bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Community as stakeholder of the corporate social responsibility programme in Malaysia: outcomes in community development
Authors: Ismail Maimunah , Alias Siti Noormi , Mohd Rasdi Roziah 
Published: February 2015

Purpose– This study aims to explore the outcome of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme in community development from the perspective of its participants in Malaysia. It is argued that information regarding community development CSR, the providers of CSR and the outcomes of CSR on community development in Malaysia has been scant. Hence, this study examines specifically the profiles of participants of CSR programmes in community development, the profiles of selected CSR-participating corporations, the orientation of CSR responsibilities undertaken by corporations as perceived by the participants and the types of community development contribution from CSR-participating corporations. Outcomes were determined through the results of the last two objectives.Design/methodology/approach– Building on the stakeholder theory and the work of Visser’s CSR pyramid, this article explores the outcomes of CSR resulting from the participation of individuals in the community. Data were gathered from 336 respondents who were participants of CSR programmes sampled from 58 local and multinational corporations in Malaysia.Findings– The results showed that about half of the respondents were in the younger age group with a mean age of 24.40 years. The majority of the CSR-participating corporations had implemented CSR programmes from the first decade of the millennium and had their core businesses in diverse sectors. Legal responsibility was ranked the most important orientation and ethical responsibility the least important orientation. Education-related activities formed the dominant type of CSR contribution.Research limitations/implications– The study addresses a gap in the literature on Malaysian community CSR, particularly from the perspective of the community, which is one of the important stakeholders.Originality/value– This research contributes to the scarce literature on CSR in Malaysia by analysing the way business organisations in the country contribute to community development through CSR. The findings of this study should be useful to community development practitioners, CSR providers and researchers.
Consumer reaction towards corporate social responsibility in United Arab Emirates
Authors: Anadol Yaprak , Youssef Mohamed A. , Thiruvattal Eappen 
Published: February 2015

Purpose– This paper aims to examine five distinct consumer reactions, including corporate social responsibility (CSR) awareness, consumers’ complaining, boycotting behavior, work preferences and consumer donation behavior.Design/methodology/approach– The analysis in this paper was based on data collected by a team of experts in the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry from more than 555 United Arab Emirates (UAE) individuals, aged 18 years or older. Our study postulated that there will be no statistically significant differences in any or all of the five reactions among respondents with different age, varying degree of CSR awareness, working preference, donation and boycotting behavior, and methods of complaining about companies or their products.Findings– Gender analysis indicated that there is a statistically significant difference between male and female in terms of boycotting and complaining behaviors. Our analysis also showed that young consumers in the age group of 18-24 years react significantly different than older age group in terms of job preference. Third, the results of location analysis indicated that the UAE consumers’ contacting behavior to a company to voice an opinion about a company’s product or services are significantly different across the seven Emirates of UAE.Research limitations/implications– The findings of this study have many implications. First, there is no doubt that such findings will raise the consumers’ awareness of CSR. UAE companies will become more cognizant of their consumers’ behavior, especially when the consumers’ voice their opinion and show interest in the products or services offered by these companies. The implications of this study for the academics are that this study can be replicated in different parts of the globe to confirm or refute our findings.Practical implications– The findings of this study will enable UAE companies to design and implement strategies that aim at increasing their efficiency, competitiveness and the ability to compete in global markets.Social implications– Many of the developing economies started to realize how important CSR is. A fast growing economy such as that of UAE has given such topic an unprecedented attention. The social implication of our findings is that UAE corporations will have to rethink their strategies when it comes to their social responsibility toward society in which they exist. Our findings also enlighten consumers when it comes to their dealing with socially responsible corporations.Originality/value– This study is unique in that it is the first empirically based study to address the consumer behavior and their reaction toward socially responsible corporations.
Voluntary CSR disclosure works! Evidence from Asia-Pacific banks
Authors: Jain Ameeta , Keneley Monica , Thomson Dianne 
Published: February 2015

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting in six large banks each from Japan, China, Australia and India over the period of 2005-2011.

Design/methodology/approach
– CSR and banks’ annual reports and websites were analysed using a comprehensive disclosure framework to evaluate the themes of ethical standards, extent of CSR reporting, environment, products, community, employees, supply chain management and benchmarking.

Findings
– Over the seven years, bank CSR disclosure improved in all four countries. Australian banks were found to have the best scores and Indian banks demonstrated maximum improvement. Despite the absence of legislative requirements or standards for CSR, this paper finds that CSR reporting continued to improve in quality and quantity in the region on a purely voluntary basis.

Research limitations/implications
– This study indicates that financial institutions have a commitment to CSR activities. The comparison between financial institutions in developed and developing economies suggests that the motivation for such activities is complex. A review of the studied banks suggests that strategic rather than economic drivers are an important influence.

Practical implications
– Asia-Pacific Governments need not mandate bank CSR reporting standards as the banks improved their CSR reporting consistently over the seven years despite the Global Financial Crisis (GFC).

Originality/value
– A disclosure framework index is used to assess the comprehensiveness of bank practice in relation to CSR reporting. This approach enables cross-sectional and cross-country comparisons over time and the ability to replicate and apply to other industries or sectors.
Convergence in resource use efficiency across trees with differing hydraulic strategies in response to ecosystem precipitation manipulation
Authors: Limousin Jean‐Marc , Yepez Enrico A. , McDowell Nate G. , Pockman William T. 
Published: February 2015

Summary

Plants are expected to respond to drought by maximizing the efficiency of the most limiting resource, the water use efficiency (WUE), at the expense of nitrogen and carbon use efficiencies (NUE and CUE). Therefore, plants resource use efficiencies are viewed as indicators of species drought tolerance.

We tested these predictions by measuring leaf‐level intrinsic WUE (WUEi, the ratio of net assimilation to stomatal conductance), photosynthetic NUE (PNUE, the ratio of daily maximum net assimilation to leaf nitrogen content) and leaf‐scale CUE (approached by the ratio of night‐time respiration to daytime net assimilation, Rd/An) in piñon pine and juniper, two tree species that differ in drought tolerance and vulnerability to drought‐induced mortality. Variations in resource use efficiency in the two species were measured in response to seasonal drought and in response to an ecosystem‐scale precipitation manipulation experiment comprising three precipitation treatments: ambient, irrigation (+30%) and partial rainfall exclusion (−45%).

Increasing water limitation, either seasonally or across treatments, resulted in increased WUE and decreased PNUE and CUE in both species. WUE, PNUE and CUE varied more strongly in response to water limitation than across species and converged to the same relationships against precipitation for piñon and juniper.

Plasticity in WUE, PNUE and CUE in response to water limitation was associated, in both species, with low carbon acquisition during drought. Our results exhibited a convergence in resource use efficiency across piñon and juniper which contradicts the paradigm that resource use efficiencies are indicators of species drought tolerance and ecological strategy.
Assessing the distribution of disease‐bearing rodents in human‐modified tropical landscapes
Authors: Morand Serge , Bordes Frédéric , Blasdell Kim , Pilosof Shai , Cornu Jean‐François , Chaisiri Kittipong , Chaval Yannick , Cosson Jean‐François , Claude Julien , Feyfant Tristan , Herbreteau Vincent , Dupuy Stéphane , Tran Annelise 
Published: February 2015

Summary

We tested how habitat structure and fragmentation affect the spatial distribution of common murine rodents inhabiting human‐dominated landscapes in South‐East Asia. The spatial distribution patterns observed for each rodent species were then used to assess how changes in habitat structure may potentially affect the risk of several major rodent‐borne diseases.

For this analysis, we used an extensive geo‐referenced data base containing details of rodents trapped from seven sites in Thailand, Cambodia and Lao PDR. We also developed land‐cover layers for each site. Results from published studies that screened for five major rodent‐borne pathogens in rodents were used to estimate how these pathogens would likely be impacted by these alterations in habitat structure and composition.

Our results confirmed the specialist and/or synanthropic status of several rodent species, although the majority of species studied demonstrated some degree of low level of habitat specialization.

Habitat diversity and its alteration (decreasing forest cover, increasing fragmentation, increasing urbanization) were found to favour the presence of synanthropic rodent species such as Rattus tanezumi, known to damage crops and host important rodent‐borne diseases.

Synthesis and applications. The five major rodent‐borne pathogens were linked to ongoing changes in habitat structure. In particular, the presence of Bartonella spp. and hantaviruses seemed to be favoured in wooded landscapes affected by ongoing fragmentation and human encroachments. Rodents also pose significant problems for crop production in South‐East Asia. Our results showed that the structure of the landscape affects the likely presence of rodent species considered as agricultural pests. The patchy structure of a landscape can either enhance, such as B. indica, or decrease, such as B. savilei, the presence of rodents that may cause serious damage to crops.
Identification of Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy‐Causing Gene Mutations in Young Sudden Unexpected Death Autopsy Cases
Authors: Sato Takako , Nishio Hajime , Suzuki Koichi 
Published: February 2015

AbstractArrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) results in an increased risk of sudden death. We sought mutations of desmoglein‐2 (DSG2), desmoplakin (DSP), and plakophilin‐2 (PKP2) in 15 cases of sudden death whose causes of death could not be determined at autopsy. In three victims, mutations were identified in DSP. Two of these mutations were novel; one had previously been reported in a patient with ARVC that had been diagnosed clinically. Histological findings were not typical of ARVC; however, it was notable that these mutations were present in three of 15 cases, a relatively high proportion. The causal relationship between the mutations and ARVC is unclear, but the mutations might have been associated with faulty desmosomal proteins resulting in fatal arrhythmia. Combining information gathered by the traditional means of gross and histological examination with postmortem genetic analysis of young victims would assist in identifying their cause of death.
Post‐stroke epilepsy in Polish paediatric patients
Authors: Kopyta Ilona , Sarecka‐Hujar Beata , Skrzypek Michal 
Published: February 2015

AimThe aim of this study was to characterize a group of children with early and late remote seizures, which occurred after arterial ischaemic stroke (AIS), and to find predictors of post‐stroke seizures.MethodThe study group, recruited in the Department of Neuropediatrics (Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland), comprised 78 individuals (range 1–18y) who had suffered a stroke: 13 participants had early seizures, occurring up to 7 days after AIS, seven participants had late remote seizures, occurring more than 7 days after AIS, and 58 participants had no seizures.ResultsPost‐stroke epilepsy occurred in 10 patients having post‐stroke seizures. Participants affected by late remote seizures were younger, on average, than participants unaffected by seizures. The frequencies of total anterior circulation infarct (TACI) stroke subtype and focal cerebral arteriopathy (FCA) were significantly higher in the late seizure subgroup than in the subgroup without seizures (71% vs 26%, p=0.014, OR 7.17, and 100% vs 51%, p=0.015 respectively). Multivariable Cox analysis showed that age at time of stroke (p=0.027), FCA (p=0.010), and the number of infarct foci (p<0.001) were significant predictors of post‐stroke seizures.InterpretationAge at time of stroke, presence of FCA, and number of infarct foci are predictors of post‐stroke seizures in Polish paediatric patients.
18F‐FP‐(+)‐DTBZ positron emission tomography detection of monoaminergic deficient network in patients with carbon monoxide related parkinsonism
Authors: Chang C.‐C. , Hsiao I.‐T. , Huang S.‐H. , Lui C.‐C. , Yen T.‐C. , Chang W.‐N. , Huang C.‐W. , Hsieh C.‐J. , Chang Y.‐Y. , Lin K.‐J. 
Published: February 2015

Background and purposeAlthough parkinsonism after carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication is well known, neurotransmitter deficient networks that are responsible for the severity of parkinsonism have rarely been systemically evaluated.MethodsEighteen patients with CO‐related parkinsonism and nine age‐ and sex‐matched controls were enrolled for detailed neurological examinations, three‐dimensional T1‐weighted images, diffusion tensor imaging and 18F‐9‐fluoropropyl‐(+)‐dihydrotetrabenzazine (18F‐FP‐(+)‐DTBZ) positron emission tomography (PET). The structural analysis included voxel‐based morphometry to assess grey matter atrophy and tract‐based spatial statistics related to white matter involvement. For presynaptic monoaminergic assessment, volume of interest analysis in six subcortical regions and non‐parametric voxel‐wise comparison were performed on PET images with estimation of registration parameters from magnetic resonance images. All the imaging modalities were compared between the patients and controls. For the patients, a regression model for correlation with cognitive behaviour and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) score was used.ResultsIn the patients, monoaminergic deficit networks were found in the caudate, anterior putamen, anterior insular, thalamus and anterior cingulate cortex. The UPDRS revealed significant correlations with the prefrontal white matter fractional anisotropy values and with the 18F‐FP‐(+)‐DTBZ uptake values in the caudate nucleus, insular, medial prefrontal and dorsomedial thalamus. The neuropsychiatric inventory score correlated with the 18F‐FP‐(+)‐DTBZ uptake values in the anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.ConclusionsOur study demonstrated monoaminergic deficits and white matter damage networks in CO‐related parkinsonism that determined the severity of parkinsonism or behaviour changes. As the substantia nigra was spared, the monoaminergic topography of involvement suggests a different pathophysiology in CO‐related parkinsonism.
The antimycotic agent clotrimazole inhibits melanogenesis by accelerating ERK and PI3K‐/Akt‐mediated tyrosinase degradation
Authors: Chung Bo Young , Kim Su Yeon , Jung Joon Min , Won Chong Hyun , Choi Jee Ho , Lee Mi Woo , Chang Sung Eun 
Published: February 2015

AbstractAzole antimycotic agents are known to have anti‐inflammatory and anti‐cancer effects, which are mediated through their effects on the p38‐cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2)‐prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) pathway, as well as anti‐oxidant effects. Furthermore, pyridinyl imidazole compounds, such as SB203580 have recently been shown to inhibit melanogenesis. Accordingly, we hypothesized that azole antifungal agents might affect skin pigmentation. We herein investigated the effect of clotrimazole, the most commonly used azole antifungal agent, on melanogenesis. Intriguingly, clotrimazole reduced the melanin content in human melanocytes and mouse melanocytes, as well as in B16F10 mouse melanoma cells. Clotrimazole reduced levels of tyrosinase protein without altering mRNA expression. Simultaneous treatment with a proteasomal inhibitor restored both the suppression of melanin synthesis, and the downregulation of tyrosinase level, by clotrimazole. Clotrimazole also induced the phosphorylation of extracellular signal‐regulated kinase (ERK) and PI3K/Akt, while each inhibitor of these two signals abolished the decrease of melanin synthesis by clotrimazole. Thus, our data suggest that clotrimazole inhibits melanin synthesis by promoting the proteasomal degradation of tyrosinase, which is mediated through activation of the ERK and Akt signaling pathways. These results may indicate a new role for clotrimazole as a molecular‐mechanism‐based, safe depigmenting agent for topical management of hyper‐pigmentary sequelae related to fungal infection, or for other skin inflammatory disorders.
Is the developmentally immature immune response in paediatric sepsis a recapitulation of immune tolerance?
Authors: Maddux Aline B. , Douglas Ivor S. 
Published: February 2015

SummaryImmunologically immature neonates suffer the highest incidence of paediatric sepsis. Postnatal immunological maturation is characterized by a relatively hypo‐inflammatory immune response. The mechanisms that differentiate the mature and immature immune responses resemble those that differentiate the hyper‐ and hypo‐inflammatory responses in severe sepsis. Immunological maturational differences likely affect the neonate's ability to mount an appropriate hyper‐inflammatory response, a counteractive hypo‐inflammatory response, and subsequent return to immune system homeostasis. To better understand the role of the hypo‐inflammatory response in paediatric sepsis, we will explore the maturation of the immune system and the effect it may have on the sepsis‐induced hypo‐inflammatory response.
Antecedents of the expectation of remaining in nursing until retirement age
Authors: Liebermann Susanne C. , Müller Andreas , Weigl Matthias , Wegge Jürgen 
Published: February 2015

AbstractAimsTo identify job‐related resources which strengthen nurses' expectation of remaining in the same job until retirement age.BackgroundThe dramatic shortage of qualified nurses in industrialized countries makes it necessary to take steps to retain nurses at work at all career stages. The study introduces to the nursing literature the construct ‘expectation of remaining in the same job until retirement age’ as an early indicator of attitudes responsible for employees leaving the job prematurely.DesignLongitudinal questionnaire survey.MethodsIn 2010, a longitudinal study was carried out and data were collected from 387 nurses aged 21–63 years. To ensure predictive validity, the dependent variable was assessed again in 2011 after a time lag of 6 months. Data were analysed applying multiple regression analyses.FindingsThe expectation of remaining in the same job until retirement age is positively related to work‐time control, role clarity and colleague support. Supervisor support exerts an indirect effect via job resources. Vitality partially mediates the relationship between job resources and the expectation of remaining in the same job until retirement age. Most importantly, as hypothesized, the analysed relationships are different for younger (<30 years), middle‐aged (30–50 years) and older (>50 years) nurses.ConclusionOur findings suggest that interventions that seek to retain nurses should promote different job resources along the working life span to strengthen nurses' vitality in all age groups. Future research should apply age‐differentiated measures to unveil work conditions that improve the retention of nurses.
(Re)constructing Myself: the process of transition to motherhood for women with a disability
Authors: Lawler Denise , Begley Cecily , Lalor Joan 
Published: February 2015

AbstractAimThis paper presents a substantive theory that explains the transition to motherhood for women with a disability.BackgroundOver the last thirty years, interest in exploring women's experiences of motherhood has increased. Extant theories on transition to motherhood originate, primarily, from the perspective and experiences of non‐disabled women with few exploring the phenomenon from the perspective and experiences of women with a disability. Those that do tend to focus on issues of accessibility, profiling the challenges that women with a disability encounter while accessing maternity services, attaining a maternal role and fulfilling the requirements of that role. Little is known about the experiences of women with a disability and their transition to motherhood and even less about the relationship of this process on the self.DesignThe study was conducted using a Strauss and Corbin approach to grounded theory.MethodIndividual interviews (n = 22) were conducted over 4 years (2008–2012). Women were interviewed during pregnancy and in the postnatal period. All interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, imported into Nvivo 8 and analysed using the constant comparative method.FindingsThe substantive theory that emerged from the study provides a conceptual framework clinicians can reference when counselling, assisting and facilitating women with a disability during their preparation for and transition to motherhood.ConclusionThe substantive theory presented in this paper will increase clinicians' understanding of the process involved in the transition to motherhood for women with a disability.