bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Rolling the Dice Twice: Evolving Reconstructed Ancient Proteins in Extant Organisms
Authors: Kacar Betul 
Published: September 2015

AbstractScientists have access to artifacts of evolutionary history (namely, the fossil record and genomic sequences of living organisms) but they have limited means with which to infer the exact evolutionary events that occurred to produce today’s living world. An intriguing question to arise from this historical limitation is whether the evolutionary paths of organisms are dominated by internal or external controlled processes (i.e., Life as a factory) or whether they are inherently random and subject to completely different outcomes if repeated under identical conditions (i.e., Life as a casino parlor). Two experimental approaches, ancestral sequence reconstruction and experimental evolution with microorganisms, can be used to recapitulate ancient adaptive pathways and provide valuable insights into the mutational steps that constitute an organism’s genetic heritage. Ancestral sequence reconstruction follows a backwards-from-present-day strategy in which various ancestral forms of a modern gene or protein are reconstructed and then studied mechanistically. Experimental evolution, by contrast, follows a forward-from-present day strategy in which microbial populations are evolved in the laboratory under defined conditions in which their evolutionary paths may be closely monitored. Here I describe a novel hybrid of these two methods, in which synthetic components constructed from inferred ancestral gene or protein sequences are placed into the genomes of modern organisms that are then experimentally evolved. Through this system, we aim to establish the comparative study of ancient phenotypes as a novel, statistically rigorous methodology with which to explore the respective impacts of biophysics and chance in evolution within the scope of the Extended Synthesis.
Conversion of Genomic DNA to Proxy Constructs Suitable for Accurate Nanopore Sequencing
Authors: Tsavachidou Dimitra 
Published: September 2015

AbstractNanopore sequencing at single-base resolution is challenging. There are developing technologies to convert DNA molecules to expanded constructs. Such constructs can be sequenced by nanopores in place of the original DNA molecules. We present a novel method for converting genomic DNA to expanded constructs (“proxies”) with 99.67% accuracy. Our method “reads” each base in each DNA fragment and appends an oligonucleotide to the DNA fragment after each base “reading”. Each appended oligonucleotide represents a specific base type, so that the proxy construct consisting of all the appended oligonucleotides faithfully represents the original DNA sequence. We generated proxies for genomic DNA and confirmed the identities of both the proxies and their corresponding original DNA sequences by performing sequencing using Ion Torrent sequencer.Conversion to proxies had only 0.33% raw error rate. Errors were: 93.96% deletions, 5.29% insertions, and 0.74% substitutions. The longest sequenced proxy was 170 bases, corresponding to a 17-base original DNA sequence. The short length of the detected proxies reflected restrictions imposed by Ion Torrent’s short reads and was not caused by limitations of our method. The consensus sequence built by using proxies alone (average length: 120 bases; corresponding to original sequences with average length 12 bases) covered 55% of the reference genome with 100% accuracy, and outperformed the Ion Torrent sequencing of the corresponding original DNA fragments in terms of accuracy, coverage and number of aligned sequences. Data and other materials can be found athttp://www.vastogen.com/data.html. This proof-of-concept experiment demonstrates highly accurate proxy construction at the whole genome level. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstrated construction of expanded versions of DNA at the whole genome level.
Does student satisfaction with school facilities affect exam results?
Authors: Hopland Arnt O. , Nyhus Ole Henning 
Published: September 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between student satisfaction with school facilities and exam results.

Design/methodology/approach
– The authors combined exam results in Norwegian lower secondary schools with results from a nationwide, mandatory and annual survey that measures student satisfaction over a five-year period. The data were analyzed using regression methods (ordinary least squares and fixed-effects estimation).

Findings
– The authors found a modest, yet significant, relationship between satisfaction with school facilities and exam results. This is in contrast to earlier studies using Norwegian data, which indicate no such relationship. The authors argue that the difference is probably due to the fact that they have richer data than what were available to the earlier studies of Norwegian schools, and that they used a direct measure of student satisfaction rather than formal and technical measures of facility conditions.

Originality/value
– This paper offers new evidence of the relationship between school facilities and student achievement and should be of great interest to academics, school leaders and policy makers.
“What to do about schools?”: The Australian Radical Education Group (RED G)
Authors: Griffiths Tom G. , Downey Jack 
Published: September 2015

Purpose
– The Australian Radical Education Group (RED G) was created in June 1976, which in turn launched a magazine for radical(ising) teachers, the Radical Education Dossier (RED), that would be published for the next 30 years. The purpose of this paper is to characterise the emergence and first phase of RED’s publication up to its name change in 1984.

Design/methodology/approach
– The authors draw on interviews with key members of the magazine’s editorial collective, and a review of RED’s contents, to identify the major political ambitions as manifest in RED in historical context. The authors contextualise this radical education project in the post-1968 world context of social and political upheaval, rejecting the Cold War options of either Soviet style Communist or US-based capitalist pathways.

Findings
– In this context RED generated powerful critiques of dominant educational policy in multiple areas. The critique was part of a project to promote a socialist understanding of mass education, and to promote the transformation of Australian society towards socialism. The authors argue that the debates and struggles within RED in this period, seeking to define and advance a socialist educational project, reflected a broad and consistent critique of progressive educational reforms, rooted in its radical political foundations.

Originality/value
– This paper provides an historical review of a 30-year radical education publishing initiative in Australia, about which no accounts have been published. It connects directly with contemporary educational issues, and offers insights for interviews with those directly involved in the historical project.
Service excellence in UK retail banking: customers’ perspectives of the important antecedents
Authors: Sekhon Harjit Singh , Al-Eisawi Dima , Roy Sanjit Kumar , Pritchard Adrian 
Published: September 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to develop and tests a service excellence model, thus providing a detailed understanding of the key antecedents of service excellence, from a customer
'
s perspective. The model presented in this paper is rooted in cross-disciplinary literature and tested amongst customers of UK retail banking services.

Design/methodology/approach
– Following a systematic approach to scale development, the paper draws on survey data from 260 consumers of retail banking products, with the data collected on national basis in the UK.

Findings
– The theoretical framework was evaluated using a structural approach. Of the hypothesised antecedents, innovation has the greatest impact on service excellence while reputation the least, as far as customers are concerned.

Research limitations/implications
– The research was limited to one research domain, i.e. UK retail banking, and thus it is reasonable to hypothesise that other aspects of service excellence will be more or less relevant for other types of financial services or in other geographic regions.

Practical implications
– Given the challenges faced by the retail banking sector, there are implications for practitioners because the authors identified the key antecedents of service excellence. The antecedents can be used by practitioners to help demonstrate excellence on their part and they could differentiate what are homogenous services at a time when the retail banks are going through a period of recovery following the crisis within the sector.

Originality/value
– This work complements the understanding of service excellence and provides insight for scholars and practitioners by modelling services for a specific service sector.
Drivers of long-term savings behavior from the consumers’ perspective
Authors: Ruefenacht Matthias , Schlager Tobias , Maas Peter , Puustinen Pekka 
Published: September 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to delineate the impact of social context and savings attitudes on consumers’ self-reported long-term savings and discuss how these drivers can be influenced to increase an individual’s savings rate.Design/methodology/approach– An online survey was conducted among 993 German savers. A structural equation model quantified the influence of the social context and an individual’s attitudes on long-term savings behavior, as stated by consumers.Findings– Both social context constructs – subjective norms and relationship quality – exert a significant influence on the savings attitudes of perceived anxiety and perceived importance, which in turn significantly affect long-term savings. Furthermore, the results of a mediation analysis indicated that the social context only has an indirect effect on long-term savings.Research limitations/implications– The study was conducted in Germany only. Therefore, the results may not apply across cultures. In addition, the salient belief structures, access channels used, and savings product categories were not part of this study.Practical implications– The results showed that financial institutions can influence an individual’s attitudes toward long-term savings by providing a satisfying and trusted relationship. The positive effect on savings attitudes will translate to an increased long-term savings rate. According to the analysis, financial service providers can only have an indirect effect on long-term savings behavior.Originality/value– This paper delineates the impact of the social environment on long-term savings. This relationship has not been investigated in previous research. In addition, the influence of the social context within the attitudes-behavior framework for long-term savings is expounded.
The mediating effects of psychological contracts on the relationship between human resource management systems and organisational performance
Authors: Katou Anastasia A. 
Published: September 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of human resource management (HRM) systems (expressed by content, process and climate) on organizational performance through the mediating role of psychological contracts (expressed by employer and employee promises fulfilment).Design/methodology/approach– The study examines theoretical relationships in the Greek context, based on structural equation modelling (SEM) estimation, using a sample of employees from both private and public sector organizations.Findings– The study finds that the impact of HRM content on organizational performance is less strong compared to its impact through HRM process. Additionally, the study finds that psychological contract partially and positively mediates the HRM – performance relationship, where the impact of HRM on organizational performance through employee promises fulfilment is stronger than that through employer promises fulfilment.Research limitations/implications– The study does not allow for appropriately investigating dynamic causal inferences due to the cross-sectional nature of data. Additionally, considering that Greece is experiencing a severe economic and financial crisis, the findings from this unique context may not generalize across borders.Practical implications– For improving organizational performance, managers and decision makers should make their HRM systems more visible, understandable, legitimate and relevant. At the same time they should make HRM systems more instrumental, valid and consistent of HR messages.Originality/value– Investigations into the relationship between HRM systems and organizational performance have become increasingly common. Nevertheless, empirical studies that measure the influence of HRM systems, which integrate both content and process, on organizational performance are still rare. This paper partially fills this gap.
Reframing implementation as an organisational behaviour problem
Authors: Clay-Williams Robyn , Braithwaite Jeffrey 
Published: September 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to report on a process evaluation of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) intervention study that tested the effectiveness of classroom- and simulation-based crew resource management courses, alone and in combination, and identifies organisational barriers and facilitators to implementation of team training programmes in healthcare.

Design/methodology/approach
– The RCT design consisted of a before and after study with a team training intervention. Quantitative data were gathered on utility and affective reactions to training, and on teamwork knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours of the learners. A sample of participants was interviewed at the conclusion of the study. Interview responses were analysed, alongside qualitative elements of the classroom course critique, to search for evidence, context, and facilitation clues to the implementation process.

Findings
– The RCT method provided scientifically robust data that supported the benefits of classroom training. Qualitative data identified a number of facilitators to implementation of team training, and shed light on some of the ways that learning was diffused throughout the organisation. Barriers to successful implementation were also identified, including hospital time and resource constraints and poor organisational communication.

Originality/value
– Quantitative randomised methods have intermittently been used to evaluate team training interventions in healthcare. Despite two decades of team training trials, however, the authors do not know as well as the authors would like what goes on inside the “black box” of such RCTs. While results are usually centred on outcomes, this study also provides insight into the context and mechanisms associated with those outcomes and identifies barriers and facilitators to successful intervention implementation.
Permanent tensions in organization
Authors: Jansson Noora 
Published: September 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between permanent tensions and organizational change.

Design/methodology/approach
– This study used paradox theory and a case study. The case organization is a public university hospital in Finland involving several stakeholders.

Findings
– The analysis suggests that the relationship between permanent tensions and organizational change is a paradox that is part of organizational reality. As an organization learns to live with its permanent tensions, the renewal paradox settles into equilibrium. When tensions are provoked, the paradox is disturbed until it finds a new balance. This flexible nature of the paradox is the force that keeps the different stakeholders simultaneously empowered to maintain their unique missions and cohesive in order to benefit from the larger synergy.

Practical implications
– This research suggests that identification and evaluation of each permanent tension within an organization is important when executing organizational change. The fact that certain tensions are permanent and cannot be solved may have an influence on how planned change initiatives are executed. The results show that permanent tensions may be harnessed for the benefit of an organizational change.

Originality/value
– This research demonstrates originality by offering an alternative view of tensions, a view which emphasizes not only their permanent and plural nature but their importance for enabling the organization to change at its own, non-disruptive pace. The research also proposes a new concept, the “renewal paradox”, to enhance understanding of the relationship between permanent tensions and organizational change.
European hospital managers’ perceptions of patient-centred care
Authors: Taylor Angelina , Groene Oliver 
Published: September 2015

Purpose– The spotlight has recently been placed on managers’ responsibility for patient-centred care as a result of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust failings. In previous research, clinicians reported that managers do not have an adequate structured plan for implementing patient-centred care. The purpose of this paper is to assess the perceptions of European hospital management with respect to factors affecting the implementation of a patient-centred approach.Design/methodology/approach– In total, 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with hospital managers (n=10), expert country informants (n=2), patient organisations (n=2) and a user representative (n=1) from around Europe. Participants were purposively and snowball sampled. Interviews were analysed using framework analysis.Findings– Most participants felt that current levels of patient-centred care are inadequate, but accounted that there were a number of macro, meso and micro challenges they faced in implementing this approach. These included budget constraints, political and historical factors, the resistance of clinicians and other frontline staff. Organisational culture emerged as a central theme, shaped by these multi-level factors and influencing the way in which patient-centred care was borne out in the hospital. Participants proposed that the needs of patients might be better met through increasing advocacy by patient organisations and greater staff contact with patients.Originality/value– This study is the first of its kind to obtain management views from around Europe. It offers an insight into different models of how patient-centred care is realised by management. It indicates that managers see the value of a patient-centred approach but that they feel restricted by a number of factors at multiple levels.
The marketing manager as a jazz musician
Authors: Holbrook Morris 
Published: September 2015

Purpose
– Recently, organizational theorists and business thinkers have discovered the jazz metaphor and have employed this trope as an analogy to infer and describe best practices in the areas of organizational innovation and business strategy. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach
– The present paper extends and amplifies this insight in the area of marketing practice and compares the marketing manager to the jazz musician with special attention to the problem of introducing new offerings during the mature stage of the product life cycle – namely, the strategic issue that concerns most marketing managers most of the time.

Findings
– Ultimately, the author is struck by the rather profound ways in which – true to the jazz metaphor – the marketing manager during the mature phase of the product life cycle resembles an improvising musician.

Originality/value
– The present paper pursues this theme in connection with one particular aspect of marketing strategy – namely, the design and introduction of new offerings during the mature phase of the product life cycle.
Metabolic rate is canalized in the face of variable life history and nutritional environment
Authors: Clark Rebecca M. , Zera Anthony J. , Behmer Spencer T. 
Published: September 2015

Summary

Despite its central importance in organismal physiology, we have poor understanding of how metabolic rate is influenced by two key factors – food nutritional content and an organism's physiological characteristics.

We examined how variation in nutrients and physiological aspects of life history affect standard metabolic rate in Gryllus firmus cricket morphs that differ dramatically in flight capability and early‐age fecundity.

Newly moulted female morphs were fed one of 13 diets that differed in concentrations of protein and carbohydrate. Carbon dioxide production, respiratory exchange ratios (RERs), nutrient intake and mass and lipid levels were measured.

CO2 production and RERs increased to a similar degree in both morphs as food macronutrient content increased. In contrast, no difference in whole‐organism O2 consumption was observed across the protein–carbohydrate landscape or between morphs. Both morphs similarly increased food intake as nutrient concentration – particularly protein – decreased, but differed in mass and lipid gains, across the diets.

Modulation of the substrate used for respiration coupled with compensating aspects of morph‐specific metabolism appears to buffer the effects of variable nutrient intake and life history on standard metabolic rate. That is, respiration rate can be highly canalized in the face of dramatic variation in both the external nutritional environment and internal aspects of intermediary metabolism.
Visual ecology of true lemurs suggests a cathemeral origin for the primate cone opsin polymorphism
Authors: Valenta Kim , Edwards Melissa , Rafaliarison Radoniaina R. , Johnson Steig E. , Holmes Sheila M. , Brown Kevin A. , Dominy Nathaniel J. , Lehman Shawn M. , Parra Esteban J. , Melin Amanda D. 
Published: September 2015

Summary

In contrast to the majority of primates, which exhibit dedicated diurnality or nocturnality, all species of Eulemur are cathemeral. Colour vision, in particular, is strongly affected by the spectral composition and intensity of ambient light, and the impact of activity period on the evolution of primate colour vision is actively debated.

We studied three groups of wild brown lemurs (Eulemur fulvus) in Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar, over a 1‐year span. We also used non‐invasive faecal DNA collection and analysis to study the opsin genes underlying the colour vision of 24 individuals. We quantified the colour and brightness of dietary fruits and modelled the chromaticity and discriminability of food objects to different visual phenotypes under daylight, twilight and moonlight conditions.

We found that E. fulvus possesses routine dichromacy, unlike its congener E. flavifrons, for which polymorphic trichromacy has been reported. Our models suggest that dichromacy is well suited to the foraging ecology of E. fulvus. The performance of modelled dichromats and trichromats is comparable under nocturnal illuminants, and the luminance values of most diet items are detectable across light conditions. The trichromatic phenotype demonstrates a modest advantage under daylight conditions.

Our results, taken together with reports of polymorphic trichromacy in E. flavifrons, suggest functional ecological variation in the visual system of the genus Eulemur. Interspecific phenotypic variation in the colour vision of a genus is both unexpected and instructive.

Ecological differences between species of Eulemur could reveal thresholds for the origins of polymorphic trichromacy, which preceded the evolution of routine trichromatic vision in humans and other primates.