bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Chemotactic synthetic vesicles: design and applications in blood brain barrier crossing
Authors: Joseph Adrian , Contini Claudia , Cecchin Denis , Nyberg Sophie , Ruiz-Perez Lorena , Gaitzsch Jens , Fullstone Gavin , Tian Xiaohe , Azizi Juzaili , Preston Jane , Volpe Giorgio , Battaglia Giuseppe
Published: June 2016

In recent years, scientists have created artificial microscopic and nanoscopic self-propelling particles, often referred to as nano- or micro-swimmers, capable of mimicking biological locomotion and taxis. This active diffusion enables the engineering of complex operations that so far have not been possible at the micro- and nanoscale. One of the most promising task is the ability to engineer nanocarriers that can autonomously navigate within tissues and organs, accessing nearly every site of the human body guided by endogenous chemical gradients. Here we report a fully synthetic, organic, nanoscopic system that exhibits attractive chemotaxis driven by enzymatic conversion of glucose. We achieve this by encapsulating glucose oxidase — alone or in combination with catalase — into nanoscopic and biocompatible asymmetric polymer vesicles (known as polymersomes). We show that these vesicles self-propel in response to an external gradient of glucose by inducing a slip velocity on their surface, which makes them move in an extremely sensitive way towards higher concentration regions. We finally demonstrate that the chemotactic behaviour of these nanoswimmers enables a four-fold increase in penetration to the brain compared to non-chemotactic systems.
Imputation-based fine-mapping suggests that most QTL in an outbredchickenAdvanced Intercross Line are due to multiple, linked loci
Authors: Brandt Monika , Ahsan Muhammad , Honaker Christa F. , Siegel Paul B. , Carlborg Örjan
Published: June 2016

Abstract

The Virginiachickenlines have been divergently selected for juvenile body-weight for more than 50 generations. Today, the high-and low-weight lines show a 12-fold difference for the selected trait, 56-day body-weight. These lines provide unique opportunities to study the genetic architecture of long-term, single-trait selection. Previously, several Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) contributing to weight differences between the lines were mapped in an F2-cross between them, and these were later replicated and fine-mapped in a nine-generation advanced intercross of them. Here, we explore the possibility to further increase the fine-mapping resolution of these QTL via a pedigree-based imputation strategy that aims to better capture the haplotype-diversity in the divergently selected, but outbred, founder lines. The founders of the intercross were high-density genotyped, and then pedigree-based imputation was used to assign genotypes throughout the pedigree. Imputation increased the marker-density 20-fold in the selected QTL, providing 6911 markers for the subsequent analysis. Both single-marker association and multi-marker backward-elimination analyses were used to detect associations to 56-day body-weight. The approach revealed several statistically and population-structure independent associations and increased the resolution of most QTL. Further, most QTL were also found to contain multiple independent associations, implying a complex underlying architecture due to the combined effects of multiple, linked loci on independent haplotypes that still segregate in the selected lines.

Article summary

After 50 generations of bi-directional selection, the Virginia chicken lines display a 12-fold difference in bodyweight at 56 days of age. Birds from the high and low selected lines were crossed to found an Advanced Intercross Line, which has been maintained for 9 generations. Using high-density genotypes of the founders, we imputed genotypes in intercross birds that were only genotyped for a sparse set of markers. Using single and multi-marker association analyses, we replicated nine known body-weight QTL. Multiple statistically independent associations were revealed in eight of the QTL, suggesting that most are caused by multiple linked loci.
Variable species densities are induced by volume exclusion interactions upon domain growth
Authors: Ross Robert J. H. , Yates C. A. , Baker R. E.
Published: June 2016

In this work we study the effect of domain growth on spatial correlations in agent populations containing multiple species. This is important as heterogenous cell populations are ubiquitous during the embryonic development of many species. We have previously shown that the long term behaviour of an agent population depends on the way in which domain growth is implemented. We extend this work to show that, depending on the way in which domain growth is implemented, different species dominate in multispecies simulations. Continuum approximations of the lattice-based model that ignore spatial correlations cannot capture this behaviour, while those that explicitly account for spatial correlations can. The results presented here show that the precise mechanism of domain growth can determine the long term behaviour of multispecies populations, and in certain circumstances, establish spatially varying species densities.
NR1H3p.Arg415Gln Is Not Associated To Multiple Sclerosis Risk
Authors:   The International Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium, Cotsapas Chris
Published: June 2016

A recent study by Wanget alclaims the low-frequency variantNR1H3p.Arg415Gln is pathological for multiple sclerosis and determines a patient’s likelihood of primary progressive disease. We sought to replicate this finding in the International MS Genetics Consortium (IMSGC) patient collection, which is 13-fold larger than the collection of Wanget al, but we find no evidence that this variant is associated either with MS or disease subtype. Wanget alalso report a common variant association in the region, which we show captures the association the IMSGC reported in 2013. Therefore, we conclude that the reported low-frequency association is a false positive, likely generated by insufficient sample size. The claim ofNR1H3mutations describing a Mendelian form of MS - of which no examples exist - can therefore not be substantiated by data.
iCAVE: an open source tool for immersive 3D visualization of complex biomolecular interaction networks
Authors: Liluashvili Vaja , Kalayci Selim , Flouder Eugene , Wilson Manda , Gabow Aaron , Gümü Zeynep H.
Published: June 2016

Visualizations of biomolecular networks assist in systems-level data exploration in myriad cellular processes in health and disease. While these networks are increasingly informed by data generated from high-throughout (HT) experiments, current tools do not adequately scale with concomitant increase in their size and complexity. We present an open-source software platform, interactome-CAVE, (iCAVE), that leverages stereoscopic (3D) immersive display technologies for visualizing complex biomolecular interaction networks. Users can explore networks (i) in 3D in any computer and (ii) inimmersive3D in any computer with an appropriate graphics card as well as in CAVE environments. iCAVE includes new 3D network layout algorithms in addition to extensions of known 2D network layout, clustering and edge-bundling algorithms to the 3D space, to assist in understanding the underlying structures in large, dense, layered or clustered networks. Users can perform simultaneous queries of several databases within iCAVE or visualize their own networks (e.g. disease, drug, protein, metabolite, phenotype, genotype) utilizing directionality, weight or other properties by using different property settings. iCAVE has modular structure to allow rapid development by the addition of algorithms, datasets or features without affecting other parts of the code. Overall, iCAVE is a freely available open source tool to help gain novel insights from complex HT datasets.
Direct coevolutionary couplings reflect biophysical residue interactions in proteins
Authors: Coucke Alice , Uguzzoni Guido , Oteri Francesco , Cocco Simona , Monasson Remi , Weigt Martin
Published: June 2016

Coevolution of residues in contact imposes strong statistical constraints on the sequence variability between homologous proteins. Direct-Coupling Analysis (DCA), a global statistical inference method, successfully models this variability across homologous protein families to infer structural information about proteins. For each residue pair, DCA infers 21×21 matrices describing the coevolutionary coupling for each pair of amino acids (or gaps). To achieve the residue-residue contact prediction, these matrices are mapped onto simple scalar parameters; the full information they contain gets lost. Here, we perform a detailed spectral analysis of the coupling matrices resulting from 70 protein families, to show that they contain quantitative information about the physico-chemical properties of amino-acid interactions. Results for protein families are corroborated by the analysis of synthetic data from lattice-protein models, which emphasizes the critical effect of sampling quality and regularization on the biochemical features of the statistical coupling matrices.
The population dynamics of a bacterial pathogen after host re-infection affects the founding population size
Authors: Jiang Gaofei , Peyraud Rémi , Remigi Philippe , Guidot Alice , Berthomé Richard , Ding Wei , Jousset Alexandre , Genin Stéphane , Peeters Nemo
Published: June 2016

In natura, many organisms face multiple infections by pathogens. The ability of a pathogen to reinfect an already-infected host affects the genetic makeup of the pathogen population at the end of the infectious cycle. Despite the likely prevalence of this situation, the population dynamics of pathogens during multiple infections over time is still poorly understood. Here we combined theoretical and empirical investigations of the founding population size, a critical driver of the evolution of pathogens, in a setting allowing for multiple and subsequent re-infections. Using the soil-borne bacterial pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum and tomato as its host, we first assessed the strength of the host infection bottleneck, and showed that both the host barrier and the immune system work additively to constrain the infection. Then, by increasing the temperature, we experimentally demonstrated that the increased pathogen proliferation within the host reduces the contribution of subsequent re-infection leading to a lower founding population size. Our study highlights the importance of within-host pathogen proliferation in determining founding population size – and thus bacterial genetic diversity during epidemics – for pathosystems where multiple re-infections occur. Under current global changes, our work notably predicts that an increased temperature provided this increase has a beneficial impact on pathogen growth, should decrease the founding population size and as a consequence potentially lower the diversity of the infecting and transmitted pathogen population.

Significance Statement

Founder population size is a major determinant of pathogen evolution, yet we still have limited insights into effective populations in natural settings. Most studies have considered infection as a single event, followed by pathogen growth in the host. But, in natura, organisms typically face multiple infections by several co-exisiting pathogen strains. Therefore, effective population size will depend on the timing and relative growth rate of the different infecting strains. In this work, we predict and experimentally show that both priority effects and within-host competition determines effective founding size, with an over-contribution of fast-growing and early infecting genotypes. This work sheds a new light on the ecological and evolutionary pressures affecting infection dynamics in realistic conditions.
Sulfamethizole–2-amino-4,6-dimethoxypyrimidine (1/1)
Authors: Öztürk Filiz , Bulut İclal , Yavuz Yunus Emre , Bulut Ahmet
Published: June 2016

In the title 1:1 co-crystal, C9H10N4O2S2·C6H9N3O2[systematic name: 4-amino-N-(5-methyl-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)benzenesulfonamide–2-amino-4,6-dimethoxypyrimidine (1/1)], the sulfamethazole molecule is found in the form of the imidine tautomer. In the crystal, the components are linked by a pair of N—H...N hydrogen bonds, which generate anR22(8) loop. Further N—H...N and N—H...O hydrogen bonds link the dimers into [100] chains.
5,7,7,12,14,14-Hexamethyl-4,11-diaza-1,8-diazoniacyclotetradeca-4,11-diene bis(methanesulfonate)
Authors: Spendel Katherine , Nazarenko Alexander Y.
Published: June 2016

In the title molecular salt, C16H34N42+·2CH3SO3−, the centrosymmetric macrocyclic molecule has all four N atoms oriented towards the inside of the cavity, similar to its conformation in metal complexes. The conformation of the ethylenediamine fragment istrans–gauche–transand the conformation of the propylenediamine group istrans–cis–gauche–gauche. In the crystal, each protonated N atom makes a strong hydrogen bond with a sulfonate O atom and another intramolecular hydrogen bond connects two N atoms of the same macrocyclic ring to generate ensembles of one dication and two anions.
Reuse of scientific data in academic publications
Authors: He Lin , Nahar Vinita
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– In recent years, a large number of data repositories have been built and used. However, the extent to which scientific data are re-used in academic publications is still unknown. The purpose of this paper is to explore the functions of re-used scientific data in scholarly publication in different fields.

Design/methodology/approach

– To address these questions, the authors identified 827 publications citing resources in the Dryad Digital Repository indexed by Scopus from 2010 to 2015.

Findings

– The results show that: the number of citations to scientific data increases sharply over the years, but mainly from data-intensive disciplines, such as agricultural, biology science, environment science and medicine; the majority of citations are from the originating articles; and researchers tend to reuse data produced by their own research groups.

Research limitations/implications

– Dryad data may be re-used without being formally cited.

Originality/value

– The conservatism in data sharing suggests that more should be done to encourage researchers to re-use other’s data.
Testing the stability of “wisdom of crowds” judgments of search results over time and their similarity with the search engine rankings
Authors: Zhitomirsky-Geffet Maayan , Bar-Ilan Judit , Levene Mark
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– One of the under-explored aspects in the process of user information seeking behaviour is influence of time on relevance evaluation. It has been shown in previous studies that individual users might change their assessment of search results over time. It is also known that aggregated judgements of multiple individual users can lead to correct and reliable decisions; this phenomenon is known as the “wisdom of crowds”. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether aggregated judgements will be more stable and thus more reliable over time than individual user judgements.

Design/methodology/approach

– In this study two simple measures are proposed to calculate the aggregated judgements of search results and compare their reliability and stability to individual user judgements. In addition, the aggregated “wisdom of crowds” judgements were used as a means to compare the differences between human assessments of search results and search engine’s rankings. A large-scale user study was conducted with 87 participants who evaluated two different queries and four diverse result sets twice, with an interval of two months. Two types of judgements were considered in this study: relevance on a four-point scale, and ranking on a ten-point scale without ties.

Findings

– It was found that aggregated judgements are much more stable than individual user judgements, yet they are quite different from search engine rankings.

Practical implications

– The proposed “wisdom of crowds”-based approach provides a reliable reference point for the evaluation of search engines. This is also important for exploring the need of personalisation and adapting search engine’s ranking over time to changes in users preferences.

Originality/value

– This is a first study that applies the notion of “wisdom of crowds” to examine an under-explored in the literature phenomenon of “change in time” in user evaluation of relevance.
The structuring of information through search: sorting waste with Google
Authors: Haider Jutta
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore informational structures producing and organising the construction of waste sorting in Sweden. It shows how the issue is constructed by it being searched for in Google and how this contributes to the specific informational texture of waste sorting in Sweden. It is guided by the following questions: who are the main actors and which are the central topics featuring in Google results on popular, suggested searches for waste sorting in Sweden? What do the link relations between these tell the author about the issue space that is formed around waste sorting in Sweden? How is the construction of the notions of waste sorting and waste shaped in the information available through Google’s features for related and other relevant searches?

Design/methodology/approach

– Waste sorting is discussed as a practice structured along moral rules and as a classification exercise. The study brings together two types of material, results from searches carried out in Google and lists of Google query suggestions for relevant search terms. These are analysed with a mixed method approach, uniting quantitative network analysis and qualitative content analysis of query suggestions. A sociomaterial approach theoretically grounds the analysis.

Findings

– Waste sorting in Sweden emerges as an issue that is characterised by dense networks of rules and regulation, focused in public authorities and government agencies, which in turn address consumers, waste management businesses and other authorities. Search engine use and waste sorting in Sweden are shown to be joined together in various mundane everyday life practices and practices of governance that become visible through the search engine in form of search results and suggested searches. The search engine is shown to work as a fluid classification system, which is also created and shaped by its use.

Originality/value

– The study offers a novel methodological approach to studying the informational structures of an issue and of its shaping through it being searched for. The sociomaterially grounded analysis of Google as a fluid classification system is original.
Impact of exchange rate movement and macro-economic factors on exports of software and services from India
Authors: Upadhyay Parijat , Ghosh Roy Saikat
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The information technology (IT) sector in India is the leading exporter from the service sector domain and also is a significant contributor to the overall export kitty of India. The IT sector’s contribution in total Indian exports (merchandise plus services) increased from less than 4 percent in FY1998-1999 to about 25 percent in FY2011-2012 as per IT industry nodal body National Association of Software and Services Companies and the central bank of the country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). As this industry earns most of its revenue in foreign currencies it is exposed to the foreign exchange risks. The purpose of this paper is to validate the macro-economic theory that depreciation in domestic currency boosts export as it makes domestic good and services cheaper and appreciation in domestic currency deters export as it makes domestic good and services costlier. The authors are validating this theory for Indian rupee and keeping software services export in the focus.

Design/methodology/approach

– In this study the authors have done the multiple regression analysis on the obtained time-series data. The research was totally based on the secondary data from Quarter1 (April-June) of FY 2000-2001 to Quarter4 (January-March) of FY 2011-2012. It comprises of data for 48 consecutive quarters. The authors have taken the growth rate, so the final data set consist of data of 47 quarters. The main source of data are published data by RBI. Data have been collected for export of software services, merchandise export, real effective exchange rate, US-dollar-Indian rupee exchange rate, gross domestic product of India and selected countries.

Findings

– Data analysis leads the authors to the following findings: real effective exchange rate has no significant impact on software services export; US-dollar-Indian rupee exchange rate has no significant impact on software services export; external gross domestic product growth has no significant impact on software services export; and gross domestic product growth of India has no significant impact on software services export. The results obtained from multiple regression analysis are also supported by the results obtained from Granger Causality test. It does not identify any single factor as a major cause of software export. Results shows that the external GDP is having the statistically significant impact on the software export but the low value of R2 denotes that the impact is very low.

Originality/value

– There are no published studies available which has attempted similar kind of an approach to study using aggregated export data and other macro-economic variables like real effective exchange rate (REER) and GDP growth rate. All previous literatures used REER to measure the impact of the exchange rate on export.
Benchmarking operating room departments in the Netherlands
Authors: van Veen-Berkx Elizabeth , de Korne Dirk F. , Olivier Olivier S. , Bal Roland A. , Kazemier Geert
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– Benchmarking is increasingly considered a useful management instrument to improve performance in healthcare. The purpose of this paper is to assess if a nationwide long-term benchmarking collaborative between operating room (OR) departments of university medical centres in the Netherlands leads to benefits in OR management and to evaluate if the initiative meets the requirements of the 4P-model.

Design/methodology/approach

– The evaluation was based on the 4P-model (purposes, performance indicators, participating organisations, performance management system), developed in former studies. A mixed-methods design was applied, consisting of document study, observations, interviews as well as analysing OR performance data using SPSS statistics.

Findings

– Collaborative benchmarking has benefits different from mainly performance improvement and identification of performance gaps. It is interesting that, since 2004, the OR benchmarking initiative still endures after already existing for ten years. A key benefit was pointed out by all respondents as “the purpose of networking”, on top of the purposes recognised in the 4P-model. The networking events were found to make it easier for participants to contact and also visit one another. Apparently, such informal contacts were helpful in spreading knowledge, sharing policy documents and initiating improvement. This benchmark largely met all key conditions of the 4P-model.

Research limitations/implications

– The current study has the limitations accompanied with any qualitative research and particularly related to interviewing. Qualitative research findings must be viewed within the context of the conducted case study. The experiences in this university hospital context in the Netherlands might not be transferable to other (general) hospital settings or other countries. The number of conducted interviews is restricted; nevertheless, all other data sources are extensive.

Originality/value

– A collaborative approach in benchmarking can be effective because participants use its knowledge-sharing infrastructure which enables operational, tactical and strategic learning. Organisational learning is to the advantage of overall OR management. Benchmarking seems a useful instrument in enabling hospitals to learn from each other, to initiate performance improvements and catalyse knowledge-sharing.
Assessing service quality in secondary schools: the case of Jordan
Authors: Sweis Rateb , Diab Hannah , Mahmoud Saleh Firas Izzat , Suifan Taghrid , Dahiyat Samer Eid
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– Since conducting the literature review revealed that assessing quality in secondary schools has been an unexplored territory, and where most educational service quality research studies have mainly focussed on assessing quality from a student’s perspective in higher education, comes into play with a two-fold objective: first, to identify the quality dimensions most vital to students in a developing country such as Jordan, and then to develop a framework consisting of these dimensions; and second, to investigate the extent of satisfaction of students enrolled into international qualifications in Jordan by measuring the gap between expectations and perceptions. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– A focus group meeting consisting of experts in the field of secondary school education, specifically in internationally recognized qualifications, was conducted. These expert’s objective input helped develop the framework for assessing quality in secondary schools.

Findings

– A framework was developed specifically to suit private secondary schools in Jordan with reference to the SERVQUAL model. The resulting questionnaire is intended to be distributed to over 200 students enrolled in an international qualification program among private schools in Jordan.

Research limitations/implications

– The framework could be considered as a form of reality check for schools supplying school administrations in Jordan with a suitable tool to measure whether they are exceeding their students’ expectations. This framework might not be applicable to public schools in Jordan, since it was customized to be applied in schools who have adopted international qualification(s).

Originality/value

– This study contributes to quality service research that addresses the context of high schools in a developing Middle-Eastern country.
Impact of ownership change on plant practice-performance dynamics
Authors: Hallavo Ville , Toivanen Jarmo , Kuula Markku , Putkiranta Antero
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– Ownership change has been an overlooked contingency factor in past plant level practice-performance studies. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of ownership changes to practice-performance dynamics by longitudinally following the same 23 manufacturing sites from year 1993 to 2010.

Design/methodology/approach

– Interview data of the made in Finland – study are used for presenting different paths of plant development in the long term. Both narratives and descriptive statistics are used to support the analysis.

Findings

– The findings suggest that the benefits of long-term domestic ownership may in fact exceed the positive knowledge spill-over effects that derive from foreign acquisitions. Foreign acquirers seem to “cherry-pick” well-performing sites. Also it seems that the likelihood of inferior performance and plant shutdowns may increase due to foreign acquisitions.

Research limitations/implications

– Due to the exploratory nature of the study the sample size did not allow for testing statistical significance of the results.

Originality/value

– The exploratory findings of the study open new avenues of theory development for practice-performance studies, and corroborate research in other disciplines such as economics and corporate governance.
Concurrent design of nanofluid for x-abilities using MADM approach
Authors: Prakash Jyoti , Agrawal Vishnu  P.
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– Multiple attribute decision making (MADM) is a conceptual agenda used for evaluation and selection of optimal nanofluid to assure best performance of heat exchanger. Most of the studies focus on nanofluids focus on individual ability at one time. Relatively, not even a single study is available for selection of nanofluid for heat exchanger using concurrent design and MADM approach. The purpose of this paper is to propose a concurrent design methodology using MADM approach to assist improved design of heat exchanger concurrently for all the x-abilities in an integrated manner.

Design/methodology/approach

– A combined methodology of applying MADM approach using concurrent design for x-abilities is called CE-MADM approach. Implementation of nanofluid to improve thermal performance of heat exchanger entails thorough evaluation of nanofluids in various x-abilities (performance, maintenance, thermophysical properties and modelisation) to make exhaustive management decision. Sensitivity analysis is also proposed to study the behaviour of height of variation of density, heat capacity, thermal expansion and thermal conductivity with varying particle volume fraction and variation of relative closeness of available alternates from ideally best possible solution.

Findings

– MADM approach considering various x-abilities concurrently provide an approach for relative ranking of available nanofluids for optimum performance. Fishbone diagrams of all x-abilities are constructed to identify all the attributes and converge large number of attributes into single numerical index that are concurrently responsible for the cause thus saving time for easy evaluation, comparison and ranking by decision makers. Sensitivity analysis to demonstration height of variation of pertinent attributes with varying particle volume fraction. A MATLAB programming is established to execute calculations involved in the procedure.

Originality/value

– This paper comprises a predictable and effective mathematical approach to improve design of heat exchanger with nanofluid bearing in mind all the required x-abilities concurrently. This combined approach of CE-MADM is never applied before in the field of nanofluid to predict best possible results in feasible conditions considering all the x-abilities. Sensitivity analysis is also presented from the assumed mathematical equations of thermophysical properties.
Environmental benchmarking practices in Indian industries
Authors: Singh Neelam , Jain Suresh , Sharma Prateek
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to understand whether the adoption of environmental management practices and firm characteristics influence the environmental benchmarking in Indian firms. It further looks into the impact of environmental benchmarking practices on firms’ environmental performance.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study conducts a research survey to obtain the practitioner’s responses on the different aspects of environmental benchmarking. The survey data of 104 firms provide an empirical basis to investigate different research hypotheses using statistical techniques.

Findings

– The results indicate that the firms which implement environmental management practices are more likely to adopt environmental benchmarking in one or more areas of their operations. The findings signify that firms which benchmarks for environmental purposes are more likely to have better environmental performance. The study confirms that large firms have significant chances of having environmental benchmarking compared to small and medium sized firms. The firms in different sectors have different relative preference to eight different areas of environmental benchmarking. However, all these preferences are not significant at 95 per cent confidence level.

Research limitations/implications

– The research use only qualitative responses on environment management aspects and could be further extended by incorporating the quantitative (emission) data of different industries.

Practical implications

– The study provides an insight into the environmental benchmarking practices of Indian firms for better management of environmental performance of the firms.

Originality/value

– The study investigates the experience and attitude of Indian firms to environmental benchmarking based on an empirical research. It adds to the knowledge in the field of environmental benchmarking in developing countries with specific focus on India.
Engendering entrepreneurial competencies in the youth of today: a teacher’s perspective
Authors: Birdthistle Naomi , Costin Yvonne , Hynes Briga
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the creation of realistic, engaging entrepreneurial competencies in second-level students in the Republic of Ireland through the Student Enterprise Awards (SEA) programme. The focus of the paper will be on the interaction of teachers with the programme.

Design/methodology/approach

– A mixed-methods approach was adopted, with an e-mail questionnaire fully completed by 101 of the population 300, resulting in a 34 per cent response rate, which was regarded as acceptable. The qualitative approach was 29 semi-structured interviews with teachers and nine principals/head teachers.

Findings

– The findings suggest that there was strong endorsement by the teachers of the benefits accruing to students in all three areas of knowledge, skills and attitudes. This clearly reinforces the strength of the SEA programme which will become increasingly important for students who are facing uncertain career paths. The programme will help engender students with increased self-confidence, better communication and presentation skills. Better skilled students make them more employable. This programme was primarily delivered by teachers and completed by students who did it on a voluntary basis and have no official recognition of participation.

Research limitations/implications

– The research has identified a notable lack of enterprise-related teacher training in the current education system in the Republic of Ireland. Such training is necessary to ensure effective teaching of entrepreneurship and could bring consistency to the quality of enterprise education received by students in different schools. Students enjoy participating on the programme and see lifelong benefits from doing it, therefore it would be beneficial to incorporate it as a mandatory subject in the curriculum.

Originality/value

– Integrating the theoretical principles underpinning entrepreneurship education, which were presented in the paper, with the empirical teacher findings leads to a number of recommendations that can be adopted by the teacher, principal/head teacher and school board.
An enterprise opportunity for entrepreneurial students
Authors: Bell Robin , Bell Heather
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of an experiential learning approach, available to students in all disciplines that combined a hands-on entrepreneurial and enterprise experience with professional consultant mentoring by using a competition to win business start-up funding.

Design/methodology/approach

– Students at a UK University had the chance to enter a competition in which they developed an entrepreneurial idea and then designed and presented a business plan to win business start-up capital. Students who were entrepreneurially motivated, but who lacked capital to start-up their business, were targeted, as these students have been argued to benefit the most from a combination of business plan training and entrepreneurial development. Feedback and data were obtained from the students at each stage of the process and was thematically analysed to assess the development of students’ entrepreneurial skills and knowledge through the experience.

Findings

– The research found that the benefits gained from this approach included both enterprising and entrepreneurial skills, with the greatest impact being on student confidence and belief in their ability to start a business. The practical skills had a “demystifying” effect on students that made them feel like entrepreneurship and enterprise start-up were attainable.

Research limitations/implications

– The research focused on students at one UK University and centred on entrepreneurship in a retail business. The competition thus appealed mainly to students who were interested in retail start-up, thus leaving out some enterprising students whose feedback may have been different. In addition, while entrepreneurial skills are assessed in the data, the students who would be interested in the competition would be assumed to be proactive, and this skill was not able to be analysed. This research is a single case, and thus could be enhanced by more cases and looking at other enterprise start-up means beyond retail.

Originality/value

– This research makes a case that, in light of literature critical of the use of business plan training in entrepreneurship education, certain students are appropriate candidates for this approach. Specific skills and knowledge can be developed in university students using a live enterprise experience, supported by entrepreneurial mentoring. By making the event extracurricular, the study sought to capture the feedback of students who self-selected into the programme, who can benefit most from combined entrepreneurial and business plan development experience.
Capability versus efficiency: contracting out park and road services in Norway
Authors: Leiren Merethe Dotterud , Lindholst Andrej Christian , Solfjeld Ingjerd , Randrup Thomas Barfoed
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the extent of, rationales for and outcomes of contracting out in the local road and park sectors in Norway. For understanding the use of contracting out in local governments, it highlights the relevance of the capability perspective in organisational literature as an alternative to the standard efficiency perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper draws on four expert interviews and survey data gathered from park and road managers in Norwegian municipalities in 2015.

Findings

– The study suggests that Norwegian municipalities primarily contract out park and road maintenance services when they do not have the capability to perform these services themselves. Cost concerns are also highlighted but of less importance. Moreover, lack of competition renders the use of contracting out as a potentially costly and less satisfying arrangement for organising service delivery.

Research limitations/implications

– While the scope is limited to one country, Norway, future research may benefit from the theoretical perspectives, which have been used.

Practical implications

– Policy guidelines should support a flexible use of various arrangements for service provision.

Originality/value

– The dominating view among proponents of marketisation in the public sector suggests that contracting out to private contractors is undertaken to enhance economic efficiency compared to keeping service production in-house. This study suggests that this is not always the case – even in “most likely” sectors such as park and road maintenance.
A case of employment services in Italy
Authors: Trivellato Benedetta , Martini Mattia , Cavenago Dario , Marafioti Elisabetta
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the recent evolution of the employment services system of a Northern Italian region (Lombardy), which was planned according to principles inspired by quasi-markets and horizontal subsidiarity theories, with a focus on its design and implementation challenges. It aims to provide practical and theoretical insights for the design of public services’ governance systems that similarly feature public-private competition and/or cooperation and users’ freedom of choice.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper reviews and integrates previous empirical research analysing the programmes that are part of the recent evolution of Lombardy’s employment services system, in order to draw insights and lessons.

Findings

– The paper suggests areas where closer scrutiny and related intervention is warranted on the part of the institution in charge of the system’s design (in this case the regional administration), especially in terms of appropriate design of incentive mechanisms for partnership creation, and adequate consideration of the equity implications of the chosen solutions.

Originality/value

– The paper may be of interest to public officials aiming to implement systems with similar characteristics (public-private competition vs collaboration, users’ freedom of choice), in order to consider challenges and possible implications of their decisions during the planning phase. From a theoretical perspective, this case suggests that reliance on freedom and responsibility, both on the demand and the supply side, may not be adequate to reach the desired outcomes, and may produce negative equity implications. Focused partnerships may be more effective, but may experience similar shortcomings from the viewpoint of equity.
Is public procurement efficiency conditioned by market types? A critical test in park and road sectors in Sweden
Authors: Bretzer Ylva Norén , Persson Bengt , Randrup Thomas Barfoed
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent contracting out practices has led to perceived resource cuts in the Swedish park and road sectors.

Design/methodology/approach

– E-survey sent to managers in park and technical departments in the municipalities. Response rate: 39.7 percent.

Findings

– Decreased costs were found in 25 percent of the responding road departments, in 20 percent of park departments. 49 percent of the road departments responded “no change” or “increase” (48 percent parks). Findings indicate that tendering practices tend to be most commonly centered in Swedish municipalities situated in the three metropolitan regions (Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö with suburbs), while such practices are not as common in mid-sized and rural municipalities. In addition, contracting out practices correspond with higher per capita budgets, not with smaller.

Research limitations/implications

– The research implications are that contracting out tend to occur “where the resources are,” while poorer municipalities either have to contract even if it is more expensive, or, contracting out is combined with other provision models. The limitation of the data are that it based on managers’ perceptions, while hard data have been impossible to map.

Practical implications

– The uniform assumption that contracting out saves public resources need to be conditioned with context, and initial resources at hand. Contracting out is one option among several possible strategies, especially for mid-sized and smaller municipalities with small budgets.

Social implications

– The rationalities of local government procurements are bounded by the local market situations and local the budget capacities.

Originality/value

– This is the first study of manager’s perceptions in the Swedish park and road contexts.
Collaborative benchmarking in the Danish district-heating sector
Authors: Bukh Per Nikolaj , Dietrichson Lars Grubbe
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is threefold: to investigate why and how companies in voluntary networks engage in performance benchmarking; how requirements for a standardised chart of accounts are handled; and what the role of regulatory pressure is.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper is based on a longitudinal case study of an established group of six district-heating companies. The data sources are semi-structured interviews, observations and documents.

Findings

– Both the forthcoming re-regulation of the district-heating sector and aims to improve efficiency were motivating the collaboration among the firms. An interpretation of common accounting rules can be negotiated in a collaborative network. The benchmarking model was embedded in routines internally in firms to facilitate learning and knowledge exchange, but it was also used to legitimise current operations.

Research limitations/implications

– As the paper is based on a case study of a specific project, the issues discussed in the paper should be further investigated in similar firms being exposed to regulation.

Practical implications

– Harmonisation of accounting data are of immense importance when benchmarking performance, but discretion in interpretations of data and results must be handled. Co-existence with existing rules and procedures should be allowed.

Originality/value

– The paper contributes to research understanding the role of collaboration in voluntary networks when benchmarking is implemented.
Marketization revisited
Authors: Hansen Morten Balle , Lindholst Andrej Christian
Published: June 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to introduce theIJPSMspecial issue on marketization to clarify the conceptual foundations of marketization as a phenomenon within the public sector and gauge current marketization trends based on the special issue’s seven papers.

Design/methodology/approach

– Conceptual clarification and cross-cutting review of seven papers analysing marketization in six countries in three policy areas at the level of local government.

Findings

– Four ideal-types models are deduced: quasi-markets involving both provider competition and free choice for users; classical contracting out; benchmarking and yardstick competition; and public-private collaboration. Based on the review of the seven papers, it is found that all elements in all marketization models are firmly embedded but also under dynamic change within public service delivery systems. The review also identifies limitations and modifications of the four ideal-type models. A key trend is a move towards public-private collaboration and cross-sectorial and inter-organizational governance arrangements.

Research limitations/implications

– Continued research on marketization would benefit from development of more fine-tuned theoretical models which are sensitive to the realm of the dynamics within particular policy and institutional contexts.

Practical implications

– Policy-makers should balance normative objectives against the experiences gained at the level of implementation.

Originality/value

– The special issue shows that marketization still is a concurrent phenomenon which is driving substantial change in public service delivery systems as well as is under dynamic change itself.
Enhancing web accessibility by implementing context aware proxy
Authors: Al-Mouh Najd , Al-Khalifa Hend S.
Published: June 2016

Purpose

Millions of visually impaired people (VIP) in the world still face difficulties browsing the Web and accessing information. This paper aims to present a proxy service that takes advantage of the concept of context-aware to help contextualizing web pages for visually impaired users.

Design/methodology/approach

The VIP-aware proxy combines five components to utilize the user preferences, adapts the requested web page and reorganizes its content to best match the preferences set by the user. This new scenario will assist VIP in browsing the Web more effectively.

Findings

A preliminary evaluation of the system resulted in general user satisfaction.

Practical implications

The VIP-aware proxy will provide users with a clean, accessible web page, save them time when screen readers examine content related to their preferences and save them money when unnecessary content is not downloaded.

Originality/value

The VIP-aware proxy presented in this paper is the first of its kind targeting VIP.