bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Extending the view of brand alliance effects
Authors: Bluemelhuber Christian , Carter Larry L. , Lambe C. Jay 
Published: July 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to broaden the external validity of the “brand alliance” theory, as it is set up by Simonin and Ruth, by analysing transnational brand alliances. It aims to discuss the significance of country of origin in this context.Design/methodology/approachBased on a broad literature review of the brand alliance and country of origin literature the authors conducted an empirical study that examined consumer attitudes towards cross‐national brand alliances.FindingsThe findings demonstrate the role that the relationship between country of origin fit and brand fit plays in predicting consumer attitude towards cross‐border brand alliances; and that when brand familiarity decreases, the positive influence of country of origin fit on attitudes towards the brand alliance increases, and is greater than that of brand fit.Research limitations/implicationsThe degree of importance that consumers place on each product in the brand alliance was not taken into account. Future research could also analyse product categories that have strong country of origin associations (e.g. German beer or French pastries) or that belong to the low involvement category.Practical implicationsAn interesting result for managers when they set up a cross‐national brand alliance, as the study demonstrates the importance of brand familiarity and of country of origin fit.Originality/valueThe findings replicate those of Simonin and Ruth, which is a useful result because their findings might be attributed also to cross‐boarder alliances. The study represents a noteworthy extension of previous research by introducing a new variable, the “country of origin fit.”
Causes Inhibiting the Growth or Development of Information Transfer in Africa: A Contextual Treatment
Authors: Rexwhite Enakrire T. , Onyenania O. George 
Published: July 2007

PurposeThis paper aims to strengthen ways of improving the growth or development of information transfer in Africa.Design/methodology/approachA descriptive method was used in the simplification of possibilities in exploding actions to be taken to unrest the development or growth of information transfer in Africa.FindingsThe findings revealed that though there are some causes inhibiting the growth of dissemination or transfer of information in the African context but measures were preferred which include: (i) harnessing/provision of full potentials of information resources, technology and communication channel, and organised capacity locally and regionally, (ii) access and utilization of diversities of information, (iii) training and sensitization of human resources, (iv) information and IT policy/copyright formulation, and (v) cultural awareness of information transfer and implementation to economic development and nation building, etc., has the potentials to foster an amazing information transfer in Africa in our economic, social, religion, academic, moral, and environmental society. This is because information transfer within and outside our context can no longer be seen as a luxury for the elites but as an absolute necessity for the masses since it offers great potentials to improve the quality of life to very many persons around the world.Originality/valueThis research will assist Africans and beyond, to value information transfer as an asset and a means to an end in life and in decision‐making and planning.
Knowledge management in a New Zealand tree farming company
Authors: Lowe Alan , McIntosh Andrea 
Published: July 2007

PurposeManagers at the company attempt to implement a knowledge management information system in an attempt to avoid loss of expertise while improving control and efficiency. The paper seeks to explore the implications of the technological solution to employees within the company.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reports qualitative research conducted in a single organization. Evidence is presented in the form of interview extracts.FindingsThe case section of the paper presents the accounts of organizational participants. The accounts reveal the workers' reactions to the technology‐based system and something of their strategies of resistance to the system. These accounts also provide glimpses of the identity construction engaged in by these knowledge workers. The setting for the research is in a knowledge‐intensive primary industry. Research was conducted through observation and interviews.Research limitations/implicationsThe issues identified are explored in a single case‐study setting. Future research could look at the relevance of the findings to other settings.Practical implicationsThe case evidence presented indicates some of the complexity of implementation of information systems in organizations. This could certainly be seen as more evidence of the uncertainty associated with organizational change and of the need for managers not to expect an easy adoption of intrusive IT solutions.Originality/valueThis paper adds empirical insight to a largely conceptual literature.
Rethinking competition in the world auto market: cultural determinants, strategic implications and game rules
Authors: Tay Herbert K. 
Published: July 2007

PurposeThis paper examines how ingrained differences in heritage, social and business culture predispose American, Japanese and European automakers to plan and act in different ways, with long‐range consequences – both successful and unsuccessful – of their strategies and actions. To secure its twenty‐first century competitive position, each automaker must understand its cultural proclivities, strengths and weaknesses – as well as those of its competitors – to develop proactive strategies around a set of common industry game rules.Design/methodology, approachThe paper distills the author's observations from serving automakers of all nationalities over a 20‐year consulting career. Findings – US original equipment manufacturers' (OEMs') cultures are characterized by the “tyranny of Net Present Value” (NPV), whose manifestations and short‐term focus have eroded once‐commanding industry positions. The primacy of the collective, frugality, resourcefulness and the long‐term perspective are values that predispose the Japanese automakers to continue growing in importance. Volume European automakers' cultures and higher‐cost work practices – mirroring the continent's work‐life balance and socialist principles – make them vulnerable, particularly in China, where they lag behind in comprehending the market, tailoring their products and working along bi‐cultural lines.Practical implicationsThe paper presents arguments and context for the US automakers' need for a new culture that better balances NPV considerations and the long‐term strategic view. The volume Europeans will have to make work rule and cultural changes to stay cost‐ and productivity‐competitive, as well as work more effectively in the important China market.Originality/valueThe paper provides unique, holistic but succinct cultural‐based perspectives and insights for struggling automakers to understand and improve their positions.
An assessment of the effectiveness of embedded smart sensors on users' performance in the workplace
Authors: Shabha Ghasson 
Published: July 2007

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the embedded smart sensors (ESS) technologies and users' performance in the workplace. An attempt will be made to assess the impact of incorporating ESS on user performance in the workplace.Design/methodology/approachA multi‐pronged approach was adopted in compiling relevant factual and perceptual information about users responses in the workplace. Both questionnaires and structured interviews with users and facilities managers (FMs) in a selected study sample are adopted to identify issues of concern and assess the level of users comfort in the workplace.FindingsThe incorporation of ESS will have wide‐ranging implications to office productivity which is partially dependent on the utility of the space and qualities of internal environment within which business operates.Originality/valueThe use of ESS is significant in optimizing the operational efficiency of the workplace and its responsiveness of meeting varying users needs. This will be beneficial to varying property stakeholders including owners, clients, occupiers and FMs.
Variation in a bicarbonate co‐transporter gene family member SLC4A7 is associated with propensity to addictions: a study using fine‐mapping and three samples
Authors: Ishiguro Hiroki , Walther Donna , Arinami Tadao , Uhl George R. 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACTAims  Classical genetic studies consistently reveal substantial heritability for addictions. However, the genes that harbour the variations providing these genetic influences remain largely unknown. We have focused attention on ‘reproducible substance abuse vulnerability’ (rSA) genomic regions, where linkage and association studies performed in several population provide evidence for such variations.Design  We nominated rSA1 on human chromosome 3p23 within a 5 Mb region. We sought to replicate this finding and identify variations within this region.Setting  We examine the role of allelic variations in the SLC4A7 gene, a member of the bicarbonate co‐transporter family that is expressed in tissues including brain and kidney.Participants  A total of 1158 unrelated individuals with informed consent about the genetic study were recruited from three independent populations.Measurements  The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers in the SLC4A7 gene were analysed by case–control study.Findings  The rs3278 is associated reliably with substance abuse vulnerability in (1) a European American sample selected from pedigrees within the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA; nominal P = 0.03); (2) an African American sample recruited by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA; nominal P = 0.008); and (3) a NIDA European American sample (P = 0.001).Conclusions  While the current results do not exclude additional roles for allelic variants in nearby genes, they do suggest that SLC4A7 allelic variants might alter dispositions and/or excretion of drugs and neurotransmitters in brain and periphery in ways that could contribute to differential vulnerabilities to addictions. SLC4A7 is thus a novel candidate in the contribution to vulnerability to addictions.
A protein phosphatase 2A catalytic subunit is a negative regulator of abscisic acid signalling1
Authors: Pernas Mónica , García‐Casado Gloria , Rojo Enrique , Solano Roberto , Sánchez‐Serrano Jose J. 
Published: July 2007

SummaryThe key regulatory role of abscisic acid (ABA) in many physiological processes in plants is well established. However, compared with other plant hormones, the molecular mechanisms underlying ABA signalling are poorly characterized. In this work, a specific catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2Ac‐2) has been identified as a component of the signalling pathway that represses responses to ABA. A loss‐of‐function pp2ac‐2 mutant is hypersensitive to ABA. Moreover, pp2ac‐2 plants have altered responses in developmental and environmental processes that are mediated by ABA, such as primary and lateral root development, seed germination and responses to drought and high salt and sugar stresses. Conversely, transgenic plants overexpressing PP2Ac‐2 are less sensitive to ABA than wild type, a phenotype that is manifested in all the above‐mentioned physiological processes. DNA microarray hybridization experiments reveal that PP2Ac‐2 is negatively involved in ABA responses through regulation of ABA‐dependent gene expression. Moreover, the results obtained indicate that ABA antagonistically regulates PP2Ac‐2 expression and PP2Ac‐2 activity thus allowing plant sensitivity to the hormone to be reset after induction. Phenotypic, genetic and gene expression data strongly suggest that PP2Ac‐2 is a negative regulator of the ABA pathway. Activity of protein phosphatase 2A thus emerges as a key element in the control of ABA signalling.
Characterisation of lipid profiles in dogs with parvoviral enteritis
Authors: Yilmaz Z. , Senturk S. 
Published: July 2007

Objective:To characterise the lipid profiles in dogs with parvoviral enteritis.Methods:Blood was collected before treatment from 30 dogs that fulfilled the criteria for severe sepsis including hypo‐ or hyperthermia, hypotension, leucopenia, thrombocytopenia and evidences of organ dysfunction. Canine parvovirus was detected by haemagglutination and indirect fluorescence antibody tests in the faeces. Twenty control dogs were also enrolled on the basis of normal physical examination results, complete blood count and serum biochemistry profiles.Results:Tachycardia, tachypnoea, hypotension, leucopenia, thrombocytopenia and increased serum markers of tissue injury (alanine aminotransferase, creatinine kinase myocardial isoenzyme [CK‐MB], blood urea nitrogen and creatinine) were observed in dogs with parvoviral enteritis. Serum total cholesterol, high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were lower, but serum triglyceride level was higher in dogs with parvoviral enteritis than those in control dogs (P<0·001). Circulating tumour necrosis factor α correlated negatively with total cholesterol (r=−0·979; P<0·001) but positively with triglyceride (r=0·953; P<0·001) in dogs with parvoviral enteritis. Serum total cholesterol and high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were lower in non‐survival (n=9) dogs than in survival dogs (n=21, P<0·001).ClinicalSignificance:Serum total cholesterol and high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels decreased, but serum triglyceride level increased in dogs with parvoviral enteritis. Low serum total cholesterol and high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol levels may be used as an index of the severity of parvoviral enteritis.
Chlorine Sensitivity of Feline Calicivirus, a Norovirus Surrogate
Authors: Urakami Hiroshi , Ikarashi Kumiko , Okamoto Ko , Abe Yukari , Ikarashi Tamami , Kono Takeshi , Konagaya Yukifumi , Tanaka Nobumasa 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACT
The sensitivity to free chlorine of feline calicivirus (FCV), a norovirus surrogate, was examined relative to chlorine demand. When a crude suspension of FCV was treated with a sodium hypochlorite solution containing 10 μg/ml free chlorine, the extent of the decrease of viral infectivity clearly depended on the volume of the reaction mixture. The apparent sensitivity of FCV to free chlorine increased with the reduction of host cell debris, indicating that chlorine demand must be minimized to know the true sensitivity of the virus. We therefore partially purified the viruses from the host cell components and found that the infectivity of FCV was reduced by more than log 4.6 by 5 min of treatment with 300 ng/ml free chlorine.
Purification and Three-Dimensional Electron Microscopy Structure of theNeisseria meningitidisType IV Pilus Biogenesis Protein PilG
Authors: Collins Richard F. , Saleem Muhammad , Derrick Jeremy P. 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACTType IV pili are surface-exposed retractable fibers which play a key role in the pathogenesis ofNeisseria meningitidisand other gram-negative pathogens. PilG is an integral inner membrane protein and a component of the type IV pilus biogenesis system. It is related by sequence to the extensive GspF family of secretory proteins, which are involved in type II secretion processes. PilG was overexpressed and purified fromEscherichia colimembranes by detergent extraction and metal ion affinity chromatography. Analysis of the purified protein by perfluoro-octanoic acid polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that PilG formed dimers and tetramers. A three-dimensional (3-D) electron microscopy structure of the PilG multimer was determined using single-particle averaging applied to samples visualized by negative staining. Symmetry analysis of the unsymmetrized 3-D volume provided further evidence that the PilG multimer is a tetramer. The reconstruction also revealed an asymmetric bilobed structure approximately 125 Å in length and 80 Å in width. The larger lobe within the structure was identified as the N terminus by location of Ni-nitrilotriacetic acid nanogold particles to the N-terminal polyhistidine tag. We propose that the smaller lobe corresponds to the periplasmic domain of the protein, with the narrower “waist” region being the transmembrane section. This constitutes the first report of a 3-D structure of a member of the GspF family and suggests a physical basis for the role of the protein in linking cytoplasmic and periplasmic protein components of the type II secretion and type IV pilus biogenesis systems.
The Political and Symbolic Economy of State Feudalism: The Case of Late-Medieval Flanders
Authors: Dumolyn Jan 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe article examines social, economic, political and symbolic relations and exchanges within late-medieval state structure, with a specific focus on the fifteenth-century county of Flanders under Burgundian rule. The author applies and elaborates Jean-Philippe Genet's concept of 'state feudalism' as a more centralised, political articulation of the feudal mode of production, in which state taxes and the redistribution of surplus-product among the ruling classes play a key role. What historians have come to call the 'modern state' arose within a social and political system which influenced in its turn the further development of the state as a network of relationships. Making use of Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of 'capital' and 'symbolic exchange', the article constructs a model representing the different relations between the prince, his officials and 'political society'.
(NZ)CH...O Contacts assist crystallization of a ParB-like nuclease
Authors: Shaw Neil , Cheng Chongyun , Tempel Wolfram , Chang Jessie , Ng Joseph , Wang Xin-Yu , Perrett Sarah , Rose John , Rao Zihe , Wang Bi-Cheng , Liu Zhi-Jie 
Published: July 2007

Abstract

Background
The major bottleneck for determination of 3 D structures of proteins using X-rays is the production of diffraction quality crystals. Often proteins are subjected to chemical modification to improve the chances of crystallization

Results
Here, we report the successful crystallization of a nuclease employing a reductive methylation protocol. The key to crystallization was the successful introduction of 44 new cohesive (NZ) CH...O contacts (3.2 – 3.7 Å) by the addition of 2 methyl groups to the side chain amine nitrogen (NZ) of 9 lysine residues of the nuclease. The new contacts dramatically altered the crystallization properties of the protein, resulting in crystals that diffracted to 1.2 Å resolution. Analytical ultracentrifugation analysis and thermodynamics results revealed a more compact protein structure with better solvent exclusion of buried Trp residues in the folded state of the methylated protein, assisting crystallization.

Conclusion
In this study, introduction of novel cohesive (NZ)CH...O contacts by reductive methylation resulted in the crystallization of a protein that had previously resisted crystallization in spite of extensive purification and crystallization space screening. Introduction of (NZ)CH...O contacts could provide a solution to crystallization problems for a broad range of protein targets.
Forecasting time series which are inherently discontinuous
Authors: Coopersmith Lewis W. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractCommonly used forecasting methods often produce meaningless forecasts when time series display abrupt changes in level. Measuring and accounting for the effect of discontinuities can have a significant impact on forecasting accuracy. In addition, if discontinuities are considered non‐random and their cause is known, then adjustments can be made to more reliably represent the trend, seasonal and random component. This paper concerns a computational method used in forecasting inherently discontinuous time series. The method provides screening to determine the locations and types of discontinuities. The paper includes analyses of actual time series which are typical of certain types of inherently discontinuous processes.
Municipal budget forecasting with multivariate ARMA models
Authors: Downs G. W. , Rocke D. M. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractIn this paper multivariate ARMA models are applied to the problem of forecasting city budget variables. Unlike univariate time‐series methods, multivariate models can use relationships among budget variables as well as relationships with economic and demographic indicators. Although available budget series are shorter than what is usually believed necessary for multivariate ARMA modelling, the forecasts seem to be of higher quality than those from univariate models.
The teachers/practitioners corner the effects of indexing ARMA series using the consumer price index
Authors: Lusk Edward J. , Lozano Oscar , Wright Haviland 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe authors demonstrate that indexing a time series with an ARMA representation using the Consumer Price Index does not materially alter the ARMA form of the model. They further demonstrate that the forecasting error of the indexed series and of the product of the forecasts of the index and the time series are, for practical purpose, the same. Simulation results are reported for five model classes.
The national road policy in the Solomon Islands
Authors: Makharita Ragaa , Sanday Reginald , Castello Marguerite 
Published: July 2007

AbstractSince 1966, the government of the Solomon Islands has attempted to expand road building and to maintain the roads that have been built. So far, however, very little progress has been made because of difficulties of construction, administrative weaknesses, the lack of concern for implementation, the failure of coordination and supervision, economic problems, and conflicts with provincial governments. Because so much funding comes from foreign donors, there is a tendency on the part of democratically elected politicians generally to avoid the difficult questions of implementation, cost recovery, and local responsibility for the upkeep of infrastructure.
Impasse in Zambia
Authors: Gulhati Ravi 
Published: July 2007

AbstractZambia has economically retrogressed since gaining independence in 1964. While exogenous and historical factors are partly responsible, policy mistakes have probably had a considerable impact, including distorted exchange rates, unrealistic wage levels, careless retrenchment of expenditure, neglect of agriculture, over‐reliance on parastatals, and over‐rapid Zambianization. Reform efforts have so far been unsuccessful. Bottlenecks include the lack of political entrepreneurship, the weakness of public administration, and the failure to build consensus essential for effective implementation.Editorial note. At the suggestion of the author, the editor has combined material from Ravi Gulhati's 1989 EDI case study, ‘Impasse in Zambia: the economics and politics of reform’ with sentences from his 1990 EDI Seminar Report: ‘The making of economic policy in Africa’. Both documents are available from Ms. Edith Pena, EDI, The World Bank, 1818 H St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433.
Kenya's export of horticultural commodities
Authors: Schapiro Morton Owen , Wainaina Stephen 
Published: July 2007

AbstractAs a result of the government's encouragement, the volume of fresh horticultural exports from Kenya rose almost 25‐fold between 1968 and 1986, becoming a major source of foreign exchange. This has happened without sacrificing the production of coffee and tea, small landholders, and the nutritional needs of the population. Despite continuing problems, this success has been achieved largely because of the government's careful attention to research, training, monitoring and other essential activities. Equally important has been government restraint, particularly avoiding excessive interference with the market mechanism.