Organizational structure and knowledge-practice diffusion in the MNC

Purpose This study aims to examine the interaction of formal and informal cross-border knowledge-sharing practices of four large multinational corporations (MNCs) in aerospace, software, IT services and telecommunications industries. The goal was to determine the manner in which coordination and control mechanisms facilitated knowledge transfer. Design/methodology/approach Case studies comprised secondary data and semi-structured interviews with corporate headquarters and subsidiary managers in large MNCs conducted in the USA, Canada, Mexico, China, India and Eastern Europe. Findings The primary finding of this study is that knowledge transfer mechanisms arise as a result of both formal and informal structures of the MNC. Formal structures which create either mutual dependencies or occasions for knowledge exchange facilitate transfer. Formal structure which inhibits knowledge transfer can be overcome by knowledge brokers and evaluation metrics. Research limitations/implications These findings suggest that knowledge transfer is more informal than formal, but that MNC headquarters does play a role, intended or not, through shaping the interdependencies among geographically distributed units. Managers should be mindful of both the manner in which tasks and the organization are structured, as these have an indirect impact on the development of knowledge channels. Originality/value This paper investigates the role of organizational structure and its effect, both intended and unintended, on the transfer of knowledge-based practices. While knowledge transfer has been heavily researched, this study examines the phenomenon at a finer-grained level of analysis

Cooperative strategies in international business and management: Reflections on the past 50 years and future directions

Over the past 50 years, cooperative forms of governance such as equity joint ventures and other strategic alliances have received tremendous attention in international business and management research. This article traces the history of this research over these past five decades with particular emphasis on the critical role that (Columbia) Journal of World Business has played in disseminating scholarly and managerial expertise on the successful management of cross-border, inter-firm collaboration. We highlight the evolution of interest in different contexts, phenomena, theories, and methodologies, along with the factors that have driven interest in these topics. Several suggestions for future research are also provided

Managing Joint Ventures

Joint ventures aid firms in accessing new markets, knowledge, capabilities, and other resources. Yet they can be challenging to manage, largely because they are owned by two or more parent companies. These companies may have competing or incongruent goals, differences in management style, and in the case of international business, additional complexities associated with differing government policies and business practices. We examine research on joint venture (JV) performance in order to identify prominent academic discussions established over the last 25 years. From this research, we draw implications from past research and areas for future research on successfully managing JVs, taking into account the decisions JV partners must make throughout the partnering process, from initial motivations through partner selection and negotiation of terms to implementation and ongoing management. Key implications include the necessity of honesty, trust, and commitment for the success of the JV, settling disputes by focusing on what is best for the JV rather than individual partner objectives, and division of managerial responsibilities according to the functional expertise of each partner

Genes of the serotonergic and dopaminergic pathways and their interaction affect the expression of Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms in Dementia (BPSD).

Although there is evidence for the involvement of genes of serotonergic and dopaminergic systems in the manifestation of the Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms in Dementia (BPSD), genetic association studies are contradictory. We used 1008 probable AD patients from the UK and applied a Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) approach to investigate the effect of 11 polymorphisms in the serotonergic and dopaminergic systems, on four behavioural sub-phenotypes, namely "psychosis"," moods", "agitation" and "behavioural dyscontrol", as well as on 12 NPI items. Significant findings included the association of DRD1 A48G with "psychosis" (p=0.037), the association of DAT1 VNTR with "agitation" (p=0.006) and the association of DRD4 with "moods" sub-phenotype (p=0.008). In addition, associations were identified between DRD1 A48G and DAT1 VNTR with aberrant motor behaviour (AMB) symptoms (p=0.001 and p=0.015 respectively), between DRD4 and sleep disturbances (p=0.018) and between 5HTTLPR and apathy (p=0.033). Finally, significant interactions were observed between COMT Val158Met and 5HTTLPR with "psychosis" (p=0.026), between HTTLPR and STin2 with "psychosis" (p=0.005), between DAT1 3'UTR VNTR and COMT Val158Met with "agitation" (p=0.0001) and between DAT1 3'UTR VNTR and 5HTTLPR with the "moods" factor (p=0.0027). The complexity of the interrelations between genetic variation, behavioural symptoms and clinical variables was efficiently captured by this MIMIC model

The stellar halo of isolated central galaxies in the Hyper Suprime-Cam imaging survey

We study the faint stellar halo of isolated central galaxies, by stacking galaxy images in the HSC survey and accounting for the residual sky background sampled with random points. The surface brightness profiles in HSC $r$-band are measured for a wide range of galaxy stellar masses ($9.2<\log_{10}M_\ast/M_\odot<11.4$) and out to 120 kpc. Failing to account for the stellar halo below the noise level of individual images will lead to underestimates of the total luminosity by $\leq 15\%$. Splitting galaxies according to the concentration parameter of their light distributions, we find that the surface brightness profiles of low concentration galaxies drop faster between 20 and 100 kpc than those of high concentration galaxies. Albeit the large galaxy-to-galaxy scatter, we find a strong self-similarity of the stellar halo profiles. They show unified forms once the projected distance is scaled by the halo virial radius. The colour of galaxies is redder in the centre and bluer outside, with high concentration galaxies having redder and more flattened colour profiles. There are indications of a colour minimum, beyond which the colour of the outer stellar halo turns red again. This colour minimum, however, is very sensitive to the completeness in masking satellite galaxies. We also examine the effect of the extended PSF in the measurement of the stellar halo, which is particularly important for low mass or low concentration galaxies. The PSF-corrected surface brightness profile can be measured down to $\sim$31 $\mathrm{mag}/\mathrm{arcsec}^2$ at 3-$\sigma$ significance. PSF also slightly flattens the measured colour profiles.Comment: accepted by MNRAS - Significant changes have been made compared with the first version, including discussions on the extended PSF wings, robustness of our results to source detection and masking thresholds and more detailed investigations on the indications of positive colour gradient

Antegrade pressure measurement as a diagnostic tool in modern pediatric urology

The antegrade pressure measurement (APM) or perfusion pressure-flow test (Whitaker test) is a method of antegrade measurement of pressure in the upper urinary tract. In this study, we present the long-term follow-up results of APMs performed in our institution in the late 1980s and early 1990s to see whether the diagnostic decisions that were based on the outcomes of the test prove to be correct in the long term. We conducted a retrospective study by searching our hospital's electronic database. We found a total of 16 APMs performed between 1987 and 1995 (10 boys, six girls; mean age 61 months). In nine cases, action was undertaken immediately after the APM had been performed; in seven cases, this was a surgical procedure (re-implantation/re-calibration or pyeloplasty) after obstruction was demonstrated. In two cases (both postoperative after previous pyeloplasty), absence of obstruction was demonstrated and nephrostomy tubes were subsequently closed. In one case, this resulted in hydronephrosis that had to be treated with a new JJ stent. In all the seven cases in which no action was deemed necessary as a result of the outcome of the APM, long-term follow-up showed that intervention had indeed not been necessary. Although not often used anymore, the APM seems to be a safe and valuable diagnostic tool in the work up for possible urinary tract obstruction in children, especially in cases in which there is serious doubt concerning conservative watchful waitin

Working hard on the outside: a multimodal critical discourse analysis of The Biggest Loser Australia

The Biggest Loser (TBL) is a reality television weight-loss programme that positions itself as a response to the so-called “obesity crisis”. Research on TBL has thus far focussed on audience responses and its effect on viewers’ beliefs about weight loss. This article focuses instead on how meaning is constructed in TBL. We conducted a multimodal critical discourse analysis of a key episode of TBL (the 2012 Australian season finale) to examine how the textual, visual and auditory elements combine to construct meanings beyond the ostensible health messages. Although the overt message is that all contestants have worked hard, turned their lives around and been “successful”, examination of editing choices, lighting and colour, clothing and time spent on contestants allows us to see that the programme constructs varying degrees of success between contestants and provides accounts for these differences in outcomes. In this way the programme is able to present itself as a putative celebration of all contestants while prescribing narrow limits around what constitutes success. TBL reinforces an ideology in which “success” is a direct result of “the work” of weight loss (both physical and emotional), which can apparently be read straightforwardly off the body. TBL’s “celebration” of weight loss thus reproduces and strengthens the widespread view of fat bodies as physical manifestations of individual (ir)responsibility and psychological dysfunction, and contributes to the ongoing stigmatisation of obesity

Unification of Luminous Type 1 Quasars through CIV Emission

Using a sample of 30,000 quasars from SDSS-DR7, we explore the range of properties exhibited by high-ionization, broad emission lines, such as CIV 1549. Specifically we investigate the anti-correlation between L_UV and emission line EQW (the Baldwin Effect) and the "blueshifting" of high-ionization emission lines. The blueshift of the CIV emission line is nearly ubiquitous, with a mean shift of 810 km/s for radio-quiet (RQ) quasars and 360 km/s for radio-loud (RL) quasars, and the Baldwin Effect is present in both RQ and RL samples. Composite spectra are constructed as a function of CIV emission line properties in attempt to reveal empirical relationships between different line species and the SED. Within a two-component disk+wind model of the broad emission line region (BELR), where the wind filters the continuum seen by the disk component, we find that RL quasars are consistent with being dominated by the disk component, while BALQSOs are consistent with being dominated by the wind component. Some RQ objects have emission line features similar to RL quasars; they may simply have insufficient black hole (BH) spin to form radio jets. Our results suggest that there could be significant systematic errors in the determination of L_bol and BH mass that make it difficult to place these findings in a more physical context. However, it is possible to classify quasars in a paradigm where the diversity of BELR parameters are due to differences in an accretion disk wind between quasars (and over time); these differences are underlain primarily by the SED, which ultimately must be tied to BH mass and accretion rate.Comment: 51 pages, 18 figures, accepted by AJ, revised version includes various modifications based on the referee's comment

SDSS Standard Star Catalog for Stripe 82: the Dawn of Industrial 1% Optical Photometry

We describe a standard star catalog constructed using multiple SDSS photometric observations (at least four per band, with a median of ten) in the $ugriz$ system. The catalog includes 1.01 million non-variable unresolved objects from the equatorial stripe 82 ($|\delta_{J2000}|<$ 1.266$^\circ$) in the RA range 20h 34m to 4h 00m, and with the corresponding $r$ band (approximately Johnson V band) magnitudes in the range 14--22. The distributions of measurements for individual sources demonstrate that the photometric pipeline correctly estimates random photometric errors, which are below 0.01 mag for stars brighter than (19.5, 20.5, 20.5, 20, 18.5) in $ugriz$, respectively (about twice as good as for individual SDSS runs). Several independent tests of the internal consistency suggest that the spatial variation of photometric zeropoints is not larger than $\sim$0.01 mag (rms). In addition to being the largest available dataset with optical photometry internally consistent at the $\sim$1% level, this catalog provides practical definition of the SDSS photometric system. Using this catalog, we show that photometric zeropoints for SDSS observing runs can be calibrated within nominal uncertainty of 2% even for data obtained through 1 mag thick clouds, and demonstrate the existence of He and H white dwarf sequences using photometric data alone. Based on the properties of this catalog, we conclude that upcoming large-scale optical surveys such as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope will be capable of delivering robust 1% photometry for billions of sources.Comment: 63 pages, 24 figures, submitted to AJ, version with correct figures and catalog available from http://www.astro.washington.edu/ivezic/sdss/catalogs/stripe82.htm