bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Entrepreneurship and innovation: the case of Yangtze River Delta in China
Authors: Zheng Jianghuai , Hu Zhining , Wang Jialing 
Published: May 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the role of entrepreneurship in the process of enhancing economic innovation in the Yangtze River Delta of China.Design/methodology/approachA system of simultaneous‐dynamic panel equations is developed that incorporates the relationships between entrepreneurship, human capital (HC) and research and development (R&D) expenditures. Then, the generalized methods of moment approach designed by Arellano and Bond is applied to estimate this system and investigate whether there is a possibility to promote innovation through the channel of entrepreneurship in the Delta.FindingsThe empirical results reveal a significant relationship between entrepreneurship and HC, but insignificant relationship between R&D expenditures and entrepreneurship in the Delta.Research limitations/implicationsThe Delta has a potential to transform its growth strategy due to its HC endowment as an antecedent of innovation, but entrepreneurs and local governments should seek more opportunities to exploit and strengthen their R&D base in the Delta.Originality/valueIn order to find an effective remedy for the current downturn in the Delta, this paper studies the role of entrepreneurship and assesses the potential that the Delta has in carrying out an innovation‐based growth strategy.
Acquisition of tacit marketing knowledge
Authors: Yuan Wang Karen , Li‐Hua Richard , Xu Er‐Ming 
Published: May 2009

PurposeFocusing on entrepreneurship in China's emerging economy, this paper aims to explore the extent to which the human capital and social capital of Chinese entrepreneurs facilitates their acquisition of tacit marketing knowledge.Design/methodology/approachObservation and literature review are presented.FindingsThe paper proposes a conceptual framework that links tacit marketing knowledge and entrepreneurs' human and social capital. When accessibility of the general knowledge of expertise and professional business in a society is low, Chinese entrepreneurs in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) thus depend on their own resources of human capital and abilities of social capital to acquire tacit knowledge. Both specific and general human capitals facilitate Chinese entrepreneurs' acquisition of tacit marketing knowledge. With a strong awareness of the low level of institutional trust in the current transition economy, Chinese entrepreneurs develop the interpersonal trusting relationship to gain social support. Through the trust and trustworthiness, the quality of relationships in business networks creates the personal relational resource for tacit knowledge reciprocity.Originality/valueThis paper fills the gap in the literature by identifying critical intervening components of human and social capitals in the entrepreneurship process in China's emerging market knowledge which have previously remained untouched. The key issues of how Chinese entrepreneurs of private SMEs initially acquire knowledge‐based resources to operate their businesses are critically proposed.
Climatic changes and groundwater resources in Africa
Authors: Anwar Al‐Gamal Samir , Sokona Youba , Dodo Abdel‐Kader 
Published: May 2009

PurposeThis paper aims to understand the impacts of climate changes on groundwater resources in the African continent in which groundwater components constitute one of the most indispensable resources for development.Design/methodology/approachObserved data are used for the first time to illustrate the manifested impacts of climate changes on the groundwater resources either directly or indirectly, this includes the comparison between isoheytal maps as well as water level data versus time.FindingsThe results of the analysis suggest that climate change is likely to impact groundwater resources, either directly, e.g. via changing precipitation patterns, or indirectly, e.g. through the interaction of changing precipitation patterns via changing land‐use practices and water demand. These changes may concern both groundwater quantity and quality. Climate change will affect groundwater recharge rates, i.e. the renewable groundwater resource, and groundwater levels. Any decrease in groundwater recharge will exacerbate the effect of sea‐level rise. In inland aquifers, a decrease in groundwater recharge can lead to saltwater intrusion of neighbouring saline aquifers, and increased evapotranspiration in semi‐arid and arid regions may lead to the salinisation of shallow aquifers.Originality/valueIn Africa, climate change and variability have the potential to impose additional pressures on water availability, water accessibility and water demands which will directly be impacted on eradicating poverty as a direct consequence of climate changes on sustainable development in Africa. A more refined understanding from specialists should be addressed to raise public and stakeholder awareness in this respect.
The need for adaptive strategic planning
Authors: Mirfenderesk Hamid , Corkill David 
Published: May 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the feasibility of developing an adaptive strategy to address the impact of climate change in the context of flooding.Design/methodology/approachThe paper analyses flood risk and highlights the need for an adaptive strategic plan for flood risk management under the impact of climate change. It introduces a framework for the development of an adaptive strategic plan. The paper identifies organizational issues (at the local government scale) associated with having an adaptive strategic plan and developing a methodology to address these issues. It also identifies the need for a strategic decision support system (SDSS) and conceptualizing the system in order to support adaptive planning principle.FindingsThis study identifies lack of adaptability as a gap in traditional strategic planning for addressing flood risk associated with climate change. An adaptive strategic plan has adequate flexibility, promptness and responsiveness to adapt itself to new realities as they emerge and can sustain itself and remain relevant in a changing environment. The study introduces a SDSS that is necessary to support the adaptive element of an adaptive strategic plan.Originality/valueThis study distinguishes between a strategy for adaptation and an adaptive strategy. Most research on the topic of adaptation to climate change have been focused on developing strategies that offer adaptive solutions to pressing problems such as flooding. For instance, they may recommend more investment on non‐structural methods for flood mitigation, as they are more adaptive than alternative structural methods and therefore more sustainable under climate change. An issue that has attracted less attention is the fact that the strategic plans themselves (or in a sense the decision‐making framework) need to be equally adaptive. Some of public institutions do not have adequate flexibility and promptness to change and rectify high‐level strategic plans. The study identifies the lack of an SDSS, which allows new scientific findings to be converted to new policies in a short period of time, as a reason for absence of promptness, responsiveness and flexibility in such organizations. This study makes an attempt to address this issue by suggesting a frame work that will enable a government institution to become more responsive to change.
Reduction of GHG emissions by geological storage of CO2
Authors: Gunter W.D. , Bachu Stefan , Buschkuehle Maja , Michael Karsten , Ordorica‐Garcia Guillermo , Hauck Tyler 
Published: May 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify and characterize a geological storage site at more than 800 m depth that is capable of storing large quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Alberta Basin and is close to a large CO2 supply.Design/methodology/approachFive criteria are used to select the site: total volume of the pore space of the formation for CO2 (i.e. capacity); accessibility of the pore space in the storage site to CO2 (i.e. permeability or injectivity); ability of the storage site to retain the CO2 once the CO2 has been injected (i.e. containment); protection of other resources from contamination; and cost of the whole process: capture of the CO2, transport and storage (i.e. economics).FindingsThe Heartland Redwater Leduc Reef is identified as a site that has large capacity, good injectivity, and is an excellent trap. Contamination of the oil in the oil reservoir at the top of the reef (the third largest oil reservoir in Canada) is avoided by co‐optimizing CO2 storage and oil production.Practical implicationsThe Heartland Redwater Leduc Reef is ideally located at relatively shallow depth (1,000‐1,200 m), has a large amount of residual oil and is close to large CO2 sources which make it one of the most economically attractive sites in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.Originality/valueThe Heartland Redwater Leduc Reef Saline Aquifer CO2 Capture and Geological Storage Project (HARP) is investigating the technical and economic feasibility of injecting significant volumes of CO2 into the large water‐saturated portion of a huge Devonian reef that is capped by a comparatively small oil reservoir, nevertheless the third largest oil pool in Canada. The reef has a total areal extent of nearly 600 km3, is more than 1,000 m deep and is up to 275 m thick. Based on the high‐water injectivity in the reef, the potential exists to inject sustainably in excess of 1,000 tonnes of CO2 per day per well in the aquifer portion of the reef. Preliminary storage capacity estimates for the aquifer are in the order of one gigatonne of CO2. The Heartland Redwater Leduc Reef has the combination of a large oil reservoir sitting on top of a much larger local aquifer. This is a unique site for storage in Canada and could be a model for the rest of the world for carbon dioxide capture and storage.
Integrating local perspectives into climate change decision making in rural areas of the Canadian prairies
Authors: Patiño Lorena , Gauthier David A. 
Published: May 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a methodological approach to assist and prepare rural community members to make policy makers better aware of their information needs.Design/methodology/approachThe methodological approach developed in this study both combines sequences of mapping presentations and small group discussions, based on ethnographic findings and climate change scenarios and also supports the integration of local and scientific knowledge in an effort to build upon local community members understanding of climate change. Participatory mapping sessions are designed and implemented in three rural communities of the Canadian prairies.FindingsThe application of the methodological approach developed in this study results in a set of rural community recommendations, relevant to policy makers, in an effort to ameliorate the potential future impacts of climate change at the local community level.Originality/valueThe need for developing venues capable of integrating the multiple dimensions (e.g. social, economic, biophysical); the multiple realities (e.g. rural community members, scientific community members); and the multiple modes of inquiry (e.g. qualitative, quantitative) involved in climate change vulnerability and adaptation.
Effects of banks on “debt‐sensitive” small businesses
Authors: Berger Allen N. , Ostromogolsky Philip 
Published: May 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify which small businesses are most “debt sensitive”, or most likely to be affected by banking market conditions.Design/methodology/approachFor the primary debt sensitivity categories, the paper hypothesizes that bank conditions are most likely to have significant effects on firms in size classes and industries that are “on the bubble” for credit availability (probability of credit close to 0.50), rather than those with “relatively easy” or “relatively difficult” access to credit (probability much higher or lower, respectively). The secondary classifications also require that loans fund a substantial proportion of assets for the firms in the category that have loans. These hypotheses are tested using a comprehensive data set of US small businesses by size class and industry matched with variables measuring bank market power, market structure, and efficiency in the firm's local markets.FindingsFindings show that the data are consistent with the hypotheses, with the strongest support for the hypotheses occurring using the secondary classifications. In terms of policy implications, the findings suggest that the credit availability of small, debt‐sensitive firms may be reduced by within‐market mergers that increase concentration in rural markets, but that the more common type of recent consolidation – creating larger banks that operate in more markets – may be associated with an increase in credit availability for these sensitive firms. Such an increase in credit availability would be magnified if consolidation resulted in increased bank operating efficiency.Originality/valueThe paper offers insights into the effect of banks on “debt‐sensitive” small businesses.
A (partial) resolution of the Chinese discount puzzle
Authors: Karolyi G. Andrew , Li Lianfa , Liao Rose 
Published: May 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the changes in B‐share discounts across 76 Chinese stocks around an important regulatory event to understand the importance of political risk in pricing stocks in emerging markets.Design/methodology/approachOn February 19, 2001, the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission announced that Chinese residents would be allowed to own B‐share classes of stocks traded on both the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets. These share classes were previously restricted to foreign investors while domestic residents were only permitted to hold A‐share classes of stock and were typically priced at a significant discount. This regulatory change triggered a dramatic decline of prevailing B‐share discounts from 80 percent down to 40 percent.FindingsThe paper finds that the largest declines in the B‐share discounts around this regulatory event are concentrated in the firms with low government ownership stakes and are unrelated to the firms' risks, relative supplies of shares outstanding and liquidity attributes.Research limitations/implicationsThis surprising finding challenges the current wisdom about what influences the B‐share discount and particularly the role of political risk in explaining the discount puzzle.Originality/valueThe paper offers an alternative interpretation for the B‐share discount puzzle. The findings have important implications for China's future financial liberalization policies.
Do markets “discipline” all banks equally?
Authors: Santos Joa˜o A.C. 
Published: May 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the bond market disciplines all banks equally, in the sense of demanding the same relative risk premium across banks of different risk over the business cycle.Design/methodology/approachTo test this hypothesis, the paper compares the difference between the credit spreads in the primary market of bank and firm bonds with the same credit rating issued during expansions with that same difference of spreads for bonds issued during recessions.FindingsThe paper finds that during recessions investors demand higher risk premiums. Importantly, the paper finds that the impact of recessions is not uniform across banks – it affects riskier banks more than safer ones. In other words, in recessions investors are relatively more demanding on riskier banks than on safer ones.Originality/valueThese findings are novel. They also have important policy implications because they show that a bond‐issuance policy aimed at promoting market discipline could affect the relative funding costs of banks over the business cycle. They also indicate that the information which can be extracted from the credit spreads on bank bonds varies across banks for reasons unrelated to their risk.
In young men, a moderate inhibition of testosterone synthesis capacity is only partly compensated by increased activity of the pituitary and the hypothalamus
Authors: Woerdeman Jorn , Kaufman Jean‐Marc , De Ronde Willem 
Published: May 2009

SummaryContext  The classical interpretation of the feedback regulation of the male hypothalamo–pituitary–gonadal axis predicts that a partial inhibition of testosterone (T) synthesis will result in a compensatory rise in LH secretion. The question arises as to whether such a compensation is complete or that decreased T synthesis may result in a lower plasma T concentration.Objective  To investigate whether a moderate inhibition of T synthesis capacity will be fully compensated by increased LH secretion.Design, subjects and interventions  In nine young healthy men, we partially inhibited T synthesis capacity using ketoconazole (KTZ) 100 mg four times daily. On day –6 (1 week prior to KTZ intake), days 1 and 8 of KTZ administration blood was drawn [07:00 h (t1), 10:00 h (t2), 13:00 h (t3)] for evaluation of T, LH, oestradiol (E2), 17‐OH‐progesterone (17OHP), progesterone (PR) and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). On day 8, 5000 IU of hCG were administered to evaluate the maximal T secretion under KTZ.Results  Administration of KTZ resulted in an acute, moderate but significant decrease of plasma T concentration. On day 8, plasma LH, 17OHP and PR were elevated relative to day –6 and day 1, but mean T was still lower compared to day –6. Mean E2 and SHBG were only slightly affected by KTZ. After stimulation by hCG, plasma T was restored to its baseline level.Conclusion  These results argue against the assumption that a moderate decline in T synthesis capacity will be compensated completely by increased LH secretion.
Hormonal therapy and sex reassignment: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of quality of life and psychosocial outcomes
Authors: Murad Mohammad Hassan , Elamin Mohamed B. , Garcia Magaly Zumaeta , Mullan Rebecca J. , Murad Ayman , Erwin Patricia J. , Montori Victor M. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryObjective  To assess the prognosis of individuals with gender identity disorder (GID) receiving hormonal therapy as a part of sex reassignment in terms of quality of life and other self‐reported psychosocial outcomes.Methods  We searched electronic databases, bibliography of included studies and expert files. All study designs were included with no language restrictions. Reviewers working independently and in pairs selected studies using predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted outcome and quality data. We used a random‐effects meta‐analysis to pool proportions and estimate the 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We estimated the proportion of between‐study heterogeneity not attributable to chance using the I2 statistic.Results  We identified 28 eligible studies. These studies enrolled 1833 participants with GID (1093 male‐to‐female, 801 female‐to‐male) who underwent sex reassignment that included hormonal therapies. All the studies were observational and most lacked controls. Pooling across studies shows that after sex reassignment, 80% of individuals with GID reported significant improvement in gender dysphoria (95% CI = 68–89%; 8 studies; I2 = 82%); 78% reported significant improvement in psychological symptoms (95% CI = 56–94%; 7 studies; I2 = 86%); 80% reported significant improvement in quality of life (95% CI = 72–88%; 16 studies; I2 = 78%); and 72% reported significant improvement in sexual function (95% CI = 60–81%; 15 studies; I2 = 78%).Conclusions  Very low quality evidence suggests that sex reassignment that includes hormonal interventions in individuals with GID likely improves gender dysphoria, psychological functioning and comorbidities, sexual function and overall quality of life.
Features at diagnosis of 324 patients with acromegaly did not change from 1981 to 2006: acromegaly remains under‐recognized and under‐diagnosed
Authors: Reid Tirissa J. , Post Kalmon D. , Bruce Jeffrey N. , Nabi Kanibir M. , Reyes‐Vidal Carlos M. , Freda Pamela U. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryBackground  Traditionally, acromegaly evaded diagnosis until in its clinically obvious later stages when treatment is more difficult. Over the last 25 years diagnostic tests have improved, but whether clinical disease detection also improved was unknown, so we tested if disease severity at diagnosis had changed from 1981 to 2006.Methods  Data on 324 consecutive acromegaly patients presenting from 1981 to 2006 at two New York City hospitals were collected by retrospective review (n = 324) and by interview (n = 200). The main complaint, acromegaly associated comorbidities, signs, symptoms, healthcare providers visited, preoperative GH and IGF‐I levels and pituitary tumour size at diagnosis were compared in patients presenting in the earlier vs. later halves of the time period.Results  Times from symptom onset to diagnosis were 5·9 year (early) vs. 5·2 year (late; P = NS). At diagnosis, 96% of early and late groups had facial feature changes and/or hand/foot enlargement. Comorbidities included hypertension 37% (early) vs. 36% (late), carpal tunnel syndrome (24%vs. 24%), sleep apnoea (13%vs. 29%; P < 0·01), osteoarthritis (25%vs. 23%) and diabetes mellitus (18%vs. 15%); each patient had 1·2 (early) vs. 1·3 (late; P = 0·53) comorbidities. Groups were similar in signs, symptoms, tumour size, GH and IGF‐I.Conclusions  Clinical, biochemical and tumour size characteristics at diagnosis of acromegaly patients were unchanged from 1981 to 2006. Most patients still have marked manifestations of acromegaly at diagnosis, suggesting that acromegaly remains clinically under‐recognized. Healthcare professionals should more commonly consider acromegaly, which can lead to earlier diagnosis and better treatment outcome.
Leptinemia and its association with stroke and coronary heart disease in the Jackson Heart Study
Authors: Liu Jiankang , Butler Kenneth R. , Buxbaum Sarah G. , Sung Jung Hye , Campbell Brenda W. , Taylor Herman A. 
Published: May 2009

SummaryBackground  To examine the association of increased plasma leptin concentration with prevalent stroke and coronary heart disease (CHD) and to examine the genetic contributions of leptin to this association in the Jackson Heart Study cohort.Methods  A cohort of 5170 participants aged 21–84 years who underwent Exam I during 2000–2004 was analysed. Odds ratios (OR) of prevalent stroke and CHD were calculated using a logistic regression model adjusted for age, smoking, hypertension and waist circumference (WC). Variance component analysis was used to partition the phenotypic variance of leptin into the polygenic and environmental components.Results  The prevalence of stroke and CHD was 4·04% and 5·85% in women, and 4·88% and 8·92% in men, respectively. Body mass index (BMI) and WC were highly correlated with leptin both in men and women. In multivariate analysis stratified by sex, leptin was significantly associated with stroke (OR = 1·97, 95% CI = 1·21–3·21) in women after adjustment for age, smoking, systolic blood pressure, BMI and WC (P = 0·0079). No significant association was observed in men. Heritability of sex‐, age‐adjusted log‐transformed leptin for this cohort was 38·0% and 37·8% after further adjustment for WC and hypertension, respectively. In addition, a sibship effect was also found to be significant and explained 12·2% of the total variance of leptin (P = 0·007).Conclusion  There is a significant association of leptin with stroke in women, which is partly influenced by the genetic factor. The findings suggest that leptinemia is an independent risk factor for stroke in African American women.