bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Long-term effects of population growth on aggregate investment dynamics
Authors: Asongu Simplice A. 
Published: September 2015

Purpose– The generation is witnessing the greatest demographic transition and Africa is at the heart of it. There is mounting concern over corresponding rising unemployment and depleting per capita income. The purpose of this paper is to examine the issues from a long-run perspective by assessing the relationships between population growth and a plethora of investment dynamics: public, private, foreign and domestic investments.Design/methodology/approach– Vector autoregressive models in the perspectives of vector error correction and short-run Granger causality are used.Findings– In the long-run population growth will: first, decrease foreign and public investments in Ivory Coast; second, increase public and private investments in Swaziland; three, deplete public investment but augment domestic investment in Zambia; fourth diminish private investment and improve domestic investment in the Congo Republic and Sudan, respectively.Practical implications– Mainstream positive linkage of population growth to investment growth in the long-term should be treated with extreme caution. Policy orientation should not be blanket, but contingent on country-specific trends and tailored differently across countries. The findings stress the need for the creation of a conducive investment climate (and ease of doing business) for private and foreign investments. Family planning and birth control policies could also be considered in countries with little future investment avenues.Originality/value– The objective of this study is to provide policy makers with some insights on how future investment opportunities could help manage rising population growth and corresponding unemployment.
The importance of social media on holiday visitors’ choices – the case of Athens, Greece
Authors: Kavoura Androniki , Stavrianeas Aikaterini 
Published: September 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine visitors’ perceptions and relevant importance of social media when choosing a Mediterranean destination and also to explore the extent in which they believe it is important for them to belong to an online community with shared characteristics among its members.Design/methodology/approach– A stratified, based on nationality and gender, sample of 301 respondents of foreign arrivals of visitors in the Athens airport, Greece was collected in June and July 2014 based on the official Athens Airport Authorities Arrival Research. This is a partially exploratory research.Findings– Differences between age groups as far as the importance attributed to social media as sources of information about a tourism destination were found. The respondents, when using the internet for gathering information about a tourism Mediterranean destination, consider different online channels. Facebook is among the most important sources of information for them associated with the tourism destinations. Official web sites/blogs of the destination are the first source and photo sharing sites are the second most preferred source; sharing aesthetics of photos was found to contribute to the feeling of belonging to an on line travel community.Research limitations/implications– Further research will contribute to the development of greater understanding of the strategic approaches to social media and their use to promote a destination. Greek diaspora would be interesting to examine and geographical differences among groups.Practical implications– The paper denotes the importance for destination management organizations and companies, to fully employ the social media in their marketing efforts.Originality/value– The present study increases our understanding of the adoption of online and traditional communications in the visitor’s process for Athens, Greece, shedding light to the literature existing on the significance attributed to the online travel community belonging from visitors through sharing aesthetics of photos and associations of ideas based on age differences.
Content analysis in social and environmental reporting research: trends and challenges
Authors: Vourvachis Petros , Woodward Thérèse 
Published: September 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to review the use of content analysis in social and environmental reporting (SER) research. It explores how the relevant literature has evolved over time and particularly how recent developments have affected the validity and reliability challenges that researchers face when executing the method.Design/methodology/approach– The paper combines a quasi-systematic review of the literature employing content analysis (examining a sample of 251 studies published over the last 40 years in a wide array of journals with interest in the field), with a largely interpretive meta-analysis, using an index, considering the research questions asked and frameworks used as well as the specific content analysis decisions.Findings– A number of issues of concern in the use of the method are identified, mainly over comparability and reliability of coding schemes. Potential explanations are developed and methodological refinements that could enhance the usefulness of content analysis methods in SER research are subsequently proposed.Research limitations/implications– It should be acknowledged that, as 251 SER studies have been reviewed, there is always the possibility that some unique studies that could have contributed in the discussion have been ignored.Practical implications– By reviewing the use of the method in a comprehensive sample of 251 SER studies published over the last 40 years in a wide array of journals with interest in the field, the paper also offers a guide for researchers (particularly in the SER field) wishing to employ content analysis in the future.Originality/value– The paper contributes to the literature by offering a critical and comprehensive review of the method’s theoretical underpinnings and application in SER research, and by describing changing patterns in content analysis, in order to help build a more secure foundation for future work.
The Information Seeking and Communication Model
Authors: Robson Andrew , Robinson Lyn 
Published: September 2015

Purpose– This study investigated the application in the field of healthcare of a recently developed model of information seeking and communication. The purpose of this paper is to test the model’s validity and to identify insights that it may provide.Design/methodology/approach– To investigate the model’s application to information users, the findings from published literature on physicians’ information behaviour were studied. To investigate its application to information providers, interviews were carried out with staff working for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and with employees of pharmaceutical companies. The findings were examined using deductive content analysis.Findings– The findings endorse the validity of the model, with minor modifications. The model provides practical insights into the behaviour of both users and providers of information and the factors that influence them. It can be used to identify ways in which information behaviour may be positively modified in both finding and communicating healthcare information.Originality/value– This research demonstrates the practical value of a new model of information behaviour which was developed using insights from earlier models. In doing so it answers criticisms that research in library and information science often fails to build on previous research and that it has little practical usefulness.
“No safe haven”: denying entry to the corrupt as a new anti-corruption policy
Authors: Moiseienko Anton 
Published: September 2015

Purpose– This paper aims to provide an overview of the “no safe haven” anti-corruption commitment recently announced by the G20. The essence of this approach lies in denying entry to individuals reasonably believed to be complicit in massive corruption.Design/methodology/approach– The paper is based on the analysis of international legal instruments and relevant domestic legislation (US statutes, in particular the Magnitsky Act 2012), as well as on scholarly discussions.Findings– Proceeding from the analysis of deficiencies in the current anti-money laundering regime, this paper makes an argument in favour of adoption of the “no safe haven” policy as a legal standard in anti-corruption cooperation, rather than a voluntary initiative.Practical implications– The adoption by states of the approach advocated in this paper will strengthen, or so it is submitted, the international anti-corruption regime. Importantly, it will help curb impunity of those who are shielded from investigation and prosecution in their home countries.Originality/value– This paper considers basic legal and policy arguments that support the “no safe haven” anti-corruption policy. Due to the novelty of this approach and the dearth of academic literature on this topic, this may be a valuable contribution to the current anti-corruption discussions.
Trade based money laundering: towards a working definition for the banking sector
Authors: Naheem Mohammed Ahmad 
Published: September 2015

Purpose
– This paper aims to explore in depth some of the main criminal elements involved in trade-based money laundering (TBML) and outlines the gaps in banking risk assessment as a result of this. The focus is on new and emerging risks due to criminal manipulation of the anti-money laundering (AML) risk assessment processes.

Design/methodology/approach
– The paper uses secondary data to provide the current context in which TBML risk assessment is being carried out and how criminals have responded to this; it concludes the empirical section by surmising the emerging risks that AML risk assessment need to consider. The paper then introduces the basic components that future theoretical frameworks looking at banking AML risk assessment would need to consider. This includes a more in-depth understanding of how criminals are bypassing AML risk assessment so that countermeasures can be put in place and AML frameworks strengthened and updated.

Findings
– The main findings are that sophisticated criminal processes exist that can be used to bypass and divert current banking risk assessment techniques. An overdependence on traditional customer due diligence and transaction monitoring can easily be thwarted, and banks need to develop a stronger AML assessment framework.

Research limitations/implications
– The research focused primarily on client documentation; however, another area of research would be needed to cover criminal manipulation of trade documents and other components of TBML transactions.

Practical implications
– The implications from the research affect any financial organization undertaking AML risk analysis or compliance. It applies to the banking, insurance and auditing professions, as well as is of interest to academics working on TBML projects.

Social implications
– The social implications are that non-criminal clients within banks could be faced with tougher requirements for documentation and ID proof, which could reduce efficiency and, if not handled properly, even alienate further some sectors of society who are already struggling to access the main banking and financial services sectors.

Originality/value
– The originality of this paper is the inclusion of criminal responses to TBML risk assessment and a review of flaws and gaps in AML risk assessment procedures. Dynamic risk assessment needs to be continuously updated and new emerging market risks appropriately addressed. This paper highlights some of the current and emerging AML risks for the banking and financial services sector.
Yearly reduction of glucocorticoid dose by 50% as tapering schedule achieves complete remission for 124 pemphigus vulgaris patients
Authors: Wang Mingyue , Gao Yu , Peng Yang , Zhao Junyu , Chen Xixue , Zhu Xuejun 
Published: September 2015

AbstractGlucocorticoids are the first‐line treatment for pemphigus vulgaris. Among 140 patients receiving systemic glucocorticoids, 124 patients achieved complete remission off or on a prednisone dose of ≤10 mg/day or less for 6 months or more. The mean average steroid controlling doses were 0.65, 0.62, 0.80, 1.08 and 1.38 mg/kg per day for the mucosal‐dominant patients and the mild, moderate, severe and extensive cutaneous‐involved patients, respectively (P < 0.001). The mean durations of the initial tapering after controlling doses started were 77.98, 48.78, 31.74 and 28.83 days when the disease was controlled with doses of 40 mg/day or less, 45–60 mg/day, 65–80 mg/day and more than 80 mg/day for the cutaneous‐involved types, respectively (P < 0.005). Of the patients, 79.51% achieved complete remission within 3 years, 98.36% within 5 years and all within 6 years, which corresponded to a 50% yearly reduction of glucocorticoid dose. These successfully treated patients indicate that a severity‐tailored initial dose of glucocorticoids, an initial tapering duration based on the initial dose and a subsequent 50% yearly tapering regimen may cure pemphigus vulgaris within 3–6 years.
Eccrine porocarcinoma shares dermoscopic characteristics with eccrine poroma: A report of three cases and review of the published work
Authors: Edamitsu Tomohiro , Minagawa Akane , Koga Hiroshi , Uhara Hisashi , Okuyama Ryuhei 
Published: September 2015

AbstractEccrine porocarcinoma (EPC) is a rare malignant skin tumor presumably arising from the intraepidermal ductal portion of the sweat gland. EPC occasionally mimics eccrine poroma (EP), seborrhea keratosis (SK), basal cell carcinoma (BCC), pyogenic granuloma (PG) and amelanotic melanoma with its clinical appearance as a pink nodule. Dermoscopy is an invaluable technique in diagnosing skin tumors. However, few cases of EPC have been reported using dermoscopic images, and their details were not well examined. Here, we present three histopathologically proven cases of EPC and summarize their dermoscopic findings together with five previously reported cases. None of the eight cases showed dermoscopic evidence indicative of SK (comedo‐like openings, milia‐like cysts, fissures and ridges, and hairpin vessels with white halo), BCC (blue‐gray ovoid nests, multiple blue‐gray globules, wheel‐like structures, shiny white areas, leaf‐like areas and arborizing vessels) or PG (reddish homogeneous area with collarette and white rail lines). A milky red area, which was suggestive of amelanotic melanoma, was not detectable in any cases. Seven cases exhibited a polymorphous vascular pattern mainly consisting of hairpin, linear‐irregular and dotted vessels. A combination of round‐to‐oval pink‐white structureless areas and white‐to‐pink halo was observed in five of eight cases, with one case showing the white‐to‐pink halo alone. Our investigation revealed that the dermoscopic characteristic of EP was also observed in discrete areas of EPC lesions. Thus, it is possible that the histopathological architecture of EPC contains portions of benign EP‐like components. Awareness of this dermoscopic aspect of EPC may be helpful when diagnosing pink nodules.
Functional correlations between specific leaf area and specific root length along a regional environmental gradient in Inner Mongolia grasslands
Authors: Cheng Junhui , Chu Pengfei , Chen Dima , Bai Yongfei 
Published: September 2015

Summary

Among above‐ and below‐ground traits, specific leaf area (SLA, cm2 g−1) and specific root length (SRL, m g−1) are the two key traits reflecting species resource acquisition strategies. However, patterns of variation in SLA and SRL have rarely been examined simultaneously across evolutionary history and environmental gradients, and the SLA–SRL relationship is still controversial on several grounds.

We examined the inter‐ and intraspecific variations in SLA and SRL of different root branching orders and the SLA–SRL relationship across 55 species and 21 plant communities of four vegetation types along a 2000‐km transect in the Inner Mongolia grassland.

With increasing root branching order, the interspecific variation in SRL increased, but the intraspecific variation in SRL decreased considerably, and the form of SLA–SRL relationship shifted from positive to negative. This indicates that acquisition of soil resources (e.g. water and nutrients) is a fundamental strategy for plant investment to root length. When inter‐ and intraspecific variations in SLA and SRLs were partitioned into alpha (within‐community) and beta (among‐community) components, the alpha component exhibited substantially greater inter‐ and intraspecific variations than the beta component.

Across the transect, the evolutionarily late diverged species in phylogenetic tree evolved towards low SLA and SRL‐1 (SRL for first‐order roots) and tended to distribute in resource‐poor conditions along the environmental gradient. The early diverged species, in contrast, had high SLA and SRL‐1 and mostly distributed in resource‐rich conditions.

Our findings suggest that patterns of inter‐ and intraspecific variations in SLA and SRL of different root branching orders and the form of SLA–SRL relationship could be well explained by within‐ and among‐community filtering processes and species divergence time. Coordination and trade‐offs between leaves and roots do not mutually exclude but operate simultaneously at different scales and among different root branching orders in arid and semi‐arid grasslands.
Reefscapes of fear: predation risk and reef hetero‐geneity interact to shape herbivore foraging behaviour
Authors: Catano Laura B. , Rojas Maria C. , Malossi Ryan J. , Peters Joseph R. , Heithaus Michael R. , Fourqurean James W. , Burkepile Deron E. 
Published: September 2015

Summary

Predators can exert strong direct and indirect effects on ecological communities by intimidating their prey. The nature of predation risk effects is often context dependent, but in some ecosystems these contingencies are often overlooked.

Risk effects are often not uniform across landscapes or among species. Indeed, they can vary widely across gradients of habitat complexity and with different prey escape tactics. These context dependencies may be especially important for ecosystems such as coral reefs that vary widely in habitat complexity and have species‐rich predator and prey communities.

With field experiments using predator decoys of the black grouper (Mycteroperca bonaci), we investigated how reef complexity interacts with predation risk to affect the foraging behaviour and herbivory rates of large herbivorous fishes (e.g. parrotfishes and surgeonfishes) across four coral reefs in the Florida Keys (USA). In both high and low complexity areas of the reef, we measured how herbivory changed with increasing distance from the predator decoy to examine how herbivorous fishes reconcile the conflicting demands of avoiding predation vs. foraging within a reefscape context.

We show that with increasing risk, herbivorous fishes consumed dramatically less food (ca. 90%) but fed at a faster rate when they did feed (ca. 26%). Furthermore, we show that fishes foraging closest to the predator decoy were 40% smaller than those that foraged at further distances. Thus, smaller individuals showed muted response to predation risk compared to their larger counterparts, potentially due to their decreased risk to predation or lower reproductive value (i.e. the asset protection principle). Habitat heterogeneity mediated risk effects differently for different species of herbivores, with predation risk more strongly suppressing herbivore feeding in more complex areas and for individuals at higher risk of predation.

Predators appear to create a reefscape of fear that changes the size structure of herbivores towards smaller individuals, increases individual feeding rates, but suppresses overall amounts of primary producers consumed, potentially altering patterns of herbivory, an ecosystem process critical for healthy coral reefs.
Do early warning indicators consistently predict nonlinear change in long‐term ecological data?
Authors: Burthe Sarah J. , Henrys Peter A. , Mackay Eleanor B. , Spears Bryan M. , Campbell Ronald , Carvalho Laurence , Dudley Bernard , Gunn Iain D. M. , Johns David G. , Maberly Stephen C. , May Linda , Newell Mark A. , Wanless Sarah , Winfield Ian J. , Thackeray Stephen J. , Daunt Francis 
Published: September 2015

Summary

Anthropogenic pressures, including climate change, are causing nonlinear changes in ecosystems globally. The development of reliable early warning indicators (EWIs) to predict these changes is vital for the adaptive management of ecosystems and the protection of biodiversity, natural capital and ecosystem services. Increased variance and autocorrelation are potential early warning indicators and can be readily estimated from ecological time series. Here, we undertook a comprehensive test of the consistency between early warning indicators and nonlinear abundance change across species, trophic levels and ecosystem types.

We tested whether long‐term abundance time series of 55 taxa (126 data sets) across multiple trophic levels in marine and freshwater ecosystems showed (i) significant nonlinear change in abundance ‘turning points’ and (ii) significant increases in variance and autocorrelation (‘early warning indicators’). For each data set, we then quantified the prevalence of three cases: true positives (early warning indicators and associated turning point), false negatives (turning point but no associated early warning indicators) and false positives (early warning indicators but no turning point).

True positives were rare, representing only 9% (16 of 170) of cases using variance, and 13% (19 of 152) of cases using autocorrelation. False positives were more prevalent than false negatives (53% vs. 38% for variance; 47% vs. 40% for autocorrelation). False results were found in every decade and across all trophic levels and ecosystems.

Time series that contained true positives were uncommon (8% for variance; 6% for autocorrelation), with all but one time series also containing false classifications. Coherence between the types of early warning indicators was generally low with 43% of time series categorized differently based on variance compared to autocorrelation.

Synthesis and applications. Conservation management requires effective early warnings of ecosystem change using readily available data, and variance and autocorrelation in abundance data have been suggested as candidates. However, our study shows that they consistently fail to predict nonlinear change. For early warning indicators to be effective tools for preventative management of ecosystem change, we recommend that multivariate approaches of a suite of potential indicators are adopted, incorporating analyses of anthropogenic drivers and process‐based understanding.