Intra-organizational integration and innovation: organizational structure, environmental contingency and R&D performance

It is widely thought that intra-firm integration has a positive effect on organizational performance, especially in environments characterized by complex and uncertain information. However, counter arguments suggest that integration may limit flexibility and thereby reduce performance in the face of uncertainty. Research and development activities of a firm are especially likely to face complex and uncertain information environments. Following prior work in contingency theory, this paper analyzes the effects of intra-organizational integration on manufacturing firms’ innovative performance. Based on a survey of R&D units in US manufacturing firms and patent data from the NBER patent database, we examine the relation between mechanisms for linking R&D to other units of the firm and the relative innovativeness of the firm. Furthermore, we argue that the impact of integration may vary by the importance of secrecy in protecting firms’ innovation advantages. We find that intra-firm integration is associated with higher self-reported innovativeness and more patents. We also find some evidence that this effect is moderated by the appropriability regime the firm faces, with the benefits of cross-functional integration being weaker in industries where secrecy is especially important. These results both support and develop the contingency model of organizational performance.Innovation; Organizations; Contingency theory;

A Current Appraisal of the Influence of Price Expectations on Interest Rates

The purpose of this study is to briefly review the different between two of the more prominent earlier studies and Yohe and Karnosky’s study. Further, this study will apply the estimation technique used by Yohe and Karnsky to more recent data to determine if present lags are longer or shorter and if the results obtained in their expanded model still hold

Evidence for a developing gap in a 10 Myr old protoplanetary disk

We have developed a self-consistent model of the disk around the nearby 10 Myr old star TW Hya which matches the observed spectral energy distribution and 7mm images of the disk. The model requires a significant dust size evolution and a partially-evacuated inner disk region, as predicted by theories of planet formation. The outer disk, which extends to at least 140 AU in radius, is very optically thick at IR wavelengths and quite massive ~0.06 Msun for the relatively advanced age of this T Tauri star. This implies long viscous and dust evolution timescales, although dust must have grown to sizes of order ~1cm to explain the sub-mm and mm spectral slopes. In contrast, the negligible near-infrared excess emission of this system requires that the disk be optically thin inside ~4 AU.This inner region cannot be completely evacuated; we need ~0.5 lunar mass of ~1 micron particles remaining to produce the observed 10 micron silicate emission. Our model requires a distinct transition in disk properties at ~4 AU, separating the inner and outer disk. The inner edge of the optically-thick outer disk must be heated almost frontally by the star to account for the excess flux at mid-IR wavelengths. We speculate that this truncation of the outer disk may be the signpost of a developing gap due to the effects of a growing protoplanet; the gap is still presumably evolving because material still resides in it, as indicated by the silicate emission, the molecular hydrogen emission, and by the continued accretion onto the central star (albeit at a much lower rate than typical of younger T Tauri stars). TW Hya thus may become the Rosetta stone for our understanding of the evolution and dissipation of protoplanetary disks.Comment: 23 pages including 5 figures, Accepted by AP

SOUTHERNMOST OCCURRENCE OF THE SUWANNEE COOTER, PSEUDEMYS CONCINNA SUWANNIENSIS (TESTUDINES: EMYDIDAE)

The Suwannee Cooter, Pseudemys concinna suwanniensis, the largest member of the speciose turtle family Emydidae, inhabits a small number of rivers that drain into the northeastern Gulf of Mexico along the northwest coast of Florida from just west of Tallahassee to just south of Tampa. The status of this state-protected subspecies in the southernmost of these rivers, the Alafia, is unknown and hence of conservation concern. We provide recent evidence confirming that a reproducing population still exists in this river, and review available specimens and both published and unpublished records documenting the southern limit of distribution. At least within the eastern United States, our observations also extend confirmed knowledge of the geographic occurrence of hatchling turtles overwintering in the nest southward by 285 km

Using technology in social work practice: The mDad (Mobile Device Assisted Dad) case study

Mobile technology presents an exciting opportunity for social workers to reach populations that are typically underserved by interventions and services. We present one application of technology that is particularly relevant to social work practice. The mDad (Mobile Device Assisted Dad) app was developed to augment existing social work practices by providing a father-friendly tool to help new fathers learn about and engage with their infants and toddlers. We discuss the process of developing the app content and conducting usability testing of the mDad app. We conclude with a discussion of the lessons learned from the mDad project, and the challenges of implementation and dissemination of technology-based interventions in community contexts.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/115875/1/2015_Lee_and_Walsh_Using_Technology_in_Social_Work.pdfDescription of 2015_Lee_and_Walsh_Using_Technology_in_Social_Work.pdf : Main Articl

Designing a Liberal Arts Curriculum that Develops the Capacity for Effective Practice

A new agenda has been coalescing for residential liberal arts education in the United States. At its core are various forms of experiential learning that had long been relegated to the margins of institutions in which pure intellectual achievement was largely separated from, and prized above, practical application of knowledge. Recent years have brought growing student interest in opportunities to engage in experiential learning, including community service, internships, student-faculty research partnerships, study abroad, or co-operative education. All types of colleges and universities have been investing in these programs and in curricular modifications intended to begin integrating them into a coherent educational program. With support from several major associations, foundations, and research collaborations, this twenty-first century reframing of the aims of education has included a persistent call for better evaluative data to gauge the extent to which college students are actually meeting learning goals that faculty are being encouraged to specify more fully

Inside Online Charter Schools

Online charter schools -- also known as virtual charters or cyber charters -- are publicly funded schools of choice that deliver student instruction via telecommunications. Today, about 200 online charter schools are operating in the United States, serving about 200,000 students at the elementary, middle, and high school grade levels. Although online instruction is increasing rapidly, there have been few studies of their operations and effects. In innovative new research funded by the Walton Family Foundation, the National Study of Online Charter Schools offers a rigorous analysis of online charter schools and their effects. Mathematica Policy Research's report provides the first nationwide data and analysis of the operations and instructional approaches of online charter schools, based on data collected in a survey completed by 127 principals of online charter schools across the country and public data from the U.S. Department of Education

Atomistic origins of the phase transition mechanism in Ge2Sb2Te5

Combined static and molecular dynamics first-principles calculations are used to identify a direct structural link between the metastable crystalline and amorphous phases of Ge2Sb2Te5. We find that the phase transition is driven by the displacement of Ge atoms along the rocksalt [111] direction from the stable-octahedron to high-energy-unstable tetrahedron sites close to the intrinsic vacancy regions, which give rise to the formation of local 4-fold coordinated motifs. Our analyses suggest that the high figures of merit of Ge2Sb2Te5 are achieved from the optimal combination of intrinsic vacancies provided by Sb2Te3 and the instability of the tetrahedron sites provided by GeTe