bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The leadership journey
Authors: Jones Ray 
Published: August 2012

PurposeThis paper aims to present a personal reflection on leadership.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on over 40 years of the author holding leadership roles in the personal social services in the UK, within a career which included 14 years leading an organisation with over 3,000 employees and a turn‐over, at today's costs, of £250 million.FindingsThe learning about leadership started at school and university, and a major lesson has been to recognise that leadership is not a solo activity. It encompasses a collaborative requirement to work with colleagues and to promote and value their contribution.Originality/valueThe paper provides useful information on leadership gleaned from personal observation.
Leadership – an elusive concept
Authors: Gray Harry 
Published: August 2012

PurposeThis paper aims to look at how the word “leadership” is often used too casually and too carelessly.Design/methodology/approachAttention is drawn to the importance of understanding the nature of the organisation where leadership occurs.FindingsThe paper illustrates why leadership is not a matter of personal qualities but a “function of the organisation” in which the overriding consideration is context and organisational purpose.Originality/valueThe paper provides a useful explanation of leadership.
Financing social enterprise: social bricolage or evolutionary entrepreneurialism?
Authors: Sunley Peter , Pinch Steven 
Published: August 2012

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the extent to which urban social enterprises (SEs) have diversified their funding sources and shifted towards loans and development finance in recent years. The paper seeks to consider the underlying reasons for a limited demand for loans by comparing two theoretical perspectives on SE development. The concept of “social bricolage” implies SEs do not seek conventional business loans or equity finance, because they survive in resource poor environments by improvising and re‐using redundant capital. A second evolutionary approach implies that SE financing will be dominated by a reliance on habits and practices learnt from the contexts in which social entrepreneurs have operated.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on analysis of interviews with 40 SEs in four English cities.FindingsThe paper finds a limited degree of change and scant evidence of local decentralisation in social enterprises' financial contexts. It argues that both conceptual approaches offer important insights into the causes of the low level of demand for development finance by emphasising the importance of practical and improvised financial management. This is an adaptive response to uncertainty but is also a manifestation of SEs' inherited capabilities in public and charitable finance.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is based on a relatively small sample of social enterprises in central and deprived urban areas. The financial practices of social enterprises in other types of environment also require examination.Practical implicationsIt is unrealistic to expect the majority of SEs to secure conventional loan finance, instead they require “softer” finance and intensive support from intermediaries.Originality/valueThe paper makes a novel empirical contribution by revealing social enterprises' views and recent experiences with funding. Its approach allows an intensive examination of key financial issues. It makes an original theoretical contribution by seeking to apply, develop, and evaluate two theoretical perspectives on the form and practices of social enterprises.
Re‐assessing Schumpeterian assumptions regarding entrepreneurship and the social
Authors: Palmås Karl 
Published: August 2012

PurposeIn recent discussions on social entrepreneurship, there have been calls for the discipline to make better use of general theories of entrepreneurship. This article seeks to argue that while the literature may not be explicitly theoretical, it often draws upon taken‐for‐granted concepts inherited from Joseph Schumpeter.Design/methodology/approachThe text seeks to identify Schumpeterian assumptions within the social entrepreneurship literature, and introduce alternative perspectives on “the social” and “entrepreneurship”, drawn from the social theory of Gabriel Tarde. These are then discussed in the context of the social entrepreneurial initiative Hand in Hand.FindingsThe article identifies and re‐assesses three assumptions: that of the social as container; that of capitalism‐specific societal dynamism; and that of the atomistic, non‐inventive entrepreneur.Originality/valueBy re‐imagining “the social” and “entrepreneurship” through the work of Tarde, the article suggests that scholars can develop new conceptualisations of social entrepreneurship.
Customer satisfaction and service quality in Islamic banking
Authors: Abdul Rehman Asma 
Published: August 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between customer satisfaction and six dimensions of service quality (CARTER model) in Islamic banks of Pakistan, the UK and UAE.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a sample of 225 customers of Islamic banks; 75 responses have been taken from each country. Structured questionnaire technique has been used to collect data.FindingsThe paper's findings reveal that Pakistani and UK Islamic banking customers consider assurance, reliability and empathy as significant factors for customer satisfaction, whereas UAE customers consider assurance and tangible as significant dimensions of satisfaction.Research limitations/implicationsThe study's limitation relates to the sample size of the respondents.Practical implicationsThis study is significantly important for the academic point of view, as well as for the practitioners, managers and policy makers to find out the pattern of customer satisfaction in terms of service quality for Islamic banks.Originality/valueThe current study is of particular value because it is a comparative study of customer satisfaction and service quality dimensions (CARTER model) of Islamic banks in Pakistan, UK, and UAE.
Credit risk management: a case differentiating Islamic and non‐Islamic banks in UAE
Authors: Masood Omar , Al Suwaidi Hasan , Darshini Pun Thapa Priya 
Published: August 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify any differences between the Islamic and non‐Islamic banks in the UAE on credit risk management.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses survey based methodology for data collection. The sample for the study consists of six commercial banks from UAE with three non‐Islamic and three Islamic banks and with 148 credit risk managers as respondents for the survey. The study aims to investigate factors which distinguish between Islamic and non‐Islamic banks in UAE. This is achieved by fitting a binary logistic regression model.FindingsThe study shows that the managers in Islamic banks now do not rely only on personal experiences and simple credit risk analysis. The Islamic banks appear also to be developing and practising the newer and robust techniques, in addition to traditional methods, to manage their credit risk in UAE compared to non‐Islamic banks, which indicates a possibility of further improvement in their credit risk management.Originality/valueThe paper uses questionnaire‐based methodology, which has not been used previously in the UAE financial sector, as well as in studies of credit risk management. Therefore, this research could become the cornerstone of further academic research in other developing countries using this methodology.
Bank‐specific and macroeconomic profitability determinants of Islamic banks
Authors: Masood Omar , Ashraf Muhammad 
Published: August 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to inspect whether bank‐specific and macro‐economic determinants influence Islamic banks' profitability in the selected countries of different regions.Design/methodology/approachIn order to achieve the study objective and to answer the question, the balanced panel data regression model has been used. Bank level data is used and this study examines the alternative measures ROA and ROE as a bank‐specific function and macro‐economic determinants.FindingsThe study results signify that banks with larger assets size and with efficient management lead to greater return on assets.Originality/valueThe paper shows that management efficiency regarding operating expenses positively and significantly affects the banks' profitability.
A history of the concept of branding: practice and theory
Authors: Bastos Wilson , Levy Sidney J. 
Published: August 2012

PurposeThis inquiry aims to contribute to the literature on the historical developments that have influenced the origin, uses, and meanings of branding.Design/methodology/approachIn this qualitative work an historical methodology was followed and, according to Howell and Prevenier's guidelines, a wide variety of sources were selected of the data presented. Moreover, this study draws on three important perspectives – that of the practitioner, the scholar, and the consumer – in order to offer a thorough view of the relevant issues concerning the evolution of branding.FindingsThe investigation suggests that various forces (e.g., the media, economic developments during the Second World War, marketing research and theorizing) have enacted a comprehensive transformation in the concept of branding. First, the paper offers evidence of the link between fire/burning and the origin of branding. Second, it shows that, in its early days, branding was characterized as a phenomenon with limited applicability. Third, the paper demonstrates how that phenomenon was transformed into a multidimensional, multifunctional, and malleable entity. Last, it presents recent evidence from both business and academia that shows the current, complex status of the concept of branding.Originality/valueThe paper is novel in its large perspective and integrative narrative, and the unusual exposure of its various conceptual issues and links. It should be of interest to marketing historians, brand managers, and scholars of branding.
A history of farmers' markets in Canada
Authors: Basil Michael 
Published: August 2012

PurposeFarmers' markets are often identified as the roots of marketing enterprise. They are usually considered as part of a traditional economy. This study seeks to examine how the social and political context shaped the appearance, growth, decline, and reappearance of farmers' markets in Canada. It aims to demonstrate the continuation and resilience of this industry.Design/methodology/approachPublished research and historical documents of Canadian farmers' markets were used to derive a periodization of events based on events and turning points to allow an understanding of the factors affecting business success.FindingsThis study finds three eras of farmers' markets in Canada that were shaped by the social and political environment. In the first era, between 1800 and 1915, immigrants brought their conception of farmers' markets from Europe to the early settlements of the “new world.” In the second era between 1916 and 1970, as people moved west they became more self‐sufficient. Life became modernized and farming became more industrial. People shifted from their reliance on farmers' markets to more general mercantile stores and then to modern supermarkets. In the third era, starting in the 1970s, farmers' markets came into resurgence, largely as a result of a growing interest in the environment and local foods. They are currently, however, mostly relegated to a niche role in the modern food supply.Originality/valueThis study shows how the success of a particular commercial enterprise, in this case farmers' markets, is shaped by and reacts to larger forces in the business environment.
Occasional publishers: producing and marketing books in England, 1771‐1844
Authors: Banham Rob 
Published: August 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the way in which a series of related printing businesses, owned by members of the Gye and Balne families in Bath and London from 1771 to 1844, selected and marketed their titles when they ventured into book printing and publishing.Design/methodology/approachThe basis of this research is extensive archival research analyzing primary sources, mainly the books and ephemera printed by the various firms, supported by information in contemporary newspapers and journals and in biographies of printers and publishers.FindingsThe focus of these businesses was not solely on production, but marketing was also considered, and each title was conceived and produced with a particular market in mind. In doing so evidence is provided of relatively advanced marketing strategies in use before 1850 and thus the paper questions the validity of the four eras model of marketing history.Research limitations/implicationsThe available primary sources are limited; while a number of books and other printed items have survived there are no extant accounts, correspondence, or other records for any of the firms that were studied.Originality/valueThere has been very little research into the way small businesses during this period approached the marketing of their products. This paper is a potential model for further such historical research and also provides an example of how research into specific companies can illuminate the larger history of marketing, potentially changing the way in which we understand the development of consumer society.
Futile search for a better life? Two biographical case studies on women with depression and video game dependency
Authors: Bleckmann Paula , Eckert Judith , Jukschat Nadine 
Published: August 2012

PurposeVideo game dependency (VGD) is a behavioural addiction on the rise with considerably higher prevalence among males, and the rates and patterns of comorbidity with other disorders seem to be comparable to that of substance‐related addictions. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the role of gaming behaviour and gaming motives in the biographical context for female addicts with this new type of dual diagnosis.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted semi‐structured biographical interviews as part of an interdisciplinary German research project on VGD conducted by the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony (KFN). Qualitative research process followed modified grounded theory.FindingsFor VGD women, frequent accounts of depression preceding VGD and of traumatic childhood experiences of loss and/or abuse were found. In two exemplary case studies, online gaming can be described at least in part as an unsuccessful coping attempt. For example, the MMORPGs seem to allow them to experience reliable “reward for their efforts” while experiencing feelings of worthlessness due to academic failure, to experience “social contact” in spite of a fear of closeness.Research limitations/implicationsGender specific strategies in prevention and treatment of VGD need to be considered, though further research is needed to verify the findings on a larger scale.Originality/valueThe research on gender and VGD dual diagnosis provides qualitative pioneer work in an area where no published research results are available.
Toward a recovery time: forest herbs insight related to anthropogenic acidification
Authors: Riofrío‐Dillon Gabriela , Bertrand Romain , Gégout Jean‐Claude 
Published: August 2012

AbstractAtmospheric deposition is a global concern contributing to soil acidification and biodiversity changes in forest ecosystems. Although acidifying deposition has decreased in the last decades in Europe, few evidence of ecosystem recovery from acidification has been reported until now. The objective of this study was to reconstruct spatiotemporal changes in soil pH across the entire French forest territory over the last 100‐year period through herb species assemblages. Data were collected from floristic databases resulting in a total of 120 216 plots covering French forests and spanning from 1910 to 2010. To define acidity figures, pH values were inferred from herb assemblages for each plot of the prediction dataset based on a weighted averaging partial least squares (WA‐PLS) model (R2 = 0.80, SD = 0.59 for the validation dataset). Spatiotemporal trends of mean pH changes were obtained by comparing plots with respect to the period (mean year of the period = 1933, 1966, 1984, 1997, 2007) and substrate (acidic and nonacidic forest areas). Bioindicated pH highlighted a decrease in soil pH in both acidic and nonacidic forest areas. The sharpest and most significant pH decrease occurred before 1984 in acidic areas, reaching 0.34 pH units. Subsequently, no significant changes were observed, with a tendency toward stabilization. By contrast, the pH decrease reached 0.19 pH units in nonacidic areas, only reaching significance between 1984 and 1997. Thereafter, we observed a slight and significant pH increase. Spatially, pH trends revealed a regionalized character of acidification regarding the substrate, which could not be related to the extent of deposition modeled by the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme. Both temporal and spatial trends highlight the lagged responses of nonacidic areas compared with acidic areas. Hence, floristic reconstructed pH trends demonstrate a gradual cessation and recovery from acidification of French forests after a period of intense atmospheric pollution.
Variability in morphology and cell proliferation in sequential biopsies of mantle cell lymphoma at diagnosis and relapse: clinical correlation and insights into disease progression
Authors: Vogt Niklas , Klapper Wolfram 
Published: August 2012

Aims:  The variable morphology of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is assumed to reflect progression from an early form with classical cytology and mantle zone or nodular growth to a later, more aggressive variant of the disease with blastoid cytology and a diffuse growth pattern. However, studies of sequential biopsies of MCL are very limited, and we therefore undertook to carry out such a study.Methods and results:  We analysed a cohort of 47 MCLs at primary diagnosis and relapse for cytology, growth pattern, and Ki67 index, and correlated the findings with outcome. In the majority of cases, the mantle zone growth pattern was lost, but it had been reacquired in a small subset of MCLs at relapse. Twenty‐two per cent of MCLs with classical/small cell cytology acquired blastoid features during the course of the disease. However, 50% of MCLs with blastoid cytology at primary diagnosis recurred as a classical variant. The Ki67 index increased over time, and was associated with prognosis in the primary and the relapse biopsy specimens.Conclusions:  This is the first study to show, in a large cohort of MCLs, that the Ki67 index increases over time in MCL. Assessment of the Ki67 index remains a useful prognostic tool if assessment is performed in the relapse situation.
A phase 1 study of lucatumumab, a fully human anti‐CD40 antagonist monoclonal antibody administered intravenously to patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma
Authors: Bensinger William , Maziarz Richard T. , Jagannath Sundar , Spencer Andrew , Durrant Simon , Becker Pamela S. , Ewald Brett , Bilic Sanela , Rediske John , Baeck Johan , Stadtmauer Edward A. 
Published: August 2012

SummaryIn this open‐label, multicentre, phase 1 study a fully human anti‐CD40 antagonist monoclonal antibody, lucatumumab, was evaluated in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (MM). The primary objective was to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) based on dose‐limiting toxicities (DLTs). Secondary objectives included safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and antimyeloma activity. Twenty‐eight patients, enrolled using a standard ‘3 + 3’ dose escalation, received one or two (n = 3) cycles of lucatumumab 1·0, 3·0, 4·5 or 6·0 mg/kg once weekly for 4 weeks. Common lucatumumab‐related adverse events were reversible, mild‐to‐moderate infusion reactions. Severe adverse events were anaemia, chills, hypercalcaemia and pyrexia (7% each). DLTs included grade 4 thrombocytopenia, grade 3 increased alanine aminotransferase and grade 4 increased lipase (n = 1 each). The MTD was 4·5 mg/kg. At doses ≥3·0 mg/kg, sustained receptor occupancy (≥87%), observed throughout weekly infusions up to 5 weeks after the last infusion, correlated with an estimated half‐life of 4–19 d. Twelve patients (43%) had stable disease, and one patient (4%) maintained a partial response for ≥8 months. These findings indicate that single‐agent lucatumumab was well tolerated up to 4·5 mg/kg with modest clinical activity in relapsed/refractory MM, warranting further study as a combination therapy.
Osmotic pressure can regulate matrix gene expression in Bacillus subtilis
Authors: Rubinstein Shmuel M. , Kolodkin‐Gal Ilana , Mcloon Anna , Chai Liraz , Kolter Roberto , Losick Richard , Weitz David A. 
Published: August 2012

SummaryMany bacteria organize themselves into structurally complex communities known as biofilms in which the cells are held together by an extracellular matrix. In general, the amount of extracellular matrix is related to the robustness of the biofilm. Yet, the specific signals that regulate the synthesis of matrix remain poorly understood. Here we show that the matrix itself can be a cue that regulates the expression of the genes involved in matrix synthesis in Bacillus subtilis. The presence of the exopolysaccharide component of the matrix causes an increase in osmotic pressure that leads to an inhibition of matrix gene expression. We further show that non‐specific changes in osmotic pressure also inhibit matrix gene expression and do so by activating the histidine kinase KinD. KinD, in turn, directs the phosphorylation of the master regulatory protein Spo0A, which at high levels represses matrix gene expression. Sensing a physical cue such as osmotic pressure, in addition to chemical cues, could be a strategy to non‐specifically co‐ordinate the behaviour of cells in communities composed of many different species.
Immunization with Leishmania Vaccine‐Alum‐BCG and Montanide ISA 720 Adjuvants Induces Low‐Grade Type 2 Cytokines and High Levels of IgG2 Subclass Antibodies in the Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops) Model
Authors: Mutiso J. M. , Macharia J. C. , Gicheru M. M. 
Published: August 2012

AbstractThe availability of hundreds of adjuvants has prompted a need for identifying rational standards for the selection of adjuvant formulation based on sound immunological principles for human vaccines. As cytokines elaborated by activated T cells are required for the regulation of isotype switch during B‐cell development, a study of Th2 cytokines and subclass distribution of the antibodies may shed new light on the processes involved in the polarization of the immune responses during vaccination studies. The aim of this study was to identify an appropriate Leishmania vaccine adjuvant based on low Th2 cytokine and high value IgG2 antibody responses. Groups of vervet monkeys were immunized with Leishmania donovani sonicate antigen (Ag) alone or in conjunction with alum‐BCG (AlBCG), monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) or montanide ISA 720 (MISA) as adjuvants. Following three time point intradermal injections on days 0, 28 and 42, IL‐4, IL‐10 and IgG antibody subclasses were quantified by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and data analysed by one‐way analysis of variance, Tukey–Kramer test and Spearman’s rank correlation analysis. Results indicated relatively higher IL‐4 and IL‐10 cytokine responses following MPL + Ag as compared to AlBCG + Ag or MISA + Ag immunization. There was a positive significant correlation between IL‐4 and IL‐10 levels (r = 1.000; P = 0.0167). Significantly higher IgG2 antibody responses were associated with either AlBCG + Ag or MISA + Ag as compared to MPL + Ag immunization (P < 0.05). The study concludes that both AlBCG and MISA may be used in Leishmania vaccine studies that favour low Th2 cytokine and strong IgG2 antibody responses.