Organization Development for Social Change

The field of organization development (OD) has emerged from efforts to improve the performance of organizations, largely in the for-profit sector but more recently in the public and not-for-profit sectors as well. This paper examines how OD concepts and tools can be used to solve problems and foster constructive change at the societal level as well. It examines four areas in which OD can make such contributions: (1) strengthening social change-focused organizations, (2) scaling up the impacts of such agencies, (3) creating new inter-organizational systems, and (4) changing contexts that shape the action of actors strategic to social change. It discusses examples and the kinds of change agent roles and interventions that are important for each. Finally, it discusses some implications for organization development intervention, practitioners, and the field at large.This publication is Hauser Center Working Paper No. 25. The Hauser Center Working Paper Series was launched during the summer of 2000. The Series enables the Hauser Center to share with a broad audience important works-in-progress written by Hauser Center scholars and researchers

Globalization, NGOs and Multi-Sectoral Relations

This paper seeks to make sense of the impact of globalization on nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations. We argue that globalization processes have contributed to the rising numbers and influence of NGOs in many countries, and particularly in the international arena. International NGOs and NGO alliances are emerging as increasingly influential players in international decision-making, and we discuss some of the roles they can be expected to play in the future. We consider whether the emergence of domestic and international NGOs as important policy makers strengthens or weakens the future of democratic accountability, and we suggest several patterns of interaction among civil society, government and business in future governance issues.This publication is Hauser Center Working Paper No. 1. The Hauser Center Working Paper Series was launched during the summer of 2000. The Series enables the Hauser Center to share with a broad audience important works-in-progress written by Hauser Center scholars and researchers

Changing the view:towards the theory of visualisation comprehension

The core problem of the evaluation of information visualisation is that the end product of visualisation - the comprehension of the information from the data - is difficult to measure objectively. This paper outlines a description of visualisation comprehension based on two existing theories of perception: principles of perceptual organisation and the reverse hierarchy theory. The resulting account of the processes involved in visualisation comprehension enables evaluation that is not only objective, but also non-comparative, providing an absolute efficiency classification. Finally, as a sample application of this approach, an experiment studying the benefits of interactivity in 3D scatterplots is presented

DEMAND RELATIONSHIPS AMONG JUICE BEVERAGES: A DIFFERENTIAL DEMAND SYSTEM APPROACH

Nielsen ScanTrack data were used to study how income and prices influenced consumer juice beverage demand in the United States during the period from 1988-89 through 1991-92. Alternative differential demand models combining the features of the Rotterdam model and the almost ideal demand system (AIDS) were tested. Results indicate the CBS type demand responses describe consumer behavior better than the other specifications for this particular data. set.Differential demand systems, Juice beverages, Demand and Price Analysis,

When can gravitational-wave observations distinguish between black holes and neutron stars?

Gravitational-wave observations of compact binaries have the potential to uncover the distribution of masses and angular momenta of black holes and neutron stars in the universe. The binary components' physical parameters can be inferred from their effect on the phasing of the gravitational-wave signal, but a partial degeneracy between the components' mass ratio and their angular momenta limits our ability to measure the individual component masses. At the typical signal amplitudes expected by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (signal-to-noise ratios between 10 and 20), we show that it will in many cases be difficult to distinguish whether the components are neutron stars or black holes. We identify when the masses of the binary components could be unambiguously measured outside the range of current observations: a system with a chirp mass $\mathcal{M} \le 0.871$ M$_\odot$ would unambiguously contain the smallest-mass neutron star observed, and a system with \mathcal{M} \ge 2.786 \Msun must contain a black hole. However, additional information would be needed to distinguish between a binary containing two 1.35 M$_\odot$ neutron stars and an exotic neutron-star--black-hole binary. We also identify those configurations that could be unambiguously identified as black-hole binaries, and show how the observation of an electromagnetic counterpart to a neutron-star--black-hole binary could be used to constrain the black-hole spin.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Final version to be published in Ap.J.Let

Performance Implications of Contract Nurse Staffing Strategies

Mark P. Brown is an associate professor in the Foster College of Business Administration, Bradley University, Peoria IL 61606. Ross L. Fink is a professor in the Foster College of Business Administration, Bradley University, Peoria IL 61606

Human Resource Outsourcing in Health Care: Strategic, Cost, and Technical Considerations

Mark P. Brown, PhD., is associate professor of management, Department of Business Management and Administration, Bradley University, Peoria, IL 61625. Ross L. Fink, Ph.D., is professor of operations management, Department of Business Management and Administration, Bradley University, Peoria, IL 61625

Candidate genes for cooperation and aggression in the social wasp Polistes dominula

Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Amy Geffre for assistance with field work and experimental setup, and for providing all kinds of support for FM wasp-related work at ISU. We would also like to thank Ali Berens and Erin McCall for valuable feedback on rearing wasp colonies at ISU. Many thanks also to Jeanne Serb for providing support during the molecular work at ISU and Emilie Snell-Rood for guidance on collecting wasp colonies at the University of Minnesota. This work was supported by a Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship (FP7-PEOPLE-2013-15 IIF-625487).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The short and longer term impacts of hate crimes experienced directly, indirectly and through the media

A longitudinal study (N = 774) explored the short and longer term impacts of anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans (LGBT) hate crime experienced directly, indirectly, and through the media. In the short term, being a victim (direct) or personally knowing of a hate crime victim (indirect) was positively associated with vulnerability, emotional responses, and behavioral intentions after reading about a hate crime. Direct victims were also less empathic toward other victims and engaged in more victim-blaming. A structural equation model showed direct experiences (via personal vulnerability and empathy) and media experiences (via group-threat and victim-blaming) to be cross-sectionally associated with behavioral intentions. Media experiences also had lasting demobilizing impacts on actual behaviors, again serially mediated by group-threat and victim-blaming. The findings highlight the emotional and behavioral impacts of hate crimes on both direct victims and on the wider LGBT community. They also raise questions about media reporting of hate crimes and the role of victim-blaming

Shockwaves in converging geometries

Plate impact experiments are a powerful tool in equation of state (EOS) development, but are inherently limited by the range of impact velocities accessible to the gun. In an effort to dramatically increase the range of pressures which can be studied with available impact velocities, a new experimental technique is being developed. The possibility of using a confined converging target to focus Shockwaves and produce a large amplitude pressure pulse is examined. When the planar shock resulting from impact enters the converging target the impedance mismatch at the boundary of the confinement produces reflected Mach waves and the subsequent wave interactions produce a diffraction cycle resulting in increases in the shock strength with each cycle. Since this configuration is limited to relatively low impedance targets, a second technique is proposed in which the target is two concentric cylinders designed such that the inner cylinder will have a lower shock velocity than the much larger shock velocity in the outer cylinder. The resulting dispersion in the wave front creates converging shocks, which will interact and eventually result in a steady Mach configuration with an increase in pressure in the Mach disk. Numerical simulations indicate a significant increase in pressure for both methods and show promise for the proposed concepts