Creating a culture for radical innovation in a small mature business

This article describes an approach in organizational development to develop an innovation culture for radical product development in a small mature engineering company. The research took place in a business based in the United Kingdom that designed and manufactured instrumentation and specialized packing machines. An initial study within the company’s new product development team identified key aspects that influenced a radical innovation culture. Nine key themes were found to be pertinent, following an iterative process with the development team. These themes were triangulated using the established Organization Culture Assessment Instrument and the Creative Climate Assessment Tool. A third assessment was developed that gauged the development team culture proximity to an ideal position. Seven interventions were developed in conjunction with the company development team, senior managers, the analysis of previous empirical case research and dialogue with UK companies that promote discontinuous innovation. The results of the interventions were evaluated 4 years after implementation. The culture was re-assessed using the same assessment tools and the changes were identified. The outcomes are described and they indicate the success of the company’s attempt to embed a sustainable radical innovation culture into the product development area

Something in the Water? Testing for Groundwater Quality Information in the Housing Market

I test the level of information regarding possible groundwater contamination in the residential real estate market in Washington County, Minnesota. An approximately seven square-mile trichloroethylene plume has affected hundreds of households’ water supplies since at least 1988 in the region. I find that homeowners were initially well-informed by market forces, but were later somewhat misinformed by government actions regarding the potential of water contamination from the plume. A disclosure law passed in 2003 may have added new, low-cost, and imperfect information to the market that could explain the change in informational awareness.disclosure law, environmental disamenity, groundwater, groundwater contamination, hedonic model, incomplete information, water quality, real estate, Consumer/Household Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Common Table

Describes Common Table approach to increasing awareness and assistance to community members experiencing hunger and related economic stresses

Inching—or Sliding—Towards Charter Universities: What Price Freedom ?

Inching - or Sliding - Towards Charter Universities: What Price Freedom ? examines the issue of reduced state funding of public institutions

Three Essays on Environmental Economics and International Trade

ABSTRACT This dissertation addresses the broad topic of appropriate metrics, proxies, and estimation methods in environmental economics and international trade research, presented as three separate studies. The first, entitled, \u27Something in the Water? Testing for Groundwater Quality Information in the Housing Market,\u27 examines how informed real estate markets are with respect to groundwater quality by using a couple of different proxies for groundwater quality in a hedonic framework. This research topic has potentially suffered from imperfect proxies and incomplete information, which I test. In the second, entitled, \u27Do Economic Integration Agreements Actually Work? Issues in Understanding the Causes and Consequences of the Growth in Regionalism,\u27 I address a topic in international trade that has consistently suffered from endogeneity biases in estimations: the effect of economic integration agreements on bilateral trade flows. The third study, called \u27Trade Flow Consequences of the European Union\u27s Regionalization of Environmental Regulations,\u27 synthesizes the fields of environmental economics and international trade. I introduce a new proxy - survey data - that does not rely on environmental outcomes and thus hopefully avoids endogeneity. Controlling for any possible interaction effect between environmental regulation stringency and European Union membership, I estimate the effect of increasing environmental regulation stringency on trade flows to and from three groups of countries: high income countries, low income countries, and all countries

The application of a novel pro-azaphosphatrane in catalytic cycles and as a novel ligand

The exceptionally strong non-ionic base P(NMeCH2CH2)3N is herein applied as a reagent and a catalyst in a variety of interesting organic and inorganic syntheses. First, we noted the substantially enhanced reaction of an organic halide/pseudohalide with organostannanes in the presence of Pd(0) (in the form of Pd2dba3, dba = (PhCH=CH)2CO) and strong non-ionic bases is due to reaction of the base with dba. This novel base effect apparently stems from the inability of the reacted dba to coordinate to Pd(0), thus allowing Pd(0) to act in a ligandless capacity in Stille cross-coupling reactions. The formation of styrene in THF and in MeCN at two different temperatures was evaluated by HPLC with a series of strong nonionic bases and Group 15 weak ligands. Based on these data, DBU and P(MeNCH2CH2)3N were used in scaled-up syntheses of p-methylacetophenone and p-vinylacetophenone, giving yields that were comparable or superior to those obtained with phosphine or arsine ligands used traditionally;In addition, we demonstrate that in the presence of water and excess PPh3, fluoride ion catalyzes the reduction of (Ph3P)2PdCl2 under mild conditions to Pd(PPh3)4 in good yields while Ph3P is oxidized to Ph3P=O. The inactivation of catalytic F- by formation of highly stable HF2- and other polyhydrogen fluorides that can form in the reaction is prevented by adding a strong non-ionic base such as P(MeNCH2CH2)3N. Pd(ddpb)2 and Pd2(dppm)3 are synthesized in high yields by incorporating this strong non-ionic base into the catalyzed synthesis;Also, the exceptionally strong base P(NMeCH2CH2)3N is herein applied as an excellent catalyst in the Knoevenagel condensation. Aromatic aldehydes are converted to the corresponding tri-substituted alkenes in excellent yields (\u3e98%). In addition, ketones and aliphatic aldehydes are converted to their condensates in high yield;Finally, P(NMeCH2CH2)3N is capable of forming adducts with various Lewis acids, resulting in a P-N ax bond distance ranging from the van der Waal\u27s radii of 3.34 A to 1.976 A as in the molecule H-P(NMeCH2CH2)3N. We report herein the formation of [(PNMeCH2CH2)3N] 2AUCl adduct, with a corresponding transannular bond of 3.171 A. Although X-Ray analysis of [F-P(NMeCH2CH2)3N] F has not been completed, NMR spectroscopic evidence suggests a high degree of transannulation in this compound

DNA recovery from handwritten documents using a novel vacuum technique

Investigations of many crimes such as robberies, kidnappings, and terrorism are often associated with the recovery of a paper document which has been written by the perpetrator. Paper can provide a variety of forensic evidence such as DNA, latent fingermarks, and indented writing. The focus of this study was the collection of probative DNA profiles from the text region of a handwritten note through a vacuum suction device without altering or destroying the document. Collection of DNA evidence was carried out in two separate groups. The first group involved 11 volunteers providing a handwritten note sample with unwashed hands. The second group of DNA collection involved six volunteers providing handwritten notes before and immediately after a period of mild aerobic activity. After the collection of DNA evidence, 10 volunteers provided sebaceous and eccrine latent fingermarks placed onto separate paper documents and developed with magnetic fingerprint developer or 1,2 indanedione to observe any effects of the vacuum swabbing technique. A final step to the study was performed to observe the effects of the vacuum swab technique on indented writing which may be developed using Electrostatic Detection Apparatus (ESDA). Ten simulated robbery notes were impressed with overlay sheets and processed with the vacuum swab before being developed using the ESDA process. Approximately 80% of processed DNA samples produced potentially probative profiles. Quantities of recovered DNA in the single collection series ranged from 0.6-54.3 pg/µL. DNA quantities in the active series prior to the aerobic activity ranged from 3.1-55.8 pg/µL. DNA quantities in the active series post-activity ranged from 1.9 to 221.6 pg/µL. The vacuum swab technique did not destroy nor alter any of the observed fingermarks. Additionally, the vacuum swab technique did not interfere with any indented writing as observed through ESDA