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1 – 10 of 97Jorge Lopez, Robert Hoffmann, Graham Emslie and Roseanne Armitage
Sleep disturbances, present in more than 90% of major depressive disorder (MDD) patients, are moderated by sex in adult MDD. In particular, slow-wave electroencephalographic…
Abstract
Sleep disturbances, present in more than 90% of major depressive disorder (MDD) patients, are moderated by sex in adult MDD. In particular, slow-wave electroencephalographic activity (SWA; 0.5-4 Hz) accumulation is low and dissipation impaired. This SWA abnormality in depressed adult males does not change with age, suggesting that SWA abnormality appears at early ages. The present study evaluated sex differences in SWA in adolescents with MDD compared to healthy controls. We evaluated regularized sleep-wake schedules at home for 5-7 days, followed by two consecutive nights of sleep EEG recording. The study included 104 participants, 52 symptomatic and depressed subjects (MDD: 20 males and 32 females) and 52 healthy controls (HC: 20 males and 32 females), aged 13-18 years. SWA power and dissipation, and duration and latencies to each Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep period were calculated for each group. Results showed that SWA accumulation in the first NREM period was lower and its dissipation across the night more irregular in MDD males compared to HC males (P<0.009). By contrast, SWA was equivalent in MDD and HC females. In conclusion, as reported in adult MDD, the accumulation and dissipation of SWA was abnormal in depressed adolescents, but only in males. SWA abnormalities in adolescent MDD may relate to different depressive symptoms in females and males. These results underscore the need to develop sex-specific therapies to enhance and restore SWA in depressed adolescents.
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Emilia Kmiotek-Meier, Tonia Rossié and Konstantin Canora
Our work adds to the debate regarding higher education graduates’ skills required in the labour market in Germany and beyond.
Abstract
Purpose
Our work adds to the debate regarding higher education graduates’ skills required in the labour market in Germany and beyond.
Design/methodology/approach
Using Q-methodology and the accompanying narrations, we explore German employers’ and employees’ views (N = 26) on characteristics required at the entry level.
Findings
Our findings show three areas of the labour market with different skill requirements. Whereas the first area, “The world of rules”, applies more likely to the professions and academia, the two other areas, “The middle field” and “The people-oriented and critical market”, can be found throughout the labour market. The disciplinary affiliation does not play a role. In all three areas, soft skills are crucial and specialised knowledge is only highly valued in the area of “The world of rules”.
Originality/value
In contrast to previous findings, we do not focus on singular skills. Instead, we focus on skill sets and discuss their relevance from the background of their usability.
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Antti Ylä-Kujala, Kati Kouhia-Kuusisto, Tuuli Ikäheimonen, Teemu Laine and Timo Kärri
While companies worldwide are largely comprised of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a significant amount of management accounting (MA) research focuses on larger…
Abstract
Purpose
While companies worldwide are largely comprised of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a significant amount of management accounting (MA) research focuses on larger organisations, thus leaving MA practice in SMEs relatively under-researched. This paper aims to examine MA adoption (MAA) and its interfaces with MA challenges and business performance from a small business perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 502 small businesses is investigated with an embedded mixed methods research design comprised of qualitative content analysis, factor analysis and analysis of variance.
Findings
Up to 78% of small businesses are facing MA challenges that stem from organisation, systems, personnel and/or resources. Based on the present findings, MA challenges do motivate small businesses to at least consider investing in MAA as small businesses facing challenges are more likely to acquire systems and services than those reporting no issues at all. Hence, small business managers seem to not only recognise where their challenges lie, but also seek ways to improve the situation through MAA. The analysis also reveals that companies with the highest MA know-how have the best average solvency, suggesting that small businesses indeed benefit from MAA. Interestingly, the performance at medium levels of know-how declines while investments increase, revealing a “decreasing solvency phenomenon”. Potential explanations are, e.g. the MA not fitting the company’s exact needs, or information usability and use being limited by poor MA understanding.
Originality/value
The originality of the research lies in exploring the interfaces between MA challenges, MAA and small business performance using distinctive embedded mixed methods research design.
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Nattakarn Kaewcum and Vorasith Siripornpanich
It is generally accepted that massage can provide a lot of benefits to human health, especially for the brain functions. Little is known about the effect of unilateral massage on…
Abstract
Purpose
It is generally accepted that massage can provide a lot of benefits to human health, especially for the brain functions. Little is known about the effect of unilateral massage on the brain activities. Nowadays, Swedish massage is a modern massage technique that is popular in both treatment and research fields. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of unilateral Swedish massage on brain activities with electroencephalography (EEG) recording.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 18 healthy adult participants (5 men, 13 women) aged between 22 and 36 years were massaged over one side of arm, forearm, hand, neck and face. Then the same procedures were repeated to another side of the body. EEG was recorded before (baseline) and during each massage condition. The absolute power of four common brain waves consisting of δ (0.5-4 Hz), θ (4-8 Hz), α (8-13 Hz), and β activities (13-30 Hz) from the quantitative EEG analysis between baseline and each massage condition were used to compare with the paired t-test.
Findings
The study found the reduction of δ and θ powers over bilateral frontal, fronto-central, and central areas. The increments of α power over the similar brain areas were also observed. These findings indicated the generalized effect of unilateral Swedish massage for inducing relaxation. Moreover, the significant reduction of β power was also found over right central area when left-arm massage was applied. This finding revealed the initial inhibitory effect of Swedish massage over right somatosensory cortex that received sensory stimulation through massage from left side of the body.
Originality/value
Unilateral Swedish massage induced the inhibitory effect at the contralateral somatosensory cortex and then produced the generalized effect which is compatible with relaxation.
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The purpose of this study is to develop and validate the business streamlining (BS) model proposed in 2017.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop and validate the business streamlining (BS) model proposed in 2017.
Design/methodology/approach
This study/paper develops and validates the qualitatively generated BS model, a conceptual model of service sourcing relationships, by testing it quantitatively. A survey was sent to chief exective officers, chief purchasing officers or facility managers in 764 private or public companies in Sweden with an annual turnover exceeding € 10m. The categories were tested and analyzed by means of factor analysis.
Findings
The BS model for managing service sourcing processes was confirmed to be significant overall, meaning that it is applicable irrespective of service sourcing context. The efficiency pursuing (EP) was found to have an interlinking role that calls for a revision of the BS model. Furthermore, the four categories tended to load pairwise.
Research limitations/implications
Although this cross-sectional study confirms the relevance of the BS model for managing service-sourcing processes, further studies should examine both the relative significance of its categories in different service-sourcing contexts and why the four main categories tend to pair.
Practical implications
The results support that the model is flexible and adaptable to a wide range of service-sourcing circumstances. Irrespective of the relative complexity of facility management (FM) sourcing processes, the categories can be adapted to fit the service sourcing context. Thus, it can be used as a tool to analyze and facilitate strategic decision-making.
Originality/value
The paper validates that the BS model can represent the dynamics of different service-sourcing processes, regardless of the complexity of the context.
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Telmo Lena Garcez and Marcelo Fernandes Pacheco Dias
This paper aims to analyze the evolution and interaction over time of the functions of a technological innovation system (TIS) based on the concept of an innovation motor.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyze the evolution and interaction over time of the functions of a technological innovation system (TIS) based on the concept of an innovation motor.
Design/methodology/approach
It is a case study of the innovation system associated with the technology for producing cage-free pullets for laying eggs in Pelotas/Rio Grande do Sul (RS).
Findings
The motors proposed by the TIS approach evolve sequentially and are associated with cumulative causality mechanisms. The study's results identified two functionalities: analysis of the chain as a whole and coordination of the actors involved in the system. The study's results also identified the presence of inflection points at the beginning of each of the motors.
Research limitations/implications
The absence of a more accurate detailing of the market motor in discussions of the evolution of the motors and functions of TIS cage free Pelotas.
Practical implications
Innovation Motors as a new guiding approach for participatory innovation initiatives in rural areas.
Originality/value
Application of the TIS approach in agribusiness and proposition of two new functions for motor analysis, in addition to including inflection points as activation triggers in the evolution between motors.
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Hongjuan Wu, Queena K. Qian, Ad Straub and Henk J. Visscher
The recent promotion of prefabricated housing (PH) in China has resulted in a prosperous period for its implementation. However, transaction costs (TCs) cause low economic…
Abstract
Purpose
The recent promotion of prefabricated housing (PH) in China has resulted in a prosperous period for its implementation. However, transaction costs (TCs) cause low economic efficiency to stakeholders and hinder the further promotion of PH. No relevant study has yet been made to investigate the TCs and their causes in the PH field. This paper identifies critical TCs and explores the influencing factors from the developers' perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey were used to collect data about TCs and influencing factors. The most influential factors are identified with their impacts on particular TCs, yielded from correlation analysis and logistic regression.
Findings
From the developers' perspective in China's PH market, this study identified that the most concerning sources of TCs are: hidden costs arising from disputes, extra workloads from design changes, learning costs, intensive communication and coordination in assembly and unexpected information costs in decision-making. The use of an ordered logistic regression approach indicates that the four most influential factors are: qualification of the general contractor, mandatory local policies, owner type and competitiveness of the developer.
Practical implications
To reduce the TCs, experiencing learning and ensuring the design scheme's complicity are recommended to save information searching and exchanging costs. The implications for the PH developers are for them to: (1) professionalize their own organization and (2) procure high-qualified general contractors. For the policymakers, this means they should improve the clarity of the mandatory local policies for PH step-by-step.
Originality/value
By applying the TCs economic theory, this study explores factors that influence TCs in the PH industry. It sheds light on the influencing mechanism behind the TCs in the context of prefabricated housing.
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Fernanda Leão and Delfina Gomes
In the context of Portugal, this study examines the stereotypes of accountants held by laypeople and how they are influenced by financial crises and accounting scandals.
Abstract
Purpose
In the context of Portugal, this study examines the stereotypes of accountants held by laypeople and how they are influenced by financial crises and accounting scandals.
Design/methodology/approach
To better understand the social images of accountants, the authors adopt a structural approach based on the big five model (BFM) of personality. The authors test this approach on a Portuguese community sample (N = 727) using a questionnaire survey. The results are analyzed considering the socioanalytic theory.
Findings
The results suggest the existence of a stereotype dominated by features of conscientiousness, which is related to the superior performance of work tasks across job types. This feature comprises the core characteristics of the traditional accountant stereotype, which survives in a context challenged by financial scandals and crises. The findings highlight the social acceptance of accountants as an occupational group but do not suggest the possibility of accountants benefiting from the highest levels of social status when considered in relation to the traditional accountant stereotype.
Originality/value
By combining the BFM and the socioanalytic theory, this study provides a unique theoretical approach to better understand the social images of accountants. The findings demonstrate the suitability of using the BFM to study the social perceptions of accountants. They also indicate a paradox based on the survival of the traditional stereotype. This stereotype appears to be resistant to scandals and financial crisis, instead of being impaired, giving rise to another prototype with concerns about integrity.
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Néomie Raassens, Hans Haans and Shantanu Mullick
The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown have hit the food service industry very hard. The COVID-19 outbreak has created a sharp downturn for firms in the food service…
Abstract
Purpose
The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown have hit the food service industry very hard. The COVID-19 outbreak has created a sharp downturn for firms in the food service industry, compelling actors across the whole food service supply chain to rethink their strategies. The purpose of this paper is to document the impact of COVID-19 on the food service supply chain, as well as to identify crisis management strategies food service firms use during the hectic early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic to survive the current and prepare for future pandemics.
Design/methodology/approach
We performed a qualitative descriptive study using 21 semi-structured interviews with actors across the food service supply chain (i.e. farmers, wholesalers and food service providers). Data were collected to shed light on food service firms' decision making during the hectic early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic to uncover various crisis management strategies used.
Findings
By integrating the disaster and crisis pyramid and resilience theory, four core crisis management strategies to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic are conceptualized, i.e. (1) managing resources, (2) diversifying strategically, (3) prioritizing long-term outcomes and (4) bonding socially.
Originality/value
The theoretical contributions include documenting the performance impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food service supply chain and exploring crisis management strategies food service firms employed during the hectic early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, functioning and survival during a pandemic, an emerging field in literature, are central to this study. Additionally, while recent research suggests that integrating crisis management and resilience literature may provide a more complete understanding of the organization–crisis relationship, these literature streams mainly developed in isolation. By integrating the literature streams of crisis management and resilience and applying these theories to the COVID-19 crisis, our study provides specific managerial guidelines.
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Hwa-Joong Kim, Eun-Kyung Yu, Kwang-Tae Kim and Tae-Seung Kim
Dynamic lot sizing is the problem of determining the quantity and timing of ordering items while satisfying the demand over a finite planning horizon. This paper considers the…
Abstract
Dynamic lot sizing is the problem of determining the quantity and timing of ordering items while satisfying the demand over a finite planning horizon. This paper considers the problem with two practical considerations: minimum order size and lost sales. The minimum order size is the minimum amount of items that should be purchased and lost sales involve situations in which sales are lost because items are not on hand or when it becomes more economical to lose the sale rather than making the sale. The objective is to minimize the costs of ordering, item , inventory holding and lost sale over the planning horizon. To solve the problem, we suggest a heuristic algorithm by considering trade-offs between cost factors. Computational experiments on randomly generated test instances show that the algorithm quickly obtains near-optimal solutions.
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