender diversity was measured using the existence/absence of female directors on boards (dummy variable) and the ratio of female directors on boards (BLAUt-1 index and SHANNONt-1 index).

Findings

Female board directors influenced the suppression of under-investment for the enhancement of corporate value, but not the suppression of over-investment. Additionally, female directors played a complementary role in under-investment to mitigate corporate risk, but not in intra-industry competition. Kanter’s classification of board types indicated that the skewed board and tilted board have a significant effect on under-investment and play a complementary role in corporate risk.

Research limitations/implications

First, this study is about only Korean firms. Second, this study relies on corporate actual data but does not account for the factors that affect human behavior or how such behaviors can evolve. Third, the authors included as many appropriate variables as possible when setting the research model, but there may be missing correlation variables.

Social implications

The authors’ results have policy implications, as they can be used as a basis to establish policies related to gender diversity in Korea, where there are currently insufficient empirical studies on women’s participation on the boards of directors. Moreover, with the amended FISCMA, which mandates that firms must hire at least one female director, Korean firms need to implement practical employment policies that can benefit firms, by selecting capable female directors rather than engaging in tokenism.

Originality/value

This study empirically examines gender diversity in the boards of Korean firms that have implemented the female quota system for the first time and considers female board directors’ roles in undertaking effective corporate investment decisions. This insight can guide change management and help firms avoid tokenism – a possible corporate response to pressures arising from the debates about feminism in Korea and gender diversity legislation.
How do free-play offers affect gambling behavior?
Authors: Cho S. Ray , Lucas Anthony F. , Singh Ashok K.
Published: March 2023

Purpose

This study aims to understand how free-play credits affect risk-seeking behavior in slot players. Extant results suggest they encourage risk aversion, counter to the primary aim of increasing spend per visit. The results inform operators as to the effectiveness of what has become the primary play incentive for casino marketers within many of the world’s markets.

Design/methodology/approach

Within a quasi-experimental grouped design, 365 days of player-level performance data from four different casinos were analyzed to determine whether player losses (casino revenues) and time played differed on visits that included free-play redemptions from those that did not. Hypotheses were tested via paired-samples t-tests and Mann–Whitney U tests.

Findings

On balance, neither player losses nor time played were significantly different on the free-play visits. Neither the house money effect nor the endowment effect was supported. The results were most consistent with the prospect-theory-with-memory editing rule. No findings indicated increased risk-seeking behavior associated with the free-play offers.

Practical implications

Casino operators are afforded insight related to how costly free-play campaigns affect gaming spend and playtime. Both are critical to understanding the impact of free-play on the gambler’s experience.

Originality/value

The 365-day samples extended existing research by analyzing the impact of free-play offers on risk-taking behaviors within the scope of a perpetual/ongoing campaign. Comparisons of observed daily behavior/outcomes were made between separate tiers of like-kind gamblers from each of four different casinos. Quasi-hedonic editing rules were applied to a multistage decision framework.
Action and inaction regret in fine-dining decisions: the impact of the focal customer, sommelier and dining companion
Authors: Deng Demi Shenrui , Seo Soobin , Harrington Robert J.
Published: March 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to unearth antecedents of regrettable dining experiences related to the information source, action and inaction perspectives, dining companion influence and interactions among information source, the focal customer’s valence and the dining companion’s valence on regret, leading to sequential behavioral outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a scenario-based experimental study, 344 qualified questionnaires were collected. Univariate ANOVA and multiple linear regression analyses were implemented.

Findings

The results of this study reveal that action regret is more intense than inaction regret during the choice-making phase; dining companion negative feedback intensifies focal customer’s regret. The significance of the information source on regret disappeared when only one party reported negative feedback; conversely, when two parties in the co-consumption experience revealed negative feedback, the relationship between information source of choice and regret was sustained.

Research limitations/implications

The nature of scenario-based design may lack realism. Thus, more field experiments are encouraged to test the propositions further. This research enhances our understanding of gastronomic experiences in a negative disconfirmation context, drawing upon action/inaction regret theory, attribution theory and the expectancy disconfirmation model.

Practical implications

From a triad relationship perspective, this study provides valuable input on who or what will be attributed to the issues when encountering a food and wine sensory failure. Additionally, insightful recommendations are supplied on avoiding the possibility of inducing the experience of regret and how practitioners can increase the potential for a memorable dining experience.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that enriched the existing knowledge of regrettable dining experiences relating to information sources and social influence.
Analysis of accommodation providers' carbon footprint in Australia: motivations and challenges
Authors: Apolloni Massimiliano , Volgger Michael , Pforr Christof
Published: March 2023

Purpose

As net-zero pledges gain momentum globally, more and more accommodation businesses seek to quantify their carbon emissions. Building on Chan (2021), this study aims to explore what drives Australian accommodation providers to measure the carbon footprint of their businesses and what barriers hinder them from doing so.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical data were collected by conducting ten semi-structured interviews with owners, senior executives, consultants, certification bodies and hotel management companies. The set of interviews represented different segments of the hotel industry and various accommodation types. Data were analysed with thematic analysis.

Findings

The major drivers for adopting carbon footprint analysis are as follows: the analysis being perceived as an important contribution to a company's corporate responsibility, the owner or manager's environmental concern, the assessment being a requirement for obtaining an eco-certification and the business benefits associated with implementing the initiative. The major barriers hindering adoption include the following: difficulties with data gathering, the lack of a standard methodology, a lengthy decision-making process and a lack of resources.

Research limitations/implications

Based on the empirical findings and three theories on ecological responsiveness, this study develops a conceptual framework for implementing carbon footprint analysis in the accommodation context and recommends strategies to increase the adoption of carbon footprint analysis.

Originality/value

This study responds to Chan and Hsu's (2016) call for further research on carbon footprint in the hotel context and represents the first attempt to explore the drivers and barriers specifically associated with implementing carbon footprint analysis in the accommodation sector.
COVID-19 and the digitization of business events: how the health crisis accelerated ethical issues
Authors: Piccioni Niccolò , Nosi Costanza , Ottolenghi Chiara , Nevi Giulia
Published: March 2023

Purpose

The aim of this study is to understand the transformations that the event industry has undergone during the COVID-19 pandemic and what changes still may happen in the future, here according to business event managers.

Design/methodology/approach

Being explorative in nature, the study adopts a qualitative research design based on semi-structured in-depth interviews submitted to a purposive sample of 26 Italian business event agency managers.

Findings

The findings reveal that the pandemic boosted the digital transformation of the event industry, spurring organizers to recraft and execute their business models. Such changes may give rise to important ethical concerns that should be carefully considered by academics, professionals and policymakers.

Research limitations/implications

The research is based on a purposive sample of Italian business event managers. Therefore, in addition to be country-specific, the research includes only a single typology of business event stakeholders.

Originality/value

The article points out possible counterintuitive considerations that may rise related to the ethical issues emerging from the adoption of novel business models in the event industry after the COVID-19 pandemic. The study suggests possible objects of reflection for scholars, event managers and policymakers to plan and organize a more equitable and sustainable business in the future.
Defining perplexity and reflective thinking in a game-based learning environment
Authors: Shokeen Ekta , Weintrop David , Pellicone Anthony James , Moon Peter Francis , Ketelhut Diane , Cukier Michel , Plane Jandelyn Dawn
Published: March 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of perplexity in young players’ experiences within an educational videogame and how reflective thinking can help them to get out of perplexing scenarios.

Design/methodology/approach

We used a constructivist grounded theory approach and the lenses of Dewey’s conceptualization of perplexity and reflective thinking to examine young players’ in-game experiences.

Findings

We find that perplexity in gameplay is an experience that occurs when players encounter uncertainty about where to go or what to do next in the game. Findings reveal that while playing an educational game players engaged in two forms of perplexity – exploration-based and puzzle-based. Additionally, we unpack how players overcome these perplexing scenarios by reflecting on the information provided in the game.

Research limitations/implications

While in a state of perplexity, reflecting on the in-game information aids players to think and make meaning, thus supporting learning. We provide suggestions for how to better utilize perplexity as an in-game design mechanism to encourage young players to reflect on in-game information.

Originality/value

This empirical study is original in its context of studying the phenomenon of perplexity in videogames and young players’ in-game reflection experiences.
Presentational effects of photos and text in electronic word-of-mouth on consumer decisions
Authors: Li Jing , Xu Xin , Ngai Eric W.T.
Published: March 2023

Purpose

This study clarifies the integration-related effects of photos and text on consumer information processing and decision-making outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted an experiment by recruiting 162 workers from Amazon Mechanical Turk. These participants were randomly assigned based on a full factorial, between-subject design with four possible conditions (2 [separate vs alternate layout] × 2 [photo-first vs text-first sequence]). The authors conducted a two-way analysis of variance to test the main effects and the interaction effects of layout and sequence on perceived diagnosticity, pleasantness feelings and attitudes toward products or services reviewed through electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM); the authors also applied Process Models 4 and 8 to explore the mechanism of these effects.

Findings

The experimental results reveal that text-first sequence is generally more effective than photo-first sequence in enhancing perceived diagnosticity and attitudes toward products or services. However, when a photo is displayed first, a separate layout is more effective than an alternate layout in enhancing perceived diagnosticity and attitudes. By contrast, regardless of the sequence, an alternate layout is more effective than a separate layout in inducing pleasantness feeling.

Research limitations/implications

Future studies should further explore photo-based e-WOM, including other photo characteristics (e.g. visual quality, quantity and content).

Practical implications

This study provides guidelines for businesses to use photos on social media to achieve strategic goals.

Originality/value

This study addresses an identified need; that is, how the presentation of photo cues (e.g. layout and sequence) influences consumer decisions.
Green buildings and maintenance planning practices in Malaysia
Authors: Ismail Zul-Atfi
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Green building (GB) maintenance is increasingly accepted in the construction industry, so it can now be interpreted as an industry best practice for maintenance planning. However, the performance competency and design knowledge of the practice's building control instrument process can be affected by its evaluation and the information management of building information modelling (BIM)–based model checking (BMC). These maintenance-planning problems have not yet been investigated in instances such as the Grenfell Tower fire (14 June 2017, approximately 80 fatalities) in North Kensington, West London.

Design/methodology/approach

This study proposes a theoretical framework for analysing the existing conceptualisation of BIM tools and techniques based on a critical review of GB maintenance environments. These are currently employed on GB maintenance ecosystems embedded in project teams that can affect BMC practices in the automation system process. In order to better understand how BMC is implemented in GB ecosystem projects, a quantitative case study is conducted in the Malaysian public works department (Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR)).

Findings

GB ecosystem projects were not as effective as planned due to safety awareness, design planning, inadequate track insulation, environmental (in) compatibility and inadequate building access management. Descriptive statistics and an ANOVA were applied to analyse the data. The study is reinforced by a process flow, which is transformed into a theoretical framework.

Originality/value

Industry practitioners can use the developed framework to diagnose BMC application issues and leverage the staff competency inherent in an ecosystem to plan GB maintenance environments successfully.
The knowledge trajectory and structure of the supply chain integration: a main path and cluster analysis
Authors: Yu Dejian , Fang Anran
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Supply chain integration (SCI) dominates supply chain strategy and is receiving increasing academic attention. The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of the knowledge trajectory and structure of the SCI field.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on 3,533 papers extracted from the Web of Science (WoS), this paper adopts the main path analysis (MPA) method to detect three distinct knowledge development trajectories. Coupling-based clustering is combined with MPA to reveal three critical subfields.

Findings

The findings show that the definition, content and dimensions of SCI lack unified conclusions. The influencing factors and performance consequences of SCI are long-standing research elements. Building theoretical models and integrated systems and applying blockchain technology to improve SCI are the key research contents. The intertwining of collaboration and SCI cannot be ignored, and the green SCI may be a hot topic in the future.

Research limitations/implications

This study explores knowledge in the SCI field based on the limited literature collected by WoS rather than all published papers. The omissions of some relevant papers and books may exist.

Practical implications

The study methodology provides a framework for similar studies in the future, and the results help researchers to get a comprehensive picture of the knowledge trajectory and structure of the SCI field.

Originality/value

Compared to existing reviews, MPA combines cluster analysis to develop a synthetic framework of the knowledge trajectory and structure in the SCI domain. It contributes to a systematic review of the development of SCI.
Towards a better understanding of volunteer engagement: self-determined motivations, self-expression needs and co-creation outcomes
Authors: Fernandes Teresa , Matos Manuel Aires de
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Non-profit organizations (NPO) contribute significantly to the welfare of citizens and communities. Engagement in volunteering is crucial for sustaining volunteer motivation and for the effective and efficient functioning of NPO, with significant implications for society at large. Yet, literature on volunteer engagement (VE) is limited to date. Grounded on service-dominant logic, self-congruity theory and self-determination theory, this study aims to understand what motivates VE and how it may evolve into a co-creation process valuable to NPO and its stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on survey data collected from 450 volunteers, working with a diverse set of NPO, a comprehensive model of drivers and outcomes of VE was empirically tested using PLS-SEM, considering the mediating role of volunteers' congruence with the core values of the NPO.

Findings

The impact of volunteers' perceived autonomy, competence and relatedness on VE and its subsequent role in volunteers' loyalty and extra-role engagement behaviors (i.e. co-development, influencing and mobilizing behaviors) were validated. Moreover, the study validates value congruence as an internalizing mediating mechanism in the engagement process, a role that has been implied but not empirically tested.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the engagement and volunteering literature, which despite an unprecedented parallel have developed almost independently, with limited reference to one another. As the nomological network of VE is still underexplored, the study extends the engagement literature to the volunteering sector, validating the key (but underexplored) role of self-determination needs and value congruence in driving VE and value co-creation behaviors. The study further adds to engagement research while addressing other actors' engagement beyond the customer–brand dyad. While adopting a seldom explored marketing perspective of VE, this study provides NPO valuable insights on how to manage and engage volunteers.
Identifying and prioritizing the factors affecting the knowledge flow in high-tech industries
Authors: Zahedi Mohammad Reza , Naghdi Khanachah Shayan , Papoli Shirin
Published: March 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this study paper is to identify and prioritize the factors affecting the knowledge flow in high-tech industries.

Design/methodology/approach

This research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-survey in terms of data collection method. This research has been done in a qualitative–quantitative method. In the qualitative part, due to the nature of the data in this study, expert interviews have been used. The sample studied in this research includes 35 managers and expert professors with experience in the field of knowledge management working in universities and high-tech industries who have been selected by the method of snowball. In the quantitative part, the questionnaire tool and DANP multivariate decision-making method have been used.

Findings

In this study, a multicriteria decision-making technique using a combination of DEMATEL and ANP (DANP) was used to identify and prioritize the factors affecting the knowledge flow in high-tech industries. In this study, the factors affecting the knowledge flow, including 8 main factors and 31 subfactors, were selected. Human resources, organizational structure, organizational culture, knowledge communication, knowledge management tools, knowledge characteristics, laws, policies and regulations and financial resources were effective in improving knowledge flow, respectively.

Originality/value

By studying the research, it was found that the study area is limited, and the previous work has remained at the level of documentation and little practical use has been done. In previous research, the discussion of knowledge flow has not been very open, and doing incomplete work causes limited experiences and increases cost and time wastage, and parallel work may also occur. Therefore, to complete the knowledge management circle and fully achieve the research objectives, as well as to make available and transfer the experiences of people working in this field and also to save time and reduce costs, the contents and factors of previous models have been counted. It is designed for high-tech industries, a model for the flow of knowledge.
Entrepreneurial orientation, CEO power and firm performance: an upper echelons theory perspective
Authors: Saiyed Abrar Ali , Tatoglu Ekrem , Ali Salman , Dutta Dev K.
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Adopting insights from the upper echelons theory, this study aims to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance under the contingent influence of chief executive officer (CEO) power.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from a sample of large publicly-traded Indian software firms using the Prowess Database of Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). Panel data regression analysis was used to test the study's hypotheses.

Findings

The results indicate that EO has an inverted U-shaped relation with firm performance. Strong support is also found for a negative moderating influence of CEO power on the inverted U-shaped relationship between EO and firm financial performance, suggesting that powerful CEOs eventually harm entrepreneurial firms.

Practical implications

The study encourages firms to have entrepreneurship orientation, but at a moderate level, to get the maximum benefit of EO. The study also explains to managers to what extent CEO power drives EO.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the intersection of corporate entrepreneurship and upper echelons theory. The study shows that CEO power negatively affects the EO and firm's performance relationship. This study holds important insights for managers of entrepreneurial firms, especially in international contexts and emerging markets.
Role conflict, need frustration and supervisor support: a moderated-mediation model of employee voice and silence
Authors: Jawahar I. M. , Kisamore Jennifer L. , Stone Thomas H.
Published: March 2023

Purpose

Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether role conflict is associated with frustration of employees’ basic needs and whether need frustration is associated with withdrawal in the form of reduced voice and increased silence. This paper also investigates if supervisor support mitigates potential detrimental outcomes of need frustration.

Design/methodology/approach

In this survey-based study, 201 full-time employees participated. Self-reports regarding voice and silence behaviors at work were collected as were perceptions of role conflict, need frustration and supervisor support.

Findings

The results of this study support the proposed moderated mediation relationships for both employee voice and silence behaviors. Specifically, need frustration mediates the relationship between role conflict and the two outcome variables. Perceived supervisor support moderates the path between need frustration and both voice and silence behaviors.

Practical implications

Employees are an organization’s first line of defense against potential accidents, inefficiencies and other organizational crises. When they perceive their needs are not met and they are not supported by their supervisors, employees are likely to seek to protect themselves from further resource loss by withholding feedback even if such feedback may enhance organizational effectiveness and prevent organizational crises.

Originality/value

Given that voice and silence are not opposites of each other, it is important to study both in a single study, as this study does. This study proposes and tests a heretofore untested explanation for the relationship between role conflict and voice and silence. The authors identify a buffer with potential to mitigate the negative effects of need frustration.
How sustainable practices influence guests' willingness to pay a price premium in Fiji
Authors: Gupta Vikas , Sharma Savita , Sinha Sunil Kumar
Published: March 2023

Purpose

This study seeks to determine the effect of sustainable practices on willingness to pay a price premium (WTPP) in the hotels and resorts in the Fiji islands. It will also assess how implementing these sustainable practices influences guest re-visit intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research technique was used which included in-depth interview sessions with ten Fijian resort managers and 15 hotel guests. The website of Etic Hotels was also used to gather data about the green practices provided by resorts and hotels. A non-random purposive sampling method was used to select respondents.

Findings

Results indicate that implementing sustainability practices has significantly and positively affected guest intentions to return to Fijian Hotels and resorts. The results also demonstrated that customers are willing to pay a higher price for the use of environmentally friendly practices in Fiji's hotels and resorts.

Originality/value

Though a few studies have been conducted examining the linkages between sustainable practices and the Fijian hotel industry, this article is a novel exploration of the use of sustainable practices in hotels and resorts and how they influence guest re-visit intentions and WTPP in Fiji Islands.
The novel algorithm-based hysteresis current control technique (HCCT) to eliminate sub and inter harmonics (SIH) in load current
Authors: Mohapatra Tapas Kumar , Dey Asim Kumar
Published: March 2023

Purpose

This study aims to propose a unique algorithm-based hysteresis current control technique (HCCT) for induction motor using a single-phase voltage source inverter (SPVSI) to eliminate both sub and inter harmonics (SIH) and electromagnetic interference (EMI). The total harmonic distortion (THD) of the load current also reduces in comparison to standard HCCT and modified technique-based existing HCCT.

Design/methodology/approach

Matlab simulation has been carried out to develop an SPVSI model and the unique algorithm-based HCCT. The same platform has also been used to develop a few existing HCCTs such as standard, dual-band and modified. The switching frequency and harmonic analysis of load currents for all the HCCTs have been compared in the paper. The hardware implementation of the proposed algorithm-based HCCT was also verified and compared with the simulation results.

Findings

The proposed unique algorithm-based HCCT provides the benefits of both unipolar and bipolar switching techniques. It reduces the switching frequency as unipolar switching scheme and eliminates the EMI. It also reduces THD and nullifies SIH of the load current. This enables an improvement in the overall performance and efficiency of the motor.

Practical implications

This proposed HCCT eliminates the SIH and improves the overall efficiency of the motor, hence can prevent overheating, vibration, acoustic noise, pulsating torque and braking of the rotor shaft of the motor and increasing the reliability of the system.

Social implications

It can be implemented for the motors that are used in household applications and electric vehicles through one-phase inverter.

Originality/value

This proposed HCCT has detected the zero crossing point of reference current, allowed samples and shifted the necessary amount of hysteresis band at zero crossing region to eliminate SIH and THD.
P‐wave velocity structure of the Sulu orogenic belt in the Yellow Sea, East China: Evidence from wide‐angle ocean‐bottom seismograph data
Authors: Zhao Weina , Liu Chenguang , Liu Kai , Li Guanbao , Wu Zhiqiang , Zhi Pengyao
Published: March 2023

The Sulu orogenic belt, formed by the collision between Sino‐Korean and South China blocks, has important geological implications due to its unique tectonic setting. To understand the deep crustal structure of the extension of the Sulu orogenic belt in the Yellow Sea, we presented a 220‐km long active‐source ocean‐bottom seismometer wide‐angle reflection/refraction profile across the Yellow Sea. The obtained P‐wave velocity structure exhibits significant horizontal and vertical variations. The middle and upper crustal regions of the north beneath the survey line exhibit a higher velocity and larger thickness than those of the south, whereas the opposite is the case with the lower crust. The lower crustal high‐velocity zone in the Northern Depression of the South Yellow Sea Basin is a manifestation of the mantle material upwelling and accretion to the lower crust. Magmatic intrusions occurred along the faults and formed a high‐velocity zone in the middle and upper crusts. Due to undulating Moho interface and varying crustal velocities, the Qingdao–Rongcheng fault is identified as a fault in the Sulu orogenic belt without the significance of tectonic zoning. This study shows that the Sino‐Korean Block, Sulu orogenic belt and South China Block are bounded by the Jimo–Muping faults (an extension to the sea), Qianliyan fault and deep fault of the South Yellow Sea. Furthermore, the Sulu orogenic belt may have been formed by the northward subduction of the South China Block beneath the Sino‐Korean Block during the Indosinian orogeny to the east of the Shandong Peninsula.
The costs of managing key threats to Australia's biodiversity
Authors: Yong Chuanji , Ward Michelle , Watson James E. M. , Reside April E. , van Leeuwen Stephen , Legge Sarah , Geary William L. , Lintermans Mark , Kennard Mark J. , Stuart Stephanie , Carwardine Josie
Published: March 2023

Budgeting for biodiversity conservation requires realistic estimates of threat abatement costs. However, data on threat management costs are often unavailable or unable to be extrapolated across relevant locations and scales. Conservation expenditure largely occurs without a priori cost estimates of management activities and is not recorded in ways that can inform future budgets or cost‐effective management decisions.

We provided transparent, broadly applicable cost models for 18 Threat Abatement Strategies aimed at managing the processes threatening Australia's biodiversity. We defined the actions required to implement each strategy and used a consistent structure to classify costs of labour, travel, consumables and equipment. We drew upon expert knowledge and published literature to parameterise each model, estimating the implementation cost of each strategy across the Australian continent, accounting for spatial variables such as threat presence, terrain, and travel distance.

Estimated annualised costs for the threat abatement strategies varied considerably between strategies and across Australia, ranging from $24 to $879,985 per km2 ($0.24–$8880 per ha). On average, labour was the largest cost component (49%), followed by consumables (37%), travel (13%) and equipment (2%). Based on national scale variables and assumptions, cost estimates across Australia for each threat abatement strategy ranged from +44% and −33% of the most common cost estimate.

Policy implications. We provide a consistent and transparent approach to budgeting for threat abatement strategies, aiming to improve conservation planning processes, outcomes, and reporting across Australia. In addition, understanding the budget required to achieve threat management outcomes can aid revenue‐raising and target setting. The models, cost layers and estimates we generate provide the basis for a nationally consistent approach for estimating and recording the cost of biodiversity management strategies, which should be continually updated and improved with local‐scale information over time.
Big Med's Spread
Authors: BURNS LAWTON ROBERT , PAULY MARK V.
Published: March 2023

Policy Points

Hospital executives posit a number of rationales for system mergers which lack any basis in academic evidence. Decades of academic research question whether system combinations confer public benefits. Antitrust authorities need to continue to closely scrutinize these transactions.

Recently, mergers of hospital systems that span different geographic markets are on the rise. Economists have alerted policymakers about the potential impacts such cross‐market mergers may have on hospital prices. We suggest there are other reasons for concern that scholars have not often confonted. Cross‐market mergers may be conducted for purely self‐serving reasons of organizational growth that increases executive compensation. Combinations of sellers should have clear advantages to consumers. System executives and their boards should bear the burden of proof.

Federal regulators and state attorney generals should be cognizant that rationales for cross‐market systems advanced by merging parties are unlikely to be operative or dominant in merger decision making.

Policymakers should be careful about passing legislation that encourages hospitals to consolidate.

Context

There is a growing trend of combinations among hospital systems that operate in different geographic markets known as cross‐market mergers. Economists have analyzed these broader systems in terms of their anticompetitive behavior and pricing power over insurers. This paper evaluates the benefits advanced by these new hospital systems that speak to a different set of issues not usually studied: increased efficiencies, new capabilities, operating synergies, and addressing health inequities. The paper thus “looks under the hood” of these emerging, cross‐market systems to assess what value they might bestow and upon whom.

Methods

The paper examines recently announced cross‐market mergers in terms of their supposed benefits, as expressed by the systems’ executives as well as by industry consultants. These presumed benefits are then evaluated against existing evidence regarding hospital system outcomes.

Findings

Advocates of cross‐market hospital mergers cite a host of benefits. Research suggests these benefits are nonexistent. Additional evidence suggests other motives may be at play in the formation of cross‐market mergers that have nothing to do with efficiencies, synergies, or community benefits. Instead these mergers may be self‐serving efforts by system chief executive officers (CEOs) to boost their compensation.

Conclusions

Cross‐market hospital mergers may yield no benefits to the hospitals involved or the communities in which they operate. The boards of hospital systems that engage in these cross‐market mergers need to exercise greater diligence over the actions of their CEOs.
VERTICAL GEOGRAPHIES, POLYVOCALITY AND THE EVERYDAY IN A DIVIDED CITY
Authors: Aceska Ana
Published: March 2023

The vertical turn in urban scholarship is a critique of the overly horizontal perspectives used in studying cities in academic research. This article broadens this scholarship by engaging with the ways that horizontal perspectives on urban conditions dominate not only scholarly perspectives but also professional responses to urban change. By drawing on research in the divided city of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it argues for a ‘polyvocal’ approach to studying professional responses to urban conditions, one that facilitates a productive juxtaposition of those responses with city dwellers’ everyday engagements with the vertical qualities of the built environment. It also seeks to understand how vertical geographies—here, tall landmarks—in divided cities are seen as part of the complex urban realities of city dwellers in strategies of urban planning and heritage‐making related to postwar reconciliation. These findings are compared with ethnographic data about how people make sense of tall landmarks in divided cities and how they experience and interpret them in relation to senses of togetherness and belonging to divided cities. By putting these two lines of research in a dialogue, the ‘polyvocal' approach offers a way to rethink conventional strategies of urban reconciliation and taken‐for‐granted ways of conceptualizing cities.
Disaggregating Latino nativity in equity research using electronic health records
Authors: Marino Miguel , Fankhauser Katie , Minnier Jessica , Lucas Jennifer A. , Giebultowicz Sophia , Kaufmann Jorge , Hwang Jun , Bailey Steffani R. , Crookes Danielle M. , Bazemore Andrew , Suglia Shakira F. , Heintzman John
Published: March 2023

Objective

To develop and validate prediction models for inference of Latino nativity to advance health equity research.

Data Sources/Study Setting

This study used electronic health records (EHRs) from 19,985 Latino children with self‐reported country of birth seeking care from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2018 at 456 community health centers (CHCs) across 15 states along with census‐tract geocoded neighborhood composition and surname data.

Study Design

We constructed and evaluated the performance of prediction models within a broad machine learning framework (Super Learner) for the estimation of Latino nativity. Outcomes included binary indicators denoting nativity (US vs. foreign‐born) and Latino country of birth (Mexican, Cuban, Guatemalan). The performance of these models was compared using the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) from an externally withheld patient sample.

Data Collection/Extraction Methods

Census surname lists, census neighborhood composition, and Forebears administrative data were linked to EHR data.

Principal Findings

Of the 19,985 Latino patients, 10.7% reported a non‐US country of birth (5.1% Mexican, 4.7% Guatemalan, 0.8% Cuban). Overall, prediction models for nativity showed outstanding performance with external validation (US‐born vs. foreign: AUC = 0.90; Mexican vs. non‐Mexican: AUC = 0.89; Guatemalan vs. non‐Guatemalan: AUC = 0.95; Cuban vs. non‐Cuban: AUC = 0.99).

Conclusions

Among challenges facing health equity researchers in health services is the absence of methods for data disaggregation, and the specific ability to determine Latino country of birth (nativity) to inform disparities. Recent interest in more robust health equity research has called attention to the importance of data disaggregation. In a multistate network of CHCs using multilevel inputs from EHR data linked to surname and community data, we developed and validated novel prediction models for the use of available EHR data to infer Latino nativity for health disparities research in primary care and health services research, which is a significant potential methodologic advance in studying this population.
Targeting BRCA‐mutant biliary tract cancer: Current evidence and future perspectives
Authors: Li Xin Yu , Chen Jia Qi , Aisa Adilai , Ding Yu Wei , Zhang Ding , Yuan Ying
Published: March 2023

Biliary tract cancers (BTCs) are aggressive tumors of the biliary system, which are often diagnosed at the advanced stage with a dismal prognosis. Among BTC patients, germline or somatic breast cancer‐related gene 1/2 (BRCA1/2) mutation has been reported and the use of poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase inhibitor (PARPi) has achieved a certain effect, with no obvious severe side effects. The frequencies and mutated types of BRCA1/2 in advanced BTCs vary among studies. BRCA1 and BRCA2 play distinct roles in the development of BTC regardless of age or gender difference. Surprisingly, some BTC patients with germline BRCA mutation can achieve better therapeutic effects than those with a somatic mutation, and patients who carry BRCA mutation are more likely to benefit from immunotherapy alone or in combination. Herein, we provide an overview of the targeted therapies in BRCA‐mutant BTCs, with a particular focus on the differences between germline and somatic BRCA1/2 mutations, as well as review the current status and perspectives.
Drivers of future streamflow changes in watersheds across the Northeastern United States
Authors: Cockburn Charlotte , Winter Jonathan M. , Osterberg Erich C. , Magilligan Francis J.
Published: March 2023

Accurate projections of streamflow, which have implications for flooding, water resources, hydropower, and ecosystems, are critical to climate change adaptation and require an understanding of streamflow sensitivity to climate drivers. The northeastern United States has experienced a dramatic increase in extreme precipitation over the past 25 years; however, the effects of these changes, as well as changes in other drivers of streamflow, remain unclear. Here, we use a random forest model forced with a regional climate model to examine historical and future streamflow dynamics of four watersheds across the Northeast. We find that streamflow in the cold season (November–May) is primarily driven by 3‐day rainfall and antecedent wetness (Antecedent Precipitation Index) in three rainfall‐dominant watersheds, and 30‐day rainfall, antecedent wetness, and 30‐day snowmelt in the fourth, more snowmelt‐dominated watershed. In the warm season (June–October), streamflow is driven by antecedent wetness and rainfall in all watersheds. By the end of the century (2070–2099), cold season streamflow depends on the importance placed on snow in the machine learning model, with changes ranging from −7% (with snow) to +40% (without snow) in a single watershed. Simulated future warm season streamflow increases in two watersheds (56% and 193%) due to increased precipitation and antecedent soil wetness, but decreases in the other two watersheds (−6% and −27%) due to reduced precipitation.
The Ukraine crisis, the nuclear threat and the ICJ Opinion of 1996
Authors: Hilpold Peter
Published: March 2023

The Russian aggression against Ukraine has unleashed new fears of a nuclear war and also due to direct and indirect threats by the Russian side. As a consequence, it seems appropriate to re‐open the debate about the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons, a debate led to somewhat inconclusive results by the ICJ Opinion of 1996 on the ‘Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons’. If some elements of rationality are left in this war, nuclear weapons will not be employed in Ukraine. The major casualty of this rhetoric could, however, be the far‐reaching de‐legitimisation of nuclear warfare achieved in the past. Therefore, the time has come to re‐examine the ICJ assessments of 1996 and to take a clearer stance in this regard which should be more appropriate as to the exigencies of modern international society. It is argued here that now the ICJ would come to different conclusions if seized again with the same questions as in 1996.
Trophic ecology of Thoropa miliaris (Anura: Cycloramphidae) in two mountain ranges of south‐eastern Brazil
Authors: Oliveira Henrique J. , Aperibense Marcella D. , Yves André , Machado Rafaela R. , Santana Diego J. , Costa Henrique C.
Published: March 2023

Among populations of the same species, the diet composition varies depending on the environment, given the variation in diversity and abundance of available prey. Since Thoropa miliaris is a habitat specialist in reproduction, we tested the hypothesis that this specialization is also verified in its diet. We carried out the work in 10 localities in Serra do Mar and Serra da Mantiqueira, south‐eastern Brazil, where we collected frogs and evaluated prey availability. The environment did not provide significant variation in the diet of T. miliaris, and Formicidae was the prey category selectively consumed in greater volume, frequency and abundance in both mountain ranges. Therefore, we can state that T. miliaris has a selective diet on ants.