bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
High-performance human resource management and firm performance
Authors: Lu Kangyin , Zhu Jinxia , Bao Haijun 
Published: February 2015

Purpose– Human resources have become a key issue in relation to the strong competition between service firms. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between high-performance human resource management (HRM) within this field to firm performance, making a useful attempt to explore the “black box” of enterprise human resources management effect on firm performance.Design/methodology/approach– In order to validate the relationship between high-performance HRM and firm performance, Chinese service industry samples were collected. Structural equation modeling and regression are adopted to estimate the direct effect of high-performance HRM on firm performance and the mediating role of innovation.Findings– The results show that the impacts of high-performance HRM on firm performance are significant. Moreover, innovation plays a partial mediating role between them. Training, work analysis and employee participation has a significantly positive impact on firm performance, while effects of profit sharing, employee development and performance evaluation on enterprise performance is not significant. The results strongly support the hypothesis that innovation holds intermediary variables between high-performance HRM and firm performance.Practical implications– Studying the relationship between high-performance HRM and firm performance can help Chinese enterprises more reasonable and effective learning foreign advanced management ideas and methods. And then can help Chinese enterprises to establish a high-performance HRM system that is suitable for Chinese enterprises; the research can help enterprises to identify meaningful practice of human resources management, outstanding keys, and perfect the HRM system of enterprises; research on innovation and innovative thinking is conducive to develop employees’ innovation motive, promote employee’ innovative behavior, and improve firm performance.Originality/value– This paper takes innovation as a mediating variable into the model and studies the intermediary role of innovation.
The effects of perceived organizational support and job satisfaction on transfer of training
Authors: Zumrah Abdul Rahim , Boyle Stephen 
Published: February 2015

Purpose– The role of perceived organizational support (POS) and job satisfaction on the effectiveness of transfer of training in the workplace has begun to receive attention among recent studies. However, there is still limited understanding of how these factors may work together to affect the transfer of training. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by exploring the relationship between POS, job satisfaction and transfer of training.Design/methodology/approach– The data of this study have been collected from a group of employees, and their supervisors through survey. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.Findings– The findings reveal that job satisfaction mediates the relationship between POS and transfer of training.Originality/value– This study suggests that POS can improve employees’ job satisfaction, which in turn increase transfer of training in the workplace. The significant relationship between the factors (POS – job satisfaction – transfer of training) is an important finding that has not been empirically determined previously, particularly in the transfer of training literature. The findings show that job satisfaction plays an essential role as a mediator in the relationship between POS and transfer of training.
Psychological contract breach, organizational justice and emotional well-being
Authors: Cassar Vincent , Buttigieg Sandra C. 
Published: February 2015

Purpose– Psychological contract breach, which represents instances when organizations fail to fulfil their side of the employment bargain, has been associated with salient concepts in strategic human resources management. The purpose of this paper is to investigate moderated mediated relationships involving breach, organizational (procedural and interactional) justice and emotional well-being.Design/methodology/approach– The study draws upon quantitative data collected by means of a questionnaire that was administered to 620 full-time technical and shop-floor employees in an automobile-parts company in Malta. The questionnaire included psychometrically validated scales on breach, justice and well-being.Findings– Breach partially mediated the relationship between justice and well-being while justice levels did not differentiate this mediating effect except for interactional justice. Finally, the interaction between procedural and interactional justice failed to explain the mediating role of breach over and above their single contributions although interactional justice seemed to make a bigger impact.Research limitations/implications– This study contributes towards a better understanding of the relationships between breach, justice and well-being. The major limitation is that because of its cross-sectional nature, causality cannot be inferred.Practical implications– Given that managing the employment relationship impacts on how people feel and hence perform, understanding how breach, justice and well-being are related, is strategically important to human resources management.Originality/value– To the authors’ knowledge, there is no previous research that links breach, justice and well-being in one study.
A multi-dimensional approach to talent
Authors: Thunnissen Marian , Van Arensbergen Pleun 
Published: February 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the development of a broader, multi-dimensional approach to talent that helps scholars and practitioners to fully understand the nuances and complexity of talent in the organizational context.

Design/methodology/approach
– The data were collected in two complementary research projects on the definition and identification of talented academics in the early stages of their careers. The first study focussed on defining and developing talent within university departments, in which the perspectives of management, policy advisors and talented employees themselves were taken into account. The second study investigated talent selection in the specific context of grant allocation by the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

Findings
– The results suggest that the conceptualization of talent cannot be disconnected from its context. In particular, the perceptions of the different stakeholder groups in an organizational context have a major impact. Although talent is generally perceived as a combination of multiple components, this general outcome conceals the unilateral approaches to talent of the separate stakeholder groups. These unilateral interpretations of talent also affect the design of the talent management system. The paper describes the difficulties organizations are confronted within developing and implementing their talent programs.

Originality/value
– This broader approach regards talent as a bundle of integrated components, and takes the impact of the organizational context and its interrelated stakeholders into account.
Speaking of global virtual teams: language differences, social categorization and media choice
Authors: Klitmøller Anders , Schneider Susan Carol , Jonsen Karsten 
Published: February 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore the interrelation between language differences, media choice and social categorization in global virtual teams (GVTs).Design/methodology/approach– An ethnographic field work was conducted in a Finnish multinational corporation (MNC). The study included interviews, observations, and language proficiency assessment of 27 GVT members located in five European countries.Findings– In GVTs, the combination of language proficiency differences and verbal media (e.g. telephone) tends to lead to social categorization, while a similar effect was not found when GVT members chose written media (e.g. e-mail).Research limitations/implications– The qualitative study only consisted of GVTs from one MNC, and thus the empirical findings might not be generalizable to other MNCs. Therefore, quantitative studies that can add to the robustness of the exploratory findings could be a worthwhile endeavour.Practical implications– Language training should be provided to GVT members, and virtual policies should be implemented to ensure the use of written media in GVTs characterized by language proficiency differences.Originality/value– Although it is well established in the literature that language differences are detrimental to co-located team effectiveness no study has explored how the relationship between variation in language proficiency and media choice affects social categorization in GVTs.
Natural course of keratoacanthoma and related lesions after partial biopsy: Clinical analysis of 66 lesions
Authors: Takai Toshihiro , Misago Noriyuki , Murata Yozo 
Published: February 2015

AbstractThere is some confusion regarding the classification of keratoacanthoma (KA) and related lesions that have crateriform architecture. We examined the clinical courses of 66 KA lesions and related lesions after a partial biopsy to clarify the nosological concept of KA. We histopathologically classified these lesions into five types: (i) KA at various stages (53 lesions); (ii) KA‐like squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (3 lesions); (iii) KA with malignant transformation (3 lesions); (iv) infundibular SCC (5 lesions); and (v) crateriform SCC arising from solar keratosis (2 lesions). We analyzed the clinical course in each group. The regression rate of KA was 98.1% and that of KA‐like SCC/KA with malignant transformation was 33.3%. No regression was observed in either infundibular SCC or crateriform SCC arising from solar keratosis. Thus, KA is a distinct entity that should be distinguished from other types of SCC with crateriform architecture based on the high frequency of regression. The regression rate of 33.3% in KA‐like SCC/KA with malignant transformation indicated that KA lesions with an SCC component still have the potential for regression. However, this result also indicated that KA is biologically unstable, and some KA tend to evolve into conventional SCC with a gradual loss of the capacity for the spontaneous regression. Infundibular SCC and crateriform SCC arising from solar keratosis are fundamentally different from KA, not only according to the histopathological findings but also based on the biological properties.
Basking sharks and oceanographic fronts: quantifying associations in the north‐east Atlantic
Authors: Miller Peter I. , Scales Kylie L. , Ingram Simon N. , Southall Emily J. , Sims David W. 
Published: February 2015

Summary

Understanding the mechanisms that link oceanographic processes and marine vertebrate space use is critical to our knowledge of marine ecosystem functioning, and for effective management of populations of conservation concern.

The basking shark Cetorhinus maximus has been observed in association with oceanographic fronts – physical interfaces at the transitions between water masses – exploiting foraging opportunities resulting from zooplankton aggregation. However, the scale, significance and variability of these associations have not previously been established.

Here, we quantify the influence of thermal and chlorophyll‐a fronts on basking shark habitat use in the north‐east Atlantic. We use animal‐mounted archival tracking together with composite front mapping via Earth Observation (EO) remote sensing to provide an oceanographic context to shark movements.

We investigate levels of association with fronts occurring over two spatio‐temporal scales, (i) broad‐scale, seasonally persistent frontal zones and (ii) contemporaneous thermal and chl‐a fronts. Using random walk simulations and logistic regression within an iterative generalized linear mixed modelling (GLMM) framework, we find that seasonal front frequency is a significant predictor of shark presence.

Oceanographic metrics time‐matched to shark tracks indicate that sharks show a preference for productive regions and associate with contemporaneous thermal and chl‐a fronts more frequently than could be expected at random. Moreover, we highlight the importance of front persistence and cross‐frontal temperature step, which appear to interact to affect the degree of prey aggregation along thermal fronts in this shelf‐sea system.

Our findings confirm that surface frontal activity is a predictor of basking shark presence in the north‐east Atlantic, both over seasonal timescales and in near real‐time. These insights have clear implications for understanding the preferred habitats of basking sharks in the context of anthropogenic threat management and marine spatial planning in the region.
Linkage of root physiology and morphology as an adaptation to soil phosphorus impoverishment in tropical montane forests
Authors: Ushio Masayuki , Fujiki Yasuto , Hidaka Amane , Kitayama Kanehiro 
Published: February 2015

Summary

Tropical forests in Borneo maintain a high level of productivity/biomass even under phosphorus (P)‐limited conditions. The P‐acquisition properties of roots may be an important factor that contributes to forest productivity, but they have not been well evaluated compared with above‐ground properties of plants.

In this study, we analysed root acid phosphatase activity and morphological properties (surface area, diameter and tissue density of roots) of dominant tree species in three tropical montane forests on Mt. Kinabalu, Borneo, to investigate changes in root properties along a soil P availability gradient.

We found at the community level that root phosphatase activity and specific root surface area (root surface area per gram root biomass) increased, and root diameter decreased, with decreasing soil P availability at the community level, and the relationship was not changed in general even if we focused on a single‐tree species distributed across multiple study sites that differ in soil P availability. Root acid phosphatase was significantly positively correlated with specific root surface area, and negatively correlated with root diameter, suggesting that finer roots have higher phosphatase activities.

Furthermore, we compared root acid phosphatase activity with leaf P concentration of a given tree species and found a significant negative correlation between them. The significant correlation suggested that root P‐acquisition properties could influence leaf P concentration, and/or vice versa. Below‐ground properties (i.e. root P‐acquisition properties) might be directly/indirectly linked to above‐ground properties (i.e. leaf P concentration) of a tree individual.

In conclusion, the root physiological and morphological properties change along a gradient of soil P availability in the tropical montane forests. In addition, the changes in the root properties are coordinated with the changes in leaf P concentrations. The adaptive changes in the above‐ground and below‐ground properties along the soil P gradient could contribute to the maintenance of forest productivity in the tropical montane forest in Borneo.
Phylogenetic patterns are not proxies of community assembly mechanisms (they are far better)
Authors: Gerhold Pille , Cahill James F. , Winter Marten , Bartish Igor V. , Prinzing Andreas 
Published: February 2015

Summary

The subdiscipline of ‘community phylogenetics’ is rapidly growing and influencing thinking regarding community assembly. In particular, phylogenetic dispersion of co‐occurring species within a community is commonly used as a proxy to identify which community assembly processes may have structured a particular community: phylogenetic clustering as a proxy for abiotic assembly, that is habitat filtering, and phylogenetic overdispersion as a proxy for biotic assembly, notably competition.

We challenge this approach by highlighting (typically) implicit assumptions that are, in reality, only weakly supported, including (i) phylogenetic dispersion reflects trait dispersion; (ii) a given ecological function can be performed only by a single trait state or combination of trait states; (iii) trait similarity causes enhanced competition; (iv) competition causes species exclusion; (v) communities are at equilibrium with processes of assembly having been completed; (vi) assembly through habitat filtering decreases in importance if assembly through competition increases, such that the relative balance of the two can be thus quantified by a single parameter; and (vii) observed phylogenetic dispersion is driven predominantly by local and present‐day processes.

Moreover, technical sophistication of the phylogenetic‐patterns‐as‐proxy approach trades off against sophistication in alternative, potentially more pertinent approaches to directly observe or manipulate assembly processes.

Despite concerns about using phylogenetic dispersion as a proxy for community assembly processes, we suggest there are underappreciated benefits of quantifying the phylogenetic structure of communities, including (i) understanding how coexistence leads to the macroevolutionary diversification of habitat lineage‐pools (i.e. phylogenetic‐patterns‐as‐result approach); and (ii) understanding the macroevolutionary contingency of habitat lineage‐pools and how it affects present‐day species coexistence in local communities (i.e. phylogenetic‐patterns‐as‐cause approach).

We conclude that phylogenetic patterns may be little useful as proxy of community assembly. However, such patterns can prove useful to identify and test novel hypotheses on (i) how local coexistence may control macroevolution of the habitat lineage‐pool, for example through competition among close relatives triggering displacement and diversification of characters, and (ii) how macroevolution within the habitat lineage‐pool may control local coexistence of related species, for example through origin of close relatives that can potentially enter in competition.
Improving the participation of youth with physical disabilities in community activities: An interrupted time series design
Authors: Law Mary , Anaby Dana , Imms Christine , Teplicky Rachel , Turner Laura 
Published: February 2015

Background/aimYouth with physical disabilities experience restrictions to participation in community‐based leisure activities; however, there is little evidence about how to improve their involvement. This study examined whether an intervention to remove environmental barriers and develop strategies using a coaching approach improved youth participation in leisure activities.MethodsAn Interrupted Time Series design was employed, where replication of the intervention effect was examined across individualised participation goals and across participants. Six adolescents with a physical disability participated in a 12‐week intervention. An occupational therapist worked with each youth and his/her family to set three leisure goals based on problems identified using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM). A coaching approach was used to collaboratively identify and implement strategies to remove environmental barriers. Interventions for each goal were introduced at different time points. Outcomes were evaluated using the COPM.ResultsImprovements in COPM performance scores were clinically significant for 83% of the identified activities; an average change of 4.5 points in the performance scale (SD = 1.95) was observed. Statistical analysis using the celeration line demonstrated that the proportion of data points falling above the line increased in the intervention phase for 94% of the activities, indicating a significant treatment effect.ConclusionsThis study is the first to examine an intervention aimed at increasing leisure participation by changing only the environment. The results indicate that environment‐focussed interventions are feasible and effective in promoting youth participation. Such findings can inform the design of a larger study and guide occupational therapy practice.
Influence of brodifacoum and bromadiolone on growth of yoghurt cultures in milk
Authors: Hathurusinghe Madhavi H , Ibrahim Salam A 
Published: February 2015

The influence of brodifacoum and bromadiolone on the growth of yoghurt culture in milk was determined. Milk samples inoculated with a commercial yoghurt culture and serially diluted rodenticides were incubated at 42 °C for 6 h. The yoghurt cultures showed detectable sensitivity (significant change (P < 0.05) in pH in the medium) to brodifacoum at 0.12 mg/mL and to bromadiolone at 0.08 mg/mL. There were significant differences (P < 0.05) in the bacterial count and α‐galactosidase and β‐galactosidase activities in the presence of toxins in milk. The results indicate that brodifacoum and bromadiolone could inhibit the growth of yoghurt culture in milk.
Healthy aspect of low‐cholesterol ghee on modulation of lipid profile of rats
Authors: Meghwal Karuna , Sharma Vivek , Lal Darshan , Arora Sumit , Kapila Suman 
Published: February 2015

Low‐cholesterol ghee (LCG) feeding did not show any significant increase in total plasma cholesterol level from day 0 (56.8 ± 6.8 mg/dL) to day 90 (59.5 ± 0.8 mg/dL). Plasma HDL cholesterol (HDL) levels increased by 59.9%, whereas LDL cholesterol (LDL) showed a reduction of 74.8%. Total plasma triacylglycerol (mg/dL) did not show any significant change within or between groups. Relative contribution of lipoprotein fraction HDL was 69% vs 47% in control. Atherogenic Index was low (0.47 ± 0.05) vs 1.03 ± 0.2 in the control. Deposition of cholesterol in arteries and liver was also less (0.423 mg/g tissue) than in control (0.648 mg/g tissue). Feeding LCG improved the lipid profile of rats.
Perinatal outcomes following an earlier post‐term labour induction policy: a historical cohort study
Authors: Hedegaard M , Lidegaard Ø , Skovlund CW , Mørch LS , Hedegaard M 
Published: February 2015

ObjectiveTo assess the changes in perinatal outcomes in children born from 37 weeks of gestation after implementation of a more proactive labour induction practice from 2009.DesignRegister‐based cohort study.SettingDenmark, 2000–12.PopulationNewborns from 37 weeks of gestation.MethodsPerinatal outcomes were estimated using a logistic regression analysis with adjustment for gestational age, maternal age, parity, plurality, smoking and body mass index.Main outcome measuresPerinatal outcomes.ResultsA total of 770 926 infants were included. Labour induction from 37 weeks increased from 9.7% in 2000–02 to 22.5% in 2011–12. From 2003–05 to 2011–12, the risk of umbilical cord pH < 7.0 decreased by 23%; odds ratio (OR) 0.77 (95% confidence interval 0.67–0.89), and the adjusted OR of Apgar score < 7 at 5 minutes was unchanged. The risk of admission to neonatal intensive care units increased by 56%; OR 1.56 (1.47–1.66), whereas the risk of neonatal deaths decreased by 44%; OR 0.56 (0.45–0.70). The risk of cerebral palsy was from 2000–02 to 2009–10 reduced by 26%; OR 0.74 (0.60–0.90). The proportion of infants born with fetal weight ≥ 4500 g decreased by one‐third; OR 0.68 (0.65–0.71). However, the risk of shoulder dystocia increased by 32%; OR 1.32 (1.21–1.44), whereas the risk of peripheral nerve injuries was reduced by 43%; OR 0.57 (0.45–0.73).ConclusionThe results suggest an overall improvement in perinatal outcomes as a result of a more proactive post‐term labour induction practice.