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Configuring international entrepreneurial orientation and dynamic internationalization capability to predict international performance
In recent years, the dynamics of international business have changed. This has largely been attributed to uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and global trends towards individualistic behaviours. To remain competitive, international entrepreneurial firms (IEFs) renew their behaviours and reconfigure their capabilities. However, scholars have hitherto not uncovered the configurational interplay connecting behaviours and capabilities between the pre-and-post-COVID periods. Drawing on the configurational perspective of dynamic capability theory, we explored the configurational specificities of dynamic internationalisation capability and an international entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) as the behavioural aspect of IEFs. Adopting a longitudinal approach, we applied fsQCA to data drawn from Malaysia. Results show that whereas, in the pre-COVID period, IEFs exhibited an IEO along with threshold and disruption capabilities, in the wake of the pandemic, they are gingerly manifesting an IEO with an overwhelming priority on value-adding and consolidation capabilities suited to weather crises and secure international performance
Understanding the dynamics of research policy fellowships: an evaluative analysis of impacts and ecosystem effects
Background:
Although research-to-policy (R2P) fellowships are increasingly used to facilitate mobility, promote knowledge-exchange, and support evidence-based policy making, the evaluation of these initiatives in terms of (multi-level) impacts and broader ‘ecosystem effects’ remains under-researched.
Aims and objectives:
The aim of this article is to evaluate the degree to which the first cohort of Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Policy Fellows (2021–2023) can be seen as a successful pilot initiative. The broader objective being to make a distinctive and original contribution to the debate about ‘what works’ when it comes to promoting research–policy engagement and contribute to research impact evaluation methods.
Methods:
Two rounds of surveys were conducted with fellows and hosts towards the beginning and middle of the scheme. Survey data was then used to design a semi-structured interview framework. Interviews were conducted with 18 fellows and ten representatives from policy host institutions. A thematic analysis of interview transcripts was then conducted using qualitative data analysis software.
Findings:
The central argument of this article is that although the early-stage evaluative evidence suggests that the ESRC Policy Fellows initiative ‘worked’ in terms of its primary ambitions, significant questions exist in relation to systemic concerns that may well limit medium- and long-term impact attainment.
Discussion and conclusion:
As facilitating the mobility of people, knowledge and talent across traditional disciplinary, professional and institutional boundaries continues to form a key driver within the research, development and innovation ‘ecosystem’, the results of rare cohort evaluation studies such as the one outlined in this article take on added significance. Opportunities exist to refine and align future investments for maximum social and scientific value
Reliability of running gait variability measures calculated from inertial measurement units
Changes to the variability within biomechanical signals may reflect a change in the health of the human system. However, for running gait variability measures calculated from wearable device data, it is unknown whether a between-day difference reflects a shift in system dynamics reflective of a change in human health or is a result of poor between-day reliability of the measurement device or the biomechanical signal. This study investigated the reliability of stride time and sacral acceleration variability measures calculated from inertial measurement units (IMUs). Nineteen runners completed six treadmill running trials on two occasions seven days apart. Stride time and sacral acceleration signals were obtained using IMUs. Stride time variability and complexity were calculated using the coefficient of variation (CV) and detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA), respectively. Sacral acceleration regularity was quantified using sample entropy with a range of input parameters m (vector length) and r (similarity threshold). Between-day reliability was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), standard error of measurement (SEM) and minimum detectable change. Stride time CV displayed moderate relative reliability (ICC = 0.672), but with a large absolute minimum detectable change = 0.525 %, whilst stride time DFA-α displayed poor relative reliability (ICC = 0.457) and yielded large minimum detectable changes (≥ 0.208). Sample entropy displayed good relative reliability in mediolateral and resultant sacral acceleration signals for certain combinations of the parameters m and r, although again with large minimum detectable changes. Researchers should be cognisant of these reliability metrics when interpreting changes in running gait variability measures in clinical contexts
Influence of electrode contact arrangements on Polarisation-Electric field measurements of ferroelectric ceramics: A case study of BaTiO3
A range of partial top full bottom electrodes are used to explore the use of bi-polar Polarisation-Electric field (P–E) measurements to quantify recoverable energy (W
rec), energy loss (W
loss) and the efficiency (η) of ferroelectric BaTiO3 ceramics. The values obtained are dependent on the ratio of sample thickness (S) and top contact radius (r). With increasing S/r from 0.17 to 1.96 the P–E responses become increasingly distorted and broader. Measurements show W
rec increases by a factor of ∼ 1.4 but W
loss increases by a factor of ∼7 with η decreasing from ∼ 29% to 8%. Finite element modelling was used to simulate the experimental set-up of the sample/electrode arrangements using the Jiles-Atherton model to replicate the ferroelectric behaviour of BaTiO3. These models demonstrate the experimentally applied electric field using a simple geometric correction for sample thickness is an underestimation of the actual field experienced by the material under the top contact at high S/r values. We stress the importance of reporting the contact sizes and thicknesses of samples when using P–E measurements to assess W
rec, W
loss and η in non-linear dielectric materials. This will allow a fairer comparison of performances between various types of materials being considered for high-energy-density ceramic capacitors
A bifactorial approach to the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised scale.
The Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R) scale has been argued to be the most robust measure of adult attachment to date. However, while previous authors propose that the ECR-R contains a 2-factor model of attachment with the factors representing anxious and avoidant attachment, none have considered a bifactor model of attachment (i.e., an overarching factor of attachment security, together with additional latent variables representing anxious and avoidant attachment) and several have applied, arguably unnecessary, data parcelling. In the current study, 911 participants completed the ECR-R and measures of several associated variables to assess differential predictive validity. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested that the bifactor model was found to be the best fit to the data. These findings have important implications for evaluating previous research which has used the ECR-R. The practical implications of these are discussed
Can Online Exercise Using Wearable Devices Improve Perceived Well-Being? A Study Among Patients with Coronary Artery Disease.
Today, cardiovascular diseases contribute to approximately 17.9 million deaths annually worldwide. With reference to Europe, coronary artery disease (CAD) causes about 3.9 million deaths annually. Considering the positive physical and psychological outcomes of on-site exercise for CAD patients, this study aimed to expand the literature by examining the effects of a 6-month online exercise training program using wearable devices on CAD patients’ perceived well-being, measured with the PERMA profiler. Individual well-being is considered today as an important prerequisite for healthy societies. Thirty patients with a recent myocardial infarction (i.e., <4 weeks) were randomly assigned to either the online home-based or the community-based exercise group. Both groups followed the same 24-week exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation program three times per week. Each session consisted of a 30-min aerobic, followed by a 15-min strength workout, and then a 15-min balance and flexibility training. The results of the Mann–Whitney U tests and the z scores indicated that the Meaning of Life, Health, Accomplishment, Engagement, and Positive Relationship dimensions of the PERMA were statistically improved, and Negative Emotions were decreased. These findings support the importance of cardiac telerehabilitation for patients’ psychological health, demonstrating that online exercise using wearable devices can be a meaningful alternative to on-site exercise for patients with recent myocardial infarction. These results have policy implications as they provide arguments for providing online exercise for CAD patients as an alternative means for improving their psychological health