bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The influence of office type on satisfaction and perceived productivity support
Authors: De Been Iris , Beijer Marion 
Published: March 2014

Purpose– The aim of this research is to determine whether the type of office environment has an impact on satisfaction with the office environment and productivity support.Design/methodology/approach– Three office types that are most common in The Netherlands were distinguished: individual and shared room offices, combi offices and flex offices. 11,799 respondents filled out a questionnaire measuring satisfaction with the work environment and its contribution to productivity.Findings– Regression analysis was used to investigate whether these factors were influenced by office type. Results show that office type is a significant predictor. While in combi and flex offices people can choose to work at diverse workspaces, people evaluate productivity support, concentration and privacy less positive than people working in individual and shared room offices. In combi offices, but not in flex offices, people are more satisfied with communication than in individual and shared room offices.Practical implications– Nevertheless, satisfaction with the organization explains the most variance with regard to satisfaction with the office environment and productivity support.Originality/value– In The Netherlands, there are a lot of office buildings with a combi or flexible office concept. The large dataset on which the comparison is based, is a real plus for the research.
Islamic insurance prospects in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine revolution
Authors: Echchabi Abdelghani , Ayinde Olorogun Lukman , Azouzi Dhekra 
Published: March 2014

Purpose– The purpose of the study is to examine the willingness (or otherwise) of the Tunisian customers to adopt Islamic insurance services (takaful) and to determine the factors that influence their decisions.Design/methodology/approach– Hundred questionnaires are randomly distributed to Tunisian customers, and the data are subsequently analysed using SEM as well as one samplet-test.Findings– Overall, the results indicate that the Tunisian customers are willing to adopt Islamic insurance services. Furthermore, compatibility of these services is a determinant factor of their decision.Originality/value– This is one of the few studies of customers' behaviour towards Islamic insurance services, and the first to be conducted in the context of Tunisia. Furthermore, the study extends theory of innovations diffusions to a different area of study and a different context, i.e. Islamic insurance and Tunisia, respectively.
The determinants of loan loss and allowances for MENA banks
Authors: Olson Dennis , A. Zoubi Taisier 
Published: March 2014

Purpose
– This study aims to examine the determinants of the allowance for loan losses (ALL) and loan loss provisions (LLP) for banks in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region using both a two-stage approach and simultaneous equation system to address the potential problem of estimation bias introduced by estimating the ALL and LLP separately. The paper also tests three competing hypotheses: the earnings management hypothesis, the capital management hypothesis, and the signaling hypothesis.

Design/methodology/approach
– The authors adopt a simultaneous equation and three-stage approaches to test whether MENA banks jointly determine LLP and ALL and the determinants of the two accounts. The sample consists of all available electronic data for 75 banks (451 bank-year observations) in nine MENA countries over the period 2000-2008.

Findings
– Evidence suggests that the two accounts are jointly determined. The results support the earnings management hypothesis – meaning that MENA banks have engaged in year-to-year income smoothing. The authors also find that LLP and ALL provide signals about future earnings.

Research limitations/implications
– The authors acknowledge that the LLP account is only one of many accounts on the income statement that could be used for signaling or to manage earnings, and that the ALL is one of several accounts that could be used for signaling, earnings or capital management. Future studies could examine other accruals for their role in managing earnings, signaling and capital.

Practical implications
– The results indicate that bank managers use LLP and ALL accounts to manage earnings management, policy makers may want to limit the ability of banks to manipulate earnings.

Originality/value
– Prior research on the loan loss accounting practices has been based on single equation models of the determinants of LLP and ALL. An issue that has not been adequately addressed in this literature is that ALL and LLP may be interrelated and jointly determined by banks. If the two accounts are not independent of each other, failure to include one when estimating the other may lead to an omitted variable problem, while including both in the same equation induces a potential simultaneity bias. The study is the first empirical work examining whether ALL and LLP are jointly determined by banks. By jointly estimating LLP and ALL, the study permits an assessment of the magnitude of the potential error from adopting ordinary least squares estimation of a single equation model.
Risk management tools practiced in Islamic banks: evidence in MENA region
Authors: Ben Selma Mokni Rim , Echchabi Abdelghani , Azouzi Dhekra , Rachdi Houssem 
Published: March 2014

Purpose
– The main purpose of this study is to investigate in detail the way each risk is being measured and managed by Islamic banks in the MENA region.

Design/methodology/approach
– This research attempts to examine the perceptions of Islamic bankers about the importance of transparency and public disclosure in the understanding of the bank's risk profile. It covers 23 Islamic banks located in the MENA region using self-administered questionnaire.

Findings
– The results show that there are differences in the level of risk perception across funding modes. Also Islamic banks use extensively the traditional tools in mitigating risk.

Practical implications
– The paper discusses and analyses the current practices employed in the risk management of Islamic banks. It identifies the tools and methods used in managing credit risk, market risk, liquidity risk and operational risk by Islamic banks.

Originality/value
– This study aims to extend the existing literature in two ways. First, this paper contributes to the dearth of studies on examination of tools practiced in the risk management by Islamic banks located in the MENA region. Next, this work integrates the methods used in the management of liquidity risk that have not been studied earlier.
The impacts of top management team characteristics on entrepreneurial strategic orientation
Authors: Yang Lin , Wang Danni 
Published: March 2014

Purpose– The paper aims to empirically examine the questions of how top management team (TMT) characteristics, including TMT heterogeneity and vertical dyads differences between TMT and Board Director, influence entrepreneurial strategic orientation, as well as how industry environment and corporate ownership moderate those relationships.Design/methodology/approach– The paper designs the panel data on the listed companies of China's Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Board for the period 2006-2010, and uses hierarchical regression analysis and grouping regression analysis when examining the relationships among variables involved.Findings– The paper provides empirical insights about how top management team (TMT) characteristics, including TMT heterogeneity and vertical dyads differences between TMT and Board Director, influence entrepreneurial strategic orientation, as well as how industry environment and corporate ownership moderate those relationships. It suggests that, except for TMT educational background, the heterogeneity of TMT age, gender, functional experience, and the vertical dyad differences between TMT and board chairperson significantly and positively impact ESO. Furthermore, industry environment and corporate ownership will moderate the relationship between TMT characteristics and ESO.Originality/value– This paper fulfills an identified need to study how top management team characteristics influence entrepreneurial strategic orientation, as well as how industry environment and corporate ownership moderate those relationships.
Social and transitional identity: exploring social networks and their significance in a therapeutic community setting
Authors: Best David , I. Lubman Dan , Savic Michael , Wilson Ann , Dingle Genevieve , Alexander Haslam S. , Haslam Catherine , Jetten Jolanda 
Published: March 2014

Purpose
– There is considerable literature indicating the importance of social connectedness and its relationship to wellbeing. For problem substance users, a similar literature emphasises the importance of the transition from a social network supportive of use to one that fosters recovery. Within this framework, the therapeutic community (TC) is seen as a critical location for adopting a transitional identity (i.e. from a “drug user” to a “member of the TC”), as part of the emergence of a “recovery identity” following treatment. The purpose of this paper is to outline a model for conceptualising and measuring identity based on the theories of social identity and recovery capital, and pilots this model within a TC setting.

Design/methodology/approach
– A social identity mapping was used with TC residents to test their identification with “using” and “TC” groups, and their relationship to recovery capital.

Findings
– The network mapping method was acceptable to TC residents, and provided valuable insights into the social networks and social identity of TC residents.

Research limitations/implications
– This paper explores issues around mapping social identity and its potential in the TC and other residential settings.

Originality/value
– The paper integrates a number of conceptual models to create a new framework for understanding transitions in social networks during treatment and reports on a novel measurement method underpinning this.
Assessing young children's intention‐reading in authentic communicative contexts: preliminary evidence and clinical utility
Authors: Greenslade Kathryn J. , Coggins Truman E. 
Published: March 2014

AbstractBackgroundIdentifying what a communication partner is looking at (referential intention) and why (social intention) is essential to successful social communication, and may be challenging for children with social communication deficits. This study explores a clinical task that assesses these intention‐reading abilities within an authentic context.AimsTo gather evidence of the task's reliability and validity, and to discuss its clinical utility.Methods & ProceduresThe intention‐reading task was administered to twenty 4–7‐year‐olds with typical development (TD) and ten with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Task items were embedded in an authentic activity, and they targeted the child's ability to identify the examiner's referential and social intentions, which were communicated through joint attention behaviours. Reliability and construct validity evidence were addressed using established psychometric methods.Outcomes & ResultsReliability and validity evidence supported the use of task scores for identifying children whose intention‐reading warranted concern. Evidence supported the reliability of task administration and coding, and item‐level codes were highly consistent with overall task performance. Supporting task validity, group differences aligned with predictions, with children with ASD exhibiting poorer and more variable task scores than children with TD. Also, as predicted, task scores correlated significantly with verbal mental age and ratings of parental concerns regarding social communication abilities.Conclusions & ImplicationsThe evidence provides preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the clinical task's scores in assessing young children's real‐time intention‐reading abilities, which are essential for successful interactions in school and beyond.
Imitation (rather than core language) predicts pragmatic development in young children with ASD: a preliminary longitudinal study using CDI parental reports
Authors: Miniscalco Carmela , Rudling Maja , Råstam Maria , Gillberg Christopher , Johnels Jakob Åsberg 
Published: March 2014

AbstractBackgroundResearch in the last decades has clearly pointed to the important role of language and communicative level when trying to understand developmental trajectories in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).AimsThe purpose of this longitudinal study was to investigate whether (1) core language skills, measured as expressive vocabulary and grammar, and/or (2) pre‐linguistic social‐communicative skills, including gestures and imitation abilities, drive pragmatic language development in young children with ASD.Methods & ProceduresWe examined correlates and longitudinal predictors of pragmatic growth in a sample of 34 children with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), whose parents were given parts of two MacArthur Communicative Developmental Inventories (CDI: Words & Gestures and CDI: Words & Sentences) for completion at two time points (at time 1 the mean child age was 41 months, and at time 2 it was 54 months). A novel feature in this study is that the relevant parts from both CDI forms were included at both time points, allowing us to examine whether pre‐linguistic social‐communication skills (e.g. imitation and gesturing) and/or core language skills (i.e. grammar and vocabulary) predict pragmatic language growth.Outcomes & ResultsThe results show that basically all pre‐linguistic, linguistic and pragmatic skills were associated concurrently. When controlling for possible confounders and for the autoregressive effect, imitation skills predicted pragmatic growth over time, whereas core language did not. This could only have been shown by the use of both CDI forms.Conclusions & ImplicationsThis preliminary study may be of both conceptual and methodological importance for research in the field of language and communication development in ASD. Imitation may play a pivotal role in the development of subsequent conversational pragmatic abilities in young children with ASD. Future research should be directed at unravelling the mechanisms underlying this association.
The biosurfactant viscosin produced by Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25 aids spreading motility and plant growth promotion
Authors: Alsohim Abdullah S. , Taylor Tiffany B. , Barrett Glyn A. , Gallie Jenna , Zhang Xue‐Xian , Altamirano‐Junqueira Astrid E. , Johnson Louise J. , Rainey Paul B. , Jackson Robert W. 
Published: March 2014

SummaryFood security depends on enhancing production and reducing loss to pests and pathogens. A promising alternative to agrochemicals is the use of plant growth‐promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), which are commonly associated with many, if not all, plant species. However, exploiting the benefits of PGPRs requires knowledge of bacterial function and an in‐depth understanding of plant‐bacteria associations. Motility is important for colonization efficiency and microbial fitness in the plant environment, but the mechanisms employed by bacteria on and around plants are not well understood. We describe and investigate an atypical mode of motility in Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25 that was revealed only after flagellum production was eliminated by deletion of the master regulator fleQ. Our results suggest that this ‘spidery spreading’ is a type of surface motility. Transposon mutagenesis of SBW25ΔfleQ (SBW25Q) produced mutants, defective in viscosin production, and surface spreading was also abolished. Genetic analysis indicated growth‐dependency, production of viscosin, and several potential regulatory and secretory systems involved in the spidery spreading phenotype. Moreover, viscosin both increases efficiency of surface spreading over the plant root and protects germinating seedlings in soil infected with the plant pathogen Pythium. Thus, viscosin could be a useful target for biotechnological development of plant growth promotion agents.
Unmasking the measles‐like parchment discoloration: molecular and microanalytical approach
Authors: Piñar Guadalupe , Sterflinger Katja , Pinzari Flavia 
Published: March 2014

SummaryMany ancient parchments are defaced by red or purple maculae associated with localized destruction of collagen fibres. Although the main characteristics of this damage were present in most of the manuscripts analysed by many authors, no common microbial or fungal denominator has been found so far, and little or no correspondence between the microbial or fungal species isolated from materials could be addressed. In this study, culture‐independent molecular methods and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to identify fungal and bacterial communities on parchments affected by the purple stains. Protocols for c extraction and nucleic‐acid‐based strategies were selected for assays examining the community structure of fungi and bacteria on biodeteriorated parchment. Both SEM and molecular analysis detected the presence of bacterial and fungal cells in the damaged areas. Halophilic, halotolerant proteolytic bacterial species were selected by the saline environment provided by the parchment samples. As common microbial denominators, members of the Actinobacteria, mainly Saccharopolyspora spp. and species of Aspergillus, were detected in all investigated cases. It is proposed that a relationship exists between the phenomenon of purple spots on ancient parchments and that of the ‘red heat’ phenomenon, known to be present in some products manufactured with marine salt.
Apolipoprotein C1 (APOC1) as a novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for lung cancer: A marker phase I trial
Authors: Ko Hui‐Ling , Wang Yu‐Shan , Fong Weng‐Lam , Chi Mau‐Shin , Chi Kwan‐Hwa , Kao Shang‐Jyh 
Published: March 2014

AbstractBackgroundTumor cells continuously evolve over time in response to host pressures. However, explanations as to how tumor cells are influenced by the inflammatory tumor microenvironment over time are, to date, poorly defined. We hypothesized that prognostic biomarkers could be obtained by exploring the expression of inflammation‐associated genes between early and late stage lung cancer tumor samples.MethodsCandidate inflammation‐associated genes, apolipoprotein C‐1 (APOC1), MMP1, KMO)1, CXCL5, CXCL)7, IL‐1α, IL‐1β, TNF‐α and IL‐6 were verified by real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Gene expression profiles and immunofluorescence staining of 30 lung cancer tissues were compared.ResultsExpressions of APOC1 and IL‐6 mRNA on tumor tissues in late stage disease were significantly higher than in early stage lung cancer samples. Immunofluorescence staining of tumor samples showed that the expression of APOC1 gradually increased from early to late stage in lung cancer patients. The expression levels of IL‐6 and APOC1 in tumor samples were positively correlated; however, no prognostic value of APOC1 can be identified in serum samples.ConclusionsWe found that the level of tumor APOC1 was highly expressed in late stage lung cancer. Further research is warranted to determine the molecular mechanisms underlying the cross talk of APOC1 and IL‐6 in tumor progression. An expanded sample size marker phase II study may lead to the discovery of new lung cancer therapeutics targeting APOC1.
“Much in Blood and Money”: Necropolitical Ecology on the Margins of the Uganda Protectorate
Authors: Cavanagh Connor Joseph , Himmelfarb David 
Published: March 2014

AbstractIncreasingly, political ecologists invoke the concept of “green grabbing” to refer to the ways in which processes of accumulation by dispossession articulate with various imperatives for environmental protection. This paper traces these contemporary processes to their roots in the colonial era, focusing on how dispossession in the name of environmental protection intersects with complex historical geographies of state formation and internal territorialisation. Drawing upon the case of Mount Elgon in Britain's Uganda Protectorate, in particular, we reconstruct the ways in which the interrelated “birth” of both conservation and transcontinental agrarian markets were intimately connected to the emergence and normalisation of the colonial state itself. In doing so, we propose the term necropolitical ecology as a framework to encompass the ways in which contemporary “green grabs” partially emerge from racialised modes of colonial appropriation, the violence of which often still lingers in agencies and institutions of environmental governance in the contemporary postcolony.
Beliefs About Infant Regulation, Early Infant Behaviors and Maternal Postnatal Depressive Symptoms
Authors: Muscat Tracey , Obst Patricia , Cockshaw Wendell , Thorpe Karen 
Published: March 2014

AbstractBackgroundYoung infants may have irregular sleeping and feeding patterns. Such regulation difficulties are known correlates of maternal depressive symptoms. Parental beliefs about their role in regulating infant behaviors also may play a role. We investigated the association of depressive symptoms with infant feeding/sleeping behaviors, parent regulation beliefs, and the interaction of the two.MethodIn 2006, 272 mothers of infants aged up to 24 weeks completed a questionnaire about infant behavior and regulation beliefs. Participants were recruited from general medical practices and child health clinics in Brisbane, Australia. Depressive symptomology was measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Other measures were adapted from the ALSPAC study.ResultsRegression analyses were run controlling for partner support, other support, life events, and a range of demographic variables. Maternal depressive symptoms were associated with infant sleeping and feeding problems but not regulation beliefs. The most important infant predictor was sleep behaviors with feeding behaviors accounting for little additional variance. An interaction between regulation beliefs and sleep behaviors was found. Mothers with high regulation beliefs were more susceptible to postnatal depressive symptoms when infant sleep behaviors were problematic.ConclusionMothers of young infants who expect greater control are more susceptible to depressive symptoms when their infant presents challenging sleep behavior.
Downregulation of DAB2IP results in cell proliferation and invasion and contributes to unfavorable outcomes in bladder cancer
Authors: Shen Yi‐Jun , Kong Zhao‐Lu , Wan Fang‐Ning , Wang Hong‐Kai , Bian Xiao‐Jie , Gan Hua‐Lei , Wang Chao‐Fu , Ye Ding‐Wei 
Published: March 2014

The DOC‐2/DAB2 interactive protein (DAB2IP) is a member of the Ras GTPase‐activating protein family. It has been shown to be often downregulated and a poor prognostic factor in several human malignancies. In this study, we analyzed the clinicopathological features and outcomes of DAB2IP expression in 135 patients with urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) treated by radical cystectomy plus bilateral lymph node dissection, and evaluated the effect of DAB2IP knockdown in vitro using the MTT method, colony formation assay, cell cycle assay, and cell migration and invasive assay. We found low expression of DAB2IP was significantly associated with high pathological stage (P = 0.002), high pathological grade (P = 0.02), tumor size more than 3 cm (P = 0.04), and presence of histological variants (P = 0.01). DAB2IP was an independent prognostic factor of disease recurrence (hazard ratio, 2.67; P = 0.034) and cancer‐specific survival (hazard ratio, 2.79; P = 0.038). Knockdown of DAB2IP could promote cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Downregulation of DAB2IP could activate the ERK and Akt pathways and was correlated with the expression of epithelial–mesenchymal transition markers, such as E‐cadherin and vimentin. In conclusion, downregulation of DAB2IP is associated with features of biologically aggressive UCB and results in cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of bladder cancer. DAB2IP may serve as a promising biomarker in patients with UCB treated by radical cystectomy and bilateral lymph node dissection.