Multinationals, Social Agency and Institutional Change; Variation by Sector

This is the accepted manuscript version of the following article: Mike Geppert and Graham Hollinshead, ‘Editorial: Multinationals, Social Agency and Institutional Change; Variation by Sector’, Competition and Change, Vol 18(3): 195-199, June 2014. The final, definitive version of this paper has been published is available online via doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/1024529414Z.00000000056 Published by SAGE Publishing. All rights reserved. © W. S. Maney & Son Ltd 2014Multinational corporations (MNCs) operate at a crossroads of countervailing influences, While headquarters are typically embedded in the institutional settings of their home country, subsidiaries tend to internalize regulative and cognitive frames in their own national and regional contexts. MNCs now frequently assume highly diffuse global structures, operating across regionally dispersed horizontal and vertical networks, thereby exposing them to a global mosaic of societal, institutional and socio- economic influences. Moreover, MNCs are subjected to regulative effects emanating from transnational regulationPeer reviewe

Space Station Freedom environmental control and life support system phase 3 simplified integrated test detailed report

A description of the phase 3 simplified integrated test (SIT) conducted at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Core Module Integration Facility (CMIF) in 1989 is presented. This was the first test in the phase 3 series integrated environmental control and life support systems (ECLSS) tests. The basic goal of the SIT was to achieve full integration of the baseline air revitalization (AR) subsystems for Space Station Freedom. Included is a description of the SIT configuration, a performance analysis of each subsystem, results from air and water sampling, and a discussion of lessons learned from the test. Also included is a full description of the preprototype ECLSS hardware used in the test

Comparing the Penman-Monteith equation and a modified Jarvis-Stewart model with an artificial neural network to estimate stand-scale transpiration and canopy conductance

The responses of canopy conductance to variation in solar radiation, vapour pressure deficit and soil moisture have been extensively modelled using a Jarvis-Stewart (JS) model. Modelled canopy conductance has then often been used to predict transpiration using the Penman-Monteith (PM) model. We previously suggested an alternative approach in which the JS model is modified to directly estimate transpiration rather than canopy conductance. In the present study we used this alternative approach to model tree water fluxes from an Australian native forest over an annual cycle. For comparative purposes we also modelled canopy conductance and estimated transpiration via the PM model. Finally we applied an artificial neural network as a statistical benchmark to compare the performance of both models. Both the PM and modified JS models were parameterised using solar radiation, vapour pressure deficit and soil moisture as inputs with results that compare well with previous studies. Both models performed comparably well during the summer period. However, during winter the PM model was found to fail during periods of high rates of transpiration. In contrast, the modified JS model was able to replicate observed sapflow measurements throughout the year although it too tended to underestimate rates of transpiration in winter under conditions of high rates of transpiration. Both approaches to modelling transpiration gave good agreement with hourly, daily and total sums of sapflow measurements with the modified JS and PM models explaining 87% and 86% of the variance, respectively. We conclude that these three approaches have merit at different time-scales. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Lactation transcriptomics in the Australian marsupial, Macropus eugenii: transcript sequencing and quantification

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Lactation is an important aspect of mammalian biology and, amongst mammals, marsupials show one of the most complex lactation cycles. Marsupials, such as the tammar wallaby (<it>Macropus eugenii</it>) give birth to a relatively immature newborn and progressive changes in milk composition and milk production regulate early stage development of the young.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In order to investigate gene expression in the marsupial mammary gland during lactation, a comprehensive set of cDNA libraries was derived from lactating tissues throughout the lactation cycle of the tammar wallaby. A total of 14,837 express sequence tags were produced by cDNA sequencing. Sequence analysis and sequence assembly were used to construct a comprehensive catalogue of mammary transcripts.</p> <p>Sequence data from pregnant and early or late lactating specific cDNA libraries and, data from early or late lactation massively parallel sequencing strategies were combined to analyse the variation of milk protein gene expression during the lactation cycle.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Results show a steady increase in expression of genes coding for secreted protein during the lactation cycle that is associated with high proportion of transcripts coding for milk proteins. In addition, genes involved in immune function, translation and energy or anabolic metabolism are expressed across the lactation cycle. A number of potential new milk proteins or mammary gland remodelling markers, including noncoding RNAs have been identified.</p

A modified Jarvis-Stewart model for predicting stand-scale transpiration of an Australian native forest

Rates of water uptake by individual trees in a native Australian forest were measured on the Liverpool Plains, New South Wales, Australia, using sapflow sensors. These rates were up-scaled to stand transpiration rate (expressed per unit ground area) using sapwood area as the scalar, and these estimates were compared with modelled stand transpiration. A modified Jarvis-Stewart modelling approach (Jarvis 1976), previously used to calculate canopy conductance, was used to calculate stand transpiration rate. Three environmental variables, namely solar radiation, vapour pressure deficit and soil moisture content, plus leaf area index, were used to calculate stand transpiration, using measured rates of tree water use to parameterise the model. Functional forms for the model were derived by use of a weighted non-linear least squares fitting procedure. The model was able to give comparable estimates of stand transpiration to those derived from a second set of sapflow measurements. It is suggested that short-term, intensive field campaigns where sapflow, weather and soil water content variables are measured could be used to estimate annual patterns of stand transpiration using daily variation in these three environmental variables. Such a methodology will find application in the forestry, mining and water resource management industries where long-term intensive data sets are frequently unavailable. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media B.V

Are MNCs norm entrepreneurs or followers? The changing relationship between host country institutions and MNC HRM practices

Rooted in the literature on comparative capitalism, we examine the effects of host country institutions on the intra-organizational practices of multinational corporations (MNCs), using transnational level survey data, exploring change over time. We found that the less comprehensive institutional mediation of the Liberal Market Economies correlated with greater diversity and a more pronounced difference between domestic firms and foreign MNCs. However, rather than being the predicted norm entrepreneurs, MNCs tended to follow the lead of local firms in adjusting HRM policies and practices towards liberalization. Those most prone to challenging existing orders were in industries facing particular crises of competitiveness. Finally, we found that single regulatory features rather than complex assemblies of institutions exerted particularly strong effects on the individual firms’ practices encompassed in this study

Turning the tables : regions shaping university performance

[EN] This paper straddles the systems of innovation and the economic geography theories that conceptualize universities as engines of regional development and drivers of growth. However, these approaches overlook the heterogeneity of universities in the process of engagement, assuming their equal capacity to contribute to their region. In the view proposed here, not only does the university influence the surrounding region, but also regional characteristics shape university performance. The paper puts into perspective differences between university profiles in Spain based on their strategies and performance, and the scale and scope of the capabilities to contribute to their regionsThis research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education through the Formación de Profesorado Universitario (FPU) programme.Sánchez-Barrioluengo, M. (2014). Turning the tables : regions shaping university performance. Regional Studies Regional Science. 1(1):276-285. doi:10.1080/21681376.2014.964299S2762851

Stationkeeping, Orbit Determination, and Attitude Control for Spacecraft in Near Rectilinear Halo Orbits

Final document is attached. From a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO), NASA's Gateway at the Moon is planned to serve as a proving ground and a staging location for human missions beyond Earth. Stationkeeping, Orbit Determination (OD), and attitude control are examined for uncrewed and crewed Gateway configurations. Orbit maintenance costs are investigated using finite maneuvers, considering skipped maneuvers and perturbations. OD analysis assesses DSN tracking and identifies OD challenges associated with the NRHO and crewed operations. The Gateway attitude profile is simulated to determine an effective equilibrium attitude. Attitude control propellant use and sizing of the required passive attitude control system are assessed

Drift or shift? Continuity, change, and international variation in knowledge production in OR/MS

With the aim of contributing to the debate around OR/MS as a discipline, this study provides a historical comparative investigation of publicly available knowledge production in the field. The empirical investigation is based on a content analysis of 300 randomly selected articles from six major journals in the field. We have found: (1) since the late 1950s to the present day there has been no significant change in the types of published research in OR/MS in North America; (2) from the late 1950s to the present day, there have been significant differences in types of published research in OR/MS internationally. The imputed imbalance between theory and applications in published work had already occurred in the early stages of the development of OR/MS in North America and has since remained very much the same. Furthermore, research in the United Kingdom has been distinctly different from that dominant in North America and elsewhere. There are also indications that outside North America and the United Kingdom there is an emerging turn towards applications-oriented research. Over the last two or three decades there has been a significant increase overall in the share of articles published by academic authors