bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Camelimonas fluminis sp. nov., a cyhalothrin-degrading bacterium isolated from river water
Authors: Zhang Long , Song Man , Cao Qin , Wu Shang , Zhao Yan , Huang Jun-Wei , Chen Kai , Li Shun-Peng , Xia Zhen-Yuan , Jiang Jian-Dong
Published: June 2015

An aerobic, Gram-stain-negative, short rod-shaped, non-spore-forming, cyhalothrin-degrading bacterial strain, XZ2T, was isolated from the surface water of Hanjiang River in Wuhan, China. Strain XZ2T grew optimally at pH 6.0, 30 °C and in the absence of NaCl. The G+C content of the total DNA was 64.1 mol%. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain XZ2T showed the highest similarity to that of Camelimonas lactis M 2040T (99.1 %), followed by Camelimonas abortus UK34/07-5T (95.9 %) and Chelatococcus daeguensis K106T (95.3 %). The major cellular fatty acids of strain XZ2T were C19 : 0 cyclo ω8c (63.1 %), C16 : 0 (15.0 %) and C18 : 1ω7c/C18 : 1ω6c (summed feature 8; 8.9 %). C18 : 0 3-OH was also detected as the major hydroxylated fatty acid. The respiratory quinone was ubiquinone Q-10. The polar lipid profile included the major compounds phosphatidylcholine and diphosphatidylglycerol, and moderate amounts of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and two unidentified aminolipids. The predominant compound in the polyamine pattern was spermidine. These chemotaxonomic data supported the affiliation of strain XZ2T to the genus Camelimonas. The DNA–DNA hybridization value between strain XZ2T and Camelimonas lactis M 2040T was 43.5 ± 0.6 %. DNA–DNA hybridization data as well as biochemical and physiological characteristics strongly supported the genotypic and phenotypic differentiations between strain XZ2T and Camelimonas lactis M 2040T. Therefore, strain XZ2T represents a novel species of the genus Camelimonas, for which the name Camelimonas fluminis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is XZ2T ( = KCTC 42282T = ACCC 19738T).
Niastella gongjuensis sp. nov., isolated from greenhouse soil
Authors: Kim Soo-Jin , Ahn Jae-Hyung , Weon Hang-Yeon , Hong Seung-Beom , Seok Soon-Ja , Kim Jeong-Seon , Kwon Soon-Wo
Published: June 2015

An aerobic, Gram-stain-negative, non-flagellated, long rod or rod-shaped bacterial strain, 5GH22-11T, was isolated from a soil sample of a greenhouse in Gongju, Republic of Korea. According to 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain 5GH22-11T showed the highest sequence similarities with Niastella populi THYL-44T (97.1 %), Niastella koreensis GR20-10T (95.7 %) and Niastella yeongjuensis GR20-13T (95.6 %), and < 93 % sequence similarity with all other species with validly published names. The phylogenetic tree also showed strain 5GH22-11T formed a compact cluster with members of the genus Niastella. DNA–DNA hybridization revealed strain 5GH22-11T is a novel species, showing far less than 70 % DNA–DNA relatedness with Niastella populi THYL-44T. Strain 5GH22-11T contained iso-C15 : 0 (34.3 %), iso-C17 : 0 3-OH (24.8 %) and iso-C15 : 1 G (18.2 %) as the major fatty acids; phosphatidylethanolamine, six unknown aminolipids, two unknown lipids and one unknown phospholipid as the polar lipids; and MK-7 as the predominant isoprenoid quinone. The DNA G+C content was 41.4 mol%. Based on these phylogenetic, physiological and chemotaxonomic data, it was demonstrated that strain 5GH22-11T represents a novel species of the genus Niastella, for which the name Niastella gongjuensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 5GH22-11T ( = KACC 17399T = JCM 19941T).
Lysobacter novalis sp. nov., isolated from fallow farmland soil
Authors: Singh Hina , Du Juan , Won Kyung-Hwa , Yang Jung-Eun , Akter Shahina , Kim Ki-Young , Yi Tae-Hoo
Published: June 2015

A novel bacterial strain, designated THG-PC7T, was isolated from fallow farmland soil in Yongin, South Korea. Cells of strain THG-PC7Twere Gram-stain-negative, dark yellow, aerobic, rod-shaped and had gliding motility. Strain THG-PC7Tgrew optimally at 25–35 °C, at pH 7 and in the absence of NaCl. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis identified strain THG-PC7Tas belonging to the genusLysobacter, exhibiting highest sequence similarity withLysobacter ximonensisKCTC 22336T(98.7 %) followed byLysobacter niastensisKACC 11588T(95.7 %). In DNA–DNA hybridization tests, DNA relatedness between strain THG-PC7Tand its closest phylogenetic neighbourL. ximonensiswas below 25 %. The DNA G+C content of the novel isolate was determined to be 62.5 mol%. Flexirubin-type pigments were found to be present. The major cellular fatty acids were determined to be iso-C15 : 0, iso-C16 : 0, anteiso-C15 : 0and iso-C17 : 1ω9c. The major respiratory quinone was identified as ubiquonone-8 (Q8). The predominant polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and an unidentified aminophospolipid. On the basis of results from DNA–DNA hybridization and the polyphasic data, strain THG-PC7Trepresents a novel species of the genusLysobacter, for which the nameLysobacter novalissp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is THG-PC7T( = KACC 18276T = CCTCC AB 2014319T).
Caenispirillum deserti sp. nov., a spheroplast-forming bacterium isolated from a salt desert
Authors: Divyasree B. , Lakshmi K. V. N. S. , Bharti Dave , Sasikala Ch. , Ramana Ch. V.
Published: June 2015

A Gram-stain-negative, vibrio-shaped, spheroplast-forming, motile, aerobic bacterium was isolated from the soil of a salt desert in Kutch, Gujarat, India. The strain, designated JC232T, was oxidase- and catalase-positive. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that strain JC232T was a member of the genus Caenispirillum and was related most closely to Caenispirillum salinarum AK4T (98.9 % similarity) and Caenispirillum bisanense K92T (96.8 %). Genome relatedness based on DNA–DNA hybridization of strain JC232T with the type strains of closely related species was less than 40 %. The DNA G+C content of strain JC232T was 70 mol%. Phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphotidylcholine, diphosphatidylglycerol, two unidentified amino lipids (AL1 and 2) and four unidentified lipids (UL1–4) were the polar lipids of strain JC232T. C18 : 1ω7c/C18 : 1ω6c, C16 : 0 and C16 : 1ω7c/C16 : 1ω6c were the major (>15 %) fatty acids of strain JC232T, with minor amounts of C12 : 0, C14 : 0 3-OH/iso-C16 : 0 I, C18 : 1 2-OH, C18 : 0, C16 : 0 3-OH and C19 : 0cycloω8c. Although strain JC232T shared the predominant ubiquinone system (Q10) with the type strains of C. salinarum and C. bisanense, it differed from the latter in polar lipid profile, NaCl growth range and other phenotypic/physiological properties. On the basis of morphological, physiological, genotypic, phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic analyses, strain JC232T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Caenispirillum, for which the name Caenispirillum deserti sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JC232T ( = KCTC 42064T = NBRC 110150T).
Pseudoxanthomonas sangjuensis sp. nov., isolated from greenhouse soil
Authors: Kim Soo-Jin , Ahn Jae-Hyung , Weon Hang-Yeon , Lim Jun-Muk , Kim Song-Gun , Kwon Soon-Wo
Published: June 2015

One bacterial strain, designated 5GH38-5T, which was characterized as aerobic, Gram-staining-negative, non-flagellated rods, was isolated from a soil sample from a greenhouse in Sangju region, Republic of Korea. It grew at temperatures of 15–45 °C, pH 5.0–9.0 and NaCl concentrations (w/v) of 0–3.0 %. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed the strain was closely related to Pseudoxanthomonas kaohsiungensis J36T (97.3 %), Pseudoxanthomonas suwonensis 4M1T (96.8 %), Pseudoxanthomonas daejeonensis TR6-08T (96.7 %) and Pseudoxanthomonas kalamensis JA40T (96.7 %). Its major fatty acids were iso-C16 : 0, anteiso-C15 : 0 and iso-C15 : 0. The predominant ubiquinone was Q-8. The major polar lipids consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and diphosphatidylglycerol. The DNA G+C content was 71.1 mol%. The DNA–DNA hybridization value between strain 5GH38-5T and P. kaohsiungensis J36T was less than 70 %. The combined phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic data showed that strain 5GH38-5T could be clearly distinguished from closely related members of the genus Pseudoxanthomonas. Therefore, the results of this study indicated the existence of a novel species of the genus Pseudoxanthomonas, for which we propose the name Pseudoxanthomonas sangjuensis sp. nov., with strain 5GH38-5T ( = KACC 16961T = DSM 28345T = JCM 19948T) as the type strain.
Streptomonospora halotolerans sp. nov., an actinomycete isolated from soil
Authors: Zhao Junwei , Guo Lifeng , Liu Chongxi , Sun Pengyu , Li Jiansong , Li Wenjun , Xiang Wensheng , Wang Xiangjing
Published: June 2015

A novel actinomycete, designated strain NEAU-Jh2-17T, was isolated from muddy soil collected from a riverbank in Jilin Province, northern China, and characterized using a polyphasic approach. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain NEAU-Jh2-17T showed highest similarity to those of Streptomonospora nanhaiensis 12A09T (99.26 %), Nocardiopsis rosea YIM 90094T (97.31 %), Streptomonospora halophila YIM 91355T (97.24 %) and Streptomonospora arabica S186T (97.02 %). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences demonstrated that strain NEAU-Jh2-17T fell within a cluster consisting of the type strains of species of the genus Streptomonospora and formed a stable clade with S. nanhaiensis 12A09T in trees generated with two algorithms. Key morphological and chemotaxonomic properties also confirmed the affiliation of strain NEAU-Jh2-17T to the genus Streptomonospora. The cell wall contained meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid and whole-cell hydrolysates contained glucose, ribose and galactose. The polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylinositol mannoside (PIM), two unknown phospholipids (PLs) and two unknown glycolipids (GLs). The predominant menaquinones were MK-10(H2), MK-10(H8), MK-10(H6) and MK-10(H4). Major fatty acids were C18 : 0 10-methyl, anteiso-C17 : 0, C16 : 0 10-methyl, iso-C15 : 0, C17 : 0 10-methyl and C18 : 0. The DNA G+C content was 71.82 mol%. However, a combination of DNA–DNA hybridization results and some phenotypic characteristics demonstrated that strain NEAU-Jh2-17T could be distinguished from its closely related relatives. Therefore, strain NEAU-Jh2-17T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Streptomonospora, for which the name Streptomonospora halotolerans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NEAU-Jh2-17T ( = CGMCC 4.7218T = JCM 30347T).
Oryzobacter terrae gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from paddy soil
Authors: Kim Soo-Jin , Lim Jun-Muk , Hamada Moriyuki , Ahn Jae-Hyung , Weon Hang-Yeon , Suzuki Ken-ichiro , Ahn Tae-Young , Kwon Soon-Wo
Published: June 2015

A bacterial strain, PSGM2-16T, was isolated from a pot of paddy soil grown with rice in Suwon region, Republic of Korea, and was characterized as having aerobic, Gram-stain-positive, short-rod-shaped cells with one polar flagellum. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain PSGM2-16T revealed the highest sequence similarities with Knoellia locipacati DMZ1T (97.4 %), Fodinibacter luteus YIM C003T (97.2 %) and Lapillicoccus jejuensis R-Ac013T (97.0 %), and the phylogenetic tree showed that strain PSGM2-16T formed a subgroup with Ornithinibacter aureus HB09001T and F. luteus YIM C003T within the family Intrasporangiaceae. The major fatty acids (>10 % of the total fatty acids) of strain PSGM2-16T were iso-C16 : 0, C17 : 1ω8c and iso-C14 : 0. The predominant menaquinone was MK-8(H4). The polar lipids present were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, three aminophospholipids and two phospholipids. The peptidoglycan was type A4γ with meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid. DNA–DNA hybridization values between strain PSGM2-16T and closely related taxa were much less than 70 %. The genomic DNA G+C content of strain PSGM2-16T was 70.0 mol%. On the basis of the evidence presented, it is concluded that strain PSGM2-16T represents a novel species of a new genus in the family Intrasporangiaceae, for which the name Oryzobacter terrae gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of the type species is PSGM2-16T ( = KACC 17299T = DSM 27137T = NBRC 109598T).
Microbacterium rhizomatis sp. nov., a β-glucosidase-producing bacterium isolated from rhizome of Korean mountain ginseng
Authors: Hoang Van-An , Kim Yeon-Ju , Nguyen Ngoc Lan , Kang Chang Ho , Kang Jong-Pyo , Singh Priyanka , Farh Mohamed El-Agamy , Yang Dong-Uk , Yang Deok-Chun
Published: June 2015

A novel Gram-staining-positive, rod-shaped bacterium, designated DCY100T, was isolated from rhizome of mountain ginseng root in Hwacheon mountain, Gangwon province, Republic of Korea. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that strain DCY100T belonged to the genus Microbacterium and was most closely related to Microbacterium ginsengisoli KCTC 19189T (97.9 %), Microbacterium lacus JCM 15575T (97.2 %) and Microbacterium invictum DSM 19600T (97.1 %). The major menaquinones were MK-11 and MK-12. The major polar lipids were found to be diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and one unidentified glycolipid. The major fatty acids (>10.0 %) were anteiso-C15 : 0, anteiso-C17 : 0 and iso-C16 : 0. The cell-wall peptidoglycan contained the amino acids ornithine, alanine, glutamic acid and glycine; whole-cell sugars consisted of glucose, galactose, rhamnose and ribose. The DNA G+C content was 63.6 ± 0.7 mol%. The DNA–DNA hybridization relatedness values between strain DCY100T and Microbacterium ginsengisoli KCTC 19189T, Microbacterium lacus JCM 15575T and Microbacterium invictum DSM 19600T were 36.2 ± 0.4, 22.0 ± 3.0 and 15.3 ± 1.8 %, respectively. On the basis of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genotypic analyses, the isolate is classified as a representative of a novel species in the genus Microbacterium, for which the name Microbacterium rhizomatis DCY100T is proposed. The type strain is DCY100T ( = KCTC 39529T = JCM 30598T).
Methods for discovering genomic loci exhibiting complex patterns of differential methylation
Authors: Hardcastle Thomas J
Published: June 2015

Cytosine methylation is widespread in most eukaryotic genomes and is known to play a substantial role in various regulatory pathways. Unmethylated cytosines may be converted to uracil through the addition of sodium bisulphite, allowing genome-wide quantification of cytosine methylation via high-throughput sequencing. The data thus acquired allows the discovery of methylation ‘loci’; contiguous regions of methylation consistently methylated across biological replicates. The mapping of these loci allows for associations with other genomic factors to be identified, and for analyses of differential methylation to take place.

The segmentSeqRpackage is extended to identify methylation loci from high-throughput sequencing data from multiple experimental conditions. A statistical model is then developed that accounts for biological replication and variable rates of non-conversion of cytosines in each sample to compute posterior likelihoods of methylation at each locus within an empirical Bayesian framework. The same model is used as a basis for analysis of differential methylation between multiple experimental conditions with the baySeqRpackage. We demonstrate this method through an analysis of data derived from Dicer-like mutants inArabidopsisthat reveals complex interactions between the different Dicer-like mutants and their methylation pathways. We also show in simulation studies that this approach can be significantly more powerful in the detection of differential methylation than existing methods.
Energy spectra considerations for synchrotron radiotherapy trials on the ID17 bio-medical beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
Authors: Crosbie Jeffrey C. , Fournier Pauline , Bartzsch Stefan , Donzelli Mattia , Cornelius Iwan , Stevenson Andrew W. , Requardt Herwig , Bräuer-Krisch Elke
Published: June 2015

The aim of this study was to validate the kilovoltage X-ray energy spectrum on the ID17 beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). The purpose of such validation was to provide an accurate energy spectrum as the input to a computerized treatment planning system, which will be used in synchrotron microbeam radiotherapy trials at the ESRF. Calculated and measured energy spectra on ID17 have been reported previously but recent additions and safety modifications to the beamline for veterinary trials warranted a fresh investigation. The authors used an established methodology to compare X-ray attenuation measurements in copper sheets (referred to as half value layer measurements in the radiotherapy field) with the predictions of a theoretical model. A cylindrical ionization chamber in air was used to record the relative attenuation of the X-ray beam intensity by increasing thicknesses of high-purity copper sheets. The authors measured the half value layers in copper for two beamline configurations, which corresponded to differing spectral conditions. The authors obtained good agreement between the measured and predicted half value layers for the two beamline configurations. The measured first half value layer was 1.754 ± 0.035 mm Cu and 1.962 ± 0.039 mm Cu for the two spectral conditions, compared with theoretical predictions of 1.763 ± 0.039 mm Cu and 1.984 ± 0.044 mm Cu, respectively. The calculated mean energies for the two conditions were 105 keV and 110 keV and there was not a substantial difference in the calculated percentage depth dose curves in water between the different spectral conditions. The authors observed a difference between their calculated energy spectra and the spectra previously reported by other authors, particularly at energies greater than 100 keV. The validation of the beam spectrum by the copper half value layer measurements means the authors can provide an accurate spectrum as an input to a treatment planning system for the forthcoming veterinary trials of microbeam radiotherapy to spontaneous tumours in cats and dogs.
Local strain and defects in silicon wafers due to nanoindentation revealed by full-field X-ray microdiffraction imaging
Authors: Li Z. J. , Danilewsky A. N. , Helfen L. , Mikulik P. , Haenschke D. , Wittge J. , Allen D. , McNally P. , Baumbach T.
Published: June 2015

Quantitative characterization of local strain in silicon wafers is critical in view of issues such as wafer handling during manufacturing and strain engineering. In this work, full-field X-ray microdiffraction imaging using synchrotron radiation is employed to investigate the long-range distribution of strain fields in silicon wafers induced by indents under different conditions in order to simulate wafer fabrication damage. The technique provides a detailed quantitative mapping of strain and defect characterization at the micrometer spatial resolution and holds some advantages over conventional methods.
Do payday loans help the working poor?
Authors: Koku Paul Sergius , Jagpal Sharan
Published: June 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is twofold: to examine the plight of a particular segment of the poor – the working poor – in the USA relative to their exclusion from traditional financial markets and their patronage of the payday loan market; and to propose a framework that offers guidance to law makers in making laws/crafting policies that help the working poor gain better access to credit.

Design/methodology/approach

– This is a conceptual paper that reviews the literature on the payday loan market and uses its findings to propose a strategy to ameliorate the plight of the working poor.

Findings

– The study integrates the findings of studies on the payday loan market with theories of corporate social responsibility. Using these findings the authors develop a framework that can guide policy makers in making policies that address the exclusion of the working poor from financial markets.

Research limitations/implications

– As a conceptual paper based on theories, the study does not provide empirical validation. The paper develops a framework that could guide policy makers as they consider legislation to address the financial exclusion of the poor, particularly with regard to payday loans.

Practical implications

– The paper proposes a policy framework to solve the “debt treadmill” problems of the working poor.

Social implications

– The consequent improvement of the financial conditions of the working poor improves society in general.

Originality/value

– To the best of the knowledge, this is the first marketing paper that has proposed a structural framework to address the exclusion of the working poor from the credit markets.
Employee suggestion scheme sustainability excellence model and linking organizational learning
Authors: Lasrado Flevy , Arif M. , Rizvi Aftab
Published: June 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to propose a sustainability assessment model and to discuss the implications for organizational learning. Paper presents a sustainability excellence model comprising of three stages and discuss the good practices for sustaining the employee suggestion scheme.

Design/methodology/approach

– The assessment framework was developed drawing on a thorough review of the literature and data collected and analyzed using various statistical tools. The developed assessment framework was validated through a case of an organization based in the United Arab Emirates. Semi-structured interviews were used to elicit relevant information during the case study.

Findings

– An assessment framework comprising five major factors for sustainability of suggestion scheme of has been presented. The five factors include: leadership and work environment, system capability, system effectiveness, organizational encouragement and system barriers. Sustainability of a suggestion system can be understood as a three-stage model comprising the initial stage, the developmental stage and the advanced stage. The key practices associated for each of these stages are discussed in detail.

Practical implications

– The framework has taken into consideration the critical success factors and critical success factors emerged from the literature review conducted for this study. Therefore, the framework could be further refined by conducting more case studies and can propose maturity levels.

Originality/value

– The paper has developed a framework that can be used to assess the sustainability of the suggestion scheme in an organization. This model has been applied to assess the individual schemes and draw upon potential change strategies.
Expatriate leadership competencies and performance: a qualitative study
Authors: AlMazrouei Hanan , Zacca Robert
Published: June 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate leadership competencies of expatriate managers working within the UAE and identify if these competencies are unique from those needed in their home country. Additionally, the paper aims to identify how new competencies expatriate leaders have developed while in their current position and how this enhances their ability to better manage staff in the UAE. Leadership competencies are skills and behaviors that contribute to enhanced performance. While some leadership competencies are essential to all firms, some distinctive leadership attributes may be particularly relevant to organizations possessing a large expatriate community.

Design/methodology/approach

– Personal interviews and stratified sampling were used to examine the qualities and skills relating to expatriate managers’ success in leading UAE organizations. The research design did not differentiate between the origins and ethnicities of the leaders. The leaders, whether American, European, Indo-Pakistani or Asian, were treated as one entity.

Findings

– Factors such as communication ability, team building qualities and ability to handle local nationals were found to have a significant effect on expatriate adjustment and success in managing UAE organizations.

Practical implications

– By investigating specific competencies and skills that expatriate managers need to lead organizations in the UAE and the broader Gulf region, the study informs organizations on how they can better identify and develop leadership skills that lead to enhanced performance.

Originality/value

– The study focuses on leadership competencies within the expatriate community of the UAE.
Interpersonal communication and diversity climate: promoting workforce localization in the UAE
Authors: Goby Valerie Priscilla , Nickerson Catherine , David Emily
Published: June 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to identify the rudiments of an organizational communication framework which can serve as a facilitator of a positive diversity climate, which, in turn, could enhance the integration of locals into the expatriate-dominated workforce of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As UAE citizens constitute a small minority of the workforce, the local style of communication is not, ipso facto, the dominant one in organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study elicited 458 Emirati respondents’ narratives of positive and negative workplace communication experiences. The authors identified emerging themes to highlight the key features of interpersonal interactions likely to foster or hinder a supportive diversity climate.

Findings

– The critical incidents reported are interpreted in terms of UAE cultural traditions, more specifically, the communication patterns valued by local workers.

Research limitations/implications

– Outside of the Arabian Gulf, there are perhaps no other national workforces that are so multicultural that local communication strategies are overshadowed. This research is, therefore, a pioneering attempt to re-establish a preference for indigenous communication practices to facilitate the workforce localization policies that are present in many Gulf countries.

Practical implications

– The communication preferences identified could inform the implementation of an organizational communication model centered around indigenous communication preferences, including the communication strategies that would be most effective for organizational leadership to use. At the same time, this could contribute to the creation of a positive diversity climate that, in turn, could decrease levels of attrition among Emirati employees and enhance workforce localization.

Originality/value

– This study represents an innovative attempt to construct a communication model around which a positive diversity climate can coalesce and, in so doing, it serves as an initial contribution to the management of diversity within the context of Arabian Gulf workplaces.
The effects of human resource management practices on employees’ organisational commitment
Authors: Aladwan Khaled , Bhanugopan Ramudu , D'Netto Brian
Published: June 2015

Purpose

– This study aims to examine the effects of human resource management (HRM) practices on organisational commitment (OC) in the Middle Eastern context.

Design/methodology/approach

– Survey data were collected from 493 front-line employees across a variety of industries in Jordan. A structural equation modelling analysis was performed to delineate the relationship between HRM practices and OC.

Findings

– A test of the model was conducted using a path analytic approach hypothesising that HRM factors influence OC. The findings indicate that the causal model is consistent with the data and contributes to a fuller understanding of the association between HRM practices and OC.

Originality/value

– This is the first study that represents a little-researched area of recent times and even less so in Middle Eastern countries. The findings of the study offer new perspectives on how HRM practices have direct and indirect effects on employees’ OC and would assist in reshaping the HR policies in organisations located in the Middle Eastern regions.
Struggle over public space: grassroots movements in Moscow and Vilnius
Authors: Aidukaite Jolanta , Fröhlich Christian
Published: June 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore urban mobilisation patterns in two post-Soviet cities: Vilnius and Moscow. Both cities were subject to similar housing and urban policy during Soviet times, and they have implemented urban development using neoliberal market principles, provoking grassroots opposition from citizens to privatisation and marketisation of their housing environment and local public space. However, the differing conditions of democratic Lithuanian and authoritarian Russian public governance offer different opportunities and set different constraints for neighbourhood mobilisation. The purpose is to contrast local community mobilisations under the two regimes and highlight the differences between and similarities in the activists’ repertoires of actions in two distinct political and economic urban settings.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper employs qualitative methodology using data from semi-structured interviews conducted with community activists and state officials, presented using a comparative case study design.

Findings

– Although, citizens’ mobilisations in the two cities are reactions to the neoliberalisation of housing and local public space, they take different forms. In Vilnius they are institutionalised and receive formal support from national and local authorities. Moreover, support from the EU encourages organisational development and provides material and cognitive resources for grassroots urban mobilisations. In contrast, residents’ mobilisations in Moscow are informal and face fierce opposition from local authorities. However, even in an authoritarian setting, grassroots mobilisations evolve using creative strategies to circumvent institutional constraints.

Originality/value

– Little attention has been paid to grassroots urban mobilisations in post-Soviet cities. There is also a lack of comparative attempts to show variation in post-Soviet urban activism related to housing and local public space.
Intimacy and exposure – the Armenian “tun” and Yerevan’s public space
Authors: Fehlings Susanne Helma Christiane
Published: June 2015

Purpose

– In contrast to the dominant accounts in post-Soviet studies that see public and private as two spheres existing in parallel, the purpose of this paper is to argue that in Armenia the public-private dichotomy can be better understood as a spectrum of different kinds of interactions between the state and private actors/social groups representing different sets of socio-cultural values, which are mirrored in Yerevan’s city planning and housing.

Design/methodology/approach

– The data derives from long-term ethnographic fieldwork in Yerevan. To analyse the data set the author used methods common in social and cultural anthropology. The theoretical background derives from urban anthropology (Liu), theories on housing (Carsten and Hugh-Jones), the anthropology of values (Dumont), and the anthropology of states (Herzfeld) linked to the debate on modernity.

Findings

– The author demonstrates that basic cultural concepts, norms, expectations, rules, beliefs, and values currently take effect on both sides (public and private/state and people), and that personal networks in Armenia are no longer used to trick an alien state, but also used by the state elites to gain advantage. The degree of intimacy of social relations thereby structures urban space and behaviour.

Originality/value

– The paper looks at the public-private dichotomy in post-Soviet states from a new perspective, which is inspired by the anthropology of (socio-cultural) values, and argues that cultural intimacy (Herzfeld) is – simultaneously – a unifying and a separating fact in the relationship of states and people.
Rhythms of being together: public space in Urban Tajikistan through the lens of rhythmanalysis
Authors: Sgibnev Wladimir
Published: June 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify, describe and critically assess public space in the Central Asian republic of Tajikistan, recurring to Henri Lefebvre’s concept of rhythmanalysis.

Design/Methodology/Approach

– The empirical findings are based on ethnographic fieldwork on a courtyard in a housing estate in Khujand in northern Tajikistan.

Findings

– The paper argues that an analytic dichotomy between the private and the public realm conceals more than it reveals, for the Central Asian case at least. The rhythmanalysis framework is presented as a possible solution to the deficiencies of dichotomic categories.

Originality/value

– Even if we find a series of scholarly works dealing with (post-)Soviet and/or Central Asian public spaces, they very scarcely provide a critical assessment of the roots and the usefulness of this concept for the regional setting they work in. The paper strives to close this gap and to present Henri Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis framework as a possible solution for overcoming dichotomic categories.
A decision model for selecting parts feeding policies in assembly lines
Authors: Caputo Antonio C. , Pelagagge Pacifico M. , Salini Paolo
Published: June 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to develop an optimization model allowing the choice of parts feeding policy to assembly lines in order to minimize total cost.

Design/methodology/approach

– An integer linear programming mathematical model is developed to assign the optimal material feeding policy to each part type. The model allows choice between kitting, line stocking and just in time delivery policies.

Findings

– The choice of assembly lines feeding policy is not trivial and requires a thorough economic comparison of alternatives. It is found that a proper mix of parts feeding policies may be better that adopting a single material delivery policy for all parts.

Research limitations/implications

– The model is aimed at single-model assembly lines operating in a deterministic environment, but can be extended to the multi-model line case. While relevant quantitative cost drivers are included, some context-related qualitative factors are not included yet. The model assumes that information about product structure and part requirements are known and that a preliminary design of the assembly system has been carried out.

Practical implications

– Production managers are given a quantitative-decision tool to determine the optimal mix of material supply policies at an early decision stage.

Originality/value

– Respect previous simplified literature models, this approach allows to quantify a number of additional factors which are critical for successful implementation of cost-effective parts feeding systems, allowing comparison of alternative policies on a consistent basis.
Multi-objective production-distribution planning based on vendor-managed inventory strategy in a supply chain
Authors: Niknamfar Amir Hossein
Published: June 2015

Purpose

– The production-distribution (P-D) problems are two critical problems in many industries, in particular, in manufacturing systems and the supply chain management. In previous researches on P-D planning, the demands of the retailers and their inventory levels have less been controlled. This may lead into huge challenges for a P-D plan such as the bullwhip effects. Therefore, to remove this challenge, the purpose of this paper is to integrate a P-D planning and the vendor-managed inventory (VMI) as a strong strategy to manage the bullwhip effects in supply chains. The proposed P-D-VMI aims to minimize the total cost of the manufacturer, the total cost of the retailers, and the total distribution time simultaneously.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper presents a multi-objective non-linear model for a P-D planning in a three-level supply chain including several external suppliers at the first level, a single manufacturer at the second level, and multi-retailer at the third level. A non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm and a non-dominated ranking genetic algorithm are designed and tuned to solve the proposed problem. Then, their performances are statistically analyzed and ranked by the TOPSIS method.

Findings

– The applicability of the proposed model and solution methodologies are demonstrated under several problems. A sensitivity analysis indicates the market scale and demand elasticity have a substantial impact on the total cost of the manufacturer in the proposed P-D-VMI.

Originality/value

– Although the P-D planning is a popular approach, there has been little discussion about the P-D planning based on VMI so far. The novelty comes from developing a practical and new approach that integrates the P-D planning and VMI.
Effects of suppliers’ trust and commitment on customer involvement
Authors: Li Yi , Li Gang , Feng Taiwen
Published: June 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships among suppliers’ trust and commitment, transaction-specific investment, switching cost, and customer involvement within the context of relational governance mechanism and the social exchange theory.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors use survey data from 214 Chinese manufacturing firms and employ the structural equation model to verify the conceptual model.

Findings

– Relational governance benefits customer involvement. Transaction-specific investment mediates the relationship between trust and commitment of suppliers. Switching costs negatively moderate the relationship between suppliers’ trust and customer involvement, but positively moderate the relationship between suppliers’ commitment and customer involvement.

Research limitations/implications

– The authors focus on two key elements of relationship, namely, trust and commitment of suppliers, but neglect other relational factors, such as relational norms and interdependence.

Originality/value

– These findings broaden the understanding and present new directions for the implementation of customer involvement from the perspective of relational governance and social exchange theory.
How to pitch an algorithm
Authors: Hirsch Peter Buell
Published: June 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to determine whether there are some specific practices that communications professionals should follow in creating influence in a world in which people increasingly get their news via Facebook and other social media.

Design/methodology/approach

– The article examines how social media deliver news items to members to determine whether that process can be influenced by aspects of content design.

Findings

– There appears to be evidence that adopting specific sharing strategies, focusing on visual design and constructing narratives that feed into people’s existing beliefs increases the likelihood that one’s content becomes influential.

Research limitations/implications

– While the evidence seems compelling that certain strategies do have an impact on degree of influence, there are few hard metrics to prove causation.

Practical implications

– By adopting the strategies proposed in the article, communications professionals will have a set of guidelines for creating content that becomes influential in social media.

Originality/value

– While the literature already contains studies on sharing strategies, this article is one of the first to consider the implications for advocacy of the fact that in social media, algorithms are responsible for selecting what people see in their news feeds.
Social semiotics as theory and practice in library and information science
Authors: Wells Matthew Jason
Published: June 2015

Purpose

– Information scholars frequently make use of “conceptual imports” – epistemological and methodological models developed in other disciplines – when conducting their own research. The purpose of this paper is to make the case that social semiotics is a worthy candidate to add to the information sciences toolkit.

Design/methodology/approach

– Both traditional and social semiotics are described in detail, with key texts cited. To demonstrate the benefits social semiotic methods may bring to the information sciences, the digital display screen is then employed as a test case.

Findings

– By treating the display as a semiotic resource, the author is able to demonstrate that, rather than being a transparent window by which the author may access all of the data, the screen actually distorts and conceals a significant amount of information, and severely restricts the control users have over software packages such as online public access catalogues. A programming paradigm known as language-oriented programming (LOP), however, can help to remedy these issues.

Originality/value

– The test case is meant to provide a framework by which other information sciences issues may be explores via social semiotic methods. Social semiotics, moreover, is still evolving as a subject matter, so IS scholars could also potentially contribute to its continued development with their work.
Scholarly uses of TV content: bibliometric and content analysis of the information use environment
Authors: Shim Jiyoung , Park Ji-Hong
Published: June 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of television (TV) content for scholarly purposes. It focuses on: profile of scholars using TV content; the structure of their need for TV content; the situations in which scholars need TV content; and their patterns of use of TV content in each research stage.

Design/methodology/approach

– Taylor’s four components of the information use environment has contributed to the development of a conceptual framework. The data from the use of TV content by 668 scholars were profiled using correspondence analysis and co-word analysis. Additionally, the data from 15 interviews and content from 240 journal articles were analysed.

Findings

– The authors determined that the environment of the scholarly use of TV content is unique in terms of the scholars’ academic domains, research topics, motivation, and patterns of use. Six academic domains were identified as having used TV content to a meaningful degree, and their knowledge structure was presented as a map depicting the scholars’ needs for TV content. Scholars are likely to use TV content when they deal with timely social and cultural topics, or human behaviour. The scholars also showed different patterns of use of TV content at each stage of research.

Originality/value

– In this study, TV content was newly examined from the perspective of an information source for scholarly purposes, and it was found to be a meaningful source in several domains. This result extends the knowledge of information sources in scholarly communication and information services.
The kaleidoscope of disciplinarity
Authors: Sugimoto Cassidy R. , Weingart Scott
Published: June 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify criteria for and definitions of disciplinarity, and how they differ between different types of literature.

Design/methodology/approach

– This synthesis is achieved through a purposive review of three types of literature: explicit conceptualizations of disciplinarity; narrative histories of disciplines; and operationalizations of disciplinarity.

Findings

– Each angle of discussing disciplinarity presents distinct criteria. However, there are a few common axes upon which conceptualizations, disciplinary narratives, and measurements revolve: communication, social features, topical coherence, and institutions.

Originality/value

– There is considerable ambiguity in the concept of a discipline. This is of particular concern in a heightened assessment culture, where decisions about funding and resource allocation are often discipline-dependent (or focussed exclusively on interdisciplinary endeavors). This work explores the varied nature of disciplinarity and, through synthesis of the literature, presents a framework of criteria that can be used to guide science policy makers, scientometricians, administrators, and others interested in defining, constructing, and evaluating disciplines.
A feminist information engagement framework for gynecological cancer patients
Authors: Westbrook Lynn , Fourie Ina
Published: June 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to present a three-part framework of information engagement for situated gynecological cancers. These particular cancers intertwine with medicalization of sexuality and gender power dynamics, situating information behaviors and interactions in women’s socio-health perceptions. Using Kavanagh and Broom’s feminist risk framework, the framework establishes functional and temporal parameters for sense-making and information engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper employs a structured, reiterative literature review with emergent thematic analysis. Nine indices from medicine, information studies, and sociology were searched using combinations of five terms on cervical cancer (CC) and 14 terms on information engagement in the title, abstract, and subject fields. Results were examined on a reiterative basis to identify emergent themes pertaining to knowledge development and information interactions.

Findings

– Environmentally, social stigma and gender roles inhibit information seeking; normalizing CC helps integrate medical, moral, and sexual information. Internally, living with the dichotomy between “having” a body and “being” a body requires high-trust information resources that are presented gradually. Actively, choosing to make or cede medical decision-making requires personally relevant information delivered in the form of concrete facts and explanations.

Research limitations/implications

– The study covers only one country.

Originality/value

– This study’s information framework and suggestions for future research encourage consideration of gender power dynamics, medicalization of sexuality, and autonomy in women’s health information interactions.
Geographic dimensions of relevance
Authors: De Sabbata Stefano , Mizzaro Stefano , Reichenbacher Tumasch
Published: June 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to discuss the emerging geographic features of current concepts of relevance, and to improve, modify, and extend the framework proposed by Mizzaro (1998). The objective is to define a new framework able to account, more completely and precisely, for the notions of relevance involved in mobile information seeking scenarios.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors formalise two new dimensions of relevance. The first dimension emphasises the spatio-temporal nature of the information seeking process. The second dimension allows us to describe how different concepts of relevance rely on different abstractions of reality.

Findings

– The new framework allows: to conceptualise the point in space and time at which a given notion of relevance refers to; to conceptualise the level of abstraction taken into account by a given notion of relevance; and to include widely adopted facets (e.g. users mobility, preferences, and social context) in the classification of notions of relevance.

Originality/value

– The conceptual discussion presented in this paper contributes to the future development of relevance in the scope of mobile information seeking scenarios. The authors provide a more comprehensive framework for conceptualization, development, and classification of notions of relevance in the field of information retrieval and location-based services.