Ownership structure and innovation: Is there a real link?

This work focuses on the study of the relationship between ownership and control structure of the company and its innovative activity. Its aim consists of analysing the role that may be played by determinants within the company related to ownership structure when the decision to incur research and development activities is taken as well as on the output of this innovate process. Among these determinants we may think of issues such as who owns the firm and how the control of decision-making is distributed, the nature of this control and the level of concentration of ownership, among others. The study is carried out for the year 2001 using a representative sample of Spanish manufacturing industries.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT ON THE DEFINITION OF PERFORMANCE: THE EXAMPLE OF THE SPORT BETTING AND LOTTERY SECTORS

This thesis examines the interplay between state regulation and the way organisations define performance. Performance is generally understood to be a multidimensional concept, but the extent to which its different facets are shaped by regulation remains an understudied question. This thesis aims to address this question and provide at least a partial answer to it. To do so, it examines whether the level of regulation amplifies or abates the multidimensionality of regulated entities' performance definition, i.e. the way they define the concept of performance. The leading question is whether an organisation's performance definition can be associated with the regulatory intensity its environment confronts it with. Moreover, the study explores whether the type of ownership-public or private-plays a role in regard to how a regulated entity defines performance. In order to undertake this investigation, the thesis focuses on the performance definitions of organisations in six different sport betting and lottery regulations. Qualitative data is gathered from primary and secondary documents as well as through semi-structured interviews with chief executive officers (CEO), members of executive management and gambling experts in each of these countries. The thesis concludes that the performance definitions of the organisations under study are indeed multidimensional, as well as clearly influenced by their respective regulatory environments. However, not all performance dimensions identified in the literature are present, nor can they all be estimated to be part of the performance definition. In addition, the public-private difference in defining performance-as conceptualised in the literature- seems to be abated in a regulated environment. The central role played by regulation in regard to the multidimensionality of the performance definition partially outweighs the effect of the nature of ownership.

Optimization of Snow Drifting Mitigation and Control Methods for Iowa Conditions Part II, TR-626, 2015

Blowing and drifting of snow is a major concern for transportation efficiency and road safety in regions where their development is common. One common way to mitigate snow drift on roadways is to install plastic snow fences. Correct design of snow fences is critical for road safety and maintaining the roads open during winter in the US Midwest and other states affected by large snow events during the winter season and to maintain costs related to accumulation of snow on the roads and repair of roads to minimum levels. Of critical importance for road safety is the protection against snow drifting in regions with narrow rights of way, where standard fences cannot be deployed at the recommended distance from the road. Designing snow fences requires sound engineering judgment and a thorough evaluation of the potential for snow blowing and drifting at the construction site. The evaluation includes site-specific design parameters typically obtained with semi-empirical relations characterizing the local transport conditions. Among the critical parameters involved in fence design and assessment of their post-construction efficiency is the quantification of the snow accumulation at fence sites. The present study proposes a joint experimental and numerical approach to monitor snow deposits around snow fences, quantitatively estimate snow deposits in the field, asses the efficiency and improve the design of snow fences. Snow deposit profiles were mapped using GPS based real-time kinematic surveys (RTK) conducted at the monitored field site during and after snow storms. The monitored site allowed testing different snow fence designs under close to identical conditions over four winter seasons. The study also discusses the detailed monitoring system and analysis of weather forecast and meteorological conditions at the monitored sites. A main goal of the present study was to assess the performance of lightweight plastic snow fences with a lower porosity than the typical 50% porosity used in standard designs of such fences. The field data collected during the first winter was used to identify the best design for snow fences with a porosity of 50%. Flow fields obtained from numerical simulations showed that the fence design that worked the best during the first winter induced the formation of an elongated area of small velocity magnitude close to the ground. This information was used to identify other candidates for optimum design of fences with a lower porosity. Two of the designs with a fence porosity of 30% that were found to perform well based on results of numerical simulations were tested in the field during the second winter along with the best performing design for fences with a porosity of 50%. Field data showed that the length of the snow deposit away from the fence was reduced by about 30% for the two proposed lower-porosity (30%) fence designs compared to the best design identified for fences with a porosity of 50%. Moreover, one of the lower-porosity designs tested in the field showed no significant snow deposition within the bottom gap region beneath the fence. Thus, a major outcome of this study is to recommend using plastic snow fences with a porosity of 30%. It is expected that this lower-porosity design will continue to work well for even more severe snow events or for successive snow events occurring during the same winter. The approach advocated in the present study allowed making general recommendations for optimizing the design of lower-porosity plastic snow fences. This approach can be extended to improve the design of other types of snow fences. Some preliminary work for living snow fences is also discussed. Another major contribution of this study is to propose, develop protocols and test a novel technique based on close range photogrammetry (CRP) to quantify the snow deposits trapped snow fences. As image data can be acquired continuously, the time evolution of the volume of snow retained by a snow fence during a storm or during a whole winter season can, in principle, be obtained. Moreover, CRP is a non-intrusive method that eliminates the need to perform man-made measurements during the storms, which are difficult and sometimes dangerous to perform. Presently, there is lots of empiricism in the design of snow fences due to lack of data on fence storage capacity on how snow deposits change with the fence design and snow storm characteristics and in the estimation of the main parameters used by the state DOTs to design snow fences at a given site. The availability of such information from CRP measurements should provide critical data for the evaluation of the performance of a certain snow fence design that is tested by the IDOT. As part of the present study, the novel CRP method is tested at several sites. The present study also discusses some attempts and preliminary work to determine the snow relocation coefficient which is one of the main variables that has to be estimated by IDOT engineers when using the standard snow fence design software (Snow Drift Profiler, Tabler, 2006). Our analysis showed that standard empirical formulas did not produce reasonable values when applied at the Iowa test sites monitored as part of the present study and that simple methods to estimate this variable are not reliable. The present study makes recommendations for the development of a new methodology based on Large Scale Particle Image Velocimetry that can directly measure the snow drift fluxes and the amount of snow relocated by the fence.

La construcción narrativa de la identidad en un contexto educativo intercultural = The narrative construction of identity in a intercultural educative setting

En este trabajo se expone e ilustra un modelo teórico para entender las funciones de la identidad, así como los mecanismospsicosociales asociados a su construcción: “Modelo Evolutivo y Funcional de la Identidad Mediada” (MEBIM). La identidad, mediada narrativamente, cumple una función personal orientada a la dirección de la propia vida, así como una función sociocultural vinculada a la búsqueda de reconocimiento de los derechos de los grupos sociales a los que uno se siente apegado. Se ilustran los factores asociados a la construcción de la identidad personal (sí mismos posibles, transiciones vitales, vínculo afectivo) y sociocultural (acción-transformación e identificación simbólica) a partir de 12 historias de vida realizadas con mestizos e indígenasde la Universidad Intercultural de Chiapas (México). Se sugiere que en contextos educativos formales, como la escuela o la Universidad, se deben propiciar narrativas personales y socioculturales con el objetivo de optimizar la identidad en un mundo a la vez globalizado y plural

The relationship between virtual body ownership and temperature sensitivity.

In the rubber hand illusion tactile stimulation seen on a rubber hand, that is synchronous with tactile stimulation felt on the hidden real hand, can lead to an illusion of ownership over the rubber hand. This illusion has been shown to produce a temperature decrease in the hidden hand, suggesting that such illusory ownership produces disownership of the real hand. Here we apply immersive virtual reality (VR) to experimentally investigate this with respect to sensitivity to temperature change. Forty participants experienced immersion in a VR with a virtual body (VB) seen from a first person perspective. For half the participants the VB was consistent in posture and movement with their own body, and in the other half there was inconsistency. Temperature sensitivity on the palm of the hand was measured before and during the virtual experience. The results show that temperature sensitivity decreased in the consistent compared to the inconsistent condition. Moreover, the change in sensitivity was significantly correlated with the subjective illusion of virtual arm ownership but modulated by the illusion of ownership over the full virtual body. This suggests that a full body ownership illusion results in a unification of the virtual and real bodies into one overall entity - with proprioception and tactile sensations on the real body integrated with the visual presence of the virtual body. The results are interpreted in the framework of a"body matrix" recently introduced into the literature.

Residents' Rights

Resident rights are guaranteed by the federal Nursing Home Reform Law of 1987, which requires nursing facilities to promote and protect the rights of each resident and places a strong emphasis on individual dignity and self-determination. Residents’ rights include, but are not limited to: • Being treated with respect and dignity • Being free from abuse and chemical and physical restraints • Participating in one’s own care and treatment • Being ensured information is being kept confidential • Managing one’s own finances • Being free to voice grievances, without fear of retaliation • Being able to associate and communicate privately with any person • Being able to send and receive personal mail • Making independent choices • Being able to apply for state and federal assistance without discrimination • Being informed of rights, services available and all charges prior to admission • Being given advance notice of a transfer or discharge

Visitation and Powers of Attorney

Resident’s rights are guaranteed by the federal 1987 Nursing Home Reform Law. This law requires nursing facilities to promote and protect the rights of each resident and places a strong emphasis on individual dignity and self-determination. Iowa has incorporated these rights into state law for nursing facility residents, assisted living and elder group home tenants. The attorney-in-fact’s authority is over health care decisions and visitation and access to a resident is not a health care decision. The law does not specifically set out restrictions on visitation as a right that the attorney-in-fact can exercise. Therefore, it is the position of the Office of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman that the attorney-in-fact does not have authority to determine visitation. As such, that right remains with the resident.

Is my hand connected to my body? The impact of body continuity and arm alignment on the virtual hand illusion

When a rubber hand is placed on a table top in a plausible position as if part of a person"s body, and is stroked synchronously with the person"s corresponding hidden real hand, an illusion of ownership over the rubber hand can occur (Botvinick and Cohen 1998). A similar result has been found with respect to a virtual hand portrayed in a virtual environment, a virtual hand illusion (Slater et al. 2008). The conditions under which these illusions occur have been the subject of considerable study. Here we exploited the flexibility of virtual reality to examine four contributory factors: visuo-tactile synchrony while stroking the virtual and the real arms, body continuity, alignment between the real and virtual arms, and the distance between them. We carried out three experiments on a total of 32 participants where these factors were varied. The results show that the subjective illusion of ownership over the virtual arm and the time to evoke this illusion are highly dependent on synchronous visuo-tactile stimulation and on connectivity of the virtual arm with the rest of the virtual body. The alignment between the real and virtual arms and the distance between these were less important. It was found that proprioceptive drift was not a sensitive measure of the illusion, but was only related to the distance between the real and virtual arms.

Deregulation of Railroads and Future Development Scenarios in Europe - Literature Analysis of Privatization Process Taken Place in US, UK and Sweden

Euroopan unionissa päätettiin jo yli vuosikymmen sitten, että rautatieliiketoiminta vapautetaan kilpailulle. Iso-Britanniasta olimäärä tulla esimerkkivaltio tämän prosessin käyttöönotossa. Pääideana oli säännöstelyn keventäminen, jolloin omistuspohja toimialalla laajenee ja rautateiden infrastruktuuri sekä toiminta parantuvat. Infrastruktuuri on määrä olla yhden organisaation hallinnassa ja raiteiden käyttöoikeus on kaikilla lupaehdot täyttävillä operaattoreilla, jotka kilpailevat keskenään matkustajista ja tavararahdeista. Kuitenkin Yhdysvalloissa ja eräissä Latinalaisen Amerikan maissa kilpailu on vapautettu siten, että rautatieyritys omistaa raideinfrastruktuurin, junat, tavarankuljetus- sekä matkustajavaunut. Iso-Britannian yksityistämistä pidettiin aluksi isonaepäonnistumisena: nopealla aikataululla sovellettiin jäykkiä transaktioperusteisia ulkoistamisstrategioita infrastruktuurin kunnossapitoon, jotka lopulta johtivat junien jatkuviin myöhästymisiin ja muutamaan tuhoisaan onnettomuuteen. Liiketoiminnallisessa mielessäkään ei oikein onnistuttu: infrastruktuurista vastaava yritys jouduttiin listaamaan pois Lontoon pörssistä, ja hallituksen oli pakko luoda tukipaketti pahasti velkaantuneen, vain marginaalisien investointien kohteena olleen yrityksen toimintaa varten (vaikka kapasiteettitarvetta oli markkinoilla). Myös rautatieoperaattorit olivat taloudellisessa ahdingossa ja vain määrätietoisten hallituksen laatimien pelastuspakettien avulla ala nousi syvimmästä kriisistään. Tästä huolimatta näiden negatiivisten sivuvaikutusten ohella koko ala pystyi kasvattamaan kysyntää, niin matkustaja- kuin rahtiliikenteenkin osalta. Vähenevän kysynnän trendi, joka alkoi 1970-luvulla, otti käännöksen parempaan. Toinen eurooppalaismaa, jolla on pitkät kokemukset yksityistämisestä, on Ruotsi. Tämä maatapaus on melko konservatiivinen verrattuna tilanteeseen edellisessä; vain rajattu määrä reittejä on avattu kilpailulle ja sopimukset tehdään kerralla pitkäksi aikaa eteenpäin. Ruotsin säännöstelyn purku osoittautui menestykseksi, koska tuottavuus onollut vakaassa kasvussa ja rautateiden markkinaosuus erityisesti matkustajapuolella on noussut merkittävästi, verrattuna muihin kuljetusmuotoihin. Kuitenkin kilpailua on käytännössä vähän tässä maassa ja parempiatuloksia on lupa odottaa, kun vain säännöstelyn purkaminen jatkuu. Viimeinen tutkimuksemme kohteena oleva maa on Yhdysvallat, joka alistutti rautatiet kilpailulle jo 1980-luvun alussa, käyttäen jo edellä mainittua vertikaalista integraatiota; tämä valinta on taas johtanut hyvin erilaisiin tuloksiin. Vaihtoehtoinen rakenteellinen uudistustapa on suosinut rahtivirtoja matkustajiin nähden, ja lopputuloksena tämä tapaus synnytti yrityksiä huolehtimaan toista näistä kahdesta pääasiakasryhmästä. Viimeaikaiset tulokset tästä yksityistämisprosessista ovat olleet hyviä: jäljellejääneiden yritysten voitot ovat kasvaneet, osinkoja ollaan kyetty jakamaan ja osakkeiden arvostus on noussut. Tässä tutkimusraportissa yritämme kolmen maatapauksen kautta esittää, miten yksityistämisprosessi tulee vaikuttamaan Euroopassa, kun kilpailu rautateillä vapautuu. Me käymmeläpi, mikä näistä kolmesta maaesimerkistä on kaikkein todennäköisin jaesitämme ehdotuksia siihen, miten valtiot voisivat välttää ei-haluttuja sivuvaikutuksia. Kolme maaesimerkkiä, ja lopuksi esitetty lyhyt tilastollinen analyysi osoittavat, että rautateillä on tulevaisuuden potentiaalia Euroopassa, ja kilpailun vapauttaminen on avain tämän potentiaalin realisointiin.

Multisensory stimulation can induce an illusion of larger belly size in immersive virtual reality

Body change illusions have been of great interest in recent years for the understanding of how the brain represents the body. Appropriate multisensory stimulation can induce an illusion of ownership over a rubber or virtual arm, simple types of out-of-the-body experiences, and even ownership with respect to an alternate whole body. Here we use immersive virtual reality to investigate whether the illusion of a dramatic increase in belly size can be induced in males through (a) first person perspective position (b) synchronous visual-motor correlation between real and virtual arm movements, and (c) self-induced synchronous visual-tactile stimulation in the stomach area.

First person experience of body transfer in virtual reality

Altering the normal association between touch and its visual correlate can result in the illusory perception of a fake limb as part of our own body. Thus, when touch is seen to be applied to a rubber hand while felt synchronously on the corresponding hidden real hand, an illusion of ownership of the rubber hand usually occurs. The illusion has also been demonstrated using visuomotor correlation between the movements of the hidden real hand and the seen fake hand. This type of paradigm has been used with respect to the whole body generating out-of-the-body and body substitution illusions. However, such studies have only ever manipulated a single factor and although they used a form of virtual reality have not exploited the power of immersive virtual reality (IVR) to produce radical transformations in body ownership.

The empirical assessment of agency accountability: A regime approach and an application to the German Bundesnetzagentur

Regulation has in many cases been delegated to independent agencies, which has led to the question of how democratic accountability of these agencies is ensured. There are few empirical approaches to agency accountability. We offer such an approach, resting upon three propositions. First, we scrutinize agency accountability both de jure (accountability is ensured by formal rights of accountability 'fora' to receive information and impose consequences) and de facto (the capability of fora to use these rights depends on resources and decision costs that affect the credibility of their sanctioning capacity). Second, accountability must be evaluated separately at political, operational and managerial levels. And third, at each level accountability is enacted by a system of several (partially) interdependent fora, forming together an accountability regime. The proposed framework is applied to the case of the German Bundesnetzagentur's accountability regime, which shows its suitability for empirical purposes. Regulatory agencies are often considered as independent, yet accountable. This article provides a realistic framework for the study of accountability 'regimes' in which they are embedded. It emphasizes the need to identify the various actors (accountability fora) to which agencies are formally accountable (parliamentary committees, auditing bodies, courts, and so on) and to consider possible relationships between them. It argues that formal accountability 'on paper', as defined in official documents, does not fully account for de facto accountability, which depends on the resources possessed by the fora (mainly information-processing and decision-making capacities) and the credibility of their sanctioning capacities. The article applies this framework to the German Bundesnetzagentur.

Performance benchmarking and incentive regulation – considerations of directing signals for electricity distribution companies

After the restructuring process of the power supply industry, which for instance in Finland took place in the mid-1990s, free competition was introduced for the production and sale of electricity. Nevertheless, natural monopolies are found to be the most efficient form of production in the transmission and distribution of electricity, and therefore such companies remained franchised monopolies. To prevent the misuse of the monopoly position and to guarantee the rights of the customers, regulation of these monopoly companies is required. One of the main objectives of the restructuring process has been to increase the cost efficiency of the industry. Simultaneously, demands for the service quality are increasing. Therefore, many regulatory frameworks are being, or have been, reshaped so that companies are provided with stronger incentives for efficiency and quality improvements. Performance benchmarking has in many cases a central role in the practical implementation of such incentive schemes. Economic regulation with performance benchmarking attached to it provides companies with directing signals that tend to affect their investment and maintenance strategies. Since the asset lifetimes in the electricity distribution are typically many decades, investment decisions have far-reaching technical and economic effects. This doctoral thesis addresses the directing signals of incentive regulation and performance benchmarking in the field of electricity distribution. The theory of efficiency measurement and the most common regulation models are presented. The chief contributions of this work are (1) a new kind of analysis of the regulatory framework, so that the actual directing signals of the regulation and benchmarking for the electricity distribution companies are evaluated, (2) developing the methodology and a software tool for analysing the directing signals of the regulation and benchmarking in the electricity distribution sector, and (3) analysing the real-life regulatory frameworks by the developed methodology and further develop regulation model from the viewpoint of the directing signals. The results of this study have played a key role in the development of the Finnish regulatory model.

Cultural Planning and community sustainability: The case of the Cultural Facilities Plan of Catalonia (PECCAT 2010-20)

The government of Catalonia has developed a planning framework that seeks to establish the provision of cultural facilities throughout the country. The Cultural Facilities Plan of Catalonia (PECCAT) is based on an analysis of historical gaps and establishes a minimum spatial scheme. The plan responds to problems associated with the absence of a former similar instrument, which has led to an inconsistent and inappropriate cultural infrastructure that fails to fulfill its fundamental mission of securing the cultural rights of the population. The paper sets forth the aims of this policy and describes the objectives and basic characteristics of the plan and the expected outcomes. With the plan, the government of Catalonia seeks to rebalance the infrastructure within the territory and to ensure universal access to basic cultural services, while avoiding a logic of standardization and taking local communities into account. With the development of local plans in the municipalities, local governments encourage community participation processes to adapt and decide on priorities for action based on needs assessments and cultural opportunities for local sustainable development. The local plans focus on local cultural strengths, take advantage of opportunities, and aim to realize the cultural dynamics of a place through establishing an infrastructure that can best respond to the needs and cultural demands of the local communities, taking into account economic, social, and environmental sustainability.

Identification and ethnic diversity underlie support for multicultural rights : a multilevel analysis in Bulgaria

Bulgaria is historically a multicultural society, composed of the Bulgarian (ethnic) majority and a number of ethnic minorities among which Bulgarian Turks and Roma are the largest. Both minority communities are stigmatized in contemporary Bulgaria, though to different degrees and for different reasons. Ethnic minorities' rights to preserve their culture, customs, and language are a topic of contentious debate. The purpose of this study was to examine individual- and context-level antecedents of the ethnic Bulgarian majority's support for multicultural rights of ethnic minorities. Multilevel regression analyses were conducted with International Social Survey Programme ISSP 2003 data (N = 920 in 28 Bulgarian districts). At the individual-level, an ethnic conception of the nation and anti-Roma symbolic prejudice were negatively related to support for multicultural rights, whereas national identification was positively related to the support of these rights. Over and above individual-level effects, and in line with recent extensions of intergroup contact theory, thepercentage ofBulgarianTurks withindistricts was positively related to support for multicultural rights. Importantly, support for multicultural rights was particularly high in districts characterized by ethnic diversity, that is, in districts with high proportions of both Bulgarian Turks and Roma. The beneficial effects of ethnic diversity and theoretical implications of findings are discussed.