Investigating Organizational Self-control: A Willpower Perspective

Behavioral control theory attempts to explain how controllers can ensure controlees work towards controller goals. Prior studies underinvestigate organizational self-control, and produces mixed results. This paper theorizes and elaborates on the construct of organizational self-control, and how controllers can encourage controlees’ organizational self-control. Organizational self-control differs from “personal” self-control in that organizational self-control focuses on getting another individual (e.g., employee) to exert self-control to perform a controller’s task. Consonant with the personal self-control literature, we argue organizational self-control comprises (self) goals, (self) monitoring, and willpower. We further argue organizational self-control is a mediator between external controls (formal and clan control) and controlee performance. While the literature considers external controls’ influence on one’s goal and self-monitoring, it does not consider external controls’ impact on willpower. We demonstrate through a case study in product development that how control is enacted can impact willpower positively, leading to positive control outcomes

Anomalous particle-number fluctuations in a three-dimensional interacting Bose-Einstein condensate

The particle-number fluctuations originated from collective excitations are investigated for a three-dimensional, repulsively interacting Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) confined in a harmonic trap. The contribution due to the quantum depletion of the condensate is calculated and the explicit expression of the coefficient in the formulas denoting the particle-number fluctuations is given. The results show that the particle-number fluctuations of the condensate follow the law $\sim N^{22/15}$ and the fluctuations vanish when temperature approaches to the BEC critical temperature.Comment: RevTex, 4 page

SMC-based immunity against extrachromosomal DNA elements.

SMC and SMC-like complexes promote chromosome folding and genome maintenance in all domains of life. Recently, they were also recognized as factors in cellular immunity against foreign DNA. In bacteria and archaea, Wadjet and Lamassu are anti-plasmid/phage defence systems, while Smc5/6 and Rad50 complexes play a role in anti-viral immunity in humans. This raises an intriguing paradox - how can the same, or closely related, complexes on one hand secure the integrity and maintenance of chromosomal DNA, while on the other recognize and restrict extrachromosomal DNA? In this minireview, we will briefly describe the latest understanding of each of these complexes in immunity including speculations on how principles of SMC(-like) function may explain how the systems recognize linear or circular forms of invading DNA

Obtaining Top Management Support in IT Projects: A Case Study

Research has argued that one reason for IT project failure is the lack of top management support. However, obtaining top management support is often considered outside the IT project team’s locus of control. Our research demonstrates that top management support can be obtained through continuous engagement. Also, a failure to engage can decrease top management support. We reveal an engagement strategy that starts with small favor requests followed by increasingly onerous favors rewarded by small concessions. This is demonstrated through a case study of the support of three division heads and their corresponding divisions in the implementation of an enterprise system. In case 1, an indifferent division head withdrew support after a lack of IT engagement. In case 2, a hostile division head became an advocate of the system after continuous IT engagement. Finally, in case 3, a supportive division head became more supportive as a result of continuous engagement by IT

How can live streamers enhance viewer engagement in eCommerce streaming?

eCommerce live streaming has enabled new forms of customer engagement, where live streamers, viewers and platform owners engage each other in real time to hawk and trade goods and services. Central to live streaming sales are live streamers. It is therefore critical to discover techniques to maximize live streamers’ engagement with viewers. Based on the intimacy theory, we propose the perceived intimacy live streamers created improves online engagement with viewers. Our survey results suggest streamers’ authenticity, attitudinal similarity and customer response capability enhance intimacy perceived by online viewers, leading to viewers\u27 online engagement. Contributions of our study are discussed

Size does Matter: How do Micro-influencers Impact Follower Purchase Intention on Social Media?

Social media influencers have become a significant source of information for customers and a prevalent marketing tool for brands. It is crucial to explore factors that affect the follower’s purchase intention of the products endorsed by social media influencers. Recently, micro-influencers have gained recognition for their authenticity and relatability when compared with their established counterparts, such as macro- or mega-influencers. Increasing organizations also see the value micro-influencers can bring to their brands via more interaction with their target customers. Based on the parasocial interaction theory, we propose that the perceived credibility and transparency of micro-influencers enhance followers’ purchase intention through the mediation of parasocial interaction. Parasocial interaction is a kind of psychological relationship in which followers consider influencers as their friends, regardless of their limited interactions with those influencers. Our findings indicate that parasocial interaction between micro-influencers and their followers positively impacts purchase intentions of recommended products. It is also found that perceived micro-influencer credibility and transparency positively affect followers’ parasocial interaction with microinfluencers. Implications of our findings are discussed

Bias dependence of tunneling-electron-induced molecular fluorescence from porphyrin films on noble-metal substrates

We investigated scanning tunneling microscope (STM)-excited luminescence from porphyrin (PhTPP and H2TPP) thin films on metal substrate (Au and Ag) under ambient conditions. Molecular fluorescence similar to the corresponding photoluminescence was observed from PhTPP/Au and H2TPP/Ag at both STM bias polarities. We found that at the same experimental condition and parameters, the STM-induced luminescence intensities of maxima peak are similar for PhTPP and H2TPP but weaker by a factor of about 4 than that for H2TBPP which we studied previously, probably due to fluorescence quenching by aggregation. The polarity dependence and the bias voltage dependence of the fluorescence intensity for the PhTPP/Au were similar to that for the respective pristine metal. These facts support our proposal that intense molecular fluorescence from porphyrin film on the noble metals is a result of the enhancement of molecular excitation by substrate surface plasmons

Relativistic Calculation of the Meson Spectrum: a Fully Covariant Treatment Versus Standard Treatments

A large number of treatments of the meson spectrum have been tried that consider mesons as quark - anti quark bound states. Recently, we used relativistic quantum "constraint" mechanics to introduce a fully covariant treatment defined by two coupled Dirac equations. For field-theoretic interactions, this procedure functions as a "quantum mechanical transform of Bethe-Salpeter equation". Here, we test its spectral fits against those provided by an assortment of models: Wisconsin model, Iowa State model, Brayshaw model, and the popular semi-relativistic treatment of Godfrey and Isgur. We find that the fit provided by the two-body Dirac model for the entire meson spectrum competes with the best fits to partial spectra provided by the others and does so with the smallest number of interaction functions without additional cutoff parameters necessary to make other approaches numerically tractable. We discuss the distinguishing features of our model that may account for the relative overall success of its fits. Note especially that in our approach for QCD, the resulting pion mass and associated Goldstone behavior depend sensitively on the preservation of relativistic couplings that are crucial for its success when solved nonperturbatively for the analogous two-body bound-states of QED.Comment: 75 pages, 6 figures, revised content

Inheritance and mapping of stem rust resistance of wheat line PI 410966

Stem rust caused by Puccinia graminis f. sp tritici of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most destructive cereal diseases globally. Concern about the disease has increased since 1999 with the discovery in Uganda of a new virulent race of Pgt, designated as race TTKSK (also known as Ug99). The objectives of this experiment were to characterize the resistance and to determine the chromosomal location of the stem rust resistance in the spring wheat line PI 410966. A mapping population was developed from a cross between PI 410966 and a susceptible wheat line OK3040. An inoculation test with isolate 04KEN156/04 of race TTKSK was conducted at the USDA-ARS Cereal Disease Laboratory in the F6:7 generation, and the F6:7 phenotypic data were used to genetically map the resistance gene to the centromeric region on chromosome 2BS. The single locus explained the observed F6:7 resistant and susceptible scores. The location of the gene and molecular marker banding profiles of the diagnostic markers suggest that the stem rust resistance gene in PI 410966 could be a new gene, an allele of Sr36, or Sr36

Interaction of a 2-level system with 2D phonons

We report on the non-adiabatic interaction between 2D acoustic phonons and an artificial 2-level system in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. The 2-level system is formed by two discrete energy levels inside a double quantum dot, and monochromatic surface acoustic waves (~2 GHz) are generated by an on-chip interdigital transducer (IDT). An IDT for better performance is proposed