The pursuit of academic excellence and business engagement: is it irreconcilable?

Universities currently need to satisfy the demands of different audiences. In light of the increasing policy emphasis on “third mission” activities, universities are attempting to incorporate these into their traditional missions of teaching and research. University strategies to accomplishing its traditional missions are well-honed and routinized, but the incorporation of the third mission is posing important strategic and managerial challenges for universities. This study explores the relationship between university–business collaborations and academic excellence in order to examine the extent to which academic institutions can balance these objectives. Based on data from the UK Research Assessment Exercise 2001 at the level of the university department, we find no systematic positive or negative relationship between scientific excellence and engagement with industry. Across the disciplinary fields reported in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise (i.e. engineering, hard sciences, biomedicine, social sciences and the humanities) the relationship between academic excellence and engagement with business is largely contingent on the institutional context of the university department. This paper adds to the growing body of literature on university engagement with business by examining this activity for the social sciences and the humanities. Our findings have important implications for the strategic management of university departments and for higher education policy related to measuring the performance of higher education research institutions.     

Process flow industry—scheduling and control using theory of constraints

This paper discusses the applicability of the Theory of Constraints (TOC) in the process flow industry and compares TOC to the current practice. The Drum-Buffer-Rope methodology is altered to meet the needs of the process flow environment. Guidelines for the strategic location of and determination of the reduced WIP inventory levels are provided.     

Are good managers required for a separation of ownership and control?

For diffuse ownership to become the norm in large business enterprises,investors need to be sufficiently confident to buy shares. Willinvestors follow through if serious doubts exist concerningthe competence of those managing companies? This paper addresses thisquestion, primarily by examining historical events in Britain.In the UK, ownership separated from control in large businessenterprises at some point between the 1950s and the 1980s, aperiod during which the country’s corporate executiveswere allegedly amateurish and complacent. The paper acknowledgesthat the managerial capabilities of British companies improvedas the twentieth century drew to a close. Nevertheless, legitimatedoubts would have existed about the quality of management asshare ownership patterns were reconfigured. The paper explainswhat occurred in the UK by focusing on financial intermediariessuch as pension funds and insurance companies. In the decades immediatelyfollowing World War II, a ‘wall of money’, a ‘cultof the equity’ and a ‘trapped capital’ effectcaused by exchange controls fostered institutional demand forshares that outweighed whatever doubts might have existed aboutthe quality of management. Correspondingly, there was a suitableplatform for diffuse share ownership to become the norm in theUK’s largest companies.     

How good is the equipartition assumption for the transport properties of a granular mixture?

Kinetic-theory, with the assumption of equipartition of granular energy, suggests that the pressure and viscosity of a granular mixture vary monotonically with the mass-ratio. Our simulation results show a non-monotonic behaviour that can be explained qualitatively by a simple model allowing for non-equipartition of granular energy between the species with different mass.     

Self-regulation of motor vehicle advertising: is it working in Australia?

There is growing concern that certain content within motor vehicle advertising may have a negative influence on driving attitudes and behaviours of viewers, particularly young people, and hence a negative impact on road safety. In response, many developed countries have adopted a self-regulatory approach to motor vehicle advertising. However, it appears that many motor vehicle advertisements in Australia and elsewhere are not compliant with self-regulatory codes. Using standard commercial advertising methods, we exposed three motor vehicle ads that had been the subject of complaints to the Australian Advertising Standards Board (ASB) to, N = 463, 14–55 year olds to assess the extent to which their perceptions of the content of the ads communicated themes that were contrary to the Australian self-regulatory code. All three ads were found to communicate messages contrary to the code (such as the vehicle's speed and acceleration capabilities). However, the ASB had upheld complaints about only one of the ads. Where motor vehicle advertising regulatory frameworks exist to guide motor vehicle advertisers as to what is and what is not acceptable in their advertising, greater efforts are needed to ensure compliance with these codes. One way may be to make it mandatory for advertisers to report consumer pre-testing of their advertising to ensure that undesirable messages are not being communicated to viewers.     

An analysis of dimensionality using factor analysis (true-score theory) and Rasch measurement: what is the difference? Which method is better?

One often hears the question asked, "For questionnaire data measuring a variable, what difference does it make to use factor analysis/principal components analysis (true-score theory) or Rasch measurement in testing for dimensionality?" This paper reports both factor analysis and Rasch measurement analysis for two sets of data. One set of data measures social anxiety for primary school students (N=436, I=10) and the second measures attitude to mathematics for primary-aged students (N=774, I=10). For both sets of data, the factor analysis suggests that the scores are reliable, and that inferences can be made that are valid for measuring school anxiety and attitude to mathematics. For both sets of data analyzed with Rasch measurement techniques, the reliability of the measures, the dimensionality of the measures, and the initial conceptualisation of the items, are called into question. It suggests that one cannot make valid inferences from the measures that were initially set up for true-score theory. The Rasch analysis suggests that items intended to measure a variable should be initially developed on a conceptualized scale from easy to hard, and that students should answer the items from this perspective, so that the Rasch analysis of the data tests this conceptualisation, and a linear scale can be created based on a mathematical measurement model with consistent units (logits).     

Thermal pre-treatment in the OSL dating of quartz: is it necessary?

Thermal treatment before optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) measurement is an important step in all widely accepted OSL dating procedures used with quartz. This is a major constraint on the design of a portable luminescence instrument for estimating ages in the field. Preliminary experiments show that using a standard dating protocol without heating caused a 30-50% underestimation of equivalent dose. This underestimate arises mainly from OSL derived from the 110 degrees C thermoluminescence (TL) trap; because of the thermal instability of this trap, this OSL contribution is only present in unheated laboratory-regenerated signals, but not in the natural signal. An alternative to thermal pre-treatment is investigated, based on the mathematical separation of the stable dosimetry OSL signal from the total OSL; the latter is the sum of signals from several traps, including the 110 degrees C TL trap. Our results show consistency with dose estimates obtained using a standard measurement protocol including pre-heating.     

Individual latent error detection: is there a time and a place for the recall of past errors?

A task carried out in error creates a latent condition that can result in a future undesirable outcome if the error is not detected later. The paper presents a study of the relatively under-researched phenomenon of post-task latent error detection. Focusing on UK naval aircraft maintenance, it was hypothesised that time, location and systems cues influence individual latent error detection amongst naval air engineers who experience the phenomenon. The systems view of human error is combined with a multi-process approach to post-task latent error research, for which findings suggest that distributed cognition across the entire socio-technical system may be influential in post-task latent error detection. Directions for future research will be of benefit to those interested in furthering safety resilience using a systems approach to minimise the consequences arising from latent error.

Relevance to human factors/ergonomics theoryThe nature and extent of post-task latent error detection is explored using a systems approach, for which distributed cognition across the entire socio-technical system appears influential. The aim of current research is to develop interventions to further mitigate for latent errors and thus advance the systems application of ergonomics theory.     

Emergency management: does it have a sufficiently comprehensive understanding of decision-making, process and context?

It is widely recognised in the social and management sciences that the effective support of decision-making requires a multidisciplinary perspective. This trend is also clear in nuclear emergency management (EM). However, communication between disciplines is not easy to maintain in EM contexts when the decision makers (DMs) are likely to be highly stressed. Such circumstances can lead them to revert to the instinctive patterns of perception of their core disciplines, making communication between disciplines difficult and, perhaps, obscuring complex interactions that have not been rehearsed in practice exercises. This paper explores decision making in EM and the nature of the socio-technical issues that will arise, suggesting that despite the lessons of past accidents the research EM community is still not taking a broad enough view of what future incidents may entail.     

Oblique penetration of a rigid projectile into a thick elastic–plastic target: theory and experiment

A model of oblique penetration of a rigid projectile into a thick elastic–plastic target has been developed (Roisman et al., Int J Impact Engng 1997; 19: 769–95) which incorporates stress-free boundary conditions at the rear surface of the target. The main objective of the present work is to validate the theoretical model by comparison with new experimental results for normal and oblique penetration of a rigid projectile into a thick plate of Al 6061-T651. Good agreement between theory and experiment is exhibited for the projectile residual velocity and the crater shape.     

Network inertia and inbound open innovation: is there a bidirectional relationship?

Scientometrics - Based on the patent data collected from smartphone industry over the period 2000–2017, we utilize two-stage least squares to investigate the bidirectional relationship...     

Whose criterion standard is it anyway?

A criterion-referenced standard is an important element of most successful professional testing programs. A growing body of evidence suggests that judge decisions are influenced by characteristics related to the normative experience of the individual judge (e.g. gender, age, etc.). This investigation used two health-care related boards to explore the effects of judge characteristics on the standards established. Two judge panels (composed of 26 and 30 members respectively) were used in a simplified Objective Standard Setting exercise to define examination cutoff points. Multi-faceted Rasch analyses were employed to detect and explore differences in judgment making. Significant but not necessarily consistent differences were found between panel judges on several examined characteristics. Results suggest that criterion-referenced standards defined by judge panels are inexorably connected to their normative experiences and are therefore wholly sample dependent. While stratification of judge panels is clearly an important element in defining standards, if they are ever to achieve the goals of Glaser (1963) and Majer (1962) including meaningful independence, more must be done to investigate these and other concerns. The case for the predictive validity of criterion-referenced standards has not thusfar been made in any convincing fashion.     

Top Journals Selectivity Index: is it acceptable for drugs beyond the field of analgesia?

To predict the success of an analgesic drug we have suggested a bibliometric indicator, the Top Journals Selectivity Index (TJSI) (Kissin, Scientometrics, 86:785–795, 2011). It represents the ratio (as %) between the number of all types of articles on a particular drug in the top 20 biomedical journals and the number of articles on that drug in all (>5,000) journals covered by Medline over the first 5 years after a drug’s introduction. For example, the highest TJSI score among analgesics was that of sumatriptan, the most successful drug for the treatment of migraine. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that TJSI may be used not only in the field of analgesics, but also for various other categories of drugs. The study tested two hypotheses. First, the difference between the most successful and less successful drugs in any pharmacological class can be reliably detected by TJSI. Second, drugs with TJSI indicators as high as that of sumatriptan can be found among other pharmacological classes as well. Drugs from various pharmacological classes approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) during the 10-year period, 1980–1989, were used in this study. Two groups of 10 drugs were selected to test the first hypothesis. One group included the most successful (breakthrough) drugs; the other included less successful drugs matched with the breakthrough drugs according to mechanism of action. The difference between the two groups was compared using three publication indices: the TJSI, the number of all types of articles on a drug in journals presented by Medline (AJI), and the number of articles covering only randomized controlled trials (RCT). It was found that TJSI can detect the difference between the two groups of drugs better than the two other indices. TJSI detected the difference between a breakthrough drug and its less successful counterpart at least 69% of the time with 95% confidence. With the other two indices the difference was not distinguishable from random chance. Some of the breakthrough drugs (zidovudine, omeprazole, lovastatin) have TSJIs as high or even higher than that of sumatriptan (19.2 vs. 23.0, 21.4, and 20.6, respectively). In conclusion, TJSI can be useful not only in the field of analgesics, but also with drugs belonging to other pharmacological classes.