bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Corporate social responsibility terminologies in small businesses: insights from Malaysia
Authors: Nejati Mehran , Amran Azlan 
Published: January 2013

PurposeSince understanding the corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of small businesses in any country requires investigating the terminologies used by their small businesses for such social practices, the aim of this paper is to gain an understanding of the common terminologies used by SME owners/manager/directors in a developing country, namely Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThis is a quantitative study which used a sample of 100 small businesses is its survey. Most of the investigated SMEs were based in Northern states of Malaysia.FindingsThis study showed that the most common terminology for CSR among investigated Malaysia SMEs was “responsible business practice” followed by “corporate social responsibility”, “social/ societal engagement” and “environmental involvement”.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitations of this research are associated with its sample size and geographical distribution of samples. Findings of the study warn researchers to be cautious in selecting the appropriate CSR term for different contexts, specifically in SMEs' context.Practical implicationsFindings of this study enable authorities and managers of large companies to use the appropriate term in their future communications with SMEs with regard to CSR.Originality/valueBeing among the first of its kind to tackle this issue in SME contexts in the developing countries, this paper can provide new insights for both researchers and practitioners and change their outlook on CSR in small businesses.
Policing public housing: New York and British cities
Authors: Flint John 
Published: January 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to compare approaches to policing and addressing offending and anti‐social behaviour in public housing in New York City and UK cities and to discuss whether the different rationales and techniques deployed may be effective in reducing recidivism.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on qualitative research undertaken in New York City in 2008 and a series of studies (comprising qualitative and quantitative methods) conducted in the UK for national government departments, local authorities and registered social landlords. The research included analysis of documents and statistics, interviews with policy makers, practitioners, tenants and offenders.FindingsThe research established that, in addition to some similarities in approaches, there were significant differences in the policing of public housing and the role of housing in reducing recidivism between New York and UK cities. These included the stronger identification of housing as an element in influencing offending in the UK, key roles for social landlords and housing‐based techniques of governance aimed at intervening in offending households.Practical implicationsThe research suggests the need to retain a focus on housing circumstances as a key determinant of both offending behaviour and as a mechanism for reducing recidivism.Social implicationsThe research indicates that reducing recidivism within public housing populations requires the provision of intensive interventions and support services.Originality/valueThe paper provides an original international comparative analysis of public housing‐based approaches to addressing offending and recidivism.
Applying the violent extremist risk assessment (VERA) to a sample of terrorist case studies
Authors: Beardsley Nicola L. , Beech Anthony R. 
Published: January 2013

PurposeThis paper seeks to evaluate the usefulness of the violent extremist risk assessment (VERA) by assessing how easily the criteria can be applied to case studies of five terrorists, and to determine whether it is more applicable to terrorists who work alone or as part of a group.Design/methodology/approachCase studies of five terrorists were constructed through online research. Evidence of each factor outlined in the VERA was rated and a total score for each category was calculated.FindingsThe majority of factors were easy to apply and were equally applicable to individuals within the sample regardless of whether they worked alone or as part of a group. The results tend to support theory and research about characteristics of violent extremists. This suggests that the factors are relevant and, therefore, that the VERA is a useful risk assessment guide.Research limitations/implicationsAs the research is based on case studies, the findings may not generalise beyond the sample selected. In addition, some sources used to construct the case studies may be less reliable. Future research should include larger, more varied and more recent samples.Practical implicationsIf future research confirms the present findings, the VERA may help to identify terrorists at risk of committing future offences. The factors may be incorporated into intervention strategies to prevent such offences.Originality/valueCurrently, the VERA is mainly for consultation purposes. This study applies it to real individuals, as it could be of great use in the risk assessment of terrorists.
“Freeing” free education in Sri Lanka
Authors: Gamlath Sharmila 
Published: January 2013

PurposeThe research aims to describe Sri Lanka's education system, discuss reforms that have been implemented within the school, university and vocational education sectors in the recent past and suggest potentially fruitful reforms whilst identifying the various constraints which can affect their implementation.Design/methodology/approachA descriptive approach is employed, with extensive review of related literature and the use of relevant secondary data where appropriate.FindingsThe research shows the need for considerable reform of Sri Lanka's education system, especially with regard to improving the quality of state education and encouraging greater private sector participation.Research limitations/implicationsThe research shows the deficiencies Sri Lanka's education system suffers from and suggests means to overcome them. However, the political and social pressures may present obstacles upon the implementation of such courses of action.Social implicationsThe recommendations offered by the research could make a contribution towards transforming the education system in Sri Lanka into one which can produce empowered individuals who can find employment within the emerging sectors of the economy and thereby improve overall living standards in the country.Originality/valueThe paper makes a novel contribution by encompassing school, tertiary and vocational education in Sri Lanka. It shows the numerous problems that could arise in a context where a universal system of free education from the primary to the tertiary level exists vis‐à‐vis a flourishing private sector, and would be of value to education policy‐planners in Sri Lanka and other countries with both state and private sector provision of education.
Nonlinear projection methods for visualizing Barcode data and application on two data sets
Authors: Olteanu Madalina , Nicolas Violaine , Schaeffer Brigitte , Denys Christiane , Missoup Alain‐Didier , Kennis Jan , Larédo Catherine 
Published: January 2013

AbstractDeveloping tools for visualizing DNA sequences is an important issue in the Barcoding context. Visualizing Barcode data can be put in a purely statistical context, unsupervised learning. Clustering methods combined with projection methods have two closely linked objectives, visualizing and finding structure in the data. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) and Self‐organizing maps (SOM) are unsupervised statistical tools for data visualization. Both algorithms map data onto a lower dimensional manifold: MDS looks for a projection that best preserves pairwise distances while SOM preserves the topology of the data. Both algorithms were initially developed for Euclidean data and the conditions necessary to their good implementation were not satisfied for Barcode data. We developed a workflow consisting in four steps: collapse data into distinct sequences; compute a dissimilarity matrix; run a modified version of SOM for dissimilarity matrices to structure the data and reduce dimensionality; project the results using MDS. This methodology was applied to Astraptes fulgerator and Hylomyscus, an African rodent with debated taxonomy. We obtained very good results for both data sets. The results were robust against unbalanced species. All the species in Astraptes were well displayed in very distinct groups in the various visualizations, except for LOHAMP and FABOV that were mixed up. For Hylomyscus, our findings were consistent with known species, confirmed the existence of four unnamed taxa and suggested the existence of potentially new species.
Prospects for scaling‐up supervised injection facilities in Canada: the role of evidence in legal and political decision‐making
Authors: Hyshka Elaine , Bubela Tania , Wild T. Cameron 
Published: January 2013

AbstractBackgroundNorth America's first supervised injection facility—Insite—opened in Vancouver in 2003 under a special federal legal exemption. Insite has faced significant political and legal opposition, which culminated in a recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling that ordered the federal Minister of Health to extend the facility's exemption and cited evidence that the facility is life‐preserving and does not increase public disorder. Officials in several other cities have initiated or accelerated preparations for new facilities due to speculation that the ruling provides sufficient legal basis to expand supervised injection in Canada. However, a comprehensive assessment of the barriers and facilitators to supervised injection facility scale‐up is lacking.MethodsThis policy case study reviews a corpus of jurisprudence, legislation, scientific research and media texts to: describe the role of evidence in legal and political decision‐making around Insite; analyze the implications of the Insite decision for new facilities; and discuss alternative avenues for supervised injection facility expansion.ResultsThe Insite decision does not simplify the path towards new supervised injection facilities, but nor does it does pose an insurmountable hurdle. Whether new facilities will be established depends largely upon how the Minister of Health interprets the ruling, the proponents' ability to demonstrate need and support from municipal and provincial governments and community members. Formally defining supervised injection as within nurses' scope of practice could further efforts to establish new facilities.ConclusionAdditional court action may be required to establish a stable legal and policy basis for supervised injection facilities in Canada.
Visceral fat accumulation and metabolic syndrome in children: the impact of Trp64Arg polymorphism of the beta3‐adrenergic receptor gene
Authors: Oguri Kazuo , Tachi Toshiki , Matsuoka Toshio 
Published: January 2013

AbstractAimTo investigate the association between Trp64Arg polymorphism of the beta3‐adrenergic receptor (ADRB3) gene and total fat mass, abdominal fat distribution, other metabolic derangements and metabolic syndrome (MS) in Japanese children.MethodsMolecular screening of the ADRB3 gene polymorphism (Trp64Trp, Trp64Arg and Arg64Arg) was carried out in 132 children aged 6–12 years: 73 were obese (45 boys) and 59 were not obese (27 boys). Visceral fat (VF) and subcutaneous fat (SF) area were measured using magnetic resonance imaging, blood pressure, lipid and glucose profiles.ResultsThe frequencies of Arg carriers (Trp64Arg or Arg64Arg) were significantly higher in obese children with MS, compared to obese children without MS and nonobese children. In obese children, Arg carriers had significantly higher VF area, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride than Arg noncarriers (Trp64Trp). However, there were no differences in total fat mass and SF area between the two groups. In nonobese children, none of these parameters differed significantly between Arg carriers and noncarriers.ConclusionTrp64Arg polymorphism of the ADRB3 gene may affect VF accumulation and be associated with MS, a cluster of conditions involving aggravated lipid metabolism and higher blood pressure, in Japanese children.
Is impulsivity a common trait in bipolar and unipolar disorders?
Authors: Henna Elaine , Hatch John P , Nicoletti Mark , Swann Alan C , Zunta‐Soares Giovana , Soares Jair C 
Published: January 2013

Henna E, Hatch JP, Nicoletti M, Swann AC, Zunta‐Soares G, Soares JC. Is impulsivity a common trait in bipolar and unipolar disorders?  Bipolar Disord 2013: 00: 000–000. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S.Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.Objectives:  Impulsivity is increased in bipolar and unipolar disorders during episodes and is associated with substance abuse disorders and suicide risk. Impulsivity between episodes predisposes to relapses and poor therapeutic compliance. However, there is little information about impulsivity during euthymia in mood disorders. We sought to investigate trait impulsivity in euthymic bipolar and unipolar disorder patients, comparing them to healthy individuals and unaffected relatives of bipolar disorder patients.Methods:  Impulsivity was evaluated by the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS‐11A) in 54 bipolar disorder patients, 25 unipolar disorder patients, 136 healthy volunteers, and 14 unaffected relatives. The BIS‐11A mean scores for all four groups were compared through the Games–Howell test for all possible pairwise combinations. Additionally, we compared impulsivity in bipolar and unipolar disorder patients with and without a history of suicide attempt and substance abuse disorder.Results:  Bipolar and unipolar disorder patients scored significantly higher than the healthy controls and unaffected relatives on all measures of the BIS‐11A except for attentional impulsivity. On the attentional impulsivity measures there were no differences among the unaffected relatives and the bipolar and unipolar disorder groups, but all three of these groups scored higher than the healthy participant group. There was no difference in impulsivity between bipolar and unipolar disorder subjects with and without suicide attempt. However, impulsivity was higher among bipolar and unipolar disorder subjects with past substance use disorder compared to patients without such a history.Conclusions:  Questionnaire‐measured impulsivity appears to be relatively independent of mood state in bipolar and unipolar disorder patients; it remains elevated in euthymia and is higher in individuals with past substance abuse. Elevated attentional and lower non‐planning impulsivity in unaffected relatives of bipolar disorder patients distinguished them from healthy participants, suggesting that increased attentional impulsivity may predispose to development of affective disorders, while reduced attentional impulsivity may be protective.
Obesity and the three‐year longitudinal course of bipolar disorder
Authors: Goldstein Benjamin I , Liu Shang‐Min , Schaffer Ayal , Sala Regina , Blanco Carlos 
Published: January 2013

Goldstein BI, Liu S‐Min, Schaffer A, Sala R, Blanco C. Obesity and the three‐year longitudinal course of bipolar disorder.  Bipolar Disord 2013: 00: 000–000. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S.Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.Objectives:  Despite substantial cross‐sectional evidence that obesity is associated with an increased medical and psychiatric burden in bipolar disorder (BD), few longitudinal studies have examined this topic.Methods:  Subjects with BD (n = 1600) who completed both Wave 1 and Wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions were included. Analyses examined the association between obesity at Wave 1, and the subsequent course of BD, and of psychiatric and medical comorbidities, between Wave 1 and Wave 2.Results:  BD subjects with obesity (n = 506; 29.43%), compared to BD subjects without obesity (n = 1094; 70.57%) were significantly more likely to have a major depressive episode and to receive counseling for depression during follow‐up, more likely to report a lifetime suicide attempt, and less likely to develop new‐onset alcohol use disorders. These differences were no longer significant, however, after controlling for baseline demographic variables. No significant differences in new episodes or treatment of mania/hypomania were observed. After controlling for demographic variables, obese subjects remained significantly more likely to report any new‐onset medical condition [odds ratio (OR) = 2.32, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.63–3.30], new‐onset hypertension (OR = 1.81, 95% CI: 1.16–2.82) and arthritis (OR = 1.64, 95% CI: 1.07–2.52). Obese subjects were significantly more likely to report physician‐diagnosed diabetes (OR = 6.98, 95% CI: 4.27–11.40) and hyperlipidemia (OR = 2.32, 95% CI: 1.63–3.30) (assessed in Wave 2 only). The incidence of heart attacks was doubled among obese subjects, although this difference was not statistically significant.Conclusions:  The association between obesity and increased prospective depressive burden appears to be explained by baseline demographic variables. By contrast, obesity independently predicts the accumulation of medical conditions among adults with BD. Treatment of obesity could potentially mitigate the psychiatric and medical burden of BD.
Radial Gradients in Wood Specific Gravity, Water and Gas Content in Trees of a Mexican Tropical Rain Forest
Authors: Schüller Elisabeth , Martínez‐Ramos Miguel , Hietz Peter 
Published: January 2013

AbstractCell walls, water, and gas that have mechanical and physiological functions in wood, and wood specific gravity (WSG) is related to demographic traits. To understand variation in wood structure and function, we analyzed radial changes in WSG, in the gas and the water fractions from trees growing in four different habitats in a southern Mexican rain forest. Mean WSG was 0.55 ± 0.16, slightly lower than reported for other tropical forests. In 27 species, WSG decreased and in two species, it increased from pith to bark with a strong (r2 = 0.65) negative correlation between WSG in the center of the tree and the radial WSG gradient. Habitat had some effect on mean WSG and trees growing on karst had significantly higher WSG than the same species growing on alluvial soil. The cell wall, water, and gas fractions accounted for 35 percent (range: 16–50), 42 percent (28–65), and 23 percent (2–56), respectively, of wood volume, with a negative correlation between the gas and the cell wall and between the gas and the water fractions, but not between the cell wall and water fractions. Radially increasing WSG is advantageous for pioneer trees with fast initial growth. We found that the water displacement method may result in biased WSG estimates. To increase the accuracy of WSG data, we suggest to measure sample volume geometrically using a constant diameter (that of the borer tip), to include radial variation in WSG, and to consider for possible site effects on species‐specific WSG.
Detection of occult invasion in ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast with sentinel node metastasis
Authors: Osako Tomo , Iwase Takuji , Kimura Kiyomi , Horii Rie , Akiyama Futoshi 
Published: January 2013

By definition, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) – pre‐invasive breast cancer – does not metastasize to the lymph nodes. However, since the introduction of molecular whole‐node analysis using the one‐step nucleic acid amplification assay for sentinel node (SN) biopsies, the number of patients with DCIS and SN metastasis has increased. The pathogenesis and clinical management of DCIS with SN metastasis remain controversial. In this case–control study, in order to elucidate the pathogenesis of SN metastasis in DCIS, we compared occult invasions between the SN‐positive and SN‐negative DCIS and investigated predictive factors of occult invasion. The subjects were 24 patients selected from 285 patients with a routine postoperative diagnosis of DCIS who had undergone SN biopsy using the one‐step nucleic acid amplification whole‐node assay between 2009 and 2011. Of these 24 patients, 12 were SN‐positive, and 12 were SN‐negative. The 12 SN‐negative patients make up the control group and were selected from the 273 SN‐negative patients based on patient characteristics. All paraffin blocks of the primary tumor from each patient were step‐sectioned with 500‐μm intervals until the block was exhausted and histopathologically examined. We analyzed 1830 step‐sectioned slides and found occult invasions were more frequent in the SN‐positive group (7/12, 58.3%) than in the SN‐negative group (3/12, 25.0%). All occult invasions were <5 mm. There was no correlation between occult invasion and SN tumor burden, non‐SN metastasis, or patient characteristics. Our results suggest true metastasis from occult invasion may be a potent pathogenesis indicating nodal metastasis in postoperatively diagnosed DCIS. Patient follow‐up is required to elucidate the prognostic impact of nodal metastasis and occult invasion.
Relations, relationships and relatedness: residential child care and the family metaphor
Authors: Kendrick Andrew 
Published: January 2013

AbstractResidential care has had a poor reputation. There are concerns about the abuse of children in care, and evidence of poor outcomes and poor practice. In this context, residential care is often compared in a negative way to family placements. On the other hand, residential care can also provide a positive experience for some children and young people. Residential care has increasingly been contrasted with family placements, and yet children and young people describe their positive experiences in residential care as like being in a family, and refer to care staff using kin terms, such as ‘dad’ or ‘sister’.With the growing diversity of families in Western society, there have been significant developments in sociological theories of families, and these highlight the importance of family practices and displaying family. New kinship studies in anthropology have raised questions about the nature of the family. Research on children's conceptualization of family has begun to identify features of ‘family‐like’ relationships.These theories will be discussed in relation to the ambivalence about residential care, current thinking about residential child care and, importantly, the way in which some children and young people use the family metaphor to express their experience. The paper will explore the ways in which this can develop and benefit practice in residential care.