bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Meta-analysis of virus-induced host gene expression reveals unique signatures of immune dysregulation induced by SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Kuchi Srikeerthana , Gu Quan , Palmarini Massimo , Wilson Sam J , Robertson David L
Published: December 2020

The clinical outcome of COVID-19 has an extreme age, genetic and comorbidity bias that is thought to be driven by an impaired immune response to SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of the disease. The unprecedented impact of COVID-19 on global health has resulted in multiple studies generating extensive gene expression datasets in a relatively short period of time. In order to better understand the immune dysregulation induced by SARS-CoV-2, we carried out a meta-analysis of these transcriptomics data available in the published literature. Datasets included both those available from SARS-CoV-2 infected cell linesin vitroand those from patient samples. We focused our analysis on the identification of viral perturbed host functions as captured by co-expressed gene module analysis. Transcriptomics data from lung biopsies and nasopharyngeal samples, as opposed to those available from other clinical samples and infected cell lines, provided key signatures on the role of the host’s immune response on COVID-19 pathogenesis. For example, severity of infection and patients’ age are linked to the absence of stimulation of the RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathway, a known critical immediate line of defense against RNA viral infections that triggers type-I interferon responses. In addition, co-expression analysis of age-stratified transcriptional data provided evidence that signatures of key immune response pathways are perturbed in older COVID-19 patients. In particular, dysregulation of antigen-presenting components, down-regulation of cell cycle mechanisms and signatures of hyper-enriched monocytes were strongly correlated with the age of older individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2. Collectively, our meta-analysis highlights the ability of transcriptomics and gene-module analysis of aggregated datasets to aid our improved understanding of the host-specific disease mechanisms underpinning COVID-19.
Exploring the evolving motives underlying corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosures in developing countries: the case of “political CSR” reporting
Authors: Sorour M. Karim , Shrives Philip J. , El-Sakhawy Ahmed Ayman , Soobaroyen Teerooven
Published: December 2020

Purpose

This paper seeks to investigate to what extent (and why) CSR reporting in developing countries reflect instrumental and/or “political CSR” motivations and the types of organisational legitimacy sought in these circumstances.

Design/methodology/approach

We adopt a theoretical framework based on neo-institutional theory, “political CSR” framework and types of organisational legitimacy. This interpretive research is set in the Egyptian context post-2011 revolution. We first carry out a content analysis of web disclosures for 40 banks in 2013 and 2016 to ascertain the nature of CSR activities and any changes over time. Second, we draw on 21 interviews to tease out the implications of the change in societal expectations due to the revolution and to deepen our understanding of the organisational motivations underlying CSR reporting.

Findings

Following the 2011 revolution, the banks’ CSR reporting practices have gradually shifted from a largely instrumental “business-case” perspective towards a more substantive recognition of a wider set of societal challenges consistent with a political CSR perspective. Overall, the maintaining/gaining of legitimacy is gradually bound to the communication of accounts about the multi-faceted socially valued consequences or structures performed by banks. Our interview data shows that participants reflected on the legitimation challenges brought by the revolution and the limits of transactional strategies involving traditional constituents, with a preference for pursuing consequential and structural forms of moral legitimacy.

Research limitations/implications

This study demonstrates a constructive shift by businesses towards engaging with the new social rules in response to sociopolitical changes and the need to achieve moral legitimacy. Hence, policymakers and stakeholders could consider engaging with different economic sectors to foster more transparent, accountable, and impactful CSR practices.

Originality/value

We highlight the implications of Scherer and Palazzo’s political CSR approach for accountability and CSR reporting. CSR reporting in some developing countries has typically been seen as peripheral or a symbolic exercise primarily concerned with placating stakeholders and/or promoting shareholders’ interests. We suggest that researchers need to be instead attuned to the possibility of a blend of instrumental and normative motivations.
Recent developments in Hong Kong's New Music Theater scene: interviews with three local artists
Authors: Chu Priscila H.F.
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Collaborative arts incorporate theatrical elements including sound, movement, text, design, technology and visual elements into a synthetic original form of art. This paper examines a sub-category of collaborative arts, New Music Theater, in the contemporary context from the 1980s onwards in Hong Kong.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviews with artists Kung Chi Shing, Steve Hui and Amy Chan exhibit their personal creative and collaborative experiences.

Findings

These interviews provide a view of the current practice of New Music Theater in Hong Kong.

Originality/value

This paper highlights the emergence of a new art form in Hong Kong and fills a gap in the relevant literature.
COVID-19’s impact on digitalization of education: incorporating visual vocabulary learning application to foster vocabulary knowledge
Authors: Barjesteh Hamed , Movafaghardestani Elham , Modaberi Ahmad
Published: December 2020

Purpose

COVID-19’s attack on the system of education left the learning of many students in limbo. For minimizing this effect, the current study sought to probe how Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) can facilitate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ vocabulary knowledge. In so doing, a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest research design was adopted to check the effect of a newly developed application (i.e. visual vocabulary learning, hereafter VVL) in an EFL classroom.

Design/methodology/approach

To complying with the objective, a number of intermediate students (N = 40) were considered to participate in the study. They were assigned into a visual learning group (VLG) and a nonvisual learning group (NVLG) comprising 20 students in each. The VLG was directed to learn vocabulary by a VVL, and the NVG, a conventional method was employed for vocabulary instruction. An independent samples t-test was run to screen the efficacy of the intervention.

Findings

The finding revealed that participants in the VLG outperformed significantly in the posttest. The finding is beneficial for EFL teachers, syllabus designers, and material developers to take advantage of mobile applications in teaching vocabulary.

Originality/value

This study was conducted during COVID 19 between two groups in Iran.
Corporate board for innovative managerial control: implications of corporate governance deviance perspective
Authors: Saleem Irfan , Khan Mujtaba Nasir Ali , Hasan Rashedul , Ashfaq Muhammad
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Drawing from the firm’s entrepreneurial identity and ecology perspectives, this study aims to explain why the firms deviate from standard corporate governance practices and apply innovative management control.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used a panel of 2,538 public companies listed with the New York Stock Exchange to explain the impact of corporate governance deviance on firm’s performance. The authors relied on unique governance variables extracted from the Bloomberg database to develop the governance deviance index.

Findings

Study unveils that deviance from governance practices influences firm’s performance. Consequently, it can be said that the firms which use innovative governance mechanisms, usually stay ahead of the market by leading the governance trends. The findings also generalise the firm’s entrepreneurial identity and organisational ecology perspectives.

Research limitations/implications

Research implies that the firm’s entrepreneurial identity demands innovative managerial control. This study is focused on the US financial market, but in future, researchers could revalidate the deviance index. Scholars can also use mixed methods to test the need for innovative governance mechanisms in emerging markets.

Practical implications

The firms should focus on innovative governance practices not only to safeguard the firm’s entrepreneurial identity but also to pursue the growth objectives. Such innovative mechanisms and managerial controls are helpful to deal with industrial transformations to satisfy key stakeholders.

Originality/value

The study contributed to governance and management control research by sharing insights and catering the potential endogeneity problem faced to measure corporate governance measures. The study also proposes an alternative testing tool to measure governance deviance to add methodological uniqueness and reduce knowledge gap.
Determining and assessing the significant barriers of transferring unfinished construction projects from the public sector to the private sector in Iran
Authors: Sarvari Hadi , Nassereddine Hala , Chan Daniel W.M. , Amirkhani Mohsen , Md Noor Norhazilan
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The government sometimes lacks sufficient financial, management and technical capabilities to deliver construction projects. As a result, it has recognized the need to introduce private sector capital and expertise to complete unfinished construction projects. This outsourcing paradigm is known as a public-private partnership, a form of privatization. This study aims to identify the barriers associated with the transfer of unfinished construction projects to the private sector in Iran and grouped them into areas that were ranked to shed light on where the risk lies.

Design/methodology/approach

After a thorough and comprehensive literature review, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to 67 experts in the public and private sectors in Iran. The survey included 37 barriers grouped into seven areas and measured on a five-point Likert scale. Face validity, content validity and structural validity of the collected data were confirmed. The reliability of the questionnaire was also tested and validated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient.

Findings

The survey findings indicated that private company laws, national constitution, government policies, lack of sufficient regulations, one-sided regulations and lack of balance, the regulations of other organizations and taxation laws were perceived as the major barriers to the transfer of unfinished public sector construction projects to the private sector in Iran. The ranking of the seven areas produced the following top three ranked barriers areas: taxation laws, government policies and one-sided regulations and lack of balance of importance.

Originality/value

The elicitation of this study can be useful to both private and public sectors for the development of infrastructure construction projects.
Assessment of highways concrete and asphalt pavements using superiority inferiority ranking technique
Authors: Marzouk Mohamed , Ashmawy Mohamed Moustafa
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Highways are one of the most critical infrastructure projects with strategic impact on the countries’ development. Asphalt has been historically the main pavement material used in all highway projects, especially in Egypt. However, with the booming in concrete technology in the past two decades, concrete has become a strong rival to asphalt, especially in highway applications. Several factors impact the decision-making criteria for any highway, which differ according to the priorities and requirements of each decision-maker and the nature of the project.

Design/methodology/approach

This research focuses on studying and analyzing the different factors that impact the decision for selecting the material type for highways in Egypt’s pavement construction industry. The outputs of the analysis are then incorporated into a multi-decision-making tool to assess the optimum solution as per the priorities of the decision-maker. A holistic framework is developed to compare asphalt and concrete pavements solutions considering; initial cost, maintenance cost on the life cycle, construction duration, embodied energy and fuel consumption. The data collection on local highways was performed through interviewing and surveying experts in the consulting, contracting and building materials fields (total of 15 respondents).

Findings

A multi-decision-making tool developed using the superiority and inferiority ranking method for selecting the best alternate. To illustrate the practicality of the proposed framework, a case study for assessment and validation has been done on Sokhna–Quarries highway in Egypt. The framework results reveal that despite a lower initial cost and faster construction of asphalt, concrete pavement is more cost-efficient on the lifecycle time. The multi-decision-making model indicates that concrete is a better alternate for highway applications given the cost, time and energy factors considered.

Originality/value

The proposed model takes into consideration the important parameters in selecting the type of pavement to be constructed considering two alternates asphalt and concrete.
Bricolage as capability for frugal innovation in emerging markets in times of crisis
Authors: Santos Leandro Lima , Borini Felipe Mendes , Oliveira Moacir de Miranda , Rossetto Dennys Eduardo , Bernardes Roberto Carlos
Published: December 2020

Purpose

This research aims to answer the following question: Could bricolage become a capability for companies in emerging markets to develop frugal innovations in times of crisis? Therefore, in this paper the main aim is to identify whether in times of crisis the development of frugal innovation in emerging markets depends on the bricolage capability.

Design/methodology/approach

The hypotheses were statistically tested using the structural equation modeling technique, with data collected through the survey method applied to 215 companies in Brazil.

Findings

The results allowed support for the hypothesis that bricolage capability has a positive impact on the development of frugal innovation. Therefore, a mediating test was verified, allowing confirmation that to develop frugal innovation in emerging markets, bricolage becomes a required capability for companies in times of crisis.

Research limitations/implications

The limitation of this study lies in considering the effect of bricolage on frugal innovation only in the context of Brazil, while in developed countries this effect may be similar, as they also suffer from resource constraints caused by crises.

Practical implications

This research provides insights to guide managers by highlighting bricolage as a key managerial capability for the development of frugal innovation. A set of managerial recommendations are provided based on bricolage skills.

Originality/value

The study has contributed to the literature on bricolage and frugal innovation by addressing bricolage as an antecedent of frugal innovation in emerging markets, especially when those markets are affected by resource scarcity.
Impact of managerial coaching skills on employee commitment: the role of personal learning
Authors: Park Sohee , McLean Gary N. , Yang Baiyin
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Managerial coaching has been popularized as a way of motivating, developing and retaining employees in organizations. Yet, there has been a lack of empirical studies to examine the linkage between managerial coaching and its potential impact on employees. This study aims to investigate the interrelationships among managerial coaching, employees’ personal learning and organizational commitment. This study also attempts to revise an existing instrument for measuring coaching skills in organizations created by McLean et al. (2005) to assess managers’ coaching skills.

Design/methodology/approach

Data analyzes were based on 187 employees of a top global technology organization headquartered in the USA. The existing instrument for measuring coaching skills was revised and confirmed through a series of efforts including expert reviews, pilot tests and assessing its reliability and validity. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships among managerial coaching skills and employees’ personal learning and organizational commitment.

Findings

This study identified five dimensions of managerial coaching skills and validated the revised instrument measuring coaching skills in organizations. It also demonstrated that managers’ utilization of managerial coaching skills had a direct effect on employees’ learning and organizational commitment and impacted employees’ organizational commitment through personal learning.

Originality/value

This study examined the interrelationships among managerial coaching and employees’ personal learning and organizational commitment in organizations. In doing so, this study unveiled the process of how managers’ coaching affects employees’ development and attitudes at work. This study also identified five coaching skills as a tool to assess the level of managerial coaching.
Occupational segregation and wage differentials by gender and race in Brazil: evidence from a quantile decomposition
Authors: Tonet Maciel Francieli
Published: December 2020

Purpose

This paper examines the role of occupational segregation in the evolution of wage differentials by gender and race in the Brazilian labor market between 2005 and 2015.

Design/methodology/approach

The author uses microdata from the National Household Sample Survey and adopts two occupational integration typology to capture both horizontal and vertical segregation. The decomposition method proposed by Firpo et al. (2009) is employed to investigate the determinants of changes in differentials along the wage distribution.

Findings

Results suggest a glass ceiling effect for all groups compared to white men. Gender and racial discrimination persist, especially at the top of the distribution. For both black women and men, observable characteristics account for most of the wage differentials, while for white women, the opposite occurs because of their education level. Vertical segregation behavior indicates that white men continue over-represented in higher-paid occupations. Although women improved their relative position in the occupational hierarchy, horizontal segregation behavior shows that their concentration in female-dominated occupations has not reduced, except in extreme quantiles. Education played a crucial role in reducing wage gaps, and regional differences stood out as a significant factor of the racial disadvantage.

Originality/value

The paper shows significant differences between the groups regarding verticalization and horizontalization of occupational structure along the wage distribution and over time, contributing to filling some gaps in the literature concerning the wage stratification based on gender and race in Brazil. Occupational segregation as a composition factor of the groups determines their positions in a vertically hierarchical and socially stratified occupational structure. The behavior of horizontal and vertical segregations evidences the continue under-valorization of female occupations and the barriers faced by racial and gendered groups to overcome the glass ceiling effect. Recognize the intersectionality of gender and race in addressing inequalities is fundamental to promote policies that overcome them.
Ethical leadership in organizations: evidence from the field
Authors: Goswami Meghna , Agrawal Rakesh Kumar , Goswami Anil Kumar
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Owing to the significant and critical role of ethical leadership in organizations, this study aims to explore and understand the perceptions about ethical leadership in organizations. It empirically investigates whether the individual attributes of gender, age, work experience, executive level and qualification of members and other demographic variables, such as industry and sector, affect the perception of members toward ethical conduct of their supervisors.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a quantitative study where the analysis is based on the data collected from 419 members of 3 different industries, namely, public sector research and development organizations, information technology organizations and academic universities and colleges.

Findings

The results reveal that perception of ethical leadership does not vary across gender and qualification of members but varies across age, work experience, management level, industry and sector.

Practical implications

This study helps to understand the importance and role of various individual attributes that affect the perception of ethical leadership by followers. This study will make leaders to be more aware and behave in ethical manner with respect to different groups of followers.

Originality/value

Because of occurrence of many scandals and fraudulent behaviors in organizations, business ethics has caught the attention of policy makers, corporate organizations and academic. Ethical leadership is very crucial for organizational success on a sustainable basis. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is among the early studies conducted to investigate the influence of the individual attributes and other demographic variables on the perception of members toward ethical conduct of their supervisors.
Energy efficiency in cloud data centres using parallel hybrid Jaya algorithm
Authors: Kollu Archana , V. Sucharita
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Data centres evolve constantly in size, complexity and power consumption. Energy-efficient scheduling in a cloud data centre is a critical and challenging research problem. It becomes essential to minimize the overall operational costs as well as environmental impact and to guarantee the service-level agreements for the services provided by the cloud data centres. Resource scheduling in cloud data centres is NP-hard and often requires substantial computational resources.

Design/methodology/approach

To overcome these problems, the authors propose a novel model that leads to nominal operational cost and energy consumption in cloud data centres. The authors propose an effective approach, parallel hybrid Jaya algorithm, that performs parallel processing of Jaya algorithm and genetic algorithm using multi-threading and shared memory for interchanging the information to enhance convergence premature rate and global exploration.

Findings

Experimental results reveal that the proposed approach reduces the power consumption in cloud data centres up to 38% and premature convergence rate up to 60% compared to other algorithms.

Originality/value

Experimental results reveals that our proposed approach reduces the power consumption in cloud data centres up to 38% and premature convergence rate up to 60% compared to other algorithms.
Exploring shippers' motivations to adopt collaborative truck-sharing initiatives
Authors: Islam Samsul , Uddin Mohammad Jasim , Shi Yangyan , Sharif Taimur , Ahmed Jashim Uddin
Published: December 2020

Purpose

A seaport is an essential part of a supply chain, but many ports experience truck shortages, creating pressure for port authorities from shippers who need more trucks that move cargo. This study explores and ranks the motives for adopting a truck-sharing concept (where shippers share the same truck for delivery) as a mechanism to improve transport capacity.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts a multi-method approach – both interviews and surveys. Interviews are first conducted with shippers to explore truck-sharing usage motives. Next, quantitative surveys of both shippers and carriers are conducted to rank those motives.

Findings

The study identifies five motives (operational efficiency goal, quick transport solution, sustainability policy, convenience-seeking behavior and secure transport process) for truck-sharing, four critical transport attributes (lower charges for freight, distance travelled, full capacity utilization and environmental recognition), four psychological consequences (monetary savings, greater safety, instant availability of trips and clarification of environmental values), and six core values (secure transport process, being careful of money, ease of doing business, sustainability, status in the community and recognition by customers of shippers).

Research limitations/implications

The qualitative results will help researchers better understand how usage motives influence shippers' willingness to share a truck for transport needs. The quantitative results are useful for ranking truck-sharing motives by their importance.

Practical implications

Based on the findings, managers of carriers can categorize shippers according to their specific needs and thereby customize promotions to attract more shippers.

Originality/value

The findings provide the first, exploratory insights into shippers' motives.
Integration quality, value co-creation and resilience in logistics service supply chains: moderating role of digital technology
Authors: Ju Yingjie , Hou Hanping , Yang Jianliang
Published: December 2020

Purpose

Using the logistics service supply chain (LSSC) as a research object, this study focuses on the relationship between integration quality (IQ), value co-creation (VCC), and LSSC resilience. Moreover, it discusses the moderating role of digital technology (DT).

Design/methodology/approach

Based on data about China, this study used the structural equation model to test the research hypothesis. To verify the validity of each construct, this study used various established scales in the literature to conduct exploratory and confirmatory analysis.

Findings

The results show that IQ is an essential antecedent variable that promotes VCC and LSSC resilience. Moreover, this study confirms that DT has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between IQ, VCC, and resilience.

Originality/value

This study constructs a research framework to examine LSSC resilience and expands the theoretical research on the VCC theory in the supply chain literature. Moreover, this paper studies supply chain integration from a new perspective, that is, IQ, which is more in line with the reality of LSSC.
Intended audience and valence of electronic word-of-mouth on social media: a study of Dutch consumers
Authors: Kitirattarkarn Gauze Pitipon , Tao Weiting , Tsai Wan-Hsiu Sunny
Published: December 2020

Purpose

This study aims to systematically evaluate the psychological factors of independent versus interdependent self-construal, self-evaluation motives of enhancement versus verification, and the mediating role of bridging and bonding social capital on consumers' positive and negative brand-related electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) sharing with in-group and out-group audiences.

Design/methodology/approach

The online survey was conducted with young adult consumers in the Netherlands (N = 322). Multiple regression analysis with PROCESS was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Consumers with independent self-construal are more likely to share negative eWOM, particularly via social messengers with in-group members. These consumers, however, tend to share positive eWOM on companies' social media accounts that reach out-group audiences including online strangers. Additionally, self-evaluation was the key motivation driving positive eWOM sharing with in-groups, while bridging social capital mediated the effects of self-construal on sharing negative eWOM.

Originality/value

The paper provides a more holistic understanding of the factors impacting the valence and intended audience for eWOM sharing. The findings advance eWOM research by differentiating positive and negative eWOM sharing in the context of intergroup communication.
Talent management practices on employee performance among academic staff of Malaysian private universities: employee engagement as a mediator
Authors: Abdullahi Mohammed Sani , Raman Kavitha , Solarin Sakiru Adebola
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of talent management (TM) practices on employee performance (EP) among academic staff of Malaysian private universities (MPU) through employee engagement (EE).

Design/methodology/approach

This paper used both descriptive and quantitative approaches, while the research unit of analysis consists of MPU academic staff. A simple random and stratified sampling approach was utilized in this study while, the research sample consists of 314 MPU academic staff. A questionnaire was used to collect data from the target population, while partial least squares–structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the study hypotheses through a bootstrapping approach.

Findings

This paper results demonstrated that TM practices (succession planning practice, promotion practice and performance appraisal practice) have a significant effect on EP, while EE mediates the relationship between TM practices and EP in MPU.

Practical implications

This paper encourages university management to adopt and invest in TM practices for effective EE to achieve and sustain EP.

Originality/value

This paper has made a significant contribution to knowledge and to the operationalization of EE, EP and TM practices literature, which could help to develop theory, model, practice and research in areas of work performance.
Impact of institutional and cultural distances on ASEAN's trade efficiency
Authors: Doanh Nguyen Khanh , Truong Linh Tuan , Heo Yoon
Published: December 2020

Purpose

This paper aims at assessing the impact of institutional and cultural distances and trade barriers on ASEAN's trade efficiency using a panel data set of 65 countries for the period 2006–2017.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the authors applied an improved version of the stochastic frontier model to estimate the trade efficiency scores. After that, we used the system generalized method of moment (GMM) estimator to investigate the impacts of institutional and cultural distances on ASEAN's trade efficiency.

Findings

The results show that the trade efficiency of ASEAN countries with the rest of the world (ROW) is moderate, ranging from 0.561 to 0.612, but shows a downward trend. This result indicates that considerable trade potential exists between ASEAN countries and ROW. Institutional and cultural distances, as well as the trade barriers, negatively affect ASEAN's trade efficiency. Efforts to reduce differences in institutions and cultures and to promote trade liberalization are vital remedies for ASEAN countries to turn potentials into actual trade performance.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the existing literature in three different ways. First, this is the first study on the impact of the differences between internal and external characteristics on trade efficiency, specifically, the impact of institutional and cultural distances on ASEAN's trade efficiency. Second, to obtain accurate efficiency scores, the authors use an improved version of the stochastic frontier model proposed by Karakaplan (2018), which can control the problem of endogeneity. Third, in quantifying the determinants of trade efficiency, the authors apply a system GMM estimator, which allows us to overcome the problems of endogeneity, measurement errors, and omitted variables.
Adoption of mobile library apps as learning tools in higher education: a tale between Hong Kong and Japan
Authors: Yip Karen Hiu Tung , Lo Patrick , Ho Kevin K. W. , Chiu Dickson K. W.
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine students' perception of mobile technology adoption for library service apps as a lens to explore the factors affecting mobile learning in higher education.

Design/methodology/approach

With the data collected from university students from Hong Kong and Japan, the authors conducted a comparative study for gaining a better understanding of students' perceptions toward adopting mobile apps as learning tools and other socio-cultural factors affecting such adoption. In particular, the authors derive alternative models from our analysis (benchmarked on technology acceptance model and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology) for a better explanation of the formation of the intentions, and, more importantly, cultural factors would affect such formation, as informed by the Hofstede Cultural Dimensions.

Findings

The findings are valuable for enhancing the effectiveness and adoption of mobile services for teaching and learning purposes in the context of higher education, as the focus of promotion of services should be tailored to the different student expectations in different regions, e.g. mainly performance expectancy in Japan versus in Hong Kong facilitating condition, performance expectancy and perceived usefulness altogether.

Originality/value

Defined as contributing to the development of learning assistance, mobile technology for library use and information access have become a significant issue raised in many higher educational institutions over the world, as the characteristics of mobile technology, such as portability and mobility, strengthen its possible use in education. However, scant research has been done in understanding the perception of mobile library use and factors affecting the behavioral intentions through the use of mobile technologies in Hong Kong and most Asian countries have not been sufficiently studied.
How social is Islamic banking?
Authors: Hamidi Luthfi , Worthington Andrew C.
Published: December 2020

Purpose

This paper aims to outline the argument for social outcomes as an objective for Islamic banks and investigate whether social failure exists in Islamic banking in Indonesia by assessing it against this performance dimension.

Design/methodology/approach

Content analysis of the annual reports of a sample of 12 Islamic commercial banks, seven Islamic banking units, and seven Islamic rural banks operating in Indonesia. The social outcomes to be measured employ the social objectives and disclosure measures from the prevailing literature, combined with the Kinder, Lydenberg, Domini Research and Analytics index of corporate social performance, the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals and five Environment Social Governance Scorecards developed by Oikocredit, a global cooperative and social investor group.

Findings

Social failure evident in all Islamic rural banks and half of all Islamic commercial banks, but in only one of the seven Islamic bank units where most banks appear to pursue social outcomes at the accommodative level (accepting and doing all that is required). A social outcome-weighted asset formulation reveals Islamic banking has improved in meeting its social objectives over time, but sometimes at the cost of other objectives relating to the environment and customers.

Research limitations/implications

Single-country context for analysis and limited period of analysis given rapid growth of industry and less stringent reporting requirements in the past.

Practical implications

Islamic banking in Indonesia needs to continue to improve its social outcomes, particularly in relation to the environment and customer benefits.

Social implications

Emphasis on banking supervisory bodies to regulate and provide incentives for the industry to address the social issues upon which consumer support, industry efforts and regulation draws.

Originality/value

Few existing studies investigate the social dimension of Islamic banking, not least in Indonesia. Novel quantitative and qualitative application of content analysis.
The role of tech startups in the fight against COVID-19
Authors: Almeida Fernando
Published: December 2020

Purpose

This study explores the contribution that tech startups can provide in the fight against COVID-19. The Tech4Covid movement is presented to that effect, which has joined several Portuguese tech startups. This initiative gathers more than 5,000 volunteers and 28 ongoing projects in several interdisciplinary areas, including science, technology, health and education.

Design/methodology/approach

Two qualitative methods are adopted: the case study and the field research technique. This joint approach allows exploring in-depth the relevance and impact of the different areas included in Tech4Covid movement. Data were collected both from primary sources, namely by the authors' participation in the movement and by the use of secondary sources from each project.

Findings

The findings reveal three main areas in which the 28 ongoing projects can be categorized, respectively: support to health professionals and hospital equipment, health and education services and business and leisure. These projects offer direct and indirect contributions to the fight against COVID-19. From a perspective, they were initially designed to support health professionals in gathering protective equipment and supporting screening for suspicious cases. From another perspective, they also offer indirect benefits to citizens and the local economy.

Originality/value

This paper addresses a recent phenomenon with a dramatic impact on public health, social and economic dimensions. The study provides essentially practical contributions by revealing how Portuguese technological startups were organized and worked together to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is expected this study will serve as a reference for other countries and communities that intend to replicate this model.
Zoom in on the levels of employee engagement, perception, satisfaction; employee roles influenced – health care sample study
Authors: Bharath M. , Sreedevi V.
Published: December 2020

Purpose

The paper aims to considering quality that comes from quality employees taking discretionary efforts, having right perception towards quality, getting satisfied from their contribution. Exploring the relationship of engagement, perception and satisfaction, and mapping the levels and identifying managerial implications for improving the levels.

Design/methodology/approach

William Kahn’s employee engagement dimensions, Parasuraman and Zeithaml’s quality dimensions and Harter et al.’s satisfaction dimensions applied and variables framed in health-care context, tested and applied. Survey data collected from randomly selected medical and non-medical employees from south Indian state Tamil Nadu health-care organizations, using structured questionnaire.

Findings

Age, experience and roles of the respondents in work have a significant association with the levels. It explores a significant positive relationship of perception, engagement and satisfaction. The study explores an average 28% of employees have high level of engagement, perception (18%) and satisfaction (22%), and the rest fall under moderate and low levels. The roles of the respondents significantly predict the levels.

Originality/value

The study focuses on engagement, perception and satisfaction of employees, not of patients. It registered the responses of trained physicians, nurses and administrative staff. It illustrates human resource strategic importance to improve the levels concerning quality measures.
Current treatments for atopic dermatitis in Japan
Authors: Miyano Kyohei , Tsunemi Yuichiro
Published: December 2020

The goal of a treatment regimen for atopic dermatitis is to reach and maintain a state where the patient exhibits mild symptoms or an absence of symptoms, and the patient should not experience disturbance during daily activities. The basis of a treatment regimen for atopic dermatitis is topical therapy, and currently there exist topical corticosteroids, tacrolimus and delgocitinib. Using these, proactive therapy is performed as maintenance therapy after remission induction therapy. However, in cases of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis, topical drugs alone cannot induce remission and systemic therapies such as cyclosporin, ultraviolet therapy, and dupilumab should be used in combination. In particular, dupilumab has many advantages such as high efficacy, relatively few adverse reactions, and ease of use in elderly patients with severe atopic dermatitis. In this review, we present a treatment algorithm for atopic dermatitis that emphasizes the importance of maintaining remission after induction of remission, and summarizes the characteristics of current medication therapy for atopic dermatitis in Japan.
Measuring complications of serious pediatric emergencies using ICD‐10
Authors: Michelson Kenneth A. , Dart Arianna H. , Bachur Richard G. , Mahajan Prashant , Finkelstein Jonathan A.
Published: December 2020

Objective

To create definitions for complications for 16 serious pediatric conditions using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification or Procedure Coding System (ICD‐10‐CM/PCS), and to assess whether complication rates are similar to those measured with ICD‐9‐CM/PCS.

Data Sources

The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Emergency Department and Inpatient Databases from five states between 2014 and 2017 were used to identify cases and assess complication rates. Incidences were calculated using population counts from the 5‐year American Community Survey.

Data Collection/Extraction Methods

Patients were identified by the presence of a diagnosis code for one of the 16 serious conditions. Only the first encounter for a given condition by a patient was included. Encounters resulting in transfer were excluded as the presence of complications was unknown.

Study Design

We defined complications using data elements routinely available in administrative databases including ICD‐10‐CM/PCS codes. The definitions were adapted from ICD‐9‐CM/PCS using general equivalence mappings and refined using consensus opinion. We included 16 serious conditions: appendicitis, bacterial meningitis, compartment syndrome, new‐onset diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), ectopic pregnancy, empyema, encephalitis, intussusception, mastoiditis, myocarditis, orbital cellulitis, ovarian torsion, sepsis, septic arthritis, stroke, and testicular torsion. Using data from children under 18 years, we compared incidences and complication rates across the ICD‐10‐CM/PCS transition for each condition using interrupted time series.

Principal Findings

There were 61 314 ED visits for a serious condition; the most common was appendicitis (n = 37 493). Incidence rates for each condition were not significantly different across the ICD‐10‐CM/PCS transition for 13/16 conditions. Three differed: empyema (increased 42%), orbital cellulitis (increased 60%), and sepsis (increased 26%). Complication rates were not significantly different for each condition across the ICD‐10‐CM/PCS transition, except appendicitis (odds ratio 0.62, 95% CI 0.57‐0.68), DKA (OR 3.79, 95% CI 1.92‐7.50), and orbital cellulitis (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.30‐0.95).

Conclusions

For most conditions, incidences and complication rates were similar before and after the transition to ICD‐10‐CM/PCS codes, suggesting our system identifies complications of conditions in administrative data similarly using ICD‐9‐CM/PCS and ICD‐10‐CM/PCS codes. This system may be applied to screen for cases with complications and in health services research.
Diallyl sulfide from garlic suppresses quorum‐sensing systems of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and enhances biosynthesis of three B vitamins through its thioether group
Authors: Li Wen‐Ru , Zeng Tao‐Hua , Yao Jun‐Wei , Zhu Li‐Ping , Zhang Zhi‐Qing , Xie Xiao‐Bao , Shi Qing‐Shan
Published: December 2020

Diallyl sulfide (DAS) and diallyl disulfide (DADS), two constituents of garlic, can inhibit quorum sensing (QS) systems of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. However, the differences in the mechanism of QS inhibition between DAS and DADS, and the functional chemical groups of these sulfides that contribute in QS inhibition have not been elucidated yet. We assumed that the sulfide group might play a key role in QS inhibition. To prove this hypothesis and to clarify these unsolved problems, in this study, we synthesized diallyl ether (DAE), and compared and investigated the effects of DAS and DAE on the growth and production of virulence factors, including Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS), elastase and pyocyanin, of P. aeruginosa PAO1. Transcriptome analysis and qRT‐PCR were used to compare and analyse the differentially expressed genes between the different treatment groups (DAS, DAE and control). The results indicated that DAS did not affect the growth dynamics of P. aeruginosa PAO1; however, DAS inhibited transcription of most of the QS system genes, including lasR, rhlI/rhlR and pqsABCDE/pqsR; thus, biosynthesis of the signal molecules C4‐HSL (encoded by rhlI) and PQS (encoded by pqsABCDE) was inhibited. Furthermore, DAS inhibited the transcription of virulence genes regulated by the QS systems, including rhlABC, lasA, lasB, lecA and phzAB, phzDEFG, phzM and phzS that encode for rhamnolipid, exoprotease, elastase, lectin and pyocyanin biosynthesis respectively. DAS also enhanced the expression of the key genes involved in the biosynthesis of three B vitamins: folate, thiamine and riboflavin. In conclusion, DAS suppressed the production of some virulence factors toxic to the host and enhanced the production of some nutrition factors beneficial to the host. These actions of DAS may be due to its thioether group. These findings would be significant for development of an effective drug to control the virulence and pathogenesis of the opportunistic pathogen P. aeruginosa.
Assessment of loneliness in patients with inflammatory arthritis
Authors: Emmungil Hakan , İlgen Ufuk , Turan Sezin , Kilic Ozge
Published: December 2020

Aim

This study aimed to explore loneliness and associated factors in Turkish patients with inflammatory arthritis.

Method

Adult patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (n = 58), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) (n = 53), and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) (n = 30), respectively, were included in the study. A single‐item visual analog scale (VAS) for loneliness, UCLA Loneliness Scale‐8 (ULS‐8), Beck depression inventory (BDI), Beck anxiety inventory (BAI), revised multidimensional scale of perceived social support, Health Assessment Questionnaire‐Disability Index (HAQ‐DI) were used for the psychometric and functional assessments. Multiple regression models were generated for predicting the ULS‐8 and HAQ‐DI scores.

Results

There was no difference between disease groups in terms of the ULS‐8 and HAQ‐DI scores. Among demographic and clinical parameters, only the education status and number of drugs used had associations with the ULS‐8 score. Single‐item VAS score for loneliness did not predict the ULS‐8 score well. There were significant correlations between the ULS‐8 and HAQ‐DI, depression, anxiety, social support, and physician global VAS scores. Only the education status significantly predicted (β = −0.208) the ULS‐8 score in multiple regression analysis (adjustedR2 = 0.15,P < .001). Beck depression, anxiety, and patient global VAS scores remained significant for predicting the HAQ‐DI after multiple regression with the covariates ULS‐8, depression, anxiety, social support, patient and physician global VAS scores, and the number of drugs used (adjustedR2 = 0.53,P < .001). Disease activity and the ULS‐8 scores were not found to be associated in any disease group.

Conclusion

Loneliness is associated with depression, anxiety, lack of social support, disability, higher number of drugs used, and lower education but not with disease activity in Turkish patients with RA, AS, and PsA. Perception and expression of loneliness vary according to the cultural background. Single‐item scales for loneliness may lack reliability compared to the more comprehensive ULS‐8.