bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Work‐related continuing education and training: participation and effectiveness
Authors: Thomas Hywel , Qiu Tian 
Published: March 2012

PurposeWithin the context of policies on developing the workforce of the government health sector in England, this paper aims to investigate participation in work‐related continuing education and training (WRCET), its pedagogy and effectiveness. Individual and organizational characteristics associated with effective WRCET are examined.Design/methodology/approachThe paper employs a cross‐sectional study, using data from annual large‐scale National Staff Surveys of 2006 and 2009. Based on detailed occupational groups, the authors classify respondents to high‐ and low‐skilled staff and develop four dependent variables that combine specific types of training with respondent assessments of the effectiveness of their training for their professional development. Probit regressions models are estimated for both groups of workers, controlling for individual and organizational characteristics.FindingsParticipation in WRCET increased between 2006 and 2009 for both groups with differential patterns of participation across four types of training. Applying an effectiveness criterion eliminates relative change in participation rates between the groups and results in only about a quarter of those who participated in WRCET rating it as effective. Appraisal and particularly membership of positively rated work teams are strongly associated with training being rated as effective.Originality/valueThis is the first use of this large‐scale data set to appraise health sector policies on WRCET. Distinguishing between participation alone and whether participation is perceived as effective has benefits in appraising training policies and identifies appraisal and membership of positively rated teams as factors associated with effective WRCET. Use of an effectiveness criterion shows very large differences between participation alone and participation in effective WRCET.
Major challenges in managing multiple project environments (MPE) in Australia's construction industry
Authors: Ismah Hashim Noor , Chileshe Nicholas 
Published: March 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the major challenges to managing multiple project environments (MPE) in Australia.Design/methodology/approachThe views from Australian project management practitioners drawn from various industrial sectors were collected via an e‐mailed questionnaire survey. The respondents were asked to rate a total of 22 challenges that affect the management of multiple project environments as identified from the literature review. The results of the questionnaire were analysed using ranking analysis.FindingsThe findings show that “commitment and responsibility”, “leading projects”, “planning”, and “conflict and communication” are perceived as the four challenges of most importance. Furthermore, the 22 challenges could be classified into 11 sub groupings: project management processes; competencies of project managers; project assignments; human resource allocation; resource availability; organisational culture; problem solving; competition among projects; information sharing; management of a single project; and project location.Research limitations/implicationsThe study forms the basis for further research. Replication of this study to other parts of the industries and world about how identification of major challenges in managing multiple projects could be used as a basis for developing appropriate strategies aimed at improving the competencies of project managers.Practical implicationsBased on the findings, the project management practitioners could develop a better understanding of the challenges needed to be overcome in order to perform effectively. Furthermore, the identification of these challenges could form the basis for the development of guidelines and provision of useful information for development of strategies aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of project managers operating within the multiple projects environments in Australia.Originality/valueIn this paper, major challenges to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of project managers in managing MPEs in Australia are identified and analysed.
International tourist behavior: an IJCTHR special issue
Authors: O'Leary Joseph , Huan Tzung‐Cheng 
Published: March 2012

PurposeThe article's aim is to provide an overview of articles in this issue.Design/methodology/approachThe article gives summary information and perspectives on the articles that appear in the issue and provides information helping readers.FindingsThe article first discusses three articles showing what three journal editors see as topics and find acceptable as research methods. The other three articles appear because they have important implications that receive limited attention in the literature. These articles address innovative treatment of problems with information commonly collected on return (repurchase), vague units of count and ineffective data collection.Originality/valueThis research provides insights on what three journal editors research, and the priorities and innovative work on the need for better return data, for better terms for units (e.g. of analysis) and for more effective data collection.
The control of the Shari'a Supervisory Board in the Islamic financial institutions
Authors: Nathan Garas Samy 
Published: March 2012

PurposeThe Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) maintain better control over their transactions than conventional financial institutions (CFIs) through the existence of Shari'a Supervisory Board (SSB) and Shari'a Control Department (SCD). The purpose of this paper is to highlight the superiority of Shari'a supervision over external audit and Shari'a audit over internal audit. The study identifies five independent variables that affect the SSB control: ex‐ante Shari'a audit; ex‐post Shari'a audit; SCD reporting to the SSB; corrective actions of SSB towards the management violations; and the number of SSB members.Design/methodology/approachThe variables are articulated in five hypotheses, which are tested by ordinary least square regression. The data are collected via a questionnaire which was sent to the SSB members of 219 IFIs in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.FindingsThe results indicate that ex‐ante Shari'a audit, ex‐post Shari'a audit, and reporting of SCD are significantly related to the SSB control, whereas corrective actions and the number of SSB members have insignificant relation.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is focused on internal factors only, without considering other external factors such as stakeholders and regulators. Also, the research covered the GCC region alone.Practical implicationsThe research recommends testing the hypotheses in other geographies to generalize the results, and including external factors as well as shareholders and board of directors.Social implicationsThe research provides practical implications for the SCD role and calls for merging the SCD with the traditional internal audit department to reduce the excessive work of controlling.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the literature gap about the SSB. It is believed to be one of few studies that provide empirical evidence about the SSB control in the IFIs of the GCC region.
Analytic design of information granulation‐based fuzzy radial basis function neural networks with the aid of multiobjective particle swarm optimization
Authors: Park Byoung‐Jun , Choi Jeoung‐Nae , Kim Wook‐Dong , Oh Sung‐Kwun 
Published: March 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to consider the concept of Fuzzy Radial Basis Function Neural Networks with Information Granulation (IG‐FRBFNN) and their optimization realized by means of the Multiobjective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO).Design/methodology/approachIn fuzzy modeling, complexity, interpretability (or simplicity) as well as accuracy of the obtained model are essential design criteria. Since the performance of the IG‐RBFNN model is directly affected by some parameters, such as the fuzzification coefficient used in the FCM, the number of rules and the orders of the polynomials in the consequent parts of the rules, the authors carry out both structural as well as parametric optimization of the network. A multi‐objective Particle Swarm Optimization using Crowding Distance (MOPSO‐CD) as well as O/WLS learning‐based optimization are exploited to carry out the structural and parametric optimization of the model, respectively, while the optimization is of multiobjective character as it is aimed at the simultaneous minimization of complexity and maximization of accuracy.FindingsThe performance of the proposed model is illustrated with the aid of three examples. The proposed optimization method leads to an accurate and highly interpretable fuzzy model.Originality/valueA MOPSO‐CD as well as O/WLS learning‐based optimization are exploited, respectively, to carry out the structural and parametric optimization of the model. As a result, the proposed methodology is interesting for designing an accurate and highly interpretable fuzzy model.
The development of a lean resource mapping framework: introducing an 8th waste
Authors: Gibbons Paul M. , Kennedy Colin , Burgess Stuart C. , Godfrey Patrick 
Published: March 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a useful framework for identifying a new lean waste classified as polarization. Complementing the extant lean conceptual framework, the authors argue there is a need to understand how resources are deployed and how these can be best aligned to maximise their value‐adding contributions. The purpose of this paper is therefore to identify a conceptual framework and a supporting practitioner approach for understanding and identifying instances of the non‐value adding polarization of resources.Design/methodology/approachA captious and taxonomic review of the lean conceptual literature is made and the link to the resource‐based view (RBV) of the firm is acknowledged. A conceptual framework is developed and adopting an action case study approach through practitioner intervention, a lean resource mapping framework is presented.FindingsA useful mechanism is developed following a sequential processing mapping framework concluding with a “current state” lean resource matrix. Visualising how resources are aligned to functional needs to deliver customer‐based products, a “future state” lean resource matrix can then be developed to remove the non‐value adding activities of the resources employed.Originality/valueThe outcomes of this paper include a useful conceptual framework for understanding how resources are aligned to a business's processes, products and plant. Operationalising the conceptual framework, a useful practitioner approach to reducing resource waste and increasing value, is also presented.
Comparison of joining and constant κ‐light chain regions in different cattle breeds
Authors: Stein S. K. , Diesterbeck U. S. , Aboelhassan D. M. , Czerny C.‐P. 
Published: March 2012

SummaryA comparative transcription analysis of Ig κ‐light chains (IGK) of the cattle breeds Holstein Friesian (HF), German Black Pied (GBP), German Simmental (GS) and Aubrac (A) revealed three alleles coding for two putative allotypic variants of IGKC. The amino acid residues p.Asp100Asn and p.Thr116Ala were located at the outer edge of the constant domain as demonstrated by homology‐based modelling. Alleles were distributed in unequal frequencies within the breeds examined. While cattle breeds HF, GS, and A possessed all alleles and allotypic variants, GBP exhibited alleles encoding allotypic variant IGKCa. All three IGKJ segments were detected in 320 sequences analysed. IGKJ1 was combined predominantly with IGKC. The ORF2 of IGKJ2 was detected for the first time on transcriptional level.
Temporal changes of smoking status and motivation in Chinese patients with hepatitis B: relationship with anxiety and depression
Authors: Zhao Li , Xu Limin , Lai Yinyan , Che Caiyan , Zhou Yanxia 
Published: March 2012

Aims and objectives.  The present study provided the first examination of cigarette smoking status and motivation before and after the diagnosis of hepatitis B in Chinese hepatitis B smokers.Background.  Cigarette smoking is known to contribute to the severity of chronic liver diseases. However, the rates of cigarette smoking remain high in Chinese patients with hepatitis B.Design.  We used individual interviews and brief questionnaires to collect smoking status and motivation before and after the diagnosis of hepatitis B in hepatitis B smokers. We also evaluated the relationships between anxiety and depression and cigarette smoking in Chinese hepatitis B smokers.Method.  Patients with hepatitis B (54 smokers and 127 non‐smokers) were enrolled consecutively. A battery of self‐report questionnaires was used to assess smoking status and motivation before and after the diagnosis of hepatitis B. All participants also were asked to complete the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.Results.  We found that the number of cigarettes per day after the diagnosis of hepatitis B was higher than that before the diagnosis of hepatitis B in hepatitis B smokers. A wide range of smoking motivation was found before and after the diagnosis of hepatitis B. ‘Nicotine pleasure’ was the primary motivation before the diagnosis of hepatitis B, whereas ‘anxiety’ and ‘depression’ were the primary motivation for the increase in cigarette consumption after the diagnosis of hepatitis B. Anxiety and depression were more frequently observed in hepatitis B smokers than in hepatitis B non‐smokers. Anxiety and depression were associated with continued smoking after hepatitis B diagnosis.Conclusions.  The present study first demonstrated that cigarette smoking status and motivation were different before and after the diagnosis of hepatitis B. Anxiety and depression play an important role in temporal changes of smoking status and motivation.Relevance to clinical practice.  These findings highlight the need for individual anxiety and depression screening and assessment in conjunction with smoking cessation efforts in hepatitis B smokers.
Resolving the variable genome and epigenome in human disease
Authors: Knight J. C. 
Published: March 2012

Abstract.  Knight JC (University of Oxford, Oxford, UK). Resolving the variable genome and epigenome in human disease (Review). J Intern Med 2012; 271: 379–391.The individual human genome and epigenome are being defined at unprecedented resolution by current advances in sequencing technologies with important implications for human disease. This review uses examples relevant to clinical practice to illustrate the functional consequences of genetic and epigenetic variation. The insights gained from genome‐wide association studies are described together with current efforts to understand the role of rare variants in common disease, set in the context of recent successes in Mendelian traits through the application of whole exome sequencing. The application of functional genomics to interrogate the genome and epigenome, build up an integrated picture of the regulatory genomic landscape and inform disease association studies is discussed, together with the role of expression quantitative trait mapping and analysis of allele‐specific gene expression.
Elevated cerebrospinal fluid kynurenic acid levels in patients with tick‐borne encephalitis
Authors: Holtze M. , Mickiené A. , Atlas A. , Lindquist L. , Schwieler L. 
Published: March 2012

Abstract.  Holtze M, Mickiené A, Atlas A, Lindquist L, Schwieler L (Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm; Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuanian; Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge; Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Sweden). Elevated cerebrospinal fluid kynurenic acid levels in patients with tick‐borne encephalitis. J Intern Med 2012; 272: 394–401.Background.  Kynurenic acid (KYNA) is a neuroactive metabolite of tryptophan that is thought to regulate cognitive functions. Previous studies have shown that levels of KYNA increase during virus infection and that this metabolite interacts with the immune system.Objective.  The aim of the study was to investigate whether patients with tick‐borne encephalitis (TBE), a viral infectious disease associated with long‐term cognitive impairment, have increased levels of KYNA in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).Methods.  CSF KYNA was analysed using high‐performance liquid chromatography in 108 patients with TBE and 52 age‐matched controls. Patients were classified according to the severity of TBE: mild (47%), moderate (44%) or severe (9%).Results.  Concentrations of CSF KYNA were considerably higher in patients with TBE (5.3 nmol L−1) than in control subjects (0.99 nmol L−1). KYNA concentration in the CSF varied greatly amongst individuals with TBE and increased (P < 0.05) with the severity of disease.Conclusions.  This is the first study to demonstrate increased levels of CSF KYNA in patients with TBE. The importance of brain KYNA in both immune modulation and neurotransmission raises the possibility that abnormal levels of the compound in TBE might play a part in the pathophysiology of the disease. A detailed knowledge of endogenous brain KYNA during the course of CNS infection might yield further insights into the neuroimmunological role of the compound and may also provide new pharmacological approaches for the treatment of cognitive symptoms.
Ageing‐Associated Changes in Cellular Immunity Based on the SENIEUR Protocol
Authors: Wu J. , Li W. , Liu Z. , Zhang Y.‐Y. , Peng Y. , Feng D.‐G. , Li L.‐H. , Wang L.‐N. , Liu L. , Li L. , Liu J. 
Published: March 2012

AbstractTo investigate ageing‐associated changes in cellular immunity, we recruited three groups of healthy subjects based on SENIEUR protocol criteria. In addition, 10 subjects were randomly selected from each group to isolate their T cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells; T cell proliferation after phytohemagglutinin (PHA) stimulation was determined by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assays. There were no marked differences in the absolute numbers of peripheral blood T cells, NK cells or B cells among the three groups (P > 0.05). Also, no significant differences were noted in the numbers of CD4+ cells, CD8+ cells, or the CD4+/CD8+ ratios (P > 0.05). After PHA stimulation, T cell proliferation was markedly increased, with the highest level in group C and the lowest level in group A (P < 0.05). Cytokine‐induced killer tumouricidal activities were also dramatically increased, with the highest activity in group C and the lowest activity in group A (P < 0.05). Our findings suggest that the number of immune cells remains unchanged with advanced age. However, there is a trend for decreased cellular immunity with an increase in age.
Psychological health and coping strategy among survivors in the year following the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake
Authors: Xu Jiuping , He Yuan 
Published: March 2012

Aim:  The powerful earthquake of 12 May 2008 wrought incalculable havoc on lives and properties in Wenchuan, Sichuan Province, China. The catastrophic earthquake not only created tremendous changes in the external environment, but also caused stress and difficulties for the people in the affected areas which were felt long after the event. In this study, we attempt to clarify the correlation between coping strategies and psychological well‐being among survivors across sex and levels of exposure.Method:  A total of 2080 survivors from 19 counties freely participated in the survey which used self‐report psychological questionnaires, the Short Form‐12, version 2 Scale and Coping Scales. We estimated regression models to identify the coping factors associated with the presence of mental symptoms after the disaster.Results:  Four main factors (middle‐age, low educational level, low monthly income, and high exposure) were significantly related to poor health. Highly exposed survivors tended to problem‐avoidance, fantasy, self‐blame and seeking assistance, which was significantly different to those lowly exposed. Women tended to be more vulnerable than men and exhibited problem‐avoidance and self‐blame. Six coping styles were significant determinants and predicted 64.2% of health.Conclusion:  Post‐disaster mental health recovery intervention, including early identification, ongoing monitoring, sustained psychosocial support and more mental health services, are required for the high‐risk population, especially for women.
Influence of self‐efficacy on the interpersonal behavior of schizophrenia patients undergoing rehabilitation in psychiatric day‐care services
Authors: Morimoto Takafumi , Matsuyama Kiyoji , Ichihara‐Takeda Satoe , Murakami Ryuta , Ikeda Nozomu 
Published: March 2012

Aim:  The present study examined whether the self‐efficacy of interpersonal behavior influenced the interpersonal behavior of schizophrenia patients using psychiatric day‐care services.Methods:  Thirty‐nine patients with schizophrenia were examined with the Interpersonal Relations subscale of the Life Assessment Scale for Mentally Ill, the Self‐efficacy Scale of Interpersonal Behavior, the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia–Japanese version, and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale.Results:  The Life Assessment Scale for Mentally Ill score was significantly correlated with the self‐efficacy of interpersonal behavior, and was also significantly correlated with neurocognitive functions and negative symptoms. However, the Self‐efficacy Scale of Interpersonal Behavior score was not correlated with neurocognitive functions and negative symptoms. To examine the causal correlations between the above social, psychological and clinical factors, multiple regression analysis was performed with the self‐efficacy of interpersonal behavior, neurocognitive functions, and negative symptoms as the independent variables and interpersonal behavior as the dependent variable. The self‐efficacy of interpersonal behavior was found to contribute to interpersonal behavior as well as neurocognitive functions.Conclusion:  The self‐efficacy of interpersonal behavior contributed to the interpersonal behavior as well as the neurocognitive functions in the case of schizophrenia patients in the community. This suggested that interventions targeting the self‐efficacy of interpersonal behavior, as well as those targeting neurocognitive functions, were important to improve the interpersonal behavior of schizophrenia patients undergoing psychiatric rehabilitation in the community.