bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Modelling banking-hall yield for property investment
Authors: Tipping Malvern , Newton Roger 
Published: March 2015

Purpose– This paper aims to build a predictive model for the investment yield of British banking-halls.Design/methodology/approach– Empirical data of similar lots sold at previous auctions are subjected to statistical analyses utilizing a cross-sectional research design. The independent variables analysed are taken from a previous study using the same cases. Models are built using logistic regression and ANCOVA.Findings– Logistic regression generally generates better models than ANCOVA. A division of Britain on a north/south divide produces the best results. Rent is as good as lot size and price in modelling, but has greater utility, because it is known prior to auctions.Research limitations/implications– Cases analysed were restricted to lots let entirely as banking-halls. Other lots comprising premises only partially used as banking-halls might produce different results. Freehold was the only tenure tested.Practical implications– The study provides a form of predictive modelling for investors and their advisors using rent which is known in advance of any sale.Originality/value– The study makes an original contribution to the field, because it builds a predictive model for investment yields for this class of property. Further research may indicate if similar predictive models can be built for other classes of investment property.
The effect of family ownership and control on equity-based compensation
Authors: Baek Hyungkee Young , Fazio Philip L 
Published: March 2015

Purpose– Small public family firms apply contracting differently given the peculiar motivations of founding families and the degree to which they monitor operations. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of family ownership, control, and CEO dividends on CEO incentive compensation.Design/methodology/approach– The sample consisted of 194 firms, covering about 40 percent of the relevant S&P SmallCap 600 firms. Employed were a logistic regression of the presence of incentive compensation plan and a panel regression of incentive compensation ratio against the family ownership, family CEO, CEO ownership, and dividend income variables as well as firm-specific and CEO-specific control variables.Findings– For 1,532 firm-year observations among S&P SmallCap600 index firms during 1999-2007, the authors found that family ownership and CEO dividend income ratio negatively related to the likelihood of an incentive compensation plan and to the ratio of equity-based compensation to total CEO pay. Additionally, the effect of CEO dividend income was limited to firms with outside CEOs.Practical implications– Boards of small capitalization firms should consider the incentive effects of CEO dividend income and CEO family membership when setting their compensation policies.Originality/value– S&P SmallCap600 index firms are unique because they are much smaller than those listed in the S&P 500 or theFortune500, and are subject to more family influence. SmallCap firms are comparable in size to the foreign firms previously researched but are still well covered by analysts, and benefit from audited financial statement variables, which include dividends and stock market returns.
Father-daughter succession in China: facilitators and challenges
Authors: Deng Xin 
Published: March 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore factors facilitating and impeding succession from father to daughter in family businesses in China.Design/methodology/approach– Using explorative case study approach this study examines the experiences of four female successors at different stages of taking over family businesses.Findings– Contrary to previous studies on female succession, daughters in this study were groomed to run the family business, and encouraged to become involved in it at an early stage. Confucian values on parent-child relationships and family also encouraged daughters’ participation in the family business and in maintaining productive working relationships with their fathers. However, inheriting and maintaining a father’s Guanxi networks pose a daunting challenge for daughters, and daughters may need more time to establish their authority.Originality/value– While confined by the limited number of cases, this study contributes to the under-explored research area of father-daughter succession by highlighting some unique cultural, social and historical factors influencing female successors in the Chinese context.
Family businesses: seekers of advice
Authors: Reddrop Alan , Mapunda Gido 
Published: March 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of the often questioned willingness of family businesses (FBs) to seek external advice on challenges they face.Design/methodology/approach– Mixed methods were employed gaining 140 responses to a survey of FB CEOs on their use of advice, followed by 51 semi-structured interviews of FB owners, managers and advisers. It drew upon institutional theory and those concerning both trust and organisational knowledge creation; also upon experiential knowledge gained in advising FBs.Findings– Cost was found to deter use of professional advice, also unawareness of where it was to be found. Dissatisfaction with many advisers’ “soft” skills was prevalent. Clients took as given advisers’ technical knowledge; empathy and listening skills being the discriminants of successful practice. Effective means of skills creation were identified but seen to be obtained fortuitously, not systematically. The professional institutions of accountants, the most frequently used professional advisers, require tertiary institutions seeking their accreditation to develop their students’ “generic skills”, including “the ability to listen effectively”: conditions not being complied with. However, advice-seeking is found to be greater than assumed because of an unexpected resort to peers, often through networking. Widespread peers’ recommendations of professional advisers impart instantaneous “vicarious” trust, found to be more common than the “slow maturing” kind posited by previous researchers.Originality/value– This paper offers a rarely recorded FB client perspective on their use of external advice. It extends understanding of the trust upon which they rely. It discloses how some achieve a mutual learning that expands understanding of organisational knowledge creation. It describes a route, “shadowing”, through which professional advisers have achieved outstanding performance.
How the new generation of consoles have accelerated the need to preserve digital content – part 2
Authors: McEniry Matthew , Cassidy Ryan 
Published: March 2015

Purpose
– This two-part paper aims to expose the challenges and establish the necessity of preserving digital content, with a focus on console video games. Part two identifies the preservation challenges, methods of preserving digital content and the current efforts by preservation groups and organizations.

Design/methodology/approach
– Through a method of identifying a video game content which has been lost, or at risk of being lost, describing the challenges presented by the format, and addressing the current preservation efforts, this paper serves as a brief retrospective of the issues and a guide to extending the conversation.

Findings
– While preserving video game content faces many challenges due to copyright issues and risks associated with digital format, some institutions have made progress that other libraries can follow.

Originality/value
– With special attention to the non-gamer, the conversation on video game preservation continues by focusing on the challenges and current efforts.
Laying the groundwork for information literacy at a research university
Authors: Castro Gessner A. Gabriela , Eldermire Erin 
Published: March 2015

Purpose
– Information literacy (IL) is increasingly becoming an explicit learning outcome for college graduates, and some libraries are playing a role in planning and teaching IL instruction to students. Amidst the overall trend of shrinking budgets that libraries are experiencing, what strategies can be employed by libraries that support large universities to plan IL instruction? The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach
– Inspired by curriculum mapping, staff in the library assessment department created teaching maps which match the curriculum from seven colleges with the library’s teaching efforts. To create them, they combined information about: first, courses that librarians have instructed over the last three years with; second, required courses for majors within the colleges; and third, typical enrollment for each course.

Findings
– Easily accessible information was combined to create the teaching maps, which enable the library to realign efforts to maximize IL instruction and best utilize library staff resources.

Practical implications
– Teaching maps serve as a portal to quickly understand majors, courses and course enrollment, and provide baseline information on past library instruction activity to inform future IL instruction strategy. Library directors and teaching staff are utilizing them to realign instruction efforts.

Originality/value
– Assessment strategies, such as curriculum mapping, serve not only the institution’s teaching mission, but also help strategize for effective and efficient stewardship of staff resources. These methods will be useful for library directors, assessment and instruction librarians at large research universities.
Serum heparanase levels: A protective marker against digital ulcers in patients with systemic sclerosis
Authors: Wu Ching‐Ying , Asano Yoshihide , Taniguchi Takashi , Sato Shinichi , Yu Hsin‐Su 
Published: March 2015

AbstractHeparanase is an endo‐β‐D‐glucuronidase cleaving heparan sulfate side‐chains of heparin sulfate proteoglycans, which is involved in wound healing, inflammation, neovascularization and tumor progression through the degradation and remodeling of the extracellular matrix and the release of sequestered pro‐angiogenic factors. Because heparanase‐mediated biological processes seem to be involved in the development of systemic sclerosis (SSc), we investigated the clinical correlation of serum heparanase levels in patients with this disease. Serum heparanase levels were significantly higher in SSc patients than in healthy individuals, while comparable between diffuse cutaneous SSc and limited cutaneous SSc subgroups. On the other hand, SSc patients with digital ulcers had serum heparanase levels significantly lower than those without. These results suggest that serum heparanase levels may be elevated in SSc patients reflecting the contribution of heparanase‐dependent biological processes to the development of SSc. SSc patients with high serum heparanase levels may be protected from the development of digital ulcers due to the increased release of sequestered pro‐angiogenic factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor. Therefore, serum heparanase levels may serve as a protective marker against digital ulcers in SSc patients.
Pigmented purpuric dermatosis‐like sarcoidosis
Authors: Sezer Engin , Yalçın Özben , Erkek Emel , Şahin Sedef 
Published: March 2015

AbstractSarcoidosis is a chronic multisystem granulomatous disease of unknown origin. Recently, a purpuric variant of cutaneous sarcoidosis resembling pigmented purpuric dermatosis (PPD) has been documented. Herein, we describe another unusual case with clinical features mimicking PPD, characterized by brownish macules and flat‐topped papules with a slightly purpuric component on the legs and dorsum of the feet and histopathological features consistent with sarcoidosis. We designated this unusual clinical presentation as “PPD‐like sarcoidosis”.
Dermoscopy of prurigo nodularis
Authors: Errichetti Enzo , Piccirillo Angelo , Stinco Giuseppe 
Published: March 2015

AbstractThe diagnosis of prurigo nodularis is mainly clinical, based on its distinctive features. However, in some cases it may be difficult to differentiate it from other nodular dermatoses only on the clinical basis, thus requiring histopathological examination to reach a definitive diagnosis. The aim of this study was to describe for the first time the dermoscopic features of prurigo nodularis and the useful contribution of dermoscopy in the differential diagnosis of such dermatoses. Fourteen patients with histopathologically proven prurigo nodularis were included in the study. The results of our study suggest that the detection of a “white starburst pattern” surrounding brown‐reddish/brown‐yellowish crust(s), erosion(s) and/or hyperkeratosis/scales is a useful clue to support the clinical diagnosis of prurigo nodularis, distinguishing it from the other main differential diagnoses.
Contact sensitivity in patients with recalcitrant atopic dermatitis
Authors: Tamagawa‐Mineoka Risa , Masuda Koji , Ueda Sachiko , Nakamura Naomi , Hotta Eri , Hattori Junko , Minamiyama Rina , Yamazaki Akiko , Katoh Norito 
Published: March 2015

AbstractPatients with atopic dermatitis are usually responsive to conventional treatment such as topical steroids; however, they are sometimes refractory to the treatment. The influence of contact sensitivities on the course of patients with recalcitrant atopic dermatitis is not known. The aim of this study was to investigate whether contact sensitivities affect the course of patients with recalcitrant atopic dermatitis. We evaluated 45 patients with atopic dermatitis who had failed conventional therapy. Patch testing was performed with the Japanese standard series, metal series and/or suspected items. A total of 15 patients had a positive patch test reaction to at least one allergen. The most common allergens were nickel, topical drugs and rubber accelerators. Avoidance of products or food containing allergic substances greatly or partially improved skin symptoms in nine patients. These results suggest that contact allergens and metals may be critical factors causing eczematous lesions in patients with recalcitrant atopic dermatitis.
Convergence of three mangrove species towards freeze‐tolerant phenotypes at an expanding range edge
Authors: Cook‐Patton Susan C. , Lehmann Michael , Parker John D. 
Published: March 2015

Summary

Climate change is dramatically altering the distribution and abundance of many species. An examination of traits may elucidate why some species respond more strongly to climate change than others, particularly when ecophysiological thresholds set range limits.

Mangrove forests are expanding polewards. Although multiple environmental factors influence mangrove distributions, freeze tolerance is hypothesized to determine their poleward extent. To investigate how trait variation influences mangroves’ responses to a warming climate, we examined how freeze tolerance and associated traits varied along a latitudinal cline for three co‐occurring mangrove species.

We sampled individuals along >200 km of Florida, USA's eastern coast, from the mangroves’ most northern populations, where freeze events were historically common, to southern populations where freeze events continue to be rare.

We measured a suite of traits in field‐collected adults and their garden‐reared offspring, and assessed their responses to an experimentally imposed freeze event. We asked whether freeze tolerance and other traits varied predictably among species, with latitude, and between life stages.

Species and populations varied dramatically in freeze tolerance, with the highest freeze tolerance in the northernmost species and populations, and the lowest freeze tolerance in the southernmost species and populations. Additionally, leaves of all three species were drier, tougher, thicker and more freeze‐tolerant at the range edge.

Tolerance to freezing appears to set the range limits for these mangrove species. All three species converged on a similar phenotype at the range edge, but species‐level variation in freezing resistance was conserved. Thus, these species are likely to continue migrating at different rates in response to climate warming, potentially leading to the dissolution of typically co‐occurring species and creating ‘no analogue’ coastal mangrove–marsh communities.
Investigating isotopic functional indices to reveal changes in the structure and functioning of benthic communities
Authors: Rigolet Carinne , Thiébaut Eric , Brind'Amour Anik , Dubois Stanislas F. 
Published: March 2015

Summary

With the use of stable isotopes, new concepts have emerged based on the idea that the ecological niche can be approximated by the isotopic niche defined as a δ‐space area with isotopic δ values as coordinates. This study aims to (i) redefine functional indices originally based on quantitative biological traits of species and demonstrate the ecological significance of newly defined isotopic functional indices (IFI) in a δ‐isotopic space, (ii) compare IFI using biomass data with existing unweighted isotopic indices using only isotopic compositions.

Using a community‐wide approach, we tested IFI using isotopic compositions of a large set of associated species from two marine benthic communities widely reported in coastal shallow waters: the common Amphiura filiformis muddy‐sand community and the engineered Haploops nirae sandy‐mud community. Biomass and isotopic composition (13C and 15N) of all species were measured during four seasons.

IFI were calculated in the isotopic space defined by the two communities, and variations were analysed: (i) isotopic functional richness indices measure the overall extent of the community trophic niche. They are higher in the Haploops community due to a higher diversity in food sources but also to longer food chains. (ii) isotopic functional evenness indices quantify the regularity in species distribution and the density in species packing. They showed that the biomass is concentrated at the edges of the food web in the Haploops community, outside the isotopic range of the main food source. (iii) isotopic functional divergence indices quantify the degree to which species distribution maximizes the divergence. They showed a larger utilization of secondary food sources in the Haploops community.

The IFI variations responded according to expectations overall, based on the extensive knowledge of those communities. Results highlighted that IFI weighted with species biomass provide new insights into how the structure of energy accumulation as biomass between species is likely to underpin community structure and the interplay between structural components of richness, diversity and evenness of biomass distribution.
Bacterial diversity amplifies nutrient‐based plant–soil feedbacks
Authors: Weidner Simone , Koller Robert , Latz Ellen , Kowalchuk George , Bonkowski Michael , Scheu Stefan , Jousset Alexandre 
Published: March 2015

Summary

Plants foster diverse assemblages of bacteria in the rhizosphere serving important functions which may result in enhanced plant growth. Microbial diversity is increasingly recognized to shape the functionality of microbial communities. This leads to the assumption that there is a positive relationship between rhizosphere diversity and plant growth. Here we investigate how bacterial diversity affects the mineralization of organic matter and plant nutrient acquisition.

We hypothesized that altered bacterial diversity will affect nitrogen mineralization, uptake by plants and ultimately plant growth. We set up a controlled model system with Arabidopsis thaliana colonized by defined assemblages of fluorescent pseudomonads, a well‐characterized plant‐beneficial rhizosphere taxon. The growth substrate contained casein as sole nitrogen source, making the plant nitrogen uptake dependant on breakdown by bacterial enzymes.

Bacterial diversity was associated with a higher enzyme activity which increased nitrogen mineralization and enhanced plant growth. The effect of bacterial diversity on plant growth increased with time, pointing to a positive feedback between bacteria and plants: bigger plants associated with species‐rich bacterial communities supported more bacterial growth, which further enhanced the impact of bacteria on plant growth.

We demonstrate that plant–soil feedbacks establish rapidly during one single growth season and that bacterial diversity modulates this interaction. Preserving soil microbial diversity therefore may improve positive plant–soil feedbacks and thereby plant growth.
Informed herbivore movement and interplant communication determine the effects of induced resistance in an individual‐based model
Authors: Rubin Ilan N. , Ellner Stephen P. , Kessler André , Morrell Kimberly A. 
Published: March 2015

Summary

Plant induced resistance to herbivory affects the spatial distribution of herbivores, as well as their performance. In recent years, theories regarding the benefit to plants of induced resistance have shifted from ideas of optimal resource allocation towards a more eclectic set of theories that consider spatial and temporal plant variability and the spatial distribution of herbivores among plants. However, consensus is lacking on whether induced resistance causes increased herbivore aggregation or increased evenness, as both trends have been experimentally documented.

We created a spatial individual‐based model that can describe many plant–herbivore systems with induced resistance, in order to analyse how different aspects of induced resistance might affect herbivore distribution, and the total damage to a plant population, during a growing season.

We analyse the specific effects on herbivore aggregation of informed herbivore movement (preferential movement to less‐damaged plants) and of information transfer between plants about herbivore attacks, in order to identify mechanisms driving both aggregation and evenness. We also investigate how the resulting herbivore distributions affect the total damage to plants and aggregation of damage.

Even, random and aggregated herbivore distributions can all occur in our model with induced resistance. Highest levels of aggregation occurred in the models with informed herbivore movement, and the most even distributions occurred when the average number of herbivores per plant was low. With constitutive resistance, only random distributions occur. Damage to plants was spatially correlated, unless plants recover very quickly from damage; herbivore spatial autocorrelation was always weak.

Our model and results provide a simple explanation for the apparent conflict between experimental results, indicating that both increased aggregation and increased evenness of herbivores can result from induced resistance. We demonstrate that information transfer from plants to herbivores, and from plants to neighbouring plants, can both be major factors in determining non‐random herbivore distributions.