bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The adoption of ISO 14001 environmental management systems in Macao SAR, China
Authors: To W.M. , N.F. Tang Margaret 
Published: February 2014

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the adoption of ISO 14001 environmental management systems in Macao SAR, China.

Design/methodology/approach
– Using the data from the latest ISO Survey of Certifications, the study identified the growth pattern of ISO 14001 certifications in Macao SAR by nonlinear regression. The study also examined the motivations for Macao's organizations to adopt ISO 14001 and the perceived benefits of implementing ISO 14001 using a quantitative survey instrument, and follow-up interviews with environmental management representatives.

Findings
– The trend analysis revealed that the adoption of ISO 14001 follows a logistic function. The survey results showed that the top motivating factors included promoting environmental awareness among employees, better managing environmental regulatory compliance, and improving efficiency while the greatest perceived benefit of implementing ISO 14001 was in enhancing employees’ awareness on pertinent environmental regulations, followed by enhancing employees’ environmental awareness, enhancing organizational image, and assisting management to deal with environmental issues.

Research limitations/implications
– Macao is a special administration region and is the only China's city with legalized casino gaming. Hence, the findings of the study cannot be generalized to other parts of China.

Practical implications
– Understanding what motivate organizations to adopt ISO 14001 and how organizations perceive the benefits of implementing ISO 14001 are crucial to the promotion of environmental management and sustainable development. The findings of the study revealed the key motivating factors and perceived benefits.

Originality/value
– The study contributes to the environmental management literature by exploring the growth pattern of ISO 14001 in Macao SAR, and the motivations for, perceived benefits, and difficulties of implementing ISO 14001 in organizational settings.
Challenges for integrated water resources governance in Brasilia metropolitan area
Authors: Fernando Macedo Bessa Luiz , Facchina Marcelo 
Published: February 2014

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to discuss the reasons behind the difficulties in implementing proper participatory environmental and water governance systems in the metropolitan region of Brasilia, Brazil.Design/methodology/approach– This work is a result of a the qualitative analysis of documents and reports of local participatory arenas in Brasilia, and is complemented by a set of 13 interviews held between November 2009 and March 2010 with a variety of actors involved in the promotion of sustainability in the region.Findings– The findings reveal that impediments to the good performance of environmental governance in the Federal District are a consequence to two main factors: institutional framework poorly transferred from the national level and incompatibility between the set of regulations and local electoral power dynamics.Research limitations/implications– As a consequence of the deliberate choice of one specific case, the conclusions of this paper may erroneously overemphasize the perils of participatory local governance rather than its potentials.Practical implications– By identifying a series of mechanisms that threaten positive partnerships between governments and civil society at the local level, this work serves as an important tool for public managers and civil society to engage in more fruitful partnerships.Originality/value– The paper provides a power-based analysis of a case of ineffectiveness of participatory mechanisms. In doing so, it also demonstrates that policy planning must be analysed from a variety of perspectives, and often involve coalitions that cut across the traditional state-society divide. The identification of the mechanisms behind the creation of these obstacles constitutes the originality and value of this paper.
Stakeholders’ involvements in the implementation of proactive environmental practices
Authors: Zuraidah Raja Mohd Rasi Raja , Abdekhodaee Amir , Nagarajah Romesh 
Published: February 2014

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate key causal linkages of proactive environmental practices of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Specifically, this paper studies the ways that the interactions between different stakeholders such as suppliers and customers could intensify the widespread diffusion and implementation of green technologies. Understanding these linkages provide an opportunity to develop a framework that integrates stakeholders’ involvement, environmental practices and environmental/operational performances.Design/methodology/approach– This paper adopts the quantitative methodology. It uses the survey data collected from 232 Malaysian SMEs. The structural equation modelling (SEM) via AMOS 19 was employed to test the hypotheses.Findings– The empirical results suggest that decisions on environmental practices are influenced significantly by interactions between stakeholders but notably in different ways. While customers and employees involvements are targeted at process based changes, senior managers are interested in internal management improvements. Suppliers’ interactions, on the other hand, influence SMEs to improve on operations for product and process based changes at the same time. Interestingly, we did not observe any significant achievement on government partnership programmes aimed at improving SMEs’ environmental practices.Originality/value– The finding in this paper adds to the literature on corporate environmental practices (CEPs), by applying two stages SEM analysis to a survey data for a single industry (electronic and electric industry). The gap of the mainstream CEP literature is bridged by focusing on different types of CEP, namely, internal management systems, process-based changes and product-based changes.
Challenges of waste of electric and electronic equipment (WEEE)
Authors: Shah Khan Safdar , Aziz Lodhi Suleman , Akhtar Faiza , Khokar Irshad 
Published: February 2014

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to analyze the recent global situation on waste of electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) management and recommend policy directions for designing environmental strategies.

Design/methodology/approach
– Qualitative research approach is adopted to review studies on WEEE management in developed and developing countries. The focus is to critically consider the available options for its safe management.

Findings
– Approximately 40-50 million tons of WEEE is generated worldwide annually and most of it is dumped in the developing countries. WEEE is not a challenge to be faced by a single country as it has trans-boundary effects and ultimately the contamination reaches back to the developed countries with a lapse of time.

Research limitations/implications
– Data availability on WEEE generation and disposal is in initial stages.

Practical implications
– Developing countries in Asia and Africa do not have resources to handle WEEE. The unregulated and unsafe WEEE management practices in these countries let hazardous materials to disseminate into the marine life and global ecosystem.

Originality/value
– The paper recommends policy directions to deal with the emerging issue that may have globally far reaching consequences.
Does uncertainty boost overconfidence? The case of financial analysts' forecasts
Authors: Bessière Véronique , Elkemali Taoufik 
Published: February 2014

Purpose
– This article aims to examine the link between uncertainty and analysts' reaction to earnings announcements for a sample of European firms during the period 1997-2007. In the same way as Daniel et al., the authors posit that overconfidence leads to an overreaction to private information followed by an underreaction when the information becomes public.

Design/methodology/approach
– In this study, the authors test analysts' overconfidence through the overreaction preceding a public announcement followed by an underreaction after the announcement. If overconfidence occurs, over- and underreactions should be, respectively, observed before and after the public announcement. If uncertainty boosts overconfidence, the authors predict that these two combined misreactions should be stronger when uncertainty is higher. Uncertainty is defined according to technology intensity, and separate two types of firms: high-tech or low-tech. The authors use a sample of European firms during the period 1997-2007.

Findings
– The results support the overconfidence hypothesis. The authors jointly observe the two phenomena of under- and overreaction. Overreaction occurs when the information has not yet been made public and disappears just after public release. The results also show that both effects are more important for the high-tech subsample. For robustness, the authors sort the sample using analyst forecast dispersion as a proxy for uncertainty and obtain similar results. The authors also document that the high-tech stocks crash in 2000-2001 moderated the overconfidence of analysts, which then strongly declined during the post-crash period.

Originality/value
– This study offers interesting insights in two ways. First, in the area of financial markets, it provides a test of a major over- and underreaction model and implements it to analysts' reactions through their revisions (versus investors' reactions through stock returns). Second, in a broader way, it deals with the link between uncertainty and biases. The results are consistent with the experimental evidence and extend it to a cross-sectional analysis that reinforces it as pointed out by Kumar.
The capital structure choices of family firms
Authors: Gottardo Pietro , Maria Moisello Anna 
Published: February 2014

Purpose– This paper aims to examine the determinants of capital structure of unlisted firms and how family governance-related factors impact on them.Design/methodology/approach– The authors analyze the relation between a set of capital structure determinants and leverage in a unique dataset of 3,006 family and non-family Italian medium-large firms (26,210 obs.), and a control sample of 2,730 small firms (14,780 obs.), using cross-section and panel procedures during 2001-2010.Findings– Capital structure choices of medium-large family firms are linked to balance-sheet variables not used in previous studies, i.e. net working capital and capital turnover, and are significantly affected by the need to maintain control and influence, a relevant dimension of family socioemotional wealth. Family firms are more levered than non-family firms, but the difference is economically and statistically significant only for medium-large companies. The presence of the family in active management increases leverage, as the family endowment in the firm is higher.Research limitations/implications– This research could be developed through an international comparison to check the influence of country-related regulatory issues and of national cultural aspects on family control and influence.Practical implications– The results can give public authorities important insights in order to facilitate firms funding specially in the current critical economic scenario and provide managers useful suggestions to support financial decisions.Originality/value– To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to explore the financial choices of a large dataset of medium-large private firms in a bank-based economy.
Financial intermediation spread and stability of the banking system in the Southern Africa Customs Union
Authors: I. Motelle Sephooko , Biekpe Nicholas 
Published: February 2014

Purpose– Asymmetric information impedes the efficiency of financial intermediation by widening the gap between lending and deposit rates. The cost of information gathering is high and often translates into high borrowing costs. Consequently, high borrowing costs may make it hard for borrowers to repay loans and increase the volume of non-performing loans – a recipe for financial instability. This study first compares the application of the simple GARCH (1,1) and BGARCH (1,1,1) models in the estimation of macroeconomic volatility and finds that the latter is more suitable for this purpose. Moreover, the choice of BGARCH (1,1,1) over the simple GARCH (1,1) implies different outcomes for Granger causality tests. This finding implies that the BGARCH (1,1,1) model minimises loss of important information when estimating macroeconomic volatility in developing countries. Second, the study uses bootstrap panel Granger causality to test the hypothesis that there is a causal relationship between financial instability and the financial intermediation spread in Southern African Customs Union (SACU). The findings support this hypothesis and underscore the importance of implementing sound macroeconomic policies for high and stable growth as well as effective monetary policy to attain and maintain low and stable prices in order to narrow the financial intermediation spread in SACU. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach– This study uses bootstrap panel Granger causality to test the hypothesis that there is a causal relationship between financial instability and the financial intermediation spread in SACU.Findings– The findings support this hypothesis and underscore the importance of implementing sound macroeconomic policies for high and stable growth as well as effective monetary policy to attain and maintain low and stable prices in order to narrow the financial intermediation spread in SACU.Originality/value– Application of panel bootstrap Granger causality test to test for a casual relationship between financial intermediation spread and financial stability in the context of SACU.
A qualitative evaluation of an NHS Weight Management Programme for obese patients in Liverpool
Authors: Webb Richard , Davies Ian , Johnson Brian , Abayomi Julie 
Published: February 2014

Purpose– The increasing prevalence of obesity in the UK has been of concern for some time. This is particularly true in Liverpool and in response the Liverpool Weight Management Programme (LWMP) was devised. It offers a service involving dietitians and other expert agencies working towards facilitating dietary and lifestyle changes in obese NHS patients in Liverpool via a 12-week education programme. This qualitative study aims to investigate patients' experiences of the LWMP.Design/methodology/approach– Informed volunteers participated in focus groups exploring their experiences following the programme. Focus groups were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim, then analysed following a thematic approach utilising constant comparison analysis to allow a qualitative view of the LWMP to be formed.Findings– Participants described an increase in immediate self-confidence during the LWMP, as opposed to coercion and pressure experienced elsewhere. The results also show the implementation of dietary changes by participants and favourable opinions towards both the group settings and patient-centred care. Participants also positively described the LWMP regarding the programmes social approach and aspects of programme content; however, there were issues with over-dependence on healthcare professionals. Healthcare professionals also need to recognise that long-term empowerment may still be lacking and that follow-up support and the effectiveness of some areas of programme content need to be considered to ensure patients benefit from sustainable weight management.Originality/value– This paper addresses an identified need for qualitative research in the area of health service weight management programmes and highlights the importance of long-term support in empowering patients by exploring their lived experience of the LWMP.
An effective data processing flow for the acoustic reflection image logging
Authors: Li Junxiao , Tao Guo , Zhang Kuo , Wang Bing , Wang Hua 
Published: February 2014

ABSTRACTRecent studies have revealed the great potential of acoustic reflection logging in detecting near borehole fractures and vugs. The new design of acoustic reflection imaging tool with a closest spacing of 10.6m and a certain degree of phase steering makes it easier to extract the reflection signals from the borehole mode waves. For field applications of the tool, we had developed the corresponding processing software: Acoustic Reflection Imaging. In this paper, we have further developed an effective data processing flow by employing multi‐scale slowness‐time‐coherence for reflection wave extraction and incorporating reverse time migration for imaging complicated subtle structures with the strong effects of borehole environment. Applications of the processing flow to synthetic data of acoustic reflection logging in a fractured formation model and interface model with fluid filled borehole generated by 2D finite difference method, and to the physical modelling data from a laboratory water tank, as well as to the field data from two wells in a western Chinese oil field, demonstrate the validity and capability of our multi‐scale slowness‐time‐coherence and reverse time migration algorithms.
Biological Flora of the British Isles: Eryngium maritimum
Authors: Isermann Maike , Rooney Paul 
Published: February 2014

Summary

This account presents information on all aspects of the biology of Eryngium maritimum L. (Sea Holly) that are relevant to understanding its ecological characteristics and behaviour. The main topics are presented within the standard framework of the Biological Flora of the British Isles: distribution, habitat, communities, responses to biotic factors, responses to environment, structure and physiology, phenology, floral and seed characters, herbivores and disease, history and conservation.

Eryngium maritimum is a native perennial hemicryptophyte, with a large taproot, spiny and leathery leaves and a pale bluish inflorescence. It has a more or less continuous distribution in suitable habitats along the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland up to about 55° N, but it is more scattered further north. On the west coast, it is found south of the Hebrides, and on the east coast, with some exceptions, south of Yorkshire. In Europe, it has a wide, but mainly southern temperate, European distribution along the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, the Baltic, the Mediterranean, and the Black and Azov Seas. Its northern distribution limit is at c. 60° N.

Eryngium maritimum grows typically on sand and shingle beaches, foredunes and yellow dunes, as well as in semi‐fixed grey dunes. Its habitats have full sunlight and are more or less dry. It occurs in many coastal plant communities from the beach inland, and because of its wide European distribution, it occurs with members of several different biogeographical species groups.

Protected from grazing by its spininess and sclerophylly, E. maritimum is nevertheless vulnerable to direct damage by trampling. It supports few insect herbivores, probably because of chemical defences. Historically, it has had a great number of medicinal uses.

Eryngium maritimum is unable to withstand competition from faster and more densely growing plant species. In many coastal regions, in both temperate and mediterranean parts of Europe, it is one of the rarest and most threatened plant species, mainly because of habitat loss and land‐use changes.
Distribution of a consortium between unicellular algae and the N2 fixing cyanobacterium UCYN‐A in the North Atlantic Ocean
Authors: Krupke Andreas , Lavik Gaute , Halm Hannah , Fuchs Bernhard M. , Amann Rudolf I. , Kuypers Marcel M. M. 
Published: February 2014

SummaryThe globally abundant, uncultured unicellular cyanobacterium UCYN‐A was recently discovered living in association with a eukaryotic cell closely related to a prymnesiophyte. Here, we established a double CAtalysed Reporter Deposition‐Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (CARD‐FISH) approach to identify both partners and provided quantitative information on their distribution and abundance across distinct water masses along a transect in the North Atlantic Ocean. The N2 fixation activity coincided with the detection of UCYN‐A cells and was only observed in oligotrophic (< 0.067  μM and < 0.04  μM) and warm (> 18°C) surface waters. Parallel 16S ribosomal RNA gene analyses among unicellular diazotrophs indicated that only UCYN‐A cells were present. UCYN‐A cells were associated with an algal partner or non‐associated using the double CARD‐FISH approach. We demonstrated that UCYN‐A cells living in association with Haptophyta were the dominant form (87.0 ± 6.1%), whereas non‐associated UCYN‐A cells represented only a minor fraction (5.2 ± 3.9%). Interestingly, UCYN‐A cells were also detected living in association with unknown single‐celled eukaryotes in small amounts (7.8 ± 5.2%), presumably Alveolata. The proposed ecological niche of UCYN‐A as an oligotrophic, mesophilic and obligate symbiotic nitrogen‐fixing microorganism is evident for the North Atlantic Ocean.
The transcriptional response of prokaryotes to phytoplankton‐derived dissolved organic matter in seawater
Authors: Beier Sara , Rivers Adam R. , Moran Mary Ann , Obernosterer Ingrid 
Published: February 2014

SummaryTo better understand the functional responses in prokaryotes to dissolved organic matter (DOM), we compared the transcriptional pattern of natural prokaryotic communities grown in continuous cultures on seawater amended with phytoplankton‐derived DOM. Metatranscriptomic reads were classified taxonomically (by genomic binning) and functionally (using Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes), and the relative gene expression of individual taxa (genome bins) was compared with the total community response. In the first experiment comparing seawater and seawater amended with diatom‐derived DOM, metatranscriptomes revealed pronounced differences in pathways involved in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. In the second experiment comparing seawater amended with cyanobacteria‐ and diatom‐derived DOM, metatranscriptomes had similar functional profiles, likely reflecting more similar DOM regimes in this experimental setup. Among the five most abundant taxa investigated in more detail, two featured pronounced differences in transcript abundance between treatments suggesting that they were specialized in the use of only one of the two DOM regimes. However, these two taxa were less involved in carbohydrate metabolism than others and had few genes that were significantly regulated in response to the DOM source. Our results indicate that both substrate composition and the competitive interplay of community members were decisive for the functional response of a microbial system.
A review of the protection of sources of drinking water in China
Authors: Wang Henian , Yu Xinxiao 
Published: February 2014

AbstractWater is a natural resource key to human and environmental health. China has suffered serious contamination of its water sources in the past decade, which has had severe consequences on the water supplies of millions of residents. Frequent polluting accidents and the amount of wastewater discharged have caused concern for the safety of drinking water. Fortunately, those at various levels of government have realized the importance of protecting the sources of drinking water and confirmed a list of 175 nationally important sources. Measures have also been adopted to control water pollution, including infrastructural, physical, chemical, ecological, administrative, and legal measures. While helpful, some areas in need of more attention are rural water, groundwater, agricultural pollution, and domestic sewage. Based on the lessons learned from experiences in developed countries, we offer some suggestions for improving, inter alia, funding, legal construction, management, and awareness‐raising, as well as present proposals for the future protection of our sources of drinking water. Future work should focus on water quality standards, quantitative research, high technology and legislation.