bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Bridging the school placement gap with peer micro-teaching lesson study
Authors: Griffiths Jo 
Published: June 2016

Purpose
– An adapted version of lesson study (peer micro-teaching lesson study (PMLS)) was used in a one-year initial teacher education (ITE) programme for prospective secondary school teachers of geography, history, citizenship and social science in England. The purpose of this paper is to support student-teachers through an opportunity to share knowledge, skills and practice from their first teaching placements.

Design/methodology/approach
– In cross-curricular groups (of three or four), the student-teachers co-designed lessons that focused on developing thinking skills when teaching advanced-level content. Two “research lessons” were designed following the use of an initial questionnaire. Feedback from student-teachers was sought through a post-PMLS questionnaire. Participants’ discussions were recorded between the two “research lessons” to capture references to subject knowledge (SK), placement experiences and exploratory talk.

Findings
– Principal findings to emerge from the project were: cross-curricular PMLS helped to support student-teachers’ development between their two school environments. The collaborative process allowed them to build on their first school experiences by sharing and reflecting on their placements, learning from each other’s pedagogical practice and by improving SK both within and outside of their own specialism.

Originality/value
– The work is the first known use of PMLS in ITE in the UK, demonstrating that it can be used as a bridge between the first and second school placements. It elaborates a cross-curricular collaborative vision for the use of modified forms of LS in the preparation of new teachers in programmes that are now largely school-led.
Developing the skills of future teachers to fine-tune pupils’ learning through lesson studies
Authors: Ducrey Monnier Mylene 
Published: June 2016

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to present an adaptation of the lesson study (LS) approach to the training of future generalist teachers. It aims to improve their interactions with pupils when fine-tuning their learning process. The reiteration of study cycles enables a critical analysis of trainee teacher’s interventions in the light of pupils’ responses and work. It thus allows students to improve their interventions by employing new theoretical contributions, for instance, about the management of both uncertainty and didactic heterogeneity which are two fundamental concepts in the relationship between teaching and learning.

Design/methodology/approach
– The training portfolios handed in by students at the end of the semester include the transcripts of the records of all teacher-pupil interactions for five LS cycles with the corresponding work of pupils. These portfolios conserve traces of the learning process from the first to the last interventions of the trainee teachers with their pupils. The portfolios analyzed for this paper deal with the teaching of mental arithmetic at elementary school.

Findings
– The analysis aims to pinpoint transformations enacted by trainee teachers in how they intervene with pupils and how their actions incorporate new theoretical contributions.

Practical implications
– This analysis shows that LS, as a training approach, can facilitate the articulation of theory and practice and enable teachers to experience the effects of improved teaching on pupils’ learning. In terms of training, it makes it possible to understand how theoretical choices take on meaning in the improved practices of trainee teachers.

Originality/value
– The interest of this contribution lies in the presentation of successive transcripts obtained during an LS approach and in the description of levers that such an approach provides for teaching training.
Demand and supply of FM outsourcing services
Authors: Lok Ka Leung , Baldry David 
Published: June 2016

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to address the structure of the category on client-provider outsourcing relationship in relation to facilities management (FM). The paper aims to rank different outsourcing relationship types according to importance with respect to the four critical FM drivers including co-ordination, quality, competence and adequacy.Design/methodology/approachThe survey design and measures operationalising the constructs allow the use of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a technique that tests FM outsourcing in a contingent approach such as a decision processing model. In the questionnaire surveys, a series of structured questions is designed. FM experts used the AHP methodology to analyse the FM outsourcing relationship types.FindingsThe model of the FM outsourcing strategies presented in the paper shows four main FM drivers at FM practice through the priority ratios of outsourcing relationship dimensions for different FM outsourcing contracts as derived by the AHP discussed by clients’ and service providers’ points of views. The result of a survey from the Hong Kong’s higher education industry reveals that the FM service providers can understand the needs of the clients in FM outsourcing contracts, including building maintenance, cleaning and catering. Hence, the service providers’ expected outsourcing performance will be good in these contracts. However, FM service providers do not understand the needs of FM clients in the FM outsourcing security contracts. Thus, the service providers’ expected outsourcing performance in such contracts will be poor. To improve the outsourcing relationships between the FM stakeholders, service providers must understand their clients’ needs to develop appropriate outsourcing strategies.Originality/valueUnderstanding on the demand and supply of FM outsourcing services is now crucial for effective FM on outsourcing relationships between clients and service providers in higher education sector. The examination of current and prediction of future outsourcing relationships between the stakeholders to match the FM services significantly influence FM outsourcing success. This paper provides an intriguing insight into how the demand and supply of FM services can be successfully and strategically implemented into the FM outsourcing relationship in Hong Kong’s universities and tertiary institutions.
Technological applications to the marketing classroom
Authors: Leventhal Richard C. , Swanson Andree 
Published: June 2016

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify resources that are available in the online marketing classroom and to further contemplate the applications for marketing managers. The authors explore the rationale for using technology to deliver course material and the positive results that accrue in terms of these efforts.

Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory qualitative research design was used for this study so as to gain broad perspective of technology’s application to the classroom.

Findings
Four types of learners exist: visual learners, auditory learners, 30 read and write learners and kinesthetic learners (Fleming and Mills, 1922a, 1922b). All four types must be addressed in the online learning environment.

Practical implications
Many educators in higher education will use various forms of rudimentary technology in the classroom, but have yet to embrace or understand the full potential of such applications. Online learning uses both synchronous and asynchronous techniques to engage the student so as to improve the individual’s knowledge, skills and abilities.

Originality/value
Technology applications to the marketing classroom have become a necessity for delivering course content to a wide audience of individual learners, both in higher education and in industry as well.
Personal development plans: insights from a case based approach
Authors: Greenan Peter 
Published: June 2016

Purpose
In light of contemporary shifts away from annual appraisals, this study aims to explore the implications of using a personal development plan (PDP) as a means of focussing on continuous feedback and development to improve individual performance and ultimately organisational performance.

Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected through an employee survey in one private sector organisation in the UK finance sector using a case study approach. Secondary data in the form of completed PDPs were used to compare and contrast responses to the survey.

Findings
Results indicate that the diagnostic stage is generally effective, but support for the PDP and development activity post diagnosis is less visible. Implications of this are that time spent in the diagnostic stage is unproductive and could impact on motivation and self-efficacy of employees. Furthermore, for the organisation to adopt a continuous focus on development via PDPs would necessitate a systematic training programme to effect a change in culture.

Research limitations/implications
This study was limited to one organisation in one sector which reduces the generalisability of results. Research methods were limited to anonymous survey, and a richer picture would be painted following qualitative interviews. There was also a subconscious bias towards believing that a PDP containing documented goals would lead to improved individual and organisation performance; However, the discussion has identified the concept of subconscious priming which implies that verbal goals may be equally valid, and further comparative research between verbal and written goals is recommended.

Practical implications
The results indicate the potential value that using PDPs could bring to an organisation as an alternative to annual appraisal, subject to a supportive organisational culture.

Originality/value
PricewaterhouseCoopers, in a recent article for CIPD (2015), reported that two-thirds of large companies are planning to rethink their annual appraisal system. One of the key drivers for this was the desire for more regular feedback. Given the recent shift in thinking, little research has been conducted into what would replace the annual appraisal. This paper therefore focusses on the extent to which PDPs can contribute to supporting this more regular contact and feedback.
Entrepreneurial co-creation: a research vision to be materialised
Authors: Shams S. M. Riad , Kaufmann Hans Ruediger 
Published: June 2016

Purpose– There are increasing influences of stakeholder relationships in the contemporary entrepreneurial knowledge stream to co-create value, in order to jointly confront the market competition. However, current research implies a dichotomy to exist between the awareness of the necessity of stakeholder-centred strategic thinking and the actual implementation of strategies in entrepreneurial practice. The purpose of this paper is to close this gap, in order to understand how entrepreneurs could, strategically and operationally, enhance their stakeholders’ relationships to reinforce entrepreneurial co-creation. Since, co-creation propels innovation; entrepreneurs’ and their stakeholders’ well-being calls for urgent materialisation of the entrepreneurial co-creation concept.Design/methodology/approach– A constructivist approach is applied to support findings to evolve a synthesis from literature to kick-off an academic debate on future research avenues on how to develop a co-creating entrepreneurial mindset.Findings– The findings conceptualise the significance of relevant traditional and contemporary issues of stakeholder relationships and entrepreneurship to structure the entrepreneurial co-creation concept. Ten issues are recognised from the conjoint literature influencing the conception.Practical implications– These insights will be useful for entrepreneurs to better align their entrepreneurial propositions with their stakeholder relationships to underpin value co-creation. Academics will be able to use these insights as a basis for future research towards entrepreneurial co-creation and are invited to join the debate.Originality/value– The findings represent an innovative strategic direction towards a better understanding of the significance of stakeholder relationships, pertaining to entrepreneurial development in the contemporary marketplaces, and holistically conceptualise the entrepreneurial co-creation concept.
Causing trouble: the language of learning disability and challenging behaviour
Authors: Haydon-Laurelut Mark , Nunkoosing Karl 
Published: June 2016

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to review two studies concerning referrals for challenging behaviour to community learning disability teams (CLDTs). The social constructionist approach to research taken by the studies is introduced.

Design/methodology/approach
– The studies used critical discourse analysis and thematic analysis to analyse referral texts and interviews with referrers.

Findings
– The studies found referral processes locating service problems within the bodies of persons with intellectual disabilities whilst constructing the actions of services as appropriate. This was in part achieved by employing the discourses of the total institutions. The referral process often served the purposes of the referring service.

Research limitations/implications
– The research took place in a small geographical location across two learning disability teams.

Originality/value
– The process of referring to CLDTs and the language used in these referrals is an under researched area. This paper shows how the language and documents of services are rich sources of data. Services exist in a network and understanding how this network functions is important to understanding the function of referrals.
Soil processes drive the biological silicon feedback loop
Authors: Cornelis Jean‐Thomas , Delvaux Bruno 
Published: June 2016

Summary

Soil is the primary source of plant silicon (Si) and therefore a key reservoir of the Si biological cycling. Soil processes control the stock of Si‐bearing minerals and the release of dissolved Si (DSi), hence the Si fluxes at the Earth's surface. Here, we review the interdependent relationship between soil processes and the return of plant Si in soils, and their controls on the biological Si feedback loop.

Dissolution and precipitation of soil silicate minerals govern the bioavailability of Si. Plants affect Si biocycling through mineral weathering, root uptake, phytolith formation, return and dissolution in soil. Thus, soil processes and Si biocycling readily interact in soil–plant systems.

Rock mineral weathering and soil formation are driven by the five soil‐forming factors: parent rock, climate, topography, age and biota. These factors govern Si fluxes in soil–plant systems since they impact both the mineral weathering rate and fate of DSi. The variability of soil‐forming factors at a global scale explains both the soil diversity and high variability of the rates of Si cycling in terrestrial ecosystems.

Plants play a crucial role in soil evolution by promoting weathering and forming phytoliths (plant silica bodies). They thus act as Si sinks and sources. With increasing depletion of lithogenic (LSi) and pedogenic (PSi) silicates, the biological Si feedback loop progressively takes over the Si plant uptake from weatherable LSi and PSi minerals. With rising weathering, the soil becomes increasingly concentrated in phytoliths, phytogenic amorphous silicates (PhSi), which are constantly formed in plant and dissolved in soil. Paradoxically, the Si biocycling is thus more intense in soils depleted in primary LSi source. By converting soil LSi and PSi into PhSi, plants increase the mobility of Si in soil and alleviate desilication in the topsoil. Non‐essential plant Si is therefore an essential link between mineral and living worlds.

The dynamics of Si in terrestrial ecosystems is thus largely governed by pedogenesis and its relationship with plant community and diversity. Consequently, the appraisal of soil constituents and processes is central to further understand their interaction with the biological Si feedback loop.
Isolation of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus from a tropical wastewater treatment plant and predation of mixed species biofilms assembled by the native community members
Authors: Feng Shugeng , Tan Chuan Hao , Cohen Yehuda , Rice Scott A. 
Published: June 2016

SummaryIt is reported here that a predatory bacterium belonging to the Genus Bdellovibrio, was isolated from activated sludge at the Ulu Pandan Water Reclamation Plant, Singapore. 16S rDNA gene sequencing analysis revealed that this isolate was 99% identical to ‘Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus strain Tiberius’ and hence is designated as ‘Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus UP’. Using a novel approach based on fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), a prey cell density‐dependent growth pattern of B. bacteriovorus UP was established. B. bacteriovorus UP preyed upon a broad range of bacterial species (60 species) isolated from the activated sludge. Except for Ochrobactrum anthropi, all Gram‐negative species were sensitive to predation by B. bacteriovorus UP irrespective of the mode of growth (planktonic or biofilm). Similarly, the predation‐sensitive species were not protected by the predation‐resistant species, O. anthropi, as determined in multiple dual‐species planktonic and biofilm consortia. Given the broad prey spectrum, B. bacteriovorus UP may impact functional community members, which are largely members of the Proteobacteria. Thus, these results provide an important insight to the role of predatory bacteria in shaping of community structure and function in both natural and engineered ecosystems.
Measuring microbial fitness in a field reciprocal transplant experiment
Authors: Boynton Primrose J. , Stelkens Rike , Kowallik Vienna , Greig Duncan 
Published: June 2016

AbstractMicrobial fitness is easy to measure in the laboratory, but difficult to measure in the field. Laboratory fitness assays make use of controlled conditions and genetically modified organisms, neither of which are available in the field. Among other applications, fitness assays can help researchers detect adaptation to different habitats or locations. We designed a competitive fitness assay to detect adaptation of Saccharomyces paradoxus isolates to the habitat they were isolated from (oak or larch leaf litter). The assay accurately measures relative fitness by tracking genotype frequency changes in the field using digital droplet PCR (DDPCR). We expected locally adapted S. paradoxus strains to increase in frequency over time when growing on the leaf litter type from which they were isolated. The DDPCR assay successfully detected fitness differences among S. paradoxus strains, but did not find a tendency for strains to be adapted to the habitat they were isolated from. Instead, we found that the natural alleles of the hexose transport gene we used to distinguish S. paradoxus strains had significant effects on fitness. The origin of a strain also affected its fitness: strains isolated from oak litter were generally fitter than strains from larch litter. Our results suggest that dispersal limitation and genetic drift shape S. paradoxus populations in the forest more than local selection does, although further research is needed to confirm this. Tracking genotype frequency changes using DDPCR is a practical and accurate microbial fitness assay for natural environments.
Adenosine triphosphate postconditioning is associated with better preserved global and regional cardiac function during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion: a speckle tracking imaging‐based echocardiologic study
Authors: Ren Min , Liu Yujie , Zhao Huiya , Dong Shixia , Jiang Zhonghui , Li Keting , Tian Jiawei 
Published: June 2016

SummaryIntroductionEffects of ischemic postconditioning (IPostC) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP)‐mediated pharmacologic postconditioning (ATP‐PPostC) on cardiac function were evaluated by speckle tracking imaging (STI)‐based echocardiography.AimsA myocardial I/R model was induced in rabbits by reversible ligation of the left ventricular branch of coronary artery. Rabbits were randomized into three groups: ischemia and reperfusion (IR) (no further intervention), IPostC, and ATP‐PPostC groups. Cardiac function was evaluated by conventional and STI‐based echocardiography. Myocardial necrosis, apoptosis, and myocardial mRNAs of apoptosis‐related proteins (Bcl‐2 and Bax) were evaluated.ResultsSpeckle tracking imaging (STI)‐based echocardiography revealed that IPostC and ATP‐PPostC were associated with better preserved global and regional cardiac function, as indicated by significantly increased GLSrsys, GLSrd, GLSsys, SrLsys, SrLd, and SLsys in both groups (all P<.5). Subsequent pathologic studies indicate that the percentage of necrotic myocardium and permillage of apoptotic cells were significantly lower in the IPostC and ATP‐PPostC groups than in the IR group (all P<.05). Moreover, both IPostC and ATP‐PPostC were associated with increased Bcl‐2 mRNA levels and reduced Bax mRNA levels.ConclusionsIPostC and ATP‐PPostC may exert cardioprotective functions by better preservation of cardiac function during the I/R process and at least partly via attenuation of myocardial apoptosis.
Metabolic diversity and adaptive mechanisms of iron‐ and/or sulfur‐oxidizing autotrophic acidophiles in extremely acidic environments
Authors: Zhang Xian , Liu Xueduan , Liang Yili , Fan Fenliang , Zhang Xiaoxia , Yin Huaqun 
Published: June 2016

SummaryMany studies have investigated the mechanisms underlying the survival and growth of certain organisms in extremely acidic environments known to be harmful to most prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Acidithiobacillus and Leptospirillum spp. are dominant bioleaching bacteria widely used in bioleaching systems, which are characterized by extremely acidic environments. To survive and grow in such settings, these acidophiles utilize shared molecular mechanisms that allow life in extreme conditions. In this review, we have summarized the results of published genomic analyses, which underscore the ability of iron‐ and/or sulfur‐oxidizing autotrophic acidophiles belonging to the genera Acidithiobacillus and Leptospirillum to adapt to acidic environmental conditions. Several lines of evidence point at the metabolic diversity and multiplicity of pathways involved in the survival of these organisms. The ability to thrive in adverse environments requires versatile activation of structural and functional adaptive responses, including bacterial adhesion, motility, and resistance to heavy metals. We have highlighted recent developments centered on the key survival mechanisms employed by dominant extremophiles, and have laid the foundation for future studies focused on the ability of acidophiles to thrive in extremely acidic environments.