2008 Inter-laboratory Comparison Study of a Reference Material for Nutrients in Seawater

Autoclaved natural seawater collected in the North Pacific Ocean was used as a reference material for nutrients in seawater (RMNS) during an inter-laboratory comparison (I/C) study conducted in 2008. This study was a follow-up to previous studies conducted in 2003 and 2006. A set of six samples was distributed to each of 58 laboratories in 15 countries around the globe, and results were returned by 54 of those laboratories (15 countries). The homogeneities of samples used in the 2008 I/C study, based on analyses for three determinants, were improved compared to those of samples used in the 2003 and 2006 I/C studies. Results of these I/C studies indicate that most of the participating laboratories have an analytical technique for nutrients that is sufficient to provide data of high comparability. The differences between reported concentrations from the same laboratories in the 2006 and 2008 I/C studies for the same batch of RMNS indicate that most of the laboratories have been maintaining internal comparability for two years. Thus, with the current high level of performance in the participating laboratories, the use of a common reference material and the adaptation of an internationally accepted nutrient scale system would increase comparability among laboratories worldwide, and the use of a certified reference material would establish traceability. In the 2008 I/C study we observed a problem of non-linearity of the instruments of the participating laboratories similar to that observed among the laboratories in the 2006 I/C study. This problem of non-linearity should be investigated and discussed to improve comparability for the full range of nutrient concentrations. For silicate comparability in particular, we see relatively larger consensus standard deviations than those for nitrate and phosphate

Firm-environment alignment of entrepreneurial opportunity exploitation in technology-based ventures: A configurational approach

This study explores configurations for firm-environment alignment of entrepreneurial opportunity exploitation in technology-based ventures to explain firm performance. Classifying entrepreneurial opportunities by their source and location as technology driven and market driven, we develop a framework to investigate a multitude of factors in the firm and in the environment that influence firm performance only when aligned with each other. The study examines technology-based ventures using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. Our results highlight the presence of complete firm-environment alignment of technological and market opportunity exploitation in cases with very high organizational growth rates. High-growth cases are driven by market opportunity exploitation. Firm-environment misalignment characterizes low-growth cases. Our results extend entrepreneurial opportunity exploitation literature to encompass a configurational setting from a quality perspective and provides entrepreneurs, managers, and policy-makers with informed choices of alternative growth strategies when focusing on organizational and policy priorities

Inter-laboratory Comparison Study of a Reference Material for Nutrients in Seawater

Autoclaved natural seawater collected in the North Pacific Ocean was used as a reference material for nutrients in seawater (RMNS) during an inter-laboratory comparison (I/C) study conducted in 2008. This study was a follow-up to previous studies conducted in 2003 and 2006. A set of six samples was distributed to each of 58 laboratories in 15 countries around the globe, and results were returned by 54 of those laboratories (15 countries). The homogeneities of samples used in the 2008 I/C study, based on analyses for three determinants, were improved compared to those of samples used in the 2003 and 2006 I/C studies. Results of these I/C studies indicate that most of the participating laboratories have an analytical technique for nutrients that is sufficient to provide data of high comparability. The differences between reported concentrations from the same laboratories in the 2006 and 2008 I/C studies for the same batch of RMNS indicate that most of the laboratories have been maintaining internal comparability for two years. Thus, with the current high level of performance in the participating laboratories, the use of a common reference material and the adaptation of an internationally accepted nutrient scale system would increase comparability among laboratories worldwide, and the use of a certified reference material would establish traceability. In the 2008 I/C study we observed a problem of non-linearity of the instruments of the participating laboratories similar to that observed among the laboratories in the 2006 I/C study. This problem of non-linearity should be investigated and discussed to improve comparability for the full range of nutrient concentrations. For silicate comparability in particular, we see relatively larger consensus standard deviations than those for nitrate and phosphate

Transformações na cientificidade e o ajuste inferencial na Ciência Política: argumento e evidências na produção de alto fator de impacto

O artigo analisa as transformações nos padrões de cientificidade da Ciência Política ao longo das duas últimas décadas. A análise oferece evidências que corroboram a hipótese de que a produção de alto fator de impacto na Ciência Política vem passando por um processo de ajuste às regras de inferência. Este ajuste termina por configurar uma condição característica que conceituamos como o Pluralismo Inferencial, no qual coexistem múltiplas lógicas de causação para a produção de inferências válidas. A partir de uma metodologia original e de dados de contagem, a análise empírica busca testar a ocorrência deste ajuste numa população composta por 2.321 artigos publicados em cinco periódicos no período 2005-2015