bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
High-Resolution Mapping of a Fruit Firmness-Related Quantitative Trait Locus in Tomato Reveals Epistatic Interactions Associated with a Complex Combinatorial Locus
Authors: Chapman Natalie H. , Bonnet Julien , Grivet Laurent , Lynn James , Graham Neil , Smith Rebecca , Sun Guiping , Walley Peter G. , Poole Mervin , Causse Mathilde , King Graham J. , Baxter Charles , Seymour Graham B. 
Published: June 2012

Abstract
Fruit firmness in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is determined by a number of factors including cell wall structure, turgor, and cuticle properties. Firmness is a complex polygenic trait involving the coregulation of many genes and has proved especially challenging to unravel. In this study, a quantitative trait locus (QTL) for fruit firmness was mapped to tomato chromosome 2 using the Zamir Solanum pennellii interspecific introgression lines (ILs) and fine-mapped in a population consisting of 7,500 F2 and F3 lines from IL 2-3 and IL 2-4. This firmness QTL contained five distinct subpeaks, Firs.p.QTL2.1 to Firs.p.QTL2.5, and an effect on a distal region of IL 2-4 that was nonoverlapping with IL 2-3. All these effects were located within an 8.6-Mb region. Using genetic markers, each subpeak within this combinatorial locus was mapped to a physical location within the genome, and an ethylene response factor (ERF) underlying Firs.p.QTL2.2 and a region containing three pectin methylesterase (PME) genes underlying Firs.p.QTL2.5 were nominated as QTL candidate genes. Statistical models used to explain the observed variability between lines indicated that these candidates and the nonoverlapping portion of IL 2-4 were sufficient to account for the majority of the fruit firmness effects. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to quantify the expression of each candidate gene. ERF showed increased expression associated with soft fruit texture in the mapping population. In contrast, PME expression was tightly linked with firm fruit texture. Analysis of a range of recombinant lines revealed evidence for an epistatic interaction that was associated with this combinatorial locus.
How to hold on to your key information‐technology specialists
Authors: Ezulike Gozie 
Published: June 2012

PurposeDiscusses what motivates people who work in information technology and looks at ways that companies can retain their key personnel.Design/methodology/approachDescribes a retention and reward strategy for information‐technology specialists.FindingsDetails the importance of having a clear job specification, proper business planning, the possibility of flexible working, an effective training and development policy, staff surveys and exit interviews.Practical implicationsEmphasizes that IT specialists need to feel that they do a job well and that their input is recognized, valued and rewarded.Social implicationsReveals that the market for IT specialists remains buoyant, despite the economic downturn.Originality/valueStresses the importance of organizations looking after their valued IT staff if they want to retain them.
The importance of balance in leadership development
Authors: Short Tom 
Published: June 2012

PurposeDescribes research on the development of leaders in Australian rail organizations.Design/methodology/approachDetails five areas where the “complementarity” contained in the Chinese yin and yang philosophy could help to restore balance in modern leadership.FindingsHighlights the importance of balancing: principles and practices; technical and people skills; hard and soft skills; formal and informal learning; and self and others.Practical implicationsAdvances the view that these five balances are relevant the world over; one aspect of leadership and management cannot live without the other, yet each aspect lives within the other.Social implicationsDemonstrates a way forward for management development at a time when the need for leadership development, capability building and talent management have reached dangerously low levels across the world and the position will deteriorate as baby‐boomers retire and leave behind a leadership “black hole”.Originality/valuePostulates that one aspect of leadership and management cannot live without the other, yet each aspect lives within the other.
A new spirit for fostering organizational success
Authors: Little Bob 
Published: June 2012

PurposeOutlines and reports on a radical new approach to developing both an organization and its people to enable those people to be themselves in body, mind and spirit while at work and so feel fulfilled – and, in the process, enable the organization to be more successful.Design/methodology/approachOutlines the philosophy of Ecumenical Partnership Initiatives Compassion in Change (EPICC), a part of Workplace Matters; summarizes key industry trends identified in relevant research, and sets out EPICC's question‐based approach to achieving its clients' goals.FindingsReports research findings that only 20 percent of employees in large organizations feel their strengths are used every day and eight out of ten employees feel miscast in their job. Outlines a new way of business thinking with regard to human resources and development. Reports that, when dealing with business issues within the social paradigm, it is important to be open to things of the spirit.Practical implicationsDescribes how people can “take their whole selves to work” and how organizations can reap the full benefits of encouraging this policy.Social implicationsContends that financial results will be better, customers will be delighted and staff will thrive where the business can find the right balance between two management paradigms: the dominant economic – finance based, short term, zero‐sum, process, rational, controlling – and the emerging social paradigm based around relationships, ethics and inspiration.Originality/valueContains important insights into how this balance can be achieved.
Outcomes and well‐being part 2: a comparative longitudinal study of two models of homecare delivery and their impact upon the older person self‐reported subjective well‐being. A qualitative follow up study paper
Authors: Gethin‐Jones Stephen 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThis paper aims to follow up on a previous quantitative research project which established that outcome‐focussed care appeared to be associated with an increase in the individuals' subjective well‐being. The purpose of this paper is to establish why the intervention enabled this.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilised a qualitative approach to gather the subjective experience of the individual service users. The sample consisted of 20 service users, who were subject of two semi‐structured interviews; one interview at the start of the intervention and one at the six month stage. The data were then analysed under core themes raised by the service user in these interviews. The sample was divided into two, with one group receiving the outcome‐focussed model of care and the other group receiving the traditional time focussed care.FindingsThe research established that service users' subjective well‐being improved due to the ability of outcome‐focussed care to provide consistency, flexibility and most importantly the ability of the service user to form a relationship with the homecare workers providing their care.Practical implicationsThis paper will assist professionals to understand why outcome‐focus care has a profound impact upon service users' subjective well‐being as opposed to the existing task focussed care.Originality/valueThis and the previous paper provide an insight into how different processes and models of intervention impact upon the subjective well‐being of socially isolated older people.
Challenges facing domiciliary care agencies delivering person centred care
Authors: Duff OBE Patricia , Hurtley Rosemary 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThis paper aims to highlight the benefits of the 360 SF diagnostic audit for assessing person centeredness of a domiciliary agency and to highlight the challenges they face with some suggested actions. These are exemplars of what is raised in policy and recent reports relating to personalisation, dignity and integration of health and social care and have wider implications for all agencies as they strive to resolve issues for the client.Design/methodology/approachThe approach is a case study describing results of the audit in relation to challenges that include practice development needs, inter agency co‐ordination, collaboration and co‐operation for the achievement of relationship based person centered outcomes in quality improvement work. The pilot study involved data gathered from the clients, relatives and staff, which were analyzed resulting in findings, conclusions and suggestions for ongoing improvement from which action plans were devised and implemented.FindingsThe audit results provide examples of the primary interface relationship and co‐ordination challenges, highlighting leaning needs for staff delivering person centred care in domiciliary settings.Practical implicationsThis paper raises important practice development issues both inside and outside the agency's responsibility. Use of the tool would support cultural and interface relationship issues affecting the client experience and highlight ways to assist the achievement of collaborative ways of working needed for the integration of health and social care.Social implicationsThe 360 SF (DS) can help organisations provide evidence to CQC and the public for their performance and identify the close interface relationships and their effectiveness in delivering co‐ordinated and integrated health and social care.Originality/valueThe 360 SF DOM has highlighted with evidence the challenges of the systemic culture at the interface, in particular the nature and quality of collaboration, communication and practice development needs across the organisational divide to deliver person centred care and support.
Person centred dementia care: problems and possibilities
Authors: Argyle Elaine 
Published: June 2012

PurposeDementia care is an issue of increasing policy focus, with person centred approaches becoming synonymous with quality provision in this area. However, the implementation and efficacy of this approach is difficult to measure and there are still huge variations in working practices, with task centred approaches traditionally predominating over more holistic forms of care. In order to address these issues the procedure of dementia care mapping has been developed, which aims to assess the wellbeing of people with dementia and other vulnerable groups through the observation of communal activities. This article aims to critically assess the implementation of a person centred approach.Design/methodology/approachWith the use of dementia care mapping, this article assesses the implementation of a person centred approach with a group of care home residents. All were female, their ages ranged from 77 to 92.FindingsIt is shown that while participants potentially experienced many benefits from person centred approaches and the social engagement and integration that derived from this, its efficacy and impact was undermined by contextual factors such as staff shortages.Originality/valueIn order that contextual factors are recognised and addressed, practice should transcend its focus on the promotion of individual wellbeing and address the wider group and social contexts which can facilitate or prevent its fulfilment.
On becoming a co‐operative: the journey
Authors: Eastman Mervyn 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the role that the co‐operative sector can play in responding to the needs and aspirations of older people. In addition, through recounting the Change AGEnts co‐operative journey, it seeks to demonstrate that co‐operative principles have the potential to reconfigure services and change the existing negative narrative on which much public sector commissioning and provision is based.Design/methodology/approachChange AGEnts is the legacy organisation that came out of the Better Government for Older People's Programme (BGOP), 1998‐2009. The journey from a government sponsored initiative (Cabinet Office) to an independent co‐operative illustrates the opportunities and challenges inherent in taking forward the coalition's present policy intentions of promoting co‐ownership of services, localism and building co‐operative communities.FindingsCo‐operative approaches empower both professional and older people, through common ownership and mutuality. The experience of forming a co‐operative and becoming part of the co‐operative movement, has the potential to completely change the relationship between older people and the state.Originality/valueThe paper illustrates that deliberation and dialogue has a powerful part to play within the co‐operative movement, through increasing the control of older people in policy and practice outcomes.
The security for Chinese older people in urban‐rural one‐child families
Authors: Wang Guojun , Su Xing , Hatton‐Yeo Alan 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThe article's aim is to provide an overview of how care will be financed in the future in China as a consequence of changes in society.Design/methodology/approachThe article is a descriptive review describing the responses and systems of funding that are being developed in China to address changes in care support structures and systems particularly in response to the single child policy and the impact of the increased financial aspirations of young Chinese people.FindingsTraditional systems of support for elders have been weakened by changes in social structure and there is a need to develop new models of care and methods to finance this through both the state and insurance schemes. One consequence of change has been increasing numbers of elders living by themselves.Social implicationsThe one child policy has not only reduced the capacity of families to support their elders but has also caused an imbalance in the ratio of male to female children. It has now become essential to develop models of non‐familial support for elders to complement traditional systems.Originality/valueThe article provides an insight into the challenges facing China around elder care as a consequence of social policy change and increased economic mobility.
Transboundary MPAs: a challenge for the twenty‐first century
Authors: Ângelo Guerreiro da Silva José , Curto Fernandes e Castro Ribeiro Raquel , de Carvalho Cameira Mocinho Viras Ana , Bentes Silva Grilo Catarina 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThe Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), set specific targets for halting biodiversity loss, including the need to establish 10 per cent of coastal/marine areas conserved through, among other things, well‐connected systems of protected areas by 2020. The reality is that whereas nearly 15 per cent of land is protected, just over 1 per cent of marine space is similarly protected. The challenge is to reach “a global representative system” of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), recognizing that countries need to establish cooperative mechanisms at ecoregion level. The purpose of this paper is to address the options and trends for countries to develop transboundary cooperation through MPAs.Design/methodology/approachThe authors address several case studies, focusing on political, governance and financing frameworks.FindingsThe main findings revealed that countries use MoU, MoA or Joint Declaration supported on international conventions as the WHC, Ramsar Convention and CMS. Governance models seem to include political/management/technical levels, with political decisions translated into action plans carried out by joint committees, supported by national institutions and scientific/technical boards. Also the involvement of civil society in management is a growing driving force. Financing transboundary MPAs is going through an evolutionary process, from an exclusive binomial national budgets/UNEP‐GEF to a wider financial net through ecotourism income and private donors.Originality/valueThe different solutions found point out myriad possibilities where transboundary cooperation is envisaged. States can benefit from the experiences already acquired to jointly achieve the target of protecting 10 per cent of the marine environment by 2020.
Considerations for integrative environmental assessments of contaminated estuarine sediments
Authors: Sofia Caeiro Sandra , Angel Del Valls Tomas , Chapman Peter Michael 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss integrative environmental assessments applicable to estuarine sediments, including the advantages and limitations of different lines of evidence that could form part of such assessments and their application to ecosystem services.Design/methodology/approachWeight of evident framework integrating multiple lines of evidence for sediment quality assessment.FindingsIntegrative environmental assessments are required to fully address the risks to resident fauna of anthropogenic contaminants deposited in estuarine sediments.Originality/valueThe paper presents an updated discussion of the methodologies for environmental assessments of contaminated estuarine sediments.
Estuarine nurseries for marine fish
Authors: Martinho Filipe , Cabral Henrique N. , Azeiteiro Ulisses M. , Pardal Miguel A. 
Published: June 2012

PurposeEstuaries and shallow coastal areas are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, being recognized as important nursery areas for marine fish. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of the causes and consequences of recruitment variability in marine fish, contributing to ecosystem‐based management strategies of estuarine and coastal areas.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a literature review, exploring the role of estuaries as nursery areas for marine fish, and analyzed the connectivity between estuaries and coastal areas, the main processes driving recruitment variability in marine fish during their pelagic (larval) and estuarine residency (juveniles) phases, and how it can be translated into variable coastal stocks.FindingsRecruitment variability in marine fish is still one of the most important issues in marine fisheries ecology. In this paper, the authors demonstrate the potential of several processes for inducing variability in recruitment, including density‐independent mechanisms such as temperature, hydrodynamics, river flow and large‐scale factors, as well as density‐dependent processes, related with food abundance, competition and predation. Lastly, the authors evaluated the connectivity between estuaries and the ocean, and how this relationship can influence coastal stocks in the future. The main findings were analyzed in the context of climate change, which has been demonstrated to influence marine life at the individual, population and ecosystem levels.Originality/valueThis paper is a valuable tool for marine researchers and stakeholders, since it summarizes some of the most important processes that drive recruitment variability in marine fish, and how this information can be used for establishing sustainable ecosystem management programmes.
Sociocultural and educational factors in the sustainability of coastal zones
Authors: Carvalho Sara C. , Alves Fátima , Azeiteiro Ulisses M. , Meira‐Cartea Pablo A. 
Published: June 2012

PurposeEnvironmental threats of immediate risk in areas such as coastal zones (CZ) have aroused new trends of citizenship and participatory democracy. The purpose of this paper is to analyse elements within those trends, such as environmental culture, socio‐political context, dynamics of social associative movement and integration of local knowledge. It also aims to contribute to an overview of the opportunities and barriers found in considering socio‐cultural and educational challenges in CZ.Design/methodology/approachIn this analysis, case studies of integrated coastal management occurring worldwide were selected and reviewed, considering several nuances of socio‐economic and political contexts of CZ. Experiences of public response to coastal catastrophes such the Prestige oil spill in Spain, are also described.FindingsWhether implementing sustainable coastal management through either balanced systems (between large and small‐scale strategies) or through largely bottom‐up approaches, participation is detected as one of the main factors for a successful integrated approach. Principles such as participatory governance and social justice should be adopted in initial phases of sustainable management processes and preferably involve all of the implied actors of CZ.Originality/valueThe literature reviewed highlighted specific factors that have empirically contributed to participatory sustainability of CZ, integrating three dimensions of citizenship: education, society's dynamics and culture.
Making advanced computer science topics more accessible through interactive technologies
Authors: Shao Kun , Maher Peter 
Published: June 2012

PurposeTeaching advanced technical concepts in a computer science program to students of different technical backgrounds presents many challenges. The purpose of this paper is to present a detailed experimental pedagogy in teaching advanced computer science topics, such as computer networking, telecommunications and data structures using interactive technologies involving live exercises on Windows networking, the Web 2.0 technologies YouTube and Wiki PBworks, the network simulation software Wireshark, and a Data Structure Visualizer (DSV).Design/methodology/approachThe paper adopts an empirical approach. A novel method for teaching and learning using interactive technologies is demonstrated. Experiments are made through actual classroom teaching, students' participation and their team‐oriented research projects. The assessments come from evaluations and analysis of each technology applied in the learning and teaching process.FindingsUsing traditional teaching methodologies for advanced computer science topics such as networking, telecommunications and data structures present a great challenge to both instructors and students. Incorporating multiple interactive technologies into the computer science curriculum proves to be beneficial in bringing real‐world applications to the classroom, enhancing understanding of abstraction, making advanced computer science topics easier to comprehend and more accessible to students of non‐uniform backgrounds, encouraging active learning and providing students the opportunity to apply solutions to real‐world problems.Research limitations/implicationsThe proposed approach needs more experimentation with more classes of various topics. Class time is limited for more comprehensive demonstrations and discussions.Originality/valueThe paper presents an effective pedagogy in engaging learners in active, authentic and collaborative learning.
Evaluation of usability utilizing Markov models
Authors: Rodrigues Penedo Janaina , Diniz Morganna , Bacellar Leal Ferreira Simone , Silveira Denis S. , Capra Eliane 
Published: June 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the usability of a remote learning system in its initial development phase, using a quantitative usability evaluation method through Markov models.Design/methodology/approachThe paper opted for an exploratory study. The data of interest of the research correspond to the possible accesses of users in a learning system's pre‐project. The present research is intended to answer questions of the type “how”, evaluating the usability through Markov models and the interaction of the learning system's users.FindingsThe paper provides a study which allowed the generation of a probability matrix among states and actions, which was utilized in the evaluation of usability based on Markov models, where the usability criteria specified were analyzed. Markov models allow a series of measures of interest to be calculated and they have been successfully utilized in the evaluation of computing and communication systems.Originality/valueThis research aimed to investigate the utilization of Markov models in the evaluation of usability in a remote learning system in its pre‐project phase and to help in proposing improvement suggestions.