Trust and the Decision to Outsource: Affective Responses and Cognitive Processes

Many of the various forms of cooperative strategy that firms are pursuing in today's economy entail the placing of important business functions in the hands of a partner. This paper examines the role of trust in the decision by a producer to place the marketing function in the hands of another entity, namely a cooperative. Although others have studied the effect of what may be termed general trust on inter-organizational relationships, few have examined the antecedents of that trust. We propose a model in which affective responses and cognitive processes are precursors to a sense of general trust, which, in turn, influences the outsourcing decision. These affective responses and cognitive processes have both direct and indirect (mediated) effects on the decision to place an important function in the hands of another entity. Perceptions of partner expertise in the business function at hand and the perceived need for the focal firm to maintain control over that function are also considered in the model. The model is tested in a somewhat novel context: the decision of cotton producers to outsource the marketing of their cotton fiber. Using survey data gathered from the actual decision-maker, and structural equations modeling, we find that the inclusion of affective responses and cognitive processes in our model produces a richer explanation of the outsourcing decision. The differences between the effects of affective responses and cognitive processes have potentially important implications for managers engaged in cooperative strategies and for the scholars who study them.Agribusiness,

Structural synthesis of a stiffened cylinder

Structural synthesis of cylindrical shell reinforced with rectangular cross section stiffener

Health Information Seeking Behavior of Library Information Science Students

A pilot study using mixed methods to analyze the online Health Information Seeking Behavior (HISB) of LIS students at a small Midwestern University was conducted to establish the feasibility of investigating the online HISB of LIS students in a larger future study. The project sought to answer the following research questions: (1) what health information topics do library and information science students seek when they search online, (2) how do students find online health information, (3) what do they do with this information, and (4) what attributes of health-related Web pages do Library and Information Science students use when making credibility judgments about this information? The top five health topics of interest to LIS students are a specific disease or medical condition (94%), a certain medical treatment or procedure (71%), exercise or fitness (67%), a particular doctor, clinic, or hospital (54%), and depression, anxiety, stress, or mental health issues (50%). LIS students find online health information by search engine (75%), specific site like WebMD (52%), general site like Wikipedia (14%), social media site like Facebook (12%), journal database (10%), and online health encyclopedia/reference sources (4%). LIS students reported the following reasons for seeking online health information: personal health concerns (47.6%), healthy life style (28.2%), for a family or friend (21.4%), and curiosity or research (2.9%). In the quantitative survey, LIS students reported the mean reliability of online health information as 4.6 out of 7, indicating they have a high level regard for the reliability of online health information. However, interview results indicate that LIS students are generally skeptical of the health information they find online and that they choose to verify findings by checking out additional sources for confirmation. In addition, LIS students are highly influenced by information in the peripheral cue when making credibility judgments about online health information

Someone Old or Someone New? The Effects of CEO Change on Corporate Entrepreneurship

Boards of directors often attempt to foster corporate entrepreneurship by replacing a firm’s chief executive officer (CEO). Compelling theoretical arguments and anecdotal evidence suggest that when firm performance has suffered, a new CEO is best suited to lead the firm’s creative endeavors. On the other hand, among firms that retain their existing CEO after a decline in performance, manipulating the CEO’s compensation package is a common governance practice used by boards to encourage innovation. In these cases, some have argued that increasing the CEO’s pay will encourage corporate entrepreneurship, because the CEO has been compensated for assuming additional risk. Counter to these propositions, this study develops theoretical arguments that a firm’s existing CEO is better equipped to foster corporate entrepreneurship and that this probability increases when the CEO’s cash compensation is decreased. Results from a sample of 100 single-product manufacturing firms suggest firms that retain their current CEO and decrease the CEO’s cash compensation are most likely to engage in corporate entrepreneurship. Implications that this research has for corporate entrepreneurship, corporate governance, and firm performance are discussed

Surviving Tenure: The Plight of Black Faculty; A Panel Discussion

This essay, delivered during the 2006 Annual Meeting in Boston, presents four tenured professors from three different universities who discuss the unique problems faced by Black faculty at predominantly White institutions as they attempt to earn tenure and promotion. Chair Kimberly Flint-Hamilton provides the introductory remarks

Longitudinal Stability and Drag Characteristics at Mach Numbers from 0.70 to 1.37 of Rocket-propelled Models Having a Modified Triangular Wing

A modified triangular wing of aspect ratio 2.53 having an airfoil section 3.7 percent thick at the root and 5.98 percent thick at the tip was designed in an attempt to improve the lift and drag characteristics of triangular wings. Free-flight drag and stability tests were made using rocket-propelled models equipped with the modified wing. The Mach number range of the test was from 0.70 to 1.37. Test results indicated the following: The lift-curve slope of wing plus fuselage approaches the theoretical value of wing alone at supersonic Mach numbers. The drag coefficient, based on total wing area, for wing plus interference was approximately 0.0035 at subsonic Mach numbers and 0.0080 at supersonic Mach numbers. The maximum shift in aerodynamic center for the complete configuration was 14 percent in the rearward direction from the forward position of 51.5 percent of mean aerodynamic chord at subsonic Mach numbers. The variation of lift and moment with angle of attack was linear at supersonic Mach numbers for the range of coefficients covered in the test. The high value of lift-curve slope was considered to be a significant result attributable to the wing modifications

An Analysis of the Medical Costs of Obesity for Fifth Graders in California and Texas

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(1): 26-33, 2016. The prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States increased more than three-fold from 1976 – 1980 to 2007 – 2008. The Presidential Youth Fitness Program’s FitnessGram® is the current method recommended by the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition for assessing health-related fitness factors, including body composition. FitnessGram® data from California and Texas, the two most populous states, over a three-year time span indicate that more than one-third of fifth grade students, typically ten-year-olds, are obese. Previous studies report that an obese ten-year-old child who remains obese into adulthood will incur elevated direct medical costs beyond his or her normal-weight peers over a lifetime. The recommended elevated cost estimates are approximately $12,660 when comparing against a normal-weight child who gains weight as an adult and approximately$19,000 compared to a child who remains at normal weight as an adult. By applying these figures to FitnessGram® results from California and Texas, each group of fifth grade students in each of the two states will incur between $1.4 and$3.0 billion in direct medical costs over a lifetime. When the percentage of obese fifth graders is extrapolated to the rest of the United States’ 4 million ten-year-olds, this results in more than $17 billion (accounting for adulthood weight gain) or$25 billion (not accounting for adulthood weight gain) in added direct lifetime medical costs attributable to obesity for this single-year age cohort. This information should be used to influence spending decisions and resource allocation to obesity reduction and prevention efforts

Elevated Medical Costs for Obese Fifth Graders in California and Texas

Finkelstein et al. (2014) estimated that an obese ten-year-old, typically in the fifth grade, will incur between $12,660 and$19,630 in direct medical costs beyond those of a normal-weight ten-year-old over a lifetime. PURPOSE: The purpose was to estimate the lifetime direct medical costs attributable to obesity for fifth graders in the two most populous states, Texas and California. METHODS: Body composition data from the Presidential Youth Fitness Program’s FITNESSGRAM® administered in California and Texas each school year from 2010 – 2011 to 2012 – 2013 were used. Data included information on 447,619 – 456,409 fifth graders each year in California and 296,887 – 337,514 fifth graders in Texas. The number and percentage of students in each of the FITNESSGRAM® body composition categories was calculated and those in the Needs Improvement – High Risk (NI – HR) were used for cost estimation. The number of students in the NI – HR category for each year in each state was multiplied by the recommended cost estimate of $19,000 to project the elevated lifetime medical costs attributable to obesity for each group of fifth graders in each state. RESULTS: More than 33$3 billion for each group of fifth graders in California and more than $2 billion for each group of fifth graders in Texas. CONCLUSIONS: When the percentage of obese fifth graders is extrapolated to the entire United States’ 4 million 10-year-olds, this results in more than$25 billion in elevated direct lifetime medical costs attributable to obesity for this 1-year age cohort. These estimates are for obesity and do not include the additional costs associated with overweight (i.e., FITNESSGRAM® Needs Improvement – Some Risk category). This information should be used to influence spending decisions and resource allocation to obesity reduction and prevention efforts

Design and Evaluation of an Automatic-disengaging Dynamic Fluid Seal

Mechanical Engineerin

A neutron activated sample activity and dose rate calculator

This paper describes the development of a Microsoft (MS) Excel workbook calculator that estimates the dose rate of a neutron activated sample by calculating the activity and associated dose rate contributions of key isotopes. The goal of the calculator is to prove a simplified and reasonably accurate dose rate estimate that can be used by technicians, students, and instructors who routinely perform Neutron Activation Analysis on samples of known material compositions. Furthermore, the calculator can be used by personnel with little or no programming experience or access to more complicated analysis software. This paper outlines the research performed and assumptions made in the development of the calculator along with the methods used for testing its output. The calculator is mostly automated and requires no programming experience and only a limited knowledge of MS excel to operate. Though unable to compare against dose rates of activated sample results, this calculator provides activity result estimates within 5% of the Wise Uranium – Neutron Activation Calculator and a calculated exposure rate within 50% of the dose rates from gamma-ray constants.Mechanical Engineerin