bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nanoporous gold: a hierarchical and multiscale 3D test pattern for characterizing X-ray nano-tomography systems
Authors: Larsson Emanuel , Gürsoy Doğa , De Carlo Francesco , Lilleodden Erica , Storm Malte , Wilde Fabian , Hu Kaixiong , Müller Martin , Greving Imke
Published: December 2018

Full-field transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM) is a well established technique, available at various synchrotron beamlines around the world as well as by laboratory benchtop devices. One of the major TXM challenges, due to its nanometre-scale resolution, is the overall instrument stability during the acquisition of the series of tomographic projections. The ability to correct for vertical and horizontal distortions of each projection image during acquisition is necessary in order to achieve the effective 3D spatial resolution. The effectiveness of such an image alignment is also heavily influenced by the absorption properties and strong contrast of specific features in the scanned sample. Here it is shown that nanoporous gold (NPG) can be used as an ideal 3D test pattern for evaluating and optimizing the performance of a TXM instrument for hard X-rays at a synchrotron beamline. Unique features of NPG, such as hierarchical structures at multiple length scales and high absorbing capabilities, makes it an ideal choice for characterization, which involves a combination of a rapid-alignment algorithm applied on the acquired projections followed by the extraction of a set of both 2D- and 3D-descriptive image parameters. This protocol can be used for comparing the efficiency of TXM instruments at different synchrotron beamlines in the world or benchtop devices, based on a reference library of scanned NPG samples, containing information about the estimated horizontal and vertical alignment values, 2D qualitative parameters and quantitative 3D parameters. The possibility to tailor the ligament sizes of NPG to match the achievable resolution in combination with the high electron density of gold makes NPG an ideal 3D test pattern for evaluating the status and performance of a given synchrotron-based or benchtop-based TXM setup.
The GALAXIES inelastic hard X-ray scattering end-station at Synchrotron SOLEIL
Authors: Ablett J. M. , Prieur D. , Céolin D. , Lassalle-Kaiser B. , Lebert B. , Sauvage M. , Moreno Th. , Bac S. , Balédent V. , Ovono A. , Morand M. , Gélebart F. , Shukla A. , Rueff J.-P.
Published: December 2018

GALAXIES is an in-vacuum undulator hard X-ray micro-focused beamline dedicated to the study of the electronic structure of materials with high energy resolution using both photoelectron spectroscopy and inelastic X-ray scattering and under both non-resonant (NR-IXS) and resonant (RIXS) conditions. Due to the penetrating power of hard X-rays and the `photon-in/photon-out' technique, the sample environment is not a limitation. Materials under extreme conditions, for example in diamond anvil cells or catalysis chambers, thus constitute a major research direction. Here, the design and performance of the inelastic X-ray scattering end-station that operates in the energy range from ∼4 keV up to 12 keV is reported, and its capabilities are highlighted using a selection of data taken from recently performed experiments. The ability to scan `on the fly' the incident and scattered/emitted X-ray energies, and the sample position enables fast data collection and high experimental throughput. A diamond X-ray transmission phase retarder, which can be used to generate circularly polarized light, will also be discussed in the light of the recent RIXS–MCD approach.
Quality assurance and the battle for legitimacy – discourses, disputes and dependencies
Authors: Stensaker Bjørn
Published: December 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address how issues of legitimacy are influencing the functioning and shaping of the field. The paper identifies key global agendas currently linked to the role of QA in the governance of higher education, the dependencies among key actors within the field and the possible directions of QA in the years to come.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on existing studies on external quality assurance (EQA) and provides a meta-reflection on current trends and dynamics within the field.

Findings

The paper argues that the field of EQA is facing a rather turbulent future, both due to increasing competition from other actors that also claim ownership to issues related to quality, and from national authorities which are looking for ways to increase the efficiency and the effectiveness of how the higher education sector is governed.

Research limitations/implications

Studies on EQA need to be strongly linked to studies of governance in higher education as such a link will broaden the understanding of how the field of quality assurance is developing.

Practical implications

The paper provides some hints as to how agencies may position themselves in a more insecure future.

Originality/value

An original contribution is made by linking theories of how legitimacy is developed and shaped to the field of quality assurance.
Analysis of unsteady mixed convection triple diffusive transport phenomena
Authors: Patil Prabhugouda Mallanagouda , A. Shashikant , Hiremath P.S.
Published: December 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impacts of aqueous solutions such as NaCl-water and Sucrose-water on unsteady triple diffusive mixed convection flow along an exponentially decreasing external flow velocity in presence of suction/injection.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed problem is modelled into dimensional partial differential equations which are nonlinear and coupled in nature. Non-similar transformations are used to transform these equations into non-dimensional form. To linearize the equations, quasilinearization technique has been used and then implicit finite difference scheme is used to discretise the linear partial differential equations.

Findings

The variations of various dimensionless parameters have been depicted on velocity, temperature and species concentration profiles for NaCl and Sucrose aqueous solutions through graphical representations. In addition, several results have been expressed through graphs pertaining to skin-friction coefficient, heat and mass transfer rates. The results indicate that the increase in Schmidt number raises the mass transfer rate for the case of NaCl-water and Sucrose-water solutions.

Originality/value

As per the authors’ best of knowledge, no investigations have been carried out in the literature on unsteady triple diffusive mixed convection flow along an exponentially decreasing mainstream velocity.
Effects of two-phase nanofluid model on convection in a double lid-driven cavity in the presence of a magnetic field
Authors: Alsabery Ammar I. , Armaghani Taher , Chamkha Ali J. , Sadiq Muhammad Adil , Hashim Ishak
Published: December 2018

Purpose

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of two-phase nanofluid model on mixed convection in a double lid-driven square cavity in the presence of a magnetic field. The authors believe that this work is a good contribution for improving the thermal performance and the heat transfer enhancement in some engineering instruments.

Design/methodology/approach

The current work investigates the problem of mixed convection heat transfer in a double lid-driven square cavity in the presence of magnetic field. The used cavity is filled with water-Al2O3 nanofluid based on Buongiorno’s two-phase model. The bottom horizontal wall is maintained at a constant high temperature and moves to the left/right, while the top horizontal wall is maintained at a constant low temperature and moves to the right/left. The left and right vertical walls are thermally insulated. The dimensionless governing equations are solved numerically using the Galerkin weighted residual finite element method.

Findings

The obtained results show that the heat transfer rate enhances with an increment of Reynolds number or a reduction of Hartmann number. In addition, effects of thermophoresis and Brownian motion play a significant role in the growth of convection heat transfer.

Originality/value

According to above-mentioned studies and to the authors’ best knowledge, there has no study reported the MHD mixed convection heat transfer in a double lid-driven cavity using the two-phase nanofluid model. Thus, the authors of the present study believe that this work is valuable. Therefore, the aim of this comprehensive numerical study is to investigate the effects of two-phase nanofluid model on mixed convection in a double lid-driven square cavity in the presence of a magnetic field. The authors believe that this work is a good contribution for improving the thermal performance and the heat transfer enhancement in some engineering instruments.
Effects of discrete heat source location on heat transfer and entropy generation of nanofluid in an open inclined L-shaped cavity
Authors: Armaghani Taher , Rashad A.M. , Vahidifar Omid , Mishra S.R. , Chamkha A.J.
Published: December 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to concentrate on the impacts of a discrete heat source location on heat transfer and entropy generation for a Ag-water nanofluid in an open inclined L-shaped cavity.

Design/methodology/approach

The governing partial differential equations for this study are computed by the finite volume method.

Findings

The results show that increasing the inclination angle leads to a rise in heat transfer. It is clear with the increase in the nanoparticles volume fraction that the thermal performance reduces, and it increases when the inclination angle increases.

Originality/value

Because of the continuous literature survey, the authors have not found a study that concentrates on the entropy generation in a wide variety of irregular ducts. Thus, in this paper, they present the analysis of entropy generation in an L-shaped duct experiencing a mixed convective flow with a nanofluid. The authors deal with this geometry because it is very useful in cooling systems of nuclear and chemical reactors and electronic components.
Making sense of mixed-embeddedness in migrant informal enterprising
Authors: Bisignano Angelo P. , El-Anis Imad
Published: December 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how informal migrant entrepreneurs with different legal statuses interpret their mixed-embeddedness in social and economic contexts. Legal status represents a key determinant in shaping accessible social networks and market opportunities that in turn influence entrepreneurial choices.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts an interpretative stance to explore how migrant entrepreneurs interpret mixed-embeddedness. It draws on the empirical evidence from a cross-sectional sample of 26 asylum seekers that engaged with enterprising activities in the city of Nottingham in the UK. A recursive hermeneutic process guided the iterative readings of the accounts to develop theoretical insights on how these agents reinvent their relationship with structure.

Findings

A novel theoretical framework emerges from the data analysis to present how these particular migrants use understandings of community and notions of capital to make sense of their mixed-embeddedness. The main theoretical contribution of the framework is to illustrate how groups with different legal statuses produce unique interpretations of mixed-embeddedness. This, in turn, reflects onto specific forms of enterprising and innovative entrepreneurial choices. The framework also produces an empirical contribution as it re-centres the analysis of mixed-embeddedness around the migrant entrepreneur from previous meso- and macro-level perspectives that dominated recent research.

Research limitations/implications

The paper expands knowledge on the notion of mixed-embeddedness by providing insights on how informal migrant entrepreneurs make sense of it. This can form the basis for allowing scholars to address empirically how migrant entrepreneurs reconcile their embeddedness in both social and economic contexts. In terms of practical implications, the paper paves the way for policy-makers to re-evaluate the current approach to the right of asylum seekers to pursue entrepreneurial activities.

Originality/value

The notion of mixed-embeddedness is central to research on informal migrant enterprising. Nevertheless, the concept remains fuzzy and difficult to operationalise. The paper offers an opportunity to understand how migrant entrepreneurs make sense of mixed-embeddedness so that future scholars can better explore how mixed-embeddedness reconciles agency and structure.
Social and economic aspects of the recent fall in global oil prices
Authors: Solaymani Saeed
Published: December 2018

Purpose

The global energy market has been facing lower prices of crude oil in recent years. Lower fuel price leads to lower transport cost and cheaper agricultural inputs (such as pesticides and chemical fertilizer), resulting in lower prices of agricultural commodities in the international markets. On the other hand, lower global oil price reduces the oil revenues of oil exporting countries, resulting in a decrease in government expenditures. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of lower global oil and agricultural commodity prices and government expenditure on the entire economy and poverty level of Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a computable general equilibrium model (CGE) to investigate four simulation scenarios based on the latest Malaysia’s input-output table belonging to 2010. The first scenario is a 30 per cent fall in the export and import prices of agricultural commodity prices, while the second is a 50 per cent decline in the export and import prices of crude oil, and the third combines them. In the fourth scenario, government operating expenditure declines by 4 per cent because of the fall in government’s oil revenues as a result of the decline in global oil prices.

Findings

The simulation results suggest that lower international oil price decreases real gross domestic product (GDP) and investment in Malaysia and influences positively the output and employment of some agriculture sectors. However, lower agricultural commodity price increases real GDP and investment in the country and negatively influences the output, employment and exports of all agriculture sectors. The decline in government expenditures also increases the output and the employment in the economy, whereas it decreases household consumption. In conclusion, results show that the agriculture sector losses from the current decline in international agricultural commodity prices, while it benefits from lower oil and government expenditure.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this study is comparing the impacts of recent falls in global oil and agricultural prices on the entire economy and agriculture sector of Malaysia. Investigating the impacts of these issues on the poverty level of Malaysian households is another contribution to the study. Another contribution is analyzing the impact of a reduction in government expenditures because of the decline in global oil price on the economy and welfare of Malaysia. Therefore, this study makes a useful contribution to the small literature of the topic.
Managers’ psychic distance and its impact on Chinese FDI to Germany in the environmental industry
Authors: Vaccarini Katiuscia , Lattemann Christoph , Spigarelli Francesca , Tavoletti Ernesto
Published: December 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, to analyze the impact of Chinese managers’ psychic distance (PD) with Germany on their businesses; and second, to investigate whether managers’ previous experiences affect their PD.

Design/methodology/approach

A multiple case study research design is adopted. It is based on six Chinese companies that have recently entered Germany through FDI.

Findings

PD influences the decision making of Chinese FDI to Germany, it has an impact on Chinese businesses in Germany on 4 out of 12 dimensions, namely, legal, political, cultural aspects as well as language. Managers with no international experience (study, work, foreign investment practice) perceive a higher impact of PD dimensions on business with the host country, whereas the opposite is true for experienced ones.

Originality/value

While extensive research has been conducted on the PD construct under the point of view of the differences between the home and host country’s characteristics, this paper sheds lights on the impact of pre- and post- periods of investment, as well as over international experiences of managers investing abroad. It examines the environmental industry for Chinese FDI to Germany.
Returnee entrepreneurs and the institutional environment: case study insights from China
Authors: Gruenhagen Jan Henrik
Published: December 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the phenomenon of returnee entrepreneurs, their venturing efforts and the impact of the institutional environment they operate in, and thereby to propose a conceptual model depicting how returnee entrepreneurs create and operate new ventures and interact with the institutional environment.

Design/methodology/approach

This study followed a multiple case study approach based on data collected from in-depth inquiries into 11 returnee entrepreneurs and their ventures in China which was analysed inductively.

Findings

Analysis of case study data resulted in a conceptual model of returnee entrepreneurs illustrating micro-level characteristics of the phenomenon and the interplay with the institutional environment of an emerging economy. Insights from the case study are discussed in terms of implications for entrepreneurial motivations, human and social capital, estrangement from the home country, internationalisation behaviour and objectives of returnee-owned ventures.

Originality/value

Previous research on the phenomenon of returnee entrepreneurs is highly fragmented and has largely focussed on specific and isolated outcomes. This study offers a holistic inquiry contributing to a better understanding of the phenomenon as a whole and presenting key properties of the phenomenon.
Structural changes and trade competitiveness in the Indian pharmaceutical industry in product patent regime
Authors: Mahajan Varun
Published: December 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to present structural changes and trade competitiveness in Indian pharmaceutical industry in pre and post product patent regime. The study shows the impact of product patent on market structure, ownership, trade, revealed comparative advantage, R&D and mergers and acquisitions.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on secondary data and extensive relevant conceptual and empirical literature review.

Findings

The study finds that this oligopoly Indian dominant pharmaceutical industry has many challenges ahead such as in R&D expenditure, patent expiration of many major drugs manufactured in Ireland, growing competition in generic global market, bulk drugs dependence on China, rise in the number of M&As, rising costs of new drug discovery and tightening safety and efficacy testing requirements. The smaller firms are likely to act as the contract manufacturers for medium and bigger companies at a lower value chain. The Normalised Revealed Comparative Advantage (NRCA) index was calculated for top exporters of pharmaceutical. It was found that NRCA index of IPI has shown deterioration from 1996 to 2005 and thereafter, improvement except in the year 2009. Switzerland, Belgium and Ireland are the top three countries in NRCA index, which are followed by Germany, the UK and France.

Originality/value

It attempts to capture recent trends in market structure, comparative advantage indices, R&D, trade, M&A and ownership, especially in new IPR regime. There is a dearth of studies providing detailed analyses of India’s comparative advantage vis-a-vis other leading exporters of pharmaceutical products in the world. The paper would be of value to practitioners and scholars interested in structural changes of IPI, especially in product patent regime. The findings have significant implications for managers and government for future policymaking.
Learning representations of Web entities for entity resolution
Authors: Barbosa Luciano
Published: December 2018

Purpose

Matching instances of the same entity, a task known as entity resolution, is a key step in the process of data integration. This paper aims to propose a deep learning network that learns different representations of Web entities for entity resolution.

Design/methodology/approach

To match Web entities, the proposed network learns the following representations of entities: embeddings, which are vector representations of the words in the entities in a low-dimensional space; convolutional vectors from a convolutional layer, which capture short-distance patterns in word sequences in the entities; and bag-of-word vectors, created by a bow layer that learns weights for words in the vocabulary based on the task at hand. Given a pair of entities, the similarity between their learned representations is used as a feature to a binary classifier that identifies a possible match. In addition to those features, the classifier also uses a modification of inverse document frequency for pairs, which identifies discriminative words in pairs of entities.

Findings

The proposed approach was evaluated in two commercial and two academic entity resolution benchmarking data sets. The results have shown that the proposed strategy outperforms previous approaches in the commercial data sets, which are more challenging, and have similar results to its competitors in the academic data sets.

Originality/value

No previous work has used a single deep learning framework to learn different representations of Web entities for entity resolution.
Sustainable machining. Modeling and optimization of temperature and surface roughness in the milling of AISI D2 steel
Authors: Khan Aqib Mashood , Jamil Muhammad , Ul Haq Ahsan , Hussain Salman , Meng Longhui , He Ning
Published: December 2018

Purpose

Sustainable machining is a global consensus and the necessity to cope up the serious environmental threats. Minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) and nanofluids-based MQL(NFMQL) are state-of-the-art sustainable lubrication modes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of process parameters, such as feed rate, depth of cut and cutting fluid flow rate, on temperature and surface roughness of the manufactured pieces during face milling of the AISI D2 steel.

Design/methodology/approach

A statistical technique called response surface methodology with Box–Behnken Design was used to design experimental runs, and empirical modeling was presented. Analysis of variance was carried out to evaluate the model’s accuracy and the validation of the applied technique.

Findings

A comprehensive analysis revealed the superiority of implementing NFMQL in comparison to MQL within the levels of process parameters. The comparison has shown a significant reduction of temperature under NFMQL at the tool-workpiece interface from 16.2 to 34.5 per cent and surface roughness from 11.3 to 12 per cent.

Practical implications

This research is useful for practitioners to predict the responses in workshop and select appropriate cutting parameters. Moreover, this research will be helpful to reduce the resource which will ultimately save energy consumption and cost.

Originality/value

To cope with the industrial challenges and tribological issues associated with the milling of AISI D2 steel, experiments were conducted in a distinct machining mode with innovative cooling/lubrication. Until now, few studies have addressed the key lubrication effects of Al2O3-based nanofluid on the machinability of D2 steel under NFMQL lubrication condition.
Arabic business relationship characteristics: a social capital perspective
Authors: Albin Shaikh Hussain , Purchase Sharon , Brush Gregory
Published: December 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to understand the development of social capital in an Arab business environment, and provide an in-depth description of the nature and role of three key Arabic business relationship characteristics (ehsan,et-mooneandwasta), their impact on each other and key influencing factors.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research design was used, in which face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with innovation teams (22 team members) at six industrial small and medium-sized enterprises in Saudi Arabia. The interviews were recorded and transcribed, then analyzed (thematic coding) through NVivo.

Findings

The findings suggest thatwasta,ehsanandet-moonealign closely with the three social capital dimensions (structural, cognitive and relational); thus, developing these three relationship characteristics most likely results in developing social capital. The findings also expand the description of the three business relationship characteristics. Moreover,ehsan,et-mooneandwastaappear to influence each other, and are affected by other factors such as an individual’s age and position, and the duration of the relationship.Ehsanhas a positive influence on the development ofet-moone, while the existence ofet-mooneappears to be necessary for the establishment ofwasta-capital. A high level ofehsanmight influence the relationship betweenet-mooneandwasta-use and limit the negative usage ofwasta.

Practical implications

International managers can improve the level ofehsanin their organizational and business relationships through assigning incentives and playing the role of moral champion to encourageehsanbehavior. Managers aiming to increaseet-moonemay choose team members with a high level ofehsan, emphasizing the development of personal relationships, and providing opportunities for socialization both inside and outside the workplace. A high level ofehsanandet-moonewill assist managers to develop and usewasta.

Originality/value

This study makes a threefold contribution to the literature. First, it provides an expanded description of the three Arabic business relationship characteristics and how they align closely with the dimensions of social capital.Wastaaligns with the structural dimension andehsanaligns with the cognitive dimension, whileet-moonealigns closely with the relational dimension. Second, it suggests and shows how the three relationship characteristics might interact with each other.Ehsanappears to influenceet-moone, and also the relationship betweenet-mooneandwasta.Et-mooneappears to have a positive influence onwastause. Third, the findings also indicate that there might be other factors (e.g. age and position) that influence the interactions between the three business relationship characteristics.
Understanding the language of entrepreneurship
Authors: Roundy Philip T. , Asllani Arben
Published: December 2018

Purpose

Entrepreneurship is an activity with far-reaching economic and cultural implications. Research seeking to understand the cognition and behavior of entrepreneurs is devoting increasing attention to how entrepreneurs construct and utilize discourse. However, word-level analysis of the specific language used by entrepreneurs has not received significant attention. The purpose of this paper is to identify the words that comprise entrepreneurship discourse and describe how word-usage has changed over time.

Design/methodology/approach

To examine the language of entrepreneurship, the authors use modified MapReduce algorithms in conjunction with text mining techniques to construct a longitudinal corpus of approximately 2.5m words. The authors identify the most frequently used words in the entrepreneurship lexicon and then use content analysis to chart the evolution of word-use.

Findings

The findings reveal that entrepreneurs’ lexicon is complex and fluid. The most commonly used words suggest new trends in entrepreneurship.

Originality/value

The findings and methodological procedures contribute to research on entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurial process and, specifically, to work on entrepreneurial discourse, language-use and new venture communication. The findings also have implications for entrepreneurs and policymakers.
The impact of religiosity on self-employment
Authors: Wijaya Ibrahim Fatwa
Published: December 2018

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the relationship between religiosity based on the area with the number of self-employment in an area, i.e. city of Surakarta, Indonesia.

Design/methodology/approach

The researcher conducted a survey in 67 mosques in Surakarta, Indonesia, to capture religiosity level based on the area. Spearman correlation approach has been selected to investigate the relationship between religiosity and self-employment.

Findings

This study found that despite the female population being greater than male population in every district in Surakarta, on average, the number of female prayers were significantly less than male prayers either in Fajr or Maghrib prayer. In fact, the average number of Fajr prayers almost 50 per cent less than the average number of Maghrib prayers. Finally, the researcher found that the number of employees who work in the home industry is higher in the area that has a smaller gap on the number of Fajr and Maghrib prayers. Thus, the researcher might conclude that religiosity is positively associated with self-employment.

Originality/value

To best of researcher’s knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the relationship between religiosity level based on the area and self-employment. In addition, this study proposes a new methodology to measure Muslim’s religiosity. All in all, this study tries to untangle the conflicting evidence on the impact of religiosity on the self-employment.
Students’ perceptions of the impacts of short-term international courses
Authors: Sakurai Yusuke
Published: December 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine what impacts university students perceived from their short-term intensive international courses as part of undergraduate multidisciplinary education.

Design/methodology/approach

The study design was informed by interpretative phenomenological analysis. Semi-structured interviews explored informants’ views of their experience to elicit key themes of their experience.

Findings

The analysis resulted in four major themes: personal development, generic skills, global perspectives and subject-specific matter. Some text segments were coded with multiple themes, which suggests that the impacts of short-term international courses are multifaceted.

Research limitations/implications

Academic topics of the courses substantially centred around humanities and social sciences at a particular university. This paper furthermore primarily depended on students’ self-reported answers, and it is possible that the participants who chose to enrol in the elective international courses may be principally willing to acquire global competence. Therefore, this study did not set out to present the generalised impacts of any short-term international courses.

Practical implications

The findings could be used as a conceptual tool for the design and evaluation of new and existing courses. In addition, the four major themes that this study elicited are useful as a cue for students’ self-reflection about their own learning experiences.

Originality/value

There have been significant efforts devoted to increasing the quantity of short-term international programs, but there has been less focus on the quality of these programs. This study supports the findings of existing literature but also identified one of the potential unfavourable impacts that short-term international courses may have on students’ development.
Backcasting as a strategic management tool for meeting VUCA challenges
Authors: Thorén Kent , Vendel Martin
Published: December 2018

Purpose

Backcasting helps managers involve and align the organization throughout a strategy process. Its core idea is creating a logical path from a depicted future back to the present, to share, analyze and manage strategic challenges. Still its use in strategic management is under-researched. The purpose of this paper is to verify the relevance and validity of backcasting as a strategic management tool. It also analyzes and structures knowledge about backcasting and its practical application in strategic management.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper employs desktop research method to outline the benefits and limitations of backcasting for strategy formation under VUCA conditions.

Findings

Backcasting can help organizations overcome cognitive barriers and broaden the scope of options when analyzing future positions. The research provides insights regarding the potential and limitations of backcasting when addressing uncertainty and its drivers. For instance, it helps managers to assess and align visions; increase the understanding and clarity regarding complex dependencies; as well as improve strategic agility.

Practical implications

Backcasting is exceptionally useful for investigating possible futures and alternative paths to it. Backcasting is an interactive workshop-based method that challenges prevailing mindsets by assuming we are in the future, looking back towards today to find a feasible path when major transitions are necessary. With it, managers can deal with even the most uncertain decisions in a structured manner.

Originality/value

Backcasting for many reasons has a great potential as a tool for strategy development. It has been successfully applied in other fields but only to a limited extent in business. This paper formally examines its applicability in this context and demonstrates its relevance for dealing with VUCA challenges.
Internet of Things applications in public safety management: a survey
Authors: Ma Ying , Wu Chen , Ping Kang , Chen Hong , Jiang Changbin
Published: December 2018

Purpose

Public safety issues are highly concerned by the state and public. As an emerging network technology and industrial mode, Internet of Things (IoT) has great application prospect because of its architecture advantages and technical features, and has drawn wide attention from all walks of life. With the development of IoT, especially the putting forward of concept of public safety IoT, IoT has been a certain degree of application in the field of public safety. Because of that, public safety regulatory technology is improved. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

By summarizing scholars’ research results, this paper analyzes the application of IoT in public safety regulation, points out the challenges in application, and then puts forward some suggestions, pointing out IoT development prospects in the area of public safety regulation.

Findings

The application of IoT in the field of public safety from the perspective of IoT architecture and the perspective of the main technologies of IoT is paid attention. And this market that IoT added to other services in the public sector would generate $4.6 trillion of net profit globally in the next decade. Therefore, government leaders and public safety organizations should start exploring the full potential that IoT could offer to public safety.

Originality/value

The research will develop the theory of IOT, which is valuable to strengthen the IOT technology innovation and the application extension. The application of IOT in public safety will enhance the ability to supervise the public safety and guarantee the safe social condition for people’s life. So it is valuable in theory and in practice.
A qualitative study of green practices adoption for restaurants in Malaysia
Authors: Tan Booi Chen , Lau Teck Chai , Yong Gun Fie , Khan Nasreen , Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan
Published: December 2018

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to understand restaurant operators’ perception towards key areas of green practices that could be adopted in the future operations of the restaurant business in Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper used a qualitative approach through face-to-face interviews. Five restaurant operators who operated their independently owned casual upscale restaurants in the Klang Valley were selected as the respondents for the interviews.

Findings

Eight areas of green practices adapted from Hu et al. (2010) have been commented and proposed to be served as a guideline to design the Environmental Management System (EMS) for restaurants to go green in Malaysia. Although the feedback given on the feasibility of implementing these green practices provided by the restaurant operators were generally positive, challenges lies ahead in getting them to adopt these green practices. It required understanding of the difficulties and motivations of implementing these practices.

Practical implications

An in-depth understanding from the voices of restaurant operators was essential for further policy formulation and implementation in fostering the green practices which in turn can serve as a “win-win” situation for all parties.

Originality/value

There seems to be a dearth of studies conducted on the perceptions of restaurant operators about the feasibility of green practices adoption in the operation of the restaurants in Malaysia. The implementation of EMS or the adoption of green practices was a vital missing-link among the restaurants. The outcome of this paper was expected to provide new ideas and knowledge on the areas of green practices to be adopted as the environmental guidelines to operate restaurants in Malaysia.
Evidence from the proteome for local adaptation to extreme heat in a widespread tree species
Authors: Maher Timothy , Mirzaei Mehdi , Pascovici Dana , Wright Ian J. , Haynes Paul A. , Gallagher Rachael V.
Published: December 2018

Heatwaves are increasing in frequency and intensity globally with negative consequences for biological function. Assessing the effect of extreme heat on species requires an understanding of their adaptive capacity for mitigating physiological damage. Where long‐term exposure to extreme heat in natural populations provides sufficient selection pressure, populations should exhibit signals of adaptive thermotolerance to temperature extremes.

Using quantitative proteomics, we tested this idea in the widespread and commercially important tree species Eucalyptus grandis (Flooded Gum). Seedlings from six natural populations of E. grandis spanning a 2,000 km gradient were exposed to a four‐day extreme heat treatment (42–24°C day–night cycle) in experimental growth chambers. Populations differed in their long‐term exposure to extreme heat conditions, defined both as the number of days annually ≥15°C above mean annual temperature (MAT), and average number of days annually with temperature maxima ≥35°C between 1960 and 1990.

Long‐term exposure to extreme heat conditions in the field predicted the protein‐level response of E. grandis to experimental heatwaves. Relationships between long‐term extreme heat exposure and protein increases were positive and linear for all combinations of extreme heat (days ≥15°C above MAT, mean days with temperature maxima ≥35°C annually) and expression (all differentially expressed proteins, isolated heat shock proteins, proteins involved in molecular stress responses).

Although extreme climate events are typically rare (e.g., 1 day 15° ≥MAT per 5 years in some populations in our study), E. grandis populations sampled from across a 2,000 km range exhibit a clear capacity to increase expression of proteins involved in heat stress in response to simulated heatwave exposure. Presumably, they respond similarly under natural heatwave conditions.

We show that a long‐lived species with a broad environmental niche exhibits adaptive variation in protein response to temperature extremes at the population level. This implies that restoration, translocation and silvicultural programmes should consider the molecular response of source populations to climatic extremes to maximize success under future climates.

Tree populations with low exposure to extreme heat conditions may be limited in their ability to respond to heatwave events, potentially limiting their adaptive capacity to withstand novel climate conditions.

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Transcriptional response of the obligate anaerobe Desulfuribacillus stibiiarsenatis MLFW‐2T to growth on antimonate and other terminal electron acceptors
Authors: Abin Christopher A. , Hollibaugh James T.
Published: December 2018

Enzymes of the dimethyl sulfoxide reductase (DMSOR) family catalyse two‐electron redox reactions pivotal to the dissimilatory metabolism of a variety of organic and inorganic compounds. The draft genome of the obligately anaerobic bacterium Desulfuribacillus stibiiarsenatis MLFW‐2T contains 14 genes that are predicted to encode catalytic subunits of DMSOR family enzymes. We quantified transcription of these genes during growth on antimonate, arsenate, nitrate and selenate, with the goal of identifying the respiratory antimonate reductase. Transcription of BHU72_10330, BHU72_03635 and BHU72_07355 was enhanced during growth on arsenate, nitrate and selenate, respectively, implicating these genes as encoding the catalytic subunits of a respiratory arsenate reductase (arrA), periplasmic nitrate reductase (napA) and membrane‐bound selenate reductase (srdA) respectively. Transcription of BHU72_07145 increased markedly when MLFW‐2T was grown on antimonate, suggesting that this gene encodes the catalytic subunit of a respiratory antimonate reductase, designated anrA. We also compared the transcriptomes of MLFW‐2T during growth on antimonate and arsenate to examine the broader physiological response of the organism to growth on these substrates. Relative to arsenate, antimonate was found to induce transcription of genes involved in pathways for dealing with oxidative stress, including those involved in repairing damaged cellular biomolecules and scavenging reactive oxygen species.
Improving literacy engagement: enablers, challenges and catering for students from disadvantaged backgrounds
Authors: Ng Clarence , Graham Steve
Published: December 2018

Engagement is critical to students' growth as readers and writers as well as to their voluntary and continued use of literacy skills to meet future demands in a wide array of contexts both in and outside of school. This special issue focuses on the role of engagement in literacy as well as enabling factors, conditions and processes that promote such engagement, particularly for students who are disadvantaged. Six studies are presented that examine literacy engagement and/or one or more factors that promote literacy engagement and performance.
Disparities in Breast Cancer Survival by Socioeconomic Status Despite Medicare and Medicaid Insurance
Authors: SILBER JEFFREY H. , ROSENBAUM PAUL R. , ROSS RICHARD N. , REITER JOSEPH G. , NIKNAM BIJAN A. , HILL ALEXANDER S. , BONGIORNO DIANA M. , SHAH SHIVANI A. , HOCHMAN LAUREN L. , EVEN‐SHOSHAN ORIT , FOX KEVIN R.
Published: December 2018

Policy Points

Patients with low socioeconomic status (SES) experience poorer survival rates after diagnosis of breast cancer, even when enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid.

Most of the difference in survival is due to more advanced cancer on presentation and the general poor health of lower SES patients, while only a very small fraction of the SES disparity is due to differences in cancer treatment.

Even when comparing only low‐ versus not‐low‐SES whites (without confounding by race) the survival disparity between disparate white SES populations is very large and is associated with lower use of preventive care, despite having insurance.

Context

Disparities in breast cancer survival by socioeconomic status (SES) exist despite the “safety net” programs Medicare and Medicaid. What is less clear is the extent to which SES disparities affect various racial and ethnic groups and whether causes differ across populations.

Methods

We conducted a tapered matching study comparing 1,890 low‐SES (LSES) non‐Hispanic white, 1,824 black, and 723 Hispanic white women to 60,307 not‐low‐SES (NLSES) non‐Hispanic white women, all in Medicare and diagnosed with invasive breast cancer between 1992 and 2010 in 17 US Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) regions. LSES Medicare patients were Medicaid dual‐eligible and resided in neighborhoods with both high poverty and low education. NLSES Medicare patients had none of these factors. Measurements: 5‐year and median survival.

Findings

LSES non‐Hispanic white patients were diagnosed with more stage IV disease (6.6% vs 3.6%; p < 0.0001), larger tumors (24.6 mm vs 20.2 mm; p < 0.0001), and more chronic diseases such as diabetes (37.8% vs 19.0%; p < 0.0001) than NLSES non‐Hispanic white patients. Disparity in 5‐year survival (NLSES − LSES) was 13.7% (p < 0.0001) when matched for age, year, and SEER site (a 42‐month difference in median survival). Additionally, matching 55 presentation factors, including stage, reduced the disparity to 4.9% (p = 0.0012), but further matching on treatments yielded little further change in disparity: 4.6% (p = 0.0014). Survival disparities among LSES blacks and Hispanics, also versus NLSES whites, were significantly associated with presentation factors, though black patients also displayed disparities related to initial treatment. Before being diagnosed, all LSES populations used significantly less preventive care services than matched NLSES controls.

Conclusions

In Medicare, SES disparities in breast cancer survival were large (even among non‐Hispanic whites) and predominantly related to differences of presentation characteristics at diagnosis rather than differences in treatment. Preventive care was less frequent in LSES patients, which may help explain disparities at presentation.
Consequences of Debt Forgiveness: Strategic Default Contagion and Lender Learning
Authors: PÉREZ‐CAVAZOS GERARDO
Published: December 2018

I use a unique data set of loans to small business owners to examine whether lenders face adverse consequences when they grant debt forgiveness to borrowers. I provide evidence consistent with borrowers communicating their debt forgiveness to other borrowers, who then more frequently strategically default on their own obligations. This strategic default contagion is economically large. When the lender doubles debt forgiveness, the default rate increases by 10.9% on average. Using an exogenous shock to the lender's forgiveness policy, my findings suggest that as the lender learns about the extent of borrower communication the lender tightens its debt forgiveness policy to mitigate default contagion.
Colchicine Extract Suicidal Lethal Poisoning Confirmation Using High‐Resolution Accurate Mass Spectrometry: A Case Study
Authors: Schreiber Ludovit , Morovič Martin , Špacayová Katarína , Halko Radoslav
Published: December 2018

A case of suspected acute and lethal intoxication caused by colchicine has been reported. The woman was hospitalized after her suspicion of suicidal poisoning by a rare autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale). Suspected colchicine poisoning was confirmed using a novel UHPLC method with a modern reversed‐phase stationary phase with a sub 2‐micron superficial porous particle size combined with a QTOF mass spectrometer. Sample preparation procedure included the addition of propiverine as internal standard, protein precipitation using methanol and solid phase extraction. High‐resolution MS only and targeted MS/MS modes are reported for the qualitative analysis and screening of other potential drugs of abuse in blood samples. All Ion MS mode was used for quantitative determination of colchicine afterward. The concentration of colchicine in the blood sample was approximately 41 ng/mL, and more than 200 μg/mL of the plant extract used for the suicide.