bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Research paradigms, theoretical pluralism and the practical relevance of management accounting knowledge
Authors: van der Meer‐Kooistra Jeltje , Vosselman Ed 
Published: March 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss how practical relevance of management accounting knowledge relates to research paradigms and theoretical pluralism.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is conceptual in nature.FindingsAs the management accounting discipline is considered to be an applied discipline, a number of authors claim that management accounting research should develop relevant theory that can be used in practice. This call for increased practical relevance of management accounting knowledge interrelates with a debate on the desirability of theoretical pluralism and paradigm diversity in management accounting research. Drawing on the work of Nicolai and Seidl, the paper distinguishes different forms of practical relevance, and analyses the effects of theoretical pluralism on these different forms. The paper argues how theoretical pluralism particularly enhances relevance in a conceptual sense rather than an instrumental sense. The conceptual relevance of research may further be enhanced by interpretive research that acknowledges complexity and that has the potential to challenge the performativity of mainstream management accounting knowledge, without challenging the pursuit of efficiency as such. This is different from critical research. The instrumental relevance stemming from mainstream management accounting research entails de‐contextualization and simplification, and might create unintended self‐fulfilling prophecies.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper broadens the concept of relevance so that it includes conceptual relevance and legitimative relevance. It links these concepts of relevance to three research paradigms: a mainstream paradigm, an interpretive paradigm and a critical paradigm. For each paradigm, relevance is related to the use of theory.Originality/valueThe paper broadens the concept of relevance and advocates the pursuit of conceptual relevance, particularly through interpretive research.
Community policing and fear of crime in Seoul: a test of competing models
Authors: Roh Sunghoon , Kwak Dae‐Hoon , Kim Eunyoung 
Published: March 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the complex constellation of underlying factors between community policing and fear of crime by embracing various exogenous variables identified through accumulated empirical research. Another important purpose of the current study is to examine the association between community policing and fear of crime in the Korean context.Design/methodology/approachThe data originated from a survey administrated by the Korean Institution of Criminology in the area of Seoul, South Korea, in an attempt to examine citizens’ fear of crime, perceptions of public safety and environment. Using a stratified sampling method, a total of 654 respondents were selected. Structural equation modeling was used to examine direct and indirect relationships among exogenous and endogenous variables and to test the authors’ hypothesized structural model of the citizen's fear of crime.FindingsThe current study found that the four proposed models between community policing and fear of crime were not supported in the Korean context. Neither direct nor indirect relationships between community policing and fear of crime were statistically significant. On the other hand, community policing was found to be significantly and indirectly associated with perceived risk of crime; those who more perceived community policing activities felt a greater risk of crime. A logical explanation for these findings requires understanding of the characteristics of community policing practice and the unique crime environment in South Korea.Originality/valueThis study shows unique characteristics in the community policing‐fear of crime nexus in Korean society in relation to the implementation of community policing, the level of fear of crime and perception of community‐based crime control.
Global financial crisis and the intellectual capital performance of UAE banks
Authors: El‐Bannany Magdi 
Published: March 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of the intellectual capital performance of UAE banks over the period 2004 to 2010.Design/methodology/approachMultiple regression analysis was used to test the relationship between the intellectual capital performance as a dependent variable and certain independent variables.FindingsThe results indicate that standard variables, namely investment in information technology systems, barriers to entry, bank risk, bank size, bank age and bank listing age, are important. The results also show that the global financial crisis and market structure as measured by concentration ratio variables, which have not been considered in previous studies, have a significant impact on intellectual capital performance.Research limitations/implicationsMore evidence is needed regarding the determinants of intellectual capital performance before any generalisation of the results can be made. In addition, the empirical tests were conducted only for UAE banks between 2004 and 2010. Therefore, it cannot be assumed that the results of the study extend beyond this group of banks or to different periods.Practical implicationsThe paper might help the banking regulators address the factors affecting intellectual capital performance and also help banks to take action to developing their performance, in turn maximising their value creation.Originality/valueThe paper adds to the literature discussing determinants of intellectual capital performance in banks. In particular, it tests the theory that the global financial crisis and market structure, as measured by concentration ratio, have an impact on intellectual capital performance.
Detainees in police custody: results of a health needs assessment in Northumbria, England
Authors: Sirdifield Coral , Brooker Charlie 
Published: March 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the health needs of detainees in police custody in Northumbria, England, and to identify any gaps in, or possible improvements to, the current model of healthcare provision.Design/methodology/approachThe current model of service provision was investigated using a combination of existing literature, and interviews with key members of staff. In addition, researchers examined the custody records of a stratified random sample of 1,917 records from 2010 and 2011. Data were collected from the risk assessments completed by Custody Sergeants, and any associated records of medical assessments by Forensic Medical Examiners (FME).FindingsDetainees experience a wide range of health problems. Delivery of healthcare in custody could be improved through increasing the skill‐mix in this setting, computerising FME records and improving communication between agencies.Research limitations/implicationsThe police did not always record the reason why a forensic medical examiner was called out, thus this aspect of data collection was limited.Originality/valueThis health needs assessment will help to determine the way in which resources for health care in custody, currently held by the police, are reallocated once the funding transfers to the NHS in the near future.
Psychiatric care in the German prison system
Authors: Lehmann Marc 
Published: March 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the nature of medical care within the German penal system. German prison services provide health care for all inmates, including psychiatric care. The reached level of equivalence of care and ethical problems and resource limitations are discussed and the way of legislation in this field since 2006 reform on federal law is described.Design/methodology/approachThe article summarizes basic data on German prison health care for mentally ill inmates. The legislation process and factors of influence are pointed out. A description of how psychiatric care is organized in German prisons follows. It focuses on the actual legal situation including European standards of prison health care and prevention of torture, psychiatric care in German prisons themselves, self harm and addiction. Associated problems such as blood born diseases and tuberculosis are included. The interactions between prison staff and health care personal and ethic aspects are discussed.FindingsThe legislation process is still going on and there is still a chance to improve psychiatric care. Mental health problems are the major challenge for prison health care. Factors such as special problems of migrants, shortage of professionals and pure statistic data are considered.Originality/valueThe paper provides a general overview on psychiatric services in prison and names weak points and strengths of the system.
Gender and empowerment in South Africa
Authors: Wittmann Veronika 
Published: March 2013

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to provide analysis and insight which addresses the over‐determined discrimination of so‐called coloured and black South African women, not just on the basis of gender but racial hierarchies still prevalent as well in the rainbow nation.Design/methodology/approachThe observations grapple with reconciling the political rhetoric of equality based on the new constitution and new legislation with the realpolitik of race and gender relations as they affect the lives of women. The complexity of negotiating the values and problems inherited from apartheid while infusing new faith in democracy is reflected in the paper on gender and empowerment.FindingsThe paper does not simply present women as victims of apartheid legacy, but discloses the skewed social and cultural circumstances reproducing the cycle of their impoverishment. To counter the narratives of struggle and to balance the research and findings successful interventions by NGOs, CBOs and grassroots organizations are illustrated.Originality/valueThe paper provides the insights of how gender‐conscious organizations act as part and parcel of the overall democratisation process of South African society. Furthermore, it highlights the role of digital information and communication technologies (ICTs) in gender and empowerment activities.
Does governance culture exist and can it be mandated?
Authors: Reiss Nitkin Mindell 
Published: March 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the orientation of a firm's governance choices along a continuum of shareholder voice to managerial power and tests whether the governance orientation of a firm can survive regulation.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of 873 firms, a set of three index measures is constructed reflecting the orientation of a firm's governing rules, the orientation of the board of directors and the overall orientation of both types of governance structures. The resulting measures are compared pre‐ and post‐SOX.FindingsWhile specific, individual governance components, such as independence, can be regulated, the overall orientation of a firm's governance mechanisms, as manifested by its aggregate choice of governance structures, appears to be constant overtime suggesting that it is difficult to regulate the governance orientation of a firm.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings may be limited due to sample bias. There is both survivor bias and listing bias in the sample. To be included in the sample, firms needed to be publicly listed from 1998 through 2006 and needed to be listed on a major S&P index for each of those years.Practical implicationsThe paper highlights ways in which companies circumvent the intention of regulations such as SOX. The paper therefore has implications for regulators and shareholders.Originality/valueWhile the index method has been used before it has not been used to compare the impact of regulation on governance orientation. That makes this paper of value to regulators when considering the cost and benefit of regulations.
The balanced scorecard: subjects, concept and objects – a commentary
Authors: Dechow Niels 
Published: March 2013

PurposeBy observations of what managers do with the balanced scorecard (BSC), the purpose of the paper is to discuss how further empirical research may be advanced, which differentiates more clearly what we study when exploring BSC work.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on a discussion of observations of seasoned managers working with the BSC as part of their executive education program. It offers a discussion of how insights from interaction with these managers can develop our understanding of how management concepts are constituted and can be explored.FindingsThe ways in which managers (dis‐)connect the BSC objects and concept are everything but benign. Much more could be known about the BSC, by studying both how these relationships are crafted in practice, and how the relationships crafted are influenced by the texts by which the BSC is known.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper offers a new way of framing research of popular management conceptualizations, by separating them in terms of conceptual ideas and representational objects. It offers a starting point for researching, what managers do with the BSC, and for researching what it is that works for the balanced scorecard.Originality/valueThe paper frames a quadrant approach. It distinguishes the BSC in terms of its conceptual narrative, its artefact object representation, users’ conceptual expectations and object mobilization. These four dimensions can assist researchers in finding ways to assess the impact of popular management concepts.
Trichorhinophalangeal syndrome with low expression of TRPS1 on epidermal and hair follicle epithelial cells
Authors: Ito Taisuke , Shimomura Yutaka , Farooq Muhammad , Suzuki Noriko , Sakabe Jun‐Ichi , Tokura Yoshiki 
Published: March 2013

AbstractTrichorhinophalangeal syndrome (TRPS) is an autosomal‐dominant congenital hair loss disease characterized by sparse and slow‐growing scalp hair, craniofacial and skeletal abnormalities, pear‐shaped nose, thin upper lip, brittle and thin toenails, and bilateral brachydactyly of the big toes. We report a case of TRPS1 exhibiting these clinical features with a novel heterozygous single nucleotide substitution in exon 3 of the TRPS1 gene. By immunohistochemical analysis of a biopsied specimen of the patient's alopecia lesion, we found for the first time that the expression level of TRPS1 was markedly reduced in the epidermis and the outer root sheath of hair follicles as compared to a normal subject. In addition, higher expression of phospho‐Stat3 was found consequent to the loss of TRPS1 in the outer root sheath.
Diet, development and the optimization of warning signals in post‐metamorphic green and black poison frogs
Authors: Flores Eric E. , Stevens Martin , Moore Allen J. , Blount Jonathan D. 
Published: March 2013

Summary

Many prey species are chemically defended and have conspicuous appearance to deter predators (i.e. aposematism). Such warning signals work because predators pay attention to the colour and size of signals, which they associate with unprofitability.

Paradoxically, in early life stages, aposematic species are often warningly coloured, but their chemical defences are lacking because they have yet to be acquired through the diet or synthesized endogenously. This state of being conspicuous yet poorly defended must place individuals at increased risk of predation, but how they minimize this risk during development is unclear.

We reared larval green and black poison frogs (Dendrobates auratus) on a relatively low or a higher food supply and tested the hypothesis that individuals with more resources should grow larger while reducing their investment in warning signals at metamorphic completion. We also assayed markers of oxidative balance (malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase and total antioxidant capacity) to ascertain whether there were resource‐allocation trade‐offs that differed with diet treatments.

Low‐food froglets were relatively small, and their body size and signal luminance (perceived brightness) were positively correlated. In contrast, in high‐food froglets body size and warning signal luminance were negatively correlated, suggesting either a resource‐allocation trade‐off or alternatively a facultative reduction in luminance exhibited by larger froglets.

The reduction in luminance in relatively large, high‐food froglets did not appear to arise because of oxidative stress: signal luminance and markers of oxidative stress were positively correlated in high‐food froglets, but were negatively correlated in low‐food froglets suggesting a trade‐off.

Our results highlight developmental plasticity in body size and coloration as affected by resource (i.e. food) supply. Such plasticity seems likely to minimize predation risk during the vulnerable period early in life when individuals are warningly coloured and must make the transition from an undefended phenotype to a mature aposematic state.
Male reproductive strategy explains spatiotemporal segregation in brown bears
Authors: Steyaert Sam M.J.G. , Kindberg Jonas , Swenson Jon E. , Zedrosser Andreas 
Published: March 2013

SummarySpatiotemporal segregation is often explained by the risk for offspring predation or by differences in physiology, predation risk vulnerability or competitive abilities related to size dimorphism.Most large carnivores are size dimorphic and offspring predation is often intraspecific and related to nonparental infanticide (NPI). NPI can be a foraging strategy, a strategy to reduce competition, or a male reproductive strategy. Spatiotemporal segregation is widespread among large carnivores, but its nature remains poorly understood.We evaluated three hypotheses to explain spatiotemporal segregation in the brown bear, a size‐dimorphic large carnivore in which NPI is common; the ‘NPI – foraging/competition hypothesis', i.e. NPI as a foraging strategy or a strategy to reduce competition, the ‘NPI – sexual selection hypothesis’, i.e. infanticide as a male reproductive strategy and the ‘body size hypothesis’, i.e. body‐size‐related differences in physiology, predation risk vulnerability or competitive ability causes spatiotemporal segregation. To test these hypotheses, we quantified spatiotemporal segregation among adult males, lone adult females and females with cubs‐of‐the‐year, based on GPS‐relocation data (2006–2010) and resource selection functions in a Scandinavian population.We found that spatiotemporal segregation was strongest between females with cubs‐of‐the‐year and adult males during the mating season. During the mating season, females with cubs‐of‐the‐year selected their resources, in contrast to adult males, in less rugged landscapes in relative close proximity to certain human‐related variables, and in more open habitat types. After the mating season, females with cubs‐of‐the‐year markedly shifted their resource selection towards a pattern more similar to that of their conspecifics. No strong spatiotemporal segregation was apparent between females with cubs‐of‐the‐year and conspecifics during the mating and the postmating season.The ‘NPI – sexual selection hypothesis’ best explained spatiotemporal segregation in our study system. We suggest that females with cubs‐of‐the‐year alter their resource selection to avoid infanticidal males. In species exhibiting NPI as a male reproductive strategy, female avoidance of infanticidal males is probably more common than observed or reported, and may come with a fitness cost if females trade safety for optimal resources.
Effects of silviculture on native tree species richness: interactions between management, landscape context and regional climate
Authors: Martín‐Queller Emi , Diez Jeffrey M. , Ibáñez Inés , Saura Santiago 
Published: March 2013

Summary

Patterns of forest biodiversity are shaped by a complex set of processes operating over different spatial scales. Climate may largely determine species richness at regional scales, but biotic interactions and disturbance events are known to be important at local scales. The interactions between these local and regional processes are poorly understood, complicating efforts to manage for biodiversity.

In this study, we used Spanish forest inventory data, together with hierarchical Bayesian models, to analyse how different harvest intensities affect patterns of species richness in a 152 000 km2 area in central Spain. Particularly, we quantified the interacting effects of locally applied silvicultural disturbances, of those applied in the surrounding landscape, and of the regional climate on native tree species richness.

Our study supports the overall hypothesis that a hierarchical set of processes influence species richness, with regional climate contributing to shape the impacts of local harvesting practices and other environmental variables (topography and productivity).

In particular, we found that partial harvesting in both coniferous and broad‐leaved Mediterranean forests may support greater tree species richness than complete harvesting and no management. However, this effect depended on the ecosystem and the surrounding landscape, being much less likely in semi‐arid regions under water stress conditions and in landscapes dominated by managed forests (and particularly by completely harvested stands).

In general, forest stands exhibited increased tree species richness when surrounded by species‐rich riparian forests, probably due to metacommunity dynamics and/or ecological history (land uses) of the area.

Synthesis and applications. The effects of forest management on local species richness were shaped by coarse climate conditions and by the type and extent of other management practices in the surrounding landscapes. Therefore, to develop effective forestry management plans that optimize local diversity, we need to (i) apply regionally tailored practices with lower harvest intensities in areas of greater hydric stress; (ii) avoid the extensive application of a single silvicultural system over large areas and (iii) preserve a mosaic of species‐rich forests that can act as sources of colonizers to enrich the regenerating stands nearby.