bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Successful turnarounds: the role of appropriate entrepreneurial strategies
Authors: Panicker Sunitha , Manimala Mathew J. 
Published: February 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to report on a research study aimed at comparing the causes of organisational decline and turnaround strategies involved in cases of successful and unsuccessful turnarounds, with a view to identifying the differences, if any, between the two groups, which in turn is expected to provide useful information to academics, practitioners and policy makers.Design/methodology/approach– Since turnaround is a business phenomenon of general interest, their stories are often published in business periodicals, which are a rich source of data on them. In order to tap this data source, the present paper employed a method of content analysis for the proposed investigation on the cause of organisational decline and turnaround strategies used. In order to quantify the data, a three-point scale was developed, where the presence of a cause/strategy is rated as “3”, its ambivalence as “2” and its absence as “1”, whose validity was assessed through the inter-rater agreement indices. The data thus generated are amenable to statistical analyses, using which the more commonly prevalent causes of organisational decline and the strategies commonly employed for turnaround by the successful and unsuccessful companies are identified.Findings– The findings of the present study have generated a few useful insights. First, the primary causes for organisational decline are the internal weaknesses of the organisation; in fact the external changes can adversely affect the organisation only if it is internally weak. Second, organisational decline caused by multiple factors (which is usually the case) can be managed effectively by adopting a variety of strategies; hence a single-pronged strategy is often found to be ineffective. Third, the more successful turnarounds had a diverse portfolio of strategies including those of institution-building, often employed in a phased manner, consistent with the stage theories of turnaround.Research limitations/implications– The limitations of this research arise mainly from the generation of data from published sources and the consequent biases, which can be managed, to a large extent, by using multiple sources for the same case for reducing the publishers’ biases as well as by having multiple raters for identifying the researcher’s biases, if any.Originality/value– The study has highlighted the need for addressing the internal causes of organisational decline on a priority-basis rather than blaming the external factors, besides pointing to the need for adopting a variety of strategies for dealing with the diversity of causes affecting the organisation’s health, particularly the need for institutionalising the changes. These findings can be of help especially to turnaround managers and policy-makers in dealing with organisational decline and thus contribute to the creation and enhancement of economic value.
Developing a scale for measuring high performance partnerships
Authors: de Waal André , Goedegebuure Robert , Hinfelaar Eveline 
Published: February 2015

Purpose– The importance of partnerships to organizational success has increased considerably the past decennia and many organizations strive at creating high-performance partnerships (HPPs). For this to happen, organizations in the partnerships have to be of high quality and their collaborations should be world-class. Whereas the factors that create high-performance organizations (HPO) are by now reasonably well established, the HPP factors are still unclear. The purpose of this paper is to develop a scale for measuring the factors of importance for creating and maintaining HPPs, and relates these factors to the factors of the HPO framework and to the success of the partnership.Design/methodology/approach– During a literature study ten potential factors of importance for creating and maintaining HPPs were identified. These potential factors were put in a questionnaire, together with the factors that create the HPO and the factor that measures the success of the partnership. This questionnaire was administered to a cable company, which was working on becoming an HPO, and four of its main suppliers. The data were subjected to a factor analysis which yielded a HPP framework consisting of three factors and 19 underlying characteristics. In addition, these HPP factors were put in a regression analysis with the factors of the HPO framework and the success of the partnership factor.Findings– The research results show a strong relationship between three HPP factors, the five HPO factors, and the success of a partnership factor.Research limitations/implications– This research adds to the literature by extending the concept of HPOs to the value chain these HPOs operate in. Thus the research into the factors of successful partnerships has been brought forward. The practical benefit of the research is that organizations can use the HPP factors to increase the quality of the partnerships they have with their suppliers and customers.Originality/value– There is much literature on partnerships but not so much on partnerships between organizations which strive to become a HPOs, and in the process need to create partnership of high quality.
Effect of sorghum bicolour and clove oil on the quality characteristics and storage quality of aerobically packaged chevon cutlets
Authors: Singh Pramod Kumar , Kumar Sunil , Bhat Z. F. , Kumar Pavan 
Published: February 2015

Purpose
– This paper aims to focus on the effect of Sorghum bicolour on the quality characteristics of chevon cutlets and to evaluate the effect of clove oil on the storage quality of aerobically packaged chevon cutlets.

Design/methodology/approach
– Three levels of sorghum flour, namely, 2, 4 and 6 per cent, were incorporated in the formulation, and the products developed were assessed for various physicochemical, sensory, texture and colour parameters. Chevon cutlets containing optimum level of sorghum flour were treated with clove oil (100 ppm) and evaluated for storage quality for 15 days under refrigerated conditions (4 ± 1°C). The products were analysed for various physicochemical, microbiological and sensory parameters.

Findings
– Crude fibre, texture parameters, i.e. hardness, adhesiveness, springiness, cohesiveness, chewiness, gumminess and product redness value, showed significant (p < 0.05) increasing trend, whereas moisture per cent, fat content and overall acceptability decreased significantly (p < 0.05) with increasing levels of incorporation. Chevon cutlets containing 6 per cent sorghum flour were optimized as best. Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance value (mg malonaldehyde/kg), total plate count (cfu/g) and psychrophillic count (cfu/g) showed a significant increasing trend (p < 0.05), whereas all the sensory parameters decreased significantly (p < 0.05) with increasing days of storage. The products were successfully stored for 10 days under refrigerated conditions (4 ± 1°C) without marked loss in quality.

Originality/value
– The paper has demonstrated the potential of sorghum as a fibre source in the development of designer chevon cutlets and effect of clove oil on the storage quality of aerobically packaged chevon cutlets.
Expanding the theory of planned behavior to predict healthy eating behaviors
Authors: Brouwer Amanda M , Mosack Katie E. 
Published: February 2015

Purpose
– This paper aims to test whether overall and specific healthy eating behaviors and intentions could be better predicted by expanding the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to include a healthy eater identity. Major health organizations suggest increasing consumption of fruits, vegetables and whole grains to address the growing number of overweight and obese individuals, yet researchers have questioned the degree to which existing behavioral intervention programs sufficiently explain healthy eating behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach
– Adult women (N = 79) completed questionnaires related to TPB components and healthy eater identity. Participants then recorded food consumption for four days using food diaries and food frequency questionnaires.

Findings
– Using hierarchical multiple regressions, the authors demonstrated that identity as a healthy eater was a significant predictor of healthy eating intentions beyond the TPB components and a significant predictor of fruit and low-fat dairy consumption and overall healthy eating behaviors.

Research limitations/implications
– Despite the limitation of correlational data from a homogenous population, results support previous research and add to existing literature by demonstrating the unique contribution identity has in predicting specific healthy diet behaviors of fruit and low-fat dairy consumption.

Originality/value
– Findings advance our understanding of how young women think about nutrition and underscore which healthy eating behaviors might need to be directly targeted in interventions if such behaviors fall outside of the scope of common conceptions of what it means to be a “healthy eater”.
Child weight and parental feeding practices: a child-responsive model
Authors: Melbye Elisabeth Lind , Hansen Håvard 
Published: February 2015

Purpose– The majority of previous studies on parental feeding practices have focused on the effect of controlling feeding strategies on child eating and weight (i.e. parental influence on children). The present study turns the arrow in the opposite direction, and it aims to test a child-responsive model by exploring the process in which child weight status might influence parental feeding practices, addressing potential mediating effects of parental concern for child weight (i.e. child influence on parents).Design/methodology/approach– A cross-sectional survey was performed among parents of 10- to 12-year olds (n= 963). The survey questionnaire included measures of parental feeding practices and parents’ reports of child weight and height. Stepwise regressions were performed to reveal potential mediating effects of parental concern for child weight status on the associations between child BMI and a wide range of parental feeding practices.Findings– Our results suggest a mediating effect of parental concern for child overweight on the associations between child body mass index and controlling feeding practices such as restriction for weight and health purposes and responsibility for determining child portion sizes.Originality/value– This study provides an extension of previous research on parental feeding–child weight relationship. It includes a wider spectrum of feeding variables, and integrates parental concern for both child who is overweight and child who is underweight as potential mediators of the associations between child weight and parental feeding practices. Moreover, it has its focus on preadolescent children, while previous studies have focused on infants and young children.
Plant identity drives the expression of biocontrol factors in a rhizosphere bacterium across a plant diversity gradient
Authors: Latz Ellen , Eisenhauer Nico , Scheu Stefan , Jousset Alexandre 
Published: February 2015

Summary

Plant performance is influenced by root‐associated bacteria that provide important services to the host plant, such as pathogen suppression. Suppression of pathogens is known to be context‐dependent and to vary between plant species, yet the significance of plant identity in shaping rhizosphere bacterial functioning in multi‐species communities is largely unknown.

We questioned whether the activity of a rhizosphere bacterium in producing biocontrol compounds varies with plant identity in a plant diversity gradient. We set up a gnotobiotic microcosm experiment with the model rhizosphere bacterium Pseudomonas protegens CHA0, an important biocontrol agent, and investigated the effects of plant identity and diversity on its production of biocontrol compounds. Using GFP‐based reporter fusions, we assessed gene expression linked to the production of the biocontrol compounds 2,4‐diacetylphloroglucinol, pyrrolnitrin and hydrogen cyanide.

The expression of genes coding for biocontrol compounds was driven to a large extent by plant identity and this effect persisted along the plant species richness gradient for all tested genes. Notably, the effect of certain plant identities varied between the three tested genes, indicating a selective impact of plant species on bacterial gene expression. However, some plant species, such as Lolium perenne, consistently stimulated bacterial gene expression irrespective of the diversity of the plant community.

Our results indicate that the presence of certain plant species within a community disproportionately impacts biocontrol traits expressed by rhizosphere bacteria, providing new insight into the patterns driving plant health and productivity.
A global analysis of water and nitrogen relationships between mistletoes and their hosts: broad‐scale tests of old and enduring hypotheses
Authors: Scalon Marina C. , Wright Ian J. 
Published: February 2015

SummaryMistletoes use far more water per unit carbon fixed during photosynthesis than their hosts (i.e. they have lower ‘water use efficiency’,WUE). The widely cited ‘nitrogen‐parasitism hypothesis’ posits that N is the most limiting resource for mistletoes and that they use their faster transpiration rates to acquire sufficient N from the host xylem. In a rather different context, the ‘mimicry hypothesis’ arose in the literature suggesting that some mistletoes mimic the morphology of host leaves in order to deploy higher N leaves without suffering higher levels of herbivory. These two non‐exclusive hypotheses share the common goal of trying to explain patterns of mistletoe leaf N concentration.We set out to test the generality of both hypotheses at broad geographic scale using data for 168 mistletoes–host pairs, from 39 sites, encompassing all continents except Antarctica. We drew together data from published literature and our own field data on two key plant functional traits, leaf N concentration (Nmass) and leaf carbon isotopic composition (δ13C) (representing long‐termWUEand degree of stomatal control over photosynthesis).Key findings included (i) little or no support for the N‐parasitism hypothesis: differences in mistletoe and host Nmassexplained only 3% variation in differences in leaf δ13C, and mistletoe–host differences in leaf δ13C were unrelated to whether or not the hosts were N‐fixers (presumed to have higher N concentration in xylem sap); (ii) partial support for the mimicry hypothesis: mimic mistletoes generally had higher Nmasswhen associated with N‐fixing hosts (but, on non‐N‐fixing hosts there was no such pattern); and (iii) more broadly, mistletoes showed similar trait responses as their hosts to environmental drivers; for example, they showed similar‐magnitude shifts in Nmassand δ13C in relation to site aridity.Contrary to current belief, our findings suggest that nitrogen is not the limiting nutrient for mistletoes, at least not the main component driving the faster transpiration rates. Our results also give insight into the evolution of mimicry in mistletoes and show, for the first time, that mistletoes are also constrained by local water availability, exhibiting clear trait adaptations to environmental gradients. By reconsidering these issues at broad geographic scale and across a large number of species, our findings substantially modify current knowledge on the ecology and physiology of mistletoes and their hosts.
Interspecific variation in the structural properties of flight feathers in birds indicates adaptation to flight requirements and habitat
Authors: Pap Péter L. , Osváth Gergely , Sándor Krisztina , Vincze Orsolya , Bărbos Lőrinc , Marton Attila , Nudds Robert L. , Vágási Csongor I. 
Published: February 2015

Summary

The functional significance of intra‐ and interspecific structural variations in the flight feathers of birds is poorly understood. Here, a phylogenetic comparative analysis of four structural features (rachis width, barb and barbule density and porosity) of proximal and distal primary feathers of 137 European bird species was conducted.

Flight type (flapping and soaring, flapping and gliding, continuous flapping or passerine type), habitat (terrestrial, riparian or aquatic), wing characteristics (wing area, S and aspect ratio, AR) and moult strategy were all found to affect feather structure to some extent. Species characterized by low wing‐beat frequency flight (soaring and gliding) have broader feather rachises (shafts) and feather vanes with lower barb density than birds associated with more active flapping modes of flight. However, the effect of flying mode on rachis width disappeared after controlling for S and AR, suggesting that rachis width is primarily determined by wing morphology.

Rachis width and feather vane density are likely related to differences in force distribution across the wingspan during different flight modes. An increase in shaft diameter, barb density and porosity from the proximal to distal wing feathers was found and was highest in species with flapping flight indicating that aerodynamic forces are more biased towards the distal feathers in flapping flyers than in soarers and gliders.

Habitat affected barb and barbule density, which was greatest in aquatic species, and within this group, barb density was greater in divers than non‐divers, suggesting that the need for water repellency and resistance to water penetration may influence feather structure. However, we found little support for the importance of porosity in water repellency and water penetration, because porosity was similar in aquatic, riparian and terrestrial species and among the aquatic birds (divers and non‐divers). We also found that barb density was affected by moult pattern.

Our results have broad implications for the understanding of the selection pressures driving flight feather functional morphology. Specifically, the large sample size relative to any previous studies has emphasized that the morphology of flight feathers is the result of a suite of selection pressures. As well as routine flight needs, constraints during moulting, habitat (particularly aquatic) and migratory requirements also affect flight feather morphology. Identifying the exact nature of these trade‐offs will perhaps inform the reconstruction of the flying modes of extinct birds.
Habitat traits and species interactions differentially affect abundance and body size in pond‐breeding amphibians
Authors: Ousterhout Brittany H. , Anderson Thomas L. , Drake Dana L. , Peterman William E. , Semlitsch Raymond D. 
Published: February 2015

SummaryIn recent studies, habitat traits have emerged as stronger predictors of species occupancy, abundance, richness and diversity than competition. However, in many cases, it remains unclear whether habitat also mediates processes more subtle than competitive exclusion, such as growth, or whether intra‐ and interspecific interactions among individuals of different species may be better predictors of size.To test whether habitat traits are a stronger predictor of abundance and body size than intra‐ and interspecific interactions, we measured the density and body size of three species of larval salamanders in 192 ponds across a landscape.We found that the density of larvae was best predicted by models that included habitat features, while models incorporating interactions among individuals of different species best explained the body size of larvae. Additionally, we found a positive relationship between focal species density and congener density, while focal species body size was negatively related to congener density.We posit that salamander larvae may not experience competitive exclusion and thus reduced densities, but instead compensate for increased competition behaviourally (e.g. reduced foraging), resulting in decreased growth. The discrepancy between larval density and body size, a strong predictor of fitness in this system, also highlights a potential shortcoming in using density or abundance as a metric of habitat quality or population health.
To each its own: differential response of specialist and generalist herbivores to plant defence in willows
Authors: Volf Martin , Hrcek Jan , Julkunen‐Tiitto Riitta , Novotny Vojtech 
Published: February 2015

Summary

Plant–insect food webs tend to be dominated by interactions resulting from diffuse co‐evolution between plants and multiple lineages of herbivores rather than by reciprocal co‐evolution and co‐cladogenesis. Plants therefore require defence strategies effective against a broad range of herbivore species. In one extreme, plants could develop a single universal defence effective against all herbivorous insects, or tailor‐made strategies for each herbivore species. The evolution and ecology of plant defence has to be studied with entire insect assemblages, rather than small subsets of pairwise interactions.

The present study examines whether specialists and generalists in three coexisting insect lineages, forming the leaf‐chewing guild, respond uniformly to plant phylogeny, secondary metabolites, nutrient content and mechanical antiherbivore defences of their hosts, thus permitting universal plant defence strategies against specialized and generalist folivorous insects from various taxa.

The extensive data on folivorous assemblages comprising three insect orders and 193 species are linked with plant phylogeny, secondary chemistry (salicylates, flavonoids and tannins), leaf morphological traits [specific leaf area (SLA) and trichome coverage], nutrient (C : N) content and growth form of eight willow (Salix) and one aspen (Populus) species growing in sympatry.

Generalists responded to overall host plant chemistry and trichomes, whilst specialists responded to host plant phylogeny and secondary metabolites that are unique to willows and that are capable of being utilized as an antipredator protection. We did not find any significant impact of other plant traits, that is SLA, C : N ratio, flavonoids, tannins and growth form, on the composition of leaf‐chewing communities.

Our results show that the response to plant traits is differential among specialists and generalists. This finding constrains the ability of plants to develop defensive traits universally effective against herbivores and may lead to diversification of plant defensive mechanisms into several complementary syndromes, required for effective protection against generalists and specialists from multiple insect taxa comprising most leaf‐chewing assemblages. These results point to the necessity of broad studies of plant–herbivore interactions, across multiple insect taxa and guilds.
Impact of fortification with iron salts and vitamin A on the physicochemical properties of laboratory‐pasteurised toned milk and bioaccessibility of the added nutrients
Authors: Sachdeva Bhawana , Kaushik Ravinder , Arora Sumit , Indumathi Kangampalayam P 
Published: February 2015

The sensory and physicochemical attributes of pasteurised milk fortified with soluble ferric pyrophosphate (FPP) (25 mg/L iron) and vitamin A (2500 IU) were comparable to unfortified control samples. The heat coagulation time (HCT) of fortified milks was comparable to the control and exhibited a type A curve with HCT–pH maxima at the acidic side of the natural pH. The distribution pattern of iron in different milk fractions was similar in control and fortified milk samples. The bioaccessibility of iron, estimated through in vitro digestibility of milk fortified with vitamin A and iron, was found to be slightly higher than that of milk fortified with iron alone.