bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identifying gene regulatory networks of senescence in postharvest broccoli (Brassica oleracea)
Authors: Ahlawat Yogesh , Li Song , Pliakoni Eleni D. , Brecht Jeffrey , Liu Tie
Published: February 2021

The facts of postharvest food loss and waste and the resulting consequences affect us in many ways, ranging from important economic and social issues to lasting and detrimental environmental problems. We are using genomic tools to understand senescence in postharvest broccoli florets when stored at room temperature or 4 °C. The RNA-sequencing approaches provide key insights into the gradual changes in transcriptome profiling in broccoli during postharvest storage. Identification of those key factors could lead to a better understanding of gene regulation of postharvest senescence. Those genes could serve as ‘freshness-indicators’ that have the potential to mediate senescence and to generate germplasm for breeding new varieties with longer shelf-life in Brassica vegetables. Such a tool would also allow a new level of postharvest logistics based on physiological age, supporting improved availability of high-quality, nutritious, fresh vegetables and fruits.

One sentence summary

A gene regulatory network modulates senescence in postharvest broccoli florets
A coregulator shift, rather than the canonical switch, underlies thyroid hormone action in the liver
Authors: Shabtai Yehuda , Nagaraj Nagaswaroop K. , Batmanov Kirill , Cho Young-Wook , Guan Yuxia , Jiang Chunjie , Remsberg Jarrett , Forrest Douglas , Lazar Mitchell A.
Published: February 2021

Thyroid hormones (THs) are powerful regulators of metabolism with major effects on body weight, cholesterol, and liver fat that have been exploited pharmacologically for many years. Activation of gene expression by TH action is canonically ascribed to a hormone-dependent “switch” from corepressor to activator binding to thyroid hormone receptors (TRs), while the mechanism of TH-dependent repression is controversial. To address this, we generated a mouse line in which endogenous TRβ1 was epitope-tagged to allow precise chromatin immunoprecipitation at the low physiological levels of TR and defined high-confidence binding sites where TRs functioned at enhancers regulated in the same direction as the nearest gene in a TRβ-dependent manner. Remarkably, although positive and negative regulation by THs have been ascribed to different mechanisms, TR binding was highly enriched at canonical DR4 motifs irrespective of the transcriptional direction of the enhancer. The canonical NCoR1/HDAC3 corepressor complex was reduced but not completely dismissed by TH and, surprisingly, similar effects were seen at enhancers associated with negatively as well as positively regulated genes. Conversely, coactivator CBP was found at all TH-regulated enhancers, with transcriptional activity correlating with the ratio of CBP to NCoR rather than their presence or absence. These results demonstrate that, in contrast to the canonical “all or none” coregulator switch model, THs regulate gene expression by orchestrating a shift in the relative binding of corepressors and coactivators.
Neoliberalism and management accounting: reconfiguring governmentality and extending territories
Authors: Wickramasinghe Danture , Cooper Christine , Alawattage Chandana
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the themes and aims of this Accounting, Auditing & Accountability (AAAJ) special issue and comments on the papers included in the issue. The paper provides a thematic outline along which the future researchers can undertake more empirical research examining how neoliberalism shapes, and shaped by, management accounting.

Design/methodology/approach

This entails a brief review of the previous critical accounting works that refer to liberalism and neoliberalism to identify and highlight the specific themes and trajectories of neoliberal implications of management accounting has been and can be explored. This is followed by a brief commentary on the papers the authors have included in this special issue; these commentaries explain how these papers capture various dimensions of enabling and enacting neoliberal governmentality.

Findings

The authors found that management accounting is now entering new territories beyond its conventional disciplinary enclosures of confinement, reconfiguring its functionalities to enable and enact a circulatory mode of neoliberal governmentality. These new functionalities then produce and reproduce entrepreneurial selves in myriad forms of social connections, networks and platforms within and beyond formal organizational settings, amid plethora of conducts, counter-conducts and resistances and new forms of identities and subjectivities.

Research limitations/implications

This review can be read in relation to the papers included in the special issue as the whole issue will inspire more ideas, frameworks and methodologies for further studies.

Originality/value

There is little research reviewing and commenting how management accounting now being enacted and enabled with new functionalities operating new territories and reconfiguring forms of governmentality. This paper inspires a new agenda on this project.
Inscriptions without boundaries: how action at a distance is enabled on social media
Authors: Gullberg Cecilia , Weinryb Noomi
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of inscriptions on social media in enabling action at a distance. The purpose is addressed by investigating how and by what mechanisms inscriptions on social media can shape action at a distance.

Design/methodology/approach

We conduct a qualitative analysis of the Facebook page of a crowdfunded grassroots initiative, where the founders and their stakeholders interact.

Findings

We identify two mechanisms by which inscriptions on social media can shape action at a distance: a flow of micro-level inscriptions and a joint stabilisation of inscriptions. By signalling achievement, creating a sense of closeness and highlighting powerful explanations, these mechanisms guide what action at a distance is taken and by whom. Action thereby becomes a mutual exercise between centres of calculation and distant peripheries, highly intertwined with the stability of inscriptions. The two mechanisms indicate the importance of the boundaryless nature of the inscriptions in shaping action at a distance.

Originality/value

Our findings indicate new forms of inscriptions and, consequently, of novel conditions for action at a distance. These insights add to the literature on Web 2.0 and accounting, which has mainly revolved around the relationship between centres of calculation and distant peripheries that act upon each other rather than around the inscriptions that enable such action.
Triggering sustainability communication in a B2B context: combining action research and sensemaking
Authors: Apostol Oana , Mäkelä Marileena , Heikkilä Katariina , Höyssä Maria , Kalliomäki Helka , Jokinen Leena , Saarni Jouni
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The paper explores processes associated with the adoption of corporate sustainability communication in a B2B context. It employs a combined action research and sensemaking approach to document moments that precede the initiation of external sustainability communication.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is the outcome of an action research project, where we examine the case of one industrial company that was silent on its multiple sustainability-related practices, but recently decided to become more transparent to the outside world. A processual approach to sensemaking is adopted to show how organisational and non-organisational members actively participated in meaning co-construction.

Findings

Corporate silence can be disrupted by triggering events that cause moments of sudden realisation for organisational members, eventually leading to the initiation of sensemaking processes inside the organisation. Once this occurs, the possibility of externally communicating sustainability appears a feasible and strategic approach to pursue. We document how different actors are involved in meaning co-construction and how the entire process of sensemaking unfolds.

Practical implications

A sensemaking approach sheds light on the complexity of sustainability communication, where multiple actors are involved. This is a useful approach to consider in order to couple sustainability with other organisational practices. Moreover, sensemaking opens a window of opportunity for various societal actors' interventions to shape the role and content of sustainability communication.

Originality/value

The paper offers an original, theoretically informed methodological contribution to the literature on sustainability communication by coupling a sensemaking approach with action research. The approach is employed to examine the role of internal organisational actors in sustainability reporting processes, an area that has received scant attention.
How COVID-19 affects individuals' food consumption behaviour: a consumer survey on attitudes and habits in Turkey
Authors: Güney Osman Inanç , Sangün Levent
Published: February 2021

Purpose

After the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020, its devastating effects began to be closely monitored all over the world. The new order that emerged due to the fight against the virus soon began to affect all our habits and behaviours. The fact that food consumption is vital for human well-being makes this an important area to investigate in terms of the impact of COVID-19. This research was carried out to investigate the changes in consumers' food consumption behaviour and habits during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors that explain these changes.

Design/methodology/approach

In line with the recommendations for social distancing under pandemic conditions, the empirical data were collected via computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). The participants were 1,023 individuals living in the major cities of the seven regions of Turkey. An ordered probit regression model was used to estimate the attitudes related to the changes in food consumption behaviour and habits, and descriptive statistics are provided to show the current food consumption and purchase situation.

Findings

The results showed that the changes in food consumption behaviour and habits due to the pandemic were related to price increase concerns, stockpiling, awareness of food waste, safety and excessive, food access concerns, natural/organic food preferences and packaging of foods. Moreover, the participants tended to prepare food at home and preferred food that was popular with other consumers. Consumers mainly bought food from discount stores and local grocery stores and consumed fresh vegetables and fruits, animal-based products, cereals and pulses.

Originality/value

The current study contributes to knowledge regarding the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on food consumption behaviour by using a predictive model and provides behavioural estimations by using a countrywide questionnaire. The results show that the pandemic affects food consumption routines and food perspective of consumers in various ways.
Reflections on the continuing denial of the centrality of “race” in management and organization studies
Authors: Nkomo Stella M.
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to share reflections about the progress toward the inclusion of race as a core analytical concept in MOS since the article. The emperor has no clothes: Rewriting “race in organizations” was published in theAcademy of Management Reviewtwenty-nine years ago.

Design/methodology/approach

I critically reflect upon the past and future of race in management and organizations studies drawing upon my own subjective position in what has transpired over the past twenty-nine years. Specifically, I reflect upon the past and future of the study of race in organizations and also offer some recommendations for theories that may help advance it as a core theoretical concept in MOS drawing.

Findings

Dethroning the “emperor” remains a challenge. There has been a lack of significant progress toward positioning race as a core analytical concept in MOS. There is still much to do to elevate race to a significant analytical concept in MOS. Post-colonial theory, whiteness and the literature on the sociology of race may assist scholars in making progress.

Research limitations/implications

I readily acknowledge that my subjective position as the author of an article declaring the significance of race in MOS and as a Black woman whose life and career has unfolded in a world of systemic racism shape my reflections. It may be time for to consider whether positioning race as a core analytical concept in MOS can be achieved under the diversity paradigm. Perhaps it is time for a new field of study – race in organizations.

Practical implications

Theorizing race in organizations is central to undoing the continuing effects of racism. Otherwise, it will be difficult to develop strategies that get to the roots of racial inequality in organizations.

Social implications

The confluence of resurgent white supremacy, the stark global racial inequalities revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic and calls to end anti-Blackness and systemic racism by the Black Lives Matter Movement underscore the immense importance of race in every aspect of society including organizations.

Originality/value

This essay is my first reflections on what has transpired since the publication of the article. The essay reveals my insights and experiences of writing the article and why rewriting race into MOS is a much larger project than the one envisioned in 1992.
The skill needs of the manufacturing industry: can higher education keep up?
Authors: Doherty Oran , Stephens Simon
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper explores the implications for higher education of the rapid development in technology used by the manufacturing sector. Higher education programmes change or new courses are introduced in attempts to match labour market demands. However, the pace of change in the manufacturing industry challenges the authors to reconceive how programmes and modules can and should be designed and delivered.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on interviews with 26 senior management representatives from manufacturing companies in Ireland. The 26 senior managers and their companies represent the wide diversity of Ireland's manufacturing sector. All the interviews were face to face, complimented by a short questionnaire. Follow-up interviews focussed on the emergent findings were carried out to aid the writing of recommendations for the best practice in programme design and delivery.

Findings

What emerges from this study is that the manufacturing industry needs skills at three distinct levels. The authors define and classify the skill requirements at entry, competent and expert level. The authors place an emphasis on upskilling as an aid to movement between the three levels. In addition, and significantly, the desired time frame for delivery of these skills and/or upskilling is very short.

Originality/value

Accelerated reskilling programmes with faster, shorter bursts of work-based learning (WBL) and experiential training are required. With a growing demand for those at competent and expert level, it is necessary to promote WBL to facilitate the upskilling of those employed in manufacturing roles, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Pivot! How the restaurant industry adapted during COVID-19 restrictions
Authors: Norris Cortney L. , Taylor Jr Scott , Taylor D. Christopher
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this systematic review is to highlight some of the business model changes restaurants, bars and beverage producers undertook to modify their operations in order to not only stay in business but also to better serve their employees and communities during the COVID-19 crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

An analysis was conducted on 200 industry articles and categorized into three major themes: expansion of take-out/delivery, innovative practices, and community outreach/corporate support, each are further subdivided into additional themes. The systematic review is further supported by personal interviews with industry professionals.

Findings

This research finds that there were many different approaches used in adjusting business models in response to the dining restrictions put in place due to COVID-19. From these approaches, themes were developed which resulted in uncovering some suggestions such as developing contingency plans, being flexible and creative, eliminating menu items, investing in a communication platform and getting involved with local government. In addition, some practices operators should be mindful of such as selling gift cards and starting a crowdfund.

Research limitations/implications

This research provides a systematic analysis of business model changes that occurred due to COVID-19 dining restrictions. Researchers can use this information as a guide for further analysis on a specific theme introduced herein.

Practical implications

This research offers several practical implications which will assist the industry should another similar event occur in the future. The systematic analysis describes and documents some suggestions as well as practices to be mindful of in preparing contingency plans for the future.

Originality/value

This research documents an unprecedented time for the hospitality industry by examining how restaurant, bar and beverage producers around the country responded to COVID-19 restrictions. Distilling the multitude of information into succinct themes that highlight the business model changes that occurred will aid future research as well as operators.
Construction companies’ compliance to personal protective equipment on junior staff in Nigeria: issues and solutions
Authors: Ebekozien Andrew
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The frequent occurrence of hazards, especially on junior staff in developing countries, is a major setback on project delivery. This is because the safety of the construction workers' environment influences their performance. Although a range of literature has addressed safety measures on construction sites, how far is their compliance with personal protective equipment (PPE) on junior staff is yet to receive in-depth studies in Nigeria. Therefore, this study investigated the level of Nigerian construction companies' compliance and proffered possible solutions that intend to improve the implementation of PPE on junior staff.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected via observation and face-to-face interviews among the selected companies' staff in Lagos and Abuja. The interview is to determine their perceptions regarding compliance with PPE on construction sites.

Findings

Findings show that compliance with PPE on junior staff, especially the indigenous construction companies, is poor. This is because monitoring and enforcement are lax by government regulatory agencies. Also, findings show that many international construction companies ensure that junior workers obey site safety measures those mitigate the chance of hazard occurrence during construction as a policy.

Research limitations/implications

This paper data collection is limited to Abuja and Lagos, and a phenomenology type of qualitative research was employed, but this does not weaken the robustness. Future research is needed to consider adopting a mixed-methods approach.

Practical implications

As part of this paper's implications, findings recommended that the construction company's safety regulations and policies should be robust and enriched to mitigate site-related hazards via a framework or mechanism, but the government agencies/ministries need to give the enabling direction, strict monitoring and enforcement of PPE on junior staff. This paper intends to stir up the appropriate government authorities for possibly passing the Labour, Safety, Health and Welfare Bill 2012 (updated in 2016) Act into law.

Originality/value

This study demonstrates that the government agencies concern with approval and enforcement of construction site safety needs to reawaken to their responsibilities because of the lax implementation in many sites, especially in indigenous construction sites.
Geopolitical disruptions and the manufacturing location decision in multinational company supply chains: a Delphi study on Brexit
Authors: Moradlou Hamid , Reefke Hendrik , Skipworth Heather , Roscoe Samuel
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This study investigates the impact of geopolitical disruptions on the manufacturing supply chain (SC) location decision of managers in UK multinational firms. The context of study is the UK manufacturing sector and its response to the UK's decision to leave the European Union (EU), or Brexit.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopts an abductive, theory elaboration approach and expands on Dunning's eclectic paradigm of international production. A Delphi study over four iterative rounds is conducted to gather and assess insights into manufacturing SC location issues related to Brexit. The panel consisted of 30 experts and managers from a range of key industries, consultancies, governmental organisations, and academia. The Delphi findings are triangulated using a focus group with 38 participants.

Findings

The findings indicate that the majority of companies planned or have relocated production facilities from the UK to the EU, and distribution centres (DCs) from the EU to the UK. This was because of market-seeking advantages (being close to major centres of demand, ease of access to local and international markets) and efficiency-seeking advantages (costs related to expected delays at ports, tariff and non-tariff barriers). Ownership and internalisation advantages, also suggested by the eclectic paradigm, did not play a role in the location decision.

Originality/value

The study elaborates on the OLI framework by showing that policy-related uncertainty is a primary influencing factor in the manufacturing location decision, outweighing the importance of uncertainty as an influencer of governance mode choices. The authors find that during geopolitical disruptions managers make location decisions in tight time-frames with incomplete and imperfect information, in situations of high perceived uncertainty. The study elaborates on the eclectic paradigm by explaining how managerial cognition and bounded rationality influence the manufacturing location decision-making process.
Competitive strategies of small independent retailers
Authors: Eymas Fabien , Bensebaa Faouzi
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Despite the critical role given to small independent retailers (SIRs) in the revitalisation of city centres, little knowledge exists about their actual competitive strategies. Existing literature rather is normative, recommending SIRs to focus on customer orientation. Thus, the aim of this study is to identify the types of competitive strategies really adopted by SIRs.

Design/methodology/approach

This qualitative study is based on 13 semi-structured interviews of the booksellers, beer and wine merchants we met around Paris (France) in 2018. Data analysis was conducted in two stages: each interview was coded to bring out themes, which were then linked in cognitive maps.

Findings

Five types of SIRs' competitive strategies emerged from the study, depending on their main focus of attention. Either SIRs have no weapon to fight against external factors and they suffer competition or they have limited means and focus on their relationship with customers or even they possess a specific resource they can rely on (innovative character, skills, values) to go beyond ordinary customer orientation.

Practical implications

The typology should be a useful tool for SIRs interested in competitive strategies and for municipalities looking for new insights to succeed in the revitalisation of their city centres.

Social implications

Revitalisation of city centres is a big challenge for many Western cities, especially small- and middle-sized ones.

Originality/value

To the best of our knowledge, the typology that comes from this study is the very first one on SIRs. Theoretically, it may help organise researches on SIRs' competitive strategies. Pragmatically, it provides a better understanding of SIRs' competitive strategies.
Participation in community-based free/libre open source software development tasks: the impact of task characteristics
Authors: Wei Kangning , Crowston Kevin , Eseryel U. Yeliz
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper explores how task characteristics in terms of trigger type and task topic influence individual participation in community-based free/libre open source software (FLOSS) development by considering participation in individual tasks rather than entire projects.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative study was designed using choose tasks that were carried out via the email discourse on the developers' email fora in five FLOSS projects. Choice process episodes were selected as the unit of analysis and were coded for the task trigger and topic. The impact of these factors on participation (i.e. the numbers of participants and messages) was assessed by regression.

Findings

The results reveal differences in participation related to different task triggers and task topics. Further, the results suggest the mediating role of the number of participants in the relationships between task characteristics and the number of messages. The authors also speculate that project type serves as a boundary condition restricting the impacts of task characteristics on the number of participants and propose this relationship for future research.

Research limitations/implications

Empirical support was provided to the important effects of different task characteristics on individual participation behaviors in FLOSS development tasks.

Practical implications

The findings can help FLOSS participants understand participation patterns in different tasks and choose the types of tasks to attend to.

Originality/value

This research explores the impact of task characteristics on participation in FLOSS development at the task level, while prior research on participation in FLOSS development has focused mainly on factors at the individual and/or project levels.
Exploring the relationship between information and communication technology collective behaviors and sense of community: an urban refugee analysis
Authors: Canevez Richard , Maitland Carleen , Xu Ying , Hannah Sydney Andrea , Rodriguez Raphael
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Helping others use information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as mobile phones, can be beneficial for individuals and communities. In urban refugee communities, displaced and living far from home, collective behaviors with mobile phones can generate a sense of belonging. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential for these offline behaviors to generate a sense of community among urban refugees.

Design/methodology/approach

Using quantitative evidence, the authors examined the relationship between collective behaviors, such as sharing or helping with a mobile phone, and sense of community. The authors analyzed survey data collected from urban refugees in Rwanda via multiple regression to test hypotheses related to the impact of collective behaviors on sense of community, as well as the mediating role of ICT self-efficacy and gender.

Findings

The findings suggest that collective behaviors with mobile phones have a positive relationship with sense of community, driven primarily by providing assistance as compared to sharing. ICT self-efficacy was positively related to sense of community. However, collective behaviors' impacts differed by gender, suggesting that social dynamics influence this relationship.

Originality/value

While the extant literature highlights the various roles of mobile phones in refugees' lives, less is known about the social aspects of use and its potential to help overcome isolation by fostering a sense of community. The authors extend this literature to a novel context (urban refugees in the Global South), testing a model that incorporates other factors that may play a role (e.g. self-efficacy and gender). These findings are valuable to urban refugees, due to difficulties in re-building a sense of community and increased ICT access.
Job qualifications study for data science and big data professions
Authors: Halwani Marwah Ahmed , Amirkiaee S. Yasaman , Evangelopoulos Nicholas , Prybutok Victor
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The lack of clarity in defining data science is problematic in both academia and industry because the former has a need for clarity to establish curriculum guidelines in their work to prepare future professionals, and the latter has a need for information to establish clear job description guidelines to recruit professionals. This lack of clarity has resulted in job descriptions with significant overlap among different related professional groups. This study examines the industry view of five professions: statistical analysts (SAs), big data analytics professionals (BDAs), data scientists (DSs), data analysts (DAs) and business analytics professionals (BAs). The study compares the five fields with the unified backdrop of their common semantic dimensions and examines their recent dynamics.

Design/methodology/approach

1,200 job descriptions for the five Big Data professions (SA, DS, BDA, DA and BA) were pulled from the Monster website at four points in time, and a document library was created. The collected job qualification records were analyzed using the text analytic method of Latent Semantic Analysis (LSAs), which extract topics based on observed text usage patterns.

Findings

The findings indicated a good alignment between the industry view and the academic view of data science as a blend of statistical and programming skills. This industry view remained relatively stable during the 4 years of our study period.

Originality/value

This research paper builds upon a long tradition of related studies and commentaries. Rather than relying on subjective expertise, this study examined the job market and used text analytics to discern a space of skill and qualification dimensions from job announcements related to five big data professions.
An entropy-based approach for disaster risk assessment and humanitarian logistics operations planning in Colombia
Authors: Renteria Rafael , Chong Mario , de Brito Junior Irineu , Luna Ana , Quiliche Renato
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to design a vulnerability assessment model considering the multidimensional and systematic approach to disaster risk and vulnerability. This model serves to both risk mitigation and disaster preparedness phases of humanitarian logistics.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey of 27,218 households in Pueblo Rico and Dosquebradas was conducted to obtain information about disaster risk for landslides, floods and collapses. We adopted a cross entropy-based approach for the measure of disaster vulnerability (Kullback–Leibler divergence), and a maximum-entropy estimation for the reconstruction of riska prioricategorization (logistic regression). The capabilities approach of Sen supported theoretically our multidimensional assessment of disaster vulnerability.

Findings

Disaster vulnerability is shaped by economic, such as physical attributes of households, and health indicators, which are in specific morbidity indicators that seem to affect vulnerability outputs. Vulnerability is heterogeneous between communities/districts according to formal comparisons of Kullback–Leibler divergence. Nor social dimension, neither chronic illness indicators seem to shape vulnerability, at least for Pueblo Rico and Dosquebradas.

Research limitations/implications

The results need a qualitative or case study validation at the community/district level.

Practical implications

We discuss how risk mitigation policies and disaster preparedness strategies can be driven by empirical results. For example, the type of stock to preposition can vary according to the disaster or the kind of alternative policies that can be formulated on the basis of the strong relationship between morbidity and disaster risk.

Originality/value

Entropy-based metrics are not widely used in humanitarian logistics literature, as well as empirical data-driven techniques.
Cognitive screening assessment in Thai older adults: a prospective study of the reliability and validity of the Abbreviated Mental Test
Authors: Tanglakmankhong Kamonthip , Hampstead Benjamin M , Ploutz-Snyder Robert J , Potempa Kathleen
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the reliability and validity of the Abbreviated Mental Test (AMT) and the agreement with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).

Design/methodology/approach

This cross-sectional study included 446 older adults who were recruited by cluster sampling from 200,481 adults aged more than 60 years. For each participant, the AMT was administered by village health volunteers and, on a separate day, by a trained professional who also administered the MMSE. Descriptive statistics, Bland and Altman levels of agreement, and Receiver Operator Curves (ROCs) were used to analyze data.

Findings

Administration of the AMT by village health volunteers during the annual health screening found cognitive impairment in only 1.12% of the sample. When the AMT was given to these same individuals by trained professionals, the rate of cognitive impairment was almost 24 times greater. Two items in the Thai AMT may require modification due to markedly elevated failure rates. At the cut score of 8, the sensitivity and specificity of the AMT relative to the MMSE were moderate (78.83 and 66.67%, respectively). The degree of agreement between AMT and MMSE was 0.49 (p < 0.001) and the correlation between the difference scores and the mean is exceptionally low (0.048).

Originality/value

Reliable and valid cognitive screening assessment requires the administrator to be well trained and the tools to be appropriate for the population. Although AMT is short and easy for a nonprofessional to administer, some items were not suitable due to construct validity and contextual issues.
Determinants of technical efficiency of Islamic banks in GCC countries
Authors: Ben Mohamed Ezzeddine , Meshabet Neama , Jarraya Bilel
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This study aims to discuss the determinants of Islamic banks’ efficiency. It tries to explore the source of Islamic banks’ inefficiencies to propose solutions to guarantee an acceptable level of technical efficiency of such banks in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve this objective, the authors use a parametric approach, especially, the stochastic frontier approach, using production function and panel data analysis. The authors apply a package Frontier 4.1 for the estimation process, which is composed of two principal steps. In the first step, the authors estimate Islamic banks’ efficiency scores in different GCC countries based on an output distance function. In the second step, the analysis highlights the impact of managerial-specific education on Islamic accounting and finance, scarcity of Sharīʿah scholars, the board independence and chief executive officers’ (CEOs) duality on GCC Islamic banks’ efficiency.

Findings

This study’s results document that managerial-specific education on Islamic accounting and finance and the board of directors’ composition, especially, the board’s independence, can largely explain the technical efficiency scores of Islamic banks in GCC countries. Especially, the authors find evidence that managerial-specific education is negatively associated with the inefficiency term. The coefficient of the Sharīʿah scholar’s variable has a positive sign indicating that the more there are Sharīʿah experts, the more the bank is efficient. In addition, CEOs’ duality seems to have no significant effect on GCC Islamic banks’ efficiency.

Practical implications

GCC Islamic banks need to improve the presence of independent members on the board of directors. In addition, these banks are invited to count more on Sharīʿah auditors and educated staff characterized by a high level of competency in the domain of Islamic banking and finance.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that highlights the effect of managerial-specific education in Islamic accounting and finance and scarcity of Sharīʿah scholars on Islamic banks’ efficiency.
Promoting green behavior through ethical leadership: a model of green human resource management and environmental knowledge
Authors: Ahmad Saima , Islam Talat , Sadiq Misbah , Kaleem Ahmad
Published: February 2021

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the influence of supervisor's ethical leadership style on subordinates' green or pro-environmental work behavior in the presence of green human resource management (GHRM) as a mediator and environmental knowledge as a moderator.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire-based was distributed to 427 supervisor–subordinate dyads working in various Pakistani organizations. Structural equation modeling was used to determine the mechanisms and boundary conditions in the relationship between supervisor's ethical leadership style and subordinates' green behavior.

Findings

Structural equation modeling supported a partial mediating role of GHRM in the influence of ethical leadership on green work behavior. Further, the findings revealed that employee's environmental knowledge can magnify the indirect impact of ethical leadership, via GHRM, on green behavior.

Research limitations/implications

Cross-sectional survey data are typically associated with common method bias. To counter this bias, we collected data from dual sources, namely, supervisors and their subordinates. The research findings have implications in deepening the understanding of the impact of ethical leadership in improving environmental performance of the organization.

Originality/value

This is the first study that utilizes multi-sourced data to examine the mediating role of GHRM and the moderating role of environmental knowledge in the relationship between ethical leadership and green behavior at work.
The road to entrepreneurial success: business plans, lean startup, or both?
Authors: Welter Chris , Scrimpshire Alex , Tolonen Dawn , Obrimah Eseoghene
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The goal of this research is to investigate the relationship between two different sets of practices, lean startup and business planning, and their relation to entrepreneurial performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected data from 120 entrepreneurs across the US about a variety of new venture formation activities within the categories of lean startup or business planning. They use hierarchical regression to examine the relationship between these activities and new venture performance using both a subjective and objective measure of performance.

Findings

The results show that talking to customers, collecting preorders and pivoting based on customer feedback are lean startup activities correlated with performance; writing a business plan is the sole business planning activity correlated with performance.

Research limitations/implications

This research lays the foundation for understanding the components of both lean startup and business planning. Moreover, these results demonstrate that the separation of lean startup and business planning represents a false dichotomy.

Practical implications

These findings suggest that entrepreneurs should engage in some lean startup activities and still write a business plan.

Originality/value

This article offers the first quantitative, empirical comparison of lean startup activities and business planning. Furthermore, it provides support for the relationship between specific lean startup activities and firm performance.
Customer experience with the branded content: a social media perspective
Authors: Waqas Muhammad , Hamzah Zalfa Laili , Mohd Salleh Noor Akma
Published: February 2021

Purpose

Social media platforms are important channels to create a favourable customer experience. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the types of experiences customers can have with the branded content on social media.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 20 participants using semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data.

Findings

The results identify seven types of branded content experience which are evoked when customers interact with branded content on social media. The results also suggest that branded content experience acts as a driver of consumer engagement with branded content which eventually leads to customers' sense of virtual community.

Research limitations/implications

The findings provide theoretical implications for content creators. Further research should aim at comparing the branded content experience on different social media platforms and across different product categories.

Originality/value

This study contributes to customer engagement and experience literature in social media content by enhancing the understanding of branded content experience concept and its conceptual relationship with customer engagement in the social media context.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at:https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-10-2019-0333
Does leaders' adoption of employee voice influence employee work engagement?
Authors: Li Lan , Zheng Xingshan , Zhang Qi
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The present study aims to determine the effect of adopting voice on subordinates' work engagement based on organization-based self-esteem (OBSE).

Design/methodology/approach

Three variables were rated according to the seven-point Likert-type response scales. To control the effect of common method variance, an online survey was conducted to collect data from 206 samples at Chinese firms by employing a two-wave and time-lagged approach. In addition, structure equation modeling analysis was adopted to verify the hypotheses with Mplus 7.

Findings

Leaders' adoption of employee voice shows a positive association with employee OBSE and work engagement. OBSE is positively associated with work engagement and mediates the effect of adopting voice on work engagement.

Practical implications

As suggested from the mentioned results, organizations are required to encourage leaders to adopt employees' reasonable voice that can be an effective management tool impacting employee work engagement.

Originality/value

Though existing studies have discussed the effects of leader behaviors on subordinates' work engagement, the effect of leaders' adoption of employee voice on employee work engagement has been rarely studied. Based on the job demand-resource model, this study fills the gap by empirically examining the effect of adopting voice on work engagement. As indicated by the findings here, leaders' adoption of employee voice enhances employee OBSE, thereby facilitating work engagement. The present study provides insights to stimulate employee work engagement.
Barriers to sustainable construction project management: the case of Iran
Authors: Fathalizadeh Ali , Hosseini M. Reza , Vaezzadeh Seyyed Saeed , Edwards David J. , Martek Igor , Shooshtarian Salman
Published: February 2021

Purpose

The barriers to integrating sustainable practices into construction project management require extensive resource allocations to resolve. Within developing countries such as Iran (where resources are scarce), remedial strategies adopted must prioritise tackling those barriers that can be expected to yield maximum return on investment. The candidate barriers are many, and this paper aims to identify a hierarchy of barriers, providing a priority list of remedial targets.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed philosophical stance of interpretivism and post-positivism is adopted within a deductive approach and survey strategy. A list of 30 known barriers are identified from extant literature and used to formulate a questionnaire data collection instrument administered within the Iranian construction industry. Data collected from 176 practitioners are analysed using the relative importance index and Mann–Whitney U test to compare groups based on the participants' demographic variables.

Findings

The findings challenge the common assumption that items related to market and workforce experience are major inhibitors of change. That is, economics and regulatory dependent barriers have a higher impact on the failure of a shift to sustainable practices in Iran. The most influential barriers to incorporating sustainability in construction projects are: (1) lack of understanding of the potential benefits; (2) insufficient cooperation among practitioners, research institutions and environmental organisations; and (3) a lack of a systematic approach to pursuing sustainability goals. No significant associations are detected between the affiliation of the respondents and their attitude towards the issue. Thus, a generalised approach can be applied to a broader range of organisations and construction projects in Iran.

Originality/value

While studies on sustainability impediments at the firm or project level are ubiquitous within literature, this research identifies that the most significant barriers to sustainable project management in Iran, as an underexplored context, are those experienced at the economic and institutional level. Moreover, this novel research presents important insights into the potential effects of participants' demographic profiles on their view of the importance of identified barriers.
Effect of polysaccharides on the functional properties of egg white protein: A review
Authors: He Wen , Xiao Nanhai , Zhao Yan , Yao Yao , Xu Mingsheng , Du Huaying , Wu Na , Tu Yonggang
Published: February 2021

Egg white protein (EWP) was one of the high‐quality protein sources and widely used in the food industries because of excellent emulsifying, gelling, and foaming properties. Polysaccharides as a natural biological macromolecule have been used to improve the functional properties of EWP. The electrostatic interaction was the main driving force between EWP and polysaccharides. However, protein‐polysaccharides complexes were susceptible to environmental factors including pH, ionic strength, polymer ratio, and temperature. In this paper, the functional properties of EWP were summarized. More importantly, the effects of polysaccharides on the functional properties of EWP were highlighted and reviewed referring to emulsifying, foaming, and gelling properties. The impact of environmental factors on the protein‐polysaccharides interaction were also discussed. This paper leaded to enrich research systems of protein‐polysaccharides interaction and provided information for the development of new egg white‐derived foods.
Classic adrenal adenoma undergoing necrosis secondary to chemotherapy for pancreatic adenocarcinoma
Authors: Nour Daniel , Alexander Linda , Sutherland Tom
Published: February 2021

Our patient was a 53‐year‐old male with borderline resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma who on his initial staging CT and subsequent MRI was found to have an incidental adrenal adenoma. Following completion of six cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy over a three‐month period, the patient returned for restaging. The adrenal nodule had increased in size and had undergone necrosis with just a fine cuff of residual viable lesion at the margins. It is thought that chemotherapeutic agents should not lead to significant cell death of an adrenal adenoma, and this produced diagnostic uncertainty. Interestingly, the lesion was subsequently biopsied under CT with histology confirming a classic adrenal adenoma. This rare case challenges our understanding of chemotherapeutic effects on adrenal adenomas, and offers another differential when assessing necrotic adrenal lesions.