Neuroimaging and psychophysiological measurement in organizational research:an agenda for research in organizational cognitive neuroscience

Although organizational research has made tremendous strides in the last century, recent advances in neuroscience and the imaging of functional brain activity remain underused. In fact, even the use of well-established psychophysiological measurement tools is comparatively rare. Following the lead of social cognitive neuroscience, in this review, we conceptualize organizational cognitive neuroscience as a field dedicated to exploring the processes within the brain that underlie or influence human decisions, behaviors, and interactions either (a) within organizations or (b) in response to organizational manifestations or institutions. We discuss organizational cognitive neuroscience, bringing together work that may previously have been characterized rather atomistically, and provide a brief overview of individual methods that may be of use. Subsequently, we discuss the possible convergence and integration of the different neuroimaging and psychophysiological measurement modalities. A brief review of prior work in the field shows a significant need for a more coherent and theory-driven approach to organizational cognitive neuroscience. In response, we discuss a recent example of such work, along with three hypothetical case studies that exemplify the link between organizational and psychological theory and neuroscientific methods.

Advanced manufacturing technology adoption in developing countries:the role of buyer-supplier relationships

Purpose – Developing countries are heavily dependent on the resources and commitment of foreign providers to ensure successful adoption of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT). The purpose of this paper is to describe the important role of buyer-supplier relationships (BSRs) in the process of technology selection, acquisition and implementation. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 147 Malaysian manufacturing firms is the main instrument used in the research investigations and data analysis is carried out by the structured equation modelling (SEM) technique. In particular, the authors examine the impact on performance of different patterns of relationship between technology buyers and suppliers. Findings – Although the majority of the firms reported improvements in their performance since the acquisition of AMT, closer investigation reveals that those demonstrating a closer relationship with their suppliers are more likely to achieve higher levels of technology and implementation performance (IP) than those that do not. Research limitations/implications – The paper only assesses the strength of BSR from the buyers' perspective and they may have limited experience of acquisition, whereas suppliers may have more experience of selling AMT. Also, the research is undertaken in Malaysia and the findings may be different in other countries, especially where the technology being acquired is not imported but sourced locally. Practical implications – The findings relating to BSR, technology acquisition and IP have important implications both for customers and supplier firms as well as for industrial policy makers in developing countries. Originality/value – The result of the research provides useful insights that are especially pertinent to an improved understanding of BSRs in the procurement of capital equipment, about which the current research literature is limited.

Why organizational and community diversity matter:the emergence of incivility and organizational outcomes

Integrating sociological and psychological perspectives, this research considers the value of organizational ethnic diversity as a function of community diversity. Employee and patient surveys, census data, and performance indexes relevant to 142 hospitals in the United Kingdom suggest that intraorganizational ethnic diversity is associated with reduced civility toward patients. However, the degree to which organizational demography was representative of community demography was positively related to civility experienced by patients and ultimately enhanced organizational performance. These findings underscore the understudied effects of community context and imply that intergroup biases manifested in incivility toward out-group members hinder organizational performance.

Climate change performance measurement, control and accountability in English local areas

Purpose – This paper aims to consider how climate change performance is measured and accounted for within the performance framework for local authority areas in England adopted in 2008. It critically evaluates the design of two mitigation and one adaptation indicators that are most relevant to climate change. Further, the potential for these performance indicators to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation is discussed. Design/methodology/approach – The authors begin by examining the importance of the performance framework and the related Local Area Agreements (LAAs), which were negotiated for all local areas in England between central government and Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs). This development is located within the broader literature relating to new public management. The potential for this framework to assist in delivering the UK's climate change policy objectives is researched in a two-stage process. First, government publications and all 150 LAAs were analysed to identify the level of priority given to the climate change indicators. Second, interviews were conducted in spring 2009 with civil servants and local authority officials from the English West Midlands who were engaged in negotiating the climate change content of the LAAs. Findings – Nationally, the authors find that 97 per cent of LAAs included at least one climate change indicator as a priority. The indicators themselves, however, are perceived to be problematic – in terms of appropriateness, accuracy and timeliness. In addition, concerns were identified about the level of local control over the drivers of climate change performance and, therefore, a question is raised as to how LSPs can be held accountable for this. On a more positive note, for those concerned about climate change, the authors do find evidence that the inclusion of these indicators within the performance framework has helped to move climate change up the agenda for local authorities and their partners. However, actions by the UK's new coalition government to abolish the national performance framework and substantially reduce public expenditure potentially threaten this advance. Originality/value – This paper offers an insight into a new development for measuring climate change performance at a local level, which is relatively under-researched. It also contributes to knowledge of accountability within a local government setting and provides a reference point for further research into the potential role of local actions to address the issue of climate change.

Ontology-Based Model of Representation of Knowledge about Language Mappings

The paper presents a short review of some systems for program transformations performed on the basis of the internal intermediate representations of these programs. Many systems try to support several languages of representation of the source texts of programs and solve the task of their translation into the internal representation. This task is still a challenge as it is effort-consuming. To reduce the effort, different systems of translator construction, ready compilers with ready grammars of outside designers are used. Though this approach saves the effort, it has its drawbacks and constraints. The paper presents the general idea of using the mapping approach to solve the task within the framework of program transformations and overcome the disadvantages of the existing systems. The paper demonstrates a fragment of the ontology model of high-level languages mappings onto the single representation and gives the example of how the description of (a fragment) a particular mapping is represented in accordance with the ontology model.

A Public-Private Partnership Magyarországon– egy félreértés volt? (Public-Private Partnerships in Hungary – was it a mistake?)

Az elemzés a PPP (Public-Private Partnership) magyarországi felfutásának és visszaesésének izgalmas éveit tárja fel, amelynek alapján megállapítható, hogy a magyar gyakorlatban körvonalazódó PPP nem az a PPP, amely a nemzetközi tapasztalatok alapján a közfeladatok megvalósításának közgazdaságilag megalapozott eszköze lehetne. A szerző úgy gondolja, hogy nem a PPP-módszer elvetése a megfelelő válasz a létező hibákra, hanem alkalmazásának módján kell javítani, a fokozatosan halmozódó tapasztalatok értő felhasználásával. ______ Public-Private Partnership (PPP) has quickly become a well-known phenomenon in Hungary. Despite its proliferation in various areas of activities, and the fact that most of these projects are still running, interest for starting new PPP projects has ceased, and even the cancellation of the project has become an issue. My research objective was to understand better how the concept of PPP has been interpreted by the wider public, through the assessment of the projects appearance in the main economic newspapers. The analysis shows that what has been implemented as PPP projects in Hungary are conceptually different from what PPP as an economically justified concept substantiates. PPP seems to be a phenomenon grossly misunderstood in Hungary.

Dec.25 School of Medicine Public Affairs Campaign Plan

Overview of the College of Medicine's proposed Public Awareness Campaign to garner support for FLorida International University 's School of Medicine.

Urban Education Research: A Paradigm Shift

Significantly due to the institutional separation of theory and practice, the gap between academia and society continues to broaden, arguably pointing towards the failure of traditional educational research and, to an extent, the university’s neglect to authenticate alternate epistemologies and methodologies that seek to elicit mobilization, activism, and reform.

S Corporations Can Benefit Many Closely-Held Hospitality Firms

In his discussion - S Corporations Can Benefit Many Closely-Held Hospitality Firms - by John M. Tarras, Assistant Professor, School of Hotel, Restaurant & Institutional Management at Michigan State University, Assistant Professor Tarras initially offers: “Organization as an S corporation has many advantages for hospitality firms since passage of the Tax Reform Act of 1986. The author discusses those advantages and lists the disadvantages as well.” In the opening paragraphs Tarras alludes to the relationship between hospitality firms, S corporations, and the Tax Reform Act of 1986, and then defines what an S corporation is. “An S corporation is a form of business entity that combines many of the tax advantages of partnerships with the legal attributes of a corporation, including limited liability for its shareholders. Its name is obtained from a subchapter of the Internal Revenue Code. Except for tax purposes, the S corporation is treated in the same manner as any regular corporation. Like a partnership, income and losses for an S corporation are generally passed through directly to shareholders for inclusion on their individual returns. An S corporation thus avoids the double tax problem facing regular corporations.” There are certain criteria to be met and caveats to be avoided in qualifying for S corporation status. Tarras lists and cites these for you. “Due to the complicated nature of S corporations, the election may be inadvertently terminated if the eligibility requirements are violated,” Tarras expands and cites. As the article suggests at the outset, there are advantages and disadvantages to S corporation status; the author outlines some examples for you. “Traditionally, the S corporation has been used by hospitality firms wishing to avoid the "double tax" problem of a regular corporation,” Tarras informs you. “Regular corporations are taxed once at the corporate level, and again at the shareholder level when income is distributed to shareholders in the form of dividends.” Tarras advises you as to why an S corporation is an advantage in this situation. “Since the S corporation generally is not subject to any corporate taxes, it generally makes no difference whether distributions to shareholders of S corporations are characterized as compensation or dividends,” thus the double tax is avoided. This is just one such positive illustration. Assistant Professor Tarras wants you to know: “Perhaps the most important reason to consider the S corporation has to do with the downward revision of tax rates for both individuals and corporations.” He highlights a case study for you. Some of the disadvantages of S corporation affiliation are the caveats alluded to earlier. They include, “the limitation of an S corporation of 35 shareholders,” Tarras cites. “Also, there are limits as to who may own stock in an S corporation.” These are but two of the limitations of an S corporation. Tarras closes with a further glimpse of the down-sides of an S corporation.

The Beacon, November 13, 2006

Vol. 19, Issue 29, 12 pages

La utopía interior: superación del dualismo en los ensayos de Ernesto Sábato

My research attempts to demonstrate how Sábato’s essays have pursued a progressive path that reflects the evolving process of his vision. In light of his essays, I will delineate the themes of solitude, death, desperation, robotization of man, and finally, hope as the antithesis. In my analysis I examine the model created in Sartre’s Existentialism. I also visit the model followed by Nicholas Berdyaeff, who at least offers the possibility of salvation in a world conceived by and for Nothingness. I investigate how these and other tendencies had an initial influence on the essays studied in my research. I concentrate on those essays whose discourse is conditioned by the philosophical foundations of a being that inquires and discerns, discovers and denounces, and finally struggles with the impossibility of reaching the absolute. This foresight, at times apocalyptic, at times utopian, is already present in Sábato’s early works. In my study I attempt to establish how Sábato, in oscillating between the demonic and the romantic, the infernal and utopian, constructs his vision of the world through the symbiotic intertwining of both the fictional and essayistic genres. I focus on an author compromised by a constant debate with the paradoxes and dichotomies that, according to Sábato himself, define Modernity.

The effects of an augmented art curriculum on the attitudes of high school art students toward diversity in art

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an augmented art curriculum on high school art students to determine if those receiving it had more positive attitudes toward diversity in art and used diversity in their art more than students receiving traditional instruction. This study was conducted in a South Florida public high school, with beginning art students. Using a posttest-only control group design and ANOVA (a = .05), it was found that students (n = 54) receiving an augmented art curriculum did not have significantly higher scores on the Attitudes About Art questionnaire than students (n = 57) receiving traditional instruction F (1, 91) =.00, p > .05. However, using the Checklist of Cultural References in Student Art to evaluate student work it was found that there was a significant teacher effect F (1, 30) = 14.14, p

Global compilation of benthic data sets I

Approaches to quantify the organic carbon accumulation on a global scale generally do not consider the small-scale variability of sedimentary and oceanographic boundary conditions along continental margins. In this study, we present a new approach to regionalize the total organic carbon (TOC) content in surface sediments (<5 cm sediment depth). It is based on a compilation of more than 5500 single measurements from various sources. Global TOC distribution was determined by the application of a combined qualitative and quantitative-geostatistical method. Overall, 33 benthic TOC-based provinces were defined and used to process the global distribution pattern of the TOC content in surface sediments in a 1°x1° grid resolution. Regional dependencies of data points within each single province are expressed by modeled semi-variograms. Measured and estimated TOC values show good correlation, emphasizing the reasonable applicability of the method. The accumulation of organic carbon in marine surface sediments is a key parameter in the control of mineralization processes and the material exchange between the sediment and the ocean water. Our approach will help to improve global budgets of nutrient and carbon cycles.

Vertical profiles of environmental parameters measured on discrete water samples collected with Niskin bottles at station TARA_138 during the Tara Oceans expedition 2009-2013

The Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013) was a global survey of ocean ecosystems aboard the Sailing Vessel Tara. It carried out extensive measurements of evironmental conditions and collected plankton (viruses, bacteria, protists and metazoans) for later analysis using modern sequencing and state-of-the-art imaging technologies. Tara Oceans Data are particularly suited to study the genetic, morphological and functional diversity of plankton. The present data set includes properties of seawater, particulate matter and dissolved matter that were measured from discrete water samples collected with Niskin bottles during the 2009-2013 Tara Oceans expedition. Properties include pigment concentrations from HPLC analysis (10 depths per vertical profile, 25 pigments per depth), the carbonate system (Surface and 400m; pH (total scale), CO2, pCO2, fCO2, HCO3, CO3, Total alkalinity, Total carbon, OmegaAragonite, OmegaCalcite, and dosage Flags), nutrients (10 depths per vertical profile; NO2, PO4, N02/NO3, SI, quality Flags), DOC, CDOM, and dissolved oxygen isotopes. The Service National d'Analyse des Paramètres Océaniques du CO2, at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, determined CT and AT potentiometrically. More than 200 vertical profiles of these properties were made across the world ocean. DOC, CDOM and dissolved oxygen isotopes are available only for the Arctic Ocean and Arctic Seas (2013).

Spatial and temporal stability of soil microbial properties in the Jena Experiment (Germany) from 2003-2014

The study was carried out on the main plots of a large grassland biodiversity experiment (the Jena Experiment). In the main experiment, 82 grassland plots of 20 x 20 m were established from a pool of 60 species belonging to four functional groups (grasses, legumes, tall and small herbs). In May 2002, varying numbers of plant species from this species pool were sown into the plots to create a gradient of plant species richness (1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 60 species) and functional richness (1, 2, 3, 4 functional groups). Plots were maintained by bi-annual weeding and mowing. We tracked soil microbial basal respiration (BR; µlO2/g dry soil/h) and biomass carbon (Cmic; µgC/g dry soil) over a time period of 12 years (2003-2014) and examined the role of plant diversity and plant functional group composition for the spatial and temporal stability (calculated as mean/SD) of soil microbial properties (basal respiration and biomass) in bulk-soil. Our results highlight the importance of plant functional group composition for the spatial and temporal stability of soil microbial properties, and hence for microbially-driven ecosystem processes, such as decomposition and element cycling, in temperate semi-natural grassland.