bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Erwinia iniecta sp. nov., isolated from Russian wheat aphid (Diuraphis noxia)
Authors: Campillo Tony , Luna Emily , Portier Perrine , Fischer-Le Saux Marion , Lapitan Nora , Tisserat Ned A. , Leach Jan E.
Published: July 2015

Short, Gram-negative-staining, rod-shaped bacteria were isolated from crushed bodies of Russian wheat aphid [Diuraphis noxia(Kurdjumov)] and artificial diets after Russian wheat aphid feeding. Based on multilocus sequence analysis involving the 16S rRNA,atpD,infB,gyrBandrpoBgenes, these bacterial isolates constitute a novel clade in the genusErwinia, and were most closely related toErwinia toletana. Representative distinct strains within this clade were used for comparisons with related species ofErwinia. Phenotypic comparisons using four distinct strains and average nucleotide identity (ANI) measurements using two distinct draft genomes revealed that these strains form a novel species within the genusErwinia. The nameErwinia iniectasp. nov. is proposed, and strain B120T( = CFBP 8182T = NCCB 100485T) was designated the type strain.Erwinia iniectasp. nov. was not pathogenic to plants. However, virulence to the Russian wheat aphid was observed.
Vogesella amnigena sp. nov., isolated from a freshwater river
Authors: Chen Wen-Ming , Chen Jhen-Ci , Wang Chi , Huang Cheng-Wen , Sheu Shih-Yi
Published: July 2015

A bacterial strain, designated Npb-02T, was isolated from a freshwater river in Taiwan and characterized in a taxonomic study using a polyphasic approach. Cells of strain Npb-02T were Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, poly-β-hydroxybutyrate-accumulating, rod-shaped and non-motile. Growth occurred at 15–40 °C (optimum 25–30 °C), at pH 7.0–8.0 (optimum pH 7.0) and with 0–1 % NaCl (optimum 0.5 %). Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain Npb-02T belonged to the genus Vogesella and was most closely related to Vogesella perlucida DS-28T with sequence similarity of 98.3 %. Strain Npb-02T contained summed feature 3 (comprising C16 : 1ω7c and/or C16 : 1ω6c) and C16 : 0 as the major fatty acids. The major respiratory quinone was Q-8.The polar lipid profile consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, an uncharacterized aminophospholipid and an uncharacterized phospholipid. The genomic DNA G+C content of strain Npb-02T was 64.1 mol%. The DNA–DNA hybridization values for strain Npb-02T with Vogesella perlucida DS-28T, Vogesella mureinivorans 389T and Vogesella lacus GR13T were less than 25 %. On the basis of phylogenetic inference and phenotypic data, strain Npb-02T represents a novel species of the genus Vogesella, for which the name Vogesella amnigena sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Npb-02T ( = BCRC 80887T = LMG 28419T = KCTC 42195T).
Reclassification of ‘Thiobacillus prosperus’

Huber and Stetter 1989

as Acidihalobacter prosperus gen. nov., sp. nov., a member of the family Ectothiorhodospiraceae
Authors: Pablo Cárdenas Juan , Ortiz Rodrigo , Norris Paul R. , Watkin Elizabeth , Holmes David S.
Published: July 2015

Analysis of phylogenomic metrics of a recently released draft genome sequence of the halotolerant, acidophile ‘Thiobacillus prosperus’ DSM 5130 indicates that it is not a member of the genus Thiobacillus within the class Betaproteobacteria as originally proposed. Based on data from 16S rRNA gene phylogeny, and analyses of multiprotein phylogeny and average nucleotide identity (ANI), we show that it belongs to a new genus within the family Ectothiorhodospiraceae, for which we propose the name Acidihalobacter gen. nov. In accordance, it is proposed that ‘Thiobacillus prosperus’ DSM 5130 be named Acidihalobacter prosperus gen. nov., sp. nov. DSM 5130T ( = JCM 30709T) and that it becomes the type strain of the type species of this genus.
Brevirhabdus pacifica gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from deep-sea sediment in a hydrothermal vent field
Authors: Wu Yue-Hong , Xu Lin , Zhou Peng , Wang Chun-Sheng , Oren Aharon , Xu Xue-Wei
Published: July 2015

A Gram-stain-negative, motile, aerobic bacterial strain, designated 22DY15T, was isolated from a deep-sea sediment sample collected from a hydrothermal vent field located in the East Pacific Rise. The isolate was a short rod with a single flagellum and was positive for catalase and oxidase activities. Q-10 was the predominant respiratory quinone. The major polar lipids consisted of phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, phosphoglycolipid, one aminolipid and three unidentified phospholipids. The principal fatty acid (>70 %) was C18 : 1ω7c. The genomic DNA G+C content was 64.3 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain 22DY15T represents a distinct lineage within the family Rhodobacteraceae. The closest relatives were species of the genera Aliiroseovarius (93.3–96.0 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity), Sulfitobacter (94.0–96.0 %) and Loktanella (92.0–95.9 %). Differential phenotypic properties, together with phylogenetic and genetic distinctiveness, revealed that strain 22DY15T could be differentiated from its most closely related genera. Therefore, it is proposed that strain 22DY15T represents a novel species in a new genus of the family Rhodobacteraceae, for which the name Brevirhabdus pacifica gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of the type species is 22DY15T ( = JCM 19489T = DSM 27767T = CGMCC 1.12416T = MCCC 1K00276T).
Combinatorial metabolic engineering ofSaccharomyces cerevisiaefor terminal alkene production
Authors: Chen Binbin , Lee Dong-Yup , Chang Matthew Wook
Published: July 2015

Biological production of terminal alkenes has garnered a significant interest due to their industrial applications such as lubricants, detergents and fuels. Here, we engineered the yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiaeto produce terminal alkenes via a one-step fatty acid decarboxylation pathway and improved the alkene production using combinatorial engineering strategies. In brief, we first characterized eight fatty acid decarboxylases to enable and enhance alkene production. We then increased the production titer 7-fold by improving the availability of the precursor fatty acids. We additionally increased the titer about 5-fold through genetic cofactor engineering and gene expression tuning in rich medium. Lastly, we further improved the titer 1.8-fold to 3.7 mg/L by optimizing the culturing conditions in bioreactors. This study represents the first report of terminal alkene biosynthesis inS. cerevisiae, and the abovementioned combinatorial engineering approaches collectively increased the titer 67.4-fold. We envision that these approaches could provide insights into devising engineering strategies to improve the production of fatty acid-derived biochemicals inS. cerevisiae.
β-Catenin destruction complex-independent regulation of Hippo–YAP signaling by APC in intestinal tumorigenesis
Authors: Cai Jing , Maitra Anirban , Anders Robert A. , Taketo Makoto M. , Pan Duojia
Published: July 2015

Mutations in Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) underlie familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), an inherited cancer syndrome characterized by the widespread development of colorectal polyps. APC is best known as a scaffold protein in the β-catenin destruction complex, whose activity is antagonized by canonical Wnt signaling. Whether other effector pathways mediate APC's tumor suppressor function is less clear. Here we report that activation of YAP, the downstream effector of the Hippo signaling pathway, is a general hallmark of tubular adenomas from FAP patients. We show that APC functions as a scaffold protein that facilitates the Hippo kinase cascade by interacting with Sav1 and Lats1. Consistent with the molecular link between APC and the Hippo signaling pathway, genetic analysis reveals that YAP is absolutely required for the development of APC-deficient adenomas. These findings establish Hippo–YAP signaling as a critical effector pathway downstream from APC, independent from its involvement in the β-catenin destruction complex.
Optimized IR synchrotron beamline design
Authors: Moreno Thierry
Published: July 2015

Synchrotron infrared beamlines are powerful tools on which to perform spectroscopy on microscopic length scales but require working with large bending-magnet source apertures in order to provide intense photon beams to the experiments. Many infrared beamlines use a single toroidal-shaped mirror to focus the source emission which generates, for large apertures, beams with significant geometrical aberrations resulting from the shape of the source and the beamline optics. In this paper, an optical layout optimized for synchrotron infrared beamlines, that removes almost totally the geometrical aberrations of the source, is presented and analyzed. This layout is already operational on the IR beamline of the Brazilian synchrotron. An infrared beamline design based on a SOLEIL bending-magnet source is given as an example, which could be useful for future IR beamline improvements at this facility.
Crystal structure of 6-chloro-5-(2-chloroethyl)-3-(propan-2-ylidene)indolin-2-one
Authors: Roopashree K. R. , Meti Gangadhar Y. , Kamble Ravindra R. , Devarajegowda H. C.
Published: July 2015

The title compound, C13H13Cl2NO, has a 3-(propan-2-ylidene)indolin-2-one core with a Cl atom and a chloroethyl substituent attached to the aromatic ring. Two atoms of the aromatic ring and the chloroethyl substituent atoms are disordered over two sets of sites with a refined occupancy ratio of 0.826 (3):0.174 (3). In the crystal, molecules are linked by pairs of N—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming inversion dimers with anR22(8) ring motif.
Crystal structure of 3-amino-2-propylquinazolin-4(3H)-one
Authors: El-Hiti Gamal A. , Smith Keith , Hegazy Amany S. , Alanazi Saud A. , Kariuki Benson M.
Published: July 2015

In the title molecule, C11H13N3O, the propyl group is almost perpendicular to the quinazolin-4(3H)-one mean plane, making a dihedral angle of 88.98 (9)°. In the crystal, molecules related by an inversion centre are pairedviaπ–π overlap, indicated by the short distances of 3.616 (5) and 3.619 (5) Å between the centroids of the aromatic rings of neighbouring molecules. Intermolecular N—H...N and N—H...O hydrogen bonds formR66(30) rings andC(5) chains, respectively, generating a three-dimensional network. Weak C—H...O interactions are also observed.
Crystal structure of 2,3-dimethylmaleic anhydride: continuous chains of electrostatic attraction
Authors: Wiscons Ren A. , Zeller Matthias , Rowsell Jesse L. C.
Published: July 2015

In the crystal structure of 2,3-dimethylmaleic anhydride, C6H6O3, the closest non-bonding intermolecular distances, between the carbonyl C and O atoms of neighboring molecules, were measured as 2.9054 (11) and 3.0509 (11) Å, which are well below the sum of the van der Waals radii for these atoms. These close contacts, as well as packing motifs similar to that of the title compound, were also found in the crystal structure of maleic anhydride itself and other 2,3-disubstituted maleic anhydrides. Computational modeling suggests that this close contact is caused by strong electrostatic interactions between the carbonyl C and O atoms.
Crystal structure of diethyl 2-[(2-sulfanylquinolin-3-yl)methylidene]malonate
Authors: Rihanabanu  , Anitha B. R. , Meenakshi T. G. , Kumar K. Mahesh , Devarajegowda H. C.
Published: July 2015

In the title compound, C17H17N O4S, the quinoline ring system is nearly planar, with a maximum deviation of 0.0496 (16) Å. A weak intramolecular C—H...O interaction is observed. In the crystal, C—H...O, S—H...N and π–π stacking interactions between the fused benzene ring of quinoline and the pyridine moieties [shortest centroid–centroid distance = 3.6754 (11) Å] are observed. Inversion-related weak C—H...O intermolecular interactions diagonally along [010], withR22(10) ring motifs, and S—H...N intermolecular interactions diagonally along [100], withR22(8) ring motifs, are present, forming a three-dimensional network structure. No classical hydrogen bonds are observed.
Global psychology: implications for cross-cultural research and management
Authors: Berry John W.
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– Psychology, both as science and practice, has been largely developed in one cultural area of the world: Europe and North America. As a result, the discipline is culture-bound, limited in its origins, concepts, and empirical findings to only this small portion of the world. The discipline is also culture-blind, largely ignoring the influence of the role of culture in shaping the development and display of human behaviour. These limitations have resulted in the dominant position of a Western Academic Scientific Psychology (WASP) in relation to other cultural perspectives on human behaviour. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper draws on concepts and strategies in psychology (particularly cross-cultural and intercultural psychology) to propose some remedies to problems arising from the dominant WASP position. For example, of what relevance is such a limited perspective to understanding human activity in other cultures; and how can such a limited understanding serve the purpose of effective intercultural interactions?

Findings

– The eventual goal is to achieve a global psychology that incorporates concepts and findings from societies and cultures from all parts of the world, one that will permit a valid understanding of people within their cultures, and permit effective intercultural across cultures.

Originality/value

– The paper presents some criticisms of the dominant western psychology (WASP), and proposes that the achievement of a more global psychology may be within reach if some concepts and methods now available in psychology from both the dominant western sources and from those working in the rest of the world are used.
Impact of cultural positions on FDI’s entry mode
Authors: López-Duarte Cristina , Vidal-Suárez Marta M. , González-Díaz Belén
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of cultural positions on the choice of entry mode in foreign direct investment (FDI) – joint ventures vs wholly owned subsidiaries. The paper focusses on the impact of cultural positions along four cultural dimensions, as well as on the interactions between these positions and FDI’s contextual variables (i.e. linguistic differences).

Design/methodology/approach

– A fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis is performed on a data set of Spanish investments located in the European Union.

Findings

– Existence of interaction effects among cultural positions along different dimensions, as well as between cultural positions and FDI’s contextual variables.

Research limitations/implications

– Main limitations relate to the data set, as only FDIS carried out by big corporations and coming from a single country are considered.

Practical implications

– Managers making decisions on the choice of entry mode must take into account the position relative to each individual cultural dimension, as well as its interaction with other cultural dimensions and FDI’s contextual variables, rather than just considering cultural distances (CDs) between countries.

Originality/value

– First, focus on cultural positions (rather than CDs). It allows taking into account both the cultural characteristics of each party and their relative values along individual cultural dimensions. Second, development of a qualitative analysis that considers the contextual features of the investment.
The impact of stressors during international assignments
Authors: Rosenbusch Katherine , Cerny II Leonard J. , Earnest David R.
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine relationships between cross-cultural adjustment and stress of expatriate employees with families in a multinational corporation and identify common stressors reported during international transitions.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study utilized both quantitative and qualitative methods through an online survey based tool. The CernySmith Assessment captured the statistical measures of objective adjustment scales along with written in, subjective stressor responses from a sample of expatriates.

Findings

– Overall subjective stress level was negatively correlated with all five objective adjustment domains (organizational, cultural, relational, behavioral, and personal). Seven stressor categories (cultural, occupational, relational, historical, crisis, spiritual, physical) demonstrated statistically significant negative relationships with overall adjustment. Regression analysis indicated expatriate adjustment was predicted by spiritual, occupational, and support stressors. Write-in stressor responses provided specific expressions of individual stress challenges, strains, and hassles that support predicted relations according to the Family Adaptation and Adjustment Response model.

Research limitations/implications

– This study provides a snapshot of objective adjustment interacting with subjective stress for expatriate employees from a single international organization during a specific time period.

Originality/value

– These findings provide insights to organizations and human resource development professionals as well as to expatriates and their families on how stress impacts expatriate adjustment. It also highlights the need for support mechanisms to ease transitions and reduce stressors.
The influence of image and consumer factors on store brand choice in the Brazilian market
Authors: Diallo Mbaye Fall , Burt Steve , Sparks Leigh
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of image and consumer factors in influencing store brand (SB) choice between two retail chains (Carrefour and Extra) in a Latin American market, Brazil. SBs are increasingly offered by retailers in emerging markets. What is less clear, however, is how emerging market consumers make their choices between the SBs on offer from different retail chains.

Design/methodology/approach

– A mall-intercept survey conducted by a Brazilian market research company generated 600 usable questionnaires collected in two retail chains. Structural equation modelling was used to test a series of proposed hypotheses.

Findings

– The results revealed that SB attitude, SB price-image, store image perceptions, SB perceived value and SB purchase intention have significant and positive direct or indirect effects on SB choice overall, and for each retail chain. However, for price-related constructs, the relationships are stronger for the Extra chain compared to the Carrefour chain. Results show that the Brazilian market presents some departures from both developed and other emerging countries.

Research limitations/implications

– Respondents were consumers in only one Latin American market (Brazil) and shoppers of only two retail chains. Caution should therefore be exercised when generalising the results to other markets in Latin America.

Practical implications

– Understanding which factors influence consumer choice of SBs in an emerging market while taking into account the presence of different operators allows retailers to launch new SB programs and implement the appropriate strategies to increase SB sales in this market.

Originality/value

– The main contribution of this research lies in clarifying consumer behaviour towards SBs in an emerging Latin American market. It fills a major gap in the marketing literature and research in stressing the need to rethink the application of conventional business models to Latin America.
Resource-sharing through an inter-institutional repository
Authors: Abrizah A , Hilmi Mohd , Kassim Norliya Ahmad
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to be concerned with the motivations and resistance among an institutional repository (IR) stakeholder – the Library and Information Science (LIS) academicians – with respect to Green Road open access publishing in an inter-institutional repository.

Design/methodology/approach

– The answers were identified from 47 LIS faculty from three library schools in Malaysia who reported awareness of what an IR is and having had experience in contributing resources to digital repositories. Data were collected using survey and interviews.

Findings

– The results highlighted the LIS faculty on their motivation to share their intellectual profile, research and teaching resources in an inter-institutional repositories and why the reluctance in contributing. The study reveals that the major motivation to share resources for those practicing self-archiving is related to performance expectancy, social influence, visible and authoritative advantage, career benefit and quality work. The major resistance to share scholarly research output through self-archiving in institutional repositories for those practicing self-archiving is concern on plagiarism, time and effort, technical infrastructure, lack of self-efficacy and insularity.

Practical implications

– Knowing what conditions predict motivation and resistance to contribute to IRs would allow IR administrators to ensure greater and more effective participation in resource-sharing among LIS academic community. If this resistance is addressed aptly, IRs can be of real benefit to their teaching, scholarship, collaborations, and publishing and to the community that they serve.

Originality/value

– The first study that has explored the ways LIS academics respond to a situation where knowledge sharing in academe has now been made mandatory through an IR and what makes them resist to do so.
Information literacy at work
Authors: Chaudhry Abdus Sattar , Al-Mahmud Sarah
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper was to investigate the information behaviour of Kuwaiti engineers with a focus on information sources and finding information from these sources, management of information found and re-finding of information from personal collections.

Design/methodology/approach

– Survey method of research was used to conduct the study. Data were collected using online questionnaire and interviews with a selected number of participants.

Findings

– Results indicated that engineers collected and received information from a variety of sources. They saved selected information for future use in folders and structured them by using work-related categories. Use of information management tools was not common. A majority of participants expressed the need for training courses in information literacy. They felt that lack of institutional support to facilitate access to information was considered a major difficulty in information seeking.

Originality/value

– No similar study could be found in the literature, as earlier studies either investigated personal information management practices or information seeking behaviour. This study looked at information literacy in a wider context.
Evaluation of digital libraries of Iranian research institutions based on the DigiQUAL protocol
Authors: Alipour-Hafezi Mehdi , Amanollahi Nick Hamid
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to identify the situation of evaluating Iranian digital libraries using DigiQUAL protocol.

Design/methodology/approach

– Evaluative survey research method is used in this study to assess digital libraries. In this way, digital libraries of Iranian research institutes constitute the study population. DigiQUAL protocol actually was used to evaluate eight Iranian digital libraries. Systematic observation and interview based on researcher-made checklist was used for data collection. In fact, checklist was constructed based on DigiQual protocol.

Findings

– The results showed that Digital Library of Isfahan Science and Technology Town has the best performance and Noor digital library has the lowest operation in studied digital libraries. The overall score of all studied digital libraries was under 60 (out of 100) which shows the average performance of the digital libraries.

Originality/value

– This study emphasizes on evaluating active digital libraries in Iran by DigiQUAL protocol. Because digital libraries are new in Iran and their progress need to evaluate their activity, this research was done to demonstrate their situation.
How to measure the efficacy of VET workplace learning: the FET-WL model
Authors: Pineda-Herrero Pilar , Quesada-Pallarès Carla , Espona-Barcons Berta , Mas-Torelló Óscar
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– Workplace learning (WL) is a key part of vocational education and training (VET) because it allows students to develop their skills in a work environment, and provides important information about how well VET studies prepare skilled workers. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop and validate an instrument to evaluate WL efficacy in VET.

Design/methodology/approach

– The research presented in this paper was based on a quantitative design, after having identified factors that influence training efficacy. The factors to evaluate transfer in WL (FET-WL) questionnaire was formed of 57 items (five-point Likert scale) and applied to a stratified probabilistic sample of 1,026 VET students in the Barcelona area (Spain).

Findings

– After conducting an exploratory factor analysis, the model explained 48.42 per cent of the variance and six factors merged: coherence of the training of the school with the WL, school tutor’s sole, host company tutor’s role, the possibilities of developing the WL, integration into the company and student’s motivation.

Originality/value

– Results show that the FET-WL may be a useful tool for the various agents involved in WL since it may improve the organization and management of VET and thereby increase its efficacy.
Computer ethics beyond mere compliance
Authors: Volkman Richard
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The paper aims to examine the nature of computer ethics as a field of study in light of 20 years of Ethicomp, arguing that computer ethics beyond mere compliance will have to be pluralistic and sensitive to the starting places of various audiences.

Design/methodology/approach

– The essay offers a philosophical rather than empirical analysis, but the ideal of open inquiry is observed to be manifest in the practice of Ethicomp.

Findings

– If computer ethics is to constitute a real engagement with industry and society that cultivates a genuine sensitivity to ethical concerns in the creation, development and implementation of technologies, a genuine sensitivity that stands in marked contrast to ethics as “mere compliance”, then computer ethics will have to persist in issuing an open invitation to inquiry.

Originality/value

– The celebration of 20 years of Ethicomp is an occasion to reflect on who we are and what we mean to be doing. Inclusive of previous accounts (e.g. Moor and Gotterbarn), while going beyond them, an inquiry-based conception of computer ethics makes room for all the various dimensions of computer ethics.
Does computing need to go beyond good and evil impacts?
Authors: Connolly Randy , Fedoruk Alan
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to demonstrate that computing social issues courses are often being taught by articulating the social impacts of different computer technologies and then applying moral theories to those impacts. It then argues that that approach has a number of serious drawbacks.

Design/methodology/approach

– A bibliometric analysis of ETHICOMP papers is carried out. Papers from early in the history of ETHICOMP are compared to recent years, so as to determine if papers are more or less focused on social scientific examinations of issues or on ethical evaluations of impacts of technology. The literature is examined to argue the drawbacks of the impact approach.

Findings

– Over time, ETHICOMP papers have moved away from social scientific examinations of computing to more philosophic and ethical evaluations of perceived impacts of computing. The impact approach has a number of drawbacks. First, it is based on a technological deterministic style of social explanation that has been in disrepute in the academic social sciences for decades. Second, it uses an algorithmic approach to ethics that simplifies the social complexity and uncertainty that is the reality of socio-technological change.

Research limitations/implications

– The methodology used in this paper is limited in several ways. The bibliometric analysis only examined five years of ETHICOMP papers, while the literature review focused on published computing education research. It is possible that neither of these forms of evidence reflects actual common teaching practice.

Practical implications

– It is hoped that the arguments in this paper will convince teaching practitioners to modify the way they are teaching computing social issues courses: that is, the authors hope to convince educators to add more focus on the social context of computing.

Originality/value

– The use of bibliometric analysis in this area is unique. The paper’s argument is perhaps unusual as well.
IT-ethical issues in sci-fi film within the timeline of the Ethicomp conference series
Authors: Gerdes Anne
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to explore human technology relations through the lens of sci-fi movies within the life cycle of the ETHICOMP conference series. Here, different perspectives on artificial intelligent agents, primarily in the shape of robots, but also including other kinds of intelligent systems, are explored. Hence, IT-ethical issues related to humans interactions with social robots and artificial intelligent agents are illustrated with reference to: Alex Proyas’ I, Robot; James Cameron’s Terminator; and the Wachowski brothers’ Matrix. All three movies present robots cast in the roles of moral agents capable of doing good or evil. Steven Spielberg’s Artificial Intelligence, A.I. gives rise to a discussion of the robot seen as a moral patient and furthermore reflects on possibilities for care and trust relations between robots and humans. Andrew Stanton’s Wall-E shapes a discussion of robots as altruistic machines in the role as facilitators of a flourishing society. Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report allows for a discussion of knowledge-discovering technology and the possibility for balancing data utility and data privacy.

Design/methodology/approach

– Observations of themes in sci-fi movies within the life span of the ETHICOMP conference series are discussed with the purpose of illustrating ways in which science fiction reflects (science) faction. In that sense, science fiction does not express our worries for a distant future, but rather casts light over questions, which is of concern in the present time.

Findings

– Human technology interactions are addressed and it is shown how sci-fi films highlight philosophical questions that puzzle us today, such as which kind of relationships can and ought to be formed with robots, and whether the roles they play as social actors demand that one ought to assign moral standing to them. The paper does not present firm answers but instead pays attention to the selection and framing of questions that deserve attention.

Originality/value

– To relate sci-fi movies to topics raised during the past 20 years of the ETHICOMP conference series, seemed to be an appropriate way of celebrating the 20-year anniversary of the ETHICOMP conference series.
Mentorship in computer ethics
Authors: Flick Catherine
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to introduce the concept of ETHICOMP as “community mentor” – the role that the ETHICOMP conference plays outside the standard conference fare, in which it nurtures and supports up-and-coming researchers in the field of computer ethics.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper uses an auto-ethnographic methodology to reflexively explore the author’s career from PhD student to early career researcher spanning the years 2005-2013, and how the ETHICOMP community has played a significant role as a mentor in her life. The literature on mentorship is discussed, particularly focussing on the importance of mentorship for women in philosophy-related academic careers, and criteria for successful mentorship are measured against the ETHICOMP “community mentorship”. Additionally, some key philosophical concepts are introduced and reflected upon.

Findings

– The paper produces recommendations for other philosophical communities wishing to grow their mentorship capabilities through communities around conferences.

Originality/value

– This paper sheds new light on the concepts of mentorship and the practical application of mentorship within an academic community. It also provides an account of the value of the ETHICOMP conference series that is beyond the usual academic output.
Social inclusion and social justice
Authors: Cefai Carmel , Cavioni Valeria , Bartolo Paul , Simoes Celeste , Miljevic-Ridicki Renata , Bouilet Dejana , Pavin Ivanec Tea , Matsopoulos Anatassios , Gavogiannaki Mariza , Zanetti Maria Assunta , Galea Katya , Lebre Paola , Kimber Birgitta , Eriksson Charli
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to present the development of a resilience curriculum in early years and primary schools to enhance social inclusion, equity and social justice amongst European communities, particularly amongst disadvantaged and vulnerable ones, through quality education. It defines educational resilience in terms of academic, social and emotional growth in the face of life challenges; discusses the conceptual framework and key principles underpinning the curriculum; and presents the six major content areas of the curriculum. Finally, it presents the preliminary findings of a pilot project on the implementation of the curriculum in more than 200 classrooms in about 80 early and primary schools in six European countries.

Design/methodology/approach

– The curriculum was first drafted collaboratively amongst the six partners on the basis of the existing literature in the promotion of resilience in early years and primary schools, with a particular focus to European realities. Once it was internally reviewed, it was piloted in 200 early years and primary school classrooms in six European countries, with each of the six partners implementing one theme. Data collection included teacher reflective diaries, classroom checklists, semi-structured interviews with teachers and focus groups with students.

Findings

– The preliminary results from the pilot evaluation of the curriculum in 199 classrooms totalling 1,935 students across six countries indicate that both the teachers and the learners overwhelmingly found the curriculum highly enjoyable, useful, relevant and easy to use. They looked forward to the possibility of having the programme on a full-time basis as part of the general curriculum in the future. The teachers reported a positive moderate change in learners’ behaviour related to the theme implemented and argued that for the implementation to be effective, it needs to take place throughout the whole year. A number of modifications have been on the basis of the teachers’ and learners’ feedback.

Originality/value

– This is the first resilience curriculum for early years and primary schools in Europe. While it seeks to address the needs of vulnerable children such as Roma children, immigrant and refugee children and children with individual educational needs, it does so within an assets-based, developmental, inclusive and culturally responsive approach, thus avoiding potential labelling and stigmatising, while promoting positive development and growth. It puts the onus on the classroom teacher, in collaboration with parents and other stakeholders, in implementing the curriculum in the classroom.
Resilience: paradoxical insight or conceptual poverty?
Authors: Martin Colin R.
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to look at some of the evidence that supports the construct of resilience and the operationalisation of the “phenomena” of resilience within contemporary society. The concept of resilience has become an influential and society-wide construct, embraced by the positive psychology movement and impacting on educational, health and social policy significantly and demonstrably. Importantly, the concept of resilience has a substantial historical heritage and legacy and the permeation of the construct within the collective social consciousness is rarely considered or queried, but generally accepted and embraced. Moreover, the construct of resilience within itself is invariably couched within contemporary discourse as a universal good and highly desirable attribute and further still, considered by many as a fundamental component contributing to the fabric of an individual’s character.

Design/methodology/approach

– The design of this paper is a short review of selective evidence of key conceptual issues.

Findings

– Resilience as a concept, is defuse, generally ill-defined and highly subjective. The concept of resilience, though popular and intrinsic to a number of aspects of public and educational policy, remains controversial, provides an explanatory account of differential outcomes which may not always be positive and, importantly, may potentially disenfranchise the individual.

Originality/value

– The synthesis of the brief and selective appraisal of evidence in this area suggests that the concept of resilience, if it exists at all, is highly mercurial, ambiguous in definition and despite its omnipresence as a representation of a positive and internalised attribution to the individual, has a significant negative side which is seldom considered. Querying the concept of resilience against the overwhelming backdrop of positive belief and opinion regarding the concept may represent a social heresy, however, the balance of evidence would suggest a debate about the concept is long overdue and, moreover, the concept itself provides a useful fulcrum to consider where beliefs, attitudes and opinions about abstract concepts stop and science, evidence and fact-based reflection begin.
Israeli teacher trainees’ perceptions of the termmoral resilience
Authors: Baratz Lea
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The aim of this study is to present an approach for creating an educational process that can affect teacher trainees’ moral resilience, while investigating the manner in which they – as teachers – perceive the concept of moral resilience.

Design/methodology/approach

– A study questionnaire, designed especially for the current study, was distributed online among trainees in a teacher-training college in Israel and was completed by 123 participants.

Findings

– Two major themes emerged in trainees’ conceptualizations of the notion of moral resilience: the role of the organisation in which the teaching takes place, and mechanisms that contribute to the development of moral fibre, which creates resilience.

Research limitations/implications

– The following points should be addressed early on in the teacher-training process: The teaching and acquisition of tools that are fundamental to the development of moral resilience, through cognitive and experiential processes, not only through theoretical study. The construction of a supportive environment will enable students to use their internal resources for coping with events that require mental resilience and which thus serve to develop moral resilience.

Originality/value

– This paper helps to establish a discourse and develop terminology to implement this subject.
Determinants of consumer behaviour in novice markets: the case of wine
Authors: Capitello Roberta , Agnoli Lara , Begalli Diego
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This study aims to understand the behaviour of novice consumers and provide businesses with guidelines regarding how to approach the different typologies of novice consumers from new inexperienced markets and from new generations.

Design/methodology/approach

– The reasoned action approach is applied to wine consumer, and two parallel surveys using a questionnaire have been conducted with a sample of the Missouri population – representing new consumers – and a sample of the young Italian population – representing young consumers located in traditional consuming countries. Two research hypotheses are tested.

Findings

– The hypothesis testing reveals two effects. The age effect creates similarities in the decision-making process structure, and attitude and subjective norm have the same weight in influencing behavioural intention. The novice effect creates differences in the structure; however, similarities exist at a more basic level than that of attitude and subjective norm, in salient beliefs and salient referents.

Practical implications

– The study highlights that penetration of these consumer segments should pursue different marketing approaches: educational goals for young people from new markets, an experiential marketing approach to improve the link between product and producer for new consumers and emphasis on cultural aspects of the product in a “young manner” for young consumers from traditional consuming markets.

Originality/value

– For the first time in the literature, this study analyses commonalities and peculiarities in the decision-making process of novice consumers.
Partner selection in co-opetition: a three step model
Authors: Alves João , Meneses Raquel
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to contribute towards a better understanding of the partner selection process, which anticipates a successful co-opetition partnership. Co-opetition partnerships refer to developing cooperation efforts between competitors. The scarcity of studies conducted in this field to date provides limited contribution for the understanding of the partner selection process in this, particularly, paradoxical concept.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study follows a methodology based on systematic combining for the qualitative analysis of four cases of domestic co-opetition in Portugal. A sample range of eight companies was selected for a series of semi-structured interviews. Testimonials were transcribed and data coded for content analysis.

Findings

– Results indicate that prior personal relationships between decision-makers are facilitators for the implementation of cooperation partnerships with competitors. Based on these findings, this paper proposes a three-step model to explain the process of partner selection for co-opetition partnerships. According to this model, after opting to commence a new coopetitive business alliance, the manager undergoes a first unconscious selection based on his/her own prior personal relationships, followed by a conscious and judicious selection based on specific criteria related to partner’s operational skills, resources, effectiveness and trust.

Research limitations/implications

– Given that the sample is entirely formed by companies from one single country, further research would benefit from the inclusion of other countries expressing different business contexts and cultural environments.

Originality/value

– The value of paper derives from the comprehensive realization of partner selection for domestic co-opetition as fundamentally a network-related process.
An agency theory scale for financial services
Authors: Tan Jon Chiew Kwee , Lee Richard
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to draw on agency theory (AT) to develop and validate a scale to investigate customers’ loyalty towards salespersons under agency problems. Especially with credence services, customer-salesperson relationships are beset by problems that stem from personal differences and conflicts of interests.

Design/methodology/approach

– The context is financial investment services in Indonesia. Following Churchill’s (1979) procedure, initial qualitative surveys generated a pool of 44 items for the three AT asymmetries of risk, goal and information. Expert panel validation and exploratory factor analyses of a dataset (n = 429) confirmed a four-dimensional structure of 30 items. Finally, confirmatory factor analyses using a second dataset (n = 299) tested the effects of the four asymmetries on customer loyalty, and how the effects are moderated by customer trust and relationship duration.

Findings

– Overall, agency problems negatively influence customer loyalty. Information asymmetry has two discriminantly distinct dimension, quality and timeliness. Low trust amplifies the effects of all asymmetries, whereas relationship duration reduces the effects of only risk asymmetry. Comparison with a three-factor model shows that the four-factor scale is superior.

Research limitations/implications

– Service firms desiring long-term customer relationships need to be cognisant of potential asymmetries created by salespersons, and develop initiatives to minimise potential fallouts from each asymmetry. These include proper alignment of compensation structures, accurate and timely communications of product information, and matching risk profiles between customers and salespersons. Regular customer feedback regarding perceived asymmetries would also help early problem detection. Finally, the findings would inform the development of policy matters and industry best practices.

Originality/value

– Besides contributing to the small stream of research that applies AT to marketing, this study is the first to develop and validate an AT scale that incorporates all three asymmetries.
Exploring service failure in a business-to-business context
Authors: Zhu Xia , Zolkiewski Judy
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This study aims to explore how business-to-business service failures manifest in a manufacturing context.

Design/methodology/approach

– The empirical research involved two case studies: case study one included 20 interviews in the metal finishing industry; case study two included 20 interviews in the paint and coatings industry. In both case studies, suppliers and customers’ perceptions were obtained to facilitate a dyadic understanding of the phenomena.

Findings

– Business-to-business service failure is a complex, dynamic and interactive process. It varies according to type of service, services supporting the products and services supporting the customers, service quality dimensions and the source of the failure. It can have a more profound impact than service failure in a consumer context because it may cause disruption to customers’ production and have a negative influence of failure on their clients in the network.

Research limitations/implications

– Business customers may play a role in value co-destruction rather than value co-creation by causing service failures due to errors on their part. The consequences of the domino effects revealed in this study need to be given careful consideration by managers. The research is exploratory, and the findings may be influenced by the manufacturing sector in which the case study firms are based.

Originality/value

– Business-to-business service failure has its own distinct characteristics, as it may impact widely in the business-to-business network. Domino effects implicitly dominate business-to-business service failure episodes where negative outcomes cascade downstream and affect service recipients’ customers.