bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Shared student residential space: a post occupancy evaluation
Authors: Khajehzadeh Iman , Vale Brenda 
Published: May 2016

Purpose
In Iran, as elsewhere, a great number of student dormitory-style buildings have been built with shared rooms either side of a central corridor as a simple and affordable building form. Highly populated shared rooms with common facilities in such buildings can produce problems in terms of personal space but, at the same time, have many advantages for social interactions and better use of resources, which is a feature of sustainability. Most of these buildings are old and need fundamental refurbishment. This study aims to provide some guidelines to improve advantages and control disadvantages of this building type for future refurbishment and new developments.

Design/methodology/approach
The advantages and disadvantages of shared spaces have been analysed using a Post Occupancy Evaluation approach in a case study which is representative of more than 30 university dormitories in Iran. Interview, observation and questionnaire survey tools are used in this study.

Findings
Results show students have some problems regarding privacy, interaction, security, noise, circulation, access hierarchy, storage spaces, use of rooms and territory definition.

Practical implications
Based on the results of the study, some design suggestions are made for more efficient shared spaces for future designs and also for improving the case study dormitory, in terms of both access hierarchy and internal room arrangements.

Originality/value
Post Occupancy Evaluation has not previously been used to provide guidelines for architects to improve the quality of design according to existing functional/behavioural problems in similar buildings.
Sustainability and competitive advantage from a developing economy
Authors: Kwarteng Amoako , Dadzie Samuel Ato , Famiyeh Samuel 
Published: May 2016

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the impact of sustainability as measured by the triple bottom line constructs on the competitive advantage of manufacturing firms in Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach
To understand the impact of sustainability on competitive advantage, a survey was conducted where managers were asked about their engagement in the sustainability issues and how it affects their competitive advantage. The study uses the structural equation modelling (SEM) and, in particular, the partial least square (PLS) approaches to SEM.

Findings
The results of this study indicate that economic and social have a positive impact on the corporate image but not the environment. In addition, corporate image and social have positive impact on corporate performance, whilst economic and environment seem not to have any impact on corporate performance.

Research limitations/implications
The study is limited to only manufacturing firms operating in the Ghanaian environment. It is important, therefore, for firms in Ghana to invest in social sustainability initiatives, as it will ultimately affect their bottom line performance. This study provides policy implications to Ghana and other developing countries to implement the necessary policies and provide incentives to improve environmental awareness.

Originality/value
There have been just a few studies that tried to find out the impact of sustainability constructs and performance and how corporate image mediates this relationship.
Goal integration through transformational leadership
Authors: Dartey-Baah Kwasi 
Published: May 2016

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to present a conceptual analysis of how the issue of corruption in Ghana’s public sector can be curbed through an integration of individual (public sector worker) and organisational goals (the public sector itself). It further sought to explain this possibility by focusing on a goal integration process through transformational leadership.Design/methodology/approachTo meet this end, the study conducted a review of literature on goal, goal-setting, corruption, employee motivation and transformational leadership to develop a conceptual framework to explain this link between goal integration through transformational leadership and corruption reduction.FindingsFindings from this study showed that dissatisfaction with work (especially pay) amongst Ghana’s public sector workers is a major factor necessitating the emergence of corruption in the country. It is also shown in the study that through the transformational leadership approach, individual worker concerns such as concerns with pay (a facet of job satisfaction) when treated as an institutional concern and appropriately dealt with could curb corruption in the public sector.Research limitations/implicationsBased on these findings, the study recommends that leaders in Ghana’s public sector (both political and administrative) must exhibit qualities of transformational leaders to foster individual and organisational growth as a means to curb corruption in the sector. The study also recommends that training programmes be organised for leaders to equip them with the needed knowledge and practice of transformational leadership. Furthermore, the study recommends that further studies could be done by other researchers on the training programmes that could be useful in equipping these leaders, as well as how and when to organise these programmes.Originality/valueThe study is novel in that it demonstrates the relevance of integrating individual and organisational goals through the application of the transformational leadership concept as a tool for reducing corruption in Ghana’s public sector.
Ethical communication on society issues: a story from Indonesia
Authors: Hanifa Abi , Cahaya Fitra Roman 
Published: May 2016

PurposeThis paper aims to examine Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX)-listed companies’ society disclosures.Design/methodology/approachYear-ending 2012 annual report disclosures of 75 IDX-listed companies are analyzed. The widely acknowledged Global Reporting Initiative guidelines are used as the disclosure index checklist.FindingsThe results show a relatively low level of voluntary society disclosure (40.27 per cent). The highest level of communication is for issues related to society programs. Very few companies disclosed information about public policy, donations to political parties and actions taken in response to corruption incidents. Statistical analysis reveals that company size is a positively significant predictor of “society” communication. Ethical stakeholder theory partially explains the variability of these disclosures.Research limitations/implicationsThe main implication of the findings is that Indonesian companies are not involved in the public policy-making process. Companies also probably attempt to hide certain information regarding corruption issues to protect their image and reputation.Originality/valueThis paper provides insights into the disclosure practices of society issues, a specific social disclosure theme which is rarely examined in prior literature, within the framework of ethical stakeholder theory. The research also includes corruption issues to be investigated in the disclosure analysis.
Making the climate change issue “real” for managers
Authors: Pineda Rodley 
Published: May 2016

Purpose
Although businesses face various types of risks because of climate change, the level of concern among managers seem to lag behind the institutional pressure to deal with the climate change issue. This paper aims to bridge this gap in perceptions by presenting a framework to assist business leaders in translating the climate change issue into a format that managers can appreciate.

Design/methodology/approach
Drawing from the supply chain literature, this paper presents a model that shows how climate change-related policy and resource risks affect a firm’s supply, operations and demand domains and the risk management approaches appropriate for each type of risk. Excerpts from 10-K annual reports filed by US automotive and food retailers are used to show how the model works.

Findings
Although majority of companies examined do not report climate change-related risks, the evidence from those that do affirm the framework’s ability to translate these risks into manager-friendly supply chain terminology.

Originality/value
Managers can participate in sustainability actions by focusing on the risks and effects of climate change. Business leaders, researchers and policymakers can adopt supply chain risk management terminology to connect with otherwise indifferent managers.
Experimental insight into the process of parasite community assembly
Authors: Budischak Sarah A. , Hoberg Eric P. , Abrams Art , Jolles Anna E. , Ezenwa Vanessa O. 
Published: May 2016

Summary

Community assembly is a fundamental process that has long been a central focus in ecology. Extending community assembly theory to communities of co‐infecting parasites, we used a gastrointestinal nematode removal experiment in free‐ranging African buffalo to examine the community assembly patterns and processes.

We first asked whether reassembled communities differ from undisturbed communities by comparing anthelmintic‐treated and control hosts. Next, we examined the temporal dynamics of assembly using a cross‐section of communities that reassembled for different periods of time since last experimental removal. Next, we tested for evidence of assembly processes that might drive such reassembly patterns: environmental filtering based on host traits (i.e. habitat patches), interspecific interactions, priority effects and chance dispersal from the environmental pool of infective stages (i.e. the regional species pool).

On average, reassembled parasite communities had lower abundance, but were more diverse and even, and these patterns varied tightly with reassembly time. Over time, the communities within treated hosts progressively resembled controls as diversity and evenness decreased, while total abundance increased. Notably, experimental removal allowed us to attribute observed differences in abundance, diversity and evenness to the process of community assembly.

During early reassembly, parasite accumulation was biased towards a subordinate species and, by excluding stochastic assembly processes (i.e. chance dispersal and priority effects), we were able to determine that early assembly is deterministic. Later in the reassembly process, we established that host traits, as well as stochastic dispersal from the environmental pool of infective stages, can affect the community composition.

Overall, our results suggest that there is a high degree of resiliency and environmental dependence to the worm communities of buffalo. More generally, our data show that both deterministic and stochastic processes may play a role in the assembly of parasite communities of wild hosts, but their relative importance may vary temporally. Consequently, the best strategy for managing reassembling parasite communities may also need to shift over time.
Parasite specialization in a unique habitat: hummingbirds as reservoirs of generalist blood parasites of Andean birds
Authors: Moens Michaël A. J. , Valkiūnas Gediminas , Paca Anahi , Bonaccorso Elisa , Aguirre Nikolay , Pérez‐Tris Javier 
Published: May 2016

Summary

Understanding how parasites fill their ecological niches requires information on the processes involved in the colonization and exploitation of unique host species. Switching to hosts with atypical attributes may favour generalists broadening their niches or may promote specialization and parasite diversification as the consequence.

We analysed which blood parasites have successfully colonized hummingbirds, and how they have evolved to exploit such a unique habitat. We specifically asked (i) whether the assemblage of Haemoproteus parasites of hummingbirds is the result of single or multiple colonization events, (ii) to what extent these parasites are specialized in hummingbirds or shared with other birds and (iii) how hummingbirds contribute to sustain the populations of these parasites, in terms of both prevalence and infection intensity.

We sampled 169 hummingbirds of 19 species along an elevation gradient in Southern Ecuador to analyse the host specificity, diversity and infection intensity of Haemoproteus by molecular and microscopy techniques. In addition, 736 birds of 112 species were analysed to explore whether hummingbird parasites are shared with other birds.

Hummingbirds hosted a phylogenetically diverse assemblage of generalist Haemoproteus lineages shared with other host orders. Among these parasites, Haemoproteus witti stood out as the most generalized. Interestingly, we found that infection intensities of this parasite were extremely low in passerines (with no detectable gametocytes), but very high in hummingbirds, with many gametocytes seen. Moreover, infection intensities of H. witti were positively correlated with the prevalence across host species.

Our results show that hummingbirds have been colonized by generalist Haemoproteus lineages on multiple occasions. However, one of these generalist parasites (H. witti) seems to be highly dependent on hummingbirds, which arise as the most relevant reservoirs in terms of both prevalence and gametocytaemia. From this perspective, this generalist parasite may be viewed as a hummingbird specialist. This challenges the current paradigm of how to measure host specialization in these parasites, which has important implications to understand disease ecology.
The effect of competition on responses to drought and interannual climate variability of a dominant conifer tree of western North America
Authors: Carnwath Gunnar C. , Nelson Cara R. 
Published: May 2016

SummaryTo accurately predict how ecosystems will respond to climate change – and how management actions can influence such responses – scientists and managers need a better understanding of how and when biotic interactions modify climate–growth relationships. However, current research has largely ignored the role of competition in modulating climate–growth relationships of mature trees. In this study, we assessed the effect of competition on tree responses to drought and interannual climate variability as well as linkages between climate sensitivity and morphological characteristics of the stem wood.We sampled 10 sites in north‐eastern Washington,USA, and used dendroecology to quantify responses of Douglas‐fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) to drought and climate variability. Tree‐ring series were converted to basal area increment series, and the effects of competition on climate–growth relationships were assessed at the tree and site levels using a combination of correlation analyses and linear mixed‐effects models.Competition did not affect tree responses to extreme drought. When soil moisture was below average, tree growth was tightly coupled to climate variability for all trees, regardless of their competitive status. However, in wet years, competition had a pronounced, positive effect on climate sensitivity of growth.Trees with more competition from neighbours exhibited a significantly higher proportion of sapwood area in latewood (a morphological trait associated with greater drought resistance).Synthesis. Our results suggest that a tree's ability to cope with environmental variability is driven not just by the proximate effects of neighbours on resource availability, but also by phenotypic plasticity and long‐term adaptations to competitive stress (such as changes in carbon allocation). Findings have important implications for individual‐tree and stand‐level growth models and may help managers better understand how their activities will modify tree responses to climate change.
Women's prepregnancy underweight as a risk factor for preterm birth: a retrospective study
Authors: Girsen AI , Mayo JA , Carmichael SL , Phibbs CS , Shachar BZ , Stevenson DK , Lyell DJ , Shaw GM , Gould JB ,   the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center at Stanford University School of Medicine
Published: May 2016

ObjectiveTo investigate the distribution of known factors for preterm birth (PTB) by severity of maternal underweight; to investigate the risk‐adjusted relation between severity of underweight and PTB, and to assess whether the relation differed by gestational age.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingState of California, USA.MethodsMaternally linked hospital and birth certificate records of 950 356 California deliveries in 2007–2010 were analysed. Singleton live births of women whose prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) was underweight (<18.5 kg/m2) or normal (18.50–24.99 kg/m2) were analysed. Underweight BMI was further categorised as: severe (<16.00), moderate (16.00–16.99) or mild (17.00–18.49). PTB was grouped as 22–27, 28–31, 32–36 or <37 weeks (compared with 37–41 weeks). Adjusted multivariable Poisson regression modeling was used to estimate relative risk for PTB.Main outcome measuresRisk of PTB.ResultsAbout 72 686 (7.6%) women were underweight. Increasing severity of underweight was associated with increasing percent PTB: 7.8% (n = 4421) in mild, 9.0% (n = 1001) in moderate and 10.2% (475) in severe underweight. The adjusted relative risk of PTB also significantly increased: adjusted relative risk (aRR) = 1.22 (95% CI 1.19–1.26) in mild, aRR = 1.41 (95% CI 1.32–1.50) in moderate and aRR = 1.61 (95% CI 1.47–1.76) in severe underweight. These findings were similar in spontaneous PTB, medically indicated PTB, and the gestational age groupings.ConclusionIncreasing severity of maternal prepregnancy underweight BMI was associated with increasing risk‐adjusted PTB at <37 weeks. This increasing risk was of similar magnitude in spontaneous and medically indicated births and in preterm delivery at 28–31 and at 32–36 weeks of gestation.Tweetable abstractIncreasing severity of maternal underweight BMI was associated with increasing risk of preterm birth.
Lowering the high rate of caesarean delivery in China: an experience from Shanghai
Authors: Liu X , Lynch CD , Cheng WW , Landon MB 
Published: May 2016

ObjectiveTo examine the trends of caesarean delivery (CD) after an intervention to lower the high rate of CD at a Chinese maternity hospital.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingA large tertiary obstetric centre in Shanghai, China, from 2007 to 2014.Sample81 459 nulliparous women who delivered a term singleton infant.MethodsLogistic regression was used to calculate the odds of CD while adjusting for confounders.Main outcome measureRate of CD before and after the intervention.ResultsThe rate of CD decreased from 51.5% in 2008 to 36.1% in 2014, mostly due to a reduction in non‐indicated antepartum CD from 27.9% in 2010 to 11.9% in 2014. After adjustment, a period effect remained with delivery between 2011 and 2014 associated with a 31% reduction in the odds of CD compared with delivery between 2007 and 2010 [odds ratio (OR): 0.69, 95% CI: 0.66–0.71)] and a 33% reduction in the odds of antepartum CD (OR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.64–0.69). The frequencies of perinatal mortality (0.5 versus 0.4/1000), hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (0.9 versus 1.2/1000), meconium aspiration syndrome (0.5/1000), birth trauma (0.6/1000), respiratory distress syndrome (0.5% versus 0.4%) and necrotising enterocolitis (0.9 versus 0.6/1000) were similar. The frequency of neonatal infection increased slightly (0.6% versus 0.8%), although this could be explained by other factors.ConclusionsA marked reduction in CD has occurred at an urban tertiary care centre as a result of efforts to reduce the high rate of caesarean delivery. No notable differences in neonatal outcomes were observed.Tweetable abstractHigh rates of caesarean delivery can be lowered without increases in neonatal morbidity and mortality.
Private and Public Incentives for Prevention of Livestock Diseases on Danish Farms
Authors: Biira Juliet , Hougaard Jens Leth , Lund Mogens 
Published: May 2016

SummaryDenmark is one of the EU countries with a highly recognised agricultural sector, a high level of animal health and one of the lowest medication usages. In this article we aim to provide an overview of both private and public animal health incentives nested in the cattle and pig production industry that influence the decisions and behaviours of farmers in prevention of livestock disease epidemics. Not only do individual Danish pig and cattle farmers aim at highly efficient animal production, they are also involved in collective marketing and contracting which can enhance social capital, peer pressure and instill a greater sense of ownership of disease control prevention. Public incentives including rules on how animals should be transported within Denmark, SPF certification requirements and rules on farm biosecurity further improve farmer incentives to prevent animal diseases. However, Danish pig and cattle farmers’ incentives could be further improved by specifying consequences for not following requirements such as failure to make a compulsory biosecurity plan. The relatively high compensation in case of a disease outbreak provides a safety net for farmers, encourages them to quickly report suspected notifiable diseases but it could also reduce incentives for disease prevention due to the relatively high amounts of compensation.
Evaluation of a novel saliva‐based epidermal growth factor receptor mutation detection for lung cancer: A pilot study
Authors: Pu Dan , Liang Hao , Wei Fang , Akin David , Feng Ziding , Yan QingXiang , Li Yin , Zhen Yan , Xu Lin , Dong Gaochao , Wan Huajing , Dong Jingsi , Qiu Xiaoming , Qin Changlong , Zhu Daxing , Wang Xi , Sun Tong , Zhang Wenbiao , Li Canjun , Tang Xiaojun , Qiao Youlin , Wong David T.W. , Zhou Qinghua 
Published: May 2016

BackgroundThis article describes a pilot study evaluating a novel liquid biopsy system for non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. The electric field‐induced release and measurement (EFIRM) method utilizes an electrochemical biosensor for detecting oncogenic mutations in biofluids.MethodsSaliva and plasma of 17 patients were collected from three cancer centers prior to and after surgical resection. The EFIRM method was then applied to the collected samples to assay for exon 19 deletion and p.L858 mutations. EFIRM results were compared with cobas results of exon 19 deletion and p.L858 mutation detection in cancer tissues.ResultsThe EFIRM method was found to detect exon 19 deletion with an area under the curve (AUC) of 1.0 in both saliva and plasma samples in lung cancer patients. For L858R mutation detection, the AUC of saliva was 1.0, while the AUC of plasma was 0.98. Strong correlations were also found between presurgery and post‐surgery samples for both saliva (0.86 for exon 19 and 0.98 for L858R) and plasma (0.73 for exon 19 and 0.94 for L858R).ConclusionOur study demonstrates the feasibility of utilizing EFIRM to rapidly, non‐invasively, and conveniently detect epidermal growth factor receptor mutations in the saliva of patients with NSCLC, with results corresponding perfectly with the results of cobas tissue genotyping.