scholarly journals Organizational Network Evolution and Governance Strategies in Megaprojects

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 19-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yujie Lu ◽  
Yongkui Li ◽  
Da Pang ◽  
Yunxia Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Governance ◽  
Project Performance ◽  
Network Evolution ◽  
Evolution Theory ◽  
Organizational Evolution ◽  
Organizational Network ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Governance Strategies

The organization is the key factor for megaprojects in which thousands of connections and relations intertwine and influence the project performance. However, organizational evolution in megaprojects has not been fully studied. This study investigates the evolution of the organizational network of a megaproject in China using social network analysis (SNA), and then proposes corresponding governance strategies. The result shows that megaproject organizations evolve towards more connected networks but are differentiated for various investors. For government invested projects, the organizational network is well connected, cooperative, yet unstable and require strategic long-term governance policies; for private invested projects, the network is stable, but collaboration among participants is low, which indicates a need to establish collaborative governance structures. The result complements the organizational evolution theory for megaprojects and offers effective strategies for governing megaproject organizations. This study also helps practitioners better understand the nature and characteristics of megaproject organizations. 

Attachment of oral bacteria to titanium surfaces: An SEM study

1994 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 468-469
Author(s):  
J. E. Laffoon ◽  
R. L. Anderson ◽  
J. C. Keller ◽  
C. D. Wu-Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Technical Problem ◽  
Titanium Implant ◽  
Oral Bacteria ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Surface Ultrastructure ◽  
Sem Study ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Titanium Surfaces

Titanium (Ti) dental implants have been used widely for many years. Long term implant failures are related, in part, to the development of peri-implantitis frequently associated with bacteria. Bacterial adherence and colonization have been considered a key factor in the pathogenesis of many biomaterial based infections. Without the initial attachment of oral bacteria to Ti-implant surfaces, subsequent polymicrobial accumulation and colonization leading to peri-implant disease cannot occur. The overall goal of this study is to examine the implant-oral bacterial interfaces and gain a greater understanding of their attachment characteristics and mechanisms. Since the detailed cell surface ultrastructure involved in attachment is only discernible at the electron microscopy level, the study is complicated by the technical problem of obtaining titanium implant and attached bacterial cells in the same ultra-thin sections. In this study, a technique was developed to facilitate the study of Ti implant-bacteria interface.Discs of polymerized Spurr’s resin (12 mm x 5 mm) were formed to a thickness of approximately 3 mm using an EM block holder (Fig. 1). Titanium was then deposited by vacuum deposition to a film thickness of 300Å (Fig. 2).

Designing a CRM Framework for online & offline sports footwear retailers

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Cueva ◽  
Guillem Rufian ◽  
Maria Gabriela Valdes
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Running Shoes ◽  
Brick And Mortar ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
On Line ◽  
The Impact

The use of Customer Relationship Managers to foster customers loyalty has become one of the most common business strategies in the past years.  However, CRM solutions do not fill the abundance of happily ever-after relationships that business needs, and each client’s perception is different in the buying process.  Therefore, the experience must be precise, in order to extend the loyalty period of a customer as much as possible. One of the economic sectors in which CRM’s have improved this experience is retailing, where the personalized attention to the customer is a key factor.  However, brick and mortar experiences are not enough to be aware in how environmental changes could affect the industry trends in the long term.  A base unified theoretical framework must be taken into consideration, in order to develop an adaptable model for constructing or implementing CRMs into companies. Thanks to this approximation, the information is complemented, and the outcome will increment the quality in any Marketing/Sales initiative. The goal of this article is to explore the different factors grouped by three main domains within the impact of service quality, from a consumer’s perspective, in both on-line and off-line retailing sector.  Secondly, we plan to go a step further and extract base guidelines about previous analysis for designing CRM’s solutions focused on the loyalty of the customers for a specific retailing sector and its product: Sports Running Shoes.

Rising ecosystem water demand exacerbates the lengthening of tropical dry seasons

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Xu ◽  
Xu Lian ◽  
Ingrid Slette ◽  
Hui Yang ◽  
Yuan Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Demand ◽  
Potential Evapotranspiration ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Dry Seasons ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Factor Governing

Abstract The timing and length of the dry season is a key factor governing ecosystem productivity and the carbon cycle of the tropics. Mounting evidence has suggested a lengthening of the dry season with ongoing climate change. However, this conclusion is largely based on changes in precipitation (P) compared to its long-term average (P ̅) and lacks consideration of the simultaneous changes in ecosystem water demand (measured by potential evapotranspiration, Ep, or actual evapotranspiration, E). Using several long-term (1979-2018) observational datasets, we compared changes in tropical dry season length (DSL) and timing (dry season arrival, DSA, and dry season end, DSE) among three common metrics used to define the dry season: P < P ̅, P < Ep, and P < E. We found that all three definitions show that dry seasons have lengthened in much of the tropics since 1979. Among the three definitions, P < E estimates the largest fraction (49.0%) of tropical land area likely experiencing longer dry seasons, followed by P < Ep (41.4%) and P < P ̅ (34.4%). The largest differences in multi-year mean DSL (> 120 days) among the three definitions occurred in the most arid and the most humid regions of the tropics. All definitions and datasets consistently showed longer dry seasons in southern Amazon (due to delayed DSE) and central Africa (due to both earlier DSA and delayed DSE). However, definitions that account for changing water demand estimated longer DSL extension over those two regions. These results indicate that warming-enhanced evapotranspiration exacerbates dry season lengthening and ecosystem water deficit. Thus, it is necessity to account for the evolving water demand of tropical ecosystems when characterizing changes in seasonal dry periods and ecosystem water deficits in an increasingly warmer and drier climate.

scholarly journals Spatially varying constraints of human-caused fire occurrence in British Columbia, Canada

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip E. Camp ◽  
Meg A. Krawchuk
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Fire Management ◽  
Fire Occurrence ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Human Footprint ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Key Drivers ◽  
Spatially Varying

Human-caused wildfires are controlled by human and natural influences, and determining their key drivers is critical for understanding spatial patterns of wildfire and implementing effective fire management. We examined an array of explanatory variables that account for spatial controls of human-caused fire occurrence from 1990 to 2013 among six ecosystem zones that vary in human footprint and environmental characteristics in British Columbia, Canada. We found that long-term patterns of human-caused fire in ecosystem zones with a larger human footprint were strongly controlled by biophysical variables explaining conditions conducive to burning, whereas fire occurrence in remote ecosystem zones was controlled by various metrics of human activity. A metric representing the wildland–urban interface was a key factor explaining human-caused fire occurrence regardless of ecosystem zone. Our results contribute to the growing body of research on the varying constraints of spatial patterns of fire occurrence by explicitly examining human-caused fire and the heterogeneity of constraints based on human development.

Freedom of Choice for the Mentally Handicapped

1983 ◽  
Vol 46 (12) ◽  
pp. 356-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Bodenham
Keyword(s):  
Independent Living ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Freedom Of Choice ◽  
Mentally Handicapped ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Training Team

This article deals with the resettlement of long-term mentally handicapped patients into independent living in wardened accommodation at Priory Court. The emphasis has been on ‘survival‘ and every person thought suitable for the project was given the opportunity to expand his concept of living and be discharged from a long-stay institutional environment. Motivation was the key factor, and staff and patients learnt much from the opportunity. The author gives an outline of the course taken and discusses some of the difficulties and triumphs. It was 3 years ago that long-stay institutional patients were discharged to the freedom of choosing a fuller way of life and from a distance the training team are able to see that these people are succeeding.

scholarly journals EM-Based Monitoring and Probabilistic Analysis of Prestress Loss of Bonded Tendons in PSC Beams

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheheng Chen ◽  
Shanwen Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Probabilistic Analysis ◽  
Prestressed Concrete ◽  
Monitoring Methods ◽  
Prestress Loss ◽  
External Tendons ◽  
Material Environment ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
One Year

The prestress level is a key factor of prestressed concrete (PSC) beams, affecting their long-term serviceability and safety. Existing monitoring methods, however, are not effective in obtaining the force or stress of embedded tendons. This paper investigates the feasibility of elastomagnetic (EM) sensors, which have been used for external tendons, in monitoring the long-term prestress loss of bonded tendons. The influence of ambient temperature, water, eccentricity ratio, plastic duct, and cement grouts on the test results of EM sensors is experimentally examined. Based on the calibrated EM sensors, prestress loss of a group of PSC beams was monitored for one year. In order to further consider the high randomness in material, environment, and construction, probabilistic analysis of prestress loss is conducted. Finally, the variation range of prestress loss with a certain confidence level is obtained and is compared with the monitored data, which provides a basis for the determination of prestress level in the design of PSC beams.

scholarly journals Interventions to Promote a Healthy Sexuality among School Adolescents: A Scoping Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1155
Author(s):  
Fernanda Loureiro ◽  
Margarida Ferreira ◽  
Paula Sarreira-de-Oliveira ◽  
Vanessa Antunes
Keyword(s):  
Open Science ◽  
Multidisciplinary Teams ◽  
Adolescent Sexual Behavior ◽  
Scoping Reviews ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Nurses Role ◽  
Healthy Sexuality ◽  
Science Framework ◽  
Meta Analyses

Schools are particularly suitable contexts for the implementation of interventions focused on adolescent sexual behavior. Sexual education and promotion have a multidisciplinary nature. Nurses’ role and the spectrum of the carried-out interventions is not clear. We aimed to identify interventions that promote a healthy sexuality among school adolescents. Our review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews and was registered in the Open Science Framework. Published articles on sexuality in adolescents in school contexts were considered. The research limitations included primary studies; access in full text in English, Spanish, or Portuguese; and no data publication limitation. Research was carried out on the EBSCOhost, PubMed, SciELO, and Web of Science platforms; gray literature and the bibliographies of selected articles were also searched. A total of 56 studies were included in the sample. The studies used a broad range of research methods, and 10 types of interventions were identified. Multi-interventional programs and socio-emotional interventions showed a greater impact on long-term behavioral changes, and continuity seemed to be a key factor. Long-term studies are needed to reach a consensus on the effectiveness of interventions. Nurses’ particular role on the multidisciplinary teams was found to be a gap in the research, and must be further explored.

scholarly journals Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation as Drivers for Early Engagement in Research by Medical Students

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yassar Alamri ◽  
Erik Monasterio ◽  
Lutz Beckert ◽  
Tim J Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Extrinsic Motivation ◽  
Self Determination Theory ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Research Engagement ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Research Involvement ◽  
Key Factor

Abstract BackgroundA student’s motivation is a key factor in their success in undertaking an education endeavour. However, how this relates to involvement in research by medical students is unclear.MethodsAn electronic questionnaire was sent to all medical students at our institution. To ascertain students’ motivation to undertake research, they were asked an open-ended question to describe the single major factor that would encourage them to get involved in research as a medical student. A framework of self-determination theory was used to deductively code the responses as intrinsic motivation (‘IM’; e.g., interest/passion) or extrinsic motivation (‘EM’; e.g. improving CV). The two groups were then contrasted in relation to their research engagement.ResultsA total of 348 students were included in the survey, of whom 204 were coded as IM responses, and 144 were coded as EM responses. Students who engaged in extra-curricular research activities were more likely to report an underlying EM (48% vs. 36%, p = 0.03). They were also older (23.7 ± 3.5 vs. 21.9 ± 3.7, p = 0.005), and more likely to have completed a prior research degree (15% vs. 3%, p = 0.01).ConclusionIn this study, EM was a bigger influencer on research involvement by medical students than IM. Future studies should explore promoters of IM, and include longitudinal data in order to assess whether EM students continue to be involved in research long-term.

scholarly journals 3D mapping of disease in ant societies reveals a strategy of a specialized parasite

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel G Loreto ◽  
Simon L Elliot ◽  
Mayara LR Freitas ◽  
Thairine M Pereira ◽  
David P Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Disease Spread ◽  
Social Immunity ◽  
Ant Colonies ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Insect Societies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Disease Free ◽  
Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis ◽  
Disease Present

Despite the widely held position that the social insects have evolved effective ways to limit infectious disease spread, many pathogens and parasites do attack insect societies. Maintaining a disease-free nest environment is an important evolutionary feature, but since workers have to leave the nest to forage they are routinely exposed to disease. Here we show that despite effective social immunity, in which workers act collectively to reduce disease inside the nest, 100% of studied ant colonies of Camponotus rufipes in a Brazilian Rainforest were infected by the specialized fungal parasite Ophiocordyceps unilateralis s.l. Not only is disease present for all colonies but long-term dynamics over 20 months revealed disease is a permanent feature. Using 3D maps, we showed the parasite optimizes its transmission by controlling workers’ behavior to die on the doorstep of the colony, where susceptible foragers are predictable in time and space. Therefore, despite social immunity, specialized diseases of ants have evolved effective strategies to exploit insect societies.

scholarly journals Flora and vegetation of dry grasslands of Northeastern Ukraine, and problems of diversity conservation

Hacquetia ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir Ronkin ◽  
Galina Savchenko
Keyword(s):  
Grazing Intensity ◽  
Chernozem Soils ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Nature Park ◽  
Regional Landscape ◽  
Long Term Monitoring ◽  
Steppe Grassland ◽  
Grassland Biodiversity ◽  
Term Monitoring

Abstract The aim of this study was to describe the flora and vegetation of the grasslands of Northeastern Ukraine and to analyse how the steppe vegetation responds to grazing or its abandonment. We studied two gully systems in the east of the Kharkiv Region: the Regional Landscape Park “The Velykyi Burluk-Steppe” (steppe grasslands on chernozem soils; 10 sites) and the National Nature Park “Dvorichanskyi” (steppe grasslands on chalky outcrops; 5 sites). Long-term monitoring data exist for both these sites starting in 1991, shortly after grazing intensity reduced. We recorded the major grassland plant communities (reflecting their successional status) as well as their dominant species. Tree and scrub encroachment increased after management ceased. We conclude that (i) heterogeneous grazing (including ungrazed patches) in space and time is necessary in order to preserve grassland biodiversity in our study system; (ii) erosion of chalky outcrops (natural erosion as well as driven by cattle grazing) is a key factor promoting the richness of cretaceous species in steppe grassland.

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