bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Unlimited genetic switches for cell-type specific manipulation
Authors: Garcia-Marques Jorge , Yang Ching-Po , Espinosa-Medina Isabel , Mok Kent , Koyama Minoru , Lee Tzumin 
Published: November 2018

SummaryGaining independent genetic access to discrete cell types is critical to interrogate their biological functions, as well as to deliver precise gene therapy. Transcriptome analyses have allowed us to profile cell populations with extraordinary precision, revealing that cell types are typically defined by a unique combination of genetic markers. Given the lack of adequate tools to target cell types based on multiple markers, most cell types have remained inaccessible to genetic manipulation. Here, we present CaSSA, a platform to create unlimited genetic switches based on CRISPR/Cas9 (Ca) and the DNA repair mechanism known as single-strand annealing (SSA). CaSSA allows engineering of independent genetic switches that each respond to a specific gRNA. Expressing multiple gRNAs in specific patterns enables multiplex cell type-specific manipulations and combinatorial genetic targeting. CaSSA is thus a new genetic tool that conceptually works as an unlimited number of recombinases and will facilitate genetic access to cell types in diverse organisms.
How does the urban–rural income gap affect the quality of China’s economic growth?
Authors: Ren Baoping , Chao Xiaojing 
Published: November 2018

Purpose
Based on the theoretical definition of the quality of economic growth as well as the availability and reliability of the given data, the purpose of this paper is to build an evaluation system of a regional economic growth quality on three levels: conditions, processes and results.

Design/methodology/approach
From the perspective of economic quality, this paper offers a theoretical interpretation on how the urban–rural income gap affects the quality of economic growth and takes an empirical test on the sample panel data from 30 provinces and regions through difference GMM and system GMM models.

Findings
The results show that the excessively large income gap will influence economic growth in terms of the foundation, operation and the outcome, thereby, restricting the quality of economic growth. In addition, investments in human and physical capital and improvements in terms of transport infrastructure, industrial structure and economic openness play an active role in economic growth quality, whereas government expenditure scale, financial development and the deviation of industrial structure have a negative effect.

Originality/value
There has been a substantial amount of experience and evidence on the research about the issue of China’s income distribution and the quantity of economic growth, whereas there are relatively fewer discussions about the income distribution and the quality of economic growth. This paper, based on what has been mentioned above, tries to give a theoretical interpretation and an empirical test to describe the relationship between urban–rural income gap and the quality of economic growth from the quality point of view.
Team building, employee empowerment and employee competencies
Authors: Potnuru Rama Krishna Gupta , Sahoo Chandan Kumar , Sharma Rohini 
Published: November 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of team building and employee empowerment on employee competencies and examine the moderating role of organizational learning culture in between these relationships.

Design/methodology/approach
An integrated research model is developed by combining resource-based view, signalling theory and experiential learning theory. The validity of the model is tested by applying moderated structural equation modelling (MSEM) approach to the data collected from 653 employees working in cement manufacturing companies. The reliability and validity of the dimensions are established through confirmatory factor analysis and the related hypotheses are tested by using MSEM.

Findings
The findings suggest that organizational learning culture significantly strengthens the relationships of team building and employee empowerment on employee competencies.

Research limitations/implications
The research is undertaken in Indian cement manufacturing companies which cannot be generalized across a broader range of sectors and international environment.

Practical implications
The findings of the study have potential to help decision makers of manufacturing companies to develop strategies which will enable them to improve employee competency, to formulate effective human resource development interventions and to enhance the capability of the employees to achieve desired goals and objectives of the organization.

Originality/value
The research is unique in its attempt to combine three frameworks to build a new theoretical model explaining the importance organizational learning culture along with team building and employee empowerment.
The Anthropocene: age of complexity, foresight and innovation?
Authors: Richardson Jacques G. , Erdelen Walter Rudolf 
Published: November 2018

Purpose
Specific examples or brief case-histories in different fields or disciplines illustrate the inventive process from conception to realization.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors examine predictions made in 2007 by “China experts” about what the Chinese business environment would look like in 2017. Their predictions were accurate in respect of around two-thirds of the issues they were asked to consider. The authors focus on the one-third of issues about which they were wide of the mark and examine the likely reasons.

Findings
The newly named Anthropocene is a time of increasing conception, research, design, development, evaluation and exploitation of new artifacts and services. Objectivity: careful problem-analysis assures the authors’ understanding of innovating pathways.

Research limitations/implications
Trial-and-error methods may be disorderly, log-type research records are not kept, accidents not considered relevant.

Originality/value
Examples cited are transdisciplinary, often requiring inputs from other economic or cultural sectors. These complexities should be of incalculable value to innovators with single-field backgrounds.
Totalitarian school politics during fascism in Italy and their transgenerational effects
Authors: Augschöll Annemarie 
Published: November 2018

Purpose
The research is rooted in the interest in educational biographies of ethnic and linguistic minorities in Europe during the twentieth century. The purpose of this paper is to give an answer to the question of how the nationalistic educational norms during the period of totalitarian regimes manifested themselves in the educational biographies of minorities, and how much individuals and collectives transferred their scholastic denationalisation experiences (e.g. prohibition of alphabetisation in their mother tongue) to the following generations. In other words, if and how traces of the previously named experiences, for example the attitude towards education, can be found in insecurities and attitudes of the first or even the second follow-up generation.

Design/methodology/approach
The theoretical foundation used for this research is the conception of school as “institutional actor” theorised by Helmut Fend (2006). Fend used a widened concept based upon Weber’s (1922/1988) action-theoretical, Luhmann’s (2002) system-theoretical and Scharpf’s (2000) and Schaefers’ (2002) institution-centred approaches. This scientific background designs a theoretical concept of school fitted for the social and pedagogical research field. Specifically, in Fend’s analysis of design- and action-oriented potentials, Fend (2006) “turns his special attention to the processes in the educational field, which are implemented by actors, who themselves act in the context of institutional framework conditions” (p. 17).

Findings
The experience of school in totalitarian contexts manifests itself in individual and collective memories, later found in the following generations with particular emphasis on the approaches towards education.

Originality/value
This paper analyses the transgenerational impact of the experiences ethnical minorities had with schools.
An integrated approach for identifying the efficiency-oriented drivers of electronic markets in electronic business
Authors: Duan Sophia Xiaoxia , Deng Hepu , Luo Feng 
Published: November 2018

Purpose
Effectively evaluating the efficiency of individual e-markets for better understanding the efficiency-oriented critical drivers for individual e-markets is of great significance to the development of electronic business. The purpose of this paper is to develop an approach through adequately integrating data envelopment analysis (DEA) and bootstrapped Tobit regression analysis for identifying the efficiency-oriented critical drivers on the development of e-market in electronic business.

Design/methodology/approach
A review of the related literature is conducted for adequately formulating the e-market evaluation problem. DEA is appropriately used for assessing the efficiency of available e-markets, leading to the identification of the efficient e-market. Tobit regression analysis is then employed to examine the outcome of the DEA analysis for identifying the efficiency-oriented critical drivers in the development of e-markets in electronic business.

Findings
A better understanding of the operations of individual e-markets with respect to their overall efficiency in electronic business can be achieved with the use of the developed approach. Such understanding is built on the identification of the efficiency-oriented critical drivers on the development of e-market in electronic business.

Originality/value
This paper develops a novel approach for better understanding of the operations of individual e-markets with respect to their overall efficiency in electronic business. The adoption of this approach helps existing e-markets improve their efficiency by focussing on the efficiency-oriented critical drivers and provide new players in e-markets with guidelines for developing their efficient e-markets.
Efficiency and bank margins: a comparative analysis of Islamic and conventional banks in Yemen
Authors: Shawtari Fekri Ali , Ariff Mohamed , Abdul Razak Shaikh Hamzah 
Published: November 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of bank margins in the Yemeni banking sector for Islamic and conventional banks. The first objective is to investigate whether there is a significant difference between the margins of conventional and Islamic banks. The second objective is to examine whether efficiency represents an influential factor in determining bank margins for Islamic and conventional banks controlling for other micro and macro variables.Design/methodology/approachUsing a data set of banks in Yemen for the post-liberalisation period from 1996 to 2011, the study utilises panel data with unbalanced observations for 16 banks, of which four are Islamic banks and the remainder conventional banks. Parametric and non-parametric techniques are complemented by dummy variable regression using random effects. Panel fixed effects regression was also undertaken as a robustness check.FindingsThe paper finds that the overall bank margin in Yemen has steadily decreased during the observation period with the exception of the year 2011. The parametric and non-parametric results show that the bank margins are significantly higher for conventional banks than for Islamic banks. The results provide evidence that bank margins are related to neither types of efficiency, but are affected by capitalisation, size, the opportunity cost of the reserve and liquidity, although the impact is shaped differently for Islamic and conventional banks.Practical implicationsThe paper provides a basis for regulators and bankers for assessing the viability of the banking sector and proposes policies to restructure the industry to enhance its performance.Originality/valueThis paper adds value to the literature for the Yemeni banking sector and extends the previous research on the determinants of bank margins by focusing on the impact of efficiency on bank margins. Also, it compares the Islamic banks with different types of conventional banks in Yemen in their margins trend.
“Stubborn things: evidence, postmodernism and the craft of history.”
Authors: Muldoon Jeff 
Published: November 2018

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the recent book A New History of Management (NHM) and to discuss the strengths and limitations of the book versus traditional management history as practiced by Wren and Bedeian.

Design/methodology/approach
I analyze NHM by looking at the evidence presented in the book versus the historical record.

Findings
Although there are some strengths to NHM, the scholars often fail to address the larger historical evidence, which reduces the value of their work.

Originality/value
The value is to start a discussion of the nature of management history by discussing traditional versus postmodern history. Hopefully, the authors can commence with a dialogue to further historical research.
Market structure and pricing objectives in the services sector
Authors: Indounas Kostis 
Published: November 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the pricing objectives (e.g. customer-related objectives, sales-related objectives, profit-related objectives) that service companies pursue to set their prices and to examine the impact of market structure on these objectives.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the research objectives, data were collected from 184 companies operating in four different service industries, namely, logistics companies, financial services providers, information technology companies and airlines.FindingsThe findings indicate that the companies that were investigated in the current study seem to follow a hierarchy of pricing objectives, in which their main focus is on the maintenance of the existing customers and the attraction of new ones to ensure their long-term survival in their market without, however, disregarding financial issues and objectives. The study also revealed that the market structure, along with the sector of operation, has an impact on the pricing objectives pursued, as different market conditions were found to lead to different pricing objectives.Practical implicationsThe above findings indicate that managers responsible for setting prices within their firms should be guided by the unique characteristics of their markets.Originality/valueGiven the lack of similar studies within the existing services sector literature, the originality/value of the paper lies in the fact that it presents one of the first attempts to empirically examine this issue from a marketing point of view.
Street Pastors in the Night-Time Economy: harmless do-gooders or a manifestation of a New Right agenda?
Authors: Johns Nick , Green Alison , Swann Rachel , Sloan Luke 
Published: November 2018

PurposeThe purpose of this paper, which follows an earlier paper published in this journal, is to explore the shape and nature of plural policing through the lens of New Right ideology. It aims to reinforce the understanding that policy is driven by both neoliberalism and neoconservatism, not simply the former. In policy terms, it uses the vehicle of a faith-based initiative – the Street Pastors – to consider how the strategic line of plural policing may be shifting.Design/methodology/approachThe research that informs this paper spans 2012 to the present day incorporating a multi-method evaluation, an ongoing observation with informal interviews, and two e-mail surveys directed at university students in Plymouth and Cardiff. In addition, the authors carried out a critical analysis of a research report produced by van Steden and a documentary analysis of national newspaper reports of Street Pastor activities.FindingsIn a previous paper, the authors provided evidence to support the contention of Jones and Lister (2015) that there has been a shift in the landscape of plural policing. The Street Pastors initiative is a movement from “policing by the state” towards “policing from below”. The authors suggest here that there may be evidence to speculate that another shift might occur from “policing from below” to “policing through the state”. Ultimately, the authors contend, such shifts reflect and serve the dominance of New Right ideology in social and public policy.Research limitations/implicationsThe research limitations of this paper are twofold. First, the surveys had very small sample sizes and so the results should be treated with caution. The authors have underlined this in detail where necessary. Second, it is informed by a series of related though discrete research activities. However, the authors regard this as a strength also, as the findings are consistent across the range. The implications relate to the way in which policy designed to encourage partnership might lead to off-loading public responsibilities on the one hand, while allowing co-option on the other hand.Social implicationsThe practical implications are indivisible from the social implications in the authors’ view. The neoliberal and neoconservative dimensions of the current dominant ideology are using local initiatives to save public money and reify disciplinary features of social and public policy.Originality/valueThe originality of this research relates to the way it was conducted, drawing together the products of discrete but related activities. It adds to the growing research landscape involving the Street Pastors, an important faith-based, publicly backed initiative. But more importantly, it underlines how the two dimensions of New Right ideology come together in practice. The example of the Street Pastors indicates, through the lens of plural policing, how voluntary and local initiatives are being used to refocus the priorities of social and public policy.
Animal‐mediated organic matter transformation: Aquatic insects as a source of microbially bioavailable organic nutrients and energy
Authors: Parr Thomas B. , Capps Krista A. , Inamdar Shreeram P. , Metcalf Kari A. 
Published: November 2018

Abstract

Animal communities are essential drivers of energy and elemental flow in ecosystems. However, few studies have investigated the functional role of animals as sources of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and the subsequent utilization of that DOM by the microbial community.

In a small forested headwater stream, we tested the effects of taxonomy, feeding traits, and body size on the quality and quantity of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) excreted by aquatic insects. In addition, we conducted steady‐state solute additions to estimate instream demand for labile C and compared it to the C excreted by invertebrates.

Individual excretion rates and excretion composition varied with body size, taxonomy and feeding guild. The estimated average community excretion rate was 1.31 μg DOC· per mg insect dry weight (DW)−1 hr−1 and 0.33 μg DON·mg DW−1 hr‐1, and individuals excreted DON at nearly twice the rate of

This DOM was 2–5 times more bioavailable to microbial heterotrophs than ambient stream water DOM.

We estimated that the insect community, conservatively, excreted 1.62 mg of bioavailable DOC·m−2 hr−1 and through steady‐state additions measured an ambient labile C demand as 3.97 ± 0.67 mg C m−2 hr−1. This suggests that insect‐mediated transformation and excretion of labile DOC could satisfy a significant fraction (40 ± 7%) of labile C demand in this small stream.

Collectively, our results suggest that animal excretion plays an essential functional role in transforming organic matter into microbially bioavailable forms and may satisfy a variable but significant portion of microbial demand for labile C and N.

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Taylor's power law captures the effects of environmental variability on community structure: An example from fishes in the North Sea
Authors: Cobain Matthew R. D. , Brede Markus , Trueman Clive N. 
Published: November 2018

Abstract

Taylor's power law (TPL) describes the relationship between the mean and variance in abundance of populations, with the power law exponent considered a measure of aggregation. However, the usefulness of TPL exponents as an ecological metric has been questioned, largely due to its apparent ubiquity in various complex systems.

The aim of this study was to test whether TPL exponents vary systematically with potential drivers of animal aggregation in time and space and therefore capture useful ecological information of the system of interest.

We derived community TPL exponents from a long‐term, standardised and spatially dense data series of abundance and body size data for a strongly size‐structured fish community in the North Sea. We then compared TPL exponents between regions of contrasting environmental characteristics.

We find that, in general, TPL exponents vary more than expected under random conditions in the North Sea for size‐based populations compared to communities considered by species. Further, size‐based temporal TPL exponents are systematically higher (implying more temporally aggregated distributions) along hydrographic boundaries. Time series of size‐based spatial TPL exponents also differ between hydrographically distinct basins.

These findings support the notion that TPL exponents contain ecological information, capturing community spatio‐temporal dynamics as influenced by external drivers.
Effectiveness of vole control by owls in apple orchards
Authors: Murano Chie , Kasahara Satoe , Kudo Seiya , Inada Aya , Sato Sho , Watanabe Kana , Azuma Nobuyuki 
Published: November 2018

Abstract

Biological pest control is gaining greater acceptance as an important part of integrated pest management for sustainable agriculture. However, knowledge regarding biological control of rodent pests is limited, and its effectiveness in temperate areas has not been quantified. In traditional Japanese apple orchards, the Ural owl Strix uralensis breeds in tree hollows and preys on the Japanese field vole Microtus montebelli, a native pest species that can harm fruit production. In this study, we hypothesised that the Ural owl, a generalist predator, can act as a biological control agent by reducing vole densities in temperate orchards.

To quantify the pest control effects of breeding Ural owls, we first analysed the diet of individual owls nesting in apple tree hollows. Second, we installed nest boxes in orchards to attract breeding owl pairs and collected data on vole population changes around owl nests to compare with control areas. The population changes were analysed using a generalised linear mixed model to assess the effect of breeding owls within their breeding territory. The model considered seasonal fluctuations in vole population size as well as surrounding land‐use. We also examined vole populations around the owl nests in April, and the distance between nests and forested areas, to determine if these variables influenced nest site selection.

Voles were the primary prey of Ural owls breeding in orchards and the owls reduced vole populations within their estimated breeding territories by 63% (±SE: 53%–70%) compared with the predicted density without owls. Owls preferred to nest in orchards with higher vole population densities in April. Our findings also indicate that higher occupancy rates are possible by distributing nest boxes based on Ural owl breeding territory size (306 m radius circle in our study).

Synthesis and applications. As breeding Ural owls provide significant pest control effects within their breeding territories, the reintroduction of breeding Ural owl pairs within orchards would contribute to rodent pest control. Promoting the reproduction of native raptors in agricultural areas can be an option for developing integrated pest management while simultaneously maintaining regional biodiversity.