bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The effect of commodity price shock on the Ethiopian economy
Authors: Nuru Naser Yenus , Gereziher Hayelom Yrgaw 
Published: October 2020

PurposeThe main purpose of this study is to examine the effect of commodity price shock on the Ethiopian economy for the sample period of 1991 Q1–2016 Q1.Design/methodology/approachThe effect of commodity price shock is analyzed using Jorda's (2005) local projection method. The shock is, however, identified by applying short-run contemporaneous restrictions in a vector autoregressive model based on Cholesky decomposition.FindingsThe results signify that output is positively affected by the shock to the commodity price. In addition, domestic consumer price responds positively and significantly to world commodity price shock after the first quarter. The commodity price shock has also a positive effect, on impact, on money supply. Foreign exchange reserve increases significantly from the fourth quarter onwards and real effective exchange rate appreciates on impact, though insignificantly, in response to the increase in commodity price.Originality/valueThis paper adds to the limited available literature on the effect of commodity price shock for developing countries in general and the Ethiopian economy in particular.
Chinese textile and apparel manufacturers' moral duty positions, goals and structures toward sustainability
Authors: Yang Nannan , Ha-Brookshire Jung E. 
Published: October 2020

PurposeUsing the moral responsibility theory of corporate sustainability (MRCS) framework , the study examined Chinese textile and apparel (T&A) manufacturers' moral duty positions, goals and structures toward sustainability, with a goal of creating a spectrum of corporate sustainability (CS) performance.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey method was employed to investigate participants' views on their companies' perceptions, goals and structures toward each of the listed sustainability-related activities.FindingsThe results showed that all participants expressed their companies have moral responsibilities toward some aspects of sustainability. Particularly, they viewed that their companies emphasize labor relations (LR) and righteous operation (RO) activities over environmental protection (EP) or public welfare involvement (PW) activities when fulfilling their sustainability responsibilities. After analyzing each response by following MRCS, 41 companies were categorized as occasionally sustainability corporations. The remaining 259 responses were categorized as consistently sustainability corporations in selective areas.Originality/valueThe study for the first time revealed the sustainability-related activities that most respondents in Chinese T&A manufacturing industry perceived as perfect or imperfect duties. Findings add knowledge to the area of corporate moral responsibility toward sustainability and show a spectrum of Chinese textile and apparel manufacturers' sustainability performance, empirically supporting MRCS.
Small business success: factors influencing the NBA's D-league
Authors: Keiper Margaret C. , Barnes John 
Published: October 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine the effects of initially controllable market factors on franchise success within NBA's Development League (D-League).Design/methodology/approachThe open systems theory provided the foundation for analyzing characteristics contributing to small business success, as measured by attendance capacity for NBA D-League teams. Multiple regression analysis was utilized.FindingsThe results of this study indicate specific market characteristics increase franchise success in NBA's D-League. Population, income, facility size and ownership model all influenced attendance capacity.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited to the teams that have operated in NBA's D-League. Contextual factors related to new business survival are not unique to minor league basketball and can be applied by scholars or professionals to any new business to help understand new business survival.Practical implicationsThis research is also useful to cities looking to invest in a professional sports franchise and for all small business owners to understand market characteristics that can contribute to success.Originality/valueThe results from this study significantly contribute to small business literature by being the first empirical study on NBA's D-League.
The differential effect of social disclosure on loan funding and loan repayment: evidence from fixed-rate peer-to-peer lending
Authors: Baek Hyungkee Young , Cho David D. , Jordan Robert Anthony , Kuvvet Emre 
Published: October 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the effects of social disclosure on loan funding and repayment within the fixed-rate peer-to-peer (P2P) lending model.Design/methodology/approachBy analyzing 31,637 loans from the largest P2P lending company in the USA, the authors study the effects of different forms of social disclosures and the specific contents of such disclosures on the speed of funding, amount borrowed, recovered principal amount and loan default.FindingsSome social disclosures help to fund a loan and are positively associated with loan repayment. The findings reveal prescriptive ways P2P borrowers indicate creditworthiness through social disclosure on loan listings.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that it is advantageous for P2P borrowers to invest time into well-written loan descriptions and remain engaged with potential lenders.Originality/valueThe authors show that some social disclosure factors that affect funding time and likelihood do not necessarily affect the loan default and repayment in the same way.
Social engineering and Emiratization in the United Arab Emirates
Authors: Sarker Abu Elias , Rahman Mohammad Habibur 
Published: October 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the rationale for using social engineering as a tool to impact the nationalization of workforce in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).Design/methodology/approachInterpretative and exploratory approaches have been employed for this research. Accordingly, the study has extensively reviewed government documents, reports of international organizations and relevant academic literature, including journal articles, conference papers and unpublished dissertations.FindingsThe findings show that the UAE Government has initiated multiple policies and programs to enhance participation of indigenous Emiratis in the burgeoning labor market which has been hitherto dominated by the expatriates. However, while the Emiratization programs are on the verge of fulfilling the targets in the public sector job market, significant gaps exist between the targets and accomplishments in the private sector, causing policy concern.Originality/valueThis paper links theoretical insights from the social engineering model used in the social sciences research to analyze the dynamics of workforce nationalization. The study will be helpful to inform further empirical research in this area.
Combating corruption in Singapore: a comparative analysis of two scandals
Authors: Quah Jon S.T. 
Published: October 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to compare two corruption scandals in Singapore to illustrate how its government has dealt with these scandals and to discuss the implications for its anti-corruption strategy.Design/methodology/approachThis paper analyses the Teh Cheang Wan and Edwin Yeo scandals by relying on published official and press reports.FindingsBoth scandals resulted in adverse consequences for the offenders. Teh committed suicide on 14 December 1986 before he could be prosecuted for his bribery offences. Yeo was found guilty of criminal breach of trust and forgery and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment. The Commission of Inquiry found that the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) was thorough in its investigations which confirmed that only Teh and no other minister or public official were implicated in the bribery offences. The Independent Review Panel appointed by the Prime Minister's Office to review the CPIB's internal controls following Yeo's offences recommended improvements to strengthen the CPIB's financial procedures and audit system. Singapore has succeeded in minimising corruption because its government did not cover-up the scandals but punished the guilty offenders and introduced measures to prevent their recurrence.Originality/valueThis paper will be useful for scholars, policymakers and anti-corruption practitioners interested in Singapore's anti-corruption strategy and how its government handles corruption scandals.
Application of fuzzy MOORA method in the design and fabrication of an automated hammering machine
Authors: Emovon Ikuobase , Okpako Oghenenyerovwho Stephen , Edjokpa Edith 
Published: October 2020

Purpose
In most developing countries riveting, upset forging and punching operations among others are performed using manual hammering technique. The use of the manual method increases production time and reduces efficiency. The use of the manual approach is predominantly due to the high cost of imported automated hammering machines (AHM) which the majority of the end-users are incapable of acquiring. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to produce an AHM that is affordable using an effective material selection methodology in the design and fabrication process.

Design/methodology/approach
The material selection methodology proposed is the fuzzy multi-objective optimisation on the basis of the ratio analysis (MOORA) method. The tool was used to evaluate and determine the optimum material for the major of the components of the AHM from amongst alternative materials while considering several decision criteria. A case study of the shaft was applied to demonstrate the suitability of the proposed technique. The AHM components design is then carried out and machine fabricated and tested to ascertain performance effectiveness.

Findings
The result of the fuzzy MOORA evaluation showed that alloy steel is the optimal material for the shaft. The fuzzy MOORA approach was compared with the fuzzy Vlsekriterijumska Optimizacija Ikompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) and fuzzy grey relational analysis (GRA) methods to validate the proposed method. The fuzzy MOORA method produces completely the same result with the fuzzy VIKOR and fuzzy GRA methods. The machine was then designed, constructed and tested and found to be effective for the purpose of the design.

Originality/value
This is significant as no such study has been published by any other researcher to the best of our knowledge in this area.
Disentangling direct and indirect determinants of the duration of maternal care in brown bears: Environmental context matters
Authors: Van de Walle Joanie , Zedrosser Andreas , Swenson Jon E. , Pelletier Fanie 
Published: October 2020

Abstract

The duration of maternal care, an important life‐history trait affecting population dynamics, varies greatly within species. Yet, our understanding of its predictors is limited, mostly correlative and subject to misinterpretations, due to difficulties to disentangle the role of maternal‐ and offspring‐related characteristics.

We conducted path analysis on a dataset including 217 brown bear litters captured over a 29‐year period in two populations in Sweden (‘North’ and ‘South’) facing contrasting environmental conditions to identify and quantify the causes of variation in the duration of maternal care (1.5 or 2.5 years).

We showed that the causal determinants of the duration of maternal care were context‐dependent. Contrary to their expected central role in the determination of the duration of maternal care, yearling mass and its direct determinants (i.e. litter size and maternal mass) were only important in the North population, where environmental conditions are harsher and the cost of extended maternal care presumably higher. In the South, the duration of maternal care was not caused by yearling mass nor any maternal or litter characteristics. Extension of maternal care may thus result from factors independent from maternal and offspring condition in the South, such as an artificial hunting‐induced selection for longer maternal care through the legal protection of family groups.

Our results provide an important contribution to our very limited knowledge of the direct and indirect determinants of the duration of maternal care and highlight the importance of accounting for the environmental context when assessing maternal reproductive tactics.
Size‐selective mortality induces evolutionary changes in group risk‐taking behaviour and the circadian system in a fish
Authors: Sbragaglia Valerio , López‐Olmeda Jose Fernando , Frigato Elena , Bertolucci Cristiano , Arlinghaus Robert 
Published: October 2020

Abstract

Intensive and trait‐selective mortality of fish and wildlife can cause evolutionary changes in a range of life‐history and behavioural traits. These changes might in turn alter the circadian system due to co‐evolutionary mechanisms or correlated selection responses both at behavioural and molecular levels, with knock‐on effects on daily physiological processes and behavioural outputs.

We examined the evolutionary impact of size‐selective mortality on group risk‐taking behaviour and the circadian system in a model fish species. We exposed zebrafish Danio rerio to either large or small size‐selective harvesting relative to a control over five generations, followed by eight generations during which harvesting was halted to remove maternal effects.

Size‐selective mortality affected fine‐scale timing of behaviours. In particular, small size‐selective mortality, typical of specialized fisheries and gape‐limited predators targeting smaller size classes, increased group risk‐taking behaviuor during feeding and after simulated predator attacks. Moreover, small size‐selective mortality increased early peaks of daily activity as well as extended self‐feeding daily activity to the photophase compared to controls. By contrast large size‐selective mortality, typical of most wild capture fisheries, only showed an almost significant effect of decreasing group risk‐taking behaviour during the habituation phase and no clear changes in fine‐scale timing of daily behavioural rhythms compared to controls.

We also found changes in the molecular circadian core clockwork in response to both size‐selective mortality treatments. These changes disappeared in the clock output pathway because both size‐selected lines showed similar transcription profiles. This switch downstream to the molecular circadian core clockwork also resulted in similar overall behavioural rhythms (diurnal swimming and self‐feeding in the last hours of darkness) independent of the underlying molecular clock.

To conclude, our experimental harvest left an asymmetrical evolutionary legacy in group risk‐taking behaviour and in fine‐scale daily behavioural rhythms. Yet, the overall timing of activity showed evolutionary resistance probably maintained by a molecular switch. Our experimental findings suggest that size‐selective mortality can have consequences for behaviour and physiological processes.
Quantitative records of habitat‐forming seaweeds found in Japanese temperate and subtropical zones (fucoids and kelps)
Authors: Arita Koichi , Suzuki Haruka , Yamano Hiroya , Yabe Tohru , Kumagai Naoki H. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThis data paper introduces a data set of quantitative records, including biomass (wet and dry weight), cover, shoot density and shoot length, of habitat‐forming seaweeds (temperate kelps and fucoids) collected at 400 sites (2,115 sampling points) of a warm‐to‐cold temperate zone of the Japanese coast from 1957 to 2013. The data set includes 8,885 occurrence records of 58 species, extracted from 64 literature sources, most of which were written in local language. The data set compiled the quantitative records of seaweeds at each study site, each year and each month; the geographical location; the vertical distribution and the scientific names. Furthermore, one supporting data set was added that included the name of the corresponding literature list. The data set was formatted as Darwin Core and its extension, “Sample‐based Data.” Scientific names were updated to ones that are currently accepted based on Algaebase (http://www.algaebase.org). A comprehensive distribution (presence and absence) data set of Japanese habitat‐forming seaweeds has been published (Kumagai et al., 2016, Ecological Research 31:759), which covers geographic distribution and the associated long‐term changes in seaweeds found in Japanese temperate and subtropical zones. Here, this data set focuses more on changes in seaweed quantity according to season and depth. This rich data set can be used to analyze the seasonal, long‐term changes and spatial differences in the biomass and community structure of habitat‐forming seaweeds along the Japanese coast. These datasets are published under a Creative Commons attribution license CC‐BY NC 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).The complete data set for this abstract published in the Data Paper section of the journal is available in electronic format in MetaCat in JaLTER at http://db.cger.nies.go.jp/JaLTER/metacat/metacat/ERDP-2020-07.1/jalter-en.
Structure and dynamics of a mountain riparian forest at an upstream valley in central Japan
Authors: Fukamachi Atsuko S. , Watanabe Naoaki , Hoshino Yoshinobu , Yoshikawa Masato , Yoshida Tomohiro 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThis paper reports the data collected in censuses of trees, litter fall and vegetation in a mountain riparian forest, upstream of the Watarase river, Gunma Prefecture in central Japan. A 1‐ha permanent plot (100 m × 100 m) subdivided into horizontal 10 m × 10 m grid cells was established in the forest in 2005. Tree census with woody species ≥15 cm girth at breast height was conducted every year from 2005. Twenty‐five litter traps were set in the permanent plot. The samples of litter fall were collected monthly, except in winter, between 2005 and 2008. And we sorted into leaves, branches, reproductive organs and other plant material, at species level as much as possible. The percentage cover of vascular plants was recorded at each vertical stratification (tree layer, subtree layer, shrub layer and herb layer) in 2008 and 2014 at the plot. These data are valuable for elucidating long‐term forest dynamics at mountain upstream areas experiencing frequent ground disturbances.The complete data set for this abstract published in the Data Paper section of the journal is available in electronic format in MetaCat in JaLTER at http://db.cger.nies.go.jp/JaLTER/metacat/metacat/ERDP-2020-15.1/jalter-en.
Jumbo rates below conforming rates: When did this happen and why?
Authors: Fisher Lynn M. , Fratantoni Mike , Oliner Stephen D. , Peter Tobias J. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractWe show that jumbo mortgage rates were above conforming rates before the financial crisis, consistent with previous studies, and that the spread between them widened during the crisis. However, the spread turned negative in 2013 and remained so through 2019, with jumbo rates about a quarter percentage point below conforming rates. A rise in the government‐sponsored enterprise (GSE) guarantee fees appears to be the main reason for the change. Increased bank supply of jumbo loans also may have played some role, though the evidence is weak. With the onset of the Covid‐19 pandemic, we estimate that the jumbo‐conforming spread increased enough to move slightly above zero.
Recent development and challenges in extraction of phytonutrients from palm oil
Authors: Hoe Boon Chin , Chan Eng‐Seng , Nagasundara Ramanan Ramakrishnan , Ooi Chien Wei 
Published: October 2020

AbstractPhytonutrients are plant‐derived bioactives which are widely utilized as colorants or supplements in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical products. To meet the global demand for phytonutrients, oil palm has emerged as a promising source of phytonutrients on account of its large‐scale plantation worldwide and high oil productivity. Phytonutrients including carotenoids, tocols, sterols, squalene, phospholipids, coenzyme Q10, and polyphenols can be found in crude palm oil as well as in the byproducts (e.g. palm oil mill effluent and palm‐pressed fiber oil) generated from the palm oil milling process. However, the high viscosity and semisolid properties of palm oil are problematic in phytonutrient extraction. Another major challenge is the retention of the sensitive phytonutrients during the extraction process. Over the years, the advances in the extraction methods have improved the extractability of phytonutrients. The emerging extraction methods can operate under mild conditions to mitigate the risk of phytonutrient degradation. This review outlines the types of phytonutrient in palm oil and their extraction strategies. The working principles and operating conditions of extraction methods are discussed along with their potential and limitations in terms of extraction efficiency and practicability. The methods for pretreatment of feedstocks for improving extraction efficiency are also highlighted. The challenges in the extraction of phytonutrient from palm oil feedstock are summarized. Lastly, we provide suggestions for overcoming the limitations and improving the performances of phytonutrient extraction.
Did mass incarceration lead to the disproportionate admission of minorities and marginal offenders?
Authors: Felson Richard B. , Krajewski Andrew T. 
Published: October 2020

Research SummaryWe examine the effects of mass incarceration on the admission of minority and marginal (i.e., first‐time) offenders to state prisons. Our analyses are based on six waves of data from the Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities from 1973 to 2004. The results suggest that the era of mass incarceration led to increased incarceration of Hispanic offenders relative to White offenders, but not Black offenders relative to White offenders. Disproportional incarceration did occur, however, during some periods. For example, during the early period of mass incarceration, there was a disproportional increase in the admission of Hispanics and marginal offenders. In the late 1980s, during the “War on Drugs,” the likelihood that admissions were Black or Hispanic drug offenders increased, but the likelihood that admissions were marginal offenders did not.Policy ImplicationsOur results provide further evidence of the perils of punitive policies. The tendency to overreact to crime problems sometimes, but not always, leads to the disproportionate incarceration of minority and marginal offenders.