bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Network of GRAS Transcription Factors Involved in the Control of Arbuscule Development inLotus japonicus
Authors: Xue Li , Cui Haitao , Buer Benjamin , Vijayakumar Vinod , Delaux Pierre-Marc , Junkermann Stefanie , Bucher Marcel 
Published: January 2015

AbstractArbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, in symbiosis with plants, facilitate acquisition of nutrients from the soil to their host. After penetration, intracellular hyphae form fine-branched structures in cortical cells termed arbuscules, representing the major site where bidirectional nutrient exchange takes place between the host plant and fungus. Transcriptional mechanisms underlying this cellular reprogramming are still poorly understood. GRAS proteins are an important family of transcriptional regulators in plants, named after the first three members: GIBBERELLIC ACID-INSENSITIVE, REPRESSOR of GAI, and SCARECROW. Here, we show that among 45 transcription factors up-regulated in mycorrhizal roots of the legume Lotus japonicus, expression of a unique GRAS protein particularly increases in arbuscule-containing cells under low phosphate conditions and displays a phylogenetic pattern characteristic of symbiotic genes. Allelic rad1 mutants display a strongly reduced number of arbuscules, which undergo accelerated degeneration. In further studies, two RAD1-interacting proteins were identified. One of them is the closest homolog of Medicago truncatula, REDUCED ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZATION1 (RAM1), which was reported to regulate a glycerol-3-phosphate acyl transferase that promotes cutin biosynthesis to enhance hyphopodia formation. As in M. truncatula, the L. japonicus ram1 mutant lines show compromised AM colonization and stunted arbuscules. Our findings provide, to our knowledge, new insight into the transcriptional program underlying the host’s response to AM colonization and propose a function of GRAS transcription factors including RAD1 and RAM1 during arbuscule development.
M&A process: a literature review and research agenda
Authors: Caiazza Rosa , Volpe Tiziana 
Published: January 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to present new insights on cross-border merger and acquisition (M&A) process based on received wisdom in the literature and exploratory field interviews of several leading firms that have conducted cross-border M&As. Starting from existing literature the authors explore current trend in cross-border M&A process with the aim to pose several points for future studies.Design/methodology/approach– Based on previous studies (Brocke and Sinnl, 2011; Goganet al., 2013; Soni and Kodali, 2011) the authors conduct a structured literature review aimed to divide M&A process in three phases evidencing for each of them the specific aspects and future development of researches.Findings– The paper evidences new strategic motivations, implementation and post-merger integration challenges, especially focussing on cultural issues. Finally the authors emphasize the need for novel indicators of acquisition success such as new and distinct capability development post acquisition.Originality/value– New trend in cross-border M&As impose to rethink the challenges and opportunities posed by cross-border M&As in a tumultuous global business environment, from strategic, cultural, organizational and financial perspectives.
Creativity and innovation in science and technology
Authors: Ramma Yashwantrao , Samy Martin , Gopee Ajit 
Published: January 2015

Purpose– This paper stems from a study which was conducted as a means to first, find out whether there is a gap between the secondary and tertiary education levels, second identify any existing gap in Science and Technology education, and third, examine the impact of the above upon students’ creativity and innovativeness at university level. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach– As such, a group of teachers and students at both secondary and tertiary levels were selected as the sample of the study. Questionnaires were administered to trained secondary school teachers and to university students. Interviews were also conducted to triangulate data. These enabled an analysis of the current situation in terms of students’ engagement/creativity/innovativeness in Science and Technology at secondary and tertiary levels.Findings– The findings reveal a problematic situation arising with respect to beliefs and what truly prevails in the education sector at secondary and tertiary levels. This study has revealed a number of salient issues related to the gap existing between the secondary and tertiary levels of education in Mauritius, with special bearing on creativity and innovation in Science and Technology.Research limitations/implications– Only three institutions were involved, with a small sample of students, so that the findings cannot be generalised. Moreover, gender is a variable that has not been taken into consideration.Practical implications– The study has proposed a number of recommendations to enable Mauritian students (at secondary and tertiary levels) to develop creativity and hopefully become innovators. This leads us to believe that the recommendations emerging from this study will be beneficial to various stakeholders who wish to understand the gap existing between secondary and tertiary education in Science and Technology education.Originality/value– This study takes a case study approach adopting a mixture of interviews, surveys and observations to understand the research problems with regards to the younger generations need to be equipped with scientific and technological advances in acquiring knowledge, new sets of skills and values. Therefore, this study endeavours to document the perceptions of learners and faculty staff.
School teachers’ job satisfaction and personal characteristics
Authors: Saiti Anna , Papadopoulos Yiannis 
Published: January 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper (based on the relevant literature) is to: investigate, through empirical analysis, primary school teachers’ perceptions regarding their job satisfaction, and examine whether or not the personal characteristics of primary school educators (such as gender, age, family status, educational level, and the total years of service in public primary education) have any impact on their job satisfaction.Design/methodology/approach– In total, 360 questionnaires were administered to primary school teachers in the metropolitan area of Athens (region of Attiki). The sample was randomly selected. The questionnaire was based on 41 closed and was divided into two sections. The Job Satisfaction Survey developed by Spector (1985) was implemented.Findings– Greek school teachers are generally satisfied with their profession. There is no statistical correlation between personal characteristics and the overall satisfaction while indicated that teachers are more satisfied with three aspects (subscales) of job satisfaction, namely, “administration,” “colleagues” and “nature of work” and less satisfied with “salary,” “benefits” and “potential rewards.” Age correlates with the levels of satisfaction with reference to administration, potential rewards, colleagues and the nature of work. The overall satisfaction positively correlates with all nine aspects of job satisfaction (subscales) and gender affects the aspects of “promotion” and “colleagues.”Research limitations/implications– This study only analyzes a small sample from the Athens region and hence the results cannot be used to generalize about the whole of Greece. Since other Greek regions operate in different socio-economic environments, an analysis of additional data from other regions (rural and urban areas) would be necessary to compare and confirm the results.Originality/value– The findings of this study a valuable extension of other relevant research as it provides the first empirical study of the Greek school system, investigating the relationship between certain aspects of job satisfaction and the personal characteristics of school educators as well as the relationship between these aspects of job satisfaction and total satisfaction. In the context of efficient educational policy, a greater understanding of educators’ job satisfaction could facilitate the development of more effective policy practice that would increase not only the level of educators’ satisfaction, commitment and morale but also improve the performance of the school system.
The impact of relational norms on information technology project success and its moderation through project governance
Authors: Müller Ralf , Martinsuo Miia 
Published: January 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to identify the impact of relational norms on project success in different project governance contexts.Design/methodology/approach– A worldwide web-based questionnaire yielded 200 responses. Results from regression analyses supported the hypothesis that relational norms impact project success. Hierarchical regression analyses showed the moderating effect of governance and control on the relationship between relational norms and project success.Findings– Relational norms in the buyer-supplier relationship are positively associated with project success. This relationship is moderated by the strictness of project governance, especially the level of flexibility left to the project manager. Lower levels of managerial flexibility are detrimental to project success in cases of weak relational norms and supportive of project success in cases of high relational norms.Research limitations/implications– Academic implications stem from the indication that control has a low influence on the relationship between relational norms and project success, but that the level of managerial flexibility ultimately influences the choice of relational norms needed for a project to be successful.Practical implications– Clear organizational structures and methodologies are supportive of project success in cases of good relational norms. Therefore, project management training should focus on the relationship building capabilities of project managers, to leverage investments in existing methods and organizational structures.Originality/value– The paper extends the insights of the importance of soft aspects in managing projects across organizational borders and different governance structures.
Prayer: a transformative teaching and learning technique in project management
Authors: Ssegawa Joseph K. , Kasule Daniel 
Published: January 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to report the perceptions of students taking the Master of Project Management Programme at the University of Botswana regarding their transformative experience called “prayer”. The term “prayer” was coined because of it being the first learning activity of the lecture; and at a conceptual level, to convey reverence towards the gift of learning. “Prayer” as a learning and teaching technique involves each student identifying material containing project management concepts or issues which they present to a class of peers using any appropriate means followed by discussion and peer assessment. The material presented may be an article from a newspaper or magazine. It may be a personal documented story or a story told around a picture, artefact, poster or video relating to a project management issue.Design/methodology/approach– Students’ perceptions were obtained by means of a self-administered questionnaire containing open-ended questions. Content analysis was used to analyse the responses.Findings– The results of the study indicated that “prayer” provided students ingredients of transformative learning. It also proved to be a worthwhile technique for inculcating some of the graduate attributes articulated by this university and for incorporating adult learning principles.Research limitations/implications– The technique can be used to compliment traditional techniques in teaching and learning in project management training. The limitations of the results are due to the self-reporting nature of the approach and the fact that the technique has been tried on one group.Practical implications– There is a possibility that the technique can be extended to other disciplines such as business administration where students examine cases in the public domain to illustrate concepts learnt in class.Originality/value– The originality lies in its packaging of a technique the think is worth sharing among project management educators. This is because the learning activity described engages students simultaneously in research, review, presentation, and communication as well as reflection, collaborative discourse and self and peer assessment.
The collective creativity of academics and practitioners in innovation projects
Authors: Oddane Torild Alise W. 
Published: January 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore the adequacy of the common individual creativity vs organizatonal innovation dichotomy in a complex real-life context.Design/methodology/approach– The paper is based on a retrospective case study of a R&D project in a large industrial company.Findings– The paper shows that understanding the relationship between creativity and innovation as a matter of individual creativity followed by subsequent collective innovation, fails to account for the inherent collective, and improvisational nature of innovation projects. To deal with this weakness, the paper proposes a reconceptualization of the relationship in terms of a capacity/activity distinction which views creativity as an individual and collective integral part of the complex innovation activity.Research limitations/implications– This paper does not discuss challenges regarding collaboration between people representing a variety of expertise, interests, and organizational belongings.Practical implications– The paper points out that continuous collective creativity is more important than initial individual creativity in complex real-life projects. The paper provides specific examples of work forms and approaches encouraging the collective creativity of researchers and practitioners in an innovation project. The work forms and approaches show how people continually deal with complexity, uncertainty and “the unexpected.” As such, the paper may be valuable to managers of complex real life-projects involving people with a great variety of expertise.Originality/value– The paper contributes to a reconceptualization of the relationship between creativity and innovation which forms a contrast to the most common ways to distinquish between the phenomena. The capacity/activity distinction reflects the common assumption of a close relationship between creativity and innovation, but does not restrict creativity to the individual level or initial stage of innovation projects only. As such, the reconceptualization of the relationship between creativity and innovation can form the basis for practice-based theories in project management.
Flexible contracting in project business
Authors: Kujala Jaakko , Nystén-Haarala Soili , Nuottila Jouko 
Published: January 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of the main challenges of the contracting process and project contracts in the context of project business characterized by a high level of complexity and uncertainty. The authors argue that understanding contracting as a flexible process and as a business tool will contribute to creating more value in projects which are implemented in constantly changing circumstances or which require gradual and iterative development.Design/methodology/approach– This is a conceptual paper with illustrative examples from the software industry.Findings– A prevailing approach for both managing contracts and the contracting process focuses on careful planning and drafting of contracts that protect each party in the case of conflicts and disagreements. The underlying assumption is that all activities can be planned and documented in a formal contract. According to this approach, the contracting process is seen only as a bargaining negotiation and the project contract as a detailed agreement of the responsibilities and safeguarding clauses to protect one’s position in the event of conflicts and failures. However, in the context of project business characterized by complexity and uncertainty, there is a need for flexible project contracts. The authors suggest that there are two fundamentally different approaches to implementing flexibility in both the contracting process and the project contract: postponing the decision until there is adequate information for decision making or making decisions that allow flexible adaptation to changes during the project lifecycle.Practical implications– The authors suggest that organizations in project business should pay closer attention to how contracts are formed and how flexibility is introduced to projects. Organizations are encouraged to see contracts as a business tool, not as rigid documents which are taken into use in case something goes wrong.Originality/value– This paper contributes to the understanding of how to adapt the contracting process to overcome challenges related to uncertainty, especially during the early phases of the project lifecycle. The authors provide a novel perspective on contracting as a process that extends over the lifecycle of a project and on the project contract as an agreement between parties formed during the contracting process. This perspective includes formal contract documents as well as various other documents, oral communication, commitments, actions and incidents.
Co-creation as a strategy for program management
Authors: Näsholm Malin H. , Blomquist Tomas 
Published: January 2015

Purpose– Little attention has been paid to the initial development of programs. The purpose of this paper is to explore co-creation as an alternative strategic approach for program management. Co-creation of programs means that the projects within the program are created by the users and producers of the projects.Design/methodology/approach– The paper is based on a case study of the co-creation approach of the Umeå 2014 European Capital of Culture program. The empirical material analyzed consists of qualitative interviews with members of the Umeå 2014 team and the politicians involved, as well as secondary data on the program.Findings– The Umeå 2014 Capital of Culture program takes the form of a platform that makes meetings and interactions possible. Co-creation allows for creative cultural projects to emerge, but the program becomes reliant on the different actors involved. Balancing dilemmas of multiple stakeholders and maintaining control while enabling the emergence of ideas is key.Practical implications– These findings have practical implications for the management of more emergent program structures. A flexible organization with guiding values and criteria to balance the different projects can be used to achieve program goals when multiple stakeholders have their own agendas.Originality/value– This paper contributes to research on program management by introducing the concept of co-creation as a strategic approach for program management. The creative and innovative benefits of co-creation can be reached in the development of programs but other challenges for their management are involved.
Being awkward: creating conscious culture change
Authors: Hirsch Peter Buell 
Published: January 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to examine why culture is the cause of such widespread failure in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and explore ways to improve their success rate.

Design/methodology/approach
– Review of some prominent “failed” mergers for evidence of the influence of cultural factors.

Findings
– It was found that M&A tended to be more successful where cultural factors were made a priority early in the process and where transparent and two-sided dialogue about culture took place up and down both organizations.

Originality/value
– Although the impact of culture in M&A is a topic that has been covered before, this review identifies some new approaches to improving M&A success rates.
Intellectual capital in small and medium enterprises in Pakistan
Authors: Khalique Muhammad , Bontis Nick , Abdul Nassir bin Shaari Jamal , Hassan Md. Isa Abu 
Published: January 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the links between intellectual capital sub-components and organizational performance in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in the electrical and electronics manufacturing sector in Pakistan.

Design/methodology/approach
– Data were collected through structured questionnaires from a sample of 247 respondents from Pakistani SMEs in Gujranwala and Gujarat. Several tests were used to examine the reliability and validity of the research instrument. Finally, multiple regression analysis was used to test the proposed research hypotheses.

Findings
– The findings of this study demonstrate that the overall regression model of intellectual capital shows goodness of fit while one component of intellectual capital – namely human capital – appeared insignificant. Subsequently, six out of seven research hypotheses was accepted.

Practical implications
– This study will provide a valuable framework for entrepreneurs, executives, managers and policy makers in managing intellectual capital within the Pakistani context.

Originality/value
– To the best knowledge of the authors, this is the first empirical study that has been conducted on SMEs operating in the electrical and electronics manufacturing sector in Pakistan.
Contingencies of intellectual capitals and financial capital on value creation
Authors: Tseng Kuo-An , Lin Ching-I , Yen Szu-Wei 
Published: January 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship among intellectual capital (IC), financial capital (FC), firm value (V), and value creation (VC) in different business cycles (BC) for the conduct of strategic management that will maintain stable values and further increase V.

Design/methodology/approach
– This research cites ICs as “other information” to combine ICs and the Ohlson model. Information provided by various capitals is validated by multiple regression analysis. Multi-group analysis is performed to test whether the coefficient is moderated by BC.

Findings
– Results indicate the significant information of ICs and FC, and the contingency perspective of BC. The value relevance of ICs is moderated by BC. Prosperity has more explanatory capacities, and recession ICs yield more incremental information.

Research limitations/implications
– VC is influenced by both ICs and FC. Besides, the macroeconomic situation should also be considered in strategic management and VC management.

Practical implications
– In addition to ICs and FC, the macroeconomic situation must be taken into account when conducting strategic management, valuation management, investment decision, or industrial policy.

Social implications
– Results indicate a contingency of BC, which can be a reference for enterprises to create higher V, for investors to make appropriate investment, as well as for governments to formulate sound industrial policies.

Originality/value
– This paper applies BC to explore the value relevance of ICs and FC, leverages two models to represent V and VC, and cites complete four aspects of IC as “other information” to combine ICs and Ohlson model.