bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Developing BTB relationships through direct marketing: customers' perceptions
Authors: Reis Raquel , Oates Caroline , McGuinness Martina , Elliott Dominic 
Published: October 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how business‐to‐business (BTB) relationships may be developed through direct marketing (DM) in the context of a Portuguese training organization.Design/methodology/approachSemi‐structured interviews (30) are undertaken, including 24 training directors and six participants from 30 different organizations. A grounded theory approach as used in data analysis is employed.FindingsTwo key roles of DM emerged from the paper: to establish a relationship between customers and training companies, this being dependent on the relevance of DM to the recipients' jobs/activities combined with the credibility of the DM source; and DM has a conditional role in the relationship development between customers and training companies. DM only has a role in developing relationships if the received DM is relevant to customers' training needs combined with positive perceptions of the past training performance in customers' minds. These perceptions are linked to quality and satisfaction, customers making an immediate association between the DM source and past training performance.Practical implicationsCustomers want to receive DM from training companies which is relevant to their professional interests. These customers desire further follow‐up and diagnosis from training providers than is currently the case. Training providers are thus losing market opportunities. Further dialogue and interaction between companies and customers is necessary.Originality/valueThere has been limited empirical study of the processes and activities of DM in developing relationships in BTB contexts using a qualitative approach around customers' experiences.
The service environment: functional or fun? Does it matter?
Authors: Joseph‐Mathews Sacha , Bonn Mark A. 
Published: October 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this editorial is to introduce the reader to three papers discussing the role of atmospherics within predominantly hedonic service settings.Design/methodology/approachThis editorial introduces the papers in this special section.FindingsAtmospherics plays a significant role in determining how consumers and patrons perceive and interpret hedonic services.Originality/valueThe first study examines how atmospherics can impact the overall meanings patrons attach to visiting a hedonic facilities. The second study looks at the role of promotional materials on setting the tone for fringe festivals. The third study investigates the role of atmospherics in green consumerism.
The culture of wine buying in the UK off‐trade
Authors: Ritchie Caroline 
Published: October 2009

PurposeThe UK wine market is one of the largest in the world. The purpose of this paper is to investigate current social and cultural influences affecting the buying behaviour of UK wine consumers within off‐trade environments.Design/methodology/approachThree stakeholder groups involved in the provision and sale of wine in the UK are identified. Data gathered from these stakeholders, via semi‐structured interviews, are used to classify groups of UK wine consumers and to develop a question schedule for a series of six wine consumer focus groups.FindingsThe results show that intended usage and or consumption situation have significant influence upon purchasing behaviour. The purchase decision is further influenced by whether intended usage is to be private or public. Significant gender differences are identified; wine buying is often perceived as a predominantly male role although more women actually buy more wine. Differences in low involvement and novice behaviours are identified.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample population used was small and may not be representative quantitatively. However the use of focus groups enabled the gathering of significant qualitative data.Practical implicationsAs a mature, sophisticated wine market, wine purchasing and consumption in the UK has become so incorporated into lifestyle that the consumption context drives purchasing behaviour whether overtly or covertly. Understanding the context of presumed use enables better understanding of consumer behaviour to be developed.Originality/valueThis study suggests that whilst high and low involvement market segments can be, and have previously been, identified these are artificial and fluid constructs since most wine consumers utilise a range of behaviours.
Goal‐obstacle conflicts
Authors: Avakian Paul N. 
Published: October 2009

PurposeThis article discusses power and resistance in commercial environments. It finds that a company's ability to realize its goals (fulfill its strategy) is a function of its ability to deal with resistance; to recognize it first of all, and then to find ways to overcome it, which inevitably involve the use of power in some form.Design/methodology/approachThe paper examines strategies used by pharmaceutical companies for getting drugs prescribed, programs by credit card companies to defeat resistance to card proliferation, and strategies by software companies to overcome resistance in OEMs to product acceptance.FindingsThe author concludes that the success of the products/companies studied is explained by their capacity for overcoming resistance, that it cannot be attributed to a compelling vision statement, or a five‐year plan, a competitive analysis, or any of the other strategy approaches used by the majority of companies.Practical implicationsAll companies, presumably, have goals, and all companies operate in power‐dependent environments, and all companies, whether they recognize it or not, face resistance beyond the existence of competitors. The key is to be able to see resistance, and to understand how it is manifesting itself against a specific goal.Originality/valueThe thesis of the paper is important to practitioners because it gets them thinking about resistance beyond the existence of competitors. It reveals other, more powerful sources of opposition, and gives them a new platform for strategy based on finding power over resistance.
An interdependence analysis of Australian house prices using variance decomposition
Authors: Liu Chunlu , Ma Le , Qiang Luo Zhen , Picken David 
Published: October 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the interdependencies of the house price growth rates in Australian capital cities.Design/methodology/approachA vector autoregression model and variance decomposition are introduced to estimate and interpret the interdependences among the growth rates of regional house prices in Australia.FindingsThe results suggest the eight capital cities can be divided into three groups: Sydney and Melbourne; Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane; and Hobart, Perth and Darwin.Originality/valueBased on the structural vector autoregression model, this research develops an innovative interdependence analysis approach of regional house prices based on a variance decomposition method.
Improved biclustering on expression data through overlapping control
Authors: Pontes Beatriz , Divina Federico , Giráldez Raúl , Aguilar‐Ruiz Jesús S. 
Published: October 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a novel control mechanism for avoiding overlapping among biclusters in expression data.Design/methodology/approachBiclustering is a technique used in analysis of microarray data. One of the most popular biclustering algorithms is introduced by Cheng and Church (2000) (Ch&Ch). Even if this heuristic is successful at finding interesting biclusters, it presents several drawbacks. The main shortcoming is that it introduces random values in the expression matrix to control the overlapping. The overlapping control method presented in this paper is based on a matrix of weights, that is used to estimate the overlapping of a bicluster with already found ones. In this way, the algorithm is always working on real data and so the biclusters it discovers contain only original data.FindingsThe paper shows that the original algorithm wrongly estimates the quality of the biclusters after some iterations, due to random values that it introduces. The empirical results show that the proposed approach is effective in order to improve the heuristic. It is also important to highlight that many interesting biclusters found by using our approach would have not been obtained using the original algorithm.Originality/valueThe original algorithm proposed by Ch&Ch is one of the most successful algorithms for discovering biclusters in microarray data. However, it presents some limitations, the most relevant being the substitution phase adopted in order to avoid overlapping among biclusters. The modified version of the algorithm proposed in this paper improves the original one, as proven in the experimentation.
No accounting for corporate governance: proxy voting with securities lending
Authors: Trimbath Susanne 
Published: October 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is: to detail the importance of corporate governance to institutional investors; to describe the tension created by their desire to earn extra revenue from stock lending; and to outline the challenges to corporate governance presented by the subsequent lack of accounting for voting rights.Design/methodology/approachDescriptive analysis, including historical perspective on the reliance of corporate governance on active shareholder investors.FindingsVoting rights are not being tracked when securities are loaned out, resulting in improper and inappropriate vote counting.Research limitations/implicationsThis commentary makes the argument in favor of shareholder activism.Practical implicationsIn addition to added transparency in the voting process, accounting systems similar to those used in the USA for dividend reporting could be applied to track voting rights and votes for corporate governance matters.Originality/valueThe paper aligns knowledge about securities lending with issues in corporate governance.
Institutional and individual factors impacting domestic private companies in China
Authors: Wang Lei , Prieto Leonel 
Published: October 2009

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine several institutional and individual factors impacting business dynamics of domestic private companies in China.Design/methodology/approachBasing the discussion on detailed interviews with business owners, the paper discusses recent and future effects of financial and legal systems, social networks, family support, informal institutions, and business people's educational and work experiences on domestic, private companies.FindingsThe unfolding interplay between formal and informal institutions appears to be crucial for the future of the private sector and the development of free market institutions. Business people, who benefit from the changing orders bring about by economic reform, now want formal institutions to provide stability and security. The Chinese state has played, and will continue to play, a central role in most institutionalization processes. In addition to further shaping and stabilizing their institutional framework, Chinese private companies appear to face the following challenges: acquiring more soft management skills, resolving the potential agency problem of companies with mixed ownership managed by families, and solving the latent succession problem for some family businesses that originate from the “one child policy.”Originality/valueAlthough the paper focuses on institutional and individual factors that pertain to the Chinese private business environment and business owners, the findings of this study deepen the understanding of the development of private firms conducting business in transitional economies.
The challenge of external validity in policy‐relevant systematic reviews: a case study from the field of substance misuse
Authors: Pearson Mark , Coomber Ross 
Published: October 2009

ABSTRACTAim  To critically evaluate the methods utilized in the conduct of a systematic review in the field of substance misuseDesign  Participant‐observation in the review process, semi‐structured interviews with review team members and management and structured observation of the process of guidance development.Setting  An ‘arm's‐length’ government body.Participants  Review team members, management and the committee responsible for producing evidence‐based guidance for policy and practice.Measurements  Data from interviews and (participant‐)observation were reflected upon critically in order to increase understanding of the systematic review process.Findings  The application of systematic review methods produced an evidence base that did not inform the development of guidance to the extent that it could have done: (i) an emphasis upon internal research validity produced an evidence base with an emphasis on short‐term interventions at the level of the individual; (ii) criteria for appraising the external validity of studies were not developed sufficiently; and (iii) the systematic review of evidence and development of guidance are strongly reliant upon the judgement of reviewers and committee members.Conclusions  Prioritizing internal validity in a systematic review risks producing an evidence base that is not informed adequately by the wider determinants of health and which does not give sufficient consideration to external validity. The use of appropriate methods requires that commissioners of systematic reviews are clear at the outset how the review is proposed to be utilized. Review methods such as meta‐ethnography and realist synthesis could contribute to making the frameworks within which judgements are made more explicit.
Genetic variation and relationships among Turkish water buffalo populations
Authors: Gargani M. , Pariset L. , Soysal M. I. , Özkan E. , Valentini A. 
Published: October 2009

SummaryThe genetic variation and relationships among six Turkish water buffalo populations, typical of different regions, were assessed using a set of 26 heterologous (bovine) microsatellite markers. Between seven and 17 different alleles were identified per microsatellite in a total of 254 alleles. The average number of alleles across all loci in all the analysed populations was found to be 12.57. The expected mean heterozygosity (He) per population ranged between 0.5 and 0.58. Significant departures from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium were observed for 44 locus–population combinations. Population differentiation was analysed by estimation of the Fst index (values ranging from 0.053 to 0.123) among populations. A principal component analysis of variation revealed the Merzifon population to show the highest differentiation compared with the others. In addition, some individuals of the Danamandira population appeared clearly separated, while the Afyon, Coskun, Pazar and Thural populations represented a single cluster. The assignment of individuals to their source populations, performed using the Bayesian clustering approach implemented in the structure 2.2 software, supports a high differentiation of Merzifon and Danamandira populations. The results of this study are useful for the development of conservation strategies for the Turkish buffalo.
Genetic structure and differentiation of the Japanese extremely long‐tailed chicken breed (Onagadori), associated with plumage colour variation: suggestions for its management and conservation
Authors: Tadano R. , Nishibori M. , Tsudzuki M. 
Published: October 2009

SummaryThe Onagadori is a distinguished chicken breed that is characterized by an extremely long tail in the male. In this breed, three different plumage colour varieties have been developed (black‐breasted white, black‐breasted red and white) in which the black‐breasted white is believed to be the original colour of the Onagadori, based on historical records. To establish a conservation strategy, 176 birds were genotyped for autosomal microsatellites. Significant genetic distinctness was found between the original (black‐breasted white) and two derivative varieties (FST = 0.091 and 0.093). At the same time, a Bayesian model‐based clustering revealed that the majority of individuals belonging to the black‐breasted red and white varieties had an extremely low proportion of the genome shared with the original type (black‐breasted white). This suggests that derivative varieties were created by crossing with other breeds, with low introgression of the original‐type genome. We propose that the three plumage colour varieties should be treated as separate genetic units in a conservation programme.
A major SNP resource for dissection of phenotypic and genetic variation in Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)
Authors: Ciobanu D. C. , Bastiaansen J. W. M. , Magrin J. , Rocha J. L. , Jiang D.‐H. , Yu N. , Geiger B. , Deeb N. , Rocha D. , Gong H. , Kinghorn B. P. , Plastow G. S. , Van Der Steen H. A. M. , Mileham A. J. 
Published: October 2009

SummaryBioinformatics and re‐sequencing approaches were used for the discovery of sequence polymorphisms in Litopenaeus vannamei. A total of 1221 putative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in a pool of individuals from various commercial populations. A set of 211 SNPs were selected for further molecular validation and 88% showed variation in 637 samples representing three commercial breeding lines. An association analysis was performed between these markers and several traits of economic importance for shrimp producers including resistance to three major viral diseases. A small number of SNPs showed associations with test weekly gain, grow‐out survival and resistance to Taura Syndrome Virus. Very low levels of linkage disequilibrium were revealed between most SNP pairs, with only 11% of SNPs showing an r2‐value above 0.10 with at least one other SNP. Comparison of allele frequencies showed small changes over three generations of the breeding programme in one of the commercial breeding populations. This unique SNP resource has the potential to catalyse future studies of genetic dissection of complex traits, tracing relationships in breeding programmes, and monitoring genetic diversity in commercial and wild populations of L. vannamei.
Polymorphisms in the ovine myostatin gene (MSTN) and their association with growth and carcass traits in New Zealand Romney sheep
Authors: Hickford J. G. H. , Forrest R. H. , Zhou H. , Fang Q. , Han J. , Frampton C. M. , Horrell A. L. 
Published: October 2009

SummaryMyostatin is a regulator of myogenesis and has been implicated in the regulation of adiposity and in controlling the structure and function of tendons. Polymerase Chain Reaction Single‐Stranded Conformational Polymorphism (PCR‐SSCP) analysis of intron‐1 was used to identify five variants (designated A‐E) of the myostatin gene (MSTN). The effect of this genetic variation on growth and carcass traits was investigated in 517 Romney male lambs from 17 sire‐lines, born on a South Island New Zealand farm. General linear mixed effect models revealed that the presence of allele A in a lamb’s genotype was associated with decreased leg, loin and total yield of lean meat, whereas the presence of allele B was associated with increased loin yield and proportion loin yield (loin yield divided by total yield expressed as percentage). The effect of the number of allele copies present was investigated, and it was found that the absence of A, or the presence of two copies of B, was associated with increased mean leg yield, loin yield and total yield. Two copies of B were also associated with a decrease in proportion of shoulder yield, whereas two copies of A were associated with a decrease in proportion of loin yield. Associations with allele C were not detected. No associations of MSTN variation with birth weight, weaning weight, pre‐weaning growth rate, draft age and hot carcass weight (H‐W) were detected. These results suggest that variation in ovine MSTN is associated with meat production, but not birth weight or growth rate in New Zealand Romney sheep.
PAR4: A new role in the modulation of visceral nociception
Authors: Bradesi S. 
Published: October 2009

Abstract  Protease‐activated receptors (PARs) are a family of G‐protein‐coupled receptors with a widespread distribution that are involved in various physiological functions including inflammation and nociception. In a recent study in Neurogastroenterology and Motility, Augé et al. describe for the first time the presence of PAR4 on visceral primary afferent neurons and its role in modulating colonic nociceptive responses, colonic hypersensitivity and primary afferent responses to PAR2 and Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid‐4 (TRPV4). Using the model of visceromotor response (VMR) to colorectal distension (CRD), they show that a PAR4 agonist delivered into the colon lumen decreases basal visceral response to CRD and reduces the exacerbated VMR to CRD induced by treatment with PAR2 or TRPV4 agonists. In isolated sensory neurons, they show that a PAR4 agonist inhibits calcium mobilization induced by PAR2 or TRPV4 agonists. Finally, they describe increased pain behaviour evoked by luminal application of mustard oil in PAR4 deficient mice compared to wild type controls. The newly discovered role of PAR4 in modulating visceral pain adds to our growing understanding of the contribution of colonic proteases and PARs to the mechanisms involved in colonic hypersensitivity and their potential role as therapeutic targets for irritable bowel syndrome.
Using verbal autopsy to ascertain perinatal cause of death: are trained non‐physicians adequate?
Authors: Engmann C. , Jehan I. , Ditekemena J. , Garces A. , Phiri M. , Mazariegos M. , Chomba E. , Pasha O. , Tshefu A. , Hemed Y. , McClure E. M. , Thorsten V. , Bann C. , Goldenberg R. L. , Bose C. , Setel P. , Carlo W. A. , Wright L. L. 
Published: October 2009

SummaryObjectives  To develop a standardized verbal autopsy (VA) training program and evaluate whether its implementation resulted in comparable knowledge required to classify perinatal cause of death (COD) by physicians and non‐physicians.Methods  Training materials, case studies, and written and mock scenarios for this VA program were developed using conventional VA and ICD‐10 guidelines. This program was used to instruct physicians and non‐physicians in VA methodology using a train‐the‐trainer model. Written tests of cognitive and applied knowledge required to classify perinatal COD were administered before and after training to evaluate the effect of the VA training program.Results  Fifty‐three physicians and non‐physicians (nurse‐midwives/nurses and Community Health Workers [CHW]) from Pakistan, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Guatemala were trained. Cognitive and applied knowledge mean scores among all trainees improved significantly (12.8 and 28.8% respectively, P < 0.001). Cognitive and applied knowledge post‐training test scores of nurse‐midwives/nurses were comparable to those of physicians. CHW (high‐school graduates with 15 months or less formal health/nursing training) had the largest improvements in post‐training applied knowledge with scores comparable to those of physicians and nurse‐midwives/nurses. However, CHW cognitive knowledge post‐training scores were significantly lower than those of physicians and nurses.Conclusions  With appropriate training in VA, cognitive and applied knowledge required to determine perinatal COD is similar for physicians and nurses‐midwives/nurses. This suggests that midwives and nurses may play a useful role in determining COD at the community level, which may be a practical way to improve the accuracy of COD data in rural, remote, geographic areas.