Assessing Bottlenecks in Vertically Organized Beef Systems

Agribusiness,

Unpacking the foundational dimensions of work integration social enterprise: the development of an assessment tool

Purpose The aim of this exploratory, mixed methods study was to develop and test a tool that identifies foundational dimensions of work integration social enterprises (WISEs) for use in empirical studies and enterprise self-assessment. Construction of the initial prototype was based upon a review of the literature and prior qualitative research by the authors. Design/methodology/approach A 20-item question pool with a four-point response scale was constructed to explore WISE business and employment practices and strategies for worker growth and development. Three sequential field tests were conducted with the prototype – the first with 5 Canadian WISEs, the second with 14 WISEs in the UK and the third with 6 Canadian WISEs involved in an outcome study in the mental health sector. Each field test included completion of the questionnaire by persons with managerial responsibility within the WISE and evaluative feedback captured through questions on the applicability and interpretability of the items. Findings Testing of the prototype instrument revealed the inherent diversity in the field and the difficulty in creating questions that both embrace that diversity and produce unidimensional variables definable along a spectrum. A number of challenges with question structure were identified and have been modified throughout the iterative testing process. Research limitations/implications This study identified central domains for inclusion in a multi-dimensional WISE assessment tool. Further testing will help further refine scaling and establish psychometric properties. Originality/value This measure will provide a descriptive profile of WISEs across sectors and identify WISE core dimensions for research and organizational development. </jats:sec

100 kHz thousand-frame burst-mode planar imaging in turbulent flames

High-repetition-rate, burst-mode lasers can achieve higher energies per pulse compared with continuously pulsed systems, but the relatively few number of laser pulses in each burst has limited the temporal dynamic range of measurements in unsteady flames. A fivefold increase in the range of timescales that can be resolved by burst-mode laser-based imaging systems is reported in this work by extending a hybrid diode- and flashlamp-pumped Nd:YAGbased amplifier system to nearly 1000 pulses at 100 kHz during a 10 ms burst. This enables an unprecedented burstmode temporal dynamic range to capture turbulent fluctuations from 0.1 to 50 kHz in flames of practical interest. High pulse intensity enables efficient conversion to the ultraviolet for planar laser-induced fluorescence imaging of nascent formaldehyde and other potential flame radicals

Exploring the contribution of social enterprise to health and social care: A realist evaluation

Since the late 1990s social enterprises have been increasingly utilised as a means of delivering of health and social care services. However, there is little evidence on if, and how, provision by social enterprise might achieve positive health outcomes, particularly in comparison to other modes of delivery. In this paper, we draw upon the multiple perspectives offered by stakeholders involved in a rural social enterprise initiative based in Scotland, UK, and in a nearby comparator public sector organisation. Both types of organisation aim to increase the physical activity levels of people with chronic health conditions. In order to gain perspectives on the range of mechanisms and outcomes involved in different types of organisation providing similar interventions, realist evaluation of data gathered from in-depth semi-structured interviews (n = 68) was undertaken. Interviews were carried out with beneficiaries, service providers and external stakeholders and Context-Mechanism-Outcome (CMO) configurations developed to support our explanations for how, and in what ways, social enterprise might impact differently on health. Our findings highlight that the social enterprise is differentiated from the publicly-run service in two distinct ways: firstly, the social enterprise was better able to flexibly deliver a bespoke programme designed around the needs of service users; and secondly, their role as a community ‘boundary spanner’ helped facilitate strong ties and feelings of connectedness between beneficiaries, organisational staff and community stakeholders. However, these advantages were significantly compromised when funding was constrained. Our findings serve as an important basis for future research to better understand the means by which social enterprises might deliver health outcomes, particularly in comparison with public sector providers

Sustainable and Autonomic Space Exploration Missions

Visions for future space exploration have long term science missions in sight, resulting in the need for sustainable missions. Survivability is a critical property of sustainable systems and may be addressed through autonomicity, an emerging paradigm for self-management of future computer-based systems based on inspiration from the human autonomic nervous system. This paper examines some of the ongoing research efforts to realize these survivable systems visions, with specific emphasis on developments in Autonomic Policies

The role of institutional and stakeholder networks in shaping social enterprise ecosystems in Europe

Purpose – This paper draws upon prior research that built a theoretical framework for the emergence of social enterprise ecosystems based upon biological evolutionary theory. This paper seeks to extend this previous research by practically applying the theory to the development of stakeholder and institutional networks across Europe. Design/methodology/approach – Data from in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus groups were analysed using Constant Comparison Method. Data were generated from discussions with 258 key stakeholders in 10 countries across Europe, exploring the historical, political, social, legal and economic factors that influence the patterns of social enterprise seen in each country. Findings – The results identify the emergence of four social enterprise ecosystem types (Statist-macro; Statist-micro; Private-macro; Private-micro). These are used to explain the differences found in each of the 10 country’s social enterprise ecosystems. The results are discussed in relation to evolutionary theory in social entrepreneurship and how ‘genetic’ and ‘epigenetic’ factors lead to the divergence of social enterprise ecosystems, and the impact that this has on the stakeholders and institutions that are present within them. Originality/value – A typology of ecosystems is presented, which can be used by policy-makers across Europe to understand how best to support their local social economies

Managing the Evolution of an Enterprise Architecture using a MAS-Product-Line Approach

We view an evolutionary system ns being n software product line. The core architecture is the unchanging part of the system, and each version of the system may be viewed as a product from the product line. Each "product" may be described as the core architecture with sonre agent-based additions. The result is a multiagent system software product line. We describe an approach to such n Software Product Line-based approach using the MaCMAS Agent-Oriented nzethoclology. The approach scales to enterprise nrchitectures as a multiagent system is an approprinre means of representing a changing enterprise nrchitectclre nnd the inferaction between components in it

The Basic Communication Course at U.S. Colleges and Universities: VI

This is the sixth in a series of investigations of the basic communication course, begun in 1968 by members of the Undergraduate Speech Instruction Interest Group of the Speech Association of America. This study was replicated in 1974, 1980, 1985, and 1990. Each of these studies gathered and reported information on instructional practices and administrative issues in the basic course at two- and four-year colleges and universities. In this study, the survey instrument from 1990 was revised to reflect contemporary concerns and mailed to the National Communication Association mailing list of 1500 schools. Data were analyzed and presented from 292 responding schools covering institutional demographics and (1) general approach and orientation to the basic course, (2) pedagogy (which subsumes seven sub-categories), (3) enrollment description and dynamics, and (4) administrative concerns. Comparisons to past and studies indicate the basic communication course is thriving and growing, but some of the same problems continue today that beset the course in the past