bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Angle calculations using two detector circles and wavelength
Authors: You Hoydoo
Published: July 2018

A `2D + λ' mode using two detector angles and wavelength is added to the modes of operation of a six-circle diffractometer, i.e. `4S + 2D' diffractometer [You (1999). J. Appl. Cryst.
32, 614–623]. In synchrotron sources, the X-ray energy, and hence the wavelength, can be a degree of freedom for angle calculations. For diffractometers with two detector circles, therefore, the variable X-ray energy can be the third degree of freedom, sufficient for accessing reciprocal space without rotating the sample. This mode is useful for limited sample rotations or X-ray beams focused smaller than the diffractometer circle of confusion.
Crystal structure of disilver(I) dizinc(II) iron(III) tris(orthovanadate) with an alluaudite-type structure
Authors: Lamsakhar Nour El Houda , Zriouil Mohammed , Assani Abderrazzak , Saadi Mohamed , El Ammari Lahcen
Published: July 2018

The title compound, Ag2Zn2Fe(VO4)3, has been synthesized by solid-state reactions and belongs to the alluaudite structure family. In the crystal structure, four sites are positioned at special positions. One silver site is located on an inversion centre (Wyckoff position 4b), and an additional silver site, as well as one zinc and one vanadium site, on twofold rotation axes (4e). One site on a general position is statistically occupied by FeIII and ZnII cations that are octahedrally surrounded by O atoms. The three-dimensional framework structure of the title vanadate results from [(Zn,Fe)2O10] units of edge-sharing [(Zn,Fe)O6] octahedra that alternate with [ZnO6] octahedra so as to form infinite chains parallel to [10\overline{1}]. These chains are linked through VO4 tetrahedra by sharing vertices, giving rise to layers extending parallel to (010). Such layers are shared by common vanadate tetrahedra. The resulting three-dimensional framework delimits two types of channels parallel to [001] in which the silver sites are located with four- and sixfold coordination by oxygen.
Balancing a mixed-model assembly line with unskilled temporary workers: algorithm and case study
Authors: Kim Dongwook , Moon Dug Hee , Moon Ilkyeong
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the process of balancing a mixed-model assembly line by incorporating unskilled temporary workers who enhance productivity. The authors develop three models to minimize the sum of the workstation costs and the labor costs of skilled and unskilled temporary workers, cycle time and potential work overloads.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper deals with the problem of designing an integrated mixed-model assembly line with the assignment of skilled and unskilled temporary workers. Three mathematical models are developed using integer linear programming and mixed integer linear programming. In addition, a hybrid genetic algorithm that minimizes total operation costs is developed.

Findings

Computational experiments demonstrate the superiority of the hybrid genetic algorithm over the mathematical model and reveal managerial insights. The experiments show the trade-off between the labor costs of unskilled temporary workers and the operation costs of workstations.

Originality/value

The developed models are based on practical features of a real-world problem, including simultaneous assignments of workers and precedence restrictions for tasks. Special genetic operators and heuristic algorithms are used to ensure the feasibility of solutions and make the hybrid genetic algorithm efficient. Through a case study, the authors demonstrated the validity of employing unskilled temporary workers in an assembly line.
Rewarding the good and penalizing the bad? Consumers’ reaction to food retailers’ conduct
Authors: Vo Ha Thi Mai , Hartmann Monika , Langen Nina
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to obtain insights into Vietnamese consumers’ knowledge and relevance of as well as their reaction to modern food retailers (MFRs) responsible and irresponsible conduct.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were obtained from an online survey applying content analysis, uni- and multivariate tests and multivariate regression models.

Findings

In total, 60 percent of respondents are not aware of (ir)responsible conduct of MFR. Most of those aware of such behavior indicate that this has induced a change in their shopping behavior. This holds to a similar extent for those not aware but envisaging the (ir)responsible conduct of MFRs. The findings point to a negativity bias in that consumers’ reaction is more sensitive regarding irresponsible than responsible firm behavior. This bias is higher for consumers already knowledgeable about the (ir)responsible behavior of MFRs. The likelihood that consumers punish irresponsible conduct is influenced by the importance they attach to “food quality and safety” while those having high concerns for environmental, social and ethical’ issues are more likely to reward responsible firm actions.

Research limitations/implications

The negativity bias which implies that consumers react more sensitive regarding irresponsible than responsible firm behavior is likely underestimated in hypothetical studies.

Practical implications

Customer loyalty is at stake for MFRs behaving irresponsible while it can be strengthened by responsible firm conduct.

Originality/value

This research is the first to highlight the importance consumers in Vietnam attach to responsible firm conduct. It also points to a lack of awareness of such behavior.
Adaptation of the Food Choice Questionnaire: the case of Hungary
Authors: Szakály Zoltán , Kontor Enikő , Kovács Sándor , Popp József , Pető Károly , Polereczki Zsolt
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the applicability of the original 36-item Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) model developed by Steptoeet al.(1995) in Hungary.

Design/methodology/approach

The national representative questionnaire involved 1,050 individuals in Hungary in 2015. Several multivariable statistical techniques were applied for the analysis of the data: confirmatory factor analysis, principal component analysis, and cluster and Log-linear analysis.

Findings

The results indicate that the original nine-factor model is only partially applicable to Hungary. This study successfully managed to distinguish the following factors: health and natural content, mood, preparation convenience, price and purchase convenience, sensory appeal, familiarity, and ethical concern. The FCQ scales proved to be suitable for the description of clusters based on specific food choices and demographic characteristics. By using the factors, the following five clusters were identified: modern food enthusiast, tradition-oriented, optimizer, easy-choice and un-concerned, all of which could be addressed by public health policy with individually tailored messages.

Originality/value

The Hungarian testing process of the FCQ model contributes to an examination of its usability and provides the possibility of fitting the model to different cultures.
Antecedents of farmers’ willingness to participate in short food supply chains
Authors: Charatsari Chrysanthi , Kitsios Fotis , Stafyla Amalia , Aidonis Dimitrios , Lioutas Evagelos
Published: July 2018

Purpose

Despite the increasing consumers’ intent to support short food networks, the expansion of short food supply chains (SFSCs) remains limited. The purpose of this paper is to identify potential antecedents of farmers’ willingness to participate in SFSCs.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data from a sample of Greek farmers the authors examined whether farmers’ citizenship behaviour, the levels of their perceived competencies and the degree to which they feel accepted by their communities affect their willingness to engage in SFSCs.

Findings

Results indicate that producers’ citizenship behaviour does indeed have a positive impact on willingness to participate in SFSCs, whereas their perceptions of the acceptance they enjoy within their communities also significantly predict this willingness. On the contrary, self-perceived lack of communication and collaboration competencies diminishes this willingness.

Originality/value

To the best of our knowledge, this study is one of the first attempts to explore the role of farmers’ competencies in their willingness to participate in SFSCs. In addition, by integrating concepts derived from multiple disciplines, our work adds new factors in the wide spectrum of forces that impel or suppress farmers’ willingness to take part in alternative food distribution networks.
The changing dietary patterns and health issues in China
Authors: Yuan Ming , Seale Jr James Lawrence , Wahl Thomas , Bai Junfei
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer an overview of dietary transition patterns and a discussion of the food-related health issues in China.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper builds on a review of the existing literature on food consumption and diet changes in China, and highlights with specific attention to increasing food consumed away from home, the rising demand for fast and processed foods, and the popularizing of western-style foods in Chinese diets.

Findings

China’s food consumption patterns rapidly transitioned from one in which grains and vegetables dominated to one having more animal products and more diversification. More foods are consumed away from home and in the form of fast and processed. Income growth played and will continue to play a critical role in shifting the structure of food consumption. On the other hand, China is on a fast track from a lean population to one in which being overweight or obese. The associations between health outputs and food transitions, however, are inconclusive.

Originality/value

The main findings of this study have implications for better understanding the key trends and driving forces of China’s food demand system. Moreover, the results from this review are essential for food-related policymaking in many emerging economies where coexistence of undernutrition, deficiency of micronutrients and overweight and obesity is a common challenge to the society and individual households.
Review of BIM literature in construction industry and transportation: meta-analysis
Authors: Abdal Noor Bashar , Yi Sirong
Published: July 2018

Purpose

Building information modeling (BIM) is a process of generating and managing building data during the building’s life cycle. To increase productivity in building design and construction, BIM uses three-dimensional (3D) real-time, dynamic building modeling software. Because of its versatile features, BIM use is on the rise and researchers are exploring its application in new disciplines. The purpose of this study is to map out how BIM is used in the construction industry, while identifying and highlighting the research gaps in the literature.

Design/methodology/approach

To investigate the status quo of knowledge about BIM, the authors conducted a comprehensive literature review. They applied and extended a methodology for reviewing BIM-related publications through a four-dimensional meta-analysis system and its categories, which has been partially adapted previously.

Findings

Majority of studies applying BIM for the construction phase of civil engineering projects were done within universities; none used BIM for the construction of intermediate railway stations.

Practical implications

To increase the construction efficiency of intermediate railway stations, applying the BIM concept for generation and management of station data should be considered for future research.

Originality/value

Furthermore, one of the main goals of this research paper is to explore the adoption of BIM in civil engineering construction projects, in particular the construction of intermediate railway stations.
Examining the effect of different facets of mindfulness on work engagement
Authors: Gunasekara Asanka , Zheng Connie Shao-mei
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between mindfulness and work engagement, with a particular focus on exploring the extent to which four facets of mindfulness, i.e. “attention”, “awareness”, “present focus” and “acceptance” impact on work engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

Exploratory factor and multiple regression analyses were used to test the hypothesised relationships among a sample of 130 employees.

Findings

The findings show that mindfulness as a single construct is positively related to work engagement. The analysis from the facet level of mindfulness illustrates that each of four facets is also significantly related to work engagement. In particular, employees with refined attentional skills and accepting the present moment reality were found to contribute more to work engagement.

Practical implications

Organisational programs that focus on building personal resources could use the meditation-based mindfulness programs to help individuals widen attention span as well as to develop non-judgemental attitude.

Originality/value

Focussing on developing mindful employees and promoting mindfulness practices at workplace, especially, by working on specific strategies, to expand “attentional skills” and the “attitude of accepting the present moment reality” may be another promising strategy to enhance work engagement.
Discovering and developing conceptual understanding of teaching and learning in entrepreneurship lecturers
Authors: Toding Martin , Venesaar Urve
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discover and develop the conceptual understanding of teaching and learning in entrepreneurship lecturers and how this is influencing the change in teaching experience.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was carried out among Estonian entrepreneurship lecturers who participated in a lecturer-training programme. A qualitative research method was adopted, focussing on thematic analysis. The framework for research and the analysis of results relied on the teaching and learning model, enabling the model to be tested in the context of entrepreneurship education.

Findings

The results show that the lecturers with learning-centred mind-sets tended to make changes in their teaching approaches and introduced changes in other teaching and learning components, such as the content (learning process) and outcomes of the learning subject. These inconsistent applications of changes justify the need for a systematic approach to entrepreneurship teaching and learning.

Practical implications

The results of the study contribute to a more systematic understanding of conceptions of teaching entrepreneurship among entrepreneurship lecturers, thereby allowing school management to understand the need for developing staff in addition to curricula. The study results are useful for informing training for entrepreneurship lecturers, designing entrepreneurship courses and choosing the appropriate methodology in such design.

Originality/value

This paper provides input for creating a conceptual teaching and learning model of entrepreneurship education that contributes to a more systematic understanding of the relationships between the components of teaching and learning when designing entrepreneurship education programmes. In the context of entrepreneurship education, the use of the teaching and learning model is required when considering the timeline between different components of the model. This means that it is important to first make decisions about the presage factors (including conceptual understanding of teachers), which provide the frame (context) for the teaching and learning process, as well as learning outcomes.
Numerical solutions for unsteady boundary layer flow of a dusty fluid past a permeable stretching/shrinking surface with particulate viscous effect
Authors: Hamid Rohana Abdul , Nazar Roslinda , Pop Ioan
Published: July 2018

Purpose

This present aims to present the numerical study of the unsteady stretching/shrinking flow of a fluid-particle suspension in the presence of the constant suction and dust particle slip on the surface.

Design/methodology/approach

The governing partial differential equations for the two phases flows of the fluid and the dust particles are reduced to the pertinent ordinary differential equations using a similarity transformation. The numerical results are obtained using the bvp4c function in the Matlab software.

Findings

The results revealed that in the decelerating shrinking flow, the wall skin friction is higher in the dusty fluid when compared to the clean fluid. In addition, the effect of the fluid-particle interaction parameter to the fluid-phase can be seen more clearly in the shrinking flow. Other non-dimensional physical parameters such as the unsteadiness parameter, the mass suction parameter, the viscosity ratio parameter, the particle slip parameter and the particle loading parameter are also considered and presented in figures. Further, the second solution is discovered in this problem and the solution expanded with higher unsteadiness and suction values. Hence, the stability analysis is performed, and it is confirmed that the second solution is unstable.

Practical implications

In practice, the flow conditions are commonly varying with time; thus, the study of the unsteady flow is very crucial and useful. The problem of unsteady flow of a dusty fluid has a wide range of possible applications such as in the centrifugal separation of particles, sedimentation and underground disposable of radioactive waste materials.

Originality/value

Even though the problem of dusty fluid has been broadly investigated, limited discoveries can be found over an unsteady shrinking flow. Indeed, this paper managed to obtain the second (dual) solutions, and stability analysis is performed. Furthermore, the authors also considered the artificial particle-phase viscosity, which is an important term to study the particle-particle and particle-wall interactions. With the addition of this term, the effects of the particle slip and suction parameters can be investigated. Very few studies in the dusty fluid embedded this parameter in their problems.
Self-regulation and medical direction
Authors: O’Meara Peter , Wingrove Gary , McKeage Michael
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse two approaches to paramedic service clinical governance and quality management from the perspective of two groups of paramedics and paramedic managers working in North America.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study approach was utilised to describe and analyse paramedic service medical direction in North America and contrast this with the professional self-governance and clinical governance systems operating in other high-income countries. Researchers interviewed participants at two remote North American sites, then completed transcription and thematic analysis.

Findings

Participants identified three themes: first, resourcing, regulatory frameworks and fragmentation; second, independent practice facilitators and barriers; and third, paramedic roles and professionalisation. Those trained outside North America tended to identify self-regulation and clinical governance as the preferred approach to quality management. Few participants had considered paramedicine becoming a self-regulating health profession.

Originality/value

In North America, the “medical direction” model is the dominant approach employed to ensure optimal patient outcomes in paramedic service delivery. In contrast, other comparable countries employ paramedic self-regulatory systems combined with clinical governance to achieve the same ends. This is one of two studies to examine medical direction from the perspective of paramedics and paramedic managers.
Exploring Lean Six Sigma implementation barriers in Information Technology industry
Authors: Shamsi Mohd Adeel , Alam Aftab
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present critical barriers and obstacles faced by Information Technology (IT) industry in the implementation of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) as the business improvement methodology.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review of peer-reviewed journal articles, master and doctoral theses, paradigmatic books with managerial impact and survey reports was used to identify distinct barriers. An empirical survey, using 400 self-administered questionnaires, was then conducted. Data about 11 LSS barriers from 256 usable questionnaires, with a response rate of 64 per cent, were collected and analyzed by means of statistical data analysis software.

Findings

The challenges of “part-time involvement in Lean Six Sigma projects”, “time consuming”, “staff turnover in middle of project”, “difficulty in data collection” and “difficulty in identifying project scope” emerged as the most critical barriers in the context of IT industry. This research work advocates the development of a strategy for addressing the most critical barrier instead of focusing on all for successful implementation.

Originality/value

This paper will prove to be a fantastic resource for many researchers and practitioners who are engaged in research and applications of LSS in the IT industry. Moreover, the scarcity of literature specific to LSS in IT industry will be addressed to some extent.
State building in post-conflict zones: lessons from
Palestine and Kosovo
Authors: Rabaia Ibrahim S.I. , Kok Kheng Yeoh , Bin Tumin Makmor
Published: July 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the state-building attempts in post conflict
zones. The neoliberal economic system has dominated the key international
organizations such that the latter have designed their approaches for state
building based on it. The framework of these approaches focuses on minimal
state interventions in the economy and free markets by being as a
“one size fits all”. However, several prominent financial
institutions such as the United Nations, World Bank and International
Monetary Fund that have implemented some of these approaches in various
regions resulted in limited success.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is comparing two cases of state building before statehood and
sovereignty, and this comparison comes in socioeconomic practices of
international players and local governments.

Findings

This model has been carried out in Palestine and Kosovo but failed in meeting
the expected demands of independence and prosperity. Instead, it resulted in
more failures in the markets and caused a decline in the macro and micro
economic indicators.

Originality/value

The key reasons for such failures, specifically in Palestine and Kosovo, are
believed to be related to the top-down approach of policy-making, the lack
of independence and sovereignty and the absence of popular and local
participation in policies and plans. In such context, this approach has to
be further revised to create a more inclusive participatory and
representative model.
Studying World Heritage visitors: the case of Cuenca, Ecuador
Authors: Lopez-Guzman Tomas , Pérez Gálvez Jesús Claudio , Muñoz Fernández Guzmán Antonio , Torres León Leonardo
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the existing relations between three fundamental constructs (motivation and satisfaction) and the type of travellers in a World Heritage Site (WHS) tourist destination, the city of Cuenca (Ecuador).

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology used consisted of a fieldwork to determine the motivations and satisfaction of the visitor in the city of Cuenca, and then their segmentation.

Findings

The relationship between the study of motivation and satisfaction is a fundamental element in the development of WHSs. Similarly, it presents four different types of tourists obtained from their motivational variables. The results show the existence of three motivational dimensions for visiting Cuenca: cultural, circumstantial and convenience. Similarly, and using the motivation scenarios, four types of visitor have been identified: a cultural tourist, a cultural convenience tourist, a cultural circumstantial tourist and an alternative tourist.

Practical implications

The principal practical application of this research is to contribute to understanding the motivations of the visitors in relation to the city of Cuenca as a WHS for the purpose of designing tourist and cultural products that better satisfy the needs of the tourists and that, at the same time, are compatible with the sustainable management of the destination.

Originality/value

This paper seeks to contribute to promoting the relationship between tourism, sustainability and heritage in Latin America.
Impact of volatility and equity market uncertainty on herd behaviour: evidence from UK REITs
Authors: Akinsomi Omokolade , Coskun Yener , Gupta Rangan , Lau Chi Keung Marco
Published: July 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to examine herding behaviour among investors and traders in UK-listed Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) within three market regimes (low, high and extreme volatility periods) from the period June 2004 to April 2016.

Design/methodology/approach

Observations of investors in 36 REITs that trade on the London Stock Exchange as at April 2016 were used to analyse herding behaviour among investors and traders of shares of UK REITs, using a Markov regime-switching model.

Findings

Although a static herding model rejects the existence of herding in REITs markets, estimates from the regime-switching model reveal substantial evidence of herding behaviour within the low volatility regime. Most interestingly, the authors observed a shift from anti-herding behaviour within the high volatility regime to herding behaviour within the low volatility regime, with this having been caused by the FTSE 100 Volatility Index (UK VIX).

Originality/value

The results have various implications for decisions regarding asset allocation, diversification and value management within UK REITs. Market participants and analysts may consider that collective movements and market sentiment/psychology are determinative factors of risk-return in UK REITs. In addition, general uncertainty in the equity market, proxied by the impact of the UK VIX, may also provide a signal for increasing herding-related risks among UK REITs.
Pricing to market
Authors: French Nick , Gabrielli Laura
Published: July 2018

Purpose

Since the global financial economic crisis hit the world markets in 2007/2008, the role of property valuation has been under greater and greater scrutiny. The process of valuation and its quality assurance has been addressed by the higher prominence of the International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC). This is a significant initiative worldwide. However, there has been little written on the appropriate use of valuation approaches and methods in market valuations. There is now a hierarchy of valuation definitions. In order, there are valuation approaches, valuation methods and, as a subset of the methods, techniques or models. The purpose of this paper is to look at the importance of identifying the appropriate approach to be adopted in market valuations and the methods, techniques and models that should be applied to determine market value.

Design/methodology/approach

This practice briefing is an overview of the valuation approaches, methods and models available to the valuer and comments on the appropriateness of valuation each in assessing market value.

Findings

This paper reviews the IVSC-recognised approaches and prompts the valuer to be careful with the semantics involved so that they are better placed to provide an unambiguous service to their clients.

Practical implications

The role of the valuer in practice is to identify the appropriate approach for the valuation of the subject property, choose the right method and then apply the correct mathematical model for the valuation task in hand.

Originality/value

This provides guidance on how valuations can be presented to the client in accordance with the International Valuation Standards.
Supplier relationship management for circular economy
Authors: Dubey Rameshwar , Gunasekaran Angappa , Childe Stephen J. , Papadopoulos Thanos , Helo Petri
Published: July 2018

Purpose

With considerable international awareness of circular economy (CE), the purpose of this paper is to propose a theoretical framework, informed by institutional theory and upper echelon theory (UET), to explain how top management commitment (TMC) mediates the relationship between external pressures and supplier relationship management (SRM) practices for CE.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors test the hypotheses using cross-sectional data gathered using a survey of companies involved in sustainability practices.

Findings

The results of the hierarchical regression and mediating regression analyses suggest that TMC positively mediates the effect of external institutional pressures on SRM.

Originality/value

The authors advance existing theory by integrating institutional theory and UET to explain SRM practices in sustainable supply networks. Furthermore, the authors offer guidance to managers who would like to engage in leveraging SRM in sustainable supply networks and outline future research directions.
Socio-influences of user generated content in emerging markets
Authors: Kumar Harish , Singh Manoj Kumar , Gupta M.P.
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize the influencing characteristics of user-generated content over perceived structure of social platforms to plan various business practices to improve the social commerce activities especially in emerging markets.

Design/methodology/approach

In first step, key factors are identified from the systematic literature studies and experts’ opinion. Second, total interpretive structural modeling is used to interpret the complexity of relationships among various factors. Further, fuzzy-MICMAC analysis is used to determine the most driving factors to improve the social commerce.

Findings

The study illustrates hierarchical relationships that can help policy designers, business leaders and decision makers to gain maximum benefits of mining the user-generated content to implement the people-oriented changes to improve economic capability of a country.

Research limitations/implications

The applicability of the study findings can be deployed mostly in emerging economies. The study has not considered the data security, cyberbullying, authenticity and reliability of shared content spread virally over social sites.

Practical implications

The paper will assist policy makers, business planners and solution providers to give importance to public-led influencing patterns to offer business solutions based on people demand and choices.

Social implications

The customers’ engagement, sharing reviews, getting suggestions from other people and finding new trends through user-generated content would enable higher social commerce activities.

Originality/value

The paper develops hierarchical relationships to represent the advancements in business and marketing activities based on influencing patterns and behavior of users over social sites.
Unlocking customer accounting’s potential: a service-dominant logic approach
Authors: Ng Frederick , Wood Zack
Published: July 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to problematise critiques raised against customer accounting’s numeric focus, which risks controlling and simplifying customers rather than facilitating closer engagement. This analysis suggests ways to better account for what it is that customers buy, why they do so and how to better serve them.

Design/methodology/approach

Service-dominant logic (SDL) is a marketing ideology that recognises the active role of customers in value creation. Seven customer accounting techniques are appraised against SDL principles to identify strengths and shortfalls in logic and application.

Findings

Customer accounting techniques align with SDL’s beneficiary-oriented and relational view of customers. Weaker alignment is found regarding a focus on outputs rather than outcomes, silence about the customer’s role in co-creating value and failure to recognise contextual circumstances.

Research limitations/implications

The analysis uses prototypical descriptions of customer accounting techniques. Actual applications could offset weaknesses or raise other shortfalls.

Practical implications

For each area of SDL, the authors suggest avenues for integrating SDL into customer accounting using related literature and building on concepts within customer accounting techniques.

Originality/value

SDL contrasts with the traditional, goods-dominant logic that underscores much of accounting. SDL is used to critically and constructively evaluate customer accounting techniques.
Is bigger better? An analysis of economies of scale and market power in police departments
Authors: Fegley Tate , Growette Bostaph Lisa
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the nature of policing services allows for economies of scale to be realized. It is also a replication of Southwick (2005).

Design/methodology/approach

This study replicates the methodology used by Southwick (2005) to estimate police production and demand in order to determine whether there are economies of scale among police departments in a western state. Southwick’s (2005) method is unique in that it incorporates measures of market power to predict police efficiency. The present study is unique in that it involves data from a low-density, low-population western state.

Findings

Southwick’s results for New York State are markedly different from the results found for Idaho, thus questioning the external validity of Southwick’s model as applied to a relatively low-population state. The findings also indicate that, controlling for relevant variables, crime in Idaho is highly correlated with population, suggesting that police departments in low density/population states would not achieve efficiency gains through consolidation.

Research limitations/implications

The implications of this study include validating police performance measures and evaluating applicability of market power to police departments.

Practical implications

No evidence was found to support the contention that consolidation of police departments results in efficiency gains.

Originality/value

This is the first study of economies of scale in policing to use data from a low-density, low-population western state.
Can higher education reduce the negative consequences of police occupational culture amongst new recruits?
Authors: Cox Carol , Kirby Stuart
Published: July 2018

Purpose

There is considerable evidence to illustrate police occupational culture can negatively influence service delivery and organizational reform. To counteract this, and to improve professionalism, the police services of England and Wales will become a graduate profession from 2020, although little empirical evidence exists as to what impact this will have. The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of a police degree course on its students.

Design/methodology/approach

Initially, a survey was conducted with 383 university students studying for criminal justice-related undergraduate degrees in a UK university. This indicated Police Foundation degree students (n=84), identified themselves as being different, and behaving differently, to other university students. To explore the reasons for this, four focus groups were conducted with this cohort, during their two-year degree programme.

Findings

The study found that the Police Foundation degree students quickly assimilated a police identity, which affected their attitudes and behavior. The process led to a strengthening of ties within their own student group, at the expense of wider student socialization.

Originality/value

The study provides new findings in relation to undergraduate students who undertake a university-based degree programme, tailored to a future police career. The results have implications for both police policy makers and those in higher education as it highlights the strength of police occupational culture and the implications for the design of future police-related degree programmes.
Institutionalization of the OECD Grand-Narrative of Inclusivity (1983-2012)
Authors: Zohar Gal
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the emplotment of organizational grand-narratives of a leading international organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The paper includes the reconstruction of the OECD’s inclusion approach as a prototype grand-narrative. Moreover, the main goal of this paper is understanding the reciprocal relationship between the organizational narratives and other organizational domains.

Design/methodology/approach

To study the structural process of emploting grand-narratives, which combines reciprocal dependencies across organizational domains, I have used process tracing, content analysis and interviews methodologies, for each domain. These methodologies were monitored by quantitative and qualitative analyses of the interactions among these domains. These methods allowed me to explore the interdependencies in the discursive and non-discursive ordering of institutional memory as a means for identifying the development of organizational narratives.

Findings

The findings of this paper confirm the reciprocal dynamics among and within three core organizational domains, narratives, organizational-epistemological settings and organizational products. These domains evolve constantly and concurrently in a three-phased process where a former organizational constellation is challenged, a consolidation takes place, and a new narrative is institutionalized. The context I chose to demonstrate this dynamic is the OECD evolving interactions between innerorganizational units and the organizational products (i.e. its activation policy recommendations), of the OECD post-Cold War inclusive approach (1989–2002).

Research limitations/implications

The importance and complexity of the OECD as a global trendsetting organization, and the findings of this single case study are significant for their implications on trends and processes found in other complex grand-narratives. The transferability of these results would require further analysis.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper is using a transnational dynamic organization such as the OECD as the organizational model for understanding how organizations undergo emplotment processes. Moreover, this article’s analytical framework provides a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between the constraining structures and micro-level interactions.
Standardization for patient safety in a hospital department: killing butterflies with a musket?
Authors: Ernst Jette , Jensen Schleiter Astrid
Published: July 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to look at the ways in which standardization for patient safety is approached from different positions in the field, namely nurses and managers in a hospital department, the hospital management and standard inventers. We understand safety standardization and the responses to it as a strategizing process, where standards are legitimized, taken up, handled or countered.

Design/methodology/approach

Ethnographic fieldwork was conducted in a Danish hospital department. The study included observations, interviews and documents studies. The authors apply a Bourdieusian perspective, where the authors focus on the narratives told by standard inventers, managers and nurses to examine and understand their strategizing activities in relation to safety standardization. We understand strategizing as interested action emerging in the dialectics between a habitus and a position in a field.

Findings

The authors show how the standardization of work rests on the master narrative of patient safety management and how this narrative clashes with the nurses’ practical perception of good care, which rests on the counter-narrative of the clinical judgment.

Originality/value

Safety standardization in healthcare is often studied within the broader framework of performance management using functionalist outside-in and prescriptive approaches. This study contributes to this literature by approaching standardization and the responses to it as taking place in a dialectic movement between subjective shop floor experiences and wider field-level forces. Furthermore, the study contributes to the organization and management literature concerned with change and strategic action by endorsing the Bourdieusian conception of strategizing.
Indicators for monitoring biological invasions at a national level
Authors: Wilson John R. U. , Faulkner Katelyn T. , Rahlao Sebataolo J. , Richardson David M. , Zengeya Tsungai A. , van Wilgen Brian W.
Published: July 2018

A major challenge for the management of biological invasions is to ensure that data and information from basic inventories and ecological research are used alongside data from the monitoring and evaluation of interventions to trigger and improve policy and management responses. To address this issue, South Africa has committed to report on the status of biological invasions and their management every 3 years.

We propose a framework of indicators for reporting on biological invasions at a country level; assess the feasibility of the indicators using South Africa as a case study; and outline steps needed for indicator development.

We argue that a national status report on biological invasions should explicitly consider indicators for pathways, species, and sites, and should report on interventions in terms of inputs, outputs, and outcomes.

We propose 20 indicators based on data currently available, as well as existing international policy initiatives. For each indicator, we have developed a factsheet that includes different hierarchical metrics (considering data availability) and provide suggestions on assigning confidence levels. We also combine these indicators into four high‐level indicators to facilitate broader reporting and describe how forecasted indicators based on the concept of invasion debt could assist with scenario planning.

We found that many of the data required for these indicators are already available in South Africa, but they have been poorly collated to date. However, data for the indicators of most direct value to policy and planning—those dealing with the impact of biological invasions and the outcome of interventions—are scarce.

Policy implications. The framework of indicators developed here, for what we believe is the first ever national‐level report on the status of biological invasions and their management, will facilitate the inclusion of biological invasions in environmental reporting at national and international levels. By identifying knowledge gaps, a status report will also focus efforts on determining the size of a country's invasion debt and what can be done to reduce it.
The National and Regional Consequences of Australia's Goods and Services Tax
Authors: Giesecke James A. , Tran Nhi H.
Published: July 2018

The major political parties support the tenet of the original GST agreement that GST change requires unanimous state approval. However, GST change could differentially affect state economies, and thus influence support from individual states. We investigate the potential for GST change to differentially affect state economies. We do this by developing a multi‐regional model of the Australian economy that contains details of the legislated features of the GST. In this model, when we change any element of the GST, the economic effects are informed by regional differences in economic structure and their interactions with the details of our GST theory.
Extracellular aminopeptidase modulates biofilm development of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by affecting matrix exopolysaccharide and bacterial cell death
Authors: Zhao Tianhu , Zhang Yuhuan , Wu Huijun , Wang Di , Chen Yihua , Zhu Mei‐Jun , Ma Luyan Z.
Published: July 2018

Biofilm bacteria are embedded within a self‐secreted extracellular matrix that contains a considerable amount of proteins including many extracellular enzymes. However, little is known about the roles of such enzymes in biofilm development. Here, we studied Pseudomonas aeruginosa aminopeptidase (PaAP, encoded by PA2939 that we named the gene as paaP in this study), a quorum‐sensing‐regulated enzyme and one of the most abundant extracellular proteins in the biofilm matrix of this opportunistic pathogen and environmental bacterium. We found that deletion of paaP in P. aeruginosa increased initial attachment and biofilm formation at early stages of biofilm development. After 24 h growth, loss of PaAP resulted in substantial cell death and biofilm disruption. Bacterial cell death was independent of biofilm matrix polysaccharide Psl, while biofilm disruption was due to the degradation of Psl matrix by dead‐bacteria‐released glycosyl hydrolase PslG, thereby leading to biofilm dispersion. PaAP functioned extracellularly and aminopeptidase catalytic activity was essential for its effect on biofilm development. Our data reveal an important role of extracellular aminopeptidase in biofilm development, suggesting PaAP as a therapeutic target for preventing P. aeruginosa infection and combating biofilm‐related complications.
Efficacy of combined icotinib and pemetrexed in EGFR mutant lung adenocarcinoma cell line xenografts
Authors: Cui Jiadong , Zhang Yan , Su Di , Li Tao , Li Yu
Published: July 2018

Background

The combination of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and chemotherapy is thought to increase treatment efficacy in non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study investigated the efficacy and potential mechanisms of different combined modes of icotinib plus pemetrexed in EGFR‐mutant lung adenocarcinoma cell line xenograft models.

Methods

Nude mice were subcutaneously injected with EGFR‐mutant human lung adenocarcinoma cells (HCC827) and randomized into six treatment groups. Tumor xenograft volumes were monitored and recorded. Microvessel density (MVD) and proliferation and apoptosis rates were evaluated with CD34 positive cell counting, and Ki‐67 and caspase‐3 scores, respectively, and determined via immunohistochemistry. Thymidylate synthase (TS), EGFR, and downstream signaling molecule expression was detected by Western blotting.

Results

The volume and weight of tumor xenografts in the sequential pemetrexed followed by icotinib (Pem‐Ico) group and the concurrent icotinib and pemetrexed (Ico + Pem) group were significantly smaller than those in the control, pemetrexed (Pem), icotinib (Ico), and sequential icotinib followed by pemetrexed (Ico‐Pem) groups. Compared to other groups, a decrease in the MVD and proliferation rate and an increase in the apoptosis rate were observed in the Pem‐Ico and Ico + Pem groups. TS expression and EGFR, AKT, and MAPK phosphorylation were significantly reduced in the Pem‐Ico or Ico + Pem groups.

Conclusions

Pem‐Ico had additive antitumor activity in vivo, similar to Ico + Pem, both of which are suggested as potentially optimized strategies for treating EGFR‐mutant lung adenocarcinoma.