Cable TV, Public Education, AZT, And A Shared Pond: Three Case Incidents In Government, Business And Ethics

This submission consists of three case incidents or vignettes with a focus on decisions rather than details.  The paper includes original cases, case questions and reviews of those questions for the instructor.  The common perspective of government, business and social responsibility unites these cases. The first case begins with the cable TV industry and ends with public education.  It examines the relationship between government and business in these two distinct environments. The second case concerns Burroughs-Wellcome and its pricing of the anti-aids drug AZT.  Protesters complained that the price of the drug was too high for many people to afford and picketed the company, which insisted that it was only doing its job and making a profit. The third case is an environmental case which serves as a platform to investigate the relation between government and business in a commons situation

Hindsight Bias And The Evaluation Of Strategic Performance

This article reviews the literature on hindsight bias and applies it to the context of strategic performance evaluation. Hindsight bias, the tendency for people to view an event as more foreseeable after the event than prior to the event, is a well-documented cognitive bias. In evaluating the quality of the processes by which strategic decisions are made, evaluators are aware of the outcomes of these decisions and, therefore, are subject to the distorting effects of hindsight bias. Preventative measures are reviewed and recommendations for further research suggested

Prostitution In Salt Lake City, Targeting Cigarettes, And Breaking The Speed: Three Case Study Vignettes On Ethics In The Capitalist Marketplace

Three vignettes are presented to help students think about and apply ethical, social, and economic concepts they have learned in courses incorporating business ethics. Each vignette is short enough to cover in a single class

Virtual Flexibility: A Reexamination of the Concept of Organizational Slack

This article reviews changes taking place in the business environment and in the field of strategic management, contrasting the traditional industrial organizational economics paradigm with the new hypercompetitive or Austrian paradigm. It then demonstrates the implications of this paradigm shift in a detailed examination of the concept of organizational slack, highlighting new forms, applications and value for slack in the new hypercompetitive environment

The Australian Farm Business Management Network: Industry, Education, Consultancy and Research Coming Together

Under the sponsorship of the University of Sydney, on 5-6th December 2002 the future of farm management in Australia was discussed. The fundamental conclusion achieved by key primary industry representatives, corporate executives, academics, consultants and researchers is that farm management will have a more significant role to play in the future than previously in servicing the primary sector. The idea of farm management as a profession was proposed. Its basis would be business management supported by farming systems and technology, and using an holistic approach to action (i.e. finance, people and environment). The new profession of Farm Business Management would seek to influence education, research, consultancy and extension in Australia. Interested parties participating of the 2002 National Farm Management Workshop came away with the idea of championing a consultative network, constituted by interested institutions and interested individuals, as a first step in the process of nurturing the future development of farm business management. By integrating farmers and academics with corporate executives, consultants and researchers the objective is to behave as a consultative group. This group will influence educational models, implement consultancy and research strategies, and network in social and professional terms. Moreover, this network will provide a systematic opportunity for the channelling of farm business management and farming systems related information at different levels for education, extension and scientific purposes. This network is called the Australian Farm Business Management Network (AFBMnetwork).Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

Effects of Engineering Projects on the Ecology of Jones Bay - Effects of Engineering Projects on Galveston Bay Estuaries - Evaluation of the Effects of Estuarine Engineering Projects

In 1962 construction was begun on the Texas City and Vicinity Hurricane- Flood Protection Project, a program of the U.S. Corps of Engineers, which provided for a 16.2 mile long earthen seawall along the western shoreline of Galveston Bay. This levee, with a maximum height of 23 feet above sea level, was designed to protect low areas from tidal flooding during storms. In 1964, the Hitchcock Extension of the Hurricane-Flood Protection was proposed, a plan consisting of an 11.4 mile levee to protect the city of Hitchcock and vicinity. A portion of this levee crosses Jones Bay. Circulation in the bay would be provided by a closable tidal structure and culvert openings

Discovery of Gamma-ray Pulsations from the Transitional Redback PSR J1227-4853

The 1.69 ms spin period of PSR J1227-4853 was recently discovered in radio observations of the low-mass X-ray binary XSS J12270-4859 following the announcement of a possible transition to a rotation-powered millisecond pulsar state, inferred from decreases in optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray flux from the source. We report the detection of significant (5$\sigma$) gamma-ray pulsations after the transition, at the known spin period, using ~1 year of data from the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The gamma-ray light curve of PSR J1227-4853 can be fit by one broad peak, which occurs at nearly the same phase as the main peak in the 1.4 GHz radio profile. The partial alignment of light-curve peaks in different wavebands suggests that at least some of the radio emission may originate at high altitude in the pulsar magnetosphere, in extended regions co-located with the gamma-ray emission site. We folded the LAT data at the orbital period, both pre- and post-transition, but find no evidence for significant modulation of the gamma-ray flux. Analysis of the gamma-ray flux over the mission suggests an approximate transition time of 2012 November 30. Continued study of the pulsed emission and monitoring of PSR J1227-4853, and other known redback systems, for subsequent flux changes will increase our knowledge of the pulsar emission mechanism and transitioning systems.Comment: 5 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJ, updated to reflect accepted version and add additional coautho

Streamlined Project Closeout for Construction at KYTC

Project closeout is the period between the end of construction and when a contract is finalized. During closeout, resources are held in encumbered funds intended for the project and in the contractor’s bonding capacity. Although the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s (KYTC) stated goal is to close out projects within 240 days of their ending, in 2016 the average duration of project closeout was 366 days. This report analyzes the Cabinet’s project closeout procedures, summarizes project closeout best practices adopted by other state transportation agencies, and recommends ways to improve KYTC’s practices. Streamlining project closeouts would free up sufficient funds to resurface approximately 2,000 to 7,000 total lane miles that would otherwise not be rehabilitated. To begin reforming project closeout, the Cabinet may benefit from 1) investigating ways to improve the preparation of final documentation and 2) reducing the amount of time allocated for development and completion of the materials check. Other recommendations for revamping project closeout include establishing a KYTC task force to conduct high-level analysis of the project closeout process; thoroughly implementing e-Construction methodologies, which can reduce paperwork and centralize record-keeping within tightly controlled and monitored databases; revising project closeout checklists to standardize the process and eliminate all steps that are unneeded or outdated; and optimizing project closeout processes at the district level to help personnel adopt best practices. More efficient project closeouts will benefit the public because of their potential to increase the amount of funding that can be dedicated to critical transportation projects that would otherwise remain unaddressed. As the Cabinet investigates ways to begin this process, it is important to keep in mind that strategies or methods for streamlining project closeout should be implemented by KYTC personnel, as this increases the likelihood that staff buy-in across the agency

Measurement of gut permeability using fluorescent tracer agent technology

Abstract The healthy gut restricts macromolecular and bacterial movement across tight junctions, while increased intestinal permeability accompanies many intestinal disorders. Dual sugar absorption tests, which measure intestinal permeability in humans, present challenges. Therefore, we asked if enterally administered fluorescent tracers could ascertain mucosal integrity, because transcutaneous measurement of differentially absorbed molecules could enable specimen-free evaluation of permeability. We induced small bowel injury in rats using high- (15 mg/kg), intermediate- (10 mg/kg), and low- (5 mg/kg) dose indomethacin. Then, we compared urinary ratios of enterally administered fluorescent tracers MB-402 and MB-301 to urinary ratios of sugar tracers lactulose and rhamnose. We also tested the ability of transcutaneous sensors to measure the ratios of absorbed fluorophores. Urinary fluorophore and sugar ratios reflect gut injury in an indomethacin dose dependent manner. The fluorophores generated smooth curvilinear ratio trajectories with wide dynamic ranges. The more chaotic sugar ratios had narrower dynamic ranges. Fluorophore ratios measured through the skin distinguished indomethacin-challenged from same day control rats. Enterally administered fluorophores can identify intestinal injury in a rat model. Fluorophore ratios are measureable through the skin, obviating drawbacks of dual sugar absorption tests. Pending validation, this technology should be considered for human use