bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
All aboard the corporate socially and environmentally responsible cruise ship
Authors: Adams Sheree-Ann , Font Xavier , Stanford Davina 
Published: February 2017

Purpose
The purpose of the study was to examine the relative importance of corporate social and environmental responsibility (CSER) in comparison to standard, price, duration, destination, brand and disruption using choice-based conjoint analysis (CBC).

Design/methodology/approach
CBC was used as the data collection survey technique, and counts analysis for preference and hierarchical Bayes estimation (HB) for importance levels data analysis methods, from Sawtooth Software Inc.

Findings
Results show that 2:1 Royal Caribbean Cruise Line cruise consumers prefer companies with CSER policies and practices. However, their actual product choice selection of cruise package attributes revealed that consumers overall placed less importance on CSER when choosing cruises. Experienced consumers were more brand image-conscious than those new to cruising, and consumers who were less price-sensitive were most willing to choose companies with CSER policies and practices.

Research limitations/implications
The information provided is specifically on “what” cruise consumer preferences and importance attributes are but does not explicitly explain “why” the respondents made the choices they did. This was at the time a limitation of the software used to conduct the study.

Practical implications
The Conjoint Analysis CBC Sawtooth Software pre-2014 version choice simulators do not facilitate questions that provide answers as to “why” respondents make the choices they do in the market simulations.

Social implications
The knowledge contribution is of value to both academia and industry, as the quantitative statistical data on the cruise consumers’ choice preferences are of value in understanding and identifying solutions/approaches towards “opening the bottleneck” that exists between private sector sustainable development practices and consumer lifestyle changes.

Originality/value
This was the first time that CBC/HB was applied within academia to examine the cruise consumers’ choice preferences in a UK context and also the first time that CSER was applied as a direct variable in a cruise package to determine the preference and important values of a brand in a consumer behaviour decision-making context.
Last mile logistics and tourist destinations in the Caribbean
Authors: Amonde Tom M. , Ajagunna Ibrahim , Iyare Ngozi Fidelia 
Published: February 2017

PurposeGrowth of the tourism sector and the relative importance of the last mile have been studied in independent literature, but theorists formally linking the two phenomena are limited. This paper aims to develop a theoretical framework for the understanding of the relationships between the last mile concept and the growth of the tourism sector.Design/methodology/approachUsing 16 Caribbean countries’ tourism destinations, the study designs the last mile response to tourists’ demand based on the following categories: homogenous high-end tourists; homogenous low-end tourists; non-homogenous high-end tourists; non-homogenous low-end tourists; homogenous and non-homogenous high-end tourists; and homogenous and non-homogeneous low-end tourists. Destination networks were ranked relative to each other in terms of six different performance dimensions. A ranking of 1 indicates the best performance along a given dimension and the relative performance worsens, as the ranking gets higher.FindingsFirst, it is the case that the Caribbean has a tourism environment with three types of destinations differentiated by their last mile standard levels (high standard LML, low standard LML and a combination of high and low standard LML). Second, tourists can choose from destinations that have high, low and combination of high and low last mile standard levels. Third, the relative number of tourists and relative profit of destination will depend on the last mile level. Fourth, while empirical evidence of the integration strategies for market differentiation is scarce, this paper points to the effect of cooperation on marketing destinations or integration strategies for marketing destinations.Originality/valueThe grouping of countries into high standard LML, low standard LML and a combination of high and low standard LML represents an advance on the traditional grouping based on proximity, colonial affiliation, language and cultural association. Identifying destination networks that are best suited for a variety of tourists, investors and marketers is of great value to regional tourism planners.
The future of Caribbean tourism: competition and climate change implications
Authors: Mackay Elizabeth A. , Spencer Andrew 
Published: February 2017

Purpose
This conceptual paper examines the Caribbean tourism sector, its growth, performance, importance and its vulnerability to climate change. The purpose of this paper is to serve as an introduction to the on-going conversation around climate change and the socioeconomic impacts likely to be experienced in tourism-dependent Caribbean territories.

Design/methodology/approach
The Caribbean is used as the context of this work. A broad perspective was adopted to paint a picture of the wider implications. The region is represented by a multiplicity of country profiles, both in physical and socio-economic characteristics; this warrants a broad assessment of the issues examined here.

Findings
This work shows that the Caribbean tourism sectors face significant future threats related to both competitiveness and climate change impacts. For a region so heavily dependent on coastal- and marine-related tourism attractions, adaptation and resilience are critical issues facing Caribbean tourism. An effective approach to building resilience to climate change requires extensive regional cooperation.

Research limitations/implications
While there is much published on the matter of climate change implications in the general global context, there is considerably less published work specifically examining the likely effects climate change will have on the special socio-economic features of the Caribbean and on the tourism industry in particular.

Practical implications
The lack of extensive and ongoing research dedicated to climate change implications for Caribbean tourism, while limiting the scope of this work, does highlight a gap and open the door for future work that examines, in greater detail both collectively and on an individual country basis, the climate change implications for tourism industries throughout the region.

Social implications
Climate change vulnerabilities in the region present a significant threat to economic development, employment and food security among others. Coastal flooding, infrastructural damage and the potential displacement of coastal communities present significant impediments to the quality of life of Caribbean nationals. The social implications necessitate further in-depth study to inform the development of adaptation strategies that may secure the tourism industry and the livelihoods and lifestyles of the people.

Originality/value
This work is original in its evaluation of the viewpoints of climate change vulnerability specific to the Caribbean tourism sector.
Nitrogen deposition cancels out exotic earthworm effects on plant‐feeding nematode communities
Authors: Shao Yuanhu , Zhang Weixin , Eisenhauer Nico , Liu Tao , Xiong Yanmei , Liang Chenfei , Fu Shenglei 
Published: February 2017

Summary

The activity and spread of exotic earthworms often are spatially correlated with N deposition because both arise from human activities. Exotic earthworms, in turn, can also greatly affect soil abiotic and biotic properties, as well as related ecological processes. Previous studies showed, for example, that earthworms can counteract the detrimental effects of plant‐feeding nematodes on plant growth. However, potential interactive effects of N deposition and exotic earthworms on ecosystems are poorly understood.

We explored the changes in density of plant‐feeding nematodes in response to the presence of exotic earthworms, and whether these changes are altered by elevated N deposition in a two‐factorial field mesocosm experiment at the Heshan National Field Research Station of Forest Ecosystem, in southern China.

Our results show that earthworm addition marginally significantly increased the density of exotic earthworms and significantly increased the mass of earthworm casts. The total density of plant‐feeding nematodes was not significantly affected by exotic earthworms or N deposition. However, exotic earthworms tended to increase the density of plant‐feeding nematode taxa that are less detrimental to plant growth (r‐strategists), while they significantly reduced the density of more harmful plant‐feeding nematodes (K‐strategists). Importantly, these earthworm effects were restricted to the ambient N deposition treatment, and elevated N deposition cancelled out the earthworm effect. Although exotic earthworms and N deposition interactively altered foliar N : P ratio in the target tree species, this did not result in significant changes in shoot and root biomass in the short term.

Overall, our study indicates that N deposition can cancel out exotic earthworm‐induced reductions in the density of harmful plant‐feeding nematodes. These results suggest that anthropogenic N deposition can alter biotic interactions between exotic and native soil organisms with potential implications for ecosystem functioning.
Livestock grazing alters multiple ecosystem properties and services in salt marshes: a meta‐analysis
Authors: Davidson Kate E. , Fowler Mike S. , Skov Martin W. , Doerr Stefan H. , Beaumont Nicola , Griffin John N. 
Published: February 2017

SummaryThe far‐reaching impacts of livestock grazing in terrestrial grasslands are widely appreciated, but how livestock affect the structure and functions of sensitive coastal ecosystems has hitherto lacked synthesis. Grazing‐induced changes in salt marshes have the potential to alter the provision of valuable ecosystem services, such as coastal protection, blue carbon and biodiversity conservation.To investigate how livestock alter soil, vegetation and faunal properties in salt marshes, we conducted a global meta‐analysis of ungulate grazer impacts on commonly measured ecosystem properties (498 individual responses from 89 studies). We also tested stocking density, grazing duration, grazer identity, continent and vegetation type as potential modifiers of the grazing effect. The majority of studies were conducted in Europe (75) or the Americas (12), and investigated cattle (43) or sheep (22) grazing.All measures of above‐ground plant material (height, cover, above‐ground biomass, litter) were decreased by grazing, potentially impairing coastal protection through diminished wave attenuation.Soil carbon was reduced by grazing in American, but not European marshes, indicating a trade‐off with climate regulation that varies geographically. Additionally, grazing increased soil bulk density, salinity and daytime temperature, and reduced redox potential.Biodiversity responses depended on focal group, with positive effects of grazing on vegetation species richness, but negative effects on invertebrate richness. Grazing reduced the abundance of herbivorous invertebrates, which may affect fish and crustaceans that feed in the marsh. Overall vertebrate abundance was not affected, but there was provisional evidence for increases over a longer duration of grazing, potentially increasing birdwatching and wildfowling opportunities.Synthesis and applications. Our results reveal that the use of salt marshes for livestock production affects multiple ecosystem properties, creating trade‐offs and synergies with other ecosystem services. Grazing leads to reductions in blue carbon in the Americas but not in Europe. Grazing may compromise coastal protection and the provision of a nursery habitat for fish while creating provisioning and cultural benefits through increased wildfowl abundance. These findings can inform salt marsh grazing management, based on local context and desired ecosystem services.
Harvesting as a potential selective pressure on behavioural traits
Authors: Leclerc Martin , Zedrosser Andreas , Pelletier Fanie 
Published: February 2017

Summary

Human activities are a major evolutionary force affecting wild populations. Selective pressure from harvest has mainly been documented for life‐history and morphological traits. The probability for an individual to be harvested, however, may also depend on its behaviour.

We report empirical studies that examined whether harvesting can exert selective pressures on behavioural traits.

We show that harvest‐induced selection on behavioural traits is not specific to a particular harvest method and can occur throughout the animal kingdom.

Synthesis and applications. Managers need to recognize that artificial selection caused by harvesting is possible. More empirical studies integrating physiological, behavioural, and life‐history traits should be carried out to test specific predictions of the potential for harvest‐induced selection on heritable traits using models developed in fisheries. To limit selective pressure on behaviour imposed by harvesting, managers could reduce harvest quotas or vary harvest regulations over time and/or space to reduce the strength of selection on a particular phenotype.
Early life conditions and precipitation influence the performance of widespread understorey herbs in variable light environments
Authors: Westerband Andrea C. , Horvitz Carol C. 
Published: February 2017

Summary

The understorey of tropical forests is heterogeneous across time, and plants that inhabit this layer may exhibit adaptations (e.g. trait plasticity) that enable them to exploit this variability to their advantage. We tested the hypothesis that two widespread understorey herbs would perform equally well in a variable as in a constant environment, using a 2‐year shade‐house experiment.

We measured demographic traits (growth and survival), a physiological trait (maximum photosynthetic capacity), and life‐history traits (leaf life span and biomass allocation) of Heliconia tortuosa and Calathea crotalifera. We investigated how these traits were affected by light availability at the seedling stage, precipitation, and whether individuals experienced a constant or variable light environment.

Whether or not a variable environment was favourable for plants depended upon precipitation and the environment in which individuals started life. At low precipitation, plants in a variable light environment grew more than those in a constant environment, but only when individuals had lived as seedlings in low light. At high precipitation, plants in a constant environment grew more than those in a variable environment, regardless of early conditions. Survival was lower in a variable environment at low precipitation, and more so at high precipitation. Photosynthetic capacity was lower for individuals in a variable environment than in a constant environment when they had lived in high light as seedlings.

Calathea grew faster and survived more poorly than Heliconia, independently of the treatments. Calathea grew more at high than low precipitation while Heliconia grew more at low than high precipitation. Leaf life span and biomass allocation did not differ among treatments, although Calathea had a significantly greater proportion of its biomass above‐ground vs. that of Heliconia.

Synthesis. Environmental variability had a neutral or positive effect on biomass allocation, photosynthetic capacity, and leaf life span for these species. Survival was the only trait that was always lower in a variable environment. The effect of environmental variability was dependent on early life conditions as well as precipitation, suggesting that generalist species may experience high fitness as forest environments become more variable by maintaining high growth at the expense of survival.
Hybridization and introgression among three Aconitum (Ranunculaceae) species of different ploidy levels in the Tatra Mountains (Western Carpathians)
Authors: Sutkowska Agnieszka , Boroń Piotr , Warzecha Tomasz , Dębowski Jakub , Mitka Józef 
Published: February 2017

Hybridization among species of
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conitum effects their morphology and ecology. In this study the hybridization between the diploid 2n(2x) = 16 (
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. lasiocarpum and
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. variegatum) and tetraploid 2n(4x) = 32 (
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. firmum) species was documented in the Tatra Mountains (Western Carpathians) in a small, local population in a semi‐natural site. The hybrid species were: homoploid
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. × pawlowskii (
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. lasiocarpum ×
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. variegatum), and triploid
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. × berdaui (
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. firmum ×
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. variegatum, 2n(3x) = 24). Chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) alleles formed two distinct haplotypes, one typical for the tetraploid and another for diploid lines, shared between the tetraploid, triploid and diploid groups, indicating introgressive hybridization. The presumed gene flow was from the tetraploid to diploid species via the triploid bridge. The only two specimens of
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. × pawlowskii that harbored tetraploid (
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. firmum) type cpDNA possessed bracteoles of
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. firmum‐type. The remaining introgressed (cpDNA and Inter Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR)) specimens (
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. variegatum) were morphologically pure, implying cryptic introgression. ISSR loci shared between the tetraploid
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. firmum and diploid
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. variegatum support the hypothesis of an ancient allopolyploid origin of
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. firmum and the diploid species of
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. variegatum‐type as one of its parent.
Political Economy Model of Cross‐Border Mergers Under Mixed Oligopoly
Authors: Li Jie , Lu Jing , Jiang Mobing 
Published: February 2017

AbstractThis paper analyses the horizontal cross‐border mergers under the framework of political economy in mixed markets. We explore the conditions under which a cross‐border merger between a partially privatized foreign public firm and a profit‐maximizing domestic firm occurs and is approved by the domestic government. We show that a welfare‐maximizing domestic government approves the merger if the share owned by the foreign government is sufficiently low and the merger is relatively efficient; a government only caring about political contributions always approves such a merger; we also consider the case where the government cares about both social welfare and political contributions.
Credit Constraints, Export Mode and Firm Performance: An Investigation of China's Private Enterprises
Authors: Lin Faqin 
Published: February 2017

AbstractFirms can export either directly or through a trade intermediary (indirect exporting). This paper examines how financial constraints determine whether firms export directly or indirectly, and how this choice affects firm performance. For this investigation, we use the most recent Chinese private firm‐level data, collected in 2011 by the World Bank. We establish two main results. First, indirect exporters face higher financial constraints than direct exporters. Second, indirect exporters are less productive and profitable than direct exporters. In addition, we rationalize these patterns with a simple model that incorporates credit constraints and imperfect contractibility in companies’ export decisions. Our results imply that although globalization allows more firms in developing countries to enter the global market through indirect exporting, limited access to capital restricts firms to exporting directly and precludes them from pursuing more profitable opportunities.
Expansion of the tropics: revisiting frontiers of geographical knowledge
Authors: Turton Stephen M. 
Published: February 2017

AbstractThe tropics are expanding poleward at an alarming rate—with massive implications for societies, economies, and natural environments. This expansion appears to be determined largely by anthropogenic drivers—notably rises in greenhouse gases. Of greatest concern is the poleward shift of the dry sub‐tropical zone into highly populated regions that have generally enjoyed a more temperate climate. While the effects of latitudinal shifts of climate zones will be most severe in temperate regions outside the tropics, there will also be significant changes in climate within the tropics—notably unprecedented thermal conditions for hundreds of millions of people, along with projections for more extreme weather events. Australia's geographical location makes it particularly vulnerable to an expanding tropics. As the tropics expand poleward, more of southern Australia will be influenced by the dry sub‐tropical zone and associated reductions in winter rainfall. These drying trends are projected to continue over most southern parts of Australia this century, accompanied by rising temperatures and more hot days. Future rainfall trends for northern Australia remain uncertain, but there is an expected significant increase in the number of hot days, together with more extreme weather events. Future climate change in northern Australia has been ignored by the White Paper for the Development of Northern Australia (2015), bringing into serious question the feasibility and affordability of many of the development policies, plans, and projects promulgated in the White Paper. Even without climate change, the north faces many significant environmental and economic challenges for its future development.
Effect of Different Solvents on the Measurement of Phenolics and the Antioxidant Activity of Mulberry (Morus atropurpurea Roxb.) with Accelerated Solvent Extraction
Authors: Yang Jiufang , Ou XiaoQun , Zhang Xiaoxu , Zhou ZiYing , Ma LiYan 
Published: February 2017

AbstractThe effects of 9 different solvents on the measurement of the total phenolics and antioxidant activities of mulberry fruits were studied using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE). Sixteen to 22 types of phenolics (flavonols, flavan‐3‐ols, flavanol, hydroxycinnamic acids, hydroxybenzoic acids, and stilbenes) from different mulberry extracts were characterized and quantified using HPLC‐MS/MS. The principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine the suitable solvents to distinguish between different classes of phenolics. Additionally, the phenolic extraction abilities of ASE and ultrasound‐assisted extraction (UAE) were compared. The highest extraction efficiency could be achieved by using 50% acidified methanol (50MA) as ASE solvents with 15.14 mg/gallic acid equivalents g dry weight of mulberry fruit. The PCA results revealed that the 50MA followed by 50% acidified acetone (50AA) was the most efficient solvent for the extraction of phenolics, particularly flavonols (627.12 and 510.31 μg/g dry weight, respectively), while water (W) was not beneficial to the extraction of all categories of phenolics. Besides, the results of 3 antioxidant capability assays (DPPH, ABTS free radical‐scavenging assay, and ferric‐reducing antioxidant power assay) showed that water‐based organic solvents increased the antioxidant capabilities of the extracts compared with water or pure organic solvents. ASE was more suitable for the extraction of phenolics than UAE.