bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cell and tissue polarity in the intestinal tract during tumourigenesis: cells still know the right way up, but tissue organization is lost
Authors: Fatehullah Aliya , Appleton Paul L. , Näthke Inke S.
Published: September 2013

Cell and tissue polarity are tightly coupled and are vital for normal tissue homeostasis. Changes in cellular and tissue organization are common to even early stages of disease, particularly cancer. The digestive tract is the site of the second most common cause of cancer deaths in the developed world. Tumours in this tissue arise in an epithelium that has a number of axes of cell and tissue polarity. Changes in cell and tissue polarity in response to genetic changes that are known to underpin disease progression provide clues about the link between molecular-, cellular- and tissue-based mechanisms that accompany cancer. Mutations in adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) are common to most colorectal cancers in humans and are sufficient to cause tumours in mouse intestine. Tissue organoids mimic many features of whole tissue and permit identifying changes at different times after inactivation of APC. Using gut organoids, we show that tissue polarity is lost very early during cancer progression, whereas cell polarity, at least apical–basal polarity, is maintained and changes only at later stages. These observations reflect the situation in tumours and validate tissue organoids as a useful system to investigate the relationship between cell polarity and tissue organization.
Spindle orientation and epidermal morphogenesis
Authors: Kulukian Anita , Fuchs Elaine
Published: September 2013

Asymmetric cell divisions (ACDs) result in two unequal daughter cells and are a hallmark of stem cells. ACDs can be achieved either by asymmetric partitioning of proteins and organelles or by asymmetric cell fate acquisition due to the microenvironment in which the daughters are placed. Increasing evidence suggests that in the mammalian epidermis, both of these processes occur. During embryonic epidermal development, changes occur in the orientation of the mitotic spindle in relation to the underlying basement membrane. These changes are guided by conserved molecular machinery that is operative in lower eukaryotes and dictates asymmetric partitioning of proteins during cell divisions. That said, the shift in spindle alignment also determines whether a division will be parallel or perpendicular to the basement membrane, and this in turn provides a differential microenvironment for the resulting daughter cells. Here, we review how oriented divisions of progenitors contribute to the development and stratification of the epidermis.
Multiple introductions of salmonid alphavirus from a wild reservoir have caused independent and self-sustainable epizootics in aquaculture
Authors: Karlsen Marius , Gjerset Britt , Hansen Tove , Rambaut Andrew
Published: September 2013

Salmonid alphavirus (SAV) causes infections in farmed Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout in Europe. Genetic diversity exists among SAV strains from farmed fish and six subtypes have been proposed based on genetic distance. Here, we used six full-genome sequences and 71 partial sequences of the structural ORF to estimate the evolutionary rate of SAV. The rate, 2.13×10−4 nt substitutions per site per year, was further used to date evolutionary events in a Bayesian phylogenetic framework. The comparison of these dates with known historical events suggested that all six subtypes diverged prior to the twentieth century, earlier than the first attempts to introduce and farm rainbow trout in Europe. The subtypes must therefore have existed in a wild reservoir, as yet unidentified. The strains of each subtype, with the exception of subtype 2, have a common ancestor that existed after the 1970s – the start of modern farming of Atlantic salmon. These ancestors are likely to represent the independent introductions to farmed fish populations from the wild reservoir. The subtypes have developed subsequently into self-sustainable epizootics. The most parsimonious phylogeographic reconstruction suggested that the location of the wild reservoir is in or around the North Sea. After the initial introductions to aquaculture, further transmission of SAV was likely related to the industry infrastructure. This was exemplified by the finding of genetically identical subtype 2 and 3 strains separated by large geographical distances, as well as genetically distinct co-circulating lineages within the same geographical area.
Exchange of associated factors directs a switch in HBO1 acetyltransferase histone tail specificity
Authors: Lalonde Marie-Eve , Avvakumov Nikita , Glass Karen C. , Joncas France-Hélène , Saksouk Nehmé , Holliday Michael , Paquet Eric , Yan Kezhi , Tong Qiong , Klein Brianna J. , Tan Song , Yang Xiang-Jiao , Kutateladze Tatiana G. , Côté Jacques
Published: September 2013

Histone acetyltransferases (HATs) assemble into multisubunit complexes in order to target distinct lysine residues on nucleosomal histones. Here, we characterize native HAT complexes assembled by the BRPF family of scaffold proteins. Their plant homeodomain (PHD)–Zn knuckle–PHD domain is essential for binding chromatin and is restricted to unmethylated H3K4, a specificity that is reversed by the associated ING subunit. Native BRPF1 complexes can contain either MOZ/MORF or HBO1 as catalytic acetyltransferase subunit. Interestingly, while the previously reported HBO1 complexes containing JADE scaffold proteins target histone H4, the HBO1–BRPF1 complex acetylates only H3 in chromatin. We mapped a small region to the N terminus of scaffold proteins responsible for histone tail selection on chromatin. Thus, alternate choice of subunits associated with HBO1 can switch its specificity between H4 and H3 tails. These results uncover a crucial new role for associated proteins within HAT complexes, previously thought to be intrinsic to the catalytic subunit.
Use of key performance indicators for PPP transport projects to meet stakeholders’ performance objectives
Authors: Mladenovic Goran , Vajdic Nevena , Wündsch Bjorn , Temeljotov-Salaj Alenka
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– The need for more efficient and effective public-private partnership (PPP) projects makes performance management of increasing importance, especially with respect to stakeholder expectations. This paper seeks to examine the use of key performances indicators (KPI) based on the analysis of critical success factors (CSF) for monitoring of PPP transport projects from the perspective of different stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

– The list of stakeholders’ performance objectives including CSF was defined using the brainstorming technique applied to group of experts in PPP transport sectors and refined through literature review. Input of the expert group was validated against a feedback from a respective survey. Three main groups of stakeholders were identified: public sector, private sector, and users. Finally, the review and comparative analysis of existing KPIs in PPP transport projects was performed based on stakeholders’ objectives and project attributes using the “frequency of mention” approach.

Findings

– The paper introduced a two layers approach for the assessment of PPP projects. The first stage was based on evaluation of project ultimate objectives from the standpoint of each stakeholder, i.e. profitability for private sector, effectiveness and value for money for public sector, and level of service for users. An adjusted and weighted combination of fulfillment of the specific stakeholder objectives leads to an overall approach (second layer) of describing a PPPs success or failure.

Originality/value

– The paper presents the comprehensive review of literature on transport PPP projects and evaluation of available CSFs and KPIs.
Public private partnerships in transport: theory and practice
Authors: Roumboutsos Athena , M.R. Macário Rosário
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to the Special Issue on public private partnerships in transport: theory and practice, to justify its need, to highlight key issues and propose future research in response to current and future challenges.

Design/methodology/approach

– Setting the context of public private partnerships (PPPs) in transport, the key issues of this infrastructure and service delivery model are highlighted through the authors’ critical description of the contributions in the Special Issue, which present a balanced presentation of theory and practice.

Findings

– The paper summarises critically and constructively the findings of the contributions to the Special Issue and based on these puts forward the need for research in new assessment methodologies and the need to develop appreciating projects.

Research limitations/implications

– Issues identified in combination with current macro-economic and social developments lead to the proposal of research needs that should be be addressed in support of the next generation of PPPs in the transport sector.

Practical implications

– The contributions to this Special Issue were selected so as to offer examples from practice and describe them through theory so as to enhance the understanding of the factors influencing the implementation of the PPP model of project delivery in the transport sector.

Social implications

– The Special Issue on public private partnerships in transport: theory and practice highlights the need for the development of new structures and new concepts that will lead to value creation, value capture and value continuation in order to address sustainable societal challenges in mobility.

Originality/value

– The Special Issue with respect to PPPs in transport is timely with respect to international developments and questions raised with respect to the applicability of the project delivery model. Research proposed for the next generation of PPPs presents the context of value creation, value capture and value continuation.
Management of drug misusers in Glasgow general hospitals
Authors: McPherson Andrew , Benson George
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to ascertain an awareness of the management of the drug misusing guidelines in Glasgow general hospitals.

Design/methodology/approach

– A brief literature review was carried out to establish the available evidence for the guidelines. Additionally, a survey questionnaire was sent out to junior medical staff requesting their views on the drug misusing guidelines.

Findings

– A paucity of evidence relating to drug misusing guidelines was found from the literature. The Glasgow Guidelines appear to be a welcome source of information that is both comprehensive and easily accessible for staff. Junior medical staffs have broadly welcomed the guidance but would appreciate additional support on the management of patients prescribed Suboxone.

Research limitations/implications

– There should be an increase in training and development for junior medical staff regarding the guideline.

Originality/value

– The Glasgow Guidelines are aimed primarily at junior medical staff whose knowledge on drug misusing patients may be scarce. Increased training and awareness should improve the management of drug misusers in general hospitals. Consequently, patients should spent less time in hospital.
Trash talk rebuffed: consumers' defense of companies criticized in online communities
Authors: Colliander Jonas , Hauge Wien Anders
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– Marketing literature views word-of-mouth (WOM) as unidirectional communication in which consumers transmit either positive or negative messages based on their consumption experiences. Becoming visible in online forums, however, are consumers who engage in WOM as part of interactions with other consumers. This article aims to investigate a phenomenon frequently occurring in these interactions: consumers who defend companies and brands against others' negative WOM.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors investigated the online defense phenomenon in its natural setting using an online ethnography, known as a netnography.

Findings

– This study provides empirical evidence for the existence of six different defense styles, as well as details of the identified factors underlying consumers' choices of defense styles. Moreover, the authors' analysis highlights the different outcomes of various company- and brand-defending behaviors and illustrates that this consumer phenomenon can be effective in preventing the spread of negative WOM or in mitigating its impact.

Research limitations/implications

– Future research could benefit from further testing the effectiveness of the various defense styles as well as investigating how to stimulate this important buffer against negative WOM.

Practical implications

– Companies are increasingly allocating resources to the monitoring of online conversations so as to be able to respond to criticisms in social media. The authors' findings indicate that other consumers frequently respond to these complaints before the companies do. These company and brand defenders could replace some of the resources companies currently devote to social media.

Originality/value

– The present study identifies company and brand defending as a new WOM activity, thus extending the concept of WOM beyond praising and complaining. In addition, this study suggests that consumers who counter negative messages are not necessarily loyal, as previously assumed, but rather motivated by a sense of justice or a need for self-enhancement.
Influence of consumer online resale awareness on purchase decisions: a mental accounting perspective
Authors: Liao Shuling , Chu Hsunchi
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– Consumer online resale is becoming an increasingly common method of both buying and selling goods. When an item can be easily resold online, consumers' subjective estimation of the value of that item changes in complex ways based on consumption cost and resale return. This in turn can affect consumers' decisions to purchase new products. The authors aim to apply the principles of mental accounting to investigate how consumers' economic psychology associated with buying a new product is affected when an awareness of the possibility of online resale is aroused.

Design/methodology/approach

– Three studies with between-subjects designs were conducted online to examine the effects of consumer awareness of a resaleable item on purchase intention of a new item under different situations.

Findings

– The results indicate that: consumers' awareness of the resale value of an already possessed product can influence their decision to purchase a new product; and when the product to be resold is the same type as the desired new item (e.g. an old idle mobile phone and a new mobile phone), the influence of resale awareness on purchase intention is greater than when the two items are distinct types but share similar functions and therefore could be categorized in the same mental account in terms of budget planning (e.g. an old idle digital camera and a new mobile phone) and when the short-used new product to be resold is exactly the same one to be purchased (e.g. buy and resell the same new mobile phone shortly after purchase).

Research limitations/implications

– The participants were all from a single Taiwanese online community. More and a greater variety of participants (e.g. both online and offline consumers, even those from traditional secondhand markets) should be included in future studies to gain a better understanding of consumer purchasing and resale behavior. Although the authors' studies are relatively theory-driven, the findings might be subject to cultural difference in the online resale environment.

Practical implications

– Consumers prefer to dispose of items in their homes and that this elevates the purchase intention for new products. Thus, marketers should look favorably upon and implement strategies to exploit secondary markets.

Originality/value

– By notifying consumers of the future chance to resell a good, the awareness and expectation for an online resale could be prompted, which in turn enhances the intention to purchase a new good. Therefore, the authors suggest that online resale awareness and expectation are important factors affecting consumers' purchasing and reselling behaviors.
The role of personal digital library in supporting research collaboration
Authors: Aghakhani Navid , Lagzian Fatemeh , Hazarika Bidyut
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate postgraduate students' research behavior and requirements to come up with essential components to support research collaboration in a personal digital library (PDL).

Design/methodology/approach

– This study was conducted using a questionnaire survey method along with a few follow up interviews. A structured questionnaire was circulated among postgraduate students of the Department of Computer Science and Information Technology (CSIT) of the University of Malaya (UM). A total of 100 participants answered the questionnaire, and 15 students participated in the follow up interview. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS statistical software.

Findings

– This research presents the benefit of collaboration in research. In addition, by reviewing collaborative support tools, it was inferred that the ability to share data and resources is the most important step in developing tools to support collaboration. Moreover, the important role of a virtual research environment (VRE) and social network to support research collaboration was examined. Furthermore, a closed-ended questionnaire survey together with a follow up open-ended survey was deployed among postgraduate students of CSIT of UM, to elicit students' collaboration requirements in research.

Originality/value

– Few attempts have been made to study about collaboration services within PDL systems and their impact on students' research. This paper proposes a prototype model of a PDL and highlights the importance of sharing e-resources as the prominent research collaboration activity among postgraduate students.
Value of a manageable research life cycle for LIS
Authors: Fourie Ina , Bakker Suzanne
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– To cope with changes in user information behaviour and needs, libraries and information services (LIS) must find manageable ways for ongoing research and improvement. The purpose of this paper is to report on a model for a manageable research cycle which was piloted at the Central Cancer Library, The Netherlands Cancer Institute (Amsterdam).

Design/methodology/approach

– Institute employees (24) (users and non-users of the Central Cancer Library; mostly clinicians and researchers) were interviewed using an interview schedule (individually, pairs of two and small groups). Demographic details were collected through a short questionnaire. It was intended as a small scale project to demonstrate the value of the model.

Findings

– Although setup as a pilot study (small scale and a limited time period) and not representative of the Institute, cancer libraries or other library types, a good idea was gained on LIS needs. Opportunities for improvement of LIS and further research are noted, as well as the need for LIS to then consider their internal structure and support systems before making further decisions.

Research limitations/implications

– Findings from small scale projects need to be assessed against the theory of information behaviour to work towards a theoretical model.

Practical implications

– LIS need to find ways for manageable, ongoing research, e.g. according to a manageable research life cycle model.

Originality/value

– Research on cancer library services is limited; the originality of the paper, however, is in showing how small scale and manageable research can add value in practice.
Workplace bullying, employee performance and behaviors
Authors: Devonish Dwayne
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine whether two factors of affective psychological well-being, job satisfaction, and work-related depression, play a role in mediating the relationship between workplace bullying as a social stressor at work and three forms of employee performance or behaviors: task performance, individual-targeted citizenship behavior (OCB-I), and interpersonal counterproductive work behavior (CWB-P).

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper adopted a cross-sectional survey research design which captured a sample of 262 employees across a number of organizations in a small developing country in the Caribbean region.

Findings

– The findings revealed that job satisfaction alone partially mediated the relationship between workplace bullying and task performance, whereas work-related depression alone partially mediated the relationship between workplace bullying and OCB-I. Both job satisfaction and work-related depression partially mediated the relationship between workplace bullying and CWB-P.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper utilized a cross-sectional self-report survey research design which does not permit causal inferences to be made. Longitudinal research is needed to further investigate these relationships reported here.

Practical implications

– Management must seek to deal with the emergence of workplace bullying through their human resource management policies and practices as well as encouraging positive interpersonal work climates and cultures among employees.

Originality/value

– The paper is the first to investigate how various elements of psychological well-being can serve to mediate the relationship between workplace bullying and performance outcomes.
Can public relations improve the workplace? Measuring the impact of stewardship on the employer-employee relationship
Authors: D. Waters Richard , Sevick Bortree Denise , T.J. Tindall Natalie
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to use relationship management theory to measure the impact of relationship cultivation on the employer-employee relationship. Specifically, the paper examines how well Kelly's (2001) conceptualization of stewardship can impact internal stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

– Through intercept surveys of 421 adults, the paper used existing scales to measure dimensions of the employer-employee relationship and the participants’ perceptions of stewardship in the workplace.

Findings

– This study found that the four dimensions of stewardship significantly impact feelings of trust, commitment, satisfaction, and balanced power between the employer and the employee. Additionally, increased use of stewardship resulted in increased involvement by employees.

Practical implications

– The results of the paper offer several specific suggestions employers can do to communicate more effectively with their employees so that they are not only more informed but also feel more positively about the relationship they have with the employer.

Originality/value

– Original stewardship scales were developed for the paper so that they can be tested in domains outside the nonprofit sector, where they have been routinely tested with donors and volunteers.
Effect of TB behaviour change communication (BCC) intervention in Enugu state, southeast Nigeria
Authors: Uchenna Onyeonoro Ugochukwu , Ngozi Chukwu Joseph , C. Nwafor Charles , O. Meka Anthony , C. Oshi Daniel
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– In 2007, Nigeria commenced a nationwide behavioural change communication (BCC) intervention to increase uptake of tuberculosis (TB) care services. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of TB BCC intervention on knowledge and perception of TB in Enugu state, southeast Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

– This is a cross-sectional study carried out in December 2009 in which a total of 1,200 respondents (620 males and 580 females) from six local government areas (three urban and three rural), selected by multi-stage sampling technique were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire.

Findings

– The survey showed that most of the respondents had access to radio and about half to television. Access to media was significantly higher in urban areas than rural areas. Radio and community were the commonest sources of information of TB. The majority of the respondents were aware of that there was a message, however, ability to recall the content of the message varied. Significant association was observed between knowledge of the health education message and knowledge of TB transmission, that TB is curable and of appropriate care-seeking behaviour. Access to this media health education intervention was determined by age, gender, educational status, literacy, religion and access to media.

Practical implications

– The study showed that TB BCC is associated with high-level awareness of TB disease and appropriate care-seeking behaviour. Socio-demographic characteristics and locality were found to influence access to mass media communication. Therefore, consideration should be given to the appropriateness of medium of communication in the design of TB BCC. However, there is need to combine it with other strategies to reach the disadvantaged population.

Originality/value

– This study is the first population-based survey to ascertain access to TB-related BCC intervention and its effect on knowledge and care-seeking behaviour of this study population.
Service quality and customers’ purchase intentions: an empirical study of the Indian banking sector
Authors: Choudhury Koushiki
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to understand the dimensionality of customer-perceived service quality and investigate the influence of service quality on customers’ purchase intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

– A modified SERVQUAL instrument was used to capture customers’ perceptions of service quality followed by exploratory factor analysis to study the dimensionality of service quality in retail banking. Multiple regression was used to probe the influence of the dimensions of service quality on purchase intentions.

Findings

– The results of the study provide strong support for the predictive power of perceived service quality on customers’ purchase intentions and shows that reliability is most important for influencing customers’ purchase intentions, followed by employee behaviour, tangibles and convenience.

Research limitations/implications

– Refinement of the scale for measuring service quality in retail banking is possible based on future newer trends in retail banking. Multiple measures of the purchase intentions construct may also be considered in future research.

Practical implications

– Retail bank managers must realise the importance of reliability as the strongest driver for purchase intentions. Performing the service dependably and accurately is the heart of service marketing excellence. When a company performs a service carelessly, when it makes avoidable mistakes, it shakes customers’ confidence in its capabilities and undermines its chances of earning a reputation for service excellence.

Originality/value

– The study explores the relationship between service quality and purchase intentions by linking both constructs at their dimensional level. This increases the diagnostics of explaining customers’ purchase intentions.
Are you providing the “right” customer experience? The case of Banca Popolare di Bari
Authors: Klaus Philipp , Gorgoglione Michele , Buonamassa Daniela , Panniello Umberto , Nguyen Bang
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to model customer experience (CE) as a “continuum”, labelled customer experience continuum (CEC). The paper adopts a CE quality construct and scale (EXQ) to determine the effect of CE on a bank's marketing outcomes. The paper discusses the study's theoretical and managerial implications, focusing on CE strategy design.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper empirically test a scale to measure customer experience quality (EXQ) for a retail bank. The paper interviews customers using a means-end-chain approach and soft-laddering to explore their CE perceptions with the bank. The paper classifies their perceptions into the categories of “brand experience” (pre-purchase), “service experience” (during purchase), and “post-purchase experience”. After a confirmatory factor analysis, the paper conducts a survey on a representative customer sample. The paper analyses the survey results with a statistical model based on the partial least squares method. The paper tests three hypotheses first, Customers’ perceptions of brand, service provider, and post-purchase experiences have a significant and positive effect on their EXQ, second, EXQ has a significant and positive effect on the marketing outcomes, namely share of wallet, satisfaction, and word-of-mouth, and third, the overall effect of EXQ on marketing outcomes is greater than that of EXQ's individual dimensions.

Findings

– The results of the statistical analysis support the three hypotheses.

Practical implications

– Banks should focus their CE strategies on the CEC and not on single encounters, tailoring marketing actions to specific stages in a customer's CE process. Different organisational units interacting with customers should be integrated into CE strategies, and marketing and communication budgets should be allocated according to CEC analysis. The model proposed in this paper enables the measurement of the quality of CE and its impact on marketing outcomes, thus enabling continuous improvement in CE.

Originality/value

– The research proposes a different view of CE by modelling the interaction between company and customer as a continuum (CEC). It provides further empirical validation of the EXQ scale as a means of measuring CE. It also measures the impact of CE on a bank's marketing outcomes. It discusses the guidelines for designing an effective CE strategy in the banking industry.
Lean Six Sigma in SMEs: an exploration through literature review
Authors: Prasanna M. , Vinodh Sekar
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the researches reported in literature on Lean Six Sigma (LSS) and determine the avenues by which lean anchorage can be improved in LSS implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

– The literature on lean manufacturing, Six Sigma and LSS was reviewed. The literature has been reviewed from four major perspectives. The findings of this review were used to find the methods for the improvement of lean anchorage. The proposed model is explained with a hypothetical case study.

Findings

– The major finding of the exploration reported in this article is that the lean anchorage in LSS process is found to be weak and it has to be enhanced for improving the effectiveness of LSS approach. The results derived from the hypothetical case study have been presented.

Research limitations/implications

– The researches on LSS from the perspective of implementation in small- and medium-sized enterprises have been explored. But the lean anchorage method proposed could be extended to other organizations also.

Practical implications

– The findings of this literature exploration pinpoint the need for enhancing the efficacy of LSS approach.

Originality/value

– This article has identified and presented systematically four major perspectives of LSS. The deficiency has been identified and the improvement methods have been proposed. Hence, the contributions of this article are original and valuable.
The private sector's involvement in the water industry of Ghana
Authors: P.C. Chan Albert , Effah Ameyaw Ernest
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– The past few years have seen some private sector involvement in urban and small-town water provision in Ghana, as the government strives to improve access to water supply services for its citizens in line with millennium development goals. Since 1995, both central and local governments have entered into various forms of public-private partnerships (PPPs) contracts. The paper aims to examine challenges and investment needs of Ghanaian water supply sector that necessitated private sector involvement; trends, and factors that constrain the development and implementation of projects with private sector involvement in the sector.

Design/methodology/approach

– A research approach integrating multi-stage critical review of relevant related literature and case studies is adopted in this paper. The study is further informed by the authors' experience in the sector and knowledge of PPPs. Analysis of data from different sources, using both approaches, provides both historical and contemporary approach to water management practice in Ghana.

Findings

– The paper reveals that the Ghanaian water supply sector mirrors the classic challenges of public sector utilities in developing countries. Under-investment by government is the major cause of the ill-performance of the sector, necessitating private sector involvement. Management contract has emerged as a popular form of water supply PPP in Ghana. Further, optimal risk allocation has not been widely adopted in these contracts, and not yet been given much attention by practitioners and researchers in the literature of water management in Ghana.

Originality/value

– The paper provides useful insights into the constraints of the water supply sector, development and implementation challenges of PPPs in the sector, and prompts a need for more research on risk allocation in water supply PPP contracts.
Entrepreneurship and political risk
Authors: Dutta Nabamita , S. Sobel Russell , Roy Sanjukta
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– Previous literature has clearly demonstrated the need for sound government policies or “institutions” to promote and support entrepreneurship in a country. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of one such institution – political stability – in boosting entrepreneurial endeavors. A politically stable nation will have lower risk and transaction/contracting costs, and higher levels of government transparency, predictability, and accountability. Thus, the paper should expect that with greater political stability there should be a greater degree of entrepreneurial activity.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using dynamic panel estimators (System GMM estimators) and considering multiple proxies of political risk, our results confirm this hypothesis. Such estimators handle challenges associated with panel data efficiently.

Findings

– The paper's results show that greater political stability for a country does indeed lead to an increased rate of entrepreneurship and wealth creation.

Originality/value

– Entrepreneurship is critical to the process of economic growth and development. To prosper, countries must unleash the creative talents of their citizens through the decentralized process of formal private sector entrepreneurship. New legal businesses create jobs, opportunities, wealth, and goods and services that make a nation grow. Sadly in many nations, this process is stifled and poverty is the result. While previous research has examined which types of specific policies matter for promoting entrepreneurship, the paper considers the different question of how the stability of political institutions impacts the rate of entrepreneurship.
An agenda for service research at the base of the pyramid
Authors: Gebauer Heiko , Reynoso Javier
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– The article aims to combine research priorities in the service domain with the emerging topic of service management for the base of the pyramid (BoP). This combination allows us to construct an agenda for service research at the BoP.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper uses bibliographic methods for structuring the BoP contributions, and a literature review for the current research priorities in the service domain.

Findings

– First, the paper highlights the main topics in the emerging BoP debate. Second, the paper constructs a research agenda for service management at the BoP. This agenda can guide service researchers in the selection of feasible empirical fields, support them in finding appropriate research designs, and finally, help them to develop suitable theoretical perspectives.

Research limitations/implications

– Limitations arise from the literature review and bibliographic methods themselves.

Practical implications

– Service research on the BoP provides new ideas for practitioners interested in learning about BoP markets, strategies, and entrepreneurial initiatives.

Social implications

– Understanding the need to explore BoP activities is fundamental to working with a huge segment of society, not only as passive consumers, but also as genuine entrepreneurs capable of creating and managing “inclusive” innovations.

Originality/value

– The research agenda for future service management offers a relevant source of ideas and guidance for interested researchers to rethink their empirical fields, research approaches, and theoretical perspectives.
Diagnosing service brand strength: customer-dominant brand relationship mapping
Authors: Martin Strandvik Tore , Heinonen Kristina
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– Managing service brands entails managing a portfolio of brand relationships with customers and non-customers. The paper develops a framework for diagnosing the strength of a service brand colored by a customer-dominant business logic perspective. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– Combining insights from the literature on branding, service, and relationship management, the paper develops a customer-dominant conceptual and methodological approach. Brand strength captures customers' attachment to a brand in terms of their thoughts, feelings, and actions toward the brand. Since brand strength is the configuration of customers' and non-customers' brand relationships, the paper divides the brand relationship into two components – brand connection and purchase status – to compose a brand strength map.

Findings

– Grounded in customers' accumulated positive and negative experiences, the framework creates a diagnostic picture of the strength of the brand, and an illustrative empirical study demonstrates the mapping procedure's applicability to service brands.

Research limitations/implications

– The approach is an alternative to a traditional measurement scale development approach. Future studies should explore the framework's adaptability to different contexts, stakeholders, and industries.

Practical implications

– The distinctive model comprehensively captures the aggregate picture of customers' brand relationships, and the managerially parsimonious framework can be adapted to different service settings.

Originality/value

– The framework represents a novel diagnostic tool for service companies to explore their brand's strength. The approach is unique because it adopts a customer-dominant perspective. Furthermore, it includes behavior with a relational perspective and negative responses, which reduce overall brand strength.
From the 4Ps to COM-SM: reconfiguring the social marketing mix
Authors: Tapp Alan , Spotswood Fiona
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– In this paper, the authors aim to contend that the 4Ps of social marketing have been stretched beyond breaking point. Originally designed for social marketing mixes that contained products and prices, the social marketing 4Ps are no longer fit for purpose in an age where social marketing interventions are so wide ranging. There is an urgent need for a replacement – a model that helps social marketers with the process of choosing an appropriate intervention design to fit the particular behaviour change problem faced. Here, the authors propose a model, the COM-SM framework, that connects social marketing programme types with the “capability, opportunity, motivation” model of behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

– This article is based on critical review of the efficacy of the 4Ps model in helping managers design social marketing programmes, followed by the conceptual development of an alternative.

Findings

– Using some typical scenarios, it is contended that the COM-SM model better enables the marketer to adapt their designs to fit the behavioural challenges that they face.

Originality/value

– The COM-SM model reworks the association between behaviour change insights and the social marketing mix, proposing a new way of designing social marketing interventions.
Will you be my friend? Social networking in the workplace
Authors: Del Bosque Darcy
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– This paper aims to provide an overview of the perceptions of librarians regarding the use of social networking in their professional lives.

Design/methodology/approach

– A survey was administered to a random sample of librarians at academic institutions.

Findings

– Adoption rates for social networking were high, with 85 percent of the 765 respondents reporting an account in at least one social networking account. Responses reveal opinions about privacy, boundaries, and professional relationships within social networking, suggesting that it does influence relationships within the profession.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper presents a snapshot of users' perceptions. Since social media changes rapidly, it is likely that perceptions will also likely change over time.

Practical implications

– The paper presents a snapshot of the perceptions of librarians towards social media. This article could be useful to librarians who currently use or are considering creating a social media account.

Originality/value

– This paper looks at social media and how it changes interactions between co-workers, which have been little studied in the past. This can be valuable to organizations who create policy and also to employees, who need to consider privacy issues as they become involved in social media.
Succession planning at Notre Dame: lessons for librarians
Authors: González Cristina
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– One of the biggest challenges facing American librarians at present is a mass retirement of highly trained professionals, which will result in a significant loss of expertise. When libraries look at universities for examples of succession planning, they find, for the most part, that they are behind, not ahead of them. A notable exception is the University of Notre Dame, which, as a Catholic institution led by priests, has a very small pool of candidates for high-level positions, so it is forced to select and prepare its top leaders through succession planning. This article aims to examine the work of one such leader.

Design/methodology/approach

– This article examines the work of one president, Father Theodore M. Hesburgh, whose succession planning efforts resulted in the preparation not only of his successor but also of the members of the administrative team.

Findings

– This case offers three important lessons for librarians. First, the leadership must be on board with the training program. Second, the training program must go beyond individuals and involve entire cohorts. Finally, the goal of training must be the development of as much talent as possible.

Originality/value

– The Notre Dame case demonstrates that when an organization looks for talent it finds it, indicating that much talent is lost because it is never recognized, let alone cultivated, and that is the most important lesson of all.
LILAC Conference 2013
Authors: J. Thompson Emma
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide a flavour of the LILAC Conference held in Manchester, UK, in March 2013.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper provides an overview of the themes, content, keynote speakers and selected parallel sessions of the LILAC conference.

Findings

– The conference held a series of parallel sessions covering six key themes: information literacy and employability; information literacy and the digital future; transliteracy; future-proofing the information literacy practitioner; collaboration and partnerships; active learning and creative pedagogical approaches

Originality/value

– The conference provided an insight into emerging trends for information literacy.
The “bookless” curriculum and the academic library
Authors: Massis Bruce
Published: September 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this column is to examine the concept of the electronic or “bookless” curriculum and the role the library can play in this evolving environment.

Design/methodology/approach

– This is a literature review and commentary on this topic that has been addressed by professionals, researchers and practitioners.

Findings

– In the all-electronic or bookless environment, the librarian's role still remains an essential one of supplementary instruction where teaching is paramount to the academic librarian's responsibilities. Whether providing expert research assistance or bibliographic instruction with the aim of imparting the student with the proper intellectual reinforcement, that role is not altered by any shift away from print.

Originality/value

– The value in addressing this issue is to support the discussion of this topic and provide the library and its librarians a motivation to rely upon during this shift.
Dominant resistance to Bt cotton and minor cross‐resistance to Bt toxin Cry2Ab in cotton bollworm from China
Authors: Jin Lin , Wei Yiyun , Zhang Lei , Yang Yihua , Tabashnik Bruce E. , Wu Yidong
Published: September 2013

Evolution of resistance by insect pests threatens the long‐term benefits of transgenic crops that produce insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Previous work has detected increases in the frequency of resistance to Bt toxin Cry1Ac in populations of cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, from northern China where Bt cotton producing Cry1Ac has been grown extensively for more than a decade. Confirming that trend, we report evidence from 2011 showing that the percentage of individuals resistant to a diagnostic concentration of Cry1Ac was significantly higher in two populations from different provinces of northern China (1.4% and 2.3%) compared with previously tested susceptible field populations (0%). We isolated two resistant strains: one from each of the two field‐selected populations. Relative to a susceptible strain, the two strains had 460‐ and 1200‐fold resistance to Cry1Ac, respectively. Both strains had dominant resistance to a diagnostic concentration of Cry1Ac in diet and to Bt cotton leaves containing Cry1Ac. Both strains had low, but significant cross‐resistance to Cry2Ab (4.2‐ and 5.9‐fold), which is used widely as the second toxin in two‐toxin Bt cotton. Compared with resistance in other strains of H. armigera, the resistance in the two strains characterized here may be especially difficult to suppress.
Business Cycle in China since the Lehman Crisis: Interaction among Macroeconomic Policy, Economic Growth and Inflation
Authors: Kwan C. H.
Published: September 2013

The major objectives of China's macroeconomic policy are to stabilize economic growth and inflation, which, in turn, are important factors determining key prices, such as the policy interest rate, the renminbi exchange rate and stock prices. In a framework that distinguishes different phases of the business cycle based on whether the current period's economic growth rate and inflation rate are above or below their “normal” values, this paper analyzes the interaction among macroeconomic policy, economic growth and inflation in China since the Lehman crisis, and the implications for these key prices. The path of China's economy indicates that stimulus measures taken by the government during the recession phase and tightening measures implemented during the overheating phase have helped minimize the fluctuation over the business cycle. Our analysis shows that Chinese authorities tend to rely more on adjusting the exchange rate than the interest rate to stabilize the economy. Comparing with conditions at the time of the post‐Lehman recession, the current slow pace of economic growth in China may reflect not only weakening demand, but also a lower potential growth rate associated with the arrival of the Lewis turning point.