bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Corporate governance and risk reporting: Indian evidence
Authors: Saggar Ridhima , Singh Balwinder 
Published: April 2017

PurposeThis study aims to measure the extent of voluntary risk disclosure and examine the relationship between corporate governance firm level quality in the form of board characteristics and ownership concentration’s impact on risk disclosure in the annual reports of Indian listed companies.Design/methodology/approachThe method adopted in this study is automated content analysis, which is applied to a sample of 100 listed Indian non-financial companies to find out the extent of risk disclosure. Further, multiple linear regressions have been applied to find out the relationship between corporate governance firm level quality in the form of board characteristics, ownership concentration and risk disclosure.FindingsThe findings reveal that the total number of positive risk keywords surpasses negative risk keywords disclosure. The corporate governance mainsprings, namely, board size and gender diversity have a positively significant effect on risk disclosure, whereas ownership concentration in the hands of the largest shareholder insignificantly affects risk disclosure, but identity of the largest shareholder having ownership concentration negatively affects disclosure of risk information in the case of Indian promoter body corporate, foreign promoter body corporate and non-institutions in comparison to family ownership.Research limitations/implicationsThis study relied on a set of 39 risk keywords for measuring the extent of risk disclosure. Further, it uses a sample of 100 companies to examine the effect of corporate governance on risk disclosure at one point of time. However, a longitudinal study can help in understanding risk disclosure adopted by Indian listed companies in a better manner.Practical implicationsThe findings have implications for regulatory bodies such as the Securities and Exchange Board of India, which needs to strengthen corporate governance norms with respect to board characteristics and keep a check on ownership concentration for improving risk disclosure by companies.Originality/valueTo best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is a preliminary attempt linking two research lines in India, that is, corporate risk disclosure and corporate governance quality in the form of board characteristics and ownership concentration. The study identifies corporate governance firm level qualities which lead to divulgation of risk information by the companies pointing towards strengthening of regulatory regime in the country for improved corporate governance regulations adopted by listed companies.
Combating corruption in a microfinance institution
Authors: Azim Mohammad I. , Sheng Kuang , Barut Meropy 
Published: April 2017

Purpose
Combatting corruption is an important social and commercial issue in most human societies. Many researchers have revealed how an effective anti-corruption practice can possibly minimise corruption in an organisation. However, studies focusing on organisations which are relatively successful in managing corruption at the employee level are relatively rare. On this note, this study aims to focus on Grameen Bank in particular, a Nobel-Prize-winning microfinance institute that was able to minimise its level of corruption among its employees in a country where corruption is the norm.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses standard economic theory to explain the perceptions and behaviours of the employees of Grameen Bank who live and work in a highly corrupt socio-cultural environment. This paper used questionnaires to ascertain the perceptions of Grameen Bank employees’ notions regarding corruption-combating behaviours. Interviews were also conducted among Grameen’s board members, managers and officers to further explore the nature and effectiveness of this organisation’s anti-corruption mechanisms.

Findings
Corruption can never be entirely eradicated; however, it can be diminished and opportunities for corruption can be minimised. This paper found, through an analysis of employees’ perceptions relating to governance and corruption in the Grameen Bank, that corruption exists, but there are systems in place to prevent it and to assist with staff morality. This research also uncovered a number of best practices in Grameen Bank’s governance to minimise corrupt behaviours, which include, but are not limited to, strong monitoring, decentralisation of authority, review of decision-making process, high internal audit intensity, impersonal punishment, anti-corruption cultures and transparency.

Originality/value
This study suggests that it is possible for organisations to resist corruption, especially microfinance institutions, even when they operate in a highly corrupt socio-cultural environment.
Drivers of species' role in avian seed‐dispersal mutualistic networks
Authors: Sebastián‐González Esther 
Published: April 2017

Summary

The mutualistic interaction between frugivore birds and the fruiting plants they disperse presents an asymmetric interaction pattern, with some species having a more important role (i.e. being essential) for maintaining the structure and functioning of the interaction network. The identification of the biological characteristics of these species is of major importance for the understanding and conservation of seed‐dispersal interactions.

In this study, I use a network approach and avian seed‐dispersal networks from 23 different geographical areas to test five hypotheses about species characteristics determining the structure of the assemblage.

I expected (i) large birds to forage on a large number of fruits and (ii) large fruits to be dispersed by few bird species (because of morphological constraints), and (iii) highly energetic fruits to be dispersed by more bird species (in accordance with optimal foraging theory). Besides the number of interacting partners, I also expected (iv) large birds and (v) small energetic fruits to be important for the maintenance of the structure of the interactions in seed‐dispersal networks. As species that are closely related are more likely to be similar to each other, I performed phylogenetically corrected analyses to account for this data dependence.

Although bird size was not associated to species important in the maintenance of the structure of the seed‐dispersal community, I identified that bird species whose diet was strongly dependent on fruits were important for the structure of the network. Regarding the plants, I found that large fruits were dispersed by fewer species, but the most important attribute to predict the role of a fruit was its energy content (higher energy, more bird species dispersing the plant, but low‐energy fruits being of conservation concern because they are dispersed by specific species).

The results of this study suggest that the role of the species in seed‐dispersal assemblages seems to be determined by the role of the species as consumers (frugivory degree for animals) or by their nutritional inputs (energy content for fruits) rather than by morphological constrains.
Increasing adolescents' depth of understanding of cross‐curriculum words: an intervention study
Authors: Spencer Sarah , Clegg Judy , Lowe Hilary , Stackhouse Joy 
Published: April 2017

AbstractBackgroundThere is some evidence that vocabulary intervention is effective for children, although further research is needed to confirm the impact of intervention within contexts of social disadvantage. Very little is known about the effectiveness of interventions to increase adolescent knowledge of cross‐curriculum words.AimsTo evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention programme designed to develop adolescents’ knowledge of cross‐curriculum words.Methods & ProceduresParticipants were 35 adolescents aged between 12 and 14 years who were at risk of educational underachievement with low scores on a range of assessments. Participants received a 10‐week intervention programme in small groups, targeting 10 cross‐curriculum words (e.g., ‘summarize’). This was evaluated using a bespoke outcome measure (the Word Knowledge Profile). The study involved an AABA design, with a repeated baseline, delayed intervention cohort and blind assessment. Intervention included both semantic and phonological information about the target words and involved the adolescents using the words in multiple contexts.Outcomes & ResultsResults were promising and participants’ knowledge of the targeted words significantly increased following intervention. Progress was demonstrated on the Word Knowledge Profile on the item requiring participants to define the word (for the summer intervention group only). This increase in depth of knowledge was seen on taught words but not on matched non‐taught words.Conclusions & ImplicationsCross‐curriculum words are not consistently understood by adolescents at risk of low educational attainment within a low socio‐economic context. A 10‐week intervention programme resulted in some increases to the depth of knowledge of targeted cross‐curriculum words.
Grammaticality differences between Spanish‐speaking children with specific language impairment and their typically developing peers
Authors: Jackson‐Maldonado Donna , Maldonado Ricardo 
Published: April 2017

AbstractBackgroundA limited number of studies have analyzed grammaticality in monolingual Spanish‐speaking children with specific language impairment (SLI). Most of the available data are based on bilingual speakers.AimsTo extend previous studies by doing a more detailed analysis of grammatical types in monolingual Spanish‐speakers with and without SLI.Methods & ProceduresForty‐nine Spanish‐speaking children (18 with SLI, 17 age‐matched typically developing controls, 14 language‐matched controls) were recruited from schools in Mexico and observed in a spontaneous narrative task.Outcomes & ResultsThe findings were inconsistent with those of previous studies. Significant differences were found for article, connector and preposition omissions, and the per cent of ungrammatical utterances. There were no significant differences found for clitics and verb phrases, though clitic substitutions were frequent. Language‐matched controls did not produce different frequencies of ungrammatical utterances.Conclusions & ImplicationsSignificant differences were found for three main items: the per cent of ungrammatical utterances, the omission of articles and the omission of prepositions. Therefore, we propose these components be taken into consideration when distinguishing typically developing children from children with SLI.
Evaluation of an interview skills training package for adolescents with speech, language and communication needs
Authors: Mathrick Rachel , Meagher Tina , Norbury Courtenay Frazier 
Published: April 2017

AbstractBackground & AimsWe evaluated a structured intervention programme aimed at preparing adolescents with developmental language disorders for job interviews. Our primary outcome measures included change in ratings of verbal and non‐verbal social communication behaviours evident during mock interviews.Methods & ProceduresIn study 1, 12 participants, aged 17–19 years, from a specialist sixth‐form college completed the intervention and two mock interviews, one pre‐ and one post‐intervention. In study 2, 34 participants, aged 17–19 years, completed a modified intervention programme and three mock interviews, one at baseline (included to control for possible practise effects), one pre‐ and one post‐intervention. In both studies, interviews were video recorded and social communication behaviours were coded by independent assessors blind to interview time, participant diagnosis and therapy content. A repeated‐measures design was employed to measure change in communication behaviours.Outcomes & ResultsIn study 1, a significant increase in the number of ‘positive’ verbal and non‐verbal social communication behaviours was observed from pre‐ to post‐intervention. However, there was no significant change in the number of ‘negative’ behaviours (i.e., fidgeting, irrelevant remarks). In study 2, there were no significant changes in verbal behaviours, but significant group differences (though wide individual variation) in both positive and negative non‐verbal social communication behaviours.Conclusions & ImplicationsOur findings suggest that training specific social communication skills that are important for interview success, and consistently reinforcing those behaviours during therapy practice, can increase the use of those skills in an interview setting, though in this heterogeneous population there was considerable variation in therapy outcome. The skills of the interviewer were identified as a potential source of variation in outcome, and a target for future research and practice.
Keeping out and getting in: reframing emergency department gatekeeping as structural competence
Authors: Buchbinder Mara 
Published: April 2017

AbstractSociologists have tended to frame medical gatekeeping as an exclusionary social practice, delineating how practitioners and clerical staff police the moral boundaries of medicine by keeping out patients who are categorised as ‘bad’, ‘deviant’, or otherwise problematic. Yet medical gatekeeping, understood more broadly, can include not only keeping patients out of particular clinical settings, but also redirecting them to alternative sources of care. In this article, I draw on qualitative analysis of audio‐recorded patient‐provider interactions in a United States emergency department (ED) to illustrate medical gatekeeping as a two‐step process of, first, categorising certain patient complaints as unsuitable for treatment within a particular setting, and second, diverting patients to alternative sites for care. I refer to these as the restrictive and facilitative components of medical gatekeeping to denote how each relates to patients’ access to care, recognising that both components of medical gatekeeping are part of a coordinated organisational strategy for managing resource scarcity. By illustrating how ED providers reveal intimate knowledge of structural vulnerabilities in diverting socioeconomically disadvantaged patients with chronic back pain to clinical sites that are better equipped to provide care, I suggest that we rethink the emphasis on restrictive practices in sociological accounts of medical gatekeeping.
Evaluation of high‐intensity focused ultrasound ablation for uterine fibroids: an IDEAL prospective exploration study
Authors: Chen J , Li Y , Wang Z , McCulloch P , Hu L , Chen W , Liu G , Li J , Lang J ,   Committee of the Clinical Trial of HIFU versus Surgical Treatment for Fibroids
Published: April 2017

ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical outcomes of high‐intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) and surgery in treating uterine fibroids, and prepare for a definitive randomised trial.DesignProspective multicentre patient choice cohort study (IDEAL Exploratory study) of HIFU, myomectomy or hysterectomy for treating symptomatic uterine fibroids.Setting20 Chinese hospitals.Population or sample2411 Chinese women with symptomatic fibroids.MethodsProspective non‐randomised cohort study with learning curve analysis (IDEAL Stage 2b Prospective Exploration Study).Main outcome measuresComplications, hospital stay, return to normal activities, and quality of life (measured with UFS‐Qol and SF‐36 at baseline, 6 and 12 months), and need for further treatment. Quality‐of‐life outcomes were adjusted using regression modelling. HIFU treatment quality was evaluated using LC‐CUSUM to identify operator learning curves. A health economic analysis of costs was performed.Results1353 women received HIFU, 472 hysterectomy and 586 myomectomy. HIFU patients were significantly younger (P < 0.001), slimmer (P < 0.001), better educated (P < 0.001), and wealthier (P = 0.002) than surgery patients. Both UFS and QoL improved more rapidly after HIFU than after surgery (P = 0.002 and P = 0.001, respectively at 6 months), but absolute differences were small. Major adverse events occurred in 3 (0.2%) of HIFU and in 133 (12.6%) of surgical cases (P < 0.001). Median time for hospital stay was 4 days (interquartile range, 0–5 days), 10 days (interquartile range, 8–12.5 days) and 8 days (interquartile range, 7–10 days).ConclusionsHIFU caused substantially less morbidity than surgery, with similar longer‐term QoL. Despite group baseline differences and lack of blinding, these findings support the need for a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of HIFU treatment for fibroids. The IDEAL Exploratory design facilitated RCT protocol development.Tweetable abstractHIFU had much better short‐term outcomes than surgery for fibroids in 2411‐patient Chinese IDEAL format study.
Does Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Create Shareholder Value? Evidence from the Indian Companies Act 2013
Authors: MANCHIRAJU HARIOM , RAJGOPAL SHIVARAM 
Published: April 2017

ABSTRACTIn 2013, a new law required Indian firms, which satisfy certain profitability, net worth, and size thresholds, to spend at least 2% of their net income on corporate social responsibility (CSR). We exploit this regulatory change to isolate the shareholder value implications of CSR activities. Using an event study approach coupled with a regression discontinuity design, we find that the law, on average, caused a 4.1% drop in the stock price of firms forced to spend money on CSR. However, firms that spend more on advertising are not negatively affected by the mandatory CSR rule. These results suggest that firms voluntarily choose CSR to maximize shareholder value. Therefore, forcing a firm to spend on CSR is likely to be sub‐optimal for the firm with a consequent negative impact on shareholder value.
Impact of emergency department discharge stream short stay unit performance and hospital bed occupancy rates on access and patient flowmeasures: A single site study
Authors: Shetty Amith L , Teh Caleb , Vukasovic Matthew , Joyce Shannon , Vaghasiya Milan R , Forero Roberto 
Published: April 2017

AbstractObjectiveThe ED discharge stream short stay units (EDSSUs) aim to facilitate patient flows through EDs. We investigate the relationship between EDSSU census and hospital bed occupancy rates (BORs) on National Emergency Access Target (NEAT) performance and did‐not‐wait (DNW) rates at a tertiary metropolitan adult ED in Sydney, Australia.MethodsWe collated data for all ED presentations between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2014. Daily ED, EDSSU census and ED‐accessible hospital BORs were tabulated with daily ED NEAT performance and DNW rates. Non‐parametric regression analyses was conducted on cohorts of appropriate, inappropriate, successful and failed EDSSU admissions based on local admission policies and BOR for NEAT and DNW outcomes.ResultsAmong all presentations (n = 192 506) during the study period, 43.8% of patients were admitted in hospital including 10.4% for EDSSU (n = 20 081). Analyses reveal modest positive correlation of EDSSU admissions with NEAT performance (τ = 0.35, P < 0.001) and weak negative correlation with DNW rates (τ = −0.29, P < 0.001). These associations were more pronounced on days when BOR >100% (τ = 0.39 and τ = −0.36, P < 0.001). BOR of >100% were associated with reduced EDSSU admits, NEAT performance and increased DNW rates (P < 0.001). Appropriate EDSSU admissions had shorter EDSSU length of stay than inappropriate EDSSU admissions (350 vs 557 min, median difference −158 min, P < 0.001).ConclusionAppropriate use of EDSSU provides effective conduit for ongoing patients’ management beyond mandated timelines. Health systems should focus on reducing hospital BORs to mitigate exclusive ED pressure to deliver NEAT performance targets.
Hospital use in Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal patients with chronic disease
Authors: Whyatt David , Yap Matthew , Tenneti Raji , Pearson Glenn , Vickery Alistair 
Published: April 2017

AbstractObjectiveThe objective of this study was to compare rates of hospital utilisation in Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal peoples before and after hospital admission for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure and/or type 2 diabetes mellitus.MethodsThis was a longitudinal cohort study from 2002 to 2014, which was conducted in all hospitals in Western Australia. The participants of this study were Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal patients with a principal diagnosis of heart failure, type 2 diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, on admission to hospital, where such an event had not occurred in the previous 3 years. Inpatient days and ED presentations were the main outcome measures.ResultsAmong the patients with chronic disease, Aboriginal people have similar inpatient days for all causes compared to non‐Aboriginal people. However, they have much higher ED presentations in comparison. Age of onset of cardinal events occurs 15–20 years earlier in Aboriginal patients with chronic disease. Although age has little influence on ED presentations in non‐Aboriginal chronic disease patients, younger Aboriginal people with chronic disease present far more often to ED than older Aboriginal people.ConclusionsAboriginal people use health services in a different manner when compared to non‐Aboriginal people. In a subset of patients with chronic disease, high use may be reduced with better access to primary healthcare. Policy‐makers and healthcare providers should examine healthcare use from primary to tertiary care among the Aboriginal population, with a particular focus on ED presentations; investigate the underlying causes driving specific patterns of health service utilisation among Aboriginal people; and develop interventions to reduce potential deleterious impacts, and enhance the potential benefits, of specific patterns of healthcare use.
Dietary Tuna Dark Muscle Protein Attenuates Hepatic Steatosis and Increases Serum High‐Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Obese Type‐2 Diabetic/Obese KK‐Ay Mice
Authors: Maeda Hayato , Hosomi Ryota , Fukuda Mari , Ikeda Yuki , Yoshida Munehiro , Fukunaga Kenji 
Published: April 2017

AbstractTuna muscle consists of light and dark muscle in approximately equal proportions. However, besides for the light muscle of tuna, cod, sardine, and salmon, few researches have assessed the health‐promoting functions of fish protein. Therefore, we evaluated the mechanisms underlying the alteration of lipid storage and cholesterol metabolism following the intake of tuna dark muscle protein (TDMP) by obese type‐2 diabetic/obese mice. Four‐week‐old male KK‐Ay mice were separated into 2 dietary groups, with one group receiving a casein‐based diet and the other receiving a diet with the substitution of part of the protein (50%, w/w) by TDMP (TDMP diet) for 4 wk. The TDMP diet significantly increased the content of serum high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, partly due to the reduction of the expression of scavenger receptor class B member 1 in epididymal white adipose tissue. In addition, dietary TDMP decreased the content of hepatic triacylglycerol, which could be due to the enhancement of carnitine palmitoyltransferase‐2 activity through the activation of the expression of the peroxisome proliferative activated receptor‐α in the liver. These results suggest that TDMP could have the potential to prevent the development of obesity‐related diseases by suppressing the storage of hepatic triacylglycerol and cholesterol.