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Real-time new product development in financial services: Some managerial implications
A review of the various models of New Product Development (NPD) process shows that although different approaches have been proposed, they are in fact all variants on a linear theme: some may include feedback loops, but they all essentially advocate that certain steps precede, or are preceded by, others. An inevitable consequence on the Internet/World Wide Web (WWW or Web) is that such models are no longer applicable. Based on the lessons learned from the development of a new financial service offered via the Internet, we show how such assumptions of linearity need no longer be a constraint. In addition, innovativeness is not related to firm size. But the fact that the Web allows for the real-time development of new financial services based on on-going feedback from potential and current customers raises a new set of managerial issue that have to be tackled. The objective of this paper is to use the context of the recent launch of an innovative financial services product via the Web to explore the managerial changes that are starting to affect the banking industr
Visual function assessment of diagnostic radiography students
Introduction: Deterioration of visual acuity (VA) and visual impairment has been linked to age-related subtle changes, gender, and a correlation to socioeconomic status. This study aimed to assess first-year diagnostic radiography students’ visual functional abilities by applying the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps (ICIDH) recommendations of functional VA screening and health-related quality of life questionnaire (HRQOL).
Methods: The design followed the World Health Organisation (WHO) electronic VA testing of monocular sight using LogMAR charts and binocular vision using Snellen charts, and an HRQOL questionnaire assessing for reduced ability of visual-based tasks in activities of daily living (ADL). The data was evaluated in correlation to the participant’s visual correction, age, gender, and socioeconomic background.
Results: Seventy students were recruited, all meeting the WHO standard level for visual ability, with 100% (n=70/70) met or achieved above normal binocular vision, correlating to expected normal population results from published studies for age. The monocular vision demonstrated 74% (n=52/70) for the right eye, and 80% (n=56/70) for the left eye for normal vision levels. The results did not differ significantly between each eye (p=0.21), gender variations between the left eye (p=0.27) and the right eye (p=0.10) results were affected by sample ratio of females (80%; n=56/70) to males (20%; n=14/70), the visual correction did not impair binocular VA. The HRQOL assessment indicated no significant functional VA issues in the study sample. The study demonstrated no association between the participant’s socioeconomic background that may influence their VA ability.
Conclusion: The results provided normative binocular and monocular data on visual function in a sample of student radiographers and indicated that their thresholds align to normal (or near-normal) VA standards.
Implications for practice: The visual health data was reviewed for subgroup comparison and trend analysis, and did not identify risk factors within this sample group that their VA and visual functioning would impact upon radiography clinical placement tasks and activities. The sample is not generalisable to the wider population; further studies are recommended
Voluntary Environmental Agreements when Regulatory Capacity Is Weak
Voluntary agreements (VAs) negotiated between environmental regulators and industry are increasingly popular. However, little is known about whether they are likely to be effective in developing and transition countries, where local and federal environmental regulatory capacity is typically weak. We develop a dynamic theoretical model to examine the effect of VAs on investment in regulatory infrastructure and pollution abatement in such countries. We find that under certain conditions, VAs can improve welfare by generating more private-sector investment in pollution control and more public-sector investment in regulatory capacity than the status quo.voluntary environmental regulation, developing country
Does Disclosure Reduce Pollution? Evidence from India's Green Rating Project
Public disclosure programs that collect and disseminate information about firms’ environmental performance are increasingly popular in both developed and developing countries. Yet little is known about whether they actually improve environmental performance, particularly in the latter setting. We use detailed plant-level survey data to evaluate the impact of India’s Green Rating Project (GRP) on the environmental performance of the country’s largest pulp and paper plants. We find that the GRP drove significant reductions in pollution loadings among dirty plants but not among cleaner ones. This result comports with statistical and anecdotal evaluations of similar disclosure programs. We also find that plants located in wealthier communities were more responsive to GRP ratings, as were single-plant firms.public disclosure, pollution control, India, pulp and paper
The spatial distribution patterns of condensed phase post-blast explosive residues formed during detonation
The continued usage of explosive devices, as well as the ever growing threat of ‘dirty’ bombs necessitates a comprehensive understanding of particle dispersal during detonation events in order to develop effectual methods for targeting explosive and/or additive remediation efforts. Herein, the distribution of explosive analytes from controlled detonations of aluminised ammonium nitrate and an RDX-based explosive composition were established by systematically sampling sites positioned around each firing. This is the first experimental study to produce evidence that the post-blast residue mass can distribute according to an approximate inverse-square law model, while also demonstrating for the first time that distribution trends can vary depending on individual analytes. Furthermore, by incorporating blast-wave overpressure measurements, high-speed imaging for fireball volume recordings, and monitoring of environmental conditions, it was determined that the principle factor affecting all analyte dispersals was the wind direction, with other factors affecting specific analytes to varying degrees. The dispersal mechanism for explosive residue is primarily the smoke cloud, a finding which in itself has wider impacts on the environment and fundamental detonation theory
Voluntary Environmental Agreements in Developing Countries: The Colombian Experience
According to proponents, voluntary agreements (VAs) negotiated with polluters sidestep weak institutions and other barriers to conventional environmental regulation in developing countries. Yet little is known about their effectiveness. We examine VAs in Colombia, a global leader in the use of these policies. We find that the main motive for using VAs has been to build capacity needed for broader environmental regulatory reform. Their additional effect on environmental performance has been questionable. These findings suggest that in developing countries, VAs may be best suited to capacity building, not environmental management per se.voluntary environmental agreement, pollution, Colombia
Magnetic helicity fluxes in interface and flux transport dynamos
Dynamos in the Sun and other bodies tend to produce magnetic fields that
possess magnetic helicity of opposite sign at large and small scales,
respectively. The build-up of magnetic helicity at small scales provides an
important saturation mechanism. In order to understand the nature of the solar
dynamo we need to understand the details of the saturation mechanism in
spherical geometry. In particular, we want to understand the effects of
magnetic helicity fluxes from turbulence and meridional circulation. We
consider a model with just radial shear confined to a thin layer (tachocline)
at the bottom of the convection zone. The kinetic alpha owing to helical
turbulence is assumed to be localized in a region above the convection zone.
The dynamical quenching formalism is used to describe the build-up of mean
magnetic helicity in the model, which results in a magnetic alpha effect that
feeds back on the kinetic alpha effect. In some cases we compare with results
obtained using a simple algebraic alpha quenching formula. In agreement with
earlier findings, the magnetic alpha effect in the dynamical alpha quenching
formalism has the opposite sign compared with the kinetic alpha effect and
leads to a catastrophic decrease of the saturation field strength with
increasing magnetic Reynolds numbers. However, at high latitudes this quenching
effect can lead to secondary dynamo waves that propagate poleward due to the
opposite sign of alpha. Magnetic helicity fluxes both from turbulent mixing and
from meridional circulation alleviate catastrophic quenching.Comment: 9 pages, 14 figures, submitted to A &
Scaling of Heteroepitaxial Island Sizes
Monte Carlo simulations of an atomistic solid-on-solid model are used to
study the effect of lattice misfit on the distribution of two-dimensional
islands sizes as a function of coverage in the submonolayer
aggregation regime of epitaxial growth. Misfit promotes the detachment of atoms
from the perimeter of large pseudomorphic islands and thus favors their
dissolution into smaller islands that relieve strain more efficiently. The
number density of islands composed of atoms exhibits scaling in the form
\mbox{)} where is the average island size. Unlike the
case of homoepitaxy, a rate equation theory based on this observation leads to
qualitatively different behavior than observed in the simulations.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX 2.09, IC-DDV-94-00
Relativistic Precessing Jets and Cosmological Gamma Ray Bursts
We discuss the possibility that gamma-ray bursts may result from cosmological
relativistic blob emitting neutron star jets that precess past the line of
sight. Beaming reduces the energy requirements, so that the jet emission can
last longer than the observed burst duration. One precession mode maintains a
short duration time scale, while a second keeps the beam from returning to the
line of sight, consistent with the paucity of repeaters. The long life of these
objects reduces the number required for production as compared to short lived
jets. Blobs can account for the time structure of the bursts. Here we focus
largely on kinematic and time scale considerations of beaming, precession, and
blobs--issues which are reasonably independent of the acceleration and jet
collimation mechanisms. We do suggest that large amplitude electro-magnetic
waves could be a source of blob acceleration.Comment: 15 pages, plain TeX, accepted to ApJ
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