bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Brand, organisational identity and reputation in SMEs: an overview
Authors: Abimbola Temi , Vallaster Christine 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThis paper is a brief historical examination of brand, organisation identity and reputation in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). The discussion is situated within the context of the challenges that the global knowledge‐based business environment poses to organisations of differing sizes.Design/methodology/approachThe authors' approach is discursive. The argument is supported by findings from published studies and empirical reality. The authors analyse and distill our thoughts (and the empirical findings) in a way that is relevant to the activities of entrepreneurs and SMEs.FindingsOrganisations are better able to create strong firm by integrating branding, reputation building, relevant and appropriate organisational identity beyond their visual façade. They need to be more proactive, and also have to express and embed their brand value propositions within their identity and reputation in their dealings with customers. The authors surmises that researching about (and evaluations of) brand, reputation and organisation identity need to play more active roles in offering novel ways of conceptualising and documenting the realities of the contemporary (global) business environment in which firms operates.Originality/valueThe study offers new horizons on brand, organization identity and reputation as they relate to economic reality. The authors unequivocal articulation is that these concepts are critical factors in the success of enterprises and small businesses in competitive markets.
Organisational marketing in the creative industries
Authors: Powell Shaun , Ennis Sean 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe marketing of small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) can face many challenges, particularly for those operating within the creative industries. The purpose of this paper is to describe an inductive and exploratory case study approach to empirically investigate the issues and complexities uncovered when taking a mainly internal, organisational perspective to creativity, identity and the brand.Design/methodology/approachIssues of commitment, identification and alignment were considered and how these relate to the SME brand. Then the relevance and advantages associated with adopting an inductive case study approach, from an interpretative perspective were discussed. This incorporates multi‐level interviews and thematic analysis with the aid of various qualitative data analysis software packages (C‐I‐Said, NVivo and QDA Miner).FindingsThe themes uncover and explore some of the subtle complexities involved with organisational marketing for SMEs within the creative industries. These themes also present a number of important implications for the academic and practitioner communities to reflect upon, particularly in relation to the relevance of attempting to achieve a “desired” or “ideal” identity and brand. Issues relating to the evolving nature of SMEs, various forms of employee egos as well as multiple foci of employee commitment have been identified. The authors' research has also uncovered a number of instances of “disidentification” amongst creative employees. Rather than being seen as a threat or risk, some creative organisations see a benefit for encouraging, or at least not suppressing deidentification or disidentification, in relation to their creative brand and image.Originality/valueBy taking a rigorous exploratory and inductive approach, a grounded understanding of the problematic nature of organisational creativity and organisational marketing in relation to SMEs in the creative industries have been provided. Practitioners can also benefit from the observations as they are empirically based upon a number of case studies.
Are “high potential” executives capable of building learning‐oriented organisations?
Authors: Belet Daniel 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThe author's interest in learning organisation development leads him to examine large French companies' practices regarding “high potential” executives policies and to question their selection and development processes and their capabilities to develop learning oriented organisations.The author also tries to explain why most large French companies are not yet familiar with this concept.Design/methodology/approachAn analysis of the managerial and leadership characteristics of the French élite, as well as of the way they are trained in French grandes écoles and universities, can help to understand the kind of dominant style of leadership that features in the so called “high potential” executives in most large French companies.FindingsThe criteria against which these French “high potential” executives are discriminated explains largely their still very traditional hierarchical and centralised leadership styles, that are not favourable to build the more learning oriented organisations of the future. In addition most of the management development programmes for these executives stem from the traditional hierarchical leadership models that do not foster the necessary changes.Research limitations/implicationsThis article is based on the results of several studies performed in France by organisational sociologists about the corporate élite and the “high potential” executives of large companies and their development policies. The author relies on his participation in field researches but also draws from his extensive professional experience and in‐depth knowledge of these large organisations as consultant, trainer and speaker.Originality/valueThis article provides a critical approach of the mainstream “high potential” model based on the learning organisation philosophy. It proposes another vision of the “high potential” executive concept that the author believes to be more adequate in facing up to the challenge of the HR management and leadership changes that most large French organisations will likely have to face in the future. It also raises the issue of the adequacy of the present leadership development offer of the higher management education system. Although slightly political it aims at generating a debate about the very concept of the “high potential” executive, which is a major key to the necessary changes in the people management and leadership practices for the organisations of the future.
Foresight as a triple helix of industry, university and government relations
Authors: Ughetto Elisa 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThis paper attempts to interpret Foresight in the light of the Triple Helix concept.Design/methodology/approachThe paper explores, in the light of the Triple Helix framework, the architecture of a Technology Foresight project which was carried out in Piemonte (Italy) in 2006, where government, firms, universities, research organizations and financial institutions were gathered to discuss on the long‐term implications of policy decisions and to develop strategic visions that could help policy making and priority setting.FindingsDrawing on its participative approach, Foresight can be seen as a way of catalyzing the multidisciplinary relationships among the three different spheres of the Triple Helix model, thus bringing them to dialogue and to share a common space for building visions on long‐term challenges. Participation of stakeholders with different backgrounds, dynamics of overlapping opinions, emergence of hybrid organizations and exchange of formal roles are some of the elements characterizing a Foresight exercise that reflect a Triple Helix configuration.Originality/valueThe value of the paper is in exploring a Foresight exercise through the lenses of the Triple Helix model.
Foresight formulation in innovative production, automation and control systems
Authors: Mekid S. , Schlegel T. , Aspragathos N. , Teti R. 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThis paper aims to define imminent and future key aspects in innovative production machines and systems but more specifically to focus on the automation and control aspects.Design/methodology/approachThe foresight analysis is based on the state‐of‐the‐art of current manufacturing technologies with a setup of key enabling features and a roadmap research.FindingsThe paper finds that more integration of current and future technology development is required to build a strong platform for various applications featured with interoperability, trust, security and protection. Autonomy and close collaboration aspects in machines remain as crucial targets for the near future. An immediate action is required on smart strategies for the design patterns and agents to enable intuitive components for high quality dynamic user interfaces. This will allow rapid configuration and adaptation to new manufacturing tasks with highly improved machine learning.Originality/valueThe paper describes the future of key aspects required to move the production, automation and control systems forward.
An exploratory study into the factors that influence patients' perceptions of cleanliness in an acute NHS trust hospital
Authors: Whitehead Heather , May Daryl , Agahi Helen 
Published: September 2007

PurposeIf NHS hospitals wish to influence patients to choose them and, as the literature review suggests, cleanliness will be a key‐influencing factor in making that choice, it would seem important for hospitals to understand what factors lead people to decide whether a hospital is clean or dirty. The research aims to identify what the key factors are that influence patients' perceptions of cleanliness and to rank these factors in order of importance.Design/methodology/approachThe project utilised a mixed methodology to collect the data. The hospital staff and people who had been recent patients took part in focus groups in order to gather their views. The current hospital in‐patients were surveyed through the use of a paper questionnaire.FindingsThe main themes that influence the perceptions of cleanliness emerging from the analysis can be summarised under three broad headings – appearance of the environment, physical cleanliness and staff behaviour. The findings suggest that this subject is much more complex than the production of a list. The appearance of the environment is a complex set of perceptions based on what individuals believe to be important, what they observe and what they expect. The research suggests that the appearance of the environment is the most important factor.Originality/valueThe paper starts to explore the factors that influence patient perception of cleanliness and provides practical information to NHS estates and facilities managers.
Hospital facilities and the role of evidence‐based design
Authors: Becker Franklin , Parsons Kelley S. 
Published: September 2007

PurposeDrawing on recent research related to hospital facilities, this paper aims to discuss the role of evidence‐based design in facility planning and design as a key element in helping the field of facility planning and management continue to strengthen professional practice.Design/methodology/approachThe discussion draws on relevant literature and recent research.FindingsEvidence‐based design is having a major impact on planning and design of hospital facilities, and can play a similar role for other facility types.Originality/valueCalls for evidence‐based design for healthcare facilities abound. This paper discusses important issues surrounding the implementation of an evidence‐based design approach that need to be considered for this approach to be successful in all types of facilities.
The need of validation and recognition of learning outcomes acquired non‐formally and informally
Authors: Teresevičienė Margarita , Zuzevičiūtė Vaiva , Hyde Julie 
Published: September 2007

PurposeThis paper aims to examine and summarize the findings of a comparative survey carried out to assess how learning outcomes acquired non‐formally or informally are validated and recognized. Owing to limitations of the study, this paper just seeks to consider the challenges that higher education faces, and the new possibilities that might emerge.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology of the study includes critical and systemic analysis of references, also quantitative and qualitative research, which was completed as a three‐stage survey. The following methods were used: analysis of recent legal and political educational documents, structured interviews of experts, and a questionnaire comprising open and closed type questions.FindingsThe EU is committed to the principles of transferable learning but, until the principles and processes of recognition and validation of learning are integrated within national policy, this is unlikely to happen in any meaningful way. The current situation of autonomous HE management militates against consistency and equity of access for students wishing to have learning recognised and accredited.Research limitations/implicationsA total of 55.3 per cent of questionnaires were returned (as 600 questionnaires have been sent out to NGOs in the countries mentioned), so this must be seen as a limitation of the study.Practical implicationsFindings can be used in designing and implementing procedures of validation and recognition in higher education (of learning outcomes acquired non‐formally and informally, e.g. in work place).Originality/valueA targeted study enables one to make an informed comparison of practices (in the field of validation and recognition) among different countries, and to identify elements of the process that are successful in a variety of contexts.
Completing the neo‐Darwinian synthesis with an event criterion
Authors: Kluge Arnold G. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractWilli Hennig conceptualized the systematic character as an inherited transformation event whereas he operationalized it in terms of the similarity of objects. A causal evolutionary explanation underlies his conceptualization; however, the operational definition is denied that explication because similarity is an abstraction—the similarity of objects is a function of their intensionally defined properties. These opposing treatments of evidence involve other problems that affect the coherence of systematics. For example, the uses of similarity, and the taxonomic relationships it defines, lead to category errors when the particulars of evolution are inferred. Not only is there no requirement in evolutionary theory that similarity relations be explained as homologs, reification occurs when the similarity defined class or set of organisms is claimed to be a part of lineage system history. Also worth noting, it is the transcendentalism put forward in the early nineteenth century by Étienne Geoffroy Saint‐Hilaire, and not the evolutionary theory of Charles Darwin, that provides the theoretical justification for using object similarities in comparative biology. All of these problems are removed by considering the transformation event, instead of the object, as the thing being explained in the operational definition of character. Ostension or description of objects by extension are consistent with evolutionary theory, and may be used in phylogenetic practice, as when delimiting the accompanying states of a particular transformation series event. In addition to a coherent evolutionary epistemology being achieved with this operational redefinition of character, event hypotheses as evidence provide severe and critical objective tests of phylogenetic relationships. With this redefinition, morphology is expected to retake its place among the most rigorous theoretical sciences. This reconsideration of the systematic character, the elimination of all prescriptive references to object similarity and its accompanying transcendentalism, is also seen as a significant step towards completing the neo‐Darwinian synthesis of evolution.© The Willi Hennig Society 2007.
The 18mer peptaibols from Trichoderma virens elicit plant defence responses
Authors: VITERBO ADA , WIEST ARIC , BROTMAN YARIV , CHET ILAN , KENERLEY CHARLES 
Published: September 2007

SUMMARYPeptaibols, the products of non‐ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS), are linear peptide antibiotics produced by Trichoderma and other fungal genera. Trichoderma virens strain Gv29‐8, a well‐known biocontrol agent and inducer of plant defence responses, produces three lengths of peptaibols, 11, 14 and 18 residues long, with several isoforms of each. Disruption of the NRPS gene, tex1, encoded by a 62.8‐kb uninterrupted open reading frame, results in the loss of production of all forms of 18‐residue peptaibols. Tex1 is expressed during all Trichoderma developmental stages (germinating conidia, sporulating and non‐sporulating mycelia) examined on solid media. Expression analysis by reverse transcriptase PCR shows that in Gv29‐8 wild‐type the abundance of tex1 transcript is greater during co‐cultivation with cucumber seedling roots than when grown alone. Cucumber plants co‐cultivated with T. virens strains disrupted in tex1 show a significantly reduced systemic resistance response against the leaf pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. lachrymans, and reduced ability to produce phenolic compounds with inhibitory activity to the bacteria as compared with plants grown in the presence of wild‐type. Two synthetic 18‐amino‐acid peptaibol isoforms (TvBI and TvBII) from Gv29‐8 when applied to cucumber seedlings through the transpiration stream can alone induce systemic protection to the leaf pathogenic bacteria, induce antimicrobial compounds in cucumber cotyledons and up‐regulate hydroxyperoxide lyase (hpl), phenylalanine ammonia lyase (pal1) and peroxidase (prx) gene expression. These data strongly suggest that the 18mer peptaibols are critical in the chemical communication between Trichoderma and plants as triggers of non‐cultivar‐specific defence responses.
Continuous cardiac output measurement: arterial pressure analysis versus thermodilution technique during cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass
Authors: Lorsomradee S. , Lorsomradee S. R. , Cromheecke S. , De Hert S. G. 
Published: September 2007

SummaryThis study compared cardiac output measured with an arterial pressure‐based cardiac output measurement system and a thermodilution cardiac output measurement system. We studied 36 patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. Simultaneous arterial pressure‐based and thermodilution cardiac output measurements were compared before and after cardiopulmonary bypass, and after phenylephrine administration. Bland‐Altman analysis showed good overall agreement between the two methods. Bias (limits of agreement) before and after cardiopulmonary bypass were − 0.21 (− 2.97–2.55) l.min−1 and 0.01 (− 3.79–3.81) l.min−1, respectively. Phenylephrine administration decreased thermodilution cardiac output by a mean (SD) of 11 (16)% and increased arterial pressure‐based cardiac output by 55 (34)%. We conclude that arterial pressure‐based cardiac output and thermodilution cardiac output measurement systems yield comparable results during cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. However, after phenylephrine administration, the two measurement systems provided opposing results.
The pentraxin serum amyloid P component is found in the male genital tract and attached to spermatozoa
Authors: Malm Johan , Sonesson Annika , Hellman Jukka , Bjartell Anders , Frohm Birgitta , Hillarp Andreas 
Published: September 2007

SummarySerum amyloid P component (SAP) belongs to the pentraxin family of proteins, members of which are characterized by radial pentameric structure and calcium‐dependent ligand binding. SAP is present in all types of amyloidosis and has been shown to bind to several ligands, but the physiological function of this protein has not been fully elucidated. The present study identified and characterized SAP in human semen and immunolocalized it to the male reproductive tract. SAP was also detected in seminal plasma by immunoblotting and purification by affinity chromatography followed by mass spectrometry. According to electroimmunoassay, the concentration of SAP in semen is approximately 2 mg/L, and flow cytometry revealed SAP attached to the surface of spermatozoa. Moreover, immunohistochemistry showed positive staining of spermatozoa, subsets of epithelial cells, and the stroma of accessory male genital glands and testis. Presence of mRNA supports local production of SAP, as shown with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. We identified SAP in a new setting – the human male reproductive system. SAP was detected on ejaculated spermatozoa, in seminal plasma and in tissue sections from the male reproductive tract. Further functional studies are needed to explain the role of SAP in human reproduction.
Sperm DNA damage is associated with assisted reproductive technology pregnancy
Authors: Bakos Hassan W. , Thompson Jeremy G , Feil Deanne , Lane Michelle 
Published: September 2007

SummaryThe literature suggests an association between sperm DNA damage and assisted reproductive technology (ART) outcomes. However, previous studies involved the transfer of multiple embryos, which has complicated the interpretation of the results. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the levels of sperm DNA damage and fertilization rate, embryo development as well as pregnancy outcome, following single embryo transfer. Patients (n = 113) undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) (n = 45) and intra‐cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) (n = 68) were assessed for their levels of sperm DNA damage in the sample used for insemination. DNA damage was determined using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase‐mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate‐nick end labelling (TUNEL). The relationship between DNA damage and outcomes were assessed using regression analysis. Overall data showed no association between sperm DNA damage and fertilization rate, or embryo development in vitro. However, when IVF was the insemination method, there was a significant negative correlation between fertilization rates and sperm DNA damage (p < 0.05). When ICSI was the insemination technique, low sperm DNA damage was associated with successful pregnancy (37.8 ± 5.7% DNA damaged sperm) compared with failed implantation (52.9 ± 3.9% DNA damaged sperm, p < 0.05). Our results suggest that sperm DNA damage as measured by the TUNEL assay may provide an indicator for patients with poor fertilization rates and/or those unable to achieve pregnancy following ART treatment.
Schematic representation of case study research designs
Authors: Rosenberg John P. , Yates Patsy M. 
Published: September 2007

AbstractTitle.  Schematic representation of case study research designs Aim.  The paper is a report of a study to demonstrate how the use of schematics can provide procedural clarity and promote rigour in the conduct of case study research.Background.  Case study research is a methodologically flexible approach to research design that focuses on a particular case – whether an individual, a collective or a phenomenon of interest. It is known as the ‘study of the particular’ for its thorough investigation of particular, real‐life situations and is gaining increased attention in nursing and social research. However, the methodological flexibility it offers can leave the novice researcher uncertain of suitable procedural steps required to ensure methodological rigour.Method.  This article provides a real example of a case study research design that utilizes schematic representation drawn from a doctoral study of the integration of health promotion principles and practices into a palliative care organization.Discussion.  The issues discussed are: (1) the definition and application of case study research design; (2) the application of schematics in research; (3) the procedural steps and their contribution to the maintenance of rigour; and (4) the benefits and risks of schematics in case study research.Conclusion.  The inclusion of visual representations of design with accompanying explanatory text is recommended in reporting case study research methods.