bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Teamwork: emerging principles
Authors: Salas Eduardo , Burke C. Shawn , Cannon‐Bowers Janis A.
Published: May 2003

Although organizations are increasingly utilizing teams to accomplish work tasks, there still remains a lack of prescriptive guidance for organizations in terms of how to capitalize on the potential synergy teams offer. Although team researchers have made many advancements in understanding the antecedents, processes and consequences of effective team performance, there remains some confusion. This confusion is in part due to the following. First, by its very nature, teamwork is a multidimensional construct that is elusive and dynamic, making it difficult to study. Secondly, it is argued that there is confusion and a lack of clarity as to the particular components that comprise team process, teamwork. Thirdly, not all teams are created equal. More specifically, there are several different types of teams (e.g. action, production, management), all of which require slightly different process requirements in order to remain effective. The current effort represents a review of work that has been conducted over several years in order to answer the question –‘What is teamwork?’. This work culminates in the delineation of several teamwork principles.
The importance of employee participation in determining pay system effectiveness
Authors: Coz Annette
Published: May 2003

Managing pay systems is one of the most controversial and hotly debated areas of human resource management in which contingency theory approaches have dominated over the past few decades. The paper exposes the inadequacies of contingency approaches to pay system design and implementation and assesses the implications of more recent ‘best practice’ approaches, debating the role of pay within the HR bundle. It then reviews research evidence on the objectives and outcomes of different forms of variable pay, with close attention devoted to the role of employee participation in achieving pay system effectiveness. The significance of employee perceptions of distributive, procedural and interactional justice is explored as a means of explaining why employee participation in pay system management appears to be such a critical success factor. The paper concludes by arguing that we need to move away from a fixation with ‘best practice’ to a focus on ‘best process’ as a lens through which to investigate the design, implementation and management of pay systems.
Selected debate from the arena of knowledge management: new endorsements for established organizational practices
Authors: Beamish Neal G. , Armistead Colin G.
Published: May 2003

Management theorists and practitioners have been allured recently to the contemporary field of knowledge management. This is a burgeoning subject that has enticed the involvement of specialists from established domains that are broad based in themselves: strategy, organizational behaviour, operations and information technology. In arguing the importance of knowledge in the strategic purpose of the organization, authorities essentially endorse practices that have been supported in the past: practices that appreciate the social context of knowledge. This paper reviews the debates in strategic theory that support the contemporary ‘knowledge‐based’ view of the organization, and describes how established practices relating to knowledge transfer and creation have been recently revitalized.
The status of research on teleworking and an agenda for future research
Authors: Baruch Yehuda
Published: May 2003

Teleworking is a relatively new mode of alternative work arrangements. During its short life, the study of teleworking gained considerable attention in the literature for both its academic relevance and its practical implications for management. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the developments in this area, studying the nature of teleworking, its antecedents, processes and outcomes. Different models and perspectives are presented and analysed with emphasis shared between both positive and negative aspects. Directions for future research on teleworking issues, as well as recommendations for a new research agenda, are offered within a framework of Why, What and How to explore the future of teleworking.
Commodification, construction and compression: a review of time metaphors in organizational analysis
Authors: Hassard John
Published: May 2003

This paper offers a historical review of forms of temporal structuring and experience in the evolution of work organization. Initially, we review some key images of time and temporality to emerge from philosophy and social theory. In particular, we discuss images of temporal structuring reflected in the two key time metaphors, the line and the cycle. Secondly, we examine some of the main images of time to emerge from the history of work organization. While initially the focus is upon those linear time images that stem from the progressive commodification of the labour process, subsequently this analysis is qualified by time images that reflect the social construction of organizational culture. An examination of the homogeneous time‐reckoning systems of Taylorism is complemented by examples of heterogeneous time‐reckoning from anthropological and ethnographic studies. Finally, we discuss the postmodernist debate in the sociology of time. Much of the foregoing analysis having been devoted to issues of clock‐time, this section sees discussion of what has been referred to as “instantaneous‐time”, whereby organizational practices are based on time‐frames that lie beyond conscious human experience. This concept is associated with the complex shifts from Fordism to the flexible accumulation of “post‐Fordism”. Central to this debate is the notion of the time–space compression of physical processes and human experiences.
Executive pay, tournaments and corporate performance in UK firms
Authors: Conyon Martin J. , Sadler Graham V.
Published: May 2003

This paper explores the relationship between executive pay and corporate performance. First, we focus on the pay‐for‐performance sensitivity (PPS), review recent evidence (mainly UK) and outline a methodology for calculating the PPS itself. Secondly, we review the evidence on tournament theory. Tournament models predict that career concerns generate incentives for executives and can explain observed variations in pay outcomes in the boardroom. Thirdly, we provide evidence on the distribution of the PPS for 532 executives within 100 large UK stock market companies for 1997. Unlike prior work, we include non‐CEO executives in the analysis. We show that the PPS increases through organizational levels. Also the statistic is not constant across firms. Finally, we consider the relationship between corporate performance and incentives. We show, consistent with prior evidence, that there is a positive relationship between firm performance and the effective ownership of stock‐based compensation by management.
Success Factors of New Product Development: A Review of the Empirical Literature
Authors: Ernst Holger
Published: May 2003

The continuous development and market introduction of new products can be an important determinant of sustained company performance. For approximately 30 years, conceptual and empirical research has been undertaken to identify the critical success factors of new products. This paper reviews the findings of empirical work into the success factors of new product development (NPD). It is the prime objective of this work to summarize the most important findings in a compact and structured way. In addition, shortcomings of previous empirical work on NPD success factors will be discussed and suggestions for improvement in future empirical NPD studies will be made.
International Human Resource Management: Review and Critique
Authors: Schuler Randall S. , Budhwar Pawan S. , Florkowski Gary W.
Published: May 2003

The research agenda for the field of international human resource management (IHRM) is clear. For a better understanding and to benefit substantially, management scholars must study IHRM in context (Jackson, S.E. and Schuler, R.S. 1995. Understanding human resource management in the context of organizations and their environment. Annual Review of Psychology, 46: 237–264; Geringer, J.M., Frayne, C.A. and Milliman, J.F. 2002. In search of ‘best practices’ in international human resource management: research design and methodology. Human Resource Management, forthcoming). IHRM should be studied within the context of changing economic and business conditions. The dynamics of both the local/regional and international/global business context in which the firm operates should be given serious consideration. Further, it could be beneficial to study IHRM within the context of the industry and the firm’s strategy and its other functional areas and operations. In taking these perspectives, one needs to use multiple levels of analysis when studying IHRM: the external social, political, cultural and economic environment; the industry, the firm, the sub‐unit, the group, and the individual. Research in contextual isolation is misleading: it fails to advance understanding in any significant way (Adler, N.J. and Ghadar, E. 1990. Strategic human resource management: a global perspective. Human Resource Management in International Comparison. Berlin: de Gruyter; Locke, R. and Thelen, K. 1995. Apples and oranges revisited: contextualized comparisons and the study of comparative labor politics. Politics & Society, 23, 337–367). In this paper, we attempt to review the existing state of academic work in IHRM and illustrate how it incorporates the content and how it might be expanded to do so.
Teamworking and Knowledge Management: A Review of Converging Themes
Authors: Sapsed Jonathan , Bessant John , Partington David , Tranfield David , Young Malcolm
Published: May 2003

The teamworking and knowledge management fields are increasingly converging. Teamworking is turned to with a growing disillusion with knowledge management approaches that are seen as excessively ‘hard’, ‘objectified’, or ‘information technology dominated’. This paper is a critical review, the purpose of which is to survey the literature across several fields that provide insights into teamworking aspects of knowledge management, and the reverse. This approach is chosen as disciplines tend to sustain presumptions and preoccupations that may be contradicted by other fields, as is shown. In particular, the review challenges what is referred to as the ‘organizational behaviour textbook theory of teamworking’ and refers to research and theory from several disciplines that qualify what is still an influential orthodoxy. The paper attempts to draw together some principles from current themes such as collective mind, modularity, cross‐functional teams and communities of practice.
Organizational Learning: A Radical Perspective
Authors: Örtenblad Anders
Published: May 2003

This paper reviews the organizational learning literature. For many years, organizational learning theory has been based on a functionalistic paradigm, but an interpretive paradigm now seems to be attaining dominance. However, neither of these perspectives of organizational learning is truly radical in the sense of challenging conditions of power and control in organizations. There are some critical texts on organizational learning (and the learning organization), but they go no further than criticism. Therefore, this paper tries to illustrate what we can call a radical perspective of organizational learning, based on themes in the critical works. The radical perspective of organizational learning implies an organization where the individuals learn as free actors. However, there are norms or rules to guarantee freedom. The learning space in the organization guarantees the occurrence of different opinions, and allows everyone to reflect upon their actions and learning. Working time and employee commitment are restricted so that work does not interfere too much with other undertakings. All employees are guaranteed permanent appointments. Finally, in the radical perspective of organizational learning, organizations die to make place for others when their missions are accomplished. After presenting the radical perspective of organizational learning, I outline some questions for future research and indicate the necessity of further development of such a perspective.
Knowledge, innovation and share value
Authors: Johnson Lewis D. , Neave Edwin H. , Pazderka Bohumir
Published: May 2003

Knowledge–based enterprises (KBEs) are difficult to value owing to the relatively greater importance of their intangible assets, such as human capital and investment in innovation. Traditional valuation models rely on variables such as earnings, dividends and assets, which, for many KBEs, are either non–existent or are distorted by differing accounting practices. This paper reviews the various attempts by practitioners and academics to overcome these difficulties by such devices as different proxies for the valuation variables or different forms of the valuation equations. We then examine some theoretical approaches that provide novel approaches to valuation. Finally, we discuss the notion of the ‘fuzzy firm’, where traditional corporate boundaries have become amorphous, with the result that the firms require new valuation methodologies.
Emerging themes in distance learning research and practice: some food for thought
Authors: Salas Eduardo , Kosarzycki Mary P. , Burke C. Shawn , Fiore Stephen M. , Stone Dianna L.
Published: May 2003

With the rapid spread of distance learning as a medium for delivering instruction, the practice of distance learning has outpaced research. This paper describes major themes identified in a review of selected research papers published in the past five years. Themes include the following: definitions of distance learning and why it should be studied; identification of the major learning theories on which research is based; how collaboration can be achieved via distance learning; the role that learner characteristics play in the success of distance learning systems, and issues related to measuring the effectiveness of distance learning. The authors conclude that more research is needed to identify critical success factors for distance learning.
Organizational commitment: a critique of the construct and measures
Authors: Swailes Stephen
Published: May 2003

Organizational commitment has been at the centre of studies into individual and organizational performance for several decades. During this time, much has happened to the ways in which organizations behave, including the evolution of new forms of employee relations and new psychological contracts. Against a transformational background for organizations, developments in the ways that commitment is measured have been incremental and arguably detached from the broader context of ‘new deals’ for employees. This paper examines classical approaches to defining and measuring organizational commitment and, in the context of strategic human resource management, argues for its continued importance. Classic approaches, however, are criticized on the basis of diminished utility in light of revised employee–organization linkages. Suggestions for improving the relevance of commitment research to contemporary management research and practice are given.
Measuring progress and evolution in science and technology – I: The multiple uses of bibliometric indicators
Authors: Verbeek Arnold , Debackere Koenraad , Luwel Marc , Zimmermann Edwin
Published: May 2003

Science and technology development have become critical instruments in the public policy arena given their demonstrated impact on economic progress. As a consequence, a vast array of indicators for measuring and mapping scientific and technological activity, their progress and their outcomes, has been developed over recent decades (see for instance, the EU Commission, 2nd Report on S&T Indicators 1997). The majority of them relate to measuring and mapping the published journal and patent literature. The first part of this review paper focuses on a state–of–the–art overview of bibliometric indicators and their multiple uses in supporting the development of science and technology policy. The limitations and the pitfalls related to their use are also discussed.
Genetic and environmental risk factors in adolescent substance use
Authors: Silberg Judy , Rutter Michael , D'Onofrio Brian , Eaves Lindon
Published: May 2003

Background: The present study was undertaken with the goal of understanding the causes of association between substance use and both conduct disturbance (CD) and depression in adolescent boys and girls.

Method: Multivariate genetic structural equation models were fitted to multi‐informant, multi‐wave, longitudinal data collected in extensive home interviews with parents and children with respect to 307 MZ male, 392 MZ female, 185 DZ male, and 187 DZ female, same‐sex twin pairs aged 12–17 years from the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development (VTSABD).

Results: Although conduct disturbance and depression were moderately associated with substance use, the pattern of genetic and environmental risk differed for males and females and across the two disorders. Genetic factors were predominant in girls’ substance use whereas boys’ use was mediated primarily by shared environmental factors reflecting family dysfunction and deviant peers. The patterns of correlations across the two waves of the study were consistent with conduct disturbance leading to substance use in both males and females, but depression leading to smoking, drug use and, to a lesser extent, alcohol use in girls.

Conclusions: The comorbidity between substance use and depression, and between substance use and conduct disturbance in childhood/adolescence, probably reflects rather different mediating mechanisms – as well as a different time frame, with conduct disturbance preceding substance use but depression following it. In both, the co‐occurrence partially reflected a shared liability but, in girls, genetic influences played an important role in the comorbidity involving depression, whereas in both sexes (but especially in boys) environmental factors played a substantial role. The extent to which these differences reflect genuine differences in the causal mechanisms underlying substance use and CD/depression in boys and girls revealed in the present analysis awaits replication from studies of other general population samples.
Alcohol expectancies in late childhood: an ambivalence perspective on transitions toward alcohol use
Authors: Cameron Charmaine A. , Stritzke Werner G.K. , Durkin Kevin
Published: May 2003

Background: Late childhood has been identified as a critical transition period in expectancies about alcohol use, but much previous theorising has been based on the assumption that the transition involves a simple shift from negative to positive. This paper addresses the possibility that young people entertain more complex alcohol‐related expectancies, and are increasingly aware of both negative and positive consequences of consumption.

Method: Expectancies were measured in a sample of 233 primary school children aged 8, 10, and 12 years. Colour photographs of alcohol and non‐alcohol items were presented in three conditions: item only, single adult, mixed group.

Results: Consistent with the ambivalence model of alcohol use (Breiner, Stritzke, & Lang, 1999), children endorsed both positive and negative alcohol expectancies. There was a main effect for grade with older children endorsing alcohol expectancies more than younger children. At all ages, children's positive alcohol expectancies were higher than negative ones for wine and champagne, but the reverse was found for beer. Compared to non‐alcohol stimuli, differences between positive and negative expectancies were much smaller for alcohol stimuli, indicating a more balanced or ambivalent expectancy configuration that was unique to alcohol.

Conclusions: Results are discussed with reference to motivational models of alcohol use that emphasise the role of ambivalence, and an integration of this ambivalence perspective with information processing theories of alcohol expectancy development is offered.
The relationship between motor control and phonology in dyslexic children
Authors: Ramus Franck , Pidgeon Elizabeth , Frith Uta
Published: May 2003

Background: The goal of this study was to investigate the automaticity/cerebellar theory of dyslexia. We tested phonological skills and cerebellar function in a group of dyslexic 8–12‐year‐old children and their matched controls. Tests administered included the Phonological Assessment Battery, postural stability, bead threading, finger to thumb and time estimation.

Results: Dyslexic children were found to be significantly poorer than the controls at all tasks but time estimation. About 77% of dyslexics were more than one standard deviation below controls in phonological ability, and 59% were similarly impaired in motor skills. However, at least part of the discrepancy in motor skills was due to dyslexic individuals who had additional disorders (ADHD and/or DCD). The absence of evidence for a time estimation deficit also casts doubt on the cerebellar origin of the motor deficiency. About half the dyslexic children didn't have any motor problem, and there was no evidence for a causal relationship between motor skills on the one hand and phonological and reading skills on the other.

Conclusion: This study provides partial support for the presence of motor problems in dyslexic children, but does not support the hypothesis that a cerebellar dysfunction is the cause of their phonological and reading impairment.
Predictors of attributions of self‐blame and internalizing behavior problems in sexually abused children
Authors: Quas Jodi A. , Goodman Gail S. , Jones David P.H.
Published: May 2003

Background: The purpose of the present study was to identify predictors of two potential sequelae of child sexual abuse, self‐blame attributions and internalizing behavior problems.

Methods: In the study, detailed information was collected on 218 victims of sexual abuse aged 4 to 17, involved in criminal cases, about their background, the abuse, and their mother's reaction following discovery of the abuse.

Results: Increased attributions of self‐blame were predicted by the child having a close relationship with the perpetrator, experiencing severe sexual abuse (e.g., long‐lasting abuse that involved penetration), perceiving the abuse as disgusting, and coping with the abuse by pretending it was not happening. Similar factors did not emerge as predictors of internalizing behavior problems.

Conclusions: Results suggest that different child and abuse characteristics predict the two sequelae often associated with childhood sexual abuse. Thus, although self‐blame attributions and behavior problems are often considered similar consequences of sexual abuse, there appears a need to distinguish the two types of outcomes following sexual victimization in childhood.
Cognitive development of children in poverty with failure to thrive: a prospective study through age 6
Authors: Mackner Laura M. , Black Maureen M. , Starr, Jr Raymond H.
Published: May 2003

Background: This study examined the cognitive development of children in poverty with normal growth and those with a history of failure to thrive (FTT) prospectively from infancy through age 6.

Method: Participants were 226 low‐income infants with normal birthweight and no perinatal complications, congenital problems, or chronic illnesses. One hundred and twenty‐eight children experienced FTT and were treated in an interdisciplinary clinic, and 98 had normal growth.

Results: Cognitive development declined in both groups to 1.0–1.5 SD below the norm. Children with FTT had lower cognitive scores than children with adequate growth through age 4, followed by recovery. By ages 5 and 6, there were no differences in cognitive scores based on the children's growth history. Using hierarchical linear modeling, child‐centered home environment and small family size were related to better cognitive performance.

Conclusions: The low scores of both groups point to the need for programs promoting a child‐centered home environment.
An immunological marker (D8/17) associated with rheumatic fever as a predictor of childhood psychiatric disorders in a community sample
Authors: Inoff‐Germain Gale , Rodríguez Romeo S. , Torres‐Alcantara Saul , Juana Díaz‐Jimenez María , Swedo Susan E. , Rapoport Judith L.
Published: May 2003

Background:Previous studies have documented that various behavioral disturbances accompany Sydenham's chorea, a neurologic variant of rheumatic fever. Further, an immunological marker associated with rheumatic fever (monoclonal antibody D8/17) has been reported to be elevated in several neuropsychiatric disorders, most frequently tics and obsessive‐compulsive disorder. We examined this association in a community sample of children previously identified as being D8/17 positive or negative. It was hypothesized that D8/17 positivity would predict increased rates of tics and obsessive‐compulsive disorder, even in the absence of Sydenham's chorea. Possible associations with other disorders accompanying Sydenham's chorea – hyperactivity, anxiety, and depression, also were explored.

Method:From 1991 to 1995, 2631 children (mean age =  9.6 ± 1.6 years) from a low socioeconomic area of Mexico City were screened for the D8/17 marker. In a 2‐ to 5‐year follow‐up of 240 of these children (108 positive and 132 negative), structured psychiatric interviews and rating scales were administered to the child and main caretaker. Assessments were conducted and scored blind to the child's D8/17 status.

Results:No association was seen between D8/17 positivity and tics or OCD.

Conclusion:This study failed to provide support for the generalized use of D8/17 as a marker of susceptibility to tics and OCD in a community sample.
Race/Ethnicity, Language, and Patients' Assessments of Care in Medicaid Managed Care
Authors: Weech‐Maldonado Robert , Morales Leo S. , Elliott Marc , Spritzer Karen , Marshall Grant , Hays Ron D.
Published: May 2003

Objective. Consumer assessments of health care provide important information about how well health plans and clinicians meet the needs of the people they serve. The purpose of this study was to examine whether consumer reports and ratings of care in Medicaid managed care vary by race/ethnicity and language.

Data Sources. Data were derived from the National CAHPS® Benchmarking Database (NCBD) 3.0 and consisted of 49,327 adults enrolled in Medicaid managed care plans in 14 states in 2000.

Data Collection. The CAHPS® data were collected by telephone and mail. Surveys were administered in Spanish and English. The response rate across plans was 38 percent.

Study Design Data were analyzed using linear regression models. The dependent variables were CAHPS® 2.0 global rating items (personal doctor, specialist, health care, health plan) and multi‐item reports of care (getting needed care, timeliness of care, provider communication, staff helpfulness, plan service). The independent variables were race/ethnicity, language spoken at home (English, Spanish, Other), and survey language (English or Spanish). Survey respondents were assigned to one of nine racial/ethnic categories based on Hispanic ethnicity and race: White, Hispanic/Latino, Black/African American, Asian/Pacific Islanders, American Indian/Alaskan native, American Indian/White, Black/White, Other Multiracial, Other Race/Ethnicity. Whites, Asians, and Hispanics were further classified into language subgroups based on the survey language and based on the language primarily spoken at home. Covariates included gender, age, education, and self‐rated health.

Principal Findings. Racial/ethnic and linguistic minorities tended to report worse care than did whites. Linguistic minorities reported worse care than did racial and ethnic minorities.

Conclusions This study suggests that racial and ethnic minorities and persons with limited English proficiency face barriers to care, despite Medicaid‐enabled financial access. Health care organizations should address the observed disparities in access to care for racial/ethnic and linguistic minorities as part of their quality improvement efforts.
The Contribution of Primary Care Systems to Health Outcomes within Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Countries, 1970–1998
Authors: Macinko James , Starfield Barbara , Shi Leiyu
Published: May 2003

Objective.To assess the contribution of primary care systems to a variety of health outcomes in 18 wealthy Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries over three decades.

Data Sources/Study Setting.Data were primarily derived from OECDHealth Data 2001and from published literature. The unit of analysis is each of 18 wealthy OECD countries from 1970 to 1998 (totaln=504).

Study Design.Pooled, cross‐sectional, time‐series analysis of secondary data using fixed effects regression.

Data Collection/Extraction Methods.Secondary analysis of public‐use datasets. Primary care system characteristics were assessed using a common set of indicators derived from secondary datasets, published literature, technical documents, and consultation with in‐country experts.

Principal Findings.The strength of a country's primary care system was negatively associated with (a) all‐cause mortality, (b) all‐cause premature mortality, and (c) cause‐specific premature mortality from asthma and bronchitis, emphysema and pneumonia, cardiovascular disease, and heart disease (p<0.05 in fixed effects, multivariate regression analyses). This relationship was significant, albeit reduced in magnitude, even while controlling for macro‐level (GDP per capita, total physicians per one thousand population, percent of elderly) and micro‐level (average number of ambulatory care visits, per capita income, alcohol and tobacco consumption) determinants of population health.

Conclusions.(1) Strong primary care system and practice characteristics such as geographic regulation, longitudinality, coordination, and community orientation were associated with improved population health. (2) Despite health reform efforts, few OECD countries have improved essential features of their primary care systems as assessed by the scale used here. (3) The proposed scale can also be used to monitor health reform efforts intended to improve primary care.
Accessibility of Addiction Treatment: Results from a National Survey of Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment Organizations
Authors: Friedmann Peter D. , Lemon Stephenie C. , Stein Michael D. , D'Aunno Thomas A.
Published: May 2003

Objectives This study examined organization‐level characteristics associated with the accessibility of outpatient addiction treatment.

Methods Program directors and clinical supervisors from a nationally representative panel of outpatient substance abuse treatment units in the United States were surveyed in 1990, 1995, and 2000. Accessibility was measured from clinical supervisors' reports of whether the treatment organization provided “treatment on demand” (an average wait time of 48 hours or less for treatment entry), and of whether the program turned away any patients.

Results In multivariable logistic models, provision of “treatment on demand” increased two‐fold from 1990 to 2000 (OR, 1.95; 95 percent CI, 1.5 to 2.6), while reports of turning patients away decreased nonsignificantly. Private for‐profit units were twice as likely to provide “treatment on demand” (OR, 2.2; 95 percent CI, 1.3 to 3.6), but seven times more likely to turn patients away (OR, 7.4; 95 percent CI, 3.2 to 17.5) than public programs. Conversely, units that served more indigent populations were less likely to provide “treatment on demand” or to turn patients away. Methadone maintenance programs were also less likely to offer “treatment on demand” (OR, .65; 95 percent CI, .42 to .99), but more likely to turn patients away (OR, 2.4; 95 percent CI, 1.4 to 4.3).

Conclusions Although the provision of timely addiction treatment appears to have increased throughout the 1990s, accessibility problems persist in programs that care for indigent patients and in methadone maintenance programs.
The Quantitative Measurement of Organizational Culture in Health Care: A Review of the Available Instruments
Authors: Scott Tim , Mannion Russell , Davies Huw , Marshall Martin
Published: May 2003

Objective. To review the quantitative instruments available to health service researchers who want to measure culture and cultural change.

Data Sources. A literature search was conducted using Medline, Cinahl, Helmis, Psychlit, Dhdata, and the database of the King's Fund in London for articles published up to June 2001, using the phrase “organizational culture.” In addition, all citations and the gray literature were reviewed and advice was sought from experts in the field to identify instruments not found on the electronic databases. The search focused on instruments used to quantify culture with a track record, or potential for use, in health care settings.

Data Extraction. For each instrument we examined the cultural dimensions addressed, the number of items for each questionnaire, the measurement scale adopted, examples of studies that had used the tool, the scientific properties of the instrument, and its strengths and limitations.

Principal Findings. Thirteen instruments were found that satisfied our inclusion criteria, of which nine have a track record in studies involving health care organizations. The instruments varied considerably in terms of their grounding in theory, format, length, scope, and scientific properties.

Conclusions. A range of instruments with differing characteristics are available to researchers interested in organizational culture, all of which have limitations in terms of their scope, ease of use, or scientific properties. The choice of instrument should be determined by how organizational culture is conceptualized by the research team, the purpose of the investigation, intended use of the results, and availability of resources.
'Conversations with Karl Barth (1886–1968) ‐ A review of recent studies'
Authors: Chalamet Christophe
Published: May 2003

Books reviewed:

John W. Hart. Karl Barth vs. Emil Brunner. The Formation and Dissolution of a Theological Alliance, 1916–1936.

Terry L. Cross. Dialectic in Karl Barth's Doctrine of God.

Richard E. Burnett. Karl Barth's Theological Exegesis. The Hermeneutical Principals of the Römerbrief Period.

Joseph L. Mangina. Karl Barth on the Christian Life: The Practical Knowledge of God.
'Saving the Roman Catholic Church?'
Authors: Percy Martyn
Published: May 2003

Books reviewed:

Francis Buckley. The Church in Dialogue: Culture and Traditions.

Anthony Gittins. Ministry at the Margins: Strategy and Spirituality for Mission.

John Fuellenbach. Church: Community for the Kingdom.

Nicholas Healy. Church, World and Christian Life: Practical‐Prophetic Ecclesiology.
Structuring the Classroom for Performance: Cooperative Learning with Instructor‐Assigned Teams*
Authors: Koppenhaver Gary D. , Shrader Charles B.
Published: May 2003

The main concern is a longstanding one in classroom instruction—the determinants of effective team performance. The paper explicitly examines the effect of teacher‐controlled factors on the use and functioning of student teams. From a sample of 500 undergraduate students, data are obtained on aptitude, diversity, instability, motivation, personality style, size, and performance. The regression results suggest that team motivation and instability, which are both partly controlled by the instructor, are particularly important in determining a team's performance. An implication is that instructor decisions about team make‐up and incentives can have a significant impact on student achievement.
Knowledge Acquisition and Memory Effects Involving an Expert System Designed as a Learning Tool for Internal Control Assessment*
Authors: Lenard Mary Jane
Published: May 2003

The assessment of internal control is a consideration in all financial statement audits, as stressed by the Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 78. According to this statement, “the auditor should obtain an understanding of internal control sufficient to plan the audit” (Accounting Standards Board, 1995, p. 1). Therefore, an accounting student will progress through the auditing course with the responsibility of learning how and why internal controls are assessed. Research in expert systems applied to auditing has shown that there is strong support for the constructive dialogue used in expert systems as a means of encouraging their use in decision making (Eining, Jones, & Loebbecke, 1997). The purpose of this study is to provide the student or novice auditor with a method for developing a more comprehensive understanding of internal controls and the use of internal controls in audit planning. The results of the study reinforce previous findings that novices do better when an expert system applies analogies along with declarative explanations, and clarifies the length of time in which the use of active learning in a training system can provide an improvement to declarative knowledge, but procedural knowledge must be acquired over a longer time frame.
Testing for the Transfer of Tacit Knowledge: Making a Case for Implicit Learning
Authors: Benjamin Martz Wm. , Shepherd Morgan M.
Published: May 2003

Companies are beginning to realize that simply storing data in warehouses and databases is not sufficient to ensure the usefulness of that data or information. As information is processed with a purpose (Ackoff & Emery, 1972), it becomes knowledge. Knowledge exists on many planes; one is the tacit‐explicit plane described byPolanyi (1966). Knowledge‐based applications are becoming a key factor in determining organizational value. For example, Activity‐Based Costing (ABC) and Knowledge Value Added (KVA) are two methodologies that organizations use to measure explicit knowledge. However, this interest in measuring and managing knowledge creates two important questions. First, do companies include tacit knowledge in their measurements of knowledge? Second, can educators demonstrate that they are helping increase tacit knowledge? This paper posits that companies may not be including the full range of knowledge in their endeavor to measure knowledge in their organizations. To help make a case for including tacit knowledge and implicit learning, an active learning exercise is created to demonstrate a method to quantify and test for changes in both types of knowledge. The results show that the activity created observable changes in explicit and tacit knowledge. Future research will need to concentrate further on understanding how the two types of knowledge interact. For now though, these results demonstrate one way to observe the two types of knowledge and more importantly, point out the need for organizations to find ways to value both implicit and explicit knowledge.
The Impact of Coordination Methods on the Enhancement of Business Writing
Authors: Prater Edmund , Rhee Hyeun‐Suk
Published: May 2003

Universities with limited resources are being pressured to cover more material within their degree programs. Because of this, schools are looking to integrate material from different classes. This paper sets out to determine if students can learn business writing within the context of another class, specifically, an information systems class. The goal is to eliminate the need for a separate business‐writing course. However, the students will have to learn the material with limited support in order not to place an additional load on the instructor. This study investigates whether individuals can develop their business‐writing skills during the course of repeated group work and whether there are differences in the level of their learning, based on collaborative media. The results show that individuals can learn business‐writing skills with a minimum of support through direct instruction. In addition, there is no difference between individuals working in face‐to‐face (F2F) groups and those working in groups using electronic collaborative work (ECW) systems.
No Downturn Here: Tracking E‐business Programs in Higher Education*
Authors: Fusilier Marcelline , Durlabhji Subhash
Published: May 2003

As the fortunes of e‐businesses fluctuate, what is the state of e‐business educational offerings? The present study attempted to explore this question by investigating the number and nature of e‐business programs available in colleges and universities. Results were compared to previously published findings on e‐business education. Data were collected from program web sites. Master's and bachelor's degree programs based in North America and elsewhere in the world were examined. Despite the “dot‐bomb” economy, the present data suggested large increases in all foreign and North American bachelor's programs between the start of the fall semester of 2000 and November 2001. The number of North American master's programs appeared to increase dramatically during the year 2000 and at a lesser rate afterward. Findings also suggested that bachelor's and foreign master's programs involved more technical e‐business courses than the North American master's programs. The educational and economic factors possibly underlying these trends are discussed.
Problem‐Based Learning for Production and Operations Management
Authors: Kanet John J. , Barut Mehmet
Published: May 2003

In this paper, we describe our application of “problem‐based learning” in the teaching of production/operations management. We describe a study of the effectiveness of this approach and present the results and analysis of this study. We provide a collection of our experiences in using this method and conclude with some general observations on its appropriateness to the teaching of production/operations management.
Persecution of Indian Christians
Authors: Melanchthon Monica
Published: May 2003

Christians are one among many minority religious groups in India that face “persecution.”“Persecution” here relates to the unjust treatment of lower classes in the Hindu caste system; it is not only Christians that are persecuted, but all those who fall in the lower castes. Part of the animosity towards Christians, then, is due to the fact that many Christian schools have been built to educate the masses thereby upsetting the existing caste system; furthermore, Christianity preaches a classless gospel. Persecution of Christians in India takes place under the guise that Christian Missionaries are covertly trying to convert Hindu–Indian society to the western cult of individualism. Government propaganda, laws, and programs designed to thwart Christian efforts, feed off of this mentality. Unfortunately, there are certain Christian groups that feed off of the misery of people in an unjust caste–system, offering salvation through conversion. These groups do not help matters at all; in fact, they add fuel to the fire.
Persecution of Indian Christians
Authors: Lobo Lancy
Published: May 2003

This article gives an account of the empirical, quantitative, descriptive, and distributive nature of persecutions of Christians in India during the last four years. It outlines some of the contentions of the persecutors and scrutinizes their validity given the character of Indian Christianity, which is not a homogenous entity. It discusses what it means to live and share the Good News in today’s multicultural and multi–religious India. It suggests ways in which worldwide Christianity can maintain solidarity with Christians in India.
Religious Persecution: And What To Do About It
Authors: Hilary Martin John
Published: May 2003

Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and other religions can all be found in geographically diverse Indonesia. Adding to this layered society are many different ethnic groups, political groups, and socio–economic groups. The joining of all these factors led to different communities forming adats–religio–customary agreements. When talking about “religious persecution” in Indonesia, all of these factors must be taken into account. Even so, it would be extremely naive to think that religious belief is a peripheral motivation for violence. This article explores a method by which religious scholars, leaders, and communities can curtail religious persecution in Indonesia; the method includes: personal encounter; discussion of the scholarly agenda; a public engagement through dialogue that leads to commitment; and finally, the appeal of prayer and ritual.
Radical Orthodoxy, Luther, and the Challenge of Western Secularization
Authors: Rasmussen Barry G.
Published: May 2003

This “Theology Update” analyzes the Radical Orthodoxy of John Milbank in light of Martin Luther’s dialectic between Law and Gospel. Milbank and his colleagues attack contemporary secularized culture in a manner parallel to Luther’s attack on the 16th century Holy Roman Empire for being soulless, aggressive, litigious, materialistic, and finally nihilistic. By re–engaging the battle between Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus, the radical orthodox party seeks to become post–modern by making a half turn back to the pre–modern Thomas, for whom philosophy and theology were integrated, subject was united to object, and being could be understood as relational because the Trinity is relational. Luther is mistakenly dismissed when reducing him to Scotus’ nominalism, however. Lutheranism complements radical orthodoxy’s analysis of secularized culture; yet Lutheranism maintains an integrity to faith–as the presence of Christ–that this new school fails to grant.
Scalable Multi-Group Full-Spectrum Correlated-k Distributions for Radiative Transfer Calculations
Authors: Zhang Hongmei , Modest Michael F.
Published: May 2003

A new full-spectrum k-distribution method has been developed, in which spectral locations are sorted into M spectral groups, according to their absorption coefficient dependence on (partial) pressure and temperature. Calculating correlated-k full-spectrum k-distributions for each of the M groups, LBL accuracy can be obtained with M⩽32. Database values have been assembled for CO2 mixtures at atmospheric pressure. The method is fully scalable, i.e., spectral groups from the database can be combined to obtain coarser group models M=1,2,4,… for greater numerical efficiency (accompanied by slight loss in accuracy).
Three-Dimensional Numerical Calculations of a Jet in an External Cross Flow: Application to Pollutant Dispersion
Authors: Mahjoub Said Nejla , Mhiri Hatem , El Golli Salem , Le Palec Georges , Bournot Philippe
Published: May 2003

The paper presents a three-dimensional numerical simulation of a circular turbulent jet issuing transversely into a uniform air stream. In the first part an air-helium jet is considered and the three-dimensional structure of the flow field is discussed. Then, a comparison between the numerical results of four turbulence closure models (three first-order models and a second-order one) are presented and compared with the experimental data given by Crabb et al. [7] and Andreopoulos et al. [9]. Although the different models render identical results in the upstream and far downstream regions of the jet, only the second order model is shown to give good results in the exit region and in the trailing zone of the jet. Based on this last model, the dynamic and scalar fields of a fume turbulent jet issuing transversely with velocity v0 into a uniform air flow with velocity u are then examined as functions of the ratio R=v0/u∞ in order to simulate pollutant dispersion from industrial chimneys.
Quasi-Steady State Natural Convection in Laser Chemical Vapor Deposition With a Moving Laser Beam
Authors: Zhang Yuwen
Published: May 2003

Numerical analysis of laser chemical vapor deposition (LCVD) of titanium nitride by a moving laser beam is presented. The effect of natural convection due to temperature and concentration differences in the gaseous mixture is modeled and implemented into thermal model of LCVD by a moving laser beam. The problem is formulated in a coordinate system that moves with the laser beam and therefore, the problem is a quasi-steady state problem. The results show that the effect of natural convection on the shape of deposited film is very insignificant for cases with a laser power of 300 W but becomes important when the laser power is increased to 360 W.