THE POST-FORDIST TRANSFORMATION: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

A new family of organizational forms, collectively labeled post-For(list, is steadily emerging in response to a perceived decline in the dominance of mass production and a rapidly changing competitive environment (Boynton and Victor 1991, 1992). These new forms have been variously labeled flexible specialization, mass customization, Toyotism, dynamic stability, and learn manufacturing. Understanding the rise of post-Fordism and the fundamental changes it necessitates, particularly in the use of information technology, is essential to cuirent IT theory and research (Allen and Boynton 1991; Pine 1992). This research combines qualitative field research with analysis of survey-based longitudinal data to better understand the role of IT in the post-Fordist transformation. This paper will discuss this research in process. Understanding the post-Fordist revolution requires first recognizing the challenge to the mass-production model. Fordist mass production was based on sustaining productivity growth by means of economies of scale and an increasingly elaborate division of labor (Piore and Sabel 1984). This foundation is now challenged by both market change and technological innovation. The large undifferentiated markets of the past centuty are increasingly saturated and fragmenting (Pine 1992). In addition, technological innovations are fueling the search for more flexible production processes. The market and technological changes are, in turn creating new strategic principles requiring simultaneously efficiency and flexibility (Boynton and Victor 1991, 1992). Fordist mass production can neither capitalize on the new strategic options nor compete with forms that do so (Womack, Jones and Roos 1990). Information technology is central to the recent rise of flexible technology, including modular and rapid-development software tools, numerically controlled machine tools, robots, flexible information and database storage and retrieval systems, EDI, and computer automated manufacturing (Pine 1992). Information technology is also a central factor in the emergence of the post-Fordist forms themselves, enabling globally networked organizations, powerful and flexible financial control systems, increasingly decentralized production and service delivery, and new kinds of organizational learning (Nonaka 1983; Boynton and Victor 1992). We are employing two research approaches to study the role of information technology in the emergence of post-Fordist forms: first, a qualitative approach based on intense field-based research and, second, analysis of longitudinal data based on survey research. We are currently conducting field based research with a number of firms, including Citibank, Coming Inc., Asea Brown Bovari, Bally Engineering, Westpac, and Lutron Electronics. To date, our investigations indicate several key requirements in the transformation to post-Fordist form: (1) the decoupling of IT asset investments from short-term product needs in order to build general-purpose process capabilities to match changes in service requirements; (2) the combining of firm-wide knowledge into a general purpose IT architecture in order to increase the speed product introduction rates; and (3) the influence of market as a precursor of post-Fordist pressures for increased product flexibility. We are also using a large scale survey methodology to explore the extent of the post-Fordist transition across industries and the level of IT investment employed to support this transition. Our large-scale survey data comes from the Profit Impact of Marketing Strategy (PIMS) project. Fifteen consecutive years of data have been organized. The analysis will utilize MANCOVA on a year-by-year basis to assess the existence and relative performance of combination (post-Fordist) strategies compared to firms pursuing low-cost or differentiation (FordisO strategies. Early findings indicate that trends toward combination low-cost, differentiated strategies are increasing by industry. The extent of IT investment that coincides with transformation to post-Fordist strategy is part of the next phase of data analysis within the PLMS database

The Pine Needle, November 1949

Libraries and archives collect materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. As a result, materials such as those presented here may reflect sexist, misogynistic, abusive, racist, or discriminatory attitudes or actions that some may find disturbing, harmful, or difficult to view. Both a humor and literary magazine, The Pine Needle was a University of Maine student-produced periodical that began publication in the fall of 1946, the first post-World War II semester that saw GIs returning to campus. The Needle reflected an edginess and rebellion not found in previous UMaine student publications. While past student publications relied on euphemisms for alcohol and dating on campus, The Needle openly promoted the sexualization of co-eds and the use of drugs, tobacco, and alcohol by students who experienced war. Cover art for this issue is a pen-and-ink illustration by Len Keenan depicting a first year student wearing a freshman cap and bow tie, smoking a pipe that appears to be making him ill. Leonard F. Keenan (1929-1984), graduated from the University of Maine in 1951 with a B.S. in Forestry. He later earned his MBA from the Army Comptrollership School at Syracuse University and served as a civilian in the Army Budget Office. Though his career with the Army hit a snag in 1976, when he was among four men receiving formal, written reprimands for ...failing to detect and present accounting [failures] that lead to massive overspending... at the end of the Vietnam War, Keenan was honored following his death by the establishment of the Leonard F. Keenan Memorial Award at Syracuse University. The award continues to be presented annually to the U.S. Department of Defense\u27s outstanding financial manager. Keenan died in Virginia on April 30, 1984 from congestive heart failure

The Pine Needle, December 1946

Libraries and archives collect materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. As a result, materials such as those presented here may reflect sexist, misogynistic, abusive, racist, or discriminatory attitudes or actions that some may find disturbing, harmful, or difficult to view.Both a humor and literary magazine, The Pine Needle was a University of Maine periodical that began publication in the fall of 1946, the first post-World War II semester that saw GIs returning to campus. While past student publications at UMaine relied on euphemisms for alcohol and dating on campus, The Needle openly emphasized the sexualization of co-eds, as well as the use of drugs, tobacco, and alcohol by students who experienced the battlefield. The December 1946 cover art by Donald T. Caswell (1923-2014). The happy looking Joe on the cover is the talented witchery that habitually drips from the pen of Don Caswell, who is an artist of long standing and sitting. He also does the work on our profile jobs and sports portraits. Norman Rockwell, move over. Caswell, a native of Limestone, Maine, grew up in Brownsville, and joined the U.S. Navy following high school graduation in 1942. He served as a radio operator aboard ships patrolling the Gulf of Alaska throughout the war. Caswell attended the University of Maine on the G.I. Bill, majoring in Art and History. On campus, he was active in the Officer Training Program and was stationed in Tripoli, North Africa as a U.S. Air Force officer during the Korean War. Caswell served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air National Guard

The Pine Needle, vol. 4, no. 2

Libraries and archives collect materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. As a result, materials such as those presented here may reflect sexist, misogynistic, abusive, racist, or discriminatory attitudes or actions that some may find disturbing, harmful, or difficult to view. Both a humor and literary magazine, The Pine Needle was a University of Maine student periodical that began publication in the fall of 1946, the first post-World War II semester that saw GI\u27s return to campus. Unlike past UMaine student publications, The Needle celebrated the sexualization of co-eds and the use of drugs, tobacco, and alcohol by students. Outrage expressed by older alumni resulted stricter oversight of the magazine beginning in 1947. By 1949, the first wave of World War II GIs were graduating and the restless, rebellious tone of The Needle began to shift as the threat of the Korean War loomed. Cover art for the January 1950, Snowbound Issue is an unsigned pen-and-ink drawing of a struggling skier rushing down hill, followed by two members of the ski patrol carrying a stretcher

The Pine Needle, February 1947

Libraries and archives collect materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. As a result, materials such as those presented here may reflect sexist, misogynistic, abusive, racist, or discriminatory attitudes or actions that some may find disturbing, harmful, or difficult to view. Both a humor and literary magazine, The Pine Needle was a University of Maine student-produced periodical that began publication in the fall of 1946, the first post-World War II semester that saw GIs returning to campus. The Needle reflected an edginess and rebellion not found in previous UMaine student publications. While past student publications relied on euphemisms for alcohol and dating on campus, The Needle overtly sexualized co-eds and discussed the use of drugs, tobacco, and alcohol by students. Cover art for this issue is an unsigned pen-and-ink illustration produced by a member of The Needle\u27s art staff. It depicts the five members of the editorial staff gathered around a wood coffin labeled, The Needle. Included in this issue is a piece about former History Professor C. Dewitt Hardy II\u27s (1911-1992), term paper assignment entitled, Social Problems in My Home Town. The work mentions the birth of Hardy\u27s son and future artist, Clarion Dewitt Hardy III (1940-2017)

Taxonomy based on science is necessary for global conservation

Peer reviewe

Evidence-based Kernels: Fundamental Units of Behavioral Influence

This paper describes evidence-based kernels, fundamental units of behavioral influence that appear to underlie effective prevention and treatment for children, adults, and families. A kernel is a behavior–influence procedure shown through experimental analysis to affect a specific behavior and that is indivisible in the sense that removing any of its components would render it inert. Existing evidence shows that a variety of kernels can influence behavior in context, and some evidence suggests that frequent use or sufficient use of some kernels may produce longer lasting behavioral shifts. The analysis of kernels could contribute to an empirically based theory of behavioral influence, augment existing prevention or treatment efforts, facilitate the dissemination of effective prevention and treatment practices, clarify the active ingredients in existing interventions, and contribute to efficiently developing interventions that are more effective. Kernels involve one or more of the following mechanisms of behavior influence: reinforcement, altering antecedents, changing verbal relational responding, or changing physiological states directly. The paper describes 52 of these kernels, and details practical, theoretical, and research implications, including calling for a national database of kernels that influence human behavior

Effect of remote ischaemic conditioning on clinical outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction (CONDI-2/ERIC-PPCI): a single-blind randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Remote ischaemic conditioning with transient ischaemia and reperfusion applied to the arm has been shown to reduce myocardial infarct size in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). We investigated whether remote ischaemic conditioning could reduce the incidence of cardiac death and hospitalisation for heart failure at 12 months. METHODS: We did an international investigator-initiated, prospective, single-blind, randomised controlled trial (CONDI-2/ERIC-PPCI) at 33 centres across the UK, Denmark, Spain, and Serbia. Patients (age >18 years) with suspected STEMI and who were eligible for PPCI were randomly allocated (1:1, stratified by centre with a permuted block method) to receive standard treatment (including a sham simulated remote ischaemic conditioning intervention at UK sites only) or remote ischaemic conditioning treatment (intermittent ischaemia and reperfusion applied to the arm through four cycles of 5-min inflation and 5-min deflation of an automated cuff device) before PPCI. Investigators responsible for data collection and outcome assessment were masked to treatment allocation. The primary combined endpoint was cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure at 12 months in the intention-to-treat population. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02342522) and is completed. FINDINGS: Between Nov 6, 2013, and March 31, 2018, 5401 patients were randomly allocated to either the control group (n=2701) or the remote ischaemic conditioning group (n=2700). After exclusion of patients upon hospital arrival or loss to follow-up, 2569 patients in the control group and 2546 in the intervention group were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. At 12 months post-PPCI, the Kaplan-Meier-estimated frequencies of cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure (the primary endpoint) were 220 (8·6%) patients in the control group and 239 (9·4%) in the remote ischaemic conditioning group (hazard ratio 1·10 [95% CI 0·91-1·32], p=0·32 for intervention versus control). No important unexpected adverse events or side effects of remote ischaemic conditioning were observed. INTERPRETATION: Remote ischaemic conditioning does not improve clinical outcomes (cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure) at 12 months in patients with STEMI undergoing PPCI. FUNDING: British Heart Foundation, University College London Hospitals/University College London Biomedical Research Centre, Danish Innovation Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, TrygFonden