An exploration of embeddedness : with special reference to Japan : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Economics at Massey University

This thesis utilises the economic sociology concept of embeddedness as the theoretical underpinning to provide an alternative perspective to traditional explanations of economic growth. In general, the advantages of social embeddedness have been the main focus in the literature on the topic. The main purpose of this study is to explore, with special reference to Japan, how embedded relationships could both enable and hinder growth. The study examines the operation of embedded ties in four key areas: inter-firm interaction with an emphasis on the auto-industry; embedded relationships within the financial sector; networks in the internationalisation of firms and embeddedness between government and business, including a case study of the construction industry. It finds that while embedded ties have several advantageous facets, they also have the potential to be an impediment to growth, flexibility and adaptability to change. Network ties can expand and become so rigidly structured, especially in a Confucian society like Japan, as to become obstacles particularly in the face of changing economic circumstances. They can atrophy. This finding led to the development of the concluding notion of "atrophied embeddedness"

Everything should be as simple as possible, but no simpler : towards a protocol for accumulating evidence regarding the active content of health behaviour change interventions

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here: 10.1080/17437199.2013.848409Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Emission of reactive oxygen species during degradation of iron gall ink

Iron gall inks are characterised by high contents of acids and transition metals, promoting degradation of cellulose due to hydrolysis and oxidation, respectively. Their chemical interaction with the environment is not well understood, especially in view of emissions of degradation products which could lead to spread of degradation processes. In order to study the emissions, we employed gas chromatography/mass spectrometry following headspace micro-extraction, and liquid chromatography following hydroxyl radical scavenging with appropriate probes. We also studied chemiluminescence of cellulose affected by ink degradation. We show that while the emissions of organic volatile degradation compounds by inks are less intense than those of surrounding paper, ink does promote the degradation of cellulose across big distances (from object to object). We were able to link this to emission of reactive oxygen species, probably hydrogen peroxide. Its emission from ink is considerably more intensive than from paper

Complex maps without invariant densities

We consider complex polynomials $f(z) = z^\ell+c_1$ for $\ell \in 2\N$ and $c_1 \in \R$, and find some combinatorial types and values of $\ell$ such that there is no invariant probability measure equivalent to conformal measure on the Julia set. This holds for particular Fibonacci-like and Feigenbaum combinatorial types when $\ell$ sufficiently large and also for a class of `long-branched' maps of any critical order.Comment: Typos corrected, minor changes, principally to Section

Using the Delphi Technique to Identify BPM Capability Areas

Organizations increasingly recognize the need to adopt a process orientation as a means of approaching challenges such as globalization, Enterprise Systems implementations or alternative improvement perspectives. A comprehensive understanding of the operational capacity to support and extend BPM strategies is critical to this endeavour. To this end, organizations require appropriate frameworks, which assist in identifying and evaluating their BPM capabilities. The development of maturity models has long been recognized as a means of assessing capabilities within a given domain. However, due to the idiosyncratic structure of many of the more than 150 available maturity models they can not be translated into tools that are embraced and applied by practitioners. To address this issue, the Delphi technique has been adopted during the development of a maturity model for Business Process Management. This paper presents the design and conduct of the Delphi Study series including the major outcomes being definitions of the six factors critical to BPM (i.e. Strategic Alignment, Governance, Methods, Information Technology, People and Culture) and the identification of capability areas whose measurement is seen to be necessary for assessing the maturity of these factors

Effects of NO2 and acetic acid on the stability of historic paper

This research investigates degradation of historic paper in polluted environments during long-term dark storage. In an innovative experiment, degradation rates at realistic pollution levels are compared with degradation rates in the absence of pollution, using a set of real historic papers. The most abundant pollutants in repositories in post-industrial environments are taken into account: acetic acid and nitrogen dioxide. Their action was assessed in terms of reduction of ‘handling’ (as defined by decrease in degree of polymerisation) and ‘display’ (as defined by discolouration) lifetimes. Extrapolations to room conditions enabled lifetime predictions in conditions that are comparable to a real archival or library repository environments while prediction uncertainties were analytically evaluated to assess the significance of conclusions. While 10 ppb of NO2 does reduce the handling lifetime of almost all types of paper, their predicted lifetimes were still assessed to be several millennia, with the exception of acidic paper. Acetic acid at concentrations that are typical for archival and library repositories (<100 ppb) has significantly less effect than NO2 while it does not affect display lifetimes. From a conservation management perspective, it needs to be addressed whether the predicted reductions in otherwise significant handling lifetimes are of real concern and whether air filtration in archival and library repositories is justified