bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Network Model of Organization Formation
Authors: Larson Andrea , Starr Jennifer A.
Published: January 2018

This paper presents a network model of organization formation and builds upon theories of social and socioeconomic exchange. The model explains the transformation of exchange relationships from a set of relatively simple, often single-dimensional dyadic exchanges into a dense set—a network—of stable, multidimensional and multilayered interorganizatlonal exchange relationships. The model details three stages of entrepreneurial networking activity which are used to secure the critical economic and non-economic resources needed to start a business: (1) Focusing on the essential dyads; (2) Converting dyadic ties to socioeconomic exchanges; and (3) Layering the exchanges with multiple exchange processes. In all three stages, there is an iterative process which involves the exploration, screening and selective use of network dyads to match the business definition of the emerging firm. Organization formation results from the crystallization of stable, committed, revenue-generating, inter-organizational exchange relationships which extend beyond the earlier idiosyncratic and personalized relationships of the entrepreneur. A network model of organization formation appreciates the social embeddedness of economic relationships and the multidimensional nature and content of business relationships.
The Stages of Team Venture Formation: A Decision-making Model
Authors: Kamm Judith B. , Nurick Aaron J.
Published: January 2018

This model of multi-founder organizational formation assumes that organizations emerge In stages, following an a priori sequence of transitions. The idea stage comes first. In it, individuals or groups within the context of their social networks make decisions about the business concept and what Is needed to implement it. The second stage consists of implementation decisions, Including who will supply resources, what Inducements will be used to attract more partners if necessary, and how the team will be kept together. Feedback loops Indicate that the process may return to the concept and implementation needs decisions, depending upon choices made at certain critical points.
Munificence and Carrying Capacity of the Environment and Organization Formation
Authors: Specht Pamela Hammers
Published: January 2018

Two streams of research and theory development, resource dependence and population ecology, are combined to develop a model of the relationship between organization formation and environmental munificence and carrying capacity. An Interactive and curvilinear relationship is predicted. Munificence is reflected in social, economic, political, market, and Infrastructural resources. Carrying capacity involves density and prior births and deaths In an organization's population. Propositions and research recommendations are presented.
The Expectancies in Public Sector Venture Assistance
Authors: Gatewood Elizabeth
Published: January 2018

This article uses expectancy theory as a framework for explaining how public sector venture assistance organizations affect venture creation. Public sector venture assistance organizations can positively Influence venture creation through improving the entrepreneur's skills, abilities, and access to required resources. But they can also have a negative relationship to venture creation by denying services or access to resources or through affecting the entrepreneur's expectancies for venture success.
The Dynamics of Organizational s Emergence: A Contemporary Group Formation Perspective
Authors: Katz Jerome A.
Published: January 2018

This paper outlines contributions from social psychology to the study of entrepreneurship, especially the process of organizational emergence. The major topics covered are role theory, the minimal group paradigm (MGP) reported by Tajfel and others, the new plant works of Lawler and others, and recent advances in conceptualizing task group emergence reported by Gerslck.
Organizing the Voluntary Association
Authors: Gartner William B.
Published: January 2018

This article offers a cursory overview of academic and practitioner-based approaches to understanding the process of creating voluntary associations (e.g., direct action community organizations, unions, and social movements). A model outlining the actions involved in forming a direct action community association Is offered.
Effects of Formal Strategic Planning on Financial Performance in Small Firms: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Schwenk Charles R. , Shrader Charles B.
Published: January 2018

Researchers have been examining the effects of formal strategic planning on small firm financial performance for more than twenty years. Reviewers of prior studies have drawn differing conclusions as to whether formal planning improves small firm performance.

We have applied meta-analysis for the first time to the results of previous studies on formal strategic planning and small firm performance. The results suggest that even though the size of the effects for planning for individual studies Is not large, the overall relationship between formal planning and performance across studies Is positive and significant. Much of the variance in the size of the effects, however, Is not explained by sampling error, Indicating the potential for other variables to moderate the effects of planning on the performance of small firms. It is concluded, in general, that strategic planning is a beneficial activity for small firms.
A Conceptual Model of Entrepreneurship as Firm Behavior: A Critique and Extension
Authors: Zahra Shaker A.
Published: January 2018

The study of firm-level entrepreneurship Is fast becoming a central Issue In the literature. Research on the topicshows Increased vitality and rigor. Recently, Covin and Slevin (1991) have suggested an Integrative model that explains the association between a company's entrepreneurial posture and Its external environment, strategy, Internal factors, and organizational performance. This article highlights several areas wherethe Covin-Slevin model should be revised and extended to better capture the nature of entrepreneurial behavior as well as Its antecedents and consequences.
Conflicts in the Commercialization of Knowledge: Perspectives from Science and Entrepreneurship
Authors: Bird Barbara J. , Hayward David J. , Allen David N.
Published: January 2018

Conflicts of interest and conflicts of values stand between university-based research and commercialization of that knowledge. Such conflicts are embedded in science faculties and serve to delay, rechannel, or deter the commercial applications of research. Scales measuring these conflicts are developed and presented and the Impact on entrepreneurial behavior and university roles is noted. A comparison between science and management faculty illustrates the differences in values and orientations that reside within the university institution.
The Impact of Prior Entrepreneurial Exposure on Perceptions of New Venture Feasibility and Desirability
Authors: Krueger Norris
Published: January 2018

Shapero (1975, 1982) proposed an Intentionality-based process model of the entrepreneurial event. Entrepreneurial intentions should derive from feasibility and desirability perceptions plus a propensity to act on opportunities. Prior entrepreneurship-related experiences should influence entrepreneurial intentions indirectly through these perceptions. Path analyses found that feasibility and desirability perceptions and propensity to act each proved significant antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions. Perceived feasibility was significantly associated with the breadth of prior exposure. Perceived desirability was significantly associated with the positiveness of that prior exposure. Strong support was found for Shapero's model, arguing for further application of intentions-based process models of entrepreneurial activity.
The Effects of Education on Business Ownership: A Longitudinal Study of Women
Authors: Dolinsky Arthur L. , Caputo Richard K. , Pasumarty Kishore , Quazi Hesan
Published: January 2018

This study uses a national longitudinal sample of women to examine variations in the likelihood of entering, staying, and reentering self-employment by level of educational attainment. The study found that each likelihood increased with increasing levels of education. This finding supports the notion that less-educated women may face financial or human capital constraints which limit their business pursuits. The study also identified to what extent differences in each likelihood contributed to the overall difference in the likelihood of being self-employed between more- and less-educated women. Of the three, differences in the likelihood of entry accounted for most of the overall difference in the likelihood of being self-employed between the more and less educated.
A Contingency Model of New Manufacturing Firm Performance
Authors: Box Thomas M. , White Margaret A. , Barr Steve H.
Published: January 2018

A survey of new manufacturing firms yielded significant support for hypothesized relationships between psychological differences, background characteristics, and scanning behavior of the owner/founder and firm performance. In addition, a proposed contingency model of new manufacturing firm performance was tested using moderated regression analysis. This model suggests that a linear combination of psychological, background, and scanning characteristics of the owner/founder acting on firm performance may be moderated by industry dynamics.
New Product Innovation in Established Companies: Associations with Industry and Strategy Variables
Authors: Zahra Shaker A.
Published: January 2018

As concern over the competitiveness of the U.S. persists, attention is given to understanding the factors associated with product innovation. To date, the bulk of research has focused on the organizational variables (e.g., formal structure) that spur or impede a company's new product development and introduction efforts. The present study extends the literature by examining the relationship of a firm's industry characteristics and the content of its competitive strategy, and the number and timing of new product introductions. Data from 134 established manufacturing companies (i.e., firms that have been in existence for more than eight years) show that a firm's Industry characteristics and competitive strategy explain a significant portion of variance in both the number and early introduction of new products. The implications of the results for managerial action and future research are also discussed.
Challenges and Approaches to Purchasing from Minority-Owned Firms: A Longitudinal Examination
Authors: Pearson John N. , Fawcett Stanley E. , Cooper Alicia
Published: January 2018

Historically, large corporations and minority-business enterprises (MBEs) have encountered many impediments as they have worked together. As a result, the government has adopted public policy to help promote greater interaction between large firms and MBEs. At the same time, the competitive environment has changed in ways that make it important for large corporations and MBEs to work more closely. This paper presents the results of a study that examined the impediments and approaches to buyer/supplier relationships between Fortune 500 firms that have corporate minority purchasing programs and MBEs.
Founder Competence, the Environment, and Venture Performance
Authors: Chandler Gaylen N. , Hanks Steven H.
Published: January 2018

This research presents a parsimonious model of venture performance that incorporates individual founder, firm, and environmental characteristics. Specifically, It examines the moderating effect of founder competencies on venture performance in a sample of 155 manufacturing firms in northwestern Pennsylvania. In support of our hypotheses, the results indicate that individual level competencies moderate the relationships between the quality of the opportunity and firm performance and access to resource-based capabilities and firm performance.
Entrepreneurial Potential and Potential Entrepreneurs
Authors: Krueger Norris F. , Brazeal Deborah V.
Published: January 2018

Before there can be entrepreneurship there must be the potential for entrepreneurship, whether in a community seeking to develop or in a large organization seeking to innovate. Entrepreneurial potential, however, requires potential entrepreneurs. This paper discusses antecedents of such potential and proposes a model based on Shapero's (1982) model of the entrepreneurial event. We then discuss this model in light of supporting evidence from two different perspectives, corporate venturing and enterprise development.
Cultural Values and the Championing Process
Authors: Shane Scott
Published: January 2018

This study examines the relationship between national culture and national preferences for innovation championing strategies using a sample of 24 national offices of a financial services company. The study finds that in collectivistic societies, managers prefer champions who make personal appeals to gather cross-functional support for the innovation effort. In uncertainty-avoiding societies, managers prefer champions to work through organizational norms, rules and procedures rather than violating them. In power-distant societies, managers prefer champions who closely monitor the innovation process.
Environments for Entrepreneurship Development: Key Dimensions and Research Implications
Authors: Gnyawali Devi R. , Fogel Daniel S.
Published: January 2018

An integrated framework is not available for studying the environmental conditions conducive for entrepreneurship despite their importance for the emergence and growth of enterprises in a country. This paper develops such a framework consisting of five dimensions of entrepreneurial environments and links these dimensions to the core elements of the new venture creation process. Specific emphasis is given to the role of environmental conditions in developing opportunities and in enhancing entrepreneurs’ propensity and ability to enterprise. The paper outlines some propositions and research implications of the integrated model and offers initial guidelines for formulating public policies to develop entrepreneurial environments.
The Influence of Self-Efficacy on the Development of Entrepreneurial Intentions and Actions
Authors: Boyd Nancy G. , Vozikis George S.
Published: January 2018

The contextual factors of entrepreneurship consist of social, political, and economic variables such as displacement, changes in markets, and government deregulation (Bird, 1988). Entrepreneurial intentions are further structured by both rational/analytic thinking (goal-directed behavior) and intuitive/holistic thinking (vision). These thought processes underlie the creation of formal business plans, opportunity analysis, and other goal-directed behavior. This paper further develops Bird's model of entrepreneurial intentionality by suggesting that individual self-efficacy, which has been defined as a person's belief in his or her capability to perform a task, influences the development of both entrepreneurial intentions and actions or behaviors.
Emerging Business, Emerging Field: Entrepreneurship and the Family Firm
Authors: Hoy Frank , Verser Trudy G.
Published: January 2018

This article proposes that the fields of entrepreneurship and family business consist of separate and distinct but overlapping domains. The intersection of the two domains provides a unique perspective from which to examine six strategic management issues: leadership, culture, boards of directors, life cycles, strategic management processes, and ethics and values. Gartner's eight principal ideas or themes In the study of entrepreneurship are used to describe the areas of commonality of entrepreneurship and family business. The Gartner framework has implications both for scholars and practitioners.
Meanderings of a Resurrected Psychologist or, Lessons Learned in Creating a Family Business Program
Authors: Carsrud Alan L.
Published: January 2018

What do entrepreneurs become when they have a long-term personal relationship, get married, and/or have children? Their businesses mature Into family firms. What do entrepreneurial study centers do when they realize the above? They see an opportunity to start a family business program. What do accounting and legal firms do to try to reach this market? They sponsor a program. What happens to a psychologist, turned entrepreneur professor, who becomes Involved in a family business program? He Is resurrected as a family business professional. The focus of this paper Is the lessons learned during the journey towards developing a unique family business program as part of an entrepreneurial studies center In a major research university.
Copreneurs and Dual-Career Couples: Are They Different?
Authors: Marshack Kathy J.
Published: January 2018

There are assumptions about copreneurs that they represent an emerging egalitarian style of family business ownership and that they operate in their marriages similarly to dual-career couples. Unfortunately, there has been little empirical research to support these assumptions. The current study examines these assumptions by comparing a population of copreneurs and dual-career couples on variables such as sex-role orientation, self-concept at work and home, and marital and business partnership equity. The findings indicate that copreneurs and dual-career couples define their work and home boundaries very differently. Recommendations for professional practice include (1) expanding the consultant's consciousness about these differences in couples, and (2) encouraging more egalitarian relationships between copreneurial husband and wife so as to better prepare the business for succession.
Toward a Theory of Entrepreneurial Careers
Authors: Dyer W. Gibb
Published: January 2018

Parallel streams of theory and research regarding entrepreneurship and careers has led to a dearth of comprehensive theories regarding the careers of entrepreneurs. This article describes four core dimensions of theory that are essential in developing a comprehensive theory of entrepreneurial careers: (1) a theory of career choice; (2) a theory of career socialization; (3) a theory of career orientation; and (4) a theory of career progression from entry to exit. A general model is presented that articulates various aspects of theory building along each of these four dimensions. Implications for both theory and practice regarding entrepreneurial careers is also discussed.
Second-Career Entrepreneurs: A Multiple Case Study Analysis of Entrepreneurial Processes and Antecedent Variables
Authors: Baucus David A. , Human Sherrie E.
Published: January 2018

We use open-ended interviews and focus groups to construct a composite model of activities constituting the entrepreneurial process for seven retirees from a Fortune 100 corporation who started second-career businesses. Our results show that retirees’ prior employment experience modifies the nature of entrepreneurial processes used to get into business. Technology-oriented retirees followed incremental processes, using fewer steps in the process, with an indeterminate inception in the development of required skills, in starting related-lifestyle businesses. Retirees with management skills used punctuated equilibrium processes, having an abrupt beginning and requiring more steps in the process of starting unrelated-growth/investment businesses. Management-oriented retirees networked more In the entrepreneurial process than technology-oriented retirees. Technology-oriented retirees more likely viewed departure as involuntary; their entrepreneurial processes derived from starting conditions (e.g., old job or company). Retirees with management skills tended to view departure as voluntary; their entrepreneurial processes advanced toward desired end states. We identify propositions for future testing and discuss implications for corporations, retirees, and researchers.
Self-Employment Programs: A New Reemployment Tool
Authors: Benus Jacob M.
Published: January 2018

The recently passed North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Includes Important provisions for U.S. unemployed workers who are interested in becoming self-employed. The provisions of this act allow states to establish self-employment assistance programs as part of their unemployment compensation system. This paper reports on two recent demonstrations, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, to test the ability of the U.S. employment security and economic development systems to help unemployment insurance recipients start businesses. The results of these demonstrations have helped policymakers reach the conclusion that self-employment assistance programs are viable policy tools to promote the rapid reemployment of unemployed workers.
Firm-Level Entrepreneurship and Field Research: The Studies in Their Methodological Context
Authors: Savage Grant T. , Black Janice A.
Published: January 2018

Entrepreneurship researchers operate from various paradigms that embrace a wide range of methods from quantitative to qualitative. The studies in this special issue offer an interesting mixture of field methods. We examine the authors’ epistemological (“How do we know?”) and teleological (“Why do we know?”) choices, which affect the types of data gathered, the ways In which the data are analyzed, and the kinds of Interpretations formed about the data. By placing these studies in their methodological context, we believe the truthfulness and credibility of the conclusions drawn by the authors will be better appreciated and more fully understood.
Entrepreneurial Opportunities in an Entrepreneurial Firm: A Structural Approach
Authors: Krackhardt David
Published: January 2018

Entrepreneurship has come into its own as an area to study. One only has to look at the legitimizing symbols of status in the field of organizations to see that this is true. Entrepreneurship has its own thriving division within the Academy of Management. It has its own journal. Chaired professorships of entrepreneurship are cropping up at the most prestigious business schools. Yet, despite this legitimacy, one of the recurring debates in the field centers on the definitional question, what exactly is entrepreneurship?
Thought Worlds Colliding: The Role of Contradiction in Corporate Innovation Processes
Authors: Fiol C. Marlene
Published: January 2018

Contradiction Is the home of creativity. Creative breakthroughs most often result from the juxtaposition of widely divergent bodies of knowledge and experience. This article develops a model of corporate Innovation that identifies contradictory knowledge components and ways that they combine over time for creative activities to be initiated and developed in large organizations. It illustrates the applicability of the model In the case of a successful corporate new-venture development process. The results support the central argument: Large, multi-functional organizations provide fertile grounds for the seeds of entrepreneurial activities in that they encompass the contradictions needed for creative thought and action.
Entrepreneurial Networks and New Organization Growth
Authors: Hansen Eric L.
Published: January 2018

The emerging literature on entrepreneurial networks suggests that entrepreneurial action sets may be organizational in nature and may be investigated in organizational terms. We link three pre-founding entrepreneurial action set variables: (1) Size, (2) Degree (a measure of inter-connectivity within the entrepreneurial action set), and (3) Frequency (a measure of how often entrepreneurial action set members Interact with each other) to first-year new organization growth. Data were gathered through structured interviews with 44 entrepreneurs and analyzed with multiple regression. The hypotheses were strongly supported by the data.
Understanding the Small Enterprise Financial Objective Function
Authors: McMahon Richard G. P. , Stanger Anthony M. J.
Published: January 2018

This paper presents views on the small enterprise financial objective function that are sympathetic to existing financial thought, but which capture complexities arising in small enterprises that frequently receive minimal attention in the mainstream finance literature. It is argued that the small enterprise financial objective function should reflect the kinds of enterprise-specific risk that typically exist in small enterprises arising from liquidity, diversification, transferability, flexibility, control, and accountability considerations. A conceptualization of the small enterprise financial objective function by extension of conventional utility theory is presented. It is believed the resulting utility function holds promise as an explanatory framework for financial behavior in small enterprises in that it provides valuable insights into owner-manager decision making and small enterprise development. Consideration is also given to asset pricing model, which consequently might be used in small enterprise financial management.
Gender, Structural Factors, and Credit Terms between Canadian Small Businesses and Financial Institutions
Authors: Fabowale Lola , Orser Barbara , Riding Allan
Published: January 2018

This paper reports on an analysis of whether or not the terms of bank credit differ between men and women business owners. Based on a large sample of borrowing experiences, it is found that men and women business owners differ in systemic ways, but that when such differences are taken into account, no differences in the terms of credit persist. In spite of this conclusion, it is found that women small business owners feel themselves to have been treated disrespectfully by lending officers to a significantly greater extent than do male business owners. These findings provide a reconciliation of previous research findings, findings that report both equity of treatment of both genders by financial institutions yet a widespread sense of injustice on the part of women business owners. Implications for the training of loan account managers are developed.
Survival and Employment Growth Contrasts between Types of Owner-Managed High-Technology Firms
Authors: Westhead Paul
Published: January 2018

This paper examines performance differences between “types” of owner-managed high-technology businesses. Four distinct types of firms are Identified. Technically qualnled spln-out founders“ were the most likely to survive, whilst “young firms with limited technical networks established by Inexperienced founders” were the least likely. Firms In clusters 2 (“technically qualified novice founders utilizing the financial network”) and 1 (“technically qualified spln-out founders”) were more likely to experience employment growth.
Financial Strategies of Small, Public Firms: A Comparative Analysis with Small, Private Firms and Large, Public Firms
Authors: Van Auken Howard E. , Holman Tom
Published: January 2018

This study uses canonical correlation analysis to examine the Interrelationships among balance sheet accounts for 190 small, publicly traded corporations. The results suggest that small, public corporations manage risk with the concurrent use of cash and equity, use long-term assets as collateral for long-term debt, and use accounts payable and other current debt to finance receivables and Inventories. Small, public corporations have characteristics similar to both small, private businesses and large corporations, while having unique, Individual qualities. These findings can be attributed to the small, public corporation having greater access to the capital markets than the small, private business, but facing greater constraints than the large corporation In accessing those markets. These results Increase the understanding of the sources and uses of funds for the small, public corporations and Indicates that financing strategies tend to evolve as firms grow.
An efficient numerical method for the optimal control of fractional-order dynamic systems
Authors: Mohammadzadeh Ehsan , Pariz Naser , Hosseini Sani Seyed Kamal , Jajarmi Amin
Published: January 2018

This paper aims to investigate an efficient numerical scheme for the optimal control of fractional-order dynamic systems. By using the Grünwald–Letnikov approximation for the fractional derivatives and introducing a new transformation in the calculus of variations, the fractional optimal control problem under consideration is converted into a linear programming problem. Then, the internal model principle is employed in order to extend the new scheme for the fractional dynamic systems affected by the external persistent disturbances. Numerical examples and comparative results verify the validity and applicability of the new technique.
Quantum sliding mode control via error sliding surface
Authors: Chegini Somayeh , Yarahmadi Majid
Published: January 2018

In this paper, a new quantum sliding mode control, for improving the performance of the two-level quantum sliding mode control systems with bounded uncertainties, is introduced. The presented quantum sliding surface is based on the error which occurs between the predetermined sliding mode and the system state. The control objective is to derive the system state to reach the sliding mode domain and then maintain its motion on it. For this purpose, we use the sliding mode control method and periodic projective measurements. A theorem for facilitating the presented method is proved. The simulated example shows that both the reaching time to the sliding mode and the control amplitude are significantly decreased, which demonstrate the effectiveness and validity of the presented method.
Durable responses in refractory autoimmune hemolytic anemia with alemtuzumab
Authors: McAlister Renee K , Talbott Mahsa S , Reddy Nishitha M
Published: January 2018

Autoimmune hemolytic anemia occurs due to an interaction of IgG antibodies with protein antigens expressed on red blood corpuscles. Glucocorticoids are the mainstay of treatment for autoimmune hemolytic anemia. For patients not responding to initial therapy, other agents such as rituximab, immunosuppressive therapy, or splenectomy are considered. When refractory to these treatment options, alemtuzumab is an alternative agent. However, long-term outcomes of patients supporting its use are lacking. We present three patients with refractory autoimmune hemolytic anemia treated with alemtuzumab.
The “Ofcourseness” of Functional Literacy: Ideologies in Adult Literacy
Authors: Perry Kristen H. , Shaw Donita M. , Ivanyuk Lyudmyla , Tham Yuen San Sarah
Published: January 2018

We used metastudy and metasynthesis techniques to conduct a discursive review of 101 recent publications on the topic of adult functional literacy (FL). Our purpose was to understand the ideologies shaping current definitions and conceptualizations of FL, as well as how and why FL is researched and assessed as it is. Using discursive review techniques, we analyzed instances of legitimation, dissimulation, reification, and “ofcourseness” to explore the ideological underpinnings of the field. Close analysis of three passages related to theory, research, and assessment illustrates ideological patterns in what “counts” as FL. These patterns are grounded in ideological divisions between cognitive and sociocultural perspectives on FL—the effects of which we traced through our findings on what “counts” as FL, the logics of inquiry that undergird the field, and the ways in which these ideologies shape adult literacy assessment. Our discussion considers the larger implications of these ideologies: What is legitimated or reified, and what is ignored, dismissed, or subsumed, by these ways of conceptualizing FL? We offer future directions and raise important questions that arise from these conclusions.
TRAIL-Induced Apoptosis in TRAIL-Resistant Breast Carcinoma Through Quercetin Cotreatment
Authors: Manouchehri Jasmine M , Turner Katherine A , Kalafatis Michael
Published: January 2018

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women. There is a continued interest for the development of more efficacious treatment regimens for breast carcinoma. Recombinant human tumor necrosis factor–related apoptosis-inducing ligand (rhTRAIL) shows potential as a potent anticancer therapeutic for the treatment of breast cancer, whereas displaying minimal toxicity to normal cells. However, the promise of rhTRAIL for the treatment of breast cancer is dismissed by the resistance to rhTRAIL-induced apoptosis exhibited by many breast cancers. Thus, a cotreatment strategy was examined by applying the natural compound quercetin (Q) as a sensitizing agent for rhTRAIL-resistant breast cancer BT-20 and MCF-7 cells. Quercetin was able to sensitize rhTRAIL-resistant breast cancers to rhTRAIL-induced apoptosis as detected by Western blotting through the proteasome-mediated degradation of c-FLIPL and through the upregulation of DR5 expression transcriptionally. Overall, these in vitro findings establish that Q is an effective sensitizing agent for rhTRAIL-resistant breast cancers.
The Reproductive Morphology and Physiological Age Grading of the Female Salvinia Weevil, Cyrtobagous salviniae Calder and Sands
Authors: Eisenberg Lee , Johnson Seth , Grodowitz Michael J
Published: January 2018

The morphology of the female Cyrtobagous salviniae Calder and Sands reproductive system is similar to other weevil species being meroistic and telotrophic. The reproductive system is composed of 2 ovaries each containing 2 ovarioles where the follicles mature. A physiological age grading system was developed where the continuum of ovarium development was divided into 2 nulliparous and 3 parous classes. This was based on the differentiation of the ovarioles, presence, and appearance of follicular relics, cuticle hardness/coloration, and fat body quantity/appearance. High correlation occurred between the parous classes and number of eggs produced where the P3 class had over 9-fold higher number of eggs in comparison with the P1 class. Mean number of eggs produced for each parous class was significantly different, however, overlap occurred. Such a system enables a determination of the past, present, and future reproductive status of field populations and mass-rearing colonies.
Inpatients’ Spatial Experience: Interactions Between Material, Social, and Time-Related Aspects
Authors: Annemans Margo , Van Audenhove Chantal , Vermolen Hilde , Heylighen Ann
Published: January 2018

For inpatients who spend a longer time in the hospital, the built environment plays a significant role in their experience. While many hospital boards aim to create a patient-centered hospital, few have a specific idea about what this means in terms of spatial qualities. This creates a major challenge for those involved in designing hospital environments. Therefore, we aimed to identify which elements play a role in inpatients’ spatial experience, and how these elements relate and interact. Patients were followed during transport and afterward interviewed. In this way, we gained insight into their spatial experience, static, and in motion. This experience turns out to be shaped by material, social, and time-related aspects. An analysis of the interactions between these aspects yields a nuanced understanding of how inpatients’ experience of the hospital environment is shaped by the spatial and social organization, movement, and perspective. This understanding should allow informing hospital boards, architects, and staff to start designing hospital buildings in a more patient-centered way.
An improved robust multi-objective optimization of structure with random parameters
Authors: Bhattacharjya Soumya , Chakraborty Subrata
Published: January 2018

The robust multi-objective optimization is conventionally achieved by minimizing expected values and standard deviations of performance functions by imposing equal importance to each individual gradient of the performance function. But, it is well established in the literature that all the gradients are not of equal importance to capture the presence of uncertainty. In this work, an improved sensitivity importance–based robust multi-objective optimization approach is proposed. The basic idea is to improve the robustness of the performance by defining a new index using the importance factors, proportional to the importance of the gradients of the performance. The efficiency of the proposed robust multi-objective optimization approach is investigated by optimizing a vibrating platform for maximum frequency and minimum cost. The minimization of the associated standard deviation of cost and frequency is also treated as objective functions. Noting the limitations of the conventional weighted sum method or ε-constraint method for solution of such robust multi-objective optimization problems, non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II has been adopted for solution. The proposed robust multi-objective optimization yields more efficient Pareto fronts, that is, making a design less-sensitive to the variation in the input variables compared to the conventional robust multi-objective optimization approach.
Intraoperative Complications and Mid-Term Follow-Up of Large-Diameter Head Metal-on-Metal Total Hip Arthroplasty and Hip Resurfacing Arthroplasty
Authors: Miettinen S. S. A. , Mäkinen T. J. , Mäkelä K. , Huhtala H. , Kettunen J. S. , Remes V.
Published: January 2018

Background and Aims:

Large-diameter head total hip arthroplasty and hip resurfacing arthroplasty were popular in Finland from 2000 to 2012 for the treatment of hip osteoarthritis. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the mid-term survival of large-diameter head total hip arthroplasty patients operated on in three university hospitals and to compare these results to the survival of hip resurfacing arthroplasty patients.

Material and Methods:

A total of 3860 hip arthroplasties (3029 large-diameter head total hip arthroplasties in 2734 patients and 831 hip resurfacing arthroplasties in 757 patients) were operated on between January 2004 and December 2009. The mean follow-up was 4.3 years (range: 0.3–8.0 years) in the total hip arthroplasty group and 5.1 years (range: 1.7–7.9 years) in the hip resurfacing arthroplasty group. Cox multiple regression model and Kaplan–Meier survival analysis were used to study the survival of the total hip arthroplasties and the hip resurfacing arthroplasties. Intraoperative complications and reasons for revisions were also evaluated.

Results:

In Cox regression analysis, the hazard ratio for revision of hip resurfacing arthroplasty was 1.5 compared with large-diameter head total hip arthroplasty (95% confidence interval: 1.0–2.2) ( p = 0.029). The cumulative Kaplan–Meier survival rate was 90.7% at 7.7 years for the large-diameter head total hip arthroplasty (95% confidence interval: 86.8–94.6) and 92.2% at 7.6 years for hip resurfacing arthroplasty (95% confidence interval: 89.9–94.6). There were a total of 166/3029 (5.5%) intraoperative complications in the large-diameter head total hip arthroplasty group and 20/831 (2.4%) in the hip resurfacing arthroplasty group ( p = 0.001). Revision for any reason was performed on 137/3029 (4.5%) of the arthroplasties in the large-diameter head total hip arthroplasty group and 52/831 (6.3%) in the hip resurfacing arthroplasty group ( p = 0.04).

Conclusion:

The mid-term survival of both of these devices was poor, and revisions due to adverse reactions to metal debris will most likely rise at longer follow-up. There were more intraoperative complications in the large-diameter head total hip arthroplasty group than in the hip resurfacing arthroplasty group.
Editors’ introduction: Latino youth and struggles for inclusion in the 21st century
Authors: Mendez Jennifer Bickham , Schmalzbauer Leah
Published: January 2018

This special issue features carefully selected case studies that document and analyze the experiences of Latino youth and young adults as they struggle for inclusion in the United States. Articles draw from qualitative research with Latinos/as who reside in different regions of the United States, hail from or trace their origins to various countries, and embody distinct experiences of incorporation and inclusion. Special emphasis is placed on the 1.5 generation, young people who immigrated to the US as young children but have spent the majority of their lives there—some of whom hold temporary protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. This introduction presents a conceptual framework for analyzing the experiences of Latino youth and young adults. We argue for an approach that centers intersecting social locations of youth and the specificity of place for understanding the dynamics and implications of Latino youth’s struggles for inclusion in the 21st century.
Revisiting the role of self-control in Situational Action Theory
Authors: Kroneberg Clemens , Schulz Sonja
Published: January 2018

Wikström’s Situational Action Theory of Crime Causation (SAT) aims at providing a comprehensive account of the action-generating mechanisms that underlie rule-breaking. Paying tribute to the longstanding criminological interest in self-control, SAT also entails a new view of this concept and its role in crime causation. SAT claims that morality is the more fundamental determinant of rule-breaking and that self-control should become relevant only when actors enter a process of deliberation on whether or not to break a rule. Our contribution is twofold: theoretically, we discuss the role of self-control in SAT and derive previously untested implications; empirically, we evaluate these implications based on data from a large German panel study and thereby advance our understanding of when and how self-control matters for crime and delinquency.
Crime contemplation and self-control: A test of Situational Action Theory’s hypothesis about their interaction in crime causation
Authors: Serrano-Maíllo Alfonso
Published: January 2018

Situational Action Theory (SAT) is an important theoretical development with relatively broad empirical content, reflected in highly specific hypotheses about crime causation. It offers an alternative concept of self-control to that of the General Theory of Crime and predicts that the effect of self-control on crime depends on crime contemplation. Crime contemplation is the tendency to consider crime as an action alternative. This paper is a test of SAT using data on 1304 juveniles from four Latin American cities with relatively high crime rates and impunity levels. It therefore contributes to cross-national testing. Both ordinary least squares and negative binomial regression techniques are applied. Three different ways to test interactions in non-linear models are used. Findings support the hypothesis. Results and limitations are discussed.
Who’s hanging out and what’s happening? A look at the interplay between unstructured socializing, crime propensity and delinquent peers using social network data
Authors: Gerstner Dominik , Oberwittler Dietrich
Published: January 2018

One of the key observations of delinquency research – that adolescents are more likely to offend during the time spent in the company of peers and without adult supervision – has been supported by recent studies following Situational Action Theory (SAT). According to SAT, exposure to criminogenic settings may influence adolescent behaviour by presenting opportunities and frictions; however, the outcome is seen as conditional on individual crime propensities and the moral context in which opportunities and frictions are encountered. To what extent the behaviour of adolescents in these settings also depends on the delinquent inclinations of their peers is an additional question that has received less attention. In the current study, we use data from a recent German school survey, including network data and a direct measurement of delinquent friends, to test for interactions between unstructured socializing and the crime propensities of respondents, as well as of their friends, and find support for SAT. In this context the measurement of ‘delinquent friends’ becomes important because its association with an adolescent’s own delinquency is likely to be overestimated when respondents report on their friends’ behaviour. The novel contribution of this study is to analyse how the interplay between these factors changes if one moves from an indirect to a direct measurement of friends’ delinquency. We show that the influence of situations and opportunities is unduly diminished when using the indirect measurement.
Analysing the perception–choice process in Situational Action Theory. A randomized scenario study
Authors: Pauwels Lieven J.R.
Published: January 2018

In Situational Action Theory (SAT), crime is seen as the result of the interplay between individual and setting characteristics. This replication study focuses on the perception–choice process. The perception–choice process refers to the process whereby one sees the breaking of rules (stated in laws) as an action alternative and deliberately (or habitually) carries out an act of rule-breaking, given that one sees the breaking of a specific rule as an action alternative. The unique contribution of this study to the empirical literature is that it tests the interaction between choosing a violent response, propensity, and exposure to scenario criminogeneity using a web-based randomized scenario study. The results indicate that individuals who have low levels of crime propensity rarely choose a violent response, independent of scenario criminogeneity (as measured by provocation and the absence of monitoring agents). The likelihood of choosing a violent response increases as a result of the interplay between scenario criminogeneity and crime propensity. The implications for future tests of SAT are discussed.
Young people’s differential vulnerability to criminogenic exposure: Bridging the gap between people- and place-oriented approaches in the study of crime causation
Authors: Wikström Per-Olof H , Mann Richard P , Hardie Beth
Published: January 2018

The overall purpose of this study is to contribute to bridging the gap between people- and place-oriented approaches in the study of crime causation. To achieve this we will explore some core hypotheses derived from Situational Action Theory about what makes young people crime prone and makes places criminogenic, and about the interaction between crime propensity and criminogenic exposure predicting crime events. We will also calculate the expected reduction in aggregate levels of crime that will occur as a result of successful interventions targeting crime propensity and criminogenic exposure. To test the hypotheses we will utilize a unique set of space–time budget, small area community survey, land-use and interviewer-led questionnaire data from the prospective longitudinal Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study (PADS+) and an artificial neural network approach to modelling. The results show that people’s crime propensity (based on their personal morals and abilities to exercise self-control) has the bulk of predictive power, but also that including criminogenic exposure (being unsupervised with peers and engaged in unstructured activities in residential areas of poor collective efficacy or commercial centres) demonstrates a substantial increase in predictive power (in addition to crime propensity). Moreover, the results show that the probability of crime is strongest when a crime-prone person is in a criminogenic setting and, crucially, that the higher a person’s crime propensity the more vulnerable he or she is to influences of criminogenic exposure. Finally, the findings suggest that a reduction in people’s crime propensity has a much bigger impact on their crime involvement than a reduction in their exposure to criminogenic settings.