The Impact of Physician Job Satisfaction on the Sustained Competitive Advantage of Health Care Organizations

This paper employs the resource-based theory of the firm to explain the influence of human resources on the sustained competitive advantage of an organization. Based on previous conceptual and empirical literature, we posit that the presence of a high potential employee workforce, coupled with adequate human resource management policies, can result in improved profit generating potential. We developed a conceptual framework with several propositions that illustrate the associations between job satisfaction and organizational productivity. We apply this concept in the health care field, suggesting that the satisfaction of physicians’ needs leads to greater organizational productivity and sustained competitive advantage

Book review: the closing of the net by Monica Horten

In The Closing of the Net, Monica Horten confronts the issue of how corporate structural power has shaped the online world, transforming the ideal of the open internet into an increasingly closed, market-driven space with negative consequences for individual freedoms. Courteney J. O’Connor recommends this well-researched book as an extremely relevant addition to cyber-related literature that will also be of use to those working in the fields of politics, law and media

Book review: predator empire: drone warfare and full spectrum dominance by Ian G. R. Shaw

In Predator Empire: Drone Warfare and Full Spectrum Dominance, Ian G. R. Shaw examines the history and development of US drone warfare, with a particular focus on deterrritorialisation and enclosure as key concepts in the emergence of what he terms the ‘Predator Empire’. Courteney J. O’Connor finds this an impressive and timely text that will be of interest to anyone concerned with the evolving relationship between technology and security

Book review: Counterintelligence theory and practice by Hank Prunckun

In Counterintelligence Theory and Practice, Hank Prunckun aims to address the relative lack of theory-driven research and observations when it comes to the study of counterintelligence. Designed as a textbook, this work is a valuable contribution that will be particularly useful to those who are new to the counterintelligence field, writes Courteney J. O’Connor

The Bottom Line: Accounting for Revenues and Expenditures in Intercollegiate Athletics

This paper examines the profitability of Division I athletic programs at colleges and universities in the United States under a variety of accounting definitions of profit. The data identify several broad themes. First, a majority of athletic departments rely heavily on direct and indirect subsidization of their programs by the student body, the institution itself, and state governments in order to balance their books. Without such funding, less than a third of BCS athletic departments and no non-BCS departments are in the black. Second, athletic programs rely heavily on contributions to balance their books. Donations to athletic departments may serve as a substitute for donations to the rest of the university, lowering giving to other programs. Third, football and men’s basketball programs are generally highly profitable at BCS schools, but below this top tier, fewer than 10% of football programs and 15% of men’s basketball programs show a profit by any reasonable accounting measures.Athletics, higher education, sports

Book review: The internet in everything: freedom and security in a world with no off switch by Laura Denardis

In The Internet in Everything: Freedom and Security in a World with No Off Switch, Laura DeNardis offers an exploration of the invisible, complex and concerning worldwide network of technologies often referred to as the Internet of Things, focusing particularly on the pressing issues of governance and jurisdiction. Courteney J. O’Connor highly recommends this well researched and impeccably written text to political scientists, security practitioners and scholars as well as the interested public

The Bottom Line: Accounting for Revenues and Expenditures in Intercollegiate Athletics

This paper examines the profitability of Division I athletic programs at colleges and universities in the United States under a variety of accounting definitions of profit. The data identify several broad themes. First, a majority of athletic departments rely heavily on direct and indirect subsidization of their programs by the student body, the institution itself, and state governments in order to balance their books. Without such funding, less than a third of BCS athletic departments and no non-BCS departments are in the black. Second, athletic programs rely heavily on contributions to balance their books. Donations to athletic departments may serve as a substitute for donations to the rest of the university, lowering giving to other programs. Third, football and men’s basketball programs are generally highly profitable at BCS schools, but below this top tier, fewer than 10% of football programs and 15% of men’s basketball programs show a profit by any reasonable accounting measures.Athletics, higher education, sports

Dynamic Radio-Frequency Transverse Susceptibility in Magnetic Nanoparticle Systems

A novel resonant method based on a tunnel-diode oscillator (TDO) is used to study the dynamic transverse susceptibility in a Fe nanoparticle system. The magnetic system consists of an aggregate of nanometer-size core (Au)-shell (Fe) structure, synthesized by reverse micelle methods. Static and dynamic magnetization measurements carried out in order to characterize the system reveal a superparamagnetic behavior at high temperature. The field-dependent transverse susceptibility at radio-frequencies (RF), for different temperatures reveals distinct peak structure at characteristics fields (H_k, H_c) which changes with temperature. It is proposed that relaxation processes could explain the influence of the temperature on the field dependence of the transverse susceptibility on the MI.Comment: 3 pages, 2-column, 3 figures, To be published in J. Appl. Phys. 2000 (44th Annual MMM proceedings

Chlorinated auxins–how does Arabidopsis thaliana deal with them?

Plant hormones have various functions in plants and play crucial roles in all developmental and differentiation stages. Auxins constitute one of the most important groups with the major representative indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). A halogenated derivate of IAA, 4-chloro-indole-3-acetic acid (4-Cl-IAA), has previously been identified in Pisum sativum and other legumes. While the enzymes responsible for the halogenation of compounds in bacteria and fungi are well studied, the metabolic pathways leading to the production of 4-Cl-IAA in plants, especially the halogenating reaction, are still unknown. Therefore, bacterial flavin-dependent tryptophan-halogenase genes were transformed into the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana. The type of chlorinated indole derivatives that could be expected was determined by incubating wild type A. thaliana with different Cl-tryptophan derivatives. We showed that, in addition to chlorinated IAA, chlorinated IAA conjugates were synthesized. Concomitantly, we found that an auxin conjugate synthetase (GH3.3 protein) from A. thaliana was able to convert chlorinated IAAs to amino acid conjugates in vitro. In addition, we showed that the production of halogenated tryptophan (Trp), indole-3-acetonitrile (IAN) and IAA is possible in transgenic A. thaliana in planta with the help of the bacterial halogenating enzymes. Furthermore, it was investigated if there is an effect (i) of exogenously applied Cl-IAA and Cl-Trp and (ii) of endogenously chlorinated substances on the growth phenotype of the plants

Auctioning Miro to Balance the Budget: A Case Study in Balancing Portugal’s Budget and Retaining Cultural Value

This paper analyses Portugal’s 2014 national debt crisis and the proposed sale of a state-owned Miro collection in the context of three paradigms of national deficit and debt, i.e., deficit hawks, deficit doves, and functional finance. Through this analysis, the paper directly applies three prominent and influential, but widely differing views of national debt in the context of a decision that has important economic and social implications. By analyzing the proposed sale through the three paradigms of deficit and debt, the paper reveals not only the social, but also the economic cost that can be incurred with important policy decisions.