The field of inter-organizational relations : a jungle or an Italian garden?

Each chapter in this Handbook contains an explicit assessment of priorities for future research that would extend and deepen an understanding of IOR. Given the diversity of contributions to this volume, it is perhaps not surprising that recommendations for future research are varied. And because the three sets of contributions start from different points-empirical manifestations, theoretical and disciplinary perspectives, and thematic interests-so the recommendations, too, might be expected to lead along different paths, 'cutting' and framing future research topics in different ways. Nevertheless, as others have suggested (Brass et al. 2005) it is possible to see some points of convergence across all three parts of the Handbook. We begin our discussion of the contributions and suggestions for the future by focusing on these points of convergence. We then look in turn at the specific ideas that emerge from, and relate to, the specific framings of each of the parts. Finally, we draw together insights about methodological issues

Networks as perspective on policy and implementation

This article discusses the jungle of theories and approaches that abound today in works applied to the management of relations between organizations. It discusses the actions of 'individuals' who may be thought of as managers of an inter-organizational entity (IOE). It also explores research that describes organizational capabilities - in the sense of building them - as a product of, and an enactment through, managerial action. It address the various ways in which this kind of research has been conducted, including a discussion of the various methodologies and underlying theories that provide foundations for discussions of the management challenges inherent in dealing with collaboration and areas of substantive focus. Finally, this article closes with a discussion of significant gaps in the literature that require future research.</p

Sport values, personal values and antisocial behavior in sport

A core aspect of morality concerns behavior towards others. To better understand this issue, we investigated the values-behavior relationship. In a cross-sectional study design, 165 team sport athletes rated the importance of Lee's sport values and Schwartz's basic personal values and reported their frequency of antisocial behavior in sport. With sport values, antisocial behavior was negatively correlated with moral values but positively correlated with status values. With personal values, antisocial behavior was negatively correlated with self-transcendence and conservation values but positively correlated with self-enhancement values. In terms of the relative importance of values, competence and moral were more important than status sport values, whereas self-transcendence and openness to change were more important than conservation and self-enhancement personal values. In terms of the conceptual link across contexts, comparisons of sport and personal values confirmed strong overlap between status and self-enhancement values, competence and openness to change values, and moral and self-transcendence values. In conclusion, antisocial behavior was related to both sport and personal values, and, in line with theory and evidence, the relationship between values and antisocial behavior resembled an unethicality profile

Mental fatigue and padel:state-of-the-art and beyond

Padel is attracting increased research interest. Although the focus has been on the physical and technical-tactical demands of the game, recently more attention is being paid to its mental demands and, more specifically, the importance of mental fatigue. This literature review provides an overview of mental fatigue in padel. First, we consider the mentally fatiguing nature of padel. Padel players must make complex decisions under high-time pressure, maintain self-confidence, and communicate with their partners in an emotionally charged context. With these cognitive demands, it is not surprising that padel matches and tournaments are mentally fatiguing. Second, we review evidence confirming that mental fatigue is detrimental for padel players’ performance, in agreement with findings observed in other sports. Third, we evaluate strategies to tackle mental fatigue and its effects on padel performance. Until now, the only proven long-term countermeasure is Brain Endurance Training. Finally, we make a series of recommendations for coaches and players to deal with mental fa-tigue, that focus on the quantification and modulation of mental fatigue among padel players. We strongly recommend i. to include subjective ratings of mental fatigue (i.e., VAS scale) before and after training and competitive matches, ii. to reduce the cogni-tive load of training before competitions by, for example, use positive feedback or habitual training exercises, and iii. to use Brain Endurance Training during non-com-petitive moments of the season

High-resolution in situ stable isotope measurements reveal contrasting atmospheric vapour dynamics above different urban vegetation

Funding Information: This study was funded through the German Research Foundation (DFG) as part of the Research Training Group ‘Urban Water Interfaces’ (UWI; GRK2032/2) and the Einstein Foundation as part of the ‘Modelling surface and groundwater with isotopes in urban catchments’ (MOSAIC) project. Funding for Dörthe Tetzlaff was also received through the Einstein Research Unit ‘Climate and Water under Change’ from the Einstein Foundation Berlin and Berlin University Alliance (grant no. ERU‐2020‐609) and the project BiNatur (BMBF No. 16LW0156). We also acknowledge the BMBF (funding code 033W034A), which supported the stable isotope laboratory and in situ laser analyser. Contributions from Chris Soulsby have also been supported by the Leverhulme Trust through the ISO‐LAND project (grant no. RPG 2018 375). We thank all colleagues involved in the ecohydrological monitoring and daily precipitation and groundwater sampling, but in particular are grateful to Jan Christopher, Jonas Freymüller and Jessica Landgraf. Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Hydrological Processes published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Peatland initiation and carbon accumulation in the Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean contain extensive peatlands at the edge of their global climatic envelope, but the long-term carbon dynamics of these sites is poorly quantified. We present new data for ten sites, compile previously-published data and produce a new synthesis. Many peatlands in the Falkland Islands developed notably early, with a fifth of basal 14 C dates pre-Holocene. Falkland Islands peats have high ash content, high carbon content and high bulk density compared to global norms. In many sites carbon accumulation rates are extremely low, which may partly relate to low average rainfall, or to carbon loss through burning and aeolian processes. However, in coastal Tussac peatlands carbon accumulation can be extremely rapid. Our re-analysis of published data from Beauchene Island, the southernmost of the Falkland Islands, yields an exceptional long-term apparent carbon accumulation rate of 139 g C m −2 yr −1 , to our knowledge the highest recorded for any global peatland. This high accumulation might relate to the combination of a long growing-season and marine nutrient inputs. Given extensive coverage and carbon-dense peats the carbon stock of Falkland Islands peatlands is clearly considerable but robust quantification will require the development of a reliable peat map. Falkland Island peatlands challenge many standard assumptions and deserve more detailed study

Social work training or social work education? An approach to curriculum design

Population ageing, economic circumstances, and human behaviour are placing social welfare systems under great strain. In England extensive reform of the social work profession is taking place. Training curricula are being redesigned in the context of new standards of competence for social workers – the Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF). Students must be equipped on qualifying to address an extensive range of human problems, presenting major challenges to educators. Critical theory suggests an approach to tackle one such challenge – selecting the essential content required for areas of particular practice. Teaching on social work with older people is used to illustrate this. Habermas’ theory of cognitive interests highlights the different professional roles served by the social work knowledge base - instrumental, interpretive, and emancipatory. Howe’s application of sociological theory distinguished four social work roles corresponding to these. It is suggested that curriculum design decisions must enable practitioners to operate in each. When preparing students to work with older people, educators therefore need to include interpretive and emancipatory perspectives, and not construct social work purely as an instrumental response to problems older people present. This approach provides one useful rationale for curriculum design decisions, which is applicable to other areas of practice, and to contexts outside England

Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (t-VNS): A novel effective treatment for temper outbursts in adults with Prader-Willi Syndrome indicated by results from a non-blind study.

Temper outbursts are a severe problem for people with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). Previous reports indicate that vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) may reduce maladaptive behaviour in neurodevelopmental disorders, including PWS. We systematically investigated the effectiveness of transcutaneous VNS (t-VNS) in PWS. Using a non-blind single case repeat measures modified ABA design, with participants as their own controls, t-VNS was evaluated in five individuals with PWS [three males; age 22-41 (M = 26.8)]. After a baseline phase, participants received four-hours of t-VNS daily for 12 months, followed by one month of daily t-VNS for two-hours. The primary outcome measure was the mean number of behavioural outbursts per day. Secondary outcomes included findings from behavioural questionnaires and both qualitative and goal attainment interviews. Four of the five participants who completed the study exhibited a statistically significant reduction in number and severity of temper outbursts after approximately nine months of daily four-hour t-VNS. Subsequent two-hour daily t-VNS was associated with increased outbursts for all participants, two reaching significance. Questionnaire and interview data supported these findings, the latter indicating potential mechanisms of action. No serious safety issues were reported. t-VNS is an effective, novel and safe intervention for chronic temper outbursts in PWS. We propose these changes are mediated through vagal projections and their effects both centrally and on the functioning of the parasympathetic nervous system. These findings challenge our present biopsychosocial understanding of such behaviours suggesting that there is a single major mechanism that is modifiable using t-VNS. This intervention is potentially generalizable across other clinical groups. Future research should address the lack of a sham condition in this study along with the prevalence of high drop out rates, and the potential effects of different stimulation intensities, frequencies and pulse widths

Energetics and Structural Properties of Trapped Two-Component Fermi Gases

Using two different numerical methods, we study the behavior of two-component Fermi gases interacting through short-range s-wave interactions in a harmonic trap. A correlated Gaussian basis-set expansion technique is used to determine the energies and structural properties, i.e., the radial one-body densities and pair distribution functions, for small systems with either even or odd $N$, as functions of the s-wave scattering length and the mass ratio $\kappa$ of the two species. Particular emphasis is put on a discussion of the angular momentum of the system in the BEC-BCS crossover regime. At unitarity, the excitation spectrum of the four-particle system with total angular momentum L=0 is calculated as a function of the mass ratio $\kappa$. The results are analyzed from a hyperspherical perspective, which offers new insights into the problem. Additionally, fixed-node diffusion Monte Carlo calculations are performed for equal-mass Fermi gases with up to N=30 atoms. We focus on the odd-even oscillations of the ground state energy of the equal-mass unitary system having up to N=30 particles, which are related to the excitation gap of the system. Furthermore, we present a detailed analysis of the structural properties of these systems.Comment: 22 pages, 21 figure