bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Progressive oxidative damage in the central nervous system of a murine model for juvenile Batten disease
Authors: Benedict Jared W. , Sommers Crosby A. , Pearce David A. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractOxidative damage is a known contributor to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Juvenile Batten disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder of childhood that results from mutation in Cln3. We have performed an initial characterization of the oxidative burden throughout the CNS in a Cln3−/− mouse model for juvenile Batten disease. A survey of multiple regions of the Cln3−/− mouse brain revealed a specific reduction of total glutathione, a tripeptide antioxidant molecule, in the cerebellum. Further analysis revealed an increase in protein oxidation not only in the cerebellum but also in the thalamus and primary motor cortex. Additionally, the thalamus was found to have an increase in the amount of a potent antioxidant enzyme, manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), which may be in response to an increase in deleterious superoxide radicals. Colocalization studies indicate that microglia are localized directly adjacent to neurons expressing MnSOD, indicating that microglial activation may be related to the observed oxidative damage. This study helps to provide an initial measure of regions within the CNS of Cln3−/− mice that are specifically affected by the loss of CLN3 function and may serve to identify at the neuroanatomical level, the sequence of events that plays a role in the pathogenesis and clinical course of juvenile Batten disease. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Improving quality in marketing; a case example
Authors: Gilmore Audrey , Carson David 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis article focuses on the issue of quality in marketing and addresses in particular ‘how to’ improve the quality of marketingrelated functions. An integrated approach to quality improvement is described by using Stena Sealink's Irish/Scottish route as a case example. A quality improvement programme currently being implemented serves to illustrate the organizing, structuring and operationalizing required for such an initiative in a service industry.
Power‐based organizational change in an Australian tertiary college
Authors: Lewis Dianne , Cunnington Bert 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe paper describes a longitudinal case study of culture change in an Australian tertiary college between 1983 and 1990. It challenges three assumptions made in the culture and transformational leadership literature: that patterns of group behaviour within an organization are an indication of the culture; that organizational culture affects organizational performance; and that culture transformation is a time‐consuming process requiring the use of a mix of empirical‐rational, normative‐re‐educative and sometimes power‐coercive strategies. The paper proposes that modifications need to be made to all three assumptions, as findings from the study were that top management introduced their most significant changes by power‐coercive means over a short period of time, yet organizational performance did not deteriorate in line with negative changes in staff values.
Process modelling: A powerful strategic change enabler
Authors: Nagl Mag. Gerhard C. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractToday's companies exist in complex environments with an increasing demand for fast and effective strategic responses. Companies struggle with these changing environmental realities because strategic management concepts have outdistanced organizational capabilities. As a viable way to close this gap, this paper proposes to take a process view of a company and to use concepts to model company processes in a way that is consistent with the company's strategy.
The re‐engineering route to business transformation
Authors: Dale M. W. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe paper defines different improvement activities including process improvement, process simplification, process re‐engineering and business re‐engineering. Frameworks are presented for examining the differences between these. It proposes that a re‐engineering activity is a transformational change, moving the business outside its current ‘rules of the game’. A further framework is then presented for managing a re‐engineering transformation. This enables the softer yet more difficult aspects of re‐engineering to be considered so that change can be pursued successfully right through to delivery of real business benefits. The transformation framework is then considered in more detail to illustrate actions which can presage success. Finally, the outcome of re‐engineering work is discussed, and a hypothesis proposed that re‐engineering is a structured way to make a step change in business performance whilst at the same time conditioning it for a state of continuous change.
Clients, consultants and the social cognition of organizational change
Authors: Despres Charles 
Published: July 2007

AbstractFour footings of the consulting act are derived from a typification of the social constructionist perspective, and it is argued that consultants and consultees enact the social performances of (1) facilitation, (2) tyranny, (3) discourse or (4) despair. Consultancies are criticized for too often being tyrannical productions where the consultant (1) arrives with solution(s) in hand, (2) manipulates the consultee to generate suitable problems, (3) applies pre‐patterned solutions to the problems so derived, and (4) abandons the scene after being paid. Reflections on this situation and preferred courses of action are discussed.
Strategic planning, scanning activities and the financial performance of small firms
Authors: Orpen Christopher 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe role of firm and environmental scanning activities on the planning‐performance relationship was examined among 51 small firms in a telephone survey. Small firms which engaged in formalized planning performed better financially than those which did not. They also possessed more information about themselves and their environment than the non‐planning firms and made greater use of this information in strategic decision‐making. The acquisition and utilization of information about the firm and its environment was found to mediate the impact of strategic planning on performance. Implications for improving the strategic planning of small firms and the extent to which it affects on performance are developed.
Flat hierarchies and individual job security in times of recession
Authors: Hinterhuber Hans H. , Krauthammer Eric 
Published: July 2007

AbstractLean management and the new competitive conditions of the 1990s mean that managers and employees at all levels of responsibility and in all types of function are constantly under the pressure of time. The question arises for everyone, whether or not their present time management meets company requirements and conforms with their own personal notions. The authors present a practical action plan that can help managers and employees combine what benefits others with what gives them pleasure, through the better management of their time.
Change in a chaotic post‐modern world
Authors: Kirkbride Paul S. , Durcan Jim , Obeng Edward D. A. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis paper seeks to argue that despite the easy surface pervaisiveness of notions of turbulence, instability and chaos, such conceptions have yet to radically influence our views of change. Most of the change literature can be seen to be rooted in a traditional modernist paradigm which sees change as linear incremental progression. While there are some theorists who appreciate the limitations of the modernist paradigm, there are few who have begun to develop a truly postmodernist approach to change. This paper represents a small step in that process and concludes by surfacing the practical implications for change agents of transcending the modernist paradigm.‘Speculate what our ideas of cause and effect might have been had melting butter been our model rather than billiard balls. As it is, the world may seem to us to be a succession of clicks, pushes, ticks and tocks. Had the melting of butter or wax seized our imagination instead, the world would have appeared to us as a series of simmering, drippings, meltings, and splashes…’ (Hanson, 1969, pp. 282–283).
The sources of invention and their market consequences
Authors: Mascarenhas Briance , Park Jun Y. 
Published: July 2007

Abstract
A structured framework is proposed for analysing inventions, focusing on the sources of information utilized in their development
These sources involve internal versus external origins, as well as domestic versus international origins
Analysis of forty inventions revealed five invention approaches, suggesting that society's inventions emerge through diverse means, with varying motivations, market impacts, and pathologies.
So you want to empower your organization…?
Authors: Lowe Phil 
Published: July 2007

AbstractPractical guidance to the successful implementation of empowerment is hard to find. This article poses a number of questions and indicates the way forward for each.

Why do you want empowerment?
How do you communicate it?
Where do you start?
What are you willing to commit?
What will you do about middle managers?
What are the barriers to success?
How do you know when you have it?
The article draws from a new study of what British organizations really do about empowerment.
‘Survival of the fittest or the fitting?’ A framework for integration
Authors: De Koning Jan A. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractCollaborations and acquisitions have a high failure rate. This article:

argues that organizational fit is more important than financial fit;
provides a five‐stage evolutionary analytical tool for future partners; and
suggests that problems of integration can be anticipated.
If we look at the organizational world, we find that, as in nature, collaboration is often as common as competition. Organizations in the same industry frequently get together under the umbrella of trade and professional associations to collaborate in relation to shared interests. These are mostly shared interests of power or competition oriented and based on a ‘natural selection’ process in a branch. The reason for collaboration is often survival of the fittest: the most robust competitors in a branch will survive through collaboration or acquisition and elimination of the weaker ones, yet only a few of these ‘strong’ collaborations and acquisitions are really successful.
Managing strategic evolution in fast‐paced technological environments: The case of software development in ‘Silicon Prairie’
Authors: Levenhagen Michael , Porac Joseph F. , Thomas Howard 
Published: July 2007

AbstractIn this open‐ended interview study of software entrepreneurs in an area known as ‘Silicon Prairie’ in the Midwest of the US, the authors examine the problems of managing strategic change in fast‐paced technological environments.

Managers emphasize that when commercializing new technologies:
the process of selling their strategic visions is the preeminent concern;
technological standards and organizational exemplars are used as competitive benchmarks;
competitive advantage is associated with creating new product categories and the selling of technological visions;
visions must be distinctive;
organizational ‘credibility’ or ‘reputation’ needs to be created and/or captured;
stakeholders need to ‘buy into’ their visions and establish a competitive consensus;
competitive communities may form with the cognitive first mover (visionary) as central player;
technology is the fundamental driver of market structure and techno logical instab il itykhange;
knowledge is important in defining the strategic assets leading to competitive success: the knowledge of users' tasks? technology? and of the varying perceptions of market participants;
traditional management tasks are all focused upon creating and supporting commercial legitimacy within highly illstructured market domains; and
software development managers attempt to establish marketdomain boundaries for competitive advantage, rather than maintain pre‐existing competitive boundaries (as in more mature markets).
An improved organizational concept for high‐technology firms
Authors: Ross Stanley C. 
Published: July 2007

Abstract
Technology firms are a unique type of organization because success in an extremely competitive environment requires sophisticated technology‐based products and innovative management.
The T form or ‘power’ design is a new organizational model to guide innovative management.
The model describes the creation of a market‐based corporate culture which focuses on performance outcomes and counters the inherent inclination to bureaucratize operations.
Culture, surveys, culture surveys and other obfuscations a reply to Migliore and Martin. A reply to Migliore and Martin
Authors: Despres Charles Jean‐Noel 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis is a response to an earlier article in this journal. It argues that:
Questionnaire approaches to defining organizational culture are flawed and reflect the cultural values of the researcher.
Much of the literature confuses the readers.
An ethnographic approach yields a less biased result in that few a priori assumptions are made.
The managerial dimension of small business failure
Authors: Jennings Peter L , Beaver Graham 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe majority of existing studies of small business failure tend to focus upon either the symptoms arising from problems within the firm or upon the reasons cited for failure. Comparatively little analysis of the root cause has been undertaken.Failure and success are usually defined in rational terms which ignore stakeholder aspirations.Many owner‐managers pursue personal objectives which inhibit the probability of success if measured using these rational criteria.The root cause of small business failure is almost invariably a lack of management attention to strategic issues.Notwithstanding the fact that common skills and abilities are required, the management process in small firms is unique and cannot be considered to be the same as professional management in larger firms practised on a reduced scale.The multiplicity of roles expected of the owner‐manager often causes dissonance which enhances the probability of poor decision making and inappropriate action.Successful small firms practise strategic management either consciously and visibily or unconsciously and invisibly.
The sociocratic model of organizing
Authors: Romme A. Georges L. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe sociocratic model has progressed beyond the experimental stage and is being used successfully in several organizations. It relies on four ground rules: decision making by consent; a hierarchy of circles, in which every member of the organization participates; double linking between circles; and election of persons by consent.Together these rules promote downward as well as upward information processing.In contrast to conventional methods for advancing information processing (project teams, quality circles), the circle organization is integrated into the administrative hierarchy.
Strategic states and performance: Swedish companies in Germany
Authors: Pehrsson Anders 
Published: July 2007

AbstractAll managers, and particularly those concerned with strategic change, are fascinated by the things that cause strong or poor business performance. In this article the author:Describes original research comparing high‐ and low‐performing German subsidiaries of Swedish companies.Concludes that high performers create more stable customer relationships because greater attention is paid to matching the products to customer needs.Finds that high performers concentrate on a smaller number of market segments compared with that of low performers.
Why are we doing all this?
Authors: Chisholm John 
Published: July 2007

AbstractA case study of the Defence Research Agency, a public sector scientific organization.Shows how fundamental business processes were changed to enable the organization to operate in a more effective way.The organization became more commercial and a customer‐oriented culture resulted, in contrast to the previous bureaucracy.The changes resulted in an overall reduction of staff of 2000 (although the number of scientists employed rose) whilst output has been maintained.The case study shows how a major and fundamental strategic change can be successfully implemented.
Network analysis as an organizational diagnostic tool: Bringing structure into process
Authors: Oliver Amalya L. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe paper highlights the potential of network analysis as a diagnostic and analytic tool, and illustrates the application of several methods on an hypothetical organizational structure.

• Mathematical analysis of social networks is an emerging tool used by social scientists in various areas.
• The applications of network methods to the study of organizational structure can be used comparatively—by comparing cross‐sectionally various structures and groups, and longitudinal—by comparing changes in structure over time.
• Network analysis can introduce deep structure of information flow, social and instrumental exchanges, and power within an organization or a group, and can reflect individual as well as structural characteristics.
Scientific evaluation of smallholder land use knowledge in Central Kenya
Authors: Mairura F. S. , Mugendi D. N. , Mwanje J. I. , Ramisch J. J. , Mbugua P. K. , Chianu J. N. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe following study was conducted to determine smallholders' land use management practices and agricultural indicators of soil quality within farmers' fields in Chuka and Gachoka divisions in Kenya's Central Highlands. Data on cropping practices and soil indicators were collected from farmers through face‐to‐face interviews and field examinations. Farmers characterised their fields into high and low fertility plots, after which soils were geo‐referenced and sampled at surface depth (0–20 cm) for subsequent physical and chemical analyses. Farmers' indicators for distinguishing productive and non‐productive fields included crop yield, crop performance and weed species. Soils that were characterised as fertile, had significantly higher chemical characteristics than the fields that were of poor quality. Fertile soils had significantly higher pH, total organic carbon, exchangeable cations and available nitrogen. Factor analysis identified four main factors that explained 76 per cent of the total variance in soil quality. The factors were connected with farmers' soil assessment indicators and main soil processes that influenced soil quality in Central Kenya. Soil fertility and crop management practices that were investigated indicated that farmers understood and consequently utilised spatial heterogeneity and temporal variability in soil quality status within their farms to maintain and enhance agricultural productivity. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Global Power of Tribes
Authors: Kotkin Joel 
Published: July 2007

AbstractYears before globalism became a buzzword, business analyst Joel Kotkin was writing about trade and immigration as forces for economic and social vitality. His 1992 book, Tribes, offers an original and insightful view of business, history, and culture. His premise: that dispersed ethnic or national groups who share a strong sense of common identity, a culture of mutual self‐help, and a desire to use knowledge for group and personal advancement have powerfully influenced today's global economy. Among the “tribes” he has studied are the Jews, Chinese, Japanese, Indians, and British.In a world that is both shrinking and splintering, these groups have shown how communities can thrive by looking outward while drawing on inner strengths. We spoke recently with the author at his Los Angeles home.
Numerical method for non‐linear wave and diffusion equations by the variational iteration method
Authors: Abbasbandy S. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis paper applies He's variational iteration to the wave equations in an infinite one‐dimensional medium and some non‐linear diffusion equations. A suitable choice of an initial solution can lead to the needed exact solution by a few iterations. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Novel synthesis of biodegradable star poly(ethylene glycol)‐block‐poly(lactide) copolymers
Authors: Lemmouchi Yahia , Perry Michael C. , Amass Allan J. , Chakraborty Khirud , Schacht Etienne 
Published: July 2007

AbstractBiodegradable star‐shaped poly(ethylene glycol)‐block‐poly(lactide) copolymers were synthesized by ring‐opening polymerization of lactide, using star poly(ethylene glycol) as an initiator and potassium hexamethyldisilazide as a catalyst. Polymerizations were carried out in toluene at room temperature. Two series of three‐ and four‐armed PEG‐PLA copolymers were synthesized and characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) as well as 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. The polymerization under the used conditions is very fast, yielding copolymers of controlled molecular weight and tailored molecular architecture. The chemical structure of the copolymers investigated by 1H and 13C NMR indicates the formation of block copolymers. The monomodal profile of molecular weight distribution by GPC provided further evidence of controlled and defined star‐shaped copolymers as well as the absence of cyclic oligomeric species. The effects of copolymer composition and lactide stereochemistry on the physical properties were investigated by GPC and differential scanning calorimetry. For the same PLA chain length, the materials obtained in the case of linear copolymers are more viscous, whereas in the case of star copolymer, solid materials are obtained with reduction in their Tg and Tm temperatures. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3966–3974, 2007
Ring‐opening metathesis polymerization of functionalized cyclooctene by a ruthenium‐based catalyst in ionic liquid
Authors: Han Huijing , Chen Fengxiang , Yu Jiahui , Dang Jingya , Ma Zhuo , Zhang Yiqun , Xie Meiran 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis paper describes the synthesis of a novel monomer of 5‐substituted cyclooctene with the pendant of imidazolium salt (7) and the ring‐opening metathesis polymerization of the functionalized cyclooctenes (4 and 7) in CH2Cl2 and ionic liquid [bmim][PF6] by a ruthenium‐based catalyst RuCl2(PCy3)(SIMes)(CHPh) (2). The polymerization, which was carried out in ionic liquid, afforded improved control over the molecular weight (Mn) and polydispersity of the resultant products (PDI <1.4). Furthermore, to facilitate the GPC measurement for molecular weight of polymers, the charged polymers (poly‐7) were hydrolyzed to give uncharged polymers (poly‐4*) by removing the imidazolium pendant from the polymer chains. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3986–3993, 2007
Aromatic polyamides with pendant urea moieties
Authors: San‐José Noelia , Gómez‐Valdemoro Ana , García Félix Clemente , Serna Felipe , García José Miguel 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis work describes six novel aromatic polyamides with bulky pendant groups, each having a polyisophthalamide backbone substituted with different urea groups in ring position 5 of the diacid or the diamine residue. Thus, one of the nitrogen atoms of the urea is chemically anchored to the main rigid polyamide chain, while the other nitrogen atom is substituted by phenyl, nitrophenyl, naphthyl, and phenylureidophenyl groups. The polyamides are amorphous and soluble in polar aprotic solvents. They demonstrate a film‐forming capability with outstanding mechanical properties, and exhibit moderate thermal resistance in nitrogen and oxygen atmospheres. The urea group imparts hydrophilicity to the polymers, and facilitates the future preparation of specialty polymers through the easy chemical modification of this group. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 4026–4036, 2007