Leadership, Organizational Learning and Performance in Small and Medium Firms

CEO's leadership is an organizational dimension that has not been carefully studied in the literature on small firms. Particularly, as organizational learning is now anchored as an important part of the building and sustaining of the small and medium firm's competitive advantage, how leadership characteristics may moderate the positive link between organizational learning and performance is important for managers and researchers. We could hypothesize that, combined with organizational learning processes, some leaders' characteristics and behaviours are more important than others to lead the development of an organizational climate oriented toward innovation or performance. This paper presents the theoretical framework and hypotheses of this on-going research on the links between organizational learning, leadership and performance in small and medium firms.Learning; Absorptive capacity; Leadership

Learning Organization and Innovation Performance in High-Tech Small Firms

The aim of this paper is to explore the influence of processes of learning in organization on innovation performance in high-tech small firms. After reviewing the literature on learning and innovation, the author defines the concepts of knowledge management, organizational learning and learning organization and how they are interlinked. Hypotheses regarding the link between learning organization and innovation are presented. An original construct, based on 6 dimensions, is derived to evaluate the degree of learning in firms. The validities (reliability, unidimensionality and convergent validity) of the construct are assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. Then, the influence on innovation is tested through structural equation modelling (SEM) on a database of 110 US high-tech small firms from different industries. Specifically, influence on product and process innovations and financial performance are tested. The first results show that the presence of learning organization orientation and learning organization processes is related to innovativeness in our sample of high-tech small firms. The results are moderated by the degree of maturity of the industries and the strategic orientation of the CEOs. The conclusive part gives ways to ameliorate the learning organization processes and thus enhancing the innovative performance

Development of durable superhydrophobic materials for ice- and snow-free airport concrete pavements

Superhydrophobic surfaces that mimic surfaces found in nature, such as the lotus leaf, are an attractive research topic in various fields of study because of their numerous applications. More recent studies have focused on superhydrophobic surfaces that reduce or completely stop the accretion of ice and snow on power lines and aircraft that operate in cold regions. The superhydrophobic phenomena is usually achieved by creating a dual-scale roughness that is composed of micro- and nano-scale structures that trap air in-between themselves and reduce the surface energy of the textured surface. The objective of this study was to assess the tribological behavior of micro/nano particle based superhydrophobic coating mixtures composed of PTFE, composite PTFE/PEEK, diatomaceous earth (DE), and composite PTFE/ZnO that can be potential candidates for anti-wetting and anti-icing applications for transportation systems. A contact profilometer was used to measure and characterize the average roughness and thickness of coatings. Coating wettability was assessed by measuring the tangent-line contact angle of static water drops on coated surfaces. Friction and cyclic abrasive wear tests were conducted via ball-on-flat tribometer using a spherical tungsten probe at room temperature. Scanning electron microscopy was used to characterize the physical and chemical properties of the coatings and identify the wear mechanisms. The results showed that all coatings except ZnO/PTFE exhibited superhydrophobicity. Abrasive wear mechanisms were the dominant modes for the coatings. PTFE and ZnO/PTFE coatings displayed good wear resistance, superior to that of the DE and PTFE/PEEK coatings

Brovine: Mammary Gland Gene Database

Brovine is used by the Animal Science department at Cal Poly to catalog and analyze genetic information. Brovine, or the Mammary Gland Gene Database, is a system used to store and categorize genetic information which is gathered through experimentation and through TESS, a web application that lets users search through catalogs of similar genetic information. This document describes the purpose, use, and maintenance of Brovine

Applying Social Bond Theory to Foster Care Instability and Justice System Contact

While placing a child in foster care is often in an effort to protect them and their future, it does not always fully succeed. Placement in foster care has been found to be highly unstable. Additionally, it has been linked to an increase in individuals’ likelihood to engage in delinquent and criminal behavior. This thesis looks at the possibility that these two aspects may be related through Hirschi’s (1969) Social Bond theory. It examines available data from ten different states in order to explore this idea. The results of this investigation show that the instability of the foster care system likely leads to the breaking of social bonds. This, in turn, is likely linked to the increased likelihood that those who have had contact with the system will engage in delinquent or criminal behavior. These findings are used to make several recommendations for how the foster care system can be improved and what additional research would be beneficial to that improvement process

Evidence for the Rare Decay B -> K*ll and Measurement of the B -> Kll Branching Fraction

We present evidence for the flavor-changing neutral current decay $B\to K^*\ell^+\ell^-$ and a measurement of the branching fraction for the related process $B\to K\ell^+\ell^-$, where $\ell^+\ell^-$ is either an $e^+e^-$ or $\mu^+\mu^-$ pair. These decays are highly suppressed in the Standard Model, and they are sensitive to contributions from new particles in the intermediate state. The data sample comprises $123\times 10^6$ $\Upsilon(4S)\to B\bar{B}$ decays collected with the Babar detector at the PEP-II $e^+e^-$ storage ring. Averaging over $K^{(*)}$ isospin and lepton flavor, we obtain the branching fractions ${\mathcal B}(B\to K\ell^+\ell^-)=(0.65^{+0.14}_{-0.13}\pm 0.04)\times 10^{-6}$ and ${\mathcal B}(B\to K^*\ell^+\ell^-)=(0.88^{+0.33}_{-0.29}\pm 0.10)\times 10^{-6}$, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. The significance of the $B\to K\ell^+\ell^-$ signal is over $8\sigma$, while for $B\to K^*\ell^+\ell^-$ it is $3.3\sigma$.Comment: 7 pages, 2 postscript figues, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Measurement of Branching Fraction and Dalitz Distribution for B0->D(*)+/- K0 pi-/+ Decays

We present measurements of the branching fractions for the three-body decays B0 -> D(*)-/+ K0 pi^+/-$and their resonant submodes$B0 -> D(*)-/+ K*+/- using a sample of approximately 88 million BBbar pairs collected by the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric energy storage ring. We measure: B(B0->D-/+ K0 pi+/-)=(4.9 +/- 0.7(stat) +/- 0.5 (syst)) 10^{-4} B(B0->D*-/+ K0 pi+/-)=(3.0 +/- 0.7(stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) 10^{-4} B(B0->D-/+ K*+/-)=(4.6 +/- 0.6(stat) +/- 0.5 (syst)) 10^{-4} B(B0->D*-/+ K*+/-)=(3.2 +/- 0.6(stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) 10^{-4} From these measurements we determine the fractions of resonant events to be : f(B0-> D-/+ K*+/-) = 0.63 +/- 0.08(stat) +/- 0.04(syst) f(B0-> D*-/+ K*+/-) = 0.72 +/- 0.14(stat) +/- 0.05(syst)Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Measurement of the quasi-elastic axial vector mass in neutrino-oxygen interactions

The weak nucleon axial-vector form factor for quasi-elastic interactions is determined using neutrino interaction data from the K2K Scintillating Fiber detector in the neutrino beam at KEK. More than 12,000 events are analyzed, of which half are charged-current quasi-elastic interactions nu-mu n to mu- p occurring primarily in oxygen nuclei. We use a relativistic Fermi gas model for oxygen and assume the form factor is approximately a dipole with one parameter, the axial vector mass M_A, and fit to the shape of the distribution of the square of the momentum transfer from the nucleon to the nucleus. Our best fit result for M_A = 1.20 \pm 0.12 GeV. Furthermore, this analysis includes updated vector form factors from recent electron scattering experiments and a discussion of the effects of the nucleon momentum on the shape of the fitted distributions.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, 6 table

Performance of the BABAR-DIRC

Talk given for the BABAR-DIRC collaborationA new type of ring-imaging Cherenkov detector is being used for hadronic particle identification in the BABAR experiment at the SLAC B Factory (PEP-II). This detector is called DIRC, an acronym for Detection of Internally Reflected Cherenkov (Light). This paper describes the performance of the DIRC during the first 5 years of operation

Measurement of the Branching Fraction for B- --> D0 K*-

We present a measurement of the branching fraction for the decay B- --> D0 K*- using a sample of approximately 86 million BBbar pairs collected by the BaBar detector from e+e- collisions near the Y(4S) resonance. The D0 is detected through its decays to K- pi+, K- pi+ pi0 and K- pi+ pi- pi+, and the K*- through its decay to K0S pi-. We measure the branching fraction to be B.F.(B- --> D0 K*-)= (6.3 +/- 0.7(stat.) +/- 0.5(syst.)) x 10^{-4}.Comment: 7 pages, 1 postscript figure, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Rapid Communications