bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Controlled autonomy: novice principals’ schema for district control and school autonomy
Authors: Weiner Jennie M. , Woulfin Sarah L. 
Published: March 2017

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to gain insights into how a group of novice principals, all in schools that deployed principles of autonomy as mechanisms for improvement, conceptualized what the authors label “controlled autonomy” – a condition in which school leaders are expected to both make site-based decisions and be accountable to district oversight. The study aims to support more effective interactions between school and district leaders around controlled autonomy to increase performance.Design/methodology/approachUsing schema as a framework to guide the inquiry, this paper uses qualitative methods and interviewing in particular to explore the questions of interest. Seven novice principals were each interviewed three times over the year each interview lasting approximately one hour (n=21). Data were analyzed thematically using both inductive and deductive coding techniques.FindingsFindings show that principals tended to group potential district supports into four categories: operations, instruction, advocacy, and vision and their perceptions regarding the balance between their and the district’s control over activities in each category was dynamic, varied and dependent on views relating to issues as broad as values alignment to perceptions of bureaucratic efficiency.Research limitations/implicationsBecause of the small sample size and methodological approach, it may be inappropriate to generalize the findings across all controlled autonomy contexts. Further research in additional settings is encouraged to support the proposed findings.Practical implicationsThis paper has a number of implications for districts and school leaders. Among these is the need for districts to better articulate the parameters of controlled autonomy and for school leaders to receive more and more effective training and support to effectively utilize autonomy as a mechanism for reform.Originality/valueThis work fills a gap in the research regarding on how principals conceptualize controlled autonomy or, more specifically, how they view what school autonomy should look like relative to district control and is this paper’s focus. It also provides insights into practice and potential means to enhance a growing, but so far unevenly implemented and under performing reform initiative (i.e. controlled autonomy).
Markov regenerative credit rating model
Authors: Pasricha Puneet , Selvamuthu Dharmaraja , Arunachalam Viswanathan 
Published: March 2017

Purpose
Credit ratings serve as an important input in several applications in risk management of the financial firms. The level of credit rating changes from time to time because of random credit risk and, thus, can be modeled by an appropriate stochastic process. Markov chain models have been widely used in the literature to generate credit migration matrices; however, emergent empirical evidences suggest that the Markov property is not appropriate for credit rating dynamics. The purpose of this article is to address the non-Markov behavior of the rating dynamics.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper proposes a model based on Markov regenerative process (MRGP) with subordinated semi-Markov process (SMP) to obtain the estimates of rating migration probability matrices and default probabilities. Numerical example is given to illustrate the applicability of the proposed model with the help of historical Standard & Poor’s (S&P) credit rating data.

Findings
The proposed model implies that rating of a firm in the future not only depends on its present rating, but also on its previous ratings. If a firm gets a rating lower than its previous ratings, there are higher chances of further downgrades, and the issue is called the rating momentum. The model also addresses the ageing problem of credit rating evolution.

Originality/value
The contribution of this paper is a more general approach to study the rating dynamics and overcome the issues of inappropriateness of Markov process applied in rating dynamics.
Systemic operational risk
Authors: Kaspereit Thomas , Lopatta Kerstin , Pakhchanyan Suren , Prokop Jörg 
Published: March 2017

Purpose
The aim of this paper is to study the information content of operational loss events occurring at European financial institutions with respect to the announcing bank’s industry rivals from an equity investor’s perspective.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct an event study to identify spillover effects of operational loss events using the Carhart (1997) four-factor model as a benchmark model. In addition, they conduct multiple regression analyses to investigate the extent to which firm-specific factors or the market environment affect abnormal returns.

Findings
They observe significant negative abnormal returns following operational loss announcements exceeding € 50 million for both the announcing firms and their competitors. In addition, they find that stock market reactions occur only within a very small event window around the announcement date, indicating a high degree of market efficiency. Finally, abnormal returns tend to be insignificant for smaller loss amounts.

Originality/value
While operational risk is often believed to be strictly firm-specific, the results show that large operational risk events are not purely idiosyncratic; rather, they are systemic in the sense that they have contagious effects on non-event banks. Thus, the authors shed new light on how operational risk affects equity investors’ investment behaviour in an opaque and highly interconnected banking market.
Administration and cross-functional teams in libraries
Authors: Perrin Joy M. , Daniel Justin 
Published: March 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assist library administration in avoiding cross-functional team pitfalls.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports the results of years of cross-fucntiional teams at an academic Library. Reports results of years of cross-functional teams at an academic Library.

Findings
Through shared trial and errors, readers will be able to avoid pitfalls and formulate questions not previously considered for their pursuit of cross-functional teams.

Research limitations/implications
While this is a case study, the lessons learned can be applied at any library where cross-functional teams are considered.

Originality/value
This study provides an account of teams at an academic library spanning a decade. Trials and tribulations are discussed.
Hierarchical influences of prey distribution on patterns of prey capture by a marine predator
Authors: Carroll Gemma , Cox Martin , Harcourt Robert , Pitcher Benjamin J. , Slip David , Jonsen Ian 
Published: March 2017

Summary

Prey distribution acts at multiple spatial scales to influence foraging success by predators. The overall distribution of prey may shape foraging ranges, the distance between patches may influence the ability of predators to detect and move between profitable areas, and individual patch characteristics may affect prey capture efficiency.

In this study, we assessed relationships between spatially explicit patterns of prey capture by a central place forager, the little penguin (using GPS tracking and accelerometry), and the distribution of aggregations of potential forage fish prey (using boat‐based active acoustics) in eastern Australia. We used complementary resource selection functions to estimate the distribution of both prey captures and aggregations across the study area, based on a suite of habitat characteristics.

We found that 99% of prey captures by penguins occurred in the top 20 m of the water column. The estimated distribution of prey captures across the study area was similar to the distribution of aggregations above 20 m depth, indicating that penguins effectively matched the local distribution of their prey.

The distances between consecutive prey captures followed a bimodal distribution, with means of 8·1 ± 2·2 and 57·4 ± 1·7 m. Based on the length of aggregations and the distances separating aggregations along survey transects, this implies that foraging behaviour occurs on multiple spatial scales corresponding to within‐patch and between‐patch movements respectively.

Morphological characteristics of aggregations above 20 m depth were important for explaining variance in the number of prey caught by penguins in an area, with penguins catching more prey where aggregations were relatively dense, compact and shallow.

These results reveal spatially explicit patterns of prey capture, and provide a framework for understanding how features of prey distribution influence prey intake by predators in patchy environments.

A lay summary is available for this article.
Estimating the benefits of plasticity in ectotherm heat tolerance under natural thermal variability
Authors: Gunderson Alex R. , Dillon Michael E. , Stillman Jonathon H. 
Published: March 2017

Summary

Plasticity is a near‐ubiquitous feature of the thermal physiology of ectothermic organisms. Understanding the significance of plasticity in evolutionary and ecological contexts requires determining whether observed plasticity is beneficial, and, if so, to what extent plasticity can compensate for environmental change (i.e. is plasticity ‘complete’ or ‘incomplete’).

Using site‐specific daily temperature records spanning several decades, we test the ‘beneficial acclimation hypothesis’ by calculating the number of days predicted to exceed the heat tolerance limits of 103 terrestrial ectotherm populations when incorporating observed taxon‐specific plasticity and when plasticity is ignored.

We find that heat tolerance plasticity can reduce the predicted number of overheating events, although the effects are clade specific with plasticity providing greater benefits to amphibians than to reptiles or arthropods. Despite these benefits, heat tolerance plasticity is incomplete; as temperatures rise, plasticity cannot prevent an increase in the risk of overheating. Specifically, we find that a one degree increase in mean maximum temperature leads to approximately one additional day of predicted overheating during the warmest months of the year, on average.

We conducted a broad‐scale analysis of the degree to which plasticity in heat tolerance reduces the probability that ectotherms experience temperatures beyond their physiological heat limits. Our results indicate that plasticity in heat tolerance benefits ectotherms, but, consistent with previous studies, those benefits are inadequate to provide complete compensation for global climate change.
Resource availability and sexual size dimorphism: differential effects of prey abundance on the growth rates of tropical snakes
Authors: Brown Gregory P. , Madsen Thomas R. L. , Shine Rick 
Published: March 2017

Summary

Broad phylogenetic patterns in sexual size dimorphism (SSD) are shaped by sex differences in net selection pressures (e.g. sexual selection, fecundity selection, survival selection), but environmental and ecological factors can also affect the expression of SSD.

Discussions of proximate ecological influences on SSD have focused on niche divergence; for example, increase in a prey type used by only one sex can elevate growth rates of that sex but not the other. Food limitation also can generate spatial and temporal variation in SSD. Under restricted prey abundance, curtailed growth may mask SSD even if the optimal size is greater for one sex than the other. Because an increase in food availability elicits increased feeding and growth by the sex that benefits more from increased body size, variation in prey abundance can generate variation in SSD.

We used mark‐recapture methods to study growth rates relative to prey (frog) abundance in two species of sexually dimorphic colubrid snake species in tropical Australia.

In slatey‐grey snakes (Stegonotus cucullatus), a species in which larger body size enhances reproductive output in both sexes (because larger males win combat bouts, and larger females produce more/heavier eggs), increased abundance of frogs caused equivalent increases in growth rates in both sexes and hence did not affect SSD. In keelbacks (Tropidonophis mairii), a species in which larger size enhances reproductive output in females more than males (reflecting a lack of male–male combat), increased abundance of frogs elicited higher growth rates of females only. Thus, SSD in keelbacks was modified by prey abundance.

Our results show that the magnitude of sex differences in adult body size can be influenced by proximate environmental factors and support the hypothesis of sex‐specific targets for maximum feeding rates.

A lay summary is available for this article.
Experimental Infrastructure: Experiences in Bicycling in Quito, Ecuador
Authors: Gamble Julie 
Published: March 2017

AbstractBicycling infrastructure has flourished across Latin American cities as urban activists who cycle have pressed municipalities to grant space on the streets. This article analyzes the ways urban cyclists use and create bicycling infrastructure in the city of Quito, Ecuador. It uses an ethnographic approach to understand how infrastructure is systematically produced through various relationships with human actors and non‐human phenomena. The article starts from the perspective of the ethnographer moving within the assemblage of the feminist bicycle collective Carishina en Bici. The ethnographer drew on feminist science and technology studies (STS) approaches to cultivate everyday relationships of ‘care' to become a moving part of an infrastructural assemblage. The study of infrastructure entails carefully choosing research relationships that result in intra‐action, or the coming together of the subjects and objects of a study to produce infrastructure. The article uses the term experimental infrastructure to reveal the procedures of studying and analyzing the political dynamics that result from bicycling infrastructure. It draws on 15 months of fieldwork in Quito, Ecuador, and participatory photo travel diaries of cyclists to demonstrate how bicycling infrastructure is a point of intersection as well as an active site for making democratic claims to the Andean city.
Ginger Extract Suppresses Inflammatory Response and Maintains Barrier Function in Human Colonic Epithelial Caco‐2 Cells Exposed to Inflammatory Mediators
Authors: Kim Yunyoung , Kim Dong‐Min , Kim Ji Yeon 
Published: March 2017

AbstractThe beneficial effects of ginger in the management of gastrointestinal disturbances have been reported. In this study, the anti‐inflammatory potential of ginger extract was assessed in a cellular model of gut inflammation. In addition, the effects of ginger extract and its major active compounds on intestinal barrier function were evaluated. The response of Caco‐2 cells following exposure to a mixture of inflammatory mediators [interleukin [IL]‐1β, 25 ng/mL; lipopolysaccharides [LPS], 10 ng/mL; tumor necrosis factor [TNF]‐α, 50 ng/mL; and interferon [INF]‐γ, 50 ng/mL] were assessed by measuring the levels of secreted IL‐6 and IL‐8. In addition, the mRNA levels of cyclooxygenase‐2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase were measured. Moreover, the degree of nuclear factor (NF)‐κB inhibition was examined, and the intestinal barrier function was determined by measuring the transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)‐dextran transfer. It was observed that ginger extract and its constituents improved inflammatory responses by decreasing the levels of nitrite, PGE2, IL‐6, and IL‐8 via NF‐κB inhibition. The ginger extract also increased the TEER and decreased the transfer of FITC‐dextran from the apical side of the epithelium to the basolateral side. Taken together, these results show that ginger extract may be developed as a functional food for the maintenance of gastrointestinal health.
Imaging biological surface topography in situ and in vivo
Authors: Wainwright Dylan K. , Lauder George V. , Weaver James C. 
Published: March 2017

Summary

The creation of accurate three‐dimensional reconstructions of biological surfaces is often challenging due to several inherent limitations of current imaging technologies. These include the inability to image living material, requirements for extensive specimen preparation and/or long image acquisition times, and the inability to image at length scales that are relevant for the study of interfacial phenomena that occur between the organism and its environment.

In this paper, we demonstrate the use of a new imaging approach that combines the benefits of optical and contact profilometry to image organismal surfaces quickly and without the need for any kind of specimen preparation, thus permitting three‐dimensional visualization in situ.

As a proof of concept, we demonstrate the utility of this approach by imaging the surfaces of a wide range of live and preserved fish and other species, imaging wet, mucus‐covered surfaces, and presenting quantitative metrics of surface roughness in a variety of natural and engineered materials.

Given the numerous wet, sticky, and slimy surfaces that abound in nature and the importance of the interface between species and their environments for the study of numerous biophysical phenomena, we believe this approach holds considerable promise for providing new insights into surface structural complexity in biological systems.
Insula and amygdala resting‐state functional connectivity differentiate bipolar from unipolar depression
Authors: Ambrosi E. , Arciniegas D. B. , Madan A. , Curtis K. N. , Patriquin M. A. , Jorge R. E. , Spalletta G. , Fowler J. C. , Frueh B. C. , Salas R. 
Published: March 2017

ObjectiveDistinguishing depressive episodes due to bipolar disorder (BD) or major depressive disorder (MDD) solely on clinical grounds is challenging. We aimed at comparing resting‐state functional connectivity (rsFC) of regions subserving emotional regulation in similarly depressed BD and MDD.MethodWe enrolled 76 in‐patients (BD, n = 36; MDD, n = 40) and 40 healthy controls (HC). A seed‐based approach was used to identify regions showing different rsFC with the insula and the amygdala. Insular and amygdalar parcellations were then performed along with diagnostic accuracy of the main findings.ResultsLower rsFC between the left insula and the left mid‐dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and between bilateral insula and right frontopolar prefrontal cortex (FPPFC) was observed in BD compared to MDD and HC. These results were driven by the dorsal anterior and posterior insula (PI). Lower rsFC between the right amygdala and the left anterior hippocampus was observed in MDD compared to BD and HC. These results were driven by the centromedial and laterobasal amygdala. Left PI/right FPPC rsFC showed 78% accuracy differentiating BD and MDD.ConclusionrsFC of amygdala and insula distinguished between depressed BD and MDD. The observed differences suggest the possibility of differential pathophysiological mechanisms of emotional dysfunction in bipolar and unipolar depression.
Impact of childhood trauma on course of panic disorder: contribution of clinical and personality characteristics
Authors: De Venter M. , Van Den Eede F. , Pattyn T. , Wouters K. , Veltman D. J. , Penninx B. W. J. H. , Sabbe B. G. 
Published: March 2017

ObjectiveTo investigate the impact of childhood trauma on the clinical course of panic disorder and possible contributing factors.MethodLongitudinal data of 539 participants with a current panic disorder were collected from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA). Childhood trauma was assessed with a structured interview and clinical course after 2 years with a DSM‐IV‐based diagnostic interview and the Life Chart Interview.ResultsAt baseline, 54.5% reported childhood trauma, but this was not predictive of persistence of panic disorder. Emotional neglect and psychological abuse were associated with higher occurrence of anxiety disorders other than panic disorder (social phobia) and with higher chronicity of general anxiety symptoms (anxiety attacks or episodes and avoidance). Baseline clinical features (duration and severity of anxiety and depressive symptoms) and personality traits (neuroticism and extraversion) accounted for roughly 30–60% of the total effect of childhood trauma on chronicity of anxiety symptoms and on occurrence of other anxiety disorders.ConclusionAfter two years, childhood trauma is associated with chronicity of anxiety symptoms and occurrence of social phobia, rather than persistence of panic disorder. These relationships are partially accounted for by duration and severity of anxiety and depressive symptoms, and neuroticism and extraversion.
Prevalence of substance misuse among US veterans in the general population
Authors: Hoggatt Katherine J. , Lehavot Keren , Krenek Marketa , Schweizer Catherine Amanda , Simpson Tracy 
Published: March 2017

Background and ObjectivesEpidemiologic data on substance misuse prevalence among US Veterans are crucial to plan for Veterans’ future healthcare needs. We estimated US Veterans’ age‐specific, overall, and age‐adjusted prevalence of substance misuse, assessed whether prevalence differed between Veterans and civilians, and examined temporal trends in prevalence.MethodsSubstance‐related measures were obtained from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, 2002–2012 (N = 24,210 Veterans; 338,556 civilians).ResultsAmong women and men Veterans overall, past‐month heavy episodic drinking and daily cigarette smoking were the most prevalent types of substance misuse. For Veteran women and men ages 18–25, the prevalence of past‐year illicit drug use was 29% and 38%, which was comparable to the prevalence of past‐month daily cigarette smoking, and the prevalence of past‐year prescription drug misuse was 14% and 18%. For men ages 18–25, heavy episodic drinking, daily cigarette smoking, alcohol use disorder (AUD), and substance use disorder were more prevalent among Veterans than civilians. For women, the age‐specific, overall, and age‐adjusted prevalence of daily cigarette smoking was generally greater among Veterans than civilians. There was a decreasing temporal trend in overall AUD prevalence among Veteran men, reflecting a decreasing trend in age‐specific prevalence among Veteran men ages 35–49.Discussion and ConclusionsYoung Veterans’ high prevalence of substance misuse, and the generally high prevalence of daily smoking among Veterans, underscore the need for evidence‐based assessments and treatment options that are accessible and effective for Veterans.Scientific SignificanceThis study provides foundational information on the epidemiology of substance misuse among Veterans. (Am J Addict 2017;26:357–365)