114,021 research outputs found
Experimenting on Contextualism: Between-Subjects vs. Within-Subjects
According to contextualism, vast majority of natural-language expressions are context-sensitive. When testing whether this claim is reflected in Folk intuitions, some interesting methodological questions were raised such as: which experimental design is more appropriate for testing contextualism – the within- or the between-subject design? The main thesis of this paper is that the between-subject design should be preferred.
The first experiment aims at assessing the difference between the results obtained for within-subjects measurements (where all participants assess all contexts) and between-subject measurements (where respondents evaluating different contexts are distinct groups). It is shown that the within-subject design provides data that seems to support contextualism. However, I present an alternative, invariantist interpretation of these results, therefore showing that the within-subject design does not allow to empirically distinguish between contextualism and invariantism. The second experiment further elaborates the issue of how perceiving the contrast between contexts can affect subjects’ judgments – I show that certain kinds of contexts may elicit opposite intuitions when contrasted with different contexts
Outcomes Assessment and Health Care Reform
Argues for the use of outcomes assessment in measuring cost-effectiveness and quality to capture the overall impact of multi-dimensional treatment strategies and to identify healthcare systems that both adopt appropriate technologies and perform well
Galaxy and mass assembly (GAMA) : The wavelength-dependent sizes and profiles of galaxies revealed by MegaMorph
We investigate the relationship between colour and structure within galaxies using a large, volume-limited sample of bright, low-redshift galaxies with optical-near-infrared imaging from the Galaxy AndMass Assembly survey.We fit single-component,wavelength-dependent, elliptical Sérsic models to all passbands simultaneously, using software developed by the MegaMorph project. Dividing our sample by n and colour, the recovered wavelength variations in effective radius (Re) and Sérsic index (n) reveal the internal structure, and hence formation history, of different types of galaxies. All these trends depend on n; some have an additional dependence on galaxy colour. Late-type galaxies (nr 2.5), even though they maintain constant n with wavelength, revealing that ellipticals are a superimposition of different stellar populations associated with multiple collapse and merging events. Processes leading to structures with larger Re must be associated with lower metallicity or younger stellar populations. This appears to rule out the formation of young cores through dissipative gas accretion as an important mechanism in the recent lives of luminous elliptical galaxies.Peer reviewe
Planning effectual growth: a study of effectuations and causation in nascent firms
Two main contrasting approaches are used in the entrepreneurship literature to explain how new ventures strategize: causal/planned strategies and effectual/emergent strategies. In this study, we explore the use of these strategies within micro and small firms. Our results show that larger companies typically used more planned strategies while simultaneously relying on effectual mechanisms. We observe that companies operating in known markets, anchoring their business ideas on experience and having a strong growth intention grow larger. This suggests that causal and effectual mechanisms can co-exist and lead to growth when combined. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed
Formalising the multidimensional nature of social networks
Individuals interact with conspecifics in a number of behavioural contexts or
dimensions. Here, we formalise this by considering a social network between n
individuals interacting in b behavioural dimensions as a nxnxb multidimensional
object. In addition, we propose that the topology of this object is driven by
individual needs to reduce uncertainty about the outcomes of interactions in
one or more dimension. The proposal grounds social network dynamics and
evolution in individual selection processes and allows us to define the
uncertainty of the social network as the joint entropy of its constituent
interaction networks. In support of these propositions we use simulations and
natural 'knock-outs' in a free-ranging baboon troop to show (i) that such an
object can display a small-world state and (ii) that, as predicted, changes in
interactions after social perturbations lead to a more certain social network,
in which the outcomes of interactions are easier for members to predict. This
new formalisation of social networks provides a framework within which to
predict network dynamics and evolution under the assumption that it is driven
by individuals seeking to reduce the uncertainty of their social environment.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure
Transactions Cost Theory influence in strategy research: A review through a bibliometric study in leading journals
Transaction cost theory (TCT) is widely used in several management disciplines. Its value for explaining organizational phenomena and managers? decisions is well accepted and has been recognized with two Nobel laureates (Ronald Coase and Oliver Williamson). In this paper we examine the impact of the TCT on extant research in top tier management journals. We conduct a bibliometric study supported in the analysis of citations and co-citations to uncover the connections between authors and presumably theories. We conclude that the TCT, albeit its specific focus on the transactions as the unit of analysis, is present in a majority of management- and business-related research.transaction costs theory, bibliometric study, strategy research, review
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