bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
On being posthuman in human spaces: critical posthumanist social work with interspecies families
Authors: Laing Melissa 
Published: April 2020

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it proposes a critical posthumanist orientation to social work as an approach to address the impediments to care experienced by interspecies families. Secondly, it challenges the anthropocentric assumptions that underpin this exclusion of nonhuman family members in human services disciplines such as social work.Design/methodology/approachThis article presents primary data from a qualitative study into social work and other human services practice in the family violence and homelessness sectors in the state of Victoria, Australia.FindingsSocial workers undertook companion animal-inclusive practice to counter vulnerability to interspecies families caused by gender- and species-based violence, and by homelessness. Gender- and species-based violence was exacerbated by a lack of refuge options, and contributed to women considering their companion animals to be their children. The vulnerability that homelessness brought upon interspecies families was amplified by stigma within and external to social work and related professions, and the impediment that experiences of homelessness had on being able to provide care for their nonhuman family members. These factors shaped practice with interspecies families. Scope for future practice was also identified.Research limitations/implicationsThe research findings can be used to inform policy change that includes consideration of nonhuman family members, as well as critical posthuman program design in social work education.Originality/valueCompanion animal-inclusive practice with interspecies families in social work is an under researched area, and there is little empirical data available on the nature of this work in Australia. This paper addresses this gap by centring social workers' own accounts of practice. This paper has scope to contribute to education in social work and other welfare fields, with the potential to empower students to challenge assumptions about social work being solely focused on human-centred concerns.
Analysis of cassava value chain in Ghana: implications for upgrading smallholder supply systems
Authors: Darko-Koomson Samuel , Aidoo Robert , Abdoulaye Tahirou 
Published: April 2020

PurposeCommercialization of cassava is increasing because of increased urban demand for processed products and increased recognition of the industrial potential of the crop. This study aims to examine the cassava value chain in Ghana and its implications for upgrading.Design/methodology/approachA combination of purposive, simple random and snowball sampling methods was adopted to select key actors in the cassava value chain. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data. Analysis of the data was largely descriptive, except for profitability of cassava production in selected regions, which was examined by employing gross and net marketing margin analysis. A comprehensive value chain map was generated to show the different product pathways for cassava from the farm gate to the final consumer, and roles of key value chain actors and their relationships were summarized through simple narrations.FindingsEvidence has shown chains of more than four different channels through which fresh cassava roots move from the farm gate to final consumers. Production of cassava in Ghana is profitable, generating positive net marketing margins across major producing centres. Processing of cassava has both dry and wet/fresh value chains depending on the derived products for the final consumer. There is weak governance system in the cassava value chain in Ghana as majority of actors use spot market transactions in dealing with trading partners. The use of standardized grading and weighing system is very limited in the chain, and limited access to credit is a critical constraint to value chain upgrading.Research limitations/implicationsWith the exception of results from the profitability analysis of producers, the findings on marketing margins of other value chain actors may not be generalizable. Future studies could determine the profitability associated with cassava value-adding activities like processing into various forms and explore the possibility of converting waste from processing into energy.Practical implicationsThe study includes implications that focus on product and process upgrading efforts by smallholders in the cassava value chain. This paper recommends innovative financing models for smallholders to improve access to microcredit via internal and external funding sources.Originality/valueThis paper reveals specific intervention areas in which smallholders can direct efforts in an attempt to improve the cassava value chain through product, process and functional upgrading.
Macroeconomic responses to fiscal shocks in Portugal
Authors: Bova Elva , Klyviene Violeta 
Published: April 2020

PurposeThis study analyses the impact of fiscal shocks on GDP, inflation and interest rates in Portugal over 1995–2017.Design/methodology/approachMultipliers are estimated using a structural VAR (SVAR) a' la Blanchard and Perotti (2002) using OECD elasticities. Changes in direct and indirect taxes are considered for fiscal shocks on the revenue side and changes in public consumption, investment and transfers for fiscal shocks on the expenditure side.FindingsThe analysis finds small tax multipliers and larger government consumption multipliers for growth, while short-term responses to shocks in transfer and investment spending are found to be negligible. Fiscal shocks have an ambiguous impact on inflation, and fiscal shocks of an expansionary nature are found to trigger declines in interest rates. The results are robust to different orderings of variables, to the selection of an alternative time period which excludes the financial crisis and to an alternative estimation technique.Research limitations/implicationsA major limitation of the study relates to the relatively short time period which does not allow capturing the impact of possible structural breaks.Practical implicationsThis analysis is relevant for countries, like Portugal, that display high debt levels and volatile market sentiment and lack an independent monetary policy.Originality/valueOverall, the analysis of output multipliers compares well with some other studies conducted on the Portuguese economy and confirms the importance of the disposable income channel in the transmission of fiscal shocks to the rest of the economy. The study is one of the first to focus also on the implications of fiscal shocks on inflation and long-term interest rates. It is the first to apply the local projection method to estimate multipliers in Portugal.
The convergence of carbon dioxide emissions: a survey of the empirical literature
Authors: Payne James E. 
Published: April 2020

PurposeThis survey of the literature on the convergence of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions informs researchers on areas for future research by summarizing the countries examined, the types of convergence tested and the methodological approaches undertaken.Design/methodology/approachThis survey examines peer-reviewed empirical studies of CO2emissions convergence with respect to country coverage and alternative approaches to test for various types of convergence.FindingsFor large multicountry studies, the support for convergence is quite limited. However, studies focused exclusively on a subset of countries defined by income classification, geographic region or institutional structure reveal the finding of convergence is more prevalent. Studies at the subnational level have primarily been in the cases of the US and China with the exception of two studies across industry sectors in Portugal and Sweden.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focuses exclusively on peer-reviewed published studies.Practical implicationsThis study is relevant to the design of mitigation strategies to reduce CO2emissions and the assumption of convergence underlying climate change models.Social implicationsAs a major component of greenhouse gas emissions, CO2emissions is of global importance in its impact on the environment and climate change.Originality/valueThis study provides the most recent and comprehensive survey of the empirical literature on the convergence of CO2emissions.
The role of top management support and organizational capabilities in achieving e-business entrepreneurship
Authors: Al-Omoush Khaled Saleh 
Published: April 2020

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of top management support and organizational capabilities in achieving e-business entrepreneurship.

Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire from 26 manufacturing firms with a sample of 282 respondents. Data were analyzed using SmartPLS.

Findings
The results show a significant impact of top management support on e-business entrepreneurship. The findings also show a direct impact of organizational capabilities, involving organizational agility and organizational learning on the e-business entrepreneurship. Moreover, the results of the study highlight the pivotal role of top management in preparing an organizational environment that fosters organizational learning and organizational agility capabilities to establish e-business entrepreneurship.

Originality/value
This study contributes to the body of knowledge and understanding of e-business entrepreneurship and the pivotal role of top management support in today’s very dynamic environment. Furthermore, the present study offers new insights into the impact of organizational capabilities on establishing e-business entrepreneurship.
Can CrossFit aid in addiction recovery? An exploratory media analysis of popular press
Authors: Lautner Shelby C. , Patterson Megan S. , Ramirez Melitza , Heinrich Katie 
Published: April 2020

Purpose
CrossFit has been popularized for the high intensity workouts it provides and the sense of community it facilitates; however, its potential as an adjunctive treatment for addiction is unknown, as is has not been published in traditional peer-reviewed literature. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the potential for CrossFit to benefit individuals in addiction recovery.

Design/methodology/approach
A search was conducted using the search terms “CrossFit,” “addiction” and “addiction recovery.” A tool was created to categorize key information within articles such as type(s) of addiction described, mention of support/community, main narrative type (personal story, information about a treatment centers, etc.), mental health described as a comorbidity, and if the exercise program(s) was(were) used to prevent, sustain or support recovery.

Findings
Nearly half of the articles reviewed (48 per cent) described personal stories related to using CrossFit as a means to overcome addiction, and 26 per cent were about CrossFit gyms targeting addiction recovery. A key finding was that 62 per cent of all articles mentioned the community and social component of CrossFit as an important mechanism of the recovery process. Finally, 33 per cent of articles recognized mental health as a comorbidity to addiction and therefore also proposed CrossFit as a suitable way to improve mental health.

Research limitations/implications
Although this was a review of gray literature, the findings reveal how CrossFit may be an innovative approach for supporting addiction recovery.

Practical implications
The potential benefits identified in the articles demonstrate the positive impact that CrossFit may have on recovering addicts. Empirical research is needed to objectively study the impact of key aspects that CrossFit can provide to individuals overcoming addiction.

Originality/value
This study provides an example of how anecdotal evidence of addiction recovery can be used for analysis, thus providing a strategy to be implemented in addiction treatment facilities. CrossFit has been widely popularized by the fitness community, but the social support and exercise it provides may be a leverage point for supporting individuals in recovery.
Vote or not? How various information cues affect helpfulness voting of online reviews
Authors: Deng Weihua , Yi Ming , Lu Yingying 
Published: April 2020

PurposeThe helpfulness vote is a type of aggregate user representation that, by measuring the quality of an online review based on certain criteria, can allow readers to find helpful reviews more quickly. Although widely applied in practice, the effectiveness of the voting mechanism is unsatisfactory. This paper uses the heuristic–systematic model and the theory of dynamics of reviews to shed light on the effect of various information cues (product ratings, word count and product attributes in the textual content of reviews) on online reviews’ aggregative voting process. It proposes a conceptual model of seven empirically tested hypotheses.Design/methodology/approachA dataset of user-generated online hotel reviews (n = 6,099) was automatically extracted from Ctrip.com. In order to measure the variable of product attributes as a systematic cue, the paper uses Chinese word segmentation, a part-of-speech tag and word frequency statistics to analyze online textual content. To verify the seven hypotheses, SPSS 17.0 was used to perform multiple linear regression.FindingsThe results show that the aggregative process of helpfulness voting can be divided into two stages, initial and cumulative voting, depending on whether voting is affected by the previous votes. Heuristic (product ratings, word count) and systematic cues (product attributes in the textual content) respectively exert a greater impact on the two stages. Furthermore, the interaction of heuristic and systematic cues plays an important role in both stages, with a stronger impact on the cumulative voting stage and a weaker one on the initial stage.Practical implicationsThis paper’s findings can be used to explore improvements to helpfulness voting by aligning it with an individual’s information process strategy, such as by providing more explicating heuristic cues, developing different methods of presenting relevant cues to promote the voting decision at different stages, and specifying the cognitive mechanisms when designing the functions and features of helpfulness voting.Originality/valueThis study explores the aggregative process of helpfulness votes, drawing on the study of the dynamics of online reviews for the first time. It also contributes to the understanding of the influence of various information cues on the process from an information process perspective.
“Circles of support”: social isolation, targeted assistance, and the value of “ageing in place” for older people
Authors: Bolton Emma , Dacombe Rod 
Published: April 2020

Purpose
This study aims to explore the experiences of older people “ageing in place”, focussing on the implementation of “Circles of Support”, a pilot intervention aimed at mitigating the risk of hospitalisation amongst socially-isolated older people.

Design/methodology/approach
The study draws on qualitative research, taking in semi-structured interviews with participants in the intervention and with community networkers involved in delivering the programme.

Findings
The research provides indicative findings supporting the idea that social isolation is linked to health issues amongst older people. It also suggests that targeted interventions can go some way to mitigating this problem. The findings presented here also indicate the importance of a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of socially-isolated older people in designing and delivering interventions.

Originality/value
The study contribution is in three areas. It presents findings based on the pilot programme relating to the experiences of older people at risk of social isolation and provides an indication of the value of interventions aimed at tackling social isolation, connecting these to the risk of hospitalisation.
Disentangling the steps of the infection process responsible for juvenile disease susceptibility
Authors: Izhar Rony , Gilboa Chen , Ben‐Ami Frida 
Published: April 2020

Abstract

Juveniles of diverse host taxa, including vertebrates, invertebrates and plants, are more susceptible to parasitic infections than adults, a phenomenon still poorly understood.

To shed light on the mechanisms underlying this host age effect, we investigated its expression during different steps of the infection process of a bacterial parasite of the planktonic crustacean Daphnia. To do so, we infected juvenile and adult Daphnia magna with the bacterium Pasteuria ramosa and monitored parasite development in experiments specific to different steps of the infection process.

We did not find an effect of host age on parasite attachment, but found a strong increase in the penetration time of the parasite into hosts with increasing age. Host age at exposure also affected within‐host parasite development, which was delayed in old adult D. magna in comparison to young adults and juveniles. Furthermore, parasite clearance was observed only in old adults, suggesting that old hosts have a better immune response than young adults and juveniles.

Our results reveal a step‐specific effect of host age on disease progression, giving support for different hypotheses explaining high juvenile disease susceptibility. While these mechanisms are likely to work independently from each other, earlier steps of the infection process influence later steps, and thus may respond more readily to selection than later steps.

Our results also highlight that clearance can occur both during early parasite establishment and surprisingly at progressed infection phases, an undocumented phenomenon in invertebrates, where late infections are often considered chronic, lasting until host death.

A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
MR enterography – Impact on image quality between single‐ versus split‐dose Buscopan
Authors: Rao Akshay , Sitheeque Fariha , Gustafson Sonja , Lu Macy , Prior Marita 
Published: April 2020

AbstractIntroductionMR enterography (MRE) is the most common imaging modality used to assess small bowel pathology, particularly patients with suspected Crohn's disease. Spasmolytic agents, most commonly Buscopan, are routinely used to reduce or cease movement/bowel activity in order to reduce blurring of the images which would otherwise reduce its diagnostic quality. The purpose of this study was to determine if administering an evenly split dose of Buscopan would improve the quality of images obtained relative to the standard single dose performed at our institution.MethodsCine sequences through the anterior and mid‐abdomen were performed to assess and document small bowel peristalsis. Additional analysis was performed by the use of digital subtraction and measuring the signal‐to‐noise ratio value on the subtracted image, which was used to compare the amount of small bowel movement.ResultsA total of 34 patients who presented to the Department of Medical Imaging between October 2018 and April 2019 were included. In the anterior section, those in the split‐dose group had a mean difference of 2.4 lower number of peristalsing bowel loops compared to the single‐dose group (P = 0.001), while in the mid‐section, those in the split‐dose group had a mean difference of 2.5 lower number of peristalsing bowel loops compared to the single‐dose group (P‐value = 0.001).ConclusionOur findings indicate that split‐dose Buscopan significantly reduced peristalsis compared to single‐dose Buscopan, and a reduction in peristalsis reduces one aspect of motion artefact, which translates to better images.
Real‐life experience with non‐vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants versus warfarin in patients undergoing elective cardioversion of atrial fibrillation
Authors: Itäinen‐Strömberg Saga , Hekkala Anna‐Mari , Aro Aapo L. , Vasankari Tuija , Airaksinen Kari Eino Juhani , Lehto Mika 
Published: April 2020

AbstractBackgroundNonvitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) are increasingly used in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing elective cardioversion (ECV). The aim was to investigate the use of NOACs and warfarin in ECV in a real‐life setting and to assess how the chosen regimen affected the delay to ECV and rate of complications.MethodsConsecutive AF patients undergoing ECVs in the city hospitals of Helsinki between January 2015 and December 2016 were studied. Data on patient characteristics, delays to cardioversion, anticoagulation treatment, acute (<30 days) complications, and regimen changes within one year were evaluated.ResultsNine hundred patients (59.2% men; mean age, 68.0 ± 10.0) underwent 992 ECVs, of which 596 (60.0%) were performed using NOACs and 396 (40.0%) using warfarin. The mean CHA2DS2‐VASc score was 2.5 (±1.6). In patients without previous anticoagulation treatment, NOACs were associated with a shorter mean time to cardioversion than warfarin (51 versus. 68 days, respectively; p < .001). Six thromboembolic events (0.6%) occurred: 4 (0.7%) in NOAC‐treated patients and 2 (0.5%) in warfarin‐treated patients. Clinically relevant bleeding events occurred in seven patients (1.8%) receiving warfarin and three patients (0.5%) receiving NOACs. Anticoagulation treatment was altered for 99 patients (11.0%) during the study period, with the majority (88.2%) of changes from warfarin to NOACs.ConclusionsIn this real‐life study, the rates of thromboembolic and bleeding complications were low in AF patients undergoing ECV. Patients receiving NOAC therapy had a shorter time to cardioversion and continued their anticoagulation therapy more often than patients on warfarin.
Hypothermic treatment for neonatal asphyxia in low‐resource settings using phase‐changing material—An easy to use and low‐cost method
Authors: Tran Hang T. T. , Le Ha T. T. , Tran Hanh T. P. , Khu Dung T. K. , Lagercrantz Hugo , Tran Dien M. , Winbladh Birger , Hellström‐Westas Lena , Alfvén Tobias , Olson Linus 
Published: April 2020

AbstractAimTo evaluate whether phase‐changing material can be used for therapeutic hypothermia of asphyxiated newborns in low‐resource settings.MethodsProspective interventional study of asphyxiated term infants fulfilling criteria for hypothermia treatment at Vietnam National Children's Hospital from September 2014 to September 2016. Hypothermia was induced within 6 hours after birth and maintained for 72 hours by a phase‐changing material mattress with melting point of 32°C. Rectal temperature was continuously measured, and deviations from target temperature range 33.5‐34.5°C were recorded.ResultsIn total 52 infants (mean gestational age 39.3 ± 1.1 weeks) included and cooled, the median temperature at initiation of cooling was 35.3 (IQR 34.5‐35.9)°C. The median time to reach target temperature was 2.5 (IQR 2‐3) hours. The mean temperature during the cooling phase was 33.95 ± 0.2°C. Throughout the cooling phase, the target temperature range (33.5‐34.5°C) was maintained more than 80% of the time. Rate of rewarming was 0.5 ± 0.14°C/hour.ConclusionPhase‐changing material can be used as an effective cooling method. Though not a servo‐controlled system, it is easy to induce hypothermia, maintain target temperature and rewarm infants in a slow and controlled manner without need for frequent changes and minimum risk of skin injury.