The Maximal Entropy Measure of Fatou Boundaries

We look at the maximal entropy (MME) measure of the boundaries of connected components of the Fatou set of a rational map of degree greater than or equal to 2. We show that if there are infinitely many Fatou components, and if either the Julia set is disconnected or the map is hyperbolic, then there can be at most one Fatou component whose boundary has positive MME measure. We also replace hyperbolicity by the more general hypothesis of geometric finiteness

The Knowledge Application and Utilization Framework Applied to Defense COTS: A Research Synthesis for Outsourced Innovation

Purpose -- Militaries of developing nations face increasing budget pressures, high operations tempo, a blitzing pace of technology, and adversaries that often meet or beat government capabilities using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies. The adoption of COTS products into defense acquisitions has been offered to help meet these challenges by essentially outsourcing new product development and innovation. This research summarizes extant research to develop a framework for managing the innovative and knowledge flows. Design/Methodology/Approach – A literature review of 62 sources was conducted with the objectives of identifying antecedents (barriers and facilitators) and consequences of COTS adoption. Findings – The DoD COTS literature predominantly consists of industry case studies, and there’s a strong need for further academically rigorous study. Extant rigorous research implicates the importance of the role of knowledge management to government innovative thinking that relies heavily on commercial suppliers. Research Limitations/Implications – Extant academically rigorous studies tend to depend on measures derived from work in information systems research, relying on user satisfaction as the outcome. Our findings indicate that user satisfaction has no relationship to COTS success; technically complex governmental purchases may be too distant from users or may have socio-economic goals that supersede user satisfaction. The knowledge acquisition and utilization framework worked well to explain the innovative process in COTS. Practical Implications – Where past research in the commercial context found technological knowledge to outweigh market knowledge in terms of importance, our research found the opposite. Managers either in government or marketing to government should be aware of the importance of market knowledge for defense COTS innovation, especially for commercial companies that work as system integrators. Originality/Value – From the literature emerged a framework of COTS product usage and a scale to measure COTS product appropriateness that should help to guide COTS product adoption decisions and to help manage COTS product implementations ex post

Electronic Reverse Auctions: Spawning Procurement Innovation in the Context of Arab Culture

Government e-procurement initiatives have the potential to transform local institutions, but few studies have been published of strategies for implementing specific e-procurement tools, particularly involving procurement by a foreign government adapting to local culture in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA). This case describes procurement at a forward operating base (FOB) in Kuwait in support of operations in Iraq. The government procurers had to deal with a phenomenon unique to the MENA region: wasta. Wasta is a form of social capital that bestows power, influence, and connection to those who possess it, similar to guanxi in China. This study explores the value proposition and limitations of electronic reverse auctions (eRA) with the purpose of sharing best practices and lessons learned for government procurement in a MENA country. The public value framework provides valuable theoretical insights for the implementation of a new government e-procurement tool in a foreign country. In a culture dominated by wasta, the suppliers enjoyed the transparency and merit-based virtues of eRA’s that transferred successfully into the new cultural milieu: potential to increase transparency, competition, efficiency, and taxpayer savings. The practices provided herein are designed specifically to help buyers overcome structural barriers including training, organizational inertia, and a lack of eRA policy and guidance while implementing a new e-procurement tool in a foreign country

Socio-Economic Sourcing: Benefits of Small Business Set-Asides in Public Procurement

Purpose Small businesses are critical to economic health and encouraged in government spending by set-asides – annual small business sourcing goals that often are not attained. Little research has explored the negative and risky stigmas associated with small business sourcing. Design/methodology/approach This research explores reduced transaction costs of small business sourcing to government buyers. A survey of 350 government source selections reveals lower transaction costs derived from lower perceived risk of receiving a bid protest and via more efficient source selection processes. Findings Contrary to common bias, the performance level of small businesses is no less than that of large business. Thus, small businesses engender lower transaction costs for correcting supplier’s performance. On the basis of these findings, managerial and theoretical implications are discussed

The development and evolutionary origin of barbels in the channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus (Siluriformes: Ictaluridae)

Understanding the origin of morphological novelties is an important goal of evolutionary developmental biology. In pursuit of this goal, we have examined the developmental genetic mechanisms that underlie growth and patterning in a largely overlooked group of morphological novelties: the barbels of fishes. Barbels are appendages that project from the head region in a large and disparate assortment of fish taxa, ranging from hagfishes to gobies. They often bear sensory organs and can be supported by a rod of connective tissue, muscle, cartilage, or bone. Considering the scattered distribution of barbels among fishes, along with the variability of barbel position and composition, it is likely that barbels have originated independently in multiple groups. We investigated the roles of genes known to be involved in the development of other appendages in the developing barbels of the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Siluriformes: Ictaluridae). Similar to other appendages, the barbels of I. punctatus express members of the Bone morphogenetic protein (Bmp), Distal-less (Dlx), Fibroblast growth factor (Fgf), Hedgehog (Hh), Tumor necrosis factor (Tnf), and Tnf receptor families. Other genes with roles in appendage development were absent from barbels, however, including members of the Dachshund (Dach) and Hox families. Treatment with pharmacological inhibitors of Hh signaling revealed that this pathway is necessary for barbel outgrowth. I conclude that while the barbels of catfishes arose via deployment of a general vertebrate outgrowth mechanism (an Fgf/Hh feedback loop), additional features of the gene regulatory network underlying their development overlap, but are distinct from, those of other appendages