bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Unemployment Insurance in Algeria: Help or Hindrance?
Authors: Boussaidi Ali
Published: October 2003

The issue of employment has become a crucial one in Algeria. Not only does the economy no longer offer opportunities for jobseekers; economic reforms have led to countless public‐sector businesses being wound up, putting thousands of people out of work. Against this background, a system of temporary unemployment benefits has been introduced, though its effectiveness has been sharply criticized. How many of the occupations targeted by the legislation setting up the system are actually covered by Algeria's unemployment insurance system, and on what terms? What obstacles are there to the full realization of this system's objectives, and how effective is it in an economic and financial sense? The unemployment insurance system is traditionally accused of clogging up the machinery of employment and preventing a return to a competitive labour market. There are also those who believe that this system helps to foster voluntary unemployment and encourages people to spend more time on leisure pursuits. Our article considers all these views. At the end the reader will also find brief details of unemployment insurance in South Africa and Egypt.
Design as Narrative: Objects, Stories and Negotiated Meaning
Authors: Dillon Patrick , Howe Tony
Published: October 2003

The model of design taught in educational institutions in the United Kingdom and elsewhere has fundamental weaknesses. At best it is a partial and superficial description of what happens when individuals engage in the process of design. At worst it is inaccurate and misleading. The authors are working on multiple‐perspective approaches to design education that emphasise the central importance of context to understanding design as human enterprise. In this paper, they introduce the idea of design as narrative. Like narratives, objects have power in social settings: they offer an interpretation of the story of their existence; they give back echoes of their past. To regard design objects as forms of text allows ‘readers’ to interpret them within their own frames of reference. The understanding that arises from this form of interpretation allows for creative involvement with objects and permits more realistic engagement with design work. It promotes a form of thinking that is personal, relevant and open to negotiated meaning in an otherwise increasingly prescriptive educational world.
A Long and Winding Road: Mature Students' Responses to Creative Experience
Authors: Brazil Jon
Published: October 2003

This paper reports mature students' responses to a creative project, focusing on their own analyses to identify and demonstrate the conditions required to provide worthwhile creative experience for participants unused to such practices. In considering their reactions to the project brief, the paper demonstrates the lack of confidence felt by many when faced with creative work, arising out of myths about the exclusive nature of creativity. The report then identifies some ways in which a creative approach was fostered: by giving permission to non‐experienced students to work in a creative manner (by dismantling some of the mythology), by providing a personal space (both physical and mental) for this to take place, by encouraging a playful attitude to the project that enjoyed ambiguity and uncertainty, and by feeding the students' ideas with a programme of enhancement experiences. The place of one‐to‐one tutorials in developing an appropriate approach is evidenced. Throughout the paper, students' own responses provide forceful support for engagement in practical creative activity, demonstrating the sense of empowerment felt, and showing how the experience initiated long‐term developments in their thinking, both professionally and personally.
Practitioner Review: Psychological Sequelae of Head Injury in Children and Adolescents
Authors: Middleton Judith A.
Published: October 2003

Many children suffer an injury to the head at some time, but relatively few of these cause major problems. However, in a few cases the sequelae can be far reaching. This review considers how to evaluate the significance of a head injury. Factors to consider are (1) injury variables: cause, severity and type of injury ; (2) child variables: premorbid functioning, age, and developmental level of the child both at injury and at assessment; and (3) the cognitive, behavioural, and emotional problems that may arise. Parental beliefs and knowledge about the injury as well as the overall effect of an injury on the family as a whole are also considered.
Psychological Mechanisms in Hyperactivity: II The Role of Genetic Factors
Authors: Kuntsi Jonna , Stevenson Jim
Published: October 2003

The main aim of this study was to combine two research approaches to hyperactivity: the behaviour genetic approach and the testing of psychological theories of hyperactivity. For a sample of 268 twin pairs aged 7–11 years we obtained ratings on the Conners’ scales from both teachers (CTRS‐28) and parents (CPRS‐48). Forty‐six hyperactive twin pairs (pairs in which at least one twin was pervasively hyperactive) and 47 control twin pairs were assessed on a psychological test battery. Confirming findings from previous twin studies, a substantial proportion of the variance in hyperactivity considered as a dimension was due to genetic effects. There was significant evidence of genetic effects also on extreme hyperactivity, although the present group heritability estimates were somewhat lower than those reported in most previous studies. We investigated the possibility that the psychological mechanisms we reported to be associated with hyperactivity (Kuntsi, Oosterlaan, & Stevenson, 2001) share common genetic factors with hyperactive behaviour. The data produced significant evidence of such shared genetic effects only on hyperactivity and the variability of reaction times. Given that the high variability in speed of responding would indicate a state‐regulation problem, this is the psychological mechanism that could possibly be the “link” between genetic effects and hyperactive behaviour.
The Development of a Brief Screening Measure of Emotional Distress in Children
Authors: Parker Gordon , Yiming Cai , Tan Shawn , Rutter Michael
Published: October 2003

We report several studies developing a parent‐rated measure of emotional distress for children in Singapore, with the key objectives being to derive a very brief valid measure of global distress. The refined item set comprised behaviourally expressed broad manifestations of emotional distress. Three developmental studies were undertaken, with the first two involving parental ratings on the measure for validation against clinician‐rated distress levels, while also testing two rating options for the measure. Weestablished clear comparative advantages to the rating anchors used in the Revised Rutter Scales. High inter‐rater agreement was established across parental ratings, with the latter finding supporting objectives for the measure. Paternal scores correlated more strongly than maternal scores with clinician‐generated distress scores. Additional properties of the measure were tested in a large community sample of nearly 2000 Singapore schoolchildren in their last 2 years of primary school, allowing prevalence estimates and mean scores to be derived for each item. Here, girls and boys received identical total scores, scores were also independent of the number of children in the family and of ordinal position, and mothers returned higher scores than fathers.
The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” Test Revised Version: A Study with Normal Adults, and Adults with Asperger Syndrome or High‐functioning Autism
Authors: Baron‐Cohen Simon , Wheelwright Sally , Hill Jacqueline , Raste Yogini , Plumb Ian
Published: October 2003

In 1997 in this Journal we published the “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” Test, as a measure of adult “mentalising”. Whilst that test succeeded in discriminating a group of adults with Asperger syndrome (AS) or high‐functioning autism (HFA) from controls, it suffered from several psychometric problems. In this paper these limitations are rectified by revising the test. The Revised Eyes Test was administered to a group of adults with AS or HFA (N= 15) and again discriminated these from a large number of normal controls (N= 239) drawn from different samples. In both the clinical and control groups the Eyes Test was inversely correlated with the Autism Spectrum Quotient (the AQ), a measure of autistic traits in adults of normal intelligence. The Revised Eyes Test has improved power to detect subtle individual differences in social sensitivity.
Exploring the Cognitive Phenotype of Autism: Weak “Central Coherence” in Parents and Siblings of Children with Autism: I. Experimental Tests
Authors: Happé F. , Briskman J. , Frith U.
Published: October 2003

Previous twin and family studies have indicated that there are strong genetic influences in the etiology of autism, and provide support for the notion of a broader phenotype in first‐degree relatives. The present study explored this phenotype in terms of one current cognitive theory of autism. Parents and brothers of boys with autism, boys with dyslexia, and normal boys were given tests of “central coherence”, on which children with autism perform unusually well due to an information‐processing bias favouring part/detail processing over processing of wholes/meaning. Results indicated that fathers of boys with autism, as a group, showed piecemeal processing across four tests of central coherence. This was not true for any other group. These findings raise the possibility that the broader autism phenotype may include a “cognitive style” (weak central coherence) that can confer information‐processing advantages.
Action‐monitoring and Intention Reporting in Children with Autism
Authors: Russell James , Hill Elisabeth L.
Published: October 2003

The “mindblindness” theory of core cognitive impairment in autism and at least one of the executive theories of the core cognitive deficit both predict that children with autism should find it difficult to report what their intention was when it diverged from an outcome. The former predicts this because it takes intention reporting to require a “theory of mind” and the latter predicts it because the theory posits an impairment in the monitoring of goal‐directed actions. The latter also predicts impairments in the ability to monitor basic actions. Our three studies failed to support either of these views. Experiment 1 demonstrated intact abilities in the monitoring of basic actions (detecting which stimulus of a number of stimuli one is controlling). Experiment 2 demonstrated intact abilities in reporting an intention, both for self and for another agent, when the outcome was unintended but desired. In Experiment 3, using the novel “transparent intentions task”, we found (with a minor qualification) intact ability in reporting on nonballistic intended actions when the result that the action achieved was unexpected. The implications of these results for views of the relation between theory of mind and executive difficulties in autism are discussed.
DSM‐IV Related ADHD Symptom Ratings by Professional Caretakers in Residential Treatment Centres
Authors: Scholte E. M. , Van Berckelaer‐Onnes I. A. , Van Der Ploeg J. D.
Published: October 2003

In this study the factorial validity and the reliability of DSM‐IV related ADHD symptom ratings made by care professionals working in residential treatment centres were determined in a sample of 412 residential youngsters. Three concurrent models of the ADHD disorder were investigated, a one‐factor model comprising all 18 symptoms, a two‐factor model with the Inattention and Hyperactivity/Impulsivity symptoms, respectively, combined and a three‐factor model comprising Inattention, Hyperactivity, and Impulsivity symptoms, respectively. An analysis of the covariance structure shows acceptable fits for both the two‐and the three‐factor models, slightly favouring the three‐factor model. The internal consistencies, the test‐retest reliabilities, and the inter‐rater reliabilities turned out to be good to excellent for all scales based on each of the three concurrent models.
Response Execution and Inhibition in Children with AD/HD and Other Disruptive Disorders: The Role of Behavioural Activation
Authors: Scheres Anouk , Oosterlaan Jaap , Sergeant Joseph A.
Published: October 2003

This study was aimed at (a) replicating findings of slow and variable response execution and slow response inhibition in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), (b) investigating whether these deficits are specifically related to AD/HD or may also be observed in Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), and children comorbid for AD/HD+ODD, and (c) examining the role of activation level in task performance of children with AD/HD. To meet these aims, the stop paradigm was administered at three levels of activation, using a slow, medium, and fast presentation rate of stimuli, to 4 groups of children: 24 AD/HD children, 21 children with ODD, 27 children with comorbid AD/HD+ODD, and 41 normal controls. As hypothesized, children with AD/HD exhibited a slow response execution process with considerable variability in the speed of responding compared to normal controls. Slow response execution was also observed in the comorbid AD/HD+ODD group but not in the pure ODD group. Larger variability in the speed of responding was common to all disruptive groups compared with controls. In contrast to our hypothesis, no group differences emerged for inhibitory functioning. Finally, the slow event rate condition caused a further deterioration in the speed of the response execution process in both the AD/HD group and ODD group.
Efficacy of Cognitive‐Behavioral Treatment and Fire Safety Education for Children Who Set Fires: Initial and Follow‐up Outcomes
Authors: Kolko David J.
Published: October 2003

The efficacy of cognitive‐behavioral treatment (CBT) and fire safety education (FSE) for children who had set a recent fire was evaluated. Assessments were conducted with 38 children who were randomly assigned to CBT or FSE and with another 16 children who received a brief intervention (home visit from a firefighter or HVF) that paralleled routine services. Measures in four domains related to the child's fire history were obtained from children and their parents at pre‐treatment, post‐assessment, and 1‐year follow‐up. There were several improvements at post‐treatment for all conditions on measures of fire involvement, interest, and risk. However, CBT and FSE were more efficacious than HVF on certain measures, including the frequency of firesetting and proportion of children playing with matches, severity of individualized problems with fire, and involvement in fire‐related acts and other deviant fire activities. These and other group differences, along with certain time effects, were evident at 1‐year follow‐up. The findings from this initial comparison study are discussed in the context of needed clinical and research directions for work with firesetters and their families.
Two‐year Prediction of Children's Firesetting in Clinically Referred and Nonreferred Samples
Authors: Kolko David J. , Day Brian T. , Bridge Jeffrey A. , Kazdin Alan E.
Published: October 2003

This study provides the first prospective evaluation of the course and predictors of children's involvement with fire over a 2‐year period in 268 nonpatient and patient children (ages 6–13 yrs). Selected predictor variables obtained at initial (intake) assessment, which included fire‐specific and general psychosocial measures, were examined in each sample using hierarchical logistic regression. Both samples reported heightened involvement in matchplay and firesetting at follow‐up, though the frequency of each behavior was nearly four times higher in patients than in nonpatients. Fifty per cent and 59% of the initial firesetters in the nonpatient and patient samples, respectively, became recidivists. In the nonpatient sample, the child's initial involvement in firesetting and level of covert antisocial behavior were the only psychosocial predictors of follow‐up firesetting that added incremental variance beyond demographics. In the patient sample, the child's initial involvement in fire‐related acts and level of covert antisocial behavior were the only predictors of follow‐up firesetting beyond any initial involvement in matchplay. The findings highlight somewhat different risk factors for subsequent firesetting in nonpatient and patient children, especially prior firesetting and matchplay, respectively, and bear implications for the prevention of firesetting recidivism.
Parental Concordance and Comorbidity for Psychiatric Disorder and Associate Risks for Current Psychiatric Symptoms and Disorders in a Community Sample of Juvenile Twins
Authors: Foley Debra L. , Pickles Andrew , Simonoff Emily , Maes Hermine H. , Silberg Judy L. , Hewitt John K. , Eaves Lindon J.
Published: October 2003

In this report we characterize associations between parental psychiatric disorders and children's psychiatric symptoms and disorders using a population‐based sample of 850 twin families. Juvenile twins are aged 8–17 years and are personally interviewed about their current history of DSM‐III‐R conduct, depression, oppositional‐defiant, overanxious, and separation anxiety disorders using the CAPA‐C. Mothers and fathers of twins are personally interviewed about their lifetime history of DSM‐III‐R alcoholism, antisocial personality disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, major depression, panic disorder/agoraphobia, social phobia, and simple phobia using a modified version of the SCID and the DIS. Generalized least squares and logistic regression are used to identify the juvenile symptoms and disorders that are significantly associated with parental psychiatric histories. The specificity of these associations is subsequently explored in a subset of families with maternal, plus parental psychiatric histories with a prevalence > 1%. Parental depression that is not comorbid or associated with a different spousal disorder is associated with a significantly elevated level of depression and overanxious disorder symptoms and a significantly increased risk for overanxious disorder. Risks are higher for both symptomatic domains in association with maternal than paternal depression, and highest in association with maternal plus paternal depression. Risks for other juvenile symptoms and disorders index the comorbid and spousal histories with which parental depression is commonly associated. Paternal alcoholism that is not comorbid or associated with a maternal disorder is not significantly associated with current psychiatric symptoms or disorders in offspring. Risks for oppositional‐defiant or conduct symptoms/disorders in the offspring of alcoholic parents index parental comorbidity and/or other spousal histories.
How State‐Funded Home Care Programs Respond to Changes in Medicare Home Health Care: Resource Allocation Decisions on the Front Line
Authors: Corazzini Kirsten
Published: October 2003

Objective. To examine how case managers in a state‐funded home care program allocate home care services in response to information about a client's Medicare home health care status, with particular attention to the influence of work environment.

Data Sources/Study Setting. Primary data collected on 355 case managers and 26 agency directors employed in June 1999 by 26 of the 27 regional agencies administering the Massachusetts Home Care Program for low‐income elders.

Study Design. Data were collected in a cross‐sectional survey study design. A case manager survey included measures of work environment, demographics, and factorial survey vignette clients (N=2,054), for which case managers assessed service eligibility levels. An agency director survey included measures of management practices.

Data Collection/Extraction Methods. Hierarchical linear models estimated the effects of work environment on the relationship between client receipt of Medicare home health care and care plan levels while controlling for case‐mix differences in agencies' clients.

Principal Findings. Case managers did not supplement extant Medicare home health services, but did allocate more generous service plans to clients who have had Medicare home health care services recently terminated. This finding persisted when controlling for case mix and did not vary by work environment. Work environment affected overall care plan levels.

Conclusions. Study findings indicate systematic patterns of frontline resource allocation shaping the relationships among community‐based long‐term care payment sources. Further, results illustrate how nonuniform implementation of upper‐level initiatives may be partially attributed to work environment characteristics.
Assessing the Validity of Insurance Coverage Data in Hospital Discharge Records: California OSHPD Data
Authors: Buchmueller Thomas C. , Allen Mark E. , Wright William
Published: October 2003

Objective. To assess the accuracy of data on “expected source of payment” in the patient discharge database compiled by the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD).

Data Sources. The OSHPD discharge data for the years 1993 to 1996 linked with administrative data from the University of California (UC) health benefits program for the same years. The linked dataset contains records for all stays in California hospitals by UC employees, retirees, and spouses.

Study Design. The accuracy of the OSHPD data is assessed using cross‐tabulations of insurance type as coded in the two data sources. The UC administrative data is assumed to be accurate, implying that differences between the two sources represent measurement error in the OSHPD data. We cross‐tabulate insurance categories and analyze the concordance of dichotomous measures of health maintenance organization (HMO) enrollment derived from the two sources.

Principal Findings. There are significant coding errors in the OSHPD data on expected source of payment. A nontrivial percentage of patients with preferred provider organization (PPO) coverage are erroneously coded as being in HMOs, and vice versa. The prevalence of such errors increased after OSHPD introduced a new expected source of payment category for PPOs. Measurement problems are especially pronounced for older patients. Many patients over age 65 who are still covered by a commercial insurance plan are erroneously coded as having Medicare coverage. This, combined with the fact that during the period we analyzed, Medicare HMO enrollees and beneficiaries in the fee‐for‐service (FFS) program are combined in a single payment category, means that the OSHPD data provides essentially no information on insurance coverage for older patients.

Conclusions. Researchers should exercise caution in using the expected source of payment in the OSHPD data. While measures of HMO coverage are reasonably accurate, it is not possible in these data to clearly identify PPOs as a distinct insurance category. For patients over age 65, it is not possible at all to distinguish among alternative insurance arrangements.
Confidence and Investors' Reliance on Disciplined Trading Strategies
Authors: Nelson Mark W. , Krische Susan D. , Bloomfield Robert J.
Published: October 2003

abstract

Researchers and practitioners in accounting and finance often investigate or advocate particular disciplined trading strategies, but little work investigates the determinants of individual investors' trading‐strategy reliance. We report two experiments, which provide evidence that the dual‐source model of overconfidence (Sniezek and Buckley [1991]) predicts the circumstances in which investors are more likely to rely on disciplined trading strategies. Our results indicate that reliance is more likely when investors trade portfolios of securities rather than trading on a case‐by‐case basis, particularly when investors have received feedback that their previous (unaided) trading decisions have been unprofitable. These results are driven by the number of shares that investors transact rather than by investors' directional agreement with the recommendations of the trading strategy, suggesting that the effects of a portfolio approach and trading experience occur by mitigating investors' overconfidence. The effects violate an aspect of economic rationality because our experiments ensure that investors in all conditions trade the same set of securities based on the same set of information.
The Relation Between Insider‐Trading Restrictions and Executive Compensation
Authors: Roulstone Darren T.
Published: October 2003

abstract

In this study I investigate the relation between firm‐level insider‐trading restrictions and executive compensation. Using a trading‐window proxy for the existence of such restrictions, I test predictions that insiders will demand compensation for these restrictions and that firms will need to increase incentives to restricted insiders. I find that firms that restrict insider trading pay a premium in total compensation relative to firms not restricting insider trading, after controlling for economic determinants of pay. Furthermore, these firms use more incentive‐based compensation and their insiders hold larger equity incentives relative to firms that do not restrict insider trading. These results hold after controlling for the endogenous decision to restrict insiders and are consistent with the notion that insider trading plays a role in rewarding and motivating executives.
Financial Reporting Environments and International Capital Mobility
Authors: Young Danqing , Guenther David A.
Published: October 2003

abstract

We examine whether differences in international capital mobility across countries are related to country‐specific differences in financial reporting environments. We hypothesize that countries where financial accounting environments lead to greater disclosure of value‐relevant accounting information are more likely to have higher international capital mobility. The results of empirical tests are consistent with our hypothesis.
Characteristics of Children with Moderate Mathematics Deficiencies: A Longitudinal Perspective
Authors: Jordan Nancy C. , Hanich Laurie B.
Published: October 2003

The reading and mathematics achievement and specific mathematical competencies of 74 children were followed over four time points during second and third grades. At the beginning of the study, children were classified into one of four groups: moderate mathematics deficiencies but normal reading (MMD‐only); moderate mathematics and reading deficiencies (MMD/MRD); moderate reading deficiencies but normal mathematics (MRD‐only); and normal achievement in reading and mathematics (NA). Although the MMD‐only and the MMD/MRD groups started out at the same level in mathematics, the MMD‐only group surpassed the MMD/MRD group over time. A parallel pattern in reading was not observed for the MRD‐only and MMD/MRD groups, with children in both groups performing at consistently low levels. Weaknesses in fact retrieval and estimation characterized children with MMD, with or without RD. The MMD‐only group showed an advantage over the MMD/MRD group in problem solving. Reading and language strengths help children compensate for deficiencies in selected areas of mathematics.
Predictors of Success in Individuals with Learning Disabilities: A Qualitative Analysis of a 20‐Year Longitudinal Study
Authors: Goldberg Roberta J. , Higgins Eleanor L. , Raskind Marshall H. , Herman Kenneth L.
Published: October 2003

The research described here is part of a larger longitudinal project tracing the lives of a group of individuals with learning disabilities who attended the Frostig Center more than 20 years ago. The purpose of the larger project has been to identify variables that predict successful outcomes for adults with learning disabilities. This article focuses on the qualitative findings obtained using an ethnographic approach to analyzing in‐depth interviews with participants. Six previously identified “success attributes” (self‐awareness, proactivity, perseverance, appropriate goal setting, effective use of social support systems, and emotional stability/emotional coping strategies) were further defined. Using qualitative analysis, significant components of the success attributes that differentiated the successful from unsuccessful groups were identified, and changes over time were revealed. In addition, the following new themes were identified: (1) the learning disability exerted a critical influence across the entire lifespan; (2) there were differences in participants' family functioning; and (3) there were differences in participants' social relationships. Support for the salience of the success attributes and the additional themes to the participants is given in the form of direct quotations from the corpus of interview transcripts. Qualitative methodologies are stressed throughout the study for the purpose of obtaining an “insider's view” of LD.
Visual‐Spatial Representation, Mathematical Problem Solving, and Students of Varying Abilities
Authors: Van Garderen Delinda , Montague Marjorie
Published: October 2003

The purpose of this study was to investigate students' use of visual imagery while solving mathematical problems. Students with learning disabilities (LD), average achievers, and gifted students in sixth grade (N= 66) participated in this study. Students were assessed on measures of mathematical problem solving and visual‐spatial representation. Visual‐spatial representations were coded as either primarily schematic representations that encode the spatial relations described in the problem or primarily pictorial representations that encode persons, places, or things described in the problem. Results indicated that gifted students used significantly more visual‐spatial representations than the other two groups. Students with LD used significantly more pictorial representations than their peers. Successful mathematical problem solving was positively correlated with use of schematic representations; conversely, it was negatively correlated with use of pictorial representations.
Product Hierarchy and Brand Strategy Influences on the Order of Entry Effect for Consumer Packaged Goods
Authors: Kerin Roger A. , Kalyanaram Gurumurthy , Howard Daniel J.
Published: October 2003

Manufacturers focus on becoming more agile, software firms deploy rapid application development tools—everyone is in a hurry. Although we all understand the benefits of being first to market, we understand just as clearly that not all first‐to‐market products enjoy the same, sustainable benefits from being market pioneers. Why do some pioneering products experience a more significant order‐of‐entry effect than others?

Roger A. Kerin, Gurumurthy Kalyanaram, and Daniel J. Howard examine two factors–product hierarchy and brand strategy—which may influence the magnitude of this effect for new consumer packaged goods. First, they hypothesize that pioneering a new product class offers a greater advantage than introducing a new form to an existing product class. Second, they predict that the order‐of‐entry effect will be greater for brand extensions than for entirely new brands. Finally, considering both product hierarchy and brand strategy, they expect that the order‐of‐entry advantage for brand extensions over new brands will be significantly greater within new product classes than for new forms of existing products.

These hypotheses are tested using data from the Information Resources, Inc. Behaviorscan° data set. Collected from 2,500 household panel members, 75 supermarkets, and 25 drugstores, this database contains weekly measures of brand trial penetration as well as brand distribution, price, and promotion information in eight geographic markets from the period 1983–1988. The models developed in this study explore the relationships among brand trial penetration, product hierarchy, brand strategy, order of entry, lag time between successive brand entrants, and marketing mix variables (i.e., price, promotion, distribution, and advertising).

The study strongly supports all three hypotheses. In particular, the analysis clearly demonstrates that the order‐of‐entry effect is greatest for a new product class pioneered by a brand extension. Order of entry has the least effect on a new product form pioneered by an entirely new brand. For a company seeking a competitive advantage from being first to market, innovation in product function offers greater potential benefit than innovation in product form. Such a company can also benefit from building on the name and reputation of its established brands. Although the study finds these order‐of‐entry effects significant, the effects of marketing mix variables such as product price and promotion are consistently stronger.
Differential Potency of Factors Affecting Innovation Performance in Manufacturing and Services Firms in Australia
Authors: Atuahene‐Gima Kwaku
Published: October 2003

Whether or not industrialized nations are experiencing a fundamental shift from a manufacturing‐ to a service‐based economy may be a matter of debate. However, the service sector is clearly growing at an explosive rate, particularly in comparison with manufacturing. With this in mind, we need to better understand how the successful development of new services differs from that of new products. Such understanding requires identifying the critical success factors for new service development (NSD), as well as contrasting them with the factors underlying successful new product development (NPD).

Kwaku Atuahene‐Gima describes the results of a study comparing the innovation activities of Australian services firms and manufacturers. The study explores managers' perceptions of the factors necessary for successful NSD and NPD. In addition to comparing the differing perceptions of managers of services firms and manufacturers, the study highlights implications of these differences for managers striving for improved NSD.

Services and manufacturing firms focus on similar factors for improving innovation performance. However, the relative importance of those factors depends on the type of firm. The critical factor for services—the importance accorded to innovation activity in the firm's human resource strategy—ranks third in importance for manufacturers. Manufacturers focus primarily on product innovation advantage and quality. In contrast, service innovation advantage and quality ranks third in importance for service firms. Surprisingly, technology synergy is found to have a negative effect on new service performance. If a new service is a close fit with a firm's current technologies, competitors will likely be able to quickly imitate the new service. As a result, NSD efforts based on technology synergy will not provide a competitive advantage.

Compared to manufacturers, successful service firms must place greater emphasis on the selection, development, and management of employees who work directly with the customer. Through effective self management, these contact personnel shape the quality of the customer relationship. In addition, their close contact and potentially long‐term relationships with customers make such employees an important source of new ideas in the firm's NSD process. Such relationships also cast contact personnel in a make‐or‐break role in the launching of new services.
Turning New Product Development into a Continuous Learning Process
Authors: Hughes G. David , Chafin Don C.
Published: October 2003

Product developers understand the difficulties of trying to hit a moving target from atop a runaway train. Competitors come and go, technological change occurs at an ever‐increasing rate, customer wants and needs are constantly shifting, and a product's life cycle may be shorter than its development time. We can't meet these challenges with a methodical, step‐by‐step approach to product development. In such a fast‐paced environment, product development must be transformed into a continuous, iterative, learning process focused on customer value.

G. David Hughes and Don C. Chafin describe one means for making this transformation: the value proposition process (VPP). The objectives of this development approach are continuous learning, identifying the certainty of knowledge used for decision‐making, building consensus, and focusing on adding value.

The VPP consists of a framework of continuous planning cycles, called the value proposition cycle (VPC), and an integrated screening methodology, called the value proposition readiness assessment (VPRA). The VPC comprises four iterative loops, addressing the following activities: Capturing the market value of the proposition (Does the customer care?); Developing the business value (Do we care?); Delivering a winning solution (Can we beat the competition?); and, Applying project and process planning (Can we do it?).

Somewhat akin to stage‐gate methods (but with the added dimension of continuous cycling), the VPRA involves screens along each loop in the VPC. This screening methodology summarizes the company's critical success factors, allowing the project team to assess the success potential of a new product idea. Each screen involves a structured set of questions. For each question, respondents provide three measures: their evaluation of that success factor's favorability to the company's position, the certainty of their evaluation, and their estimate of the relative importance of that success factor.

Rather than building a model that computes a weighted‐sum score for predicting the success of a new idea, the VPRA serves as a consensus facilitator, allowing team members to see how closely they agree. The certainty measures help the team identify knowledge gaps, and the importance measures help the team set priorities for successive iterations of the VPRA.
Development of a Technical Innovation Audit
Authors: Chiesa Vittorio , Coughlan Paul , Voss Chris A.
Published: October 2003

Measuring performance is helpful, but it's only part of the story. To learn from our past successes and failures, we need to understand how they came about. To continually improve, we must examine not only our innovation performance, but the processes with which we develop and exploit these innovations.

Vittorio Chiesa, Paul Coughlan, and Chris Voss present a framework for auditing technical innovation management. Their auditing methodology goes beyond performance measurement by highlighting problems and needs, and providing information that can be used in developing action plans for improving performance.

The foundation of their audit methodology is a process model of technical innovation. The model addresses the managerial processes and the organizational mechanisms through which innovation is performed. Underlying this method is the notion that success in innovation is related to good practice in the relevant management processes. The model identifies four core processes: concept generation, product development, process innovation, and technology acquisition. Supporting these core processes are three enabling processes: the deployment of human and financial resources, the effective use of appropriate systems and tools, and senior management leadership and direction. The outcome from these core and enabling processes is performance in terms of innovation and the resulting competitiveness in the marketplace.

This model provides the basis for a detailed audit of current innovation practice and performance. The audit has two dimensions: the process audit assesses whether the processes necessary for innovation are in place and the degree to which best practice is used; and the performance audit focuses on the outcomes of each core and enabling process and of the overall process of technological innovation and its effect on competitiveness. The performance audit helps identify needs and problems, but it doesn't explain why gaps exist between current and required performance and it doesn't provide an action plan for closing these gaps. The process audit meets these needs.

The audit methodology uses a two‐level approach: a rapid assessment based on innovation scorecards and an in‐depth audit. These scorecards provide an overview of the company's strengths and weaknesses with regard to technical innovation management, highlighting those areas that require in‐depth examination. The in‐depth audit identifies not only the processes, but the areas within each requiring attention.
Customizing Concurrent Engineering Processes: Five Case Studies
Authors: Swink Morgan L. , Sandvig J. Christopher , Mabert Vincent A.
Published: October 2003

Once hailed as the salvation of U.S. manufacturing competitiveness, concurrent engineering (CE) offers the potential for faster development of higher quality, more producible products. Unlike traditional, serial approaches to new product development (NPD), CE emphasizes cross‐functional integration and concurrent development of a product and its associated processes.

As Morgan L. Swink, J. Christopher Sandvig, and Vincent A. Mabert explain, however, CE is not a plug‐and‐play process. Successful CE implementation approaches differ depending on such factors as product characteristics, customer needs, and technology requirements. We can better understand those differences by examining CE implementation in the five NPD programs discussed here: the Boeing 777 aircraft, the heavy duty diesel engine at Cummins Engine Co., the thermoplastic olefin automotive coating at Red Spot Paint and Varnish Co., the airborne vehicle forward‐looking infrared night vision system at Texas Instruments, and the digital satellite system at Thomson Consumer Electronics.

Teams provide the primary integration mechanism in CE programs, and three types of teams appeared frequently in these projects: a program management team, a technical team, and numerous design‐build teams. Depending on the project's complexity, an integration team may be needed to consolidate the efforts of various design‐build teams. Task forces also may be formed to address specific problems, such as investigating an emerging technology.

Some projects emphasized collocation and face‐to‐face communication. Others relied on phone conversations, documents, and electronic mail. Projects focusing on design quality relied on formal presentations and periodic review meetings. Projects emphasizing development speed required frequent, informal communications. Programs addressing design quality required extended product definition and performance testing, with input from design engineering, marketing, and customers. Efforts to reduce development time involved small, informal teams led by design engineers and managers. Aggressive product cost goals necessitated intensive interaction between product designers and manufacturing personnel. Highly innovative products required early supplier involvement and joint engineering problem solving. Formal design reviews and shared design data systems aided information sharing between internal and external design groups.
Architectural Redesign, Interpersonal Communication, and Learning in R&D
Authors: Moenaert Rudy K. , Caeldries Filip
Published: October 2003

An effective R&D organization needs information from a complex web of sources, including customers, suppliers, sales and marketing, and company management. Within the R&D organization, information must flow into and among numerous teams. This network of interpersonal communications can go a long way toward determining the success of a company's innovation efforts.

In an exploratory study of a Belgian company operating in the telecommunications industry, Rudy K. Moenaert and Filip Caeldries examine the effects of interpersonal communication on market and technological learning in R&D. Trying to improve the flow of information into and within its R&D organization, this company designed its new R&D facility with an eye toward improving both market and technological learning throughout the organization. By locating R&D personnel in closer proximity to one another, management hoped to provide them with improved access to market and technological information, and thus increase their innovativeness.

Contrary to expectations, placing R&D professionals in closer proximity to one another did not increase technological learning in this organization. In fact, technological learning actually decreased slightly during the period studied, though the change is not statistically significant. On the other hand, market learning and product innovativeness improved significantly during the period studied. For an R&D professional in this company, members of other R&D teams seem to be more important as sources of market information than as sources of technological information.

Surprisingly, the relocation of R&D personnel also did not increase the amount of communication that takes place, either within a project team, between members of different teams, or between R&D professionals and the management steering committee. However, the architectural redesign does appear to have improved the quality of communication. R&D team leaders report that since the relocation, the information flowing into R&D has been more customer focused. This is attributed to the company's ongoing efforts to provide the tools and structures necessary for supporting the objectives of the architectural redesign. For example, implementation of quality function deployment (QFD) has helped innovation team members to focus more clearly on relevant information. The success of the architectural design required approaching this effort as a complex, ongoing process, rather than a quick‐fix solution.
Remodularization of a Product Line: Adding Complexity to Project Management
Authors: Lundqvist Mats , Sundgren Niklas , Trygg Lars
Published: October 2003

Faced with ever‐tighter schedules, product development professionals employ various methods for staying at least one step ahead of the competition. In particular, an autonomous, cross‐functional team offers an effective structure for meeting the sometimes conflicting objectives of timely delivery of a high‐quality, easily manufactured product. To complicate matters, however, companies must manage not only individual projects, but also entire product lines. Changes in product and process technology eventually necessitate revamping of the product architecture—that is, the remodularization of a product line. Can an autonomous project team provide the long‐term perspective necessary for such efforts? Or, does remodularization of a product line require centralized oversight by functional management?

Mats Lundqvist, Niklas Sundgren, and Lars Trygg explore this issue by examining product development efforts at two Swedish manufacturing companies. Specifically, their study explores this research question: Does a high degree of project autonomy limit the possibility for effective remodularization of product architecture?

Both companies were involved in remodularization projects with stringent requirements for project cost and duration, but the companies employed markedly different managerial models in these efforts. One company took a centralized approach, except that two design engineers worked full time on the project. The other company used the autonomous model, with two exceptions: functional managers worked closely with some project members during the task specification phase of the project; and the project leader, though a heavyweight in many respects, did not have formal decision‐making power.

The latter project demonstrated that an autonomous project team can maintain a long‐term perspective during development of a product. In other words, this project team was able to meet challenging time and cost objectives while developing a product consisting of highly compatible modules and subsystems. Although a centralized management approach might be expected to offer greater efficiency, the company using that approach failed to meet project goals for development time, product cost, and long‐term product line effectiveness. However, the shortcomings of that effort are more directly attributable to the management style of the project leader than to the management structure employed.