bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The role of two-component system response regulatorBceRin antimicrobial resistance, virulence, biofilm formation, and stress response of group B Streptococcus
Authors: Yang Ying , Luo Mingjing , Haokui  , Li Carmen , Luk Alison W. S. , Zhao GP , Fung Kitty , Ip Margaret 
Published: June 2018

AbstractThe hypervirulent Group B Streptococcus (Streptococcus agalactiae, GBS) serogroup III clonal cluster 17 has been associated with neonatal GBS invasive disease and meningits. Serogroup III, ST283 has recently been implicated in invasive disease among non-pregnant adults in Asia. These strains cluster with strains from freshwater fishes from aquaculture and a foodborne outbreak of sepsis, especially with septic arthritis, had been linked to such consumption in Singapore in 2015. Through comparative genome analyses of invasive and non-invasive strains of ST283, we identified a truncated response regulator gene in the non-invasive strain. This two component response gene, previously named a DNA binding regulator, is conserved among GBS strains and is a homologue ofBacillus subtilis BceR, the response regulator of the BceRSAB system. Loss of function of theBceRresponse gene in the invasive GBS strain demonstrated bacitracin susceptibility inΔBceRmutant with MICs of 256-fold and four-fold reduction in bacitracin and human cathelicin LL-37 compared to wild type and complementation strains. Upregulation ofdltAof wild type strain vsΔBceRmutant was demonstrated (p<0.0001), and was previously shown inStaphylococcus aureusto resist and repel cationic peptides through excess positive charges with D-alanylation of teichoic acids on the cell wall. In addition,ΔBceRmutant was less susceptible under oxidative stress under H2O2stress when compared to wild type strain (p<0.001) and inhibited biofilm formation (p<0.05 andp< 0.0001 for crystal violet staining and cfu counts). TheΔBceRmutant also showed reduced mortality as compared to wild type strain (p<0.01) in a murine infection model. Taken together,BceRSis involved in bacitracin and antimicrobial peptide resistance, survival under oxidative stress, biofilm formation and play an important role in the virulence of GBS.Author SummaryTwo-component systems (TCSs) play an important role in virulence in bacteria, and are involved in detecting environmental changes. AlthoughS. agalactiaewas reported to contain more predicted TCSs thanStreptococcus pneumoniae,few have been studied in detail. In this work, comparative genomic analysis of GBS invasive (hyper-virulent) and non-invasive serotype III-4 strains were performed to determine any gene differences that may account for severity of disease in humans.BceR-likeTCS was selected and suspected to be involved in virulence, and thusBceRwas deleted in a hyper-virulent GBS serotype III-4 strain. We demonstrated that thisBceR-likeTCS is involved in GBS virulence and induced proinflammatory host immune responses. Our study of TCSBceRmay guide further research into the role of other TCSs in GBS pathogenicity, and further explore therapeutic targets for GBS disease.
Implementing third-party assurance in integrated reporting
Authors: Briem Christian Rainer , Wald Andreas 
Published: June 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine companies’ reasons for voluntarily obtaining third-party integrated reporting (IR) assurance and the role of external auditors in the assurance process.Design/methodology/approachBy conducting 25 in-depth semi-structured interviews, a wide range of significant actors in the assurance process of integrated reports are addressed. In addition, archive materials are considered. The authors apply institutional theory, agency theory, and the diffusion of innovations theory to analyze IR assurance.FindingsCompanies follow coercive pressures by their stakeholders when obtaining external assurance. They intend to appreciate their non-financial indicators and increase their credibility and reliability. Auditors play an important role as change agents for the implementation of IR assurance by, e.g., supporting the correct interpretation of the International Integrated Reporting Council standards and by promoting IR.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, 25 in-depth interviews can only give a first insight about the stated questions. Second, this paper only considers auditors and company representatives from Germany. Third, investors were not questioned about their attitude toward IR assurance.Practical implicationsThe results may serve as a basis for the implementation of IR assurance.Originality/valueThis study combines the relatively unexplored research field of IR with three established theories. Hereby, it exposes companies’ motivation for obtaining external assurance and auditors’ role on the assurance process.
Microstructures and immersion corrosion performances of arc sprayed amorphous Al-Ti-Ni coating on S355 structural steel
Authors: Haixiang Chen , Dejun Kong 
Published: June 2018

Purpose
In this study, an amorphous Al-Ti-Ni coating was fabricated on S355 steel using an arc spraying, and its corrosion behavior immersed in 3.5 per cent NaCl solution for 720 h was discussed, which provided an experimental basis for the application of arc sprayed Al-Ti-Ni coating on S355 steel on marine platform.

Design/methodology/approach
An amorphous Al-Ti-Ni coating was sprayed on S355 structural steel using an arc spraying. The surface-interface morphologies, chemical element compositions and phases of the obtained Al-Ti-Ni coating were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectrometer and X-ray diffractometer, respectively. The distributions of chemical elements on the coating surface and interface were analyzed using an energy spectrum scanning; the bonding mechanism between the coating and the substrate was also discussed.

Findings
Financial support for this research by the Key Research and Development Project of Jiangsu Province (BE2016052).

Originality/value
In this study, an amorphous Al-Ti-Ni coating was fabricated on S355 steel using an arc spraying, its corrosion behavior immersed in 3.5 per cent 25 NaCl solution for 720 h was discussed.
From informational towards transformational advertising strategies? A content analysis of Belgian food magazine advertisements
Authors: Roose Gudrun , Geuens Maggie , Vermeir Iris 
Published: June 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to perform a preliminary examination of informational and transformational advertising appeals in contemporary advertisements for healthy and unhealthy foods.

Design/methodology/approach
Western (European) food advertisements published in Belgian food magazines were content analyzed to identify informational and transformational advertising appeals. Belgian food advertising was selected as an adequate representation of Western (European) food advertising because marketing in Belgium is permeated by international influences (cf. Belgian Federal Government). Advertisements were sampled from three magazines over a period of five years, from January 2009 to December 2013. The sample comprised 325 unique advertisements, including 159 for healthy foods and 166 for unhealthy foods.

Findings
The results of the content analysis indicated that healthy food advertisements in Belgium are mainly informational, whereas unhealthy food advertisements are mainly transformational.

Originality/value
This preliminary examination of informational and transformational advertising appeals in contemporary healthy food and unhealthy food advertisements shows that healthy food advertisements in Belgium are mainly informational, whereas the segment of consumers which is precarious – people low-involved with healthy food – are mainly attracted by transformational advertising appeals. The contrasting transformational strategy of unhealthy-food advertisements can provide inspiration for healthy food advertisers to help increase healthy food consumption.
Examining networked NGO services: reconceptualising value co-creation
Authors: Best Bernadette , Moffett Sandra , Hannibal Claire , McAdam Rodney 
Published: June 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explain how value is co-created in a many-to-many (MTM) context. The authors use a case study of a non-governmental service delivery consortium engaging multiple actors to examine how value is co-created beyond the buyer-supplier dyad.

Design/methodology/approach
An explanatory case study of a consortium of seven UK non-governmental organisations (NGOs) delivering public service contracts is presented. Multiple data collection methods are combined; semi-structured interviews (n=30) and focus groups with internal stakeholders (n=5), participant observations (n=4) and document analysis.

Findings
The authors use three illustrative empirical examples to show how different sources, types, enablers and mechanisms of VCC are evident during service provision activities. The findings show how different service provision activities utilise different dimensions, leading the authors to suggest that dimensions of VCC may be context dependent.

Research limitations/implications
As consortia differ in their context and function, the findings may not be generalisable. Nevertheless, they provide specific examples of sources, types, enablers and mechanisms of value co-creation (VCC) that may be applicable to private, public and NGOs.

Practical implications
Understanding how value is co-created with multiple stakeholders can offer competitive advantages likely to lead to improved sustainability, impact and performance.

Originality/value
The empirical study offers a reconceptualisation of VCC in a MTM context. The paper combines disparate perspectives of VCC to offer a more holistic perspective.
Value conflicts in co-production: governing public values in multi-actor settings
Authors: Aschhoff Nils , Vogel Rick 
Published: June 2018

Purpose
Co-production with citizens brings about the challenge to orchestrate public values which might be in conflict with each other. However, little is known about what types of value tensions occur in co-production and how actors cope with them. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on three case studies of co-production in Germany. In total, 24 semi-structured interviews with public managers, citizens, and third parties were conducted.

Findings
The analysis identified three major public value tensions occurring in co-production: the inclusiveness-accountability-tension, the flexibility-accountability-tension, and the productivity-diversity-tension. Furthermore, six strategies of coping with these tensions are examined.

Research limitations/implications
As the paper is based on case studies, further research is required to explore possible other public value tensions emerging from different manifestations of co-production.

Originality/value
This paper bridges the fields of public values and co-production. By including perceptions of all actor groups, a more comprehensive understanding of public values in co-production and how they are in conflict is provided. A novel coping strategy is revealed, which has previously not been mentioned in the literature.
Perceptions unfolded: managerial implementation in perception formation
Authors: Grøn Caroline Howard 
Published: June 2018

Purpose
The literature so far has shown that perceptions of managerial interventions matter for motivation and performance. However, how these perceptions are formed and develop over time is less clear. The purpose of this paper is to fill part of this gap.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a panel case study to investigate how perceptions of a managerial intervention are formed and developed over time among daycare workers in a Danish municipality.

Findings
The paper reveals the dynamic nature of preferences and the centrality of the local manager in perception formation, illustrating that it is not necessarily the implementation style (soft/hard) that is important as much as the managerial involvement in the initiative.

Practical implications
Whereas managers are still well advised to consider the pros and cons of a hard vs a soft implementation approach, this paper also underlines the importance of constant managerial involvement not only to ensure implementation but also to continuously impact the way managerial interventions are perceived.

Originality/value
The paper adds to the existing knowledge about perception formation by using a panel case study, hence illustrating the dynamic character of perception formation.
Assessing performance-use preferences through an institutional logics lens
Authors: Ngoye Benard , Sierra Vicenta , Ysa Tamyko 
Published: June 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of shared cognitive frames, in particular, that of institutional logics, on the deployment and use of performance measurement systems (PMSs) in the public sector.Design/methodology/approachUsing novel priming techniques derived from behavioral and social psychology, three institutional logics – the public, market-managerial and professional logics – are differentially surfaced in three independent experimental groups. The influence of these primed institutional logics on performance measurement use preferences are then empirically assessed using appropriate analysis of variance techniques.FindingsContrary to theoretical predictions, the paper reveals logic congruence regarding some uses of PMSs in the public sector, and divergence regarding others. Individuals applying a public logic were more likely to propose performance measurement use for strategic planning or strategic alignment; while those applying a professional logic were more likely to propose performance measurement use for learning, compared to otherwise primed individuals.Research limitations/implicationsConsidering the sample size and the novelty of the priming tools, it is feasible that other potentially significant effects may have been missed.Originality/valueThe paper addresses a gap in literature regarding the influence of shared cognitive frames on performance measurement use in public sector organizations. The paper further presents priming techniques embedded within an experimental design as an appropriate method for the micro-level study of attitudes, preferences and judgments in the public sector.
Analyzing anime users’ online forum queries for recommendation using content analysis
Authors: Cho Hyerim , Schmalz Marc L. , Keating Stephen A. , Lee Jin Ha 
Published: June 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of relevant information features for users seeking anime recommendations.

Design/methodology/approach
The study uses content analysis of 396 recommendation request threads from the online forum at Anime News Network.

Findings
In total, 19 important anime information features were identified, including Work, Theme, Genre, Audience, Mood, while Artwork/Visual Style, Audio Style, and Language were mentioned less frequently. However, when mentioned, these codes were discussed with specificity and depth.

Research limitations/implications
This study analyzed a relatively small number of 396 forum records, without demographic information. Using content analysis of online forum threads written by real users provided both informational breadth and depth. Future studies would benefit from using content analysis to investigate unfamiliar multimedia information and user groups.

Practical implications
The findings of this study can be implemented in anime-related databases and information systems to enhance organization, browsing/retrieval, and recommendation of anime, which can be further utilized for other audiovisual materials.

Originality/value
This is one of the few studies that investigate what anime users need and want. This research examines an understudied cultural medium, underserved by current research, despite an expanding community of anime users.
Factors influencing the data sharing behavior of researchers in sociology and political science
Authors: Zenk-Möltgen Wolfgang , Akdeniz Esra , Katsanidou Alexia , Naßhoven Verena , Balaban Ebru 
Published: June 2018

Purpose
Open data and data sharing should improve transparency of research. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how different institutional and individual factors affect the data sharing behavior of authors of research articles in sociology and political science.

Design/methodology/approach
Desktop research analyzed attributes of sociology and political science journals (n=262) from their websites. A second data set of articles (n=1,011; published 2012-2014) was derived from ten of the main journals (five from each discipline) and stated data sharing was examined. A survey of the authors used the Theory of Planned Behavior to examine motivations, behavioral control, and perceived norms for sharing data. Statistical tests (Spearman’s ρ, χ2) examined correlations and associations.

Findings
Although many journals have a data policy for their authors (78 percent in sociology, 44 percent in political science), only around half of the empirical articles stated that the data were available, and for only 37 percent of the articles could the data be accessed. Journals with higher impact factors, those with a stated data policy, and younger journals were more likely to offer data availability. Of the authors surveyed, 446 responded (44 percent). Statistical analysis indicated that authors’ attitudes, reported past behavior, social norms, and perceived behavioral control affected their intentions to share data.

Research limitations/implications
Less than 50 percent of the authors contacted provided responses to the survey. Results indicate that data sharing would improve if journals had explicit data sharing policies but authors also need support from other institutions (their universities, funding councils, and professional associations) to improve data management skills and infrastructures.

Originality/value
This paper builds on previous similar research in sociology and political science and explains some of the barriers to data sharing in social sciences by combining journal policies, published articles, and authors’ responses to a survey.
From informational reading to information literacy
Authors: Lundh Anna Hampson , Dolatkhah Mats , Limberg Louise 
Published: June 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to historicise research conducted in the fields of Information Seeking and Learning and Information Literacy and thereby begin to outline a description of the history of information in the context of Swedish compulsory education.Design/methodology/approachDocument work and documentary practices are used as alternatives to concepts such as information seeking or information behaviour. Four empirical examples of document work – more specifically informational reading – recorded in Swedish primary classrooms in the 1960s are presented.FindingsIn the recordings, the reading style students use is similar to informational reading in contemporary educational settings: it is fragmentary, facts-oriented, and procedure-oriented. The practice of finding correct answers, rather than analysing and discussing the contents of a text seems to continue from lessons organised around print textbooks in the 1960s to the inquiry-based and digital teaching of today.Originality/valueThe paper seeks to analyse document work and documentary practices by regarding “information” as a discursive construction in a particular era with material consequences in particular contexts, rather than as a theoretical and analytical concept. It also problematises the notion that new digital technologies for producing, organising, finding, using, and disseminating documents have drastically changed people’s behaviours and practices in educational and other contexts.
Uncovering the research field of corporate social responsibility in family firms: a citation analysis
Authors: Preslmayer Caroline , Kuttner Michael , Feldbauer-Durstmüller Birgit 
Published: June 2018

PurposeInspired by increasing public interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the intensified focus of research on family firms (FFs) over the past few decades, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the existing literature on CSR in FF through a citation analysis.Design/methodology/approachThis paper overviews the structure of research on CSR in FF, identifying influential publications, authors, and key lines of discussion. The authors identified the underlying sample through a systematic, keyword-based literature search of seven databases. Starting with this sample, the authors analyzed a database of 4,342 references of 3,025 different sources cited in the 63 articles.FindingsThe findings show that the cited literature on CSR in FF is widespread, confirming that the research field has great heterogeneity. The authors identified the most-cited researcher as Luis R. Gómez-Mejía (University of Notre Dame, USA), with 93 citations. The average author in the group of the 22 most-cited authors (with a three-way tie for 20th-most-cited author) counts 45.45 citations in the sample of 13.95 different sources. Because the citations mostly refer to journal articles, the authors further investigated the particular journals of publication. The 20 most-influential journals cover 45.28 percent of all citations, with theJournal of Business Ethicsbeing the most influential (6.38 percent of all citations). Within the 3,025 different sources cited in the whole sample, the publication by Dyer and Whetten (2006), which is titled “Family firms and social responsibility: preliminary evidence from the S&P 500,” is the most-cited (29 citations in 46.03 percent of the analyzed 63 peer-reviewed journal articles).Originality/valueThe authors conclude with a call for more research on CSR in FF (especially qualitative case studies). Moreover, as scholars of North America and Western Europe dominate the current landscape of research, the authors would like to encourage scholars from other countries and cultures to provide insights from their countries.
EU Financial Services Policy since 2007: Crisis, Responses, and Prospects
Authors: Véron Nicolas 
Published: June 2018

AbstractThis paper presents a holistic description and assessment of the European Union's financial services policy since the start of financial crisis in mid‐2007. The decade‐long sequence is divided into four themes, in broadly chronological order: the initial reaction to the 2007–08 financial shock; subsequent initiatives framed by political developments at the EU and G20 level; the banking union from mid‐2012; and more recent events centered on the UK vote to exit the EU (Brexit). The analysis identifies banking union as the watershed moment, and correspondingly assesses the EU policy response as mostly inadequate in the first half and mostly effective in the second half of the period covered. Recommendations for future reforms are made in the conclusion.
Managing Deep Debt Crises in the Euro Area: Towards a Feasible Regime
Authors: Zettelmeyer Jeromin 
Published: June 2018

AbstractIn spite of the inclusion of collective action clauses (‘euro‐CACs’) in euro area sovereign bond contracts since 2013, the euro area still does not have a credible debt restructuring framework because: (1) stability risks of debt restructurings remain high; (2) euro‐CACs make it easy for creditors to hold out for full repayment; (3) IMF lending policies have not prevented the bail‐out of countries with unsustainable debts. In reaction, some proposals have called for hard criteria requiring debt restructuring as a condition for access to official crisis lending. This paper argues that this is the wrong approach, because hard criteria are error‐prone, may trigger crises in high‐debt countries, and lack credibility when the economic costs of debt restructurings are high. Instead, the key to a credible debt restructuring framework is to reduce these costs, by cutting the links between sovereigns and banks and putting safety nets in place that limit contagion.