bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Improving the quality of Sweden’s rail freight rolling stock
Authors: Cullinane Kevin , Bergqvist Rickard , Cullinane Sharon , Zhu Shengda , Wang Linkai 
Published: June 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical conceptualization of how data envelopment analysis (DEA) can be applied to rail freight rolling stock in order to develop a tariff for track access charges which is functionally dependent upon the derived relative benchmark values of performance.

Design/methodology/approach
It is posited that track access charges should be differentiated to reflect differences in the performance of rolling stock and that this can be achieved purely on the basis of technical and other characteristics. The performance benchmarking of rolling stock is proposed as the basis for formulating and justifying a performance-based tariff structure. Using DEA, relative index measures of rolling stock performance can be derived, benchmark performance can be identified and a tariff structure can be developed.

Findings
A workable approach to implementing the concept, utilizing existing in-house databases, is found to be feasible and a template for tariff setting is established.

Research limitations/implications
In the absence of access to in-house technical data on rolling stock, which is commercially sensitive, no empirical application of the concept is possible.

Originality/value
There are many ways to improve the efficiency of a railway system. Many are inherently long term and involve significant investment. Using Sweden as an example, this paper proposes the more immediate, simpler and cheaper approach of incentivising the use of better rolling stock through appropriate track access charging. Such an approach should reduce the number of problems arising on the rail network and the costs imposed on other rail users, the infrastructure providers and society. Ultimately, the implementation of this approach would support the objective of increasing long-term robustness and reducing disruptions to railways.
Evaluating sustainable supply chain indicators using fuzzy AHP
Authors: Kumar Divesh , Garg Chandra Prakash 
Published: June 2017

PurposeSustainability in supply chain is gaining attention in recent years due to environmental concern, enforced legislation, green issues, social responsibility, etc. Sustainable supply chain (SSC) has revolved around the various dimensions including economy, environment and societal factors since its inception. The purpose of this paper is to identify, prioritize and evaluate the indicators of SSC so that organizations can cultivate strategies to implement them on priority.Design/methodology/approachThis paper proposes a methodology based on fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to prioritize the indicators of SSC. A numerical analysis of Indian automotive industry is presented to demonstrate the use of the proposed method. This proposed method considered fuzzy framework that can handle impreciseness and uncertainty. Sensitivity analysis is also performed to test the robustness of the proposed model.FindingsPotential indicators are identified from relevant literature and validated by industry experts. This research finalizes the SSC indicators under three dimensions so that prioritization of identified indicators can be developed and the insights relationship of factors would be explored. The results of the study found that environmental and social dimensions of sustainability contribute more toward the sustainability.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited to identify evaluation factors and other factors have not been identified and categorized. Evaluation is done by experts in this area so it is natural that views of decision makers may be subjective and vary with regard to industry type, priorities, resources, etc.Practical implicationsThis study will help industry to identify, evaluate and prioritize factors for successful implementation of sustainability in their supply chain. Automotive companies could device these factors by applying the outcome of the study in their operations with higher priority to integrate sustainability in their supply chain.Originality/valueThese factors are identified to implement sustain ability into supply chain practices for automotive industry.
Test of a mediation model of psychological capital among hotel salespeople
Authors: Bouzari Mona , Karatepe Osman M. 
Published: June 2017

Purpose
This paper aims to propose and test a research model that examines psychological capital as a mediator of the effect of servant leadership on lateness attitude, intention to remain with the organization, service–sales ambidexterity and service-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach
Data were gathered from hotel salespeople using a three-wave design with a two-week time lag between each wave in Iran. In total, 26 supervisors assessed salespeople’s service-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors. Structural equation modeling was used in the assessment of the direct and mediating effects.

Findings
The findings reveal that psychological capital functions as a full mediator of the influence of servant leadership on the aforementioned outcomes. Specifically, servant leadership fosters salespeople’s psychological capital. Such employees in turn display reduced lateness attitude and express an increased intent to remain with the organization. They also have favorable perceptions of service–sales ambidexterity and exhibit service-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors at elevated levels.

Practical implications
Top management of hotels should be committed to the philosophy of servant leadership because salespeople under the umbrella of this leadership style are high on psychological capital. Under these circumstances, such employees can exhibit service–sales ambidexterity by contributing to delivery of exceptional service and enhancing customer satisfaction. They can also contribute to the organization’s competitive advantage via service-oriented organizational citizenship behaviors.

Originality/value
This study makes a significant contribution to the extant hospitality research by testing psychological capital as a mediator between servant leadership and the previously mentioned consequences.
Do high school graduates benefit from intensive vocational training?
Authors: Mo Costabella Luca 
Published: June 2017

PurposeDecades of impact evaluation of vocational training have produced very heterogeneous findings. If heterogeneity can be ascribed to the diversity in contents and target population, it can be reduced analyzing specific subprograms. The purpose of this paper is to focus on Italian “Post Diploma” training, which consists of intensive courses for unemployed holding a high school degree. Evidence on the benefits for different types of workers is provided, distinguishing in particular between common unemployed and those who attend training as a further investment in human capital after finishing their schooling.Design/methodology/approachThe evaluation is based on a non-experimental control group design. Exploiting extremely rich administrative data, impact estimates are obtained via propensity score matching. The robustness of results is checked through extensive sensitivity analysis.FindingsThe results suggest a positive impact on the employment probability, also in the long run. Training is particularly effective for people who attend it just after finishing high school. Cost-benefit analysis yields a positive rate return on public investment only after more than five years.Originality/valueThe study focuses on a limited and homogeneous segment of training in order to provide more exploitable evidence for program design purposes. Due to its specific characteristics and aims, Post Diploma training represents an example of intervention which, unlike many programs for unemployed, works better for the youngest. The conclusions stress the general need for evaluations that properly account for the cost of an intervention and its effectiveness in the long run.
Gender inequalities in labour market outcomes
Authors: Georgiadis Thomas , Christopoulos George 
Published: June 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the investigation of gender inequalities in the labour market at the regional level in Greece throughout the years preceding and following the economic crisis.

Design/methodology/approach
Utilising microdata from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) database from 2005 up to the most recent available, the authors construct the Total Earnings Gap Index, a composite index at the individual level which incorporates gender differentials in aspects related to employment, work intensity and earnings. This approach is further complemented by the results of the econometric analysis (a probit model for the probability of being in employment and a Heckman selection model for the determinants of hourly pay and hours worked), which portray the impact of gender on a set of labour-related characteristics.

Findings
The findings of the analysis indicate a widespread reduction of the gender gap; however, this appears to be mainly the result of a sharper fall in employment among men, hence pointing towards a “race to the bottom” process which presents few – if any – signs of an increase of women’s economic independence. The emerging picture points towards a trend of regional convergence in gender gaps, while also highlighting that similar gender equality outcomes are, in certain cases, shaped by radically different dynamics.

Originality/value
This paper uses an innovative composite index which provides a multi-dimensional depiction of gender inequality in the Greek labour market. This index has been introduced by Eurostat and has been applied at the country level, with this paper being the first – to the authors’ knowledge – to apply it at the regional level. Additionally, by examining years before and throughout the crisis, the present analysis adopts a dynamic perspective, offering valuable insight into the seismic shifts that Greece’s labour market structure has undergone during this period.
The impact of TQM practices and KM processes on organisational performance
Authors: Qasrawi Bara’ Tareq , Almahamid Soud Mohammad , Qasrawi Shadi Tareq 
Published: June 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of total quality management (TQM) practices in terms of leadership, strategic planning, customer focus, teamwork, process management, information, and analysis on organizational performance in Jordanian telecommunications companies. In addition, the mediating effect of knowledge management (KM) processes is tested.

Design/methodology/approach
A survey instrument was used to gather empirical data, and it was distributed to all managerial and non-managerial employees. A total of 477 questionnaires were valid for analysis, resulting in a response rate of (97 percent). Factor analysis and multiple regression analyses were used to test the study’s hypotheses.

Findings
Customer focus and process management were found to have an insignificant impact on organizational performance, while teamwork had the strongest impact on KM processes. The results also revealed that only knowledge sharing and application processes had a significant impact on organizational performance. More importantly, KM processes fully mediated the impact of TQM practices on organizational performance, except for teamwork, which had a partial mediating effect.

Research limitations/implications
This study was limited to a survey of the headquarters of three telecommunication companies: Zain, Orange, and Umniah, in Amman City.

Originality/value
Originality of the paper lies in testing the influence of TQM practices on organizational performance in a novel context, where most TQM initiatives fail for one reason or another.
Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007: reflections on developing practice and present day challenges
Authors: Mackay Kathryn , Notman Mary 
Published: June 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to outline the duties and powers of the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act (ASPSA) 2007 and place them in the wider Scottish adult protection legislative framework. It considers the potential value of a standalone adult safeguarding statute.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors draw upon their research and practice expertise to consider the merits of the ASPSA 2007. They take a case study approach to explore its implementation in one particular Scottish local authority, drawing on the qualitative and quantitative data contained in its annual reports.

Findings
Skilled, knowledgeable and well-supported practitioners are key to effective screening, investigations and intervention. Protection orders are being used as intended for a very small number of cases.

Research limitations/implications
The lack of national statistical reports means that there is limited scope for comparison between the local and national data.

Practical implications
Adult support and protection requires ongoing investment of time and leadership in councils and other local agencies to instigate and maintain good practice. Aspects that require further attention are self-neglect; capacity and consent and residents in care homes who pose potential risks to other residents and staff.

Social implications
ASPSA 2007 has helped to raise awareness of adults at risk of harm within the local communities and as social issue more generally.

Originality/value
The authors provide a critical appraisal of the implementation of Scottish adult safeguarding legislation over the last six years. They consider similar developments in England and Wales and argue for comparative research to test these out. Finally, they signpost future directions for bridging separate policy streams.
The implementation of a peer support scheme in an assertive rehabilitation ward in high secure forensic services
Authors: Wolfendale Tori , Musaabi Angella 
Published: June 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the implementation of a peer support volunteer scheme in a high secure setting and to explore the peer support volunteer’s experiences conducting this role, based predominantly on an assertive rehabilitation ward.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper has outlined the implementation of the peer support volunteer scheme in a high secure setting and has explored the peer support volunteer’s experiences conducting this role and has explored the views of newly transferred patients who have accessed this scheme. The peer support scheme is based predominantly on an assertive rehabilitation ward. The data have been collected through the completion of detailed questionnaires that have been disseminated to participants through the clinical team.

Findings
This paper has outlined the implementation of a peer support scheme on an assertive rehabilitation ward within a high secure forensic mental health setting. This paper has explored the role and experiences of a peer support volunteer on an assertive rehabilitation ward and has explored the experience from a service recipient’s perspective also through the completion of questionnaires. This paper has explored the overall benefits of peer support within mental health services to both the volunteer, staff members and to a patient newly admitted to the ward, and has identified the skills that the volunteer is able to develop following contribution in to the peer support scheme.

Practical implications
This paper has acknowledged that there have been challenges introducing this particular scheme into mental health service teams. Challenges have included establishing appropriate boundaries and dilution of the role due to power imbalances, both between the peer support volunteer and the service recipient, but also between the clinical team that supervises the overall peer support scheme (Christie, 2016). The clinical team within this particular ward have been mindful with regards to the approach that has been utilised and has therefore, included the service users within the overall development of the scheme to encompass the recovery principles, but have continued to review the progression as a team and have taken into consideration all aspects of relational security.

Originality/value
The paper relating to the implementation of the peer support volunteer scheme in a high secure setting has not been published before and is not under consideration for publication with another journal.
What is the potential for disrupting the university?
Authors: Abeles Tom P. 
Published: June 2017

Purpose
After three centuries, the second major transformation from the original Bologna institution is changing, but theory-induced blindness is forcing a major disruption rather than a gradual change. This conceptual paper aims to identify the pressures and the needed restructuring occurring to both the physical campus and the embodiment of the function of the faculty and the institution.

Design/methodology/approach
The university in its current form is economically unsustainable. It is an impractical structure for creating new knowledge and for transmitting such knowledge. It needs to respond to changes in education, to demands of those seeking or underwriting the purpose and particularly to the advances in the areas of information and communication technology and artificial intelligence systems.

Findings
Education, pre-kindergarten through adult, is becoming continuous and seamless across time and knowledge creation and acquisition. Universities, with exceptions, cannot stand alone as creators and adjudicators of valid knowledge either within the current idea of education or separate from knowledge creation outside of academia.

Originality/value
Those individuals within academia have a significant investment in the current system. Like many in other industries, the changes are producing changes and stress that will take time to respond, particularly as those who are now entering already will have the prerequisite capabilities to adapt and accelerate the change.
Why student needs
Authors: Hines Andy , Suarez Juan 
Published: June 2017

Purpose
This paper aims to provide the rationale for the Students Needs 2025 & Beyond study. Its key purpose was to support the development of an organizational innovation function and to identify potential disruptions or surprises.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper is an introduction that supports the collection of articles to follow.

Findings
The paper points out three ways in which this study took a unique view of higher education, ultimately focused around a theme of focusing on student rather than institutional needs. It recommends four ways in which the study could be used by the client organization, centered on aiding its innovation function.

Research limitations/implications
This paper is an introduction to the research.

Practical implications
The paper is intended for educators, researchers and administrators to gain a better understanding of the student perspective on what they will need from higher education.

Originality/value
This paper introduces the study that took the perspective of the students in looking at the future of higher education, in contrast to most studies emphasizing the perspective of the institution.
MiR‐195 promotes abdominal aortic aneurysm media remodeling by targeting Smad3
Authors: Liang Bing , Che Jianbo , Zhao Hui , Zhang Zhi , Shi Gongning 
Published: June 2017

SummaryIntroductionMiR‐195 has been implicated in the development of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). However, the underlying mechanisms have not been fully addressed.AimTo explore the roles of miR‐195 in regulating the proliferation and apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), as well as its molecular basis in vitro.MethodsqRT‐PCR was used to determine the expression levels of miR‐195 and Smad3 in aortic media specimens or VSMCs. Western blot was performed to detect the protein levels of Smad3, osteopontin (OPN), and collagen III in aortic media specimens and VSMCs. Luciferase reporter assay was applied to confirm the target of miR‐195 in VSMCs. Proliferation and apoptosis of VSMCs were measured by MTT and flow cytometry, respectively.ResultsIn comparison with the normal controls, the levels of miR‐195, OPN, and collagen III were significantly increased in AAA tissue. Smad3 was validated to be a direct target of miR‐195. miR‐195 inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis of VSMCs, which was abated by Smad3 overexpression. Expression of OPN and collagen III was improved in VSMCs after transfection with miR‐195 mimics, while up‐regulation of Smad3 reversed this effect.ConclusionMiR‐195 promotes media remodeling by targeting Smad3 in AAA progression. This study suggests that miR‐195 contributes to the pathogenesis of AAA and reveals a new targeted therapy strategy for AAA patients.
Anti‐liberalism Pushes Back
Authors: Owen John M. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractEurope is besieged from within and without by anti‐liberal threats. The rise within Europe of populist‐nationalist parties and renewed jihadist attacks interact with pressure from Putin's Russia, Erdogan's Turkey, and actual and aspiring despotisms in Muslim‐majority countries. To varying degrees these threats are reactions to the effects of 21st‐century liberalism on societies. Liberalism always has been chiefly concerned to safeguard individual autonomy or self‐legislation, but the content of autonomy has shifted over two centuries. First‐stage liberalism saw the chief threat to autonomy as the state; second‐stage, as capital; the third‐stage version now ascendant sees traditional norms and institutions as the main menace. Third‐stage liberalism in Europe (and elsewhere) distributes power towards ‘symbolic analysts’ and away from those adept at services or manual labour. Thus the anti‐liberal backlash: within Europe large numbers of people find themselves less autonomous, in the older senses of the word, and ambivalent about the newer notion of autonomy; while on Europe's periphery many find certain features of liberal societies unappealing and threatening. Defending liberalism will require not only devoting more resources to national security and mitigating the disruptions of economic openness, but revisiting what individual autonomy ought to mean in the 21st‐century world.