bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Consensus Genotyper for Exome Sequencing (CGES): improving the quality of exome variant genotypes
Authors: Trubetskoy Vassily , Rodriguez Alex , Dave Uptal , Campbell Nicholas , Crawford Emily L. , Cook Edwin H. , Sutcliffe James S. , Foster Ian , Madduri Ravi , Cox Nancy J. , Davis Lea K.
Published: October 2014

Motivation : The development of cost-effective next-generation sequencing methods has spurred the development of high-throughput bioinformatics tools for detection of sequence variation. With many disparate variant-calling algorithms available, investigators must ask, ‘Which method is best for my data?’ Machine learning research has shown that so-called ensemble methods that combine the output of multiple models can dramatically improve classifier performance. Here we describe a novel variant-calling approach based on an ensemble of variant-calling algorithms, which we term the Consensus Genotyper for Exome Sequencing (CGES). CGES uses a two-stage voting scheme among four algorithm implementations. While our ensemble method can accept variants generated by any variant-calling algorithm, we used GATK2.8, SAMtools, FreeBayes and Atlas-SNP2 in building CGES because of their performance, widespread adoption and diverse but complementary algorithms.

Results : We apply CGES to 132 samples sequenced at the Hudson Alpha Institute for Biotechnology (HAIB, Huntsville, AL) using the Nimblegen Exome Capture and Illumina sequencing technology. Our sample set consisted of 40 complete trios, two families of four, one parent–child duo and two unrelated individuals. CGES yielded the fewest total variant calls ( NCGES=139°897 ), the highest Ts/Tv ratio (3.02), the lowest Mendelian error rate across all genotypes (0.028%), the highest rediscovery rate from the Exome Variant Server (EVS; 89.3%) and 1000 Genomes (1KG; 84.1%) and the highest positive predictive value (PPV; 96.1%) for a random sample of previously validated de novo variants. We describe these and other quality control (QC) metrics from consensus data and explain how the CGES pipeline can be used to generate call sets of varying quality stringency, including consensus calls present across all four algorithms, calls that are consistent across any three out of four algorithms, calls that are consistent across any two out of four algorithms or a more liberal set of all calls made by any algorithm.

Availability and implementation : To enable accessible, efficient and reproducible analysis, we implement CGES both as a stand-alone command line tool available for download in GitHub and as a set of Galaxy tools and workflows configured to execute on parallel computers.

Contact : trubetskoy@uchicago.edu

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
First Report of Powdery Mildew Caused by Erysiphe platani on Platanus × acerifolia in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Authors: de Oliveira T. S. , Dallagnol L. J. , de Araujo Filho J. V. , de Castro Moretti F. R. , Camargo L. E. A.
Published: October 2014

Platanus × acerifolia (Aiton) Willd. (London planetree) is a tree commonly used as an ornamental and in the furniture industry. In the summer of 2013, powdery mildew was observed on shoots of P. × acerifolia plants in the cities of Pelotas and Canela (State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil). Voucher specimens (n = 2) were deposited in the Phytopathological Museum Manoel Alves Oliveira at Federal University of Pelotas. Dense white powdery masses of conidia and mycelium were observed on leaves (abaxial and adaxial surfaces), petioles, and young stems. Leaves with high disease severities (≥70%) were deformed with curved edges to the adaxial side, and they often died. Mycelia were superficial with lobed appressoria. Conidiophores were straight, sometimes curved at the base, unbranched, cylindrical, 98 to 236 μm long (137.3 ± 41.2 μm) and composed of a cylindrical foot cell 49 to 102 μm long (66.9 ± 19.5 μm) and 4.4 to 6.4 μm wide (5.3 ± 0.8 μm) followed by two to four cells. Conidia were produced singly or in short chains (two to three), without distinct fibrosin bodies, ellipsoid to ovoid and measuring 24 to 37 μm long (29.5 ± 3.2 μm) and 12 to 19 μm wide (15.2 ± 1.4 μm), often with a wrinkled appearance. Primary conidia had truncate bases and rounded apex while both base and apex were truncated in secondary conidia. Germ tubes were produced apically (pseudoidium type). Chasmothecia were not observed. Genomic DNA was used to amplify the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region using the ITS1 and ITS4 primers. The resulting sequence (602 bp) was deposited (Accession No. KF499270) in GenBank. BLASTn searches revealed similarity of 100 and 99% with Erysiphe platani from P. orientalis L. (Accession No. JQ365943.1) and P. occidentalis L. (Accession No. JX997805.1), respectively. Phylogenetic analysis placed our sequence in a clade (99% bootstrap support) which included only other E. plantani sequences. In short, morphological and molecular approaches allowed us to identify the infecting fungus as E. platani. For Koch's postulates, 10 detached leaves were inoculated (10 to 15 conidia cm2) on their adaxial surface using an eyelash brush. Non-inoculated leaves served as control. All leaves were kept inside trays with petiole immersed in humidified cotton and maintained at 25 ± 1°C. Symptoms identical to those of the original leaves were observed 6 to 8 days after inoculation, whereas the control leaves remained symptomless. Although E. platani has been previously reported on P. × acerifolia in the city of Poços de Calda, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil (1) and on P. occidentalis in Korea (2), to our knowledge, this is the first record of E. platani on P. × acerifolia in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

References: (1) E. M. Inokuti et al. New Dis. Rep. 15:38, 2007. (2) Y. J. La and H. D. Shin. Plant Dis. 97:843, 2013.
Mechanisms of Resistance to an Azole Fungicide in the Grapevine Powdery Mildew Fungus, Erysiphe necator
Authors: Frenkel Omer , Cadle-Davidson Lance , Wilcox Wayne F. , Milgroom Michael G.
Published: October 2014

We studied the mechanisms of azole resistance in Erysiphe necator by quantifying the sensitivity to myclobutanil (EC50) in 65 isolates from the eastern United States and 12 from Chile. From each isolate, we sequenced the gene for sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51), and measured the expression of CYP51 and homologs of four putative efflux transporter genes, which we identified in the E. necator transcriptome. Sequence variation in CYP51 was relatively low, with sequences of 40 U.S. isolates identical to the reference sequence. Nine U.S. isolates and five from Chile carried a previously identified A to T nucleotide substitution in position 495 (A495T), which results in an amino acid substitution in codon 136 (Y136F) and correlates with high levels of azole resistance. We also found a nucleotide substitution in position 1119 (A1119C) in 15 U.S. isolates, whose mean EC50 value was equivalent to that for the Y136F isolates. Isolates carrying mutation A1119C had significantly greater CYP51 expression, even though A1119C does not affect the CYP51 amino acid sequence. Regression analysis showed no significant effects of the expression of efflux transporter genes on EC50. Both the Y136F mutation in CYP51 and increased CYP51 expression appear responsible for azole resistance in eastern U.S. populations of E. necator.
Nonlinear viscoelastic contact mechanics of long rectangular membranes
Authors: Srivastava Abhishek , Hui Chung-Yuen
Published: October 2014

A theoretical and numerical analysis of a long rectangular nonlinear viscoelastic membrane in adhesionless contact with a rigid substrate is presented. Computations are carried out for the case where material behaviour is given by Christensen's large deformation viscoelastic law. The effect of friction, loading and unloading rates, hold time and material viscosity on the deformation, energy dissipation and detachment load is investigated in detail. Wrinkling of the membrane is found for a subset of the parameter space. Our results show that energy dissipation and detachment load depend on the contact length achieved at peak pressure, in addition to the rate of loading and unloading. Our numerical results also reveal that there can be situations where maximum dissipation does not correspond to maximum detachment load.
Host specialist clownfishes are environmental niche generalists
Authors: Litsios Glenn , Kostikova Anna , Salamin Nicolas
Published: October 2014

Why generalist and specialist species coexist in nature is a question that has interested evolutionary biologists for a long time. While the coexistence of specialists and generalists exploiting resources on a single ecological dimension has been theoretically and empirically explored, biological systems with multiple resource dimensions (e.g. trophic, ecological) are less well understood. Yet, such systems may provide an alternative to the classical theory of stable evolutionary coexistence of generalist and specialist species on a single resource dimension. We explore such systems and the potential trade-offs between different resource dimensions in clownfishes. All species of this iconic clade are obligate mutualists with sea anemones yet show interspecific variation in anemone host specificity. Moreover, clownfishes developed variable environmental specialization across their distribution. In this study, we test for the existence of a relationship between host-specificity (number of anemones associated with a clownfish species) and environmental-specificity (expressed as the size of the ecological niche breadth across climatic gradients). We find a negative correlation between host range and environmental specificities in temperature, salinity and pH, probably indicating a trade-off between both types of specialization forcing species to specialize only in a single direction. Trade-offs in a multi-dimensional resource space could be a novel way of explaining the coexistence of generalist and specialists.
Large variation among photoreceptors as the basis of visual flexibility in the common backswimmer
Authors: Immonen Esa-Ville , Ignatova Irina , Gislen Anna , Warrant Eric , Vähäsöyrinki Mikko , Weckström Matti , Frolov Roman
Published: October 2014

The common backswimmer,Notonecta glauca, uses vision by day and night for functions such as underwater prey animal capture and flight in search of new habitats. Although previous studies have identified some of the physiological mechanisms facilitating such flexibility in the animal's vision, neither the biophysics ofNotonectaphotoreceptors nor possible cellular adaptations are known. Here, we studiedNotonectaphotoreceptors using patch-clamp and intracellular recording methods. Photoreceptor size (approximated by capacitance) was positively correlated with absolute sensitivity and acceptance angles. Information rate measurements indicated that large and more sensitive photoreceptors performed better than small ones. Our results suggest that backswimmers are adapted for vision in both dim and well-illuminated environments by having open-rhabdom eyes with large intrinsic variation in absolute sensitivity among photoreceptors, exceeding those found in purely diurnal or nocturnal species. Both electrophysiology and microscopic analysis of retinal structure suggest two retinal subsystems: the largest peripheral photoreceptors provide vision in dim light and the smaller peripheral and central photoreceptors function primarily in sunlight, with light-dependent pigment screening further contributing to adaptation in this system by dynamically recruiting photoreceptors with varying sensitivity into the operational pool.
Road networks predict human influence on Amazonian bird communities
Authors: Ahmed Sadia E. , Lees Alexander C. , Moura Nárgila G. , Gardner Toby A. , Barlow Jos , Ferreira Joice , Ewers Robert M.
Published: October 2014

Road building can lead to significant deleterious impacts on biodiversity, varying from direct road-kill mortality and direct habitat loss associated with road construction, to more subtle indirect impacts from edge effects and fragmentation. However, little work has been done to evaluate the specific effects of road networks and biodiversity loss beyond the more generalized effects of habitat loss. Here, we compared forest bird species richness and composition in the municipalities of Santarém and Belterra in Pará state, eastern Brazilian Amazon, with a road network metric called ‘roadless volume (RV)’ at the scale of small hydrological catchments (averaging 3721 ha). We found a significant positive relationship between RV and both forest bird richness and the average number of unique species (species represented by a single record) recorded at each site. Forest bird community composition was also significantly affected by RV. Moreover, there was no significant correlation between RV and forest cover, suggesting that road networks may impact biodiversity independently of changes in forest cover. However, variance partitioning analysis indicated that RV has partially independent and therefore additive effects, suggesting that RV and forest cover are best used in a complementary manner to investigate changes in biodiversity. Road impacts on avian species richness and composition independent of habitat loss may result from road-dependent habitat disturbance and fragmentation effects that are not captured by total percentage habitat cover, such as selective logging, fire, hunting, traffic disturbance, edge effects and road-induced fragmentation.
Biogeographic patterns in below-ground diversity in New York City's Central Park are similar to those observed globally
Authors: Ramirez Kelly S. , Leff Jonathan W. , Barberán Albert , Bates Scott Thomas , Betley Jason , Crowther Thomas W. , Kelly Eugene F. , Oldfield Emily E. , Shaw E. Ashley , Steenbock Christopher , Bradford Mark A. , Wall Diana H. , Fierer Noah
Published: October 2014

Soil biota play key roles in the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, however, compared to our knowledge of above-ground plant and animal diversity, the biodiversity found in soils remains largely uncharacterized. Here, we present an assessment of soil biodiversity and biogeographic patterns across Central Park in New York City that spanned all three domains of life, demonstrating that even an urban, managed system harbours large amounts of undescribed soil biodiversity. Despite high variability across the Park, below-ground diversity patterns were predictable based on soil characteristics, with prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities exhibiting overlapping biogeographic patterns. Further, Central Park soils harboured nearly as many distinct soil microbial phylotypes and types of soil communities as we found in biomes across the globe (including arctic, tropical and desert soils). This integrated cross-domain investigation highlights that the amount and patterning of novel and uncharacterized diversity at a single urban location matches that observed across natural ecosystems spanning multiple biomes and continents.
H3K4me1 marks DNA regions hypomethylated during aging in human stem and differentiated cells
Authors: Fernández Agustín F. , Bayón Gustavo F. , Urdinguio Rocío G. , Toraño Estela G. , García María G. , Carella Antonella , Petrus-Reurer Sandra , Ferrero Cecilia , Martinez-Camblor Pablo , Cubillo Isabel , García-Castro Javier , Delgado-Calle Jesús , Pérez-Campo Flor M. , Riancho José A. , Bueno Clara , Menéndez Pablo , Mentink Anouk , Mareschi Katia , Claire Fabian , Fagnani Corrado , Medda Emanuela , Toccaceli Virgilia , Brescianini Sonia , Moran Sebastián , Esteller Manel , Stolzing Alexandra , de Boer Jan , Nisticò Lorenza , Stazi Maria A. , Fraga Mario F.
Published: October 2014

In differentiated cells, aging is associated with hypermethylation of DNA regions enriched in repressive histone post-translational modifications. However, the chromatin marks associated with changes in DNA methylation in adult stem cells during lifetime are still largely unknown. Here, DNA methylation profiling of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) obtained from individuals aged 2 to 92 yr identified 18,735 hypermethylated and 45,407 hypomethylated CpG sites associated with aging. As in differentiated cells, hypermethylated sequences were enriched in chromatin repressive marks. Most importantly, hypomethylated CpG sites were strongly enriched in the active chromatin mark H3K4me1 in stem and differentiated cells, suggesting this is a cell type–independent chromatin signature of DNA hypomethylation during aging. Analysis of scedasticity showed that interindividual variability of DNA methylation increased during aging in MSCs and differentiated cells, providing a new avenue for the identification of DNA methylation changes over time. DNA methylation profiling of genetically identical individuals showed that both the tendency of DNA methylation changes and scedasticity depended on nongenetic as well as genetic factors. Our results indicate that the dynamics of DNA methylation during aging depend on a complex mixture of factors that include the DNA sequence, cell type, and chromatin context involved and that, depending on the locus, the changes can be modulated by genetic and/or external factors.
Caged Neurotransmitters and Other Caged Compounds: Design and Application
Authors: Hess George P. , Lewis Ryan W. , Chen Yongli
Published: October 2014

The approaches using caged neurotransmitters described here enable transient kinetic investigations to be made with membrane-bound proteins (receptors) on a cell surface with the same time resolution as was previously possible only with proteins in solution.
Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Fructan Metabolism in Developing Barley Grains
Authors: Peukert Manuela , Thiel Johannes , Peshev Darin , Weschke Winfriede , Van den Ende Wim , Mock Hans-Peter , Matros Andrea
Published: October 2014

Barley (Hordeum vulgare) grain development follows a series of defined morphological and physiological stages and depends on the supply of assimilates (mainly sucrose) from the mother plant. Here, spatio-temporal patterns of sugar distributions were investigated by mass spectrometric imaging, targeted metabolite analyses, and transcript profiling of microdissected grain tissues. Distinct spatio-temporal sugar balances were observed, which may relate to differentiation and grain filling processes. Notably, various types of oligofructans showed specific distribution patterns. Levan- and graminan-type oligofructans were synthesized in the cellularized endosperm prior to the commencement of starch biosynthesis, while during the storage phase, inulin-type oligofructans accumulated to a high concentration in and around the nascent endosperm cavity. In the shrunken endosperm mutant seg8, with a decreased sucrose flux toward the endosperm, fructan accumulation was impaired. The tight partitioning of oligofructan biosynthesis hints at distinct functions of the various fructan types in the young endosperm prior to starch accumulation and in the endosperm transfer cells that accomplish the assimilate supply toward the endosperm at the storage phase.
Crystal structure of bis[(5-amino-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl-κN4)acetato-κO]diaquanickel(II) dihydrate
Authors: Chernyshev Victor M. , Chernysheva Anna V. , Abagyan Raisa S. , Rybakov Victor B.
Published: October 2014

The title compound, [Ni(C4H5N4O2)2(H2O)2]·2H2O, represents the first transition metal complex of the novel chelating triazole ligand, 2-(5-amino-1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)acetic acid (ATAA), to be structurally characterized. In the molecule of the title complex, the nickel(II) cation is located on an inversion centre and is coordinated by two water molecules in axial positions and two O and two N atoms from twotrans-oriented chelating anions of the deprotonatedATAAligand, forming a slightly distorted octahedron. Thetransangles of the octahedron are all 180° due to the inversion symmetry of the molecule. Thecis-angles are in the range 87.25 (8)–92.75 (8)°. The six-membered chelate ring adopts a slightly twisted boat conformation with puckering parametersQ= 0.542 (2) Å, Θ = 88.5 (2) and ϕ = 15.4 (3)°. The molecular conformation is stabilized by intramolecular N—H...O hydrogen bonds between the amino group and the chelating carboxylate O atom of twotrans-oriented ligands. In the crystal, the complex molecules and lattice water molecules are linked into a three-dimensional framework by an extensive network of N—H...O, O—H...O and O—H...N hydrogen bonds.
Enantiomers of a selective gelatinase inhibitor: (R)- and (S)-2-[(4-phenoxyphenyl)sulfonylmethyl]thiirane
Authors: Lee Mijoon , Hesek Dusan , Noll Bruce C. , Oliver Allen G. , Mobashery Shahriar
Published: October 2014

The compound 2-[(4-phenoxyphenyl)sulfonylmethyl]thiirane, C15H14O3S2, a selective gelatinase inhibitor, was synthesized and structurally characterized. Two crystals were analyzed, one each for theRandSenantiomers, and the results were compared with the previously reported structure of the racemate. The enantiomerically pure compounds both crystallize withZ′ = 2 in the space groupP21, while the racemic mixture crystallizes withZ′ = 1 in the space groupP21/c, with disorder in the position of the thiirane group. This disorder accommodates both molecules for each of the enantiomerically pure crystals, showing good overlap of the molecules of the pure enantiomorphs with the components of the centrosymmetric structure.
Dendocarbin A: a sesquiterpene lactone fromDrimys winteri
Authors: Paz Robles Cristian , Burgos Viviana , Suarez Sebastián , Baggio Ricardo
Published: October 2014

The natural compound dendocarbin A, C15H22O3, is a sesquiterpene lactone isolated for the first time fromDrimys winterifor var chilensis. The compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic space groupP212121and its X-ray crystal structure confirmed theS/Rcharacter of the chiral centres at C-5/C-10 and C-9/C-11, respectively. The α-OH group at C-11 was found to be involved in intermolecular hydrogen bonding, defining chains along the <100> 21screw axis.
Computer literacy competencies among Indian students: the digital divide
Authors: Sampath Kumar B.T. , Basavaraja M.T. , Gagendra R.
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate computer literacy competencies among rural and urban students in India and its prime objectives are to find out: how rural and urban students use computers, what is the purpose of computers for these students and what problems have the students encountered while using computers.

Design/methodology/approach

– Scheduled interviews were conducted to collect necessary data from rural and urban students. The interview schedules consisted of various questions designed to elicit details about the students’ use of computers. A total of 600 interview schedules were collected and data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences for windows to test the formulated hypothesis.

Findings

– The findings of the study indicate that the infrastructural facilities varied among rural and urban schools. Another notable finding of the study was that majority (91.33 percent) of urban students used computers compared to a significantly less percentage of rural students (32.33 percent). Most rural students have not used computers mainly because they do not know how to (49.75 percent) followed by lack of support from teachers (48.76 percent) and non-availability of computers in their schools (48.27 percent). Electrical power failure was another major problem faced by both urban students (31.75 percent) and rural students (40.20 percent).

Originality/value

– This study attempted to learn about the computer literacy competencies among the students and the digital divide in Indian schools. On the basis of the findings, the study has recommended guidelines to bridge the digital gap. These findings and recommendations will potentially be helpful to school authorities and the government in order to take the necessary measurements to bridge the digital gap between the rural and urban students.
Guinea-Bissau 2014 elections
Authors: A. Berlie Jean
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The West African Republic of Guinea-Bissau has been unstable since gaining its independence in 1974. The 2014 presidential and parliamentary elections are being closely analyzed to study how the United Nations and the Guinean people have reacted to the outcomes of these elections. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– Sociological methodologies and a comparative approach have been used in this paper to understand why the elections in 2014 were so important in this country.

Findings

– The author finds that stability is possible in Guinea-Bissau after years of political uncertainties.

Originality/value

– Particular focus has been paid to studying the responses of specific aspects of society, including the youth population, the political elite, the main political party, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, the opposition parties and the army and whether these different groups will be able to cooperate after electing a sustainable and relatively wide-ranging government.
Police legitimacy and protest policing: a case study of Hong Kong
Authors: Lai Hang Hui Dennis , Chi Yan Au Ryan
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the interplay between police legitimacy and protest policing with reference to the case of Hong Kong.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study will review the concepts of police legitimacy and protest policing and examine the evolving policing practices in Hong Kong since 2010.

Findings

– The study argues that the increasing polarisation of society could render policing protest a potential source of problem for sustaining police legitimacy.

Originality/value

– This is a pioneering study that looks at the interplay between police legitimacy and protest policing.
Police powers and accountability in China and Hong Kong: a comparative perspective
Authors: Chan Ray
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study police powers and accountability from a comparative perspective in both China and Hong Kong.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper compares and contrasts police powers and accountability.

Findings

– The implications are many, including different political systems in which China is more authoritarian or paternalistic whereas Hong Kong is more pluralistic; checks and balances mechanisms in Hong Kong are far greater than in China; and the concept of accountability to the public is different in that Hong Kong police are accountable to members of the public but the mainland Chinese police force has a limited and top-down concept of accountability.

Originality/value

– An original comparative approach to policing in Hong Kong and China.
Environmental turbulence, absorptive capacity and external knowledge search among Chinese SMEs
Authors: Guo Bin , Wang Yueqi
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– This paper tests which theoretical perspective(s) can better explain firms’ external knowledge search behavior. Information processing and resource-based view theories propose a positive relationship between environmental turbulence and knowledge search breadth, whereas transaction cost economics and managerial attention theoretical perspectives posit that knowledge search breadth will be negatively influenced by environmental turbulence. In the context of Chinese small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), this study examines the direct effect of environmental turbulence and the interactive effect of environmental turbulence and absorptive capacity (ACAP) on external knowledge search breadth.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study adopted firm-level data collected via questionnaires from SMEs within the manufacturing sector in China. The partial least squares method was used to explore the determinants of the external knowledge search breadth of Chinese SMEs.

Findings

– The results reveal that external search breadth tends to increase with an increase in a firm’s perceived environmental turbulence. In addition, the interaction between ACAP and environmental turbulence will be negatively related to external knowledge search breadth. The empirical evidence indicates information processing and resource-based view theories are more powerful in explaining the external knowledge search behavior of Chinese SMEs.

Originality/value

– Unlike most of the innovation search literature, which have focused on the effect on performance of external search, this study focuses on the antecedents of firms’ innovation search behavior. The study contributes to the understanding of the relationship between environmental turbulence and knowledge search breadth as well as the understanding of the influence of ACAP on external knowledge search in the context of SMEs from emerging economies.
The Millionaires Club: poised for growth in the United Arab Emirates
Authors: Jham Vimi
Published: October 2014

Subject area

The case seeks an intensive reading, research and a stimulating in-class discussion on implementing marketing strategy mixed with creating experience in the service industry creating a Pull branding. The case is also open to other angles as per the other intents and context of the course and course instructor. Some of the course angles are as follows: sales promotion, customer relationship management (CRM), channel sales, international marketing and branding.

Study level/applicability

The case is suited to many courses including online formats and executive training workshops. It is good for discussion with service industry. Some of the target groups are listed below: MBA Course, core course of strategic management, specialisation courses in service marketing, CRM and sales promotion, executive training workshops on strategy formulations, faculty development workshops on teaching pedagogy through cases and internal marketing and capstone courses.

Case overview

Millionaires Holidays & Resorts Ltd. (MHRL) is a part of the Leisure and Hospitality sector of the Millionaires Group and brings to the industry values such as Reliability, Trust and Customer Satisfaction. Millionaires Club is a part of the Hospitality sector of the Millionaires Group. Taking advantage of the high income earned by Indians in the UAE, Millionaires Club has taken initiatives of expansion in the UAE market. The case talks about how Millionaires Club has become a Pull brand by providing unmatched family holiday experience in India where members feel proud to be part of special community. The case takes us through different marketing strategies being adopted by the organisation to ensure a successful foothold in the UAE market.

Expected learning outcomes

Understanding the process of service marketing, understanding how brands are built over time, analyzing deeply and energetically the United Arab Emirates holiday industry, analyzing the importance of customer satisfaction and CRM,, analyzing the importance of corporate social responsibility, understanding the importance of experiential marketing and developing futuristic ideas and thinking to change the way to see the use of marketing strategy in organisations.

Supplementary materials

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.
Efficient lighting: reactivating the market through consumer stimulus
Authors: Reyes-Mercado Pável , Rajagopal Dr
Published: October 2014

Subject area

Marketing.

Study level/applicability

This case is oriented to undergraduate (BA) students taking courses in marketing strategy, branding, new product development and market research.

Case overview

This case deals with the events surrounding branding and positioning of a compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) by a multinational company settled in Mexico. After working in a private–public partnership (PPP) that deployed millions of CFLs in the Mexican market, the company is now striving to understand customer repurchase behaviour. The company executives are struggling with product, technology, and distribution issues. Their primary task is to develop an appealing marketing strategy and a tactical plan in the context of reduced budget and sceptic customers.

Expected learning outcomes

This study's task is to enhance student's ability to perform functional marketing analysis; to frame issues according to a given business model to solve the problems that organizations face in developing innovative products; and to propose alternate courses of action and formulate competitive marketing strategies.

Supplementary materials

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.
Designing Woodleigh School: educator and architects in context
Authors: Goad Philip
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the professional context of the educator and architects who designed and conceived Woodleigh School in Baxter, Victoria, Australia (1974-1979) and to identify common design threads in a series of schools designed by Daryl Jackson and Evan Walker in the 1970s.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research was derived from academic and professional publications, film footage, interviews, archival searches and site visits. Standard analytical methods in architectural research are employed, including formal, planning and morphological analysis, to read building designs for meaning and intent. Books, people and buildings were examined to piece together the design “biography” of Woodleigh School, the identification of which forms the basis of the paper's argument.

Findings

– Themes of loose fit, indeterminate planning, coupled with concepts of classroom as house, and school as town, and engagement with a landscape environment are drawn together under principal Michael Norman's favoured phrase that adolescents might experience “a slice of life”, preparing them for broader engagement with a world and a community outside school. The themes reflect changing aspirations for teenage education in the 1970s, indicating a free and experimental approach to the design of the school environment.

Originality/value

– The paper considers, for the first time, the interconnected role of educator and architect as key protagonists in envisioning connections between space and pedagogy in the 1970s alternative school.
Site, school, community
Authors: Darian-Smith Kate , Henningham Nikki
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the development of vocational education for girls, focusing on how curriculum and pedagogy developed to accommodate changing expectations of the role of women in the workplace and the home in mid-twentieth century Australia. As well as describing how pedagogical changes were implemented through curriculum, it examines the way a modern approach to girls’ education was reflected in the built environment of the school site and through its interactions with its changing community.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper takes a case study approach, focusing on the example of the J.H. Boyd Domestic College which functioned as a single-sex school for girls from 1932 until its closure in 1985. Oral history testimony, private archives, photographs and government school records provide the material from which an understanding of the school is reconstructed.

Findings

– This detailed examination of the history of J.H. Boyd Domestic College highlights the highly integrated nature of the school's environment with the surrounding community, which strengthened links between the girls and their community. It also demonstrates how important the school's buildings and facilities were to contemporary ideas about the teaching of girls in a vocational setting.

Originality/value

– This is the first history of J.H. Boyd Domestic College to examine the intersections of gendered, classed ideas about pedagogy with ideas about the appropriate built environment for the teaching of domestic science. The contextualized approach sheds new light on domestic science education in Victoria and the unusually high quality of the learning spaces available for girls’ education.
Exploring the impact of change: a case of female managers in transition
Authors: Maddox-Daines Kay
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– This case study aims to explore the practice of female managers within a small higher education institution experiencing rapid growth and undertaking significant organisation change.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study takes an ethnographic approach to the exploration of professional identity constructions in management practice. Using an approach based on “grounded” principles rather than a pure grounded approach, it was possible to draw together key concepts arising from the data. Initial themes generated through thematic analysis were later penetrated with the use of a narrative approach which allowed for deeper insights to be captured through detailed participant stories.

Findings

– This case highlights how management practice is affected by ambiguity and uncertainty. Gendered practice and belonging highlights the impact of the “silent identity”. In particular this study emphasises the implications of incongruence between the self and the organisation as new “in groups” form as a result of perceived exclusion from the executive team.

Practical implications

– Paying attention to good practice in the management of change is essential to diminishing some of the tension that may present itself within evolving organizations. The investment of time on arrival as the new leader in an organisation will support the development of a cohesive management team and provide the basis for effective communication channels.

Originality/value

– This study provides an empirical contribution to the study of women and professional identity within the workplace and the way in which this is conceived.
Purple squirrels
Authors: Dumeresque David
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to discuss the salient issues relating to the employment of Purple Squirrels. As the business world begins to undergo rapid change, to remain competitive business leaders must hire and retain extraordinary people – those who are supreme innovators and who are able to conceptualize and deliver real and lasting change. We refer to these people as Purple Squirrels, very rare individuals who are extremely talented with a multifarious mix of core skills. They also have an “X” factor that allows them to look at things differently and see opportunities where others might not. To achieve this mission-critical objective, conventional recruitment methods need to change. Competency-based methods may work well for junior and middle management, but when searching for the ultimate game changer – the supreme innovator – these methods are inappropriate.

Design/methodology/approach

– Draws on the author’s research to provide an insight into the benefits of CRM.

Findings

– This paper discusses the salient issues relating to the employment of Purple Squirrels.

Originality/value

– It will benefit business leaders, hiring managers and human resources managers by improving their understanding of the changes in recruitment methods needed to attract and employ the people who are capable of driving meaningful and sustainable change.
Are you seeing the big picture in selecting your improvement projects?
Authors: Richard Horne J.
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to propose the adaptation of Michael Porter's Value Chain as part of a total value and performance-based framework to help identify and prioritize process improvement projects.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper developed a framework and then applied it by using a notional company's performance numbers.

Findings

– The proposed framework can be easily applied to a real-world business setting by using the methodology proposed. The author used basic Microsoft Excel skills to perform this work.

Practical implications

– This paper's’ strength is that it provides business managers and quality improvement practitioners a viable and straight forward method to identify and prioritize their improvement efforts.

Originality/value

– This paper is original in its concept. It takes and established framework and it applies it to a process improvement application.
Strategies for business excellence under an economic crisis
Authors: P. Afthonidis Evangelos , D. Tsiotras George
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to reveal the appropriate course of actions of any executive toward attaining business excellence, under the limitations and particular conditions that arise in an economic crisis environment.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper takes the approach of an extended literature review.

Findings

– Business excellence is an ideal path for any enterprise which seeks the attainment of a strong competitive advantage in times of economic crisis. This path, through the implementation of the principles of Total Quality Management, leads to a strategic plan that helps the enterprise not only to survive but also to strengthen its position while exploiting opportunities that arise during the recession. The basic elements of such a plan are the satisfaction of all customers and stakeholders, the quest for innovation and the implementation of an aggressive policy in marketing and investments. Toward this target, the most crucial elements are the involvement of the management and, second, the commitment and efforts of all human resources.

Practical implications

– The business community and specifically the higher management of any company could reformulate its strategic plan according to the findings of this survey, in order to gain a sustainable competitive advantage over competition.

Originality/value

– On the basis of extended literature review, there has been no research work to connect the strategic thinking of enterprises and their management with business excellence in times of economic crisis, which is attempted in this paper. The added value of attaining this goal during harsh times should be a beacon for the higher management in its quest for sustainable competitiveness.
Developing a model for process improvement using multiple regression technique
Authors: Sarkar Ashok , Ranjan Mukhopadhyay Arup , Kumar Ghosh Sadhan
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– Practitioners often face challenges in model development when establishing a relationship between the input and output variables and their optimization and control. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate, with the help of a real life case example, the procedure for model development between a key process output variable, called the multi-stage flash evaporator efficiency, and the associated input process variables and their optimization using appropriate statistical and analytical techniques.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper uses a case study approach showing how multiple regression methodology has been put into practice. The case study was executed in a leading Indian viscose fiber plant.

Findings

– The desired settings of the relevant process parameters for achieving improved efficiency have been established by appropriately using the tools and techniques from the Lean Six Sigma tool kit. The process efficiency, as measured by M3 of water evaporated per ton of steam, has improved from 3.28 to 3.48 resulting in satisfactory performance.

Originality/value

– This paper will be valuable to many practitioners of Six Sigma/Lean Six Sigma and researchers in terms of understanding the systematic application of quality and optimization tools in a real world situation.
Theory C: the near future of quality management
Authors: van Kemenade Everard
Published: October 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to develop an idea on the next step in quality management, based on the experiences of the last 100 years.

Design/methodology/approach

– A literature review has been undertaken on the history of quality management so far and on trends for the near future. Based on these findings a model has been designed to describe different elements of quality management. A focus is on the human aspects, like vision on the employee, roles of the quality manager and the skills required.

Findings

– After the control, continuous improvement and commitment paradigm the time has come for a new paradigm based on the importance of the context.

Originality/value

– The paper provides more insight into the near future of quality management in times of emergent change.
‘Rushworth Shall Not Take Any Notes Here’: Journals, Debates and the Public, 1640–60
Authors: Peacey Jason
Published: October 2014

This article focuses on, and rethinks, the issue of parliamentary ‘secrecy’ during the mid 17th century, by comparing the official journals of the house of commons with the kinds of information that emerged in the public domain in the 1640s and 1650s, not least in printed newsbooks. It suggests that scholars have too readily assumed that MPs sought rigorously to uphold the principle that parliamentary proceedings were not fit matters for public consumption, and the idea that their activities at Westminster should be protected from the public gaze. It argues that this has involved paying excessive attention to occasional comments and orders which suggest that MPs resented public scrutiny of their activity, as well as a failure to distinguish between different motives for achieving ‘secrecy’, between attitudes to the availability of different kinds of information, and between principles and political practice. The aim of the article, in short, is to offer a more nuanced appreciation of the ways in which MPs sought to professionalise and formalise public access, even to the extent of rethinking ideas about political accountability.
‘Whatever Passed in Parliament Ought to be Communicated to the Public’: Reporting the Proceedings of the Reformed Commons, 1833–50
Authors: Rix Kathryn
Published: October 2014

This article considers the opening up of parliamentary proceedings to greater public scrutiny in the two decades after the 1832 Reform Act. It examines developments in the publication of parliamentary debates, considering why proposals for an official parliamentary record were rejected in the 1830s. It also discusses two less well‐studied but equally vital means of publicising parliamentary activity: the publication of official division lists and the sale to the public of parliamentary papers. It argues that the 1830s was a critical decade of change, influenced by shifting perceptions of the relationship between the reformed house of commons and those it sought to represent. This was driven, in particular, by liberal notions of the importance of parliamentary accountability to public opinion: MPs were increasingly aware of the need to keep constituents informed of their parliamentary activities, whether in the chamber, committee room or division lobby. This article also highlights the extent to which the Commons' approach to publicising its activities was constrained not only by the fact that it remained a breach of parliamentary privilege to publish reports of debates, but also by the physical space that the Commons occupied. The destruction of much of the old Palace of Westminster by fire in 1834 provided an important opportunity to remodel existing arrangements, notably with the addition of a second division lobby and the construction of a reporters' gallery.