MICRO-Foundations in Strategic Management: Squaring Coleman's Diagram

Abell, Felin and Foss argue that "macro-explanations" in strategic management, explanations in which organizational routines figure prominently and in which both the explanandum and explanans are at the macro-level, are necessarily incomplete. They take a diagram (which has the form of a trapezoid) from Coleman, Foundations of Social Theory, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge (Mass.)/London, (1990) to task to show that causal chains connecting two macro-phenomena always involve "macro-to-micro" and "micro-to-macro" links, links that macro-explanations allegedly fail to recognize. Their plea for micro-foundations in strategic management is meant to shed light on these "missing links". The paper argues that while there are good reasons for providing micro-foundations, Abell, Felin and Foss's causal incompleteness argument is not one of them. Their argument does not sufficiently distinguish between causal and constitutive relations. Once these relations are carefully distinguished, it follows that Coleman's diagram has to be squared. This in turn allows us to see that macro-explanations need not be incomplete

Background risk of breast cancer and the association between physical activity and mammographic density

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ER and HER2 expression are positively correlated in HER2 non-overexpressing breast cancer

PMCID: PMC3446380This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Fixation of the fully hydroxyapatite-coated Corail stem implanted due to femoral neck fracture: 38 patients followed for 2 years with RSA and DEXA

Background Today, dislocated femoral neck fractures are commonly treated with a cemented hip arthroplasty. However, cementing of the femoral component may lead to adverse effects and even death. Uncemented stems may lower these risks and hydroxyapatite (HA) coating may enhance integration, but prosthetic stability and clinical outcome in patients with osteoporotic bone have not been fully explored. We therefore studied fixation and clinical outcome in patients who had had a femoral neck fracture and who had received a fully HA-coated stem prosthesis. Patients and methods 50 patients with a dislocated femoral neck fracture were operated with the fully HA-coated Corail total or hemiarthroplasty. 38 patients, mean age 81 (70-96) years, were followed for 24 months with conventional radiographs, RSA, DEXA, and for clinical outcome. Results 31 of the 38 implants moved statistically significantly up to 3 months, mainly distally, mean 2.7 mm (max. 20 mm (SD 4.3)), and rotated into retroversion mean 3.3 (-1.8 to 17) (SD 4.3) and then appeared to stabilize. Distal stem migration was more pronounced if the stem was deemed to be too small. There was no correlation between BMD and stem migration. The migration did not result in any clinically adverse effects. Interpretation The fully hydroxyapatite-coated Corail stem migrates during the first 3 months, but clinical outcome appears to be good, without any adverse events

Sources of Community Health Worker Motivation: A Qualitative Study in Morogoro Region, Tanzania.

There is a renewed interest in community health workers (CHWs) in Tanzania, but also a concern that low motivation of CHWs may decrease the benefits of investments in CHW programs. This study aimed to explore sources of CHW motivation to inform programs in Tanzania and similar contexts. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 CHWs in Morogoro Region, Tanzania. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and coded prior to translation and thematic analysis. The authors then conducted a literature review on CHW motivation and a framework that aligned with our findings was modified to guide the presentation of results. Sources of CHW motivation were identified at the individual, family, community, and organizational levels. At the individual level, CHWs are predisposed to volunteer work and apply knowledge gained to their own problems and those of their families and communities. Families and communities supplement other sources of motivation by providing moral, financial, and material support, including service fees, supplies, money for transportation, and help with farm work and CHW tasks. Resistance to CHW work exhibited by families and community members is limited. The organizational level (the government and its development partners) provides motivation in the form of stipends, potential employment, materials, training, and supervision, but inadequate remuneration and supplies discourage CHWs. Supervision can also be dis-incentivizing if perceived as a sign of poor performance. Tanzanian CHWs who work despite not receiving a salary have an intrinsic desire to volunteer, and their motivation often derives from support received from their families when other sources of motivation are insufficient. Policy-makers and program managers should consider the burden that a lack of remuneration imposes on the families of CHWs. In addition, CHWs' intrinsic desire to volunteer does not preclude a desire for external rewards. Rather, adequate and formal financial incentives and in-kind alternatives would allow already-motivated CHWs to increase their commitment to their work

Dynamic magnetic resonance imaging in assessing lung function in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: a pilot study of comparison before and after posterior spinal fusion

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Restrictive impairment is the commonest reported pulmonary deficit in AIS, which improves following surgical operation. However, exact mechanism of how improvement is brought about is unknown. Dynamic fast breath-hold (BH)-MR imaging is a recent advance which provides direct quantitative visual assessment of pulmonary function. By using above technique, change in lung volume, chest wall and diaphragmatic motion in AIS patients before and six months after posterior spinal fusion surgery were measured.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>16 patients with severe right-sided predominant thoracic scoliosis (standing Cobb's angle 50° -82°, mean 60°) received posterior spinal fusion without thoracoplasty were recruited into this study. BH-MR sequences were used to obtain coronal images of the whole chest during full inspiration and expiration. The following measurements were assessed: (1) inspiratory, expiratory and change in lung volume; (2) change in anteroposterior (AP) and transverse (TS) diameter of the chest wall at two levels: carina and apex (3) change in diaphragmatic heights. The changes in parameters before and after operation were compared using Wilcoxon signed ranks test. Patients were also asked to score their breathing effort before and after operation using a scale of 1–9 with ascending order of effort. The degree of spinal surgical correction at three planes was also assessed by reformatted MR images and correction rate of Cobb's angle was calculated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The individual or total inspiratory and expiratory volume showed slight but insignificant increase after operation. There was significantly increase in bilateral TS chest wall movement at carina level and increase in bilateral diaphragmatic movements between inspiration and expiration. The AP chest wall movements, however, did not significantly change.</p> <p>The median breathing effort after operation was lower than that before operation (p < 0.05).</p> <p>There was significant reduction in coronal Cobb's angle after operation but the change in sagittal and axial angle at scoliosis apex was not significant.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There is improvement of lateral chest wall and diaphragmatic motions in AIS patients six months after posterior spinal fusion, associated with subjective symptomatic improvement. Lung volumes however, do not significantly change after operation. BH-MR is novel non-invasive method for long term post operative assessment of pulmonary function in AIS patients.</p

Entrepreneurial sons, patriarchy and the Colonels' experiment in Thessaly, rural Greece

Existing studies within the field of institutional entrepreneurship explore how entrepreneurs influence change in economic institutions. This paper turns the attention of scholarly inquiry on the antecedents of deinstitutionalization and more specifically, the influence of entrepreneurship in shaping social institutions such as patriarchy. The paper draws from the findings of ethnographic work in two Greek lowland village communities during the military Dictatorship (1967–1974). Paradoxically this era associated with the spread of mechanization, cheap credit, revaluation of labour and clear means-ends relations, signalled entrepreneurial sons’ individuated dissent and activism who were now able to question the Patriarch’s authority, recognize opportunities and act as unintentional agents of deinstitutionalization. A ‘different’ model of institutional change is presented here, where politics intersects with entrepreneurs, in changing social institutions. This model discusses the external drivers of institutional atrophy and how handling dissensus (and its varieties over historical time) is instrumental in enabling institutional entrepreneurship

Tooth Brushing, Flossing, and Preventive Dental Visits by Detroit-area Residents in Relation to Demographic and Socioeconomic Factors

A survey was conducted to identify (a) factors that influence preventive dental behaviors and (b) target groups for interventions. Data were collected in face-to-face interviews with a probability sample of 662 dentate adults living in the Detroit tricounty area. The interviews included questions about demographic and socioeconomic variables and about three preventive behaviors: brushing, flossing, and preventive dental visits. All behaviors were positively associated with socioeconomic status. Females were more likely than males to perform each of the behaviors at the recommended frequency. The behaviors were only weakly associated with age. Whites were more likely than nonwhites to make regular dental visits, but frequency of brushing and flossing did not vary substantially across racial groups. The impact of race on frequency of dental visits was reduced when socioeconomic status was statistically controlled. Findings suggest that socioeconomic status, race, and sex remain important considerations when planning dental health education or other interventions.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65274/1/j.1752-7325.1993.tb02692.x.pd

The Effectiveness of Lower-Limb Wearable Technology for Improving Activity and Participation in Adult Stroke Survivors: A Systematic Review

Background: With advances in technology, the adoption of wearable devices has become a viable adjunct in poststroke rehabilitation. Regaining ambulation is a top priority for an increasing number of stroke survivors. However, despite an increase in research exploring these devices for lower limb rehabilitation, little is known of the effectiveness. Objective: This review aims to assess the effectiveness of lower limb wearable technology for improving activity and participation in adult stroke survivors. Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of lower limb wearable technology for poststroke rehabilitation were included. Primary outcome measures were validated measures of activity and participation as defined by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Databases searched were MEDLINE, Web of Science (Core collection), CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool was used to assess the methodological quality of the RCTs. Results: In the review, we included 11 RCTs with collectively 550 participants at baseline and 474 participants at final follow-up including control groups and participants post stroke. Participants' stroke type and severity varied. Only one study found significant between-group differences for systems functioning and activity. Across the included RCTs, the lowest number of participants was 12 and the highest was 151 with a mean of 49 participants. The lowest number of participants to drop out of an RCT was zero in two of the studies and 19 in one study. Significant between-group differences were found across three of the 11 included trials. Out of the activity and participation measures alone, P values ranged from P=.87 to P≤.001. Conclusions: This review has highlighted a number of reasons for insignificant findings in this area including low sample sizes, appropriateness of the RCT methodology for complex interventions, a lack of appropriate analysis of outcome data, and participant stroke severity

A Blue Spectral Shift of the Hemoglobin Soret Band Correlates with the Age (Time Since Deposition) of Dried Bloodstains

The ability to determine the time since deposition of a bloodstain found at a crime scene could prove invaluable to law enforcement investigators, defining the time frame in which the individual depositing the evidence was present. Although various methods of accomplishing this have been proposed, none has gained widespread use due to poor time resolution and weak age correlation. We have developed a method for the estimation of the time since deposition (TSD) of dried bloodstains using UV-VIS spectrophotometric analysis of hemoglobin (Hb) that is based upon its characteristic oxidation chemistry. A detailed study of the Hb Soret band (λmax = 412 nm) in aged bloodstains revealed a blue shift (shift to shorter wavelength) as the age of the stain increases. The extent of this shift permits, for the first time, a distinction to be made between bloodstains that were deposited minutes, hours, days and weeks prior to recovery and analysis. The extent of the blue shift was found to be a function of ambient relative humidity and temperature. The method is extremely sensitive, requiring as little as a 1 µl dried bloodstain for analysis. We demonstrate that it might be possible to perform TSD measurements at the crime scene using a portable low-sample-volume spectrophotometer