bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Pitfalls in the Assessment of Brain-Machine Interfaces Using Information Transfer Rate
Authors: Lebedev Mikhail A. , Tseng Po-He , Ifft Peter J. , Ochei Dennis , Nicolelis Miguel A.L. 
Published: October 2017

AbstractInformation transfer rate (ITR), measured in bits/s, can be applied to evaluate motor performance, including the capacity of brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) to control external actuators. In a 2013 article entitled “Transfer of information by BMI” and published in Neuroscience, Tehovnik and his colleagues utilized ITR to assess the performance of several BMIs reported in the literature. We examined these analyses closely and found several fundamental flaws in their evaluation of ITR. Here we discuss the pitfalls in Tehovnik’s measurements of ITR, as well as several other issues raised in “Transfer of information by BMI”, including the claim that BMIs cannot be a reasonable option for paralyzed patients.HighlightsInformation transfer rate is discussed for BMI experiments, where subjects reach to targets.Task settings, not just the number of possible targets, are important to calculate information correctly.Active tactile exploration can be quantified as information transfer, but the number of targets is insufficient for such quantification.Information transfer rate increases with the number of neural recording channels.For practical applications, improvement in quality of life is essential, not information transfer rate per se.
ZmCOL3, a CCT-domain containing gene affects maize adaptation as a repressor and upstream of ZmCCT
Authors: Jin Minliang , Liu Xiangguo , Jia Wei , Liu Haijun , Li Wenqiang , Peng Yong , Du Yanfang , Wang Yuebin , Yin Yuejia , Zhang Xuehai , Liu Qing , Deng Min , Li Nan , Cui Xiyan , Hao Dongyun , Yan Jianbing 
Published: October 2017

AbstractFlowering time is a vital trait to control the adaptation of flowering plants to different environments. CCT-domain containing genes are considered to play an important role in plants flowering. Among 53 maize CCT family genes, 28 of them were located in the flowering time QTL regions and 16 genes were significant associated with flowering time based on candidate gene-based association mapping analysis. Furthermore, a CCT gene named as ZmCOL3 was validated to be a flowering repressor upstream of ZmCCT which is one of the key genes regulating maize flowering. The overexpressed ZmCOL3 could delay flowering time about 4 days whether in long day or short day conditions. The absent of one cytosine in 3’UTR and the present of 551bp fragment in promoter regions are likely the causal polymorphisms which may contribute to the maize adaptation from tropical to temperate regions. ZmCOL3 could transactivate ZmCCT transcription or interfere circadian clock to inhibit flowering which was integrated in the modified model of maize photoperiod pathway.HighlightMaize CCT genes influence flowering time in different latitude environments and one of them named ZmCOL3 is a flowering time repressor which could transactivate ZmCCT transcription to delay flowering.
Re-examining the effects of supplier integration on operations performance: a relational view
Authors: He Yuanqiong , Sun Hongyi , Ni Wenbin , Ng Stephen C.H. 
Published: October 2017

PurposeThe importance of supplier integration (SI) in improving firms’ performance has been previously identified but the effects of SI are complicated, as the relationship between supplier and buyer is full of uncertainty. The purpose of this paper is to re-examine the effects of SI on operations performance from a relational view.Design/methodology/approachTwo strategies of integrating suppliers are theoretically presented: information sharing and joint decision making. Hypotheses are then developed on when SI influences operations performance, using product complexity and competitive intensity as moderating factors. The hypotheses are tested using a global survey data set, made up of 763 manufacturing firms from 22 countries.FindingsThe results indicate a positive relationship between SI and operations performance and that the moderating roles of product complexity and competition intensity are significant, but product complexity does not have significant moderation effects on the relationships between joint decision making and product quality/cost reduction.Research limitations/implicationsThe moderators of product complexity and competitive intensity are not comprehensive. Future study into how and under what circumstances SI has the greatest effect will be of benefit.Originality/valueThis study makes theoretical contributions by exploring the strategies of SI through a relational view, and examining the effects of SI through the moderating roles of product complexity and competition intensity.
Contextualizing the 1990 campus security act and campus sexual assault in intersectional and historical terms
Authors: Graham Rebecca Dolinsky , Konradi Amanda 
Published: October 2017

Purpose
Residential college campuses remain dangerous – especially for women students who face a persistent threat of sexual violence, despite passage of the 1990 Campus Security Act and its multiple amendments. Campuses have developed new programming, yet recent research confirms one in five women will experience some form of sexual assault before graduating. Research on campus crime legislation does not describe in detail the context in which it developed. The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the effects of early rhetorical frames on the ineffective policy.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors discuss the rhetorical construction of “campus crime,” and related “criminals” and “victims,” through content analysis and a close interpretive reading of related newspaper articles.

Findings
The 1986 violent rape and murder of Jeanne Clery at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania became iconic in media descriptions of campus crime. Media drew attention to the racial and classed dimensions of the attack on Clery, but elided the misogyny central to all sexual assaults. This reinforced a stereotype that “insiders” on campuses, primarily white and middle class, were most vulnerable to “outsider” attacks by persons of color. Colleges and universities adopted rhetoric of “endangerment” and “unreason” and focused on what potential victims could do to protect themselves, ignoring the role of students in perpetrating crime.

Research limitations/implications
This analysis does not link rhetoric in newspapers to legislative discussion. Further analysis is necessary to confirm the impact of particular claims and to understand why some claims may have superseded others.

Originality/value
This analysis focuses critical attention on how campus crime policy is shaped by cultural frames.
The effects of board experience and independence on mitigating agency conflict
Authors: Agyemang Badu Ebenezer , Appiah Kingsley Opoku 
Published: October 2017

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of board experience and independence on mitigating agency conflict between shareholders and managers.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses a panel data of 137 firms listed on stock exchanges in Ghana and Nigeria over a period of seven years. System generalized method of moments and other estimation techniques were adopted for the study. Using agency and resource dependence theories, board experience and independence ignored in previous studies are selected for the study.FindingsThe findings of this paper indicate a negative and statistically significant relationship between board experience, board independence, and agency conflict. A further examination using an agency score computed from the principal factor analysis of the four main agency proxies indicates a significant and negative relationship between board independence and agency conflict, but a negative and statistically non-significant relation between board experience and agency conflict.Practical implicationsThe authors’ evidence has important implications for countries that are currently or contemplating pursuing board reforms to recommend the appointment of more independent and experience directors to corporate board.Originality/valueThis paper introduces a new proxy for assessing human and social capital of directors to test the integration hypothesis of a unique data set from Ghana and Nigeria toward mitigating agency conflict.
Identifying potential offenders on the basis of police records: development and validation of the ProKid risk assessment tool
Authors: Wientjes Jacqueline , Delsing Marc , Cillessen Antonius , Janssens Jan , Scholte Ron 
Published: October 2017

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the development and validation of the ProKid risk assessment tool, which was designed to enable Dutch police officers to identify youths with elevated risk of committing violent and/or property crimes.Design/methodology/approachThe ProKid algorithms were based on the results of logistic regression analyses of police data from a sample of 31,769 adolescents in the former police regions “Amsterdam-Amstelland” and “Gelderland-Midden”. For the validation, logistic regression analyses were performed on police data of youths in the police region “Amsterdam-Amstelland” who had been in contact with the police in 2011 (n=39,977). Furthermore, receiver operating characteristic analyses were performed to assess the instrument’s accuracy.FindingsResults indicated that higher ProKid risk categories were associated with greater odds of being registered as a suspect of either a violent or property offence. The instrument was found to have good predictive accuracy. Area under the curve values ranged from 0.83 to 0.84 for violent offences and from 0.82 to 0.83 for property offences.Practical implicationsThe current study demonstrates that ProKid is a valid and accurate tool to be used by police officers to identify youths with elevated risk of future violent and property offending. The automated assessment procedure enables a quick screening of large numbers of both non-offenders and offenders. This study confirms the value of official police records for assessing the risk of future offending for preventive purposes.Originality/valueThe present study demonstrates the validity of a risk assessment tool based on Dutch police records for both non-offenders and offenders.
Tax evasion and welfare fraud: do punishments fit the crime or the perception of the crime?
Authors: Marriott Lisa , Sim Dalice 
Published: October 2017

Purpose
Individuals with fewer resources often receive more punitive treatment in the justice system than those who are more privileged. This situation is frequently justified with reference to societal preferences. To test the accuracy of this justification, the purpose of this study is to report on the extent to which the different treatments of tax evaders and welfare fraudsters in the Australian and New Zealand justice systems reflect the views of these societies.

Design/methodology/approach
Attitudes are captured in a survey with 3,000 respondents in Australia and New Zealand.

Findings
When asked directly, the majority of respondents (58 per cent) perceive no difference in people committing welfare fraud or tax evasion. However, responses to presented scenarios on tax evasion and welfare fraud show different tolerances for each crime. When provided with scenarios including crimes and criminals, results show that survey respondents see tax evasion as a less serious crime. However, when asked about their own propensity to commit the same offence, respondents indicate that they are more likely to engage in welfare fraud than tax evasion. The authors also report on factors that have an impact on individual’s attitudes towards tax evasion and welfare fraud.

Social implications
The survey results do not clearly show more punitive attitudes towards tax evasion or welfare fraud. Thus, the authors do not find support for the suggestion that the harsher treatment of welfare fraud can be justified with reference to society’s views.

Originality/value
The study reports on original survey research.
Local councils’ environmental sustainability reporting: who really counts?
Authors: Othman Radiah , Laswad Fawzi , Nath Nirmala 
Published: October 2017

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine local councils’ response to the Environmental Reporting Act 2015(ERA), stakeholder identification and implications for the state of the environment management and monitoring of by local councils in New Zealand.

Design/methodology/approach
Informed by stakeholder salience theory, this study uses an interpretative approach in analysing survey data collected from all 78 local councils. Ninety-two key individuals responded to the survey which was administered a month before the Environmental Reporting Bill was passed as an Act.

Findings
The findings suggest that focus and priorities of the councils varied depending on the influential power of various group stakeholders. Legal requirements were a very significant factor for reporting environmental sustainability information and the availability of funding and resources posed a significant challenge. Environmental sustainability was considered as both a risk and an opportunity. Compliance with legislation was the utmost priority of the local councils.

Research limitations/implications
The results suggest that stakeholders with power received more attention from the local councils. In addition, the tension between the central government, the elected representatives and the public became apparent.

Originality/value
This paper offers insight on how the local councils viewed risks, opportunities and potential implications of a new legislation, and whether the stakeholders were considered in these contexts.
Mental models and cognitive discomfort
Authors: Bourmistrov Anatoli 
Published: October 2017

Purpose
The purpose of the study is to examine whether public servants as users of accounting information are responsive to changes in the content of an accounting report and, if so, how responsive they are.

Design/methodology/approach
The study applies a theoretical framework, linking accounting information and accounting use by focusing on users’ “mental models”. The empirical context for the study is a municipality located in Northwest Russia. Three public servants were followed over several days for the purpose of studying their use of a formal accounting report. Later, those users were also presented with a different version of the same accounting report that was re-constructed by the researcher based on normative accounting theory. The study documents the responses of public servants and presents those in a narrative form.

Findings
The study reveals that though the original formal financial accounting report is extensively used, the public servants mostly reject the usefulness of the modified version of the report. The modified accounting report puts public servants in a “discomfort” zone, where the users’ mental models come in conflict with the information in the modified report. Following that, the study uncovers that the use of the traditional accounting report is based on three different mental models developed by users over time and guiding the use of accounting. Those mental models are described by three metaphors: “balanced matrix”, “water tank” and “fair rules”.

Originality/value
There is an unreasonable expectation that change in the public sector accounting system from cash toward accrual information will improve the quality of decision-making by public servants. The claim needs evidence that change in the accounting information supply will actually lead to change in information use. The paper demonstrates that change in use requires more substantial change in the users’ mental models. This change is difficult, time-demanding and requires the development of tailor-made training programs. The paper is also a response to van Helden’s (2016) call for more observational studies that can give a more accurate picture of use.
Epidemiological survey of patients with psoriasis in Matsumoto city, Nagano Prefecture, Japan
Authors: Ogawa Eisaku , Okuyama Ryuhei , Seki Tomoko , Kobayashi Aya , Oiso Naoki , Muto Masahiko , Nakagawa Hidemi , Kawada Akira 
Published: October 2017

AbstractA local epidemiological survey of psoriasis was conducted from 19 February to 30 June 2016 in Matsumoto city, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Patients were predominantly male (268 cases, 71.5% males vs 107 cases, 28.5% females). We estimated that the prevalence of psoriasis was 0.097% in the Matsumoto area. The clinical types of psoriasis identified were psoriasis vulgaris (90.7%), psoriatic arthritis (5.9%), pustular psoriasis (2.1%), guttate psoriasis (1.0%) and psoriatic erythroderma (0.3%). The topical therapeutic agents included corticosteroids (84.0%), vitamin D3 analogs (61.5%), and a combination of calcipotriol and betamethasone dipropionate (31.0%). Current systemic treatments included cyclosporin (9.0%), etretinate (7.4%) and methotrexate (1.3%). Biologic treatments included adalimumab (4.0%), ustekinumab (2.7%), infliximab (1.3%) and secukinumab (0.8%). Ultraviolet B therapy (11.3%) was the predominant phototherapy in which narrow band ultraviolet B therapy accounted for the majority, followed by psoralen and ultraviolet A therapy (1.0%). According to the recent evolution of psoriasis treatment, the use of biologics has been increasing. This study demonstrates the changes of treatment trends of psoriasis in a non‐metropolitan regional area.
‘Shew Yourselves as Men’: Gender, Citizenship and Political Propaganda in the 1773 and 1774 Worcester Election Contests
Authors: Blomgren Alvar 
Published: October 2017

AbstractThis case study of the 1773 and 1774 election contests in the city of Worcester investigates how members of the local oligarchy, and the political opposition to that oligarchy, drew on contemporary discourses on citizenship to convince the electorate that their candidate would become a worthy representative of their city in parliament, and to refute the claims of their opponents. Since independence was absolutely essential to the voters’ identities as male householder citizens, this became the main issue of conflict. The candidate of the opposition interest, Sir Watkin Lewes, sought to establish himself as the guardian of the independence of the citizens of Worcester against the corrupt corporation. The candidates of the corporation, Thomas Bates Rous and his successor, Colonel Nicholas Lechmere, instead claimed that Lewes was the real threat, as his anti‐corruption campaign deprived the voters of the usual fruits of the election. While such claims also entailed an appeal by the local elite to the financial interest of the voters, the need to justify this incentive ideologically, and the high portion of voters who turned their backs on their patrons, does suggest the power embedded in the concept of citizenship in the political life at the level of the localities. Gendered and classed conceptions of citizenship, furthermore, were employed as offensive weapons in the political propaganda surrounding the elections, as each faction sought to discredit the other by claiming that they were neither manly enough, nor of the proper social status, to qualify as worthy political subjects. Thus, citizenship was not only fundamentally gendered in the masculine, but also highly hierarchical and equally intertwined with contemporary notions of class.
7 December 1916: Asquith, Lloyd George and the Crisis of Liberalism
Authors: Morgan Kenneth O. 
Published: October 2017

AbstractOn 7 December 1916, in a dramatic coup, Lloyd George supplanted Asquith and became prime minister. This marked the death of a great party and has generated huge controversy. For long, Lloyd George was condemned as the culprit but latterly his reputation has risen sharply. Asquith and Lloyd George came from very different wings of the party, imperialist and Little Englander. Asquith seemed the supreme insider, Lloyd George a supreme Welsh outsider. However in peacetime government, they formed a tremendous partnership. Their close association continued to the formation of the first coalition in May 1915. Then serious division came over military conscription, with Lloyd George moving towards his old foes, the Unionists. As minister for munitions, then secretary for war, he became publicly very critical of the conduct of the war. A great conflict arose over his demand for a new war committee. This was directed against the generals: he did not wish to become prime minister. It looked as if a compromise was possible. On 3 December 1916 Asquith agreed to such a committee but, fatally, reversed his view the next day, Crucial was his misjudgment of the Unionist leaders, especially Balfour. On 6 December the king asked Lloyd George to form a government. Asquith seriously exaggerated his own strength while Lloyd George now had growing Unionist support, the backing of Labour and of a majority of Liberal MPs mobilised by Addison. So Asquith fell and a governmental revolution followed – a new small war cabinet, a cabinet secretariat under Hankey, a secretariat of private advisors in the ‘Garden Suburb’ and an inexorable move towards prime ministerial (or quasi‐presidential) government. In May 1918, the ‘Maurice debate’ saw the Liberals divided into pro‐ and anti‐government factions; they were crushed at the subsequent general election. The party was thereafter haunted by December 1916 and responsibility was bitterly contested. Yet it should be remembered that before 7 December 1916, the two Liberal leaders formed a dynamic and commanding partnership, which changed British politics profoundly and irreversibly.
Analysis of the genetic diversity and structure of the Spanish apple genetic resources suggests the existence of an Iberian genepool
Authors: Pereira‐Lorenzo S. , Urrestarazu J. , Ramos‐Cabrer A.M. , Miranda C. , Pina A. , Dapena E. , Moreno M.A. , Errea P. , Llamero N. , Díaz‐Hernández M.B. , Santesteban L.G. , Laquidain M.J. , Gogorcena Y. , Urbina V. , Dalmases J. , Ascasíbar‐Errasti J. , Royo J.B. 
Published: October 2017

AbstractThe nature and structure of genetic diversity in the Spanish apple germplasm preserved at the national level was widely unknown, since studies performed to date on this topic have been exclusively carried out at the regional scale. Here, 1453 accessions from Spanish collections of Malus × domestica were evaluated with a common set of 13 SSR (Simple Sequence Repeats) markers in order to estimate genetic diversity, to identify the underlying genetic structure and to unravel the relationships among them and among a wide set of international cultivars for reference. In total, 737 unique genotypes were identified, 581 diploids and 156 triploids. Using a model‐based Bayesian clustering procedure, two reconstructed populations were obtained for diploid genotypes; one retaining only Spanish cultivars (42% of genotypes), and a second containing all foreign cultivars the latter exhibiting evidence supporting the existence of a secondary sub‐structure. Similarly, analysis performed on the 156 triploid genotypes also revealed two reconstructed populations; one exclusively associated with local Spanish genotypes (44%). The Jaccard coefficient allowed clustering by UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method) diploid and triploid genotypes, and remarkable differences in allelic composition among the different partitioning levels were found. AMOVA analyses showed moderate but significant differentiation among the main groups (0.08 ≤ FST ≤ 0.12). Our results highlight an important fraction of the Spanish apple germplasm that constitutes a differentiated genepool with respect to the international and commercial apple cultivars. Moreover, the extent of the Spanish genetic diversity was spatially distributed along the northern Iberian Peninsula, suggesting an extensive migration of genotypes along the country. This study is the first valuable action for genetic conservation of apple at the national scale, and constitutes a decisive step towards the definition of a Spanish core collection that will be useful for further studies in dissecting the genetic control of important horticultural traits through genome‐wide association analysis in apple.