Analysis of Spitzer Spectra of Irradiated Planets: Evidence for Water Vapor?

Published mid infrared spectra of transiting planets HD 209458b and HD 189733b, obtained during secondary eclipse by the InfraRed Spectrograph (IRS) aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope, are predominantly featureless. In particular these flux ratio spectra do not exhibit an expected feature arising from water vapor absorption short-ward of 10 um. Here we suggest that, in the absence of flux variability, the spectral data for HD 189733b are inconsistent with 8 um-photometry obtained with Spitzer's InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC), perhaps an indication of problems with the challenging reduction of the IRS spectra. The IRAC point, along with previously published secondary eclipse photometry for HD 189733b, are in good agreement with a one-dimensional model of HD 189733b that clearly shows absorption due to water vapor in the emergent spectrum. We are not able to draw firm conclusions regarding the IRS data for HD 209458b, but spectra predicted by 1D and 3D atmosphere models fit the data adequately, without adjustment of the water abundance or reliance on cloud opacity. We argue that the generally good agreement between model spectra and IRS spectra of brown dwarfs with atmospheric temperatures similar to these highly irradiated planets lends confidence in the modeling procedure.Comment: Revised, Accepted to ApJ Letter

Coordinating mechanisms in interorganisational alliances : context, classification and performance outcomes.

The evolution in the business environment of the last thirty years has brought with it a transformation in business practice and particularly in the way in which organisations relate with one another. Driven by a revolution in information technology and a shift in emphasis from manufacturing to service activities, the UK business environment is increasingly characterised by collaborative and dynamic interorganisational alliances. These collaborative interorganisational alliances supersede former structural divisions between adversarial hierarchical conglomerates. The greater reliance on collaborative alliances brings with it new problems in the effective governance of these alliances and so an agenda for research. The present study reviews extant empirical work in the field and identifies an anomaly in the underlying assumptions made by many empirical studies. While the context of the organisational alliance has shifted from adversarial to collaborative, empirical studies frequently retain a transaction cost perspective to explain performance in these alliances. While the transaction costs perspective makes a pertinent contribution it only provides a partial explanation and its' over emphasis in empirical work may limit the validity of findings. Building on the New Dominant Logic perspective of Vargo and Lusch (2004) the present research seeks to examine the performance of interorganisational alliances by aligning the context of the relationship more closely with the theoretical lens. Interorganisational alliances between UK architects and building contractors are used as the context providing a non-hierarchical, non-equity setting and a conceptualisation of the coordination mechanisms at work is proposed. This investigation employs a structural equation approach and finds evidence for a novel alliance coordination mechanism, procedural dependence, as a type of formal coordination operating at a different level to the conventional mechanism of contractual coordination. Furthermore contractual coordination is found to be redundant under these non- hierarchical, non-equity conditions in respect of alliance performance. Theoretical and practitioner implications are explored and future research directions described

A survey of stress, burnout and well-being in UK dentists

Introduction It is well established that dentistry is a stressful profession, primarily due to the nature and working conditions in the dental surgery. With dramatic changes taking place in the profession in recent years it is important to establish the impact this has on dentists' well-being. Aims To determine the levels of stress and burnout in UK dentists and how this relates to well-being and identify the sources of work-related stress dentists report in different fields of practice. Materials and method An online survey comprising of validated measures examining stress, burnout and well-being in dentists was administered to British Dental Association (BDA) members and non-members. Results Valid responses were received from 2053 respondents. Dentists working in the UK exhibit high levels of stress and burnout and low well-being. General dental practitioners (GDPs) seem to be particularly affected. Issues relating to regulation and fear of litigation were deemed to be the most stressful aspects of being a dentist. Conclusions The findings from this study build upon existing research showing that dentistry is a stressful profession. The sources of this stress appear to have shifted over the years, highlighting the changing landscape of dentistry. Interventions should focus on addressing these stressors by making changes to the working conditions of dentists

Organisational purpose and employee-company identification: a relational marketing perspective

Purpose To investigate mechanisms by which organisational purpose may be driving company performance by extending understanding of relationalism and bureaucracy as drivers of employee – company identification Design / methodology / approach Data was collected from a large, multinational telecommunications company. The survey formed the bases of a quantitative case study. Assessment of the latent constructs and the hypothesised relationships was conducted using Structural Equation Modelling Findings We find that organisational purpose drives employee – company identification and that this relationship is negatively moderated by employee tenure. We further identify partial mediation of the organisational purpose to employee – company identification path by cultural conditions of trust. We test for but do not find support for job support as a mediator of organisational purpose and employee – company identification. Research limitations / implications The use of a single case study, while generating a large number of responses, none the less reduces the generalisability of the findings. The study does empirically test an under reported area and contributes to the definition of organisational purpose. Practical implications The study delivers clarity on the importance of developing organisational purpose in fostering greater employee – company identification. Job support is identified as a practical but bureaucratic managerial approach that is not shown to build employee – company identification. Social implications Purpose driven organisations engender high levels of contribution from employees that transcends boundaries that separate employee and organisation identities. Organisational approaches that facilitate this include freedom within roles and less prescribed managerial approaches. The paper reflects (but does not explicitly measure) greater emotional fulfilment among employees in purpose driven organisations. Originality / value The concept of organisational purpose is further clarified in this study. The contextual conditions for effective organisational purpose, in terms of greater employee – company identification is described and measured. Empirical measurement of these associations has not been carried out in this context before, to the best of the authors’ knowledge

Market knowledge and governance choice in international marketing alliances: implications for export performance

Academics note the importance of market knowledge and supplier specific investments on governance choice in international marketing alliances. While the role of property-based assets as a driver of formal governance selection is well documented, little work has been done on the impact of knowledge-based assets (market knowledge) on the selection of formal governance mechanisms. The impact of knowledge-based assets on the selection of relational governance mechanisms is also under attended in the literature. We investigate the selection of formal and relational governance mechanisms among European Buyer – Asian Seller dyads in the textile industry. Employing SEM to analysis 131 dyads we find that 1) market knowledge drives both relational coordination and formal contracting 2) supplier specific investments do not drive formal contracting but do drive relational coordination 3) the role of relational coordination is unique in explaining export performance in international buyer-seller scenarios. Implications for theory and practice are described

What is multi-agency value co-creation anyway?

The co-creation of value is widely regarded as a collaborative process, distinct from its transactional counterpart through its shift in jurisdiction of value-determination from the provider to the beneficiary, and is based on the premise of shared understanding of what constitutes value among agents within the process (Deighton & Grayson, 1995; Palmatier, 2008; Vargo, 2009 FP 10). The resulting process, or service system (Vargo, 2009) reflects the iterative generation of norm-based understanding of value that elevates value creation to value co-creation. Some contexts are of particular complexity, for example urban regeneration projects which seek to involve end user groups in the early stages of conceptualisation set ambitious visions of collaboration and value co-creation. Such complex contexts require the service system to operate across multiple agencies and time in a version of many-to-many marketing (Gummesson & Polese, 2009; Pinho et al 2009). Reconciliation of these divisions is achieved in part through normative assimilation and a project is developed around ill-defined outcomes and is seemingly carried by great enthusiasm. The potential for calamity is high and yet there exists an ever-growing list of complex urban regeneration projects that seemingly avoid calamity and attain the elixir of collaborative success through shared vision and successful normative assimilation. The social dimensions of value co-creation are both central to service-dominant thinking, and a potential explanation of calamity avoidance in action. Edvardsson et al (2011) call for further research on how value is perceived in different social contexts. The present research seeks to classify the domains of value co-creation within socially motivated urban regeneration projects to provide empirical insight and to test Edvardsson et al (2011) first proposition, “value has a collective and inter-subjective dimension and should be understood as value-in-social-context”. In doing so we seek to build understanding in the emerging area of value in social or cultural contexts (Akaka et al 2013)

Measuring the impact of supplier specific assets and business culture on the Asian-Asian and Asian-Western export relationships

Building on transaction cost analysis and business culture similarity, this study examines the effect of supplier specific assets and business cultural similarity on the export performance in the Asian-Asian and Asian-Western export relationships. Employing a survey design, we examine 262 export relationships using structural equation modelling. The empirical findings show that the relationship between supplier specific assets and cultural similarity have a stronger effect on the export performance in the Asia-Asian than in the Asian-Western relationships. We outline theoretical explanations for these effects in terms of the role of collectivist culture and safeguarding mechanisms across cultural business contexts. Implications for export managers are explored