bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Learning in an age of cuts: managers as enablers of workplace learning
Authors: Warhurst Russell P. 
Published: January 2013

PurposeThe goal of this exploratory empirical article is to analyse managers' beliefs about learning and their reports of enabling workplace learning for both individuals and teams. It aims to discuss the managers' rationales for prioritising development, detail the learning methods used and evaluate the types of outcomes which were targeted.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative, case‐study research design was adopted using two embedded units of analysis (local government administrations) and data were derived from photo‐elicitation interviews.FindingsThe diverse learning interventions that were reported are detailed and analysed in terms of learning for individuals and for groups and in terms of replicative and expansive learning outcomes.Research limitations/implicationThe research was limited to manager respondents and to their reported developmental intentions, therefore implications for extending the research are proposed.Practical implicationsThe need for enhancing managers' awareness of their beliefs about learning and their capabilities for engendering non‐formal learning through work practices is discussed.Originality/valueThe article demonstrates that a broader range of methodologies were reportedly used by managers in enabling staff learning than has previously been shown. Moreover, that learning interventions were widely reported in a context of cuts and change questions the prevailing orthodoxy that development is sacrificed in times of cutbacks.
The importance of teaching ethics of sustainability
Authors: Biedenweg Kelly , Monroe Martha C. , Oxarart Annie 
Published: January 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the importance of a focus on ethics in sustainability education and present results from a pilot graduate‐level course titled the Ethics of Sustainability.Design/methodology/approachThis is a case study presenting a qualitative evaluation from a pilot 14‐week Ethics of Sustainability course. Data are based on observations, surveys and interviews with students.FindingsStudents from diverse fields found the ethical concepts new, stimulating and crucial for their careers. Ethical concepts provide a framework for thinking about sustainable practices in their personal and professional lives.Research limitations/implicationsFindings are based on a single pilot course and post‐participation responses. Future research could explore different teaching strategies and different institutions, and use pre/post studies.Practical implicationsThis study suggests that a course on ethical principles related to sustainability is a useful and potentially critical component to any curriculum intending to prepare future professionals to be effective contributors to a sustainable society. Higher education may adopt the course concepts and learning tools to enhance their curriculum and businesses and corporations will benefit from entry‐level professionals with a solid ethical foundation for making more sustainability‐oriented decisions.Originality/valueThe paper discusses an innovative course designed with funding from the US National Science Foundation. It confirms the benefit and provides some content advice for a course oriented toward ethics in sustainability curricula.
Construction business failure: conceptual synthesis of causal agents
Authors: Holt Gary D. 
Published: January 2013

PurposeBusiness failure has evolved a major research domain, both of corporate finance generally and of construction management, equally. Much of this attention has focused on assessing business “health” to predict longevity, but less so, on causal agents of failure. The aim of this study is to synthesise published knowledge in the subject domain to explore construction failure agents.Design/methodology/approachExtant literature drawn from both corporate finance and construction management disciplines are synthesised. Subjective, textual analysis is undertaken and causal agents thematically grouped. A failure relationship model is derived that conceptualises construction business failure in relation to its operating universe.FindingsGeneric failure agents (GFA) (ordered, based on percentage frequency among the literature observed) are shown to be: managerial, financial, company characteristics, and macroeconomic. The first three are proffered to reciprocally interact within a “universe” defined by the latter. Numerous sub‐causal agents (SCA) are attributed to each generic agent. The role of innovation is suggested to hold potential negative (as well as positive) impacts on mitigating GFA and SCA.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations relate to synthesis of contemporary published evidence, so a progressive iteration would be empirical study of identified agents within live construction environments. An implication is the call for research realignment; from emphasis on business health assessment, to that of root causal agents.Practical implicationsAdvancement of theory relating to business failure has significant implications for construction management research.Originality/valueThe failure relationship model and its linkage to innovation is novel.
Nearshoring practices
Authors: Slepniov Dmitrij , Brazinskas Sigitas , Vejrum Wæhrens Brian 
Published: January 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to unravel and assess current nearshoring practices and their outlook in the Baltic region.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw on the offshoring and outsourcing literature and use mixed methods of enquiry, including case studies, survey techniques and secondary statistical data. Part of the empirical base of the study is an examination of three Scandinavian firms that offshore their operations to vendors in the Baltics. To provide a more complete view of the practices and processes of offshoring in the region, the authors complement the case studies of Swedish and Danish manufacturers with a survey of 55 Lithuanian vendors and other statistical data.FindingsThe paper outlines the main drivers of nearshoring for Scandinavian manufacturing firms. Based on in‐depth insights into nearshoring initiatives, the authors elucidate how the initiatives evolved and what factors affected them. The survey results reveal the perspective of Lithuanian vendors regarding their relationships with Scandinavian partners. These findings are used in assessing the future prospects of nearshoring in the Baltic region.Practical implicationsThe study relates the key attributes of Scandinavian companies' nearshoring practices to the perspectives of Lithuanian vendors. While the authors' discussion concentrates on how companies organise their operations in an increasingly global context, it also points to broader policymaking implications for the Baltic region.Originality/valueThe paper addresses the topic of nearshoring, which has thus far received limited attention in the management literature. By incorporating both the perspectives of offshoring and vendor companies, the paper provides a more complete view on the phenomenon and presents the main dilemmas underpinning it.
Entrepreneurial and learning orientation: effects on growth and profitability in the software sector
Authors: Hakala Henri 
Published: January 2013

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and learning orientation (LO) separately on two dimensions of performance (profitability and growth).Design/methodology/approachA sample of 196 Finnish software companies is analyzed using a partial least squares approach.FindingsThe paper provides evidence that the effects of entrepreneurial orientation on profitability are mediated by learning oriented behaviors. Furthermore, in contrast to expectations inherited from prior research, LO does not appear to have a similar effect on growth.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper refers to an empirical study of software companies in Finland. Further research in other countries and industry settings is needed to confirm and extend the results.Practical implicationsThe results suggest that software company managers in entrepreneurial software firms should develop a culture that includes nurturing learning, in order to support the creation of profitability.Originality/valueThe paper extends the prior research by investigating the EO‐LO relationship separately in the growth and profitability dimensions of performance. Furthermore, it provides evidence for the benefits of combining EO with LO in SMEs in the dynamic software industry, while prior studies on the topic have focused on larger organizations.
The usefulness of strategic planning in a turbulent economic environment: a case of Zimbabwe during the period 2007‐2009
Authors: Mufudza Tsitsi , Jengeta Mirriam , Hove Precious 
Published: January 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the feasibility of strategic planning in times of turbulent economic conditions.Design/methodology/approachThis paper discusses how various Zimbabwean organizations incorporated the aspect of strategic planning during the period 2007‐2009 in order to establish its relevance in different economic situations.FindingsStrategic planning process is very difficult to carry out during turbulent economic conditions though there are some aspects of the process that are indispensible.Practical implicationsOrganizations can survive without sticking to their strategic plans in times of turbulent economic environment.Originality/valueThe situation that prevailed in Zimbabwe in 2007‐2009 was unique and this paper endeavours to analyse the feasibility of strategic planning in a turbulent economic environment.
Interlocking directorates' effects on economic system's competitiveness
Authors: Simoni Michele , Caiazza Rosa 
Published: January 2013

PurposeInterlocks' network evolves and changes over time. Ties are created and destroyed and firm's position in the network changes. The alternate views on interlocks' evolution existing in literature lead the authors to investigate interlocks' network dynamics through a framework based on structural and qualitative change. This research aims to analyze qualitative and quantitative evolutions of Italian network of interlocks among firms listed on Milan stock exchange.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses the dynamic network analysis to test the evolution of Italian network of interlocked firms and its consequence for firms' competitivenessFindingsThe article evidences interlocking directorates effects on Italian system's competitivenessOriginality/valueThis article offers a new perspective of analysis in interlocking directorates' evolution
Housing ex‐prisoners: the role of the third sector
Authors: Mills Alice , Gojkovic Dina , Meek Rosie , Mullins David 
Published: January 2013

PurposeThe aim of the paper is to examine the contribution made by housing‐related third sector organisations (TSOs) in assisting ex‐prisoners to find housing, and the barriers they face in doing so.Design/methodology/approachAn offender survey was used to measure awareness of and engagement with TSOs in eight prisons, alongside qualitative interviews with prisoners, criminal justice staff and TSO representatives.FindingsDespite the involvement of TSOs, securing accommodation for ex‐prisoners remains complex and difficult, largely due to high service demand, housing shortages, budget cuts, and needs assessment and allocations systems which reduce the responsiveness of housing providers to the reducing re‐offending agenda.Research limitations/implicationsThe research benefited from a mixed‐method approach which captured the perceptions of service users and professionals. The response rate for the offender survey was low (12 per cent), and the survey findings should be treated with caution.Practical implicationsLocal authorities and other housing providers need to be more willing to accept ex‐prisoners as potential service users, and better links need to be made between local homelessness strategies, choice based lettings systems and prisoner resettlement programmes. Providing support services to ex‐offenders may encourage such acceptance and help to maintain the motivation to desist from crime.Originality/valuePrevious research has paid little specific attention to the role of TSOs in (ex)offender housing. This paper addresses this omission by drawing on original empirical research to examine the value of their work in securing accommodation for ex‐prisoners and helping to reduce re‐offending.
Studying and teaching at UK degree programmes in India
Authors: Dwivedi Mridula 
Published: January 2013

PurposeBranch campuses and other types of partnerships are becoming increasingly common where a degree provider starts offering a programme in another nation. The aim of this paper is to focus specifically on the student and staff experience of learning in UK degree programmes operating in India.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology followed for this study was qualitative. Open‐ended responses were invited from students and members of faculty about their experiences from two UK degree programmes in India. The data were analysed by using open coding which led to the identification of major categories.FindingsStudents expressed high level of satisfaction related to the internal environment particularly the quality of education provided by a foreign degree. But they also worry about the regulatory environment, branding and industry linkages of such programmes.Research limitations/implicationsOne of the most obvious limitations of this research is that the results cannot be generalized. The satisfaction with the academic engagement expressed by the students and the faculty could be due the strong systems put in place by these specific partnerships and not a generic feature of transnational partnerships.Practical implicationsThis paper highlights that the educational issues important in the host nation may be different to the home nation. So equivalence of degrees or even rankings in the home country may not automatically get transferred in the host nation.Originality/valueStudent and faculty experience of learning in a foreign degree programme without leaving their country is underreported in the literature. To the best of the author's knowledge no work exists on the foreign degree programmes existing in India and this paper is the first attempt to research the issues related to transnational education in India.
Multi‐dimensional response–probability–dose curves for bupivacaine and ropivacaine epidural labour analgesia
Authors: Ngan Kee W. D. , Lee A. 
Published: January 2013

SummaryDescribing the relationship between magnitude of response, probability of response, dose and time is difficult using traditional two‐dimensional dose–response curves. We devised a novel way of presentation in four dimensions. Data from a previous study of epidural bupivacaine and ropivacaine given for labour analgesia were re‐analysed. For a range of response magnitudes (5–95% reduction in pain score), estimates of doses associated with probabilities of response 0.05–0.95 were calculated using probit analysis. Three dimensional surface plots were constructed with axes x = magnitude of response, y = probability of response and z = log(dose) at intervals for 30 min. Arithmetic interpolation was used to assemble an animation depicting temporal changes in relationship between variables (fourth dimension). Response–probability–dose curves in three and four dimensions were constructed and presented for both drugs. We believe that this model is more aligned with the logic of clinical dose selection compared with traditional two‐dimensional curves.
Getting a grip on tetrapod grasping: form, function, and evolution
Authors: Sustaita Diego , Pouydebat Emmanuelle , Manzano Adriana , Abdala Virginia , Hertel Fritz , Herrel Anthony 
Published: January 2013

ABSTRACTHuman beings have been credited with unparalleled capabilities for digital prehension grasping. However, grasping behaviour is widespread among tetrapods. The propensity to grasp, and the anatomical characteristics that underlie it, appear in all of the major groups of tetrapods with the possible exception of terrestrial turtles. Although some features are synapomorphic to the tetrapod clade, such as well‐defined digits and digital musculature, other features, such as opposable digits and tendon configurations, appear to have evolved independently in many lineages. Here we examine the incidence, functional morphology, and evolution of grasping across four major tetrapod clades. Our review suggests that the ability to grasp with the manus and pes is considerably more widespread, and ecologically and evolutionarily important, than previously thought. The morphological bases and ecological factors that govern grasping abilities may differ among tetrapods, yet the selective forces shaping them are likely similar. We suggest that further investigation into grasping form and function within and among these clades may expose a greater role for grasping ability in the evolutionary success of many tetrapod lineages.
Increasing Liana Abundance and Basal Area in a Tropical Forest: The Contribution of Long‐distance Clonal Colonization
Authors: Yorke Suzanne R. , Schnitzer Stefan A. , Mascaro Joseph , Letcher Susan G. , Carson Walter P. 
Published: January 2013

AbstractRecent evidence suggests that liana abundance and biomass are increasing in Neotropical forests, representing a major structural change to tropical ecosystems. Explanations for these increases, however, remain largely untested. Over an 8‐yr period (1999–2007), we censused lianas in nine, 24 × 36 m permanent plots in old‐growth and selectively logged forest at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica to test whether: (1) liana abundance and basal area are increasing in this forest; (2) the increase is being driven by increased recruitment, decreased mortality, or both; and (3) long‐distance clonal colonization explains the increase in liana abundance and basal area. We defined long‐distance clonal colonization as lianas that entered and rooted in the plots as vegetative propagules of stems that originated from outside or above the plot, and were present in 2007, but not in 1999 or 2002. Our hypotheses were supported in the old‐growth forest: mean liana abundance and BA (≥1 cm diameter) increased 15 and 20 percent, respectively, and clonal colonization from outside of the plots contributed 19 and 60 percent (respectively) to these increases. Lianas colonized clonally by falling vertically from the forest canopy above or growing horizontally along the forest floor and re‐rooting—common forms of colonization for many liana species. In the selectively logged forest, liana abundance and BA did not change, and thus the pattern of increasing lianas may be restricted to old‐growth forests. In summary, our data support the hypothesis that lianas are increasing in old‐growth forests, and that long‐distance clonal colonization is a major contributor.
Bone morphogenetic protein‐9 induces epithelial to mesenchymal transition in hepatocellular carcinoma cells
Authors: Li Qi , Gu Xing , Weng Honglei , Ghafoory Shahrouz , Liu Yan , Feng Teng , Dzieran Johanna , Li Li , Ilkavets Iryna , Kruithof‐ de Julio Marianna , Munker Stefan , Marx Alexander , Piiper Albrecht , Augusto Alonso Eduardo , Gretz Norbert , Gao Chunfang , Wölfl Stefan , Dooley Steven , Breitkopf‐Heinlein Katja 
Published: January 2013

Epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) is an important mechanism to initiate cancer invasion and metastasis. Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)‐9 is a member of the transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β superfamily. It has been suggested to play a role in cancer development in some non‐hepatic tumors. In the present study, two hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) lines, HLE and HepG2, were treated with BMP‐9 in vitro, and phenotypic changes and cell motility were analyzed. In situ hybridization (ISH) and immunohistochemical analyses were performed with human HCC tissue samples in order to assess expression levels of BMP‐9. In vivo, BMP‐9 protein and mRNA were expressed in all the tested patients to diverse degrees. At the protein level, mildly positive (1 + ) BMP‐9 staining could be observed in 25/41 (61%), and moderately to strongly positive (2 + ) in 16/41 (39%) of the patients. In 27/41 (65%) patients, the BMP‐9 protein expression level was consistent with the mRNA expression level as measured by ISH. In those patients with 2 + protein level, nuclear pSmad1 expression in cancer cells was also significantly increased. Expression of BMP‐9 was positively related to nuclear Snail expression and reversely correlated to cell surface E‐cadherin expression, although this did not reach statistical significance. Expression levels of BMP‐9 were significantly associated with the T stages of the investigated tumors and high levels of BMP‐9 were detected by immunofluorescence especially at the tumor borders in samples from an HCC mouse model. In vitro, BMP‐9 treatment caused a reduction of E‐cadherin and ZO‐1 and an induction of Vimentin and Snail expression. Furthermore, cell migration was enhanced by BMP‐9 in both HCC cell lines. These results imply that EMT induced by BMP‐9 is related to invasiveness of HCC.
Constrained adoptive parenthood and family transition: adopters' experience of unplanned birth family contact in adolescence
Authors: MacDonald Mandi , McSherry Dominic 
Published: January 2013

AbstractAdoption policy in the UK emphasizes its role in providing secure, permanent relationships to children in care who are unable to live with their birth families. Adoptive parents are crucial in providing this life‐long, stable experience of family for these vulnerable children. This paper explores the experience of adoptive parenthood in the context of changes to adoptive kinship relationships brought about by new, unplanned contact with birth family during their child's middle adolescence. This contact was initiated via informal social networks and/or social media, with older birth siblings instrumental in negotiating renewed relationships. The contact precipitated a transition in adoptive family life resulting in emotional challenges and changes in parent/child relationships, which were experienced as additional to the normative transitions expected during adolescence. Parental concern as a dominant theme was founded in the child and birth sibling's stage of adolescence, coupled with constraints on adoptive parenthood imposed by the use of social media, by perceived professional attitudes and by parental social cognitions about the importance of birth ties. Adoptive parents' accounts are interpreted with reference to family life‐cycle theory and implications are suggested for professional support of adoptive kinship relationships.
Looked‐after children and their birth families: using sociology to explore changing relationships, hidden histories and nomadic childhoods
Authors: Holland Sally , Crowley Anne 
Published: January 2013

AbstractThis paper draws on a series of life‐history interviews with 16 young adults who were all formerly looked‐after children. Eight young men and eight young women aged 17 to 25 took part in the study in Wales, UK. They had experienced a wide range of circumstances at home, in care and after care. They were contacted through a self‐advocacy organization and other care leavers' groups. The paper explores how insights from the sociology of the family can serve to enhance understandings of these young people's life stories and, additionally, how their lived experiences can contribute to this sociological field. Key themes explored in the paper include the emotional co‐presence of the birth family for children living in substitute care, the dynamic nature of experiences and perceptions of family relationships through the life course, the importance of siblings and the insightful reflections of participants on the challenges of learning to ‘do’ family across childhoods marked by nomadism. The paper concludes that a holistic theoretical approach that embraces ‘psy’ and sociological understandings of families and relationships will be most productive for researchers, practitioners and families.