Coercive, Normative, and Mimetic Influences on the Assimilation of BCM in Outsourcing Relationships

Today many business processes are based on IT systems. These systems are exposed to different threats, which may lead to failures of critical business pro-cesses. Thus, enterprises prepare themselves against threats and failures of critical IT systems by means of Business Continuity Management (BCM). The phe-nomenon of outsourcing introduces a new dimension to BCM. In an outsourcing relationship the client organization is still responsible for the continuity of its processes but does not have full control over the implemented business continuity measures. In this paper we build a research model based on institutional and assimilation theories to describe and explain how and why BCM is assimilated in outsourcing relationships. In our case studies we found evidence that primarily coercive and normative pressures influence the assimilation of BCM in outsourcing relationships and support the explanation of variation across enterprises. Mimetic pressures seem to influence the assimilation but do not explain variations.

Biomechanical validation of computer assisted planning of periacetabular osteotomy: A preliminary study based on finite element analysis

Periacetabular Osteotomy (PAO) is a joint preserving surgical intervention intended to increase femoral head coverage and thereby to improve stability in young patients with hip dysplasia. Previously, we developed a CT-based, computer-assisted program for PAO diagnosis and planning, which allows for quantifying the 3D acetabular morphology with parameters such as acetabular version, inclination, lateral center edge (LCE) angle and femoral head coverage ratio (CO). In order to verify the hypothesis that our morphology-based planning strategy can improve biomechanical characteristics of dysplastic hips, we developed a 3D finite element model based on patient-specific geometry to predict cartilage contact stress change before and after morphology-based planning. Our experimental results demonstrated that the morphology-based planning strategy could reduce cartilage contact pressures and at the same time increase contact areas. In conclusion, our computer-assisted system is an efficient tool for PAO planning.

Situational adaptiveness of control orientation mediates relation between fixed-world view and youth well-being in three cultures

When proposing primary control (changing the world to fit self)/secondary control (changing self to fit the world) theory, Weisz et al. (1984) argued for the importance of the “serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can” (p. 967), and the wisdom to choose the right control strategy that fits the context. Although the dual processes of control theory generated hundreds of empirical studies, most of them focused on the dichotomy of PC and SC, with none of these tapped into the critical concept: individuals’ ability to know when to use what. This project addressed this issue by using scenario questions to study the impact of situationally adaptive control strategies on youth well-being. To understand the antecedents of youths’ preference for PC or SC, we also connected PCSC theory with Dweck’s implicit theory about the changeability of the world. We hypothesized that youths’ belief about the world’s changeability impacts how difficult it was for them to choose situationally adaptive control orientation, which then impacts their well-being. This study included adolescents and emerging adults between the ages of 18 and 28 years (Mean = 20.87 years) from the US (n = 98), China (n = 100), and Switzerland (n = 103). Participants answered a questionnaire including a measure of implicit theories about the fixedness of the external world, a scenario-based measure of control orientation, and several measures of well-being. Preliminary analyses of the scenario-based control orientation measures showed striking cross-cultural similarity of preferred control responses: while for three of the six scenarios primary control was the predominately chosen control response in all cultures, for the other three scenarios secondary control was the predominately chosen response. This suggested that youths across cultures are aware that some situations call for primary control, while others demand secondary control. We considered the control strategy winning the majority of the votes to be the strategy that is situationally adaptive. The results of a multi-group structural equation mediation model with the extent of belief in a fixed world as independent variable, the difficulties of carrying out the respective adaptive versus non-adaptive control responses as two mediating variables and the latent well-being variable as dependent variable showed a cross-culturally similar pattern of effects: a belief in a fixed world was significantly related to higher difficulties in carrying out the normative as well as the non-normative control response, but only the difficulty of carrying out the normative control response (be it primary control in situations where primary control is normative or secondary control in situations where secondary control is normative) was significantly related to a lower reported well-being (while the difficulty of carrying out the non-normative response was unrelated to well-being). While previous research focused on cross-cultural differences on the choice of PC or SC, this study shed light on the universal necessity of applying the right kind of control to fit the situation.

The Effects of Density, Spatial Pattern, and Competitive Symmetry on Size Variation in Simulated Plant Populations

Patterns of size inequality in crowded plant populations are often taken to be indicative of the degree of size asymmetry of competition, but recent research suggests that some of the patterns attributed to size‐asymmetric competition could be due to spatial structure. To investigate the theoretical relationships between plant density, spatial pattern, and competitive size asymmetry in determining size variation in crowded plant populations, we developed a spatially explicit, individual‐based plant competition model based on overlapping zones of influence. The zone of influence of each plant is modeled as a circle, growing in two dimensions, and is allometrically related to plant biomass. The area of the circle represents resources potentially available to the plant, and plants compete for resources in areas in which they overlap. The size asymmetry of competition is reflected in the rules for dividing up the overlapping areas. Theoretical plant populations were grown in random and in perfectly uniform spatial patterns at four densities under size‐asymmetric and size‐symmetric competition. Both spatial pattern and size asymmetry contributed to size variation, but their relative importance varied greatly over density and over time. Early in stand development, spatial pattern was more important than the symmetry of competition in determining the degree of size variation within the population, but after plants grew and competition intensified, the size asymmetry of competition became a much more important source of size variation. Size variability was slightly higher at higher densities when competition was symmetric and plants were distributed nonuniformly in space. In a uniform spatial pattern, size variation increased with density only when competition was size asymmetric. Our results suggest that when competition is size asymmetric and intense, it will be more important in generating size variation than is local variation in density. Our results and the available data are consistent with the hypothesis that high levels of size inequality commonly observed within crowded plant populations are largely due to size‐asymmetric competition, not to variation in local density.

Geomorphology and spectrophotometry of Philae's landing site on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Context. On 12 November 2014 the European mission Rosetta succeeded in delivering a lander, named Philae, on the surface of one of the smallest, low-gravity and most primitive bodies of the solar system, the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P). Aims. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive geomorphological and spectrophotometric analysis of Philae's landing site (Agilkia) to give an essential framework for the interpretation of its in situ measurements. Methods. OSIRIS images, coupled with gravitational slopes derived from the 3D shape model based on stereo-photogrammetry were used to interpret the geomorphology of the site. We adopted the Hapke model, using previously derived parameters, to photometrically correct the images in orange filter (649.2 nm). The best approximation to the Hapke model, given by the Akimov parameter-less function, was used to correct the reflectance for the effects of viewing and illumination conditions in the other filters. Spectral analyses on coregistered color cubes were used to retrieve spectrophotometric properties. Results. The landing site shows an average normal albedo of 6.7% in the orange filter with variations of similar to 15% and a global featureless spectrum with an average red spectral slope of 15.2%/100 nm between 480.7 nm (blue filter) and 882.1 nm (near-IR filter). The spatial analysis shows a well-established correlation between the geomorphological units and the photometric characteristics of the surface. In particular, smooth deposits have the highest reflectance a bluer spectrum than the outcropping material across the area. Conclusions. The featureless spectrum and the redness of the material are compatible with the results by other instruments that have suggested an organic composition. The observed small spectral variegation could be due to grain size effects. However, the combination of photometric and spectral variegation suggests that a compositional differentiation is more likely. This might be tentatively interpreted as the effect of the efficient dust-transport processes acting on 67P. High-activity regions might be the original sources for smooth fine-grained materials that then covered Agilkia as a consequence of airfall of residual material. More observations performed by OSIRIS as the comet approaches the Sun would help interpreting the processes that work at shaping the landing site and the overall nucleus.

Oxygen Production and Carbon Sequestration in an Upwelling Coastal Margin

We examined high-resolution cross-shelf distributions of particulate organic carbon (POC) and dissolved O(2) during the upwelling season off the Oregon coast. Oxygen concentrations were supersaturated in surface waters, and hypoxic in near-bottom waters, with greatly expanded hypoxic conditions late in the season. Simplified time-dependent mass balances on cross-shelf integrated concentrations of these two parameters, found the following: ( 1) The average net rate of photosynthesis generated 2.1 mmol O(2) m(-3) d(-1) and ( 2) essentially none of the corresponding net carbon fixation of 1.4 mmol m(-3) d(-1) could be accounted for in the observed standing stocks of POC. After examining other possible sinks for carbon, we conclude that most of the net production is being exported to the adjacent deep ocean. A simplified POC budget suggests that about a quarter of the export is via alongshore advection, and the remainder is due to some other process. We propose a simplistic conceptual model of across-shelf transport in which POC sinks to the bottom boundary layer where it comes into contact with mineral ballast material but is kept in suspension by high turbulence. When upwelling conditions ease, the BBL waters move seaward, carrying the suspended, ballasted POC with it where it sinks rapidly into the deep ocean at the shelf break. This suggests a mechanism whereby the duration and frequency of upwelling events and relaxations can determine the extent to which new carbon produced by photosynthesis in the coastal ocean is exported to depth rather than being respired on the shelf.

Land Inheritance Rules: Theory and Cross-Cultural Analysis

This paper develops a general theory of land inheritance rules. We distinguish between two classes of rules: those that allow a testator discretion in disposing of his land (like a best-qualified rule), and those that constrain his choice (like primogeniture). The primary benefit of the latter is to prevent rent seeking by heirs, but the cost is that testators cannot make use of information about the relative abilities of his heirs to manage the land. We also account for the impact of scale economies in land use. We conclude by offering some empirical tests of the model using a cross-cultural sample of societies.

Property Condition Disclosure Law: Does 'Seller Tell All' Matter in Property Values?

At the time when at least two-thirds of the US states have already mandated some form of seller's property condition disclosure statement and there is a movement in this direction nationally, this paper examines the impact of seller's property condition disclosure law on the residential real estate values, the information asymmetry in housing transactions and shift of risk from buyers and brokers to the sellers, and attempts to ascertain the factors that lead to adoption of the disclosur law. The analytical structure employs parametric panel data models, semi-parametric propensity score matching models, and an event study framework using a unique set of economic and institutional attributes for a quarterly panel of 291 US Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and 50 US States spanning 21 years from 1984 to 2004. Exploiting the MSA level variation in house prices, the study finds that the average seller may be able to fetch a higher price (about three to four percent) for the house if she furnishes a state-mandated seller's property condition disclosure statement to the buyer.

The Impact of Property Condition Disclosure Laws on Housing Prices: Evidence from an Event Study using Propensity Scores

We examine the impact of seller's Property Condition Disclosure Law on the residential real estate values. A disclosure law may address the information asymmetry in housing transactions shifting of risk from buyers and brokers to the sellers and raising housing prices as a result. We combine propensity score techniques from the treatment effects literature with a traditional event study approach. We assemble a unique set of economic and institutional attributes for a quarterly panel of 291 US Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and 50 US States spanning 21 years from 1984 to 2004 is used to exploit the MSA level variation in house prices. The study finds that the average seller may be able to fetch a higher price (about three to four percent) for the house if she furnishes a state-mandated seller.s property condition disclosure statement to the buyer. When we compare the results from parametric and semi-parametric event analyses, we find that the semi-parametric or the propensity score analysis generals moderately larger estimated effects of the law on housing prices.

A model for use by local public health departments to evaluate pandemic influenza plans

The events of the 1990's and early 2000's demonstrated the need for effective planning and response to natural and man-made disasters. One of those potential natural disasters is pandemic flu. Once defined, the CDC stated that program, or plan, effectiveness is improved through the process of program evaluation. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1999) Program evaluation should be accomplished not only periodically, but in the course of routine administration of the program. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1999) Accomplishing this task for a "rare, but significant event" is challenging. (Herbold, John R., PhD., 2008) To address this challenge, the RAND Corporation (under contract to the CDC) developed the "Facilitated Look-Backs" approach that was tested and validated at the state level. (Aledort et al., 2006).^ Nevertheless, no comprehensive and generally applicable pandemic influenza program evaluation tool or model is readily found for use at the local public health department level. This project developed such a model based on the "Facilitated Look-Backs" approach developed by RAND Corporation. (Aledort et al., 2006) Modifications to the RAND model included stakeholder additions, inclusion of all six CDC program evaluation steps, and suggestions for incorporating pandemic flu response plans in seasonal flu management implementation. Feedback on the model was then obtained from three LPHD's—one rural, one suburban, and one urban. These recommendations were incorporated into the final model. Feedback from the sites also supported the assumption that this model promotes the effective and efficient evaluation of both pandemic flu and seasonal flu response by reducing redundant evaluations of pandemic flu plans, seasonal flu plans, and funding requirement accountability. Site feedback also demonstrated that the model is comprehensive and flexible, so it can be adapted and applied to different LPHD needs and settings. It also stimulates evaluation of the major issues associated with pandemic flu planning. ^ The next phase in evaluating this model should be to apply it in a program evaluation of one or more LPHD's seasonal flu response that incorporates pandemic flu response plans.^

DISCHARGE PLANNING: A PROCESS MODEL

As the requirements for health care hospitalization have become more demanding, so has the discharge planning process become a more important part of the health services system. A thorough understanding of hospital discharge planning can, then, contribute to our understanding of the health services system. This study involved the development of a process model of discharge planning from hospitals. Model building involved the identification of factors used by discharge planners to develop aftercare plans, and the specification of the roles of these factors in the development of the discharge plan. The factors in the model were concatenated in 16 discrete decision sequences, each of which produced an aftercare plan.^ The sample for this study comprised 407 inpatients admitted to the M. D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institution at Houston, Texas, who were discharged to any site within Texas during a 15 day period. Allogeneic bone marrow donors were excluded from the sample. The factors considered in the development of discharge plans were recorded by discharge planners and were used to develop the model. Data analysis consisted of sorting the discharge plans using the plan development factors until for some combination and sequence of factors all patients were discharged to a single site. The arrangement of factors that led to that aftercare plan became a decision sequence in the model.^ The model constructs the same discharge plans as those developed by hospital staff for every patient in the study. Tests of the validity of the model should be extended to other patients at the MDAH, to other cancer hospitals, and to other inpatient services. Revisions of the model based on these tests should be of value in the management of discharge planning services and in the design and development of comprehensive community health services.^

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF FEDERAL FAMILY PLANNING POLICY: AN ANALYSIS OF FACTORS AFFECTING STATE EXPENDITURES, FISCAL YEARS 1976-1981 (WOMEN, BUDGET, POPULATION)

The purpose of this study was to analyze the implementation of national family planning policy in the United States, which was embedded in four separate statutes during the period of study, Fiscal Years 1976-81. The design of the study utilized a modification of the Sabatier and Mazmanian framework for policy analysis, which defined implementation as the carrying out of statutory policy. The study was divided into two phases. The first part of the study compared the implementation of family planning policy by each of the pertinent statutes. The second part of the study identified factors that were associated with implementation of federal family planning policy within the context of block grants.^ Implemention was measured here by federal dollars spent for family planning, adjusted for the size of the respective state target populations. Expenditure data were collected from the Alan Guttmacher Institute and from each of the federal agencies having administrative authority for the four pertinent statutes, respectively. Data from the former were used for most of the analysis because they were more complete and more reliable.^ The first phase of the study tested the hypothesis that the coherence of a statute is directly related to effective implementation. Equity in the distribution of funds to the states was used to operationalize effective implementation. To a large extent, the results of the analysis supported the hypothesis. In addition to their theoretical significance, these findings were also significant for policymakers insofar they demonstrated the effectiveness of categorical legislation in implementing desired health policy.^ Given the current and historically intermittent emphasis on more state and less federal decision-making in health and human serives, the second phase of the study focused on state level factors that were associated with expenditures of social service block grant funds for family planning. Using the Sabatier-Mazmanian implementation model as a framework, many factors were tested. Those factors showing the strongest conceptual and statistical relationship to the dependent variable were used to construct a statistical model. Using multivariable regression analysis, this model was applied cross-sectionally to each of the years of the study. The most striking finding here was that the dominant determinants of the state spending varied for each year of the study (Fiscal Years 1976-1981). The significance of these results was that they provided empirical support of current implementation theory, showing that the dominant determinants of implementation vary greatly over time. ^

Avances metodológicos del proceso de adopción de los Planes de Ordenamiento de segunda generación frente a los vacios jurídicos de la Legislación Colombiana en materia de Ordenamiento Territorial a la luz del P.O.T. Armenia 2007/2019 “Una Ciudad para la Vida"

Las nuevas realidades territoriales, bajo el innovador panorama constitucional colombiano, requieren de procesos de planificación coherentes, ajustados a las necesidades reales de desarrollo de nuestras sociedades en constante crecimiento. Se requieren acciones inmediatas y contundentes de fortalecimiento, asistencia técnica, desarrollo institucional e implementación de instrumentos de Gestión y financiación del suelo, para responder a la insuficiente capacidad de los entes territoriales para asumir con responsabilidad la formulación e implementación de los instrumentos de planificación y ordenamiento territorial planteados por la ley y la normatividad urbanística vigente. Dicha normatividad, dada su falta de reglamentación y regulación, hace compleja su aplicación en pequeñas y medianas ciudades, debido a la deficiente capacidad operativa y ejecutoria que tienen sus administraciones. El 24 de enero de 1999 el Concejo Municipal de Armenia aprobaba el primer plan de ordenamiento territorial para un municipio Colombiano bajo el marco de la Ley de Desarrollo Territorial 388 de 1997. Veinticuatro horas después se produce un sismo de 6.4 grados (Richter) con epicentro a 24 kilómetros de distancia, generando devastadoras consecuencias en toda la región del eje cafetero, tanto en lo físico como en lo social: “Cuando teníamos las respuestas… cambiaron las preguntas". Las nuevas determinantes territoriales generadas como efecto de la tragedia pondrían el proceso de implementación del plan en un escenario complejo y contradictorio. A pesar de que el concepto de gestión del riesgo había sido abordado por el P.O.T., las realidades del desastre superaban la expectativa planificadora, desbordando cualquier escala de ejecutabilidad de la norma recientemente aprobada. El equipo de formulación del nuevo plan, bajo la coordinación del D.A.P.M. y con apoyo de la academia identificó de manera inmediata la complejidad del proceso. Además, realizó aportes que permitieran a los demás municipios Colombianos evitar cometer los mismos errores, superar los obstáculos, agilizar procesos particulares de planificación territorial y dotar así a sus municipios de unos Planes de Ordenamiento mas aterrizados, realizables y sobretodo mas consecuentes con las necesidades particulares de sus municipios.

El impacto de la Ley de Servicios de Comunicación Audiovisual en los diarios mendocinos Los Andes y Uno : un análisis desde la intencionalidad editorial

En base al modelo teórico metodológico de la intencionalidad editorial, que sostiene que el periodismo es objetivo (en tanto remite a fuentes), y parcial (toma de posición), analizamos la cobertura realizada por los diarios Los Andes y UNO sobre la Ley de Servicios de Comunicación Audiovisual. La hipótesis fue que los diarios locales construyeron, a través de piezas periodísticas, un sentido común que respondió a sus intereses corporativos en detrimento del derecho humano a la comunicación. El análisis consistió en un observatorio de medios que combinó metodología cuantitativa y cualitativa, desde el 27 de agosto al 11 de octubre de 2009.

La Economía Solidaria y la Gestión Compartida, en el marco de las Políticas Sociales de la Provincia de Buenos Aires : Análisis del caso del Consorcio de Gestión Compartida de la Provincia de Buenos Aires

La debacle estructural del modelo económico implementado en los años 90 y desatada a partir de la crisis de 2001, generó el surgimiento de nuevas prácticas de acción colectiva y diferentes formas de intervención del Estado en la cuestión social. Una de las propuestas más novedosas en este sentido, es el enfoque en las políticas públicas de la denominada "Economía Social" que engloba diversas maneras de organización alternativas en torno a la producción, la reproducción del trabajo y de la vida y la gestión de recursos. En este marco se plantea el análisis de un caso de una herramienta de política pública provincial: el Consorcio de Gestión Compartida para el Desarrollo Local de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, creado en el 2007 a partir de la adhesión a la Ley Nacional de Microcrédito. Proyecto que tuvo alcance provincial y que será estudiado en su fase inicial comprendida entre el mes de noviembre de 2007 y finales del 2009. Se planteará como objetivo mostrar, a través del análisis de este caso de cierta proporción, el posible surgimiento de nuevas lógicas de intervención en políticas sociales: un cambio de rumbo que habría tomado el Estado junto con las organizaciones frente a la realidad social en la segunda mitad de esta década. Esta tesina abordará la investigación desde dos ejes de análisis a través de los cuales se busca interpretar el caso. Estos son: la gestión compartida del Estado junto con las organizaciones sociales y la Economía Social como práctica económica alternativa. Intentando dilucidar el proceso donde la acción del Estado y las políticas públicas son permeadas por nuevas prácticas y saberes provenientes de la sociedad civil. Se utilizará una metodología de investigación cualitativa. Se realizarán entrevistas en profundidad y semiestructuradas a integrantes de las organizaciones que forman parte del Consorcio de Gestión Compartida, así como también a los técnicos del Estado provincial que trabajaron en la implementación del proyecto. A su vez, ésta estará complementada con registros obtenidos y fuentes propias del Consorcio de Gestión Compartida, sumado a observaciones participantes en diversas reuniones de dicha organización, además de documentos y material recolectado en diferentes instancias de la investigación