The failure of foresight in crisis management: A secondary analysis of the Mari disaster

Foresight the ability to plan and think systematically about future scenarios in order to inform decision-making in the present has been applied extensively by corporations and governments alike in crisis management. Foresight can be complicated because dispersed groups have diverse, non-overlapping pieces of information that affects an organization's ability to detect, mitigate, and recover from failures. This paper explores the failure of foresight in crisis management by drawing on data on events that preceded and followed the Mari disaster in a naval base in Cyprus in July 2011, where a large explosion killed 13 people and injured 62 others, while completely destroying the major power plant of the island. The paper examines how foresight into crisis management decisions was compromised because of a conscious effort by high ranking decision-makers to minimize emergent danger and avoid responsibility for the crisis, in joint with red tape, bureaucracy, and poor coordination and information flows. The paper explores the notion of operational and political responsibility of individual decision-makers and discusses an alternative approach to foresight in crisis management, one that is built on multiple layers of decision-making.     

Translation mechanisms in socio-technical niches: a case study of Dutch river management

This paper makes three contributions to the field of transition research. First, it sheds light on how the concept of translation can contribute to a better understanding of agency in niche development. Second, it articulates how the local–global distinction in the strategic niche management (SNM) approach relates to the levels in the multi-level perspective. Third, the article is empirically novel by presenting a radical sustainable innovation in Dutch water management (‘New Rivers’).     

2000年以后福利国家养老金体系发展趋势考察——基于“去商品化”的分析框架

文章根据"去商品化"的分析框架,对2000年以后三种福利模式国家的养老金体系发展趋势进行了考察。研究发现,社会民主主义福利模式国家的养老金体系表现出去商品化的趋势,体现了社会民主主义福利模式对社会权利及普惠主义思想的回归;自由主义福利模式国家的养老金体系呈现出继续商品化的趋势,是对1990～2000年间再商品化趋势的继续和发展,体现了自由主义福利模式对市场作用的信奉;保守主义福利模式国家的养老金体系同样表现出一定的商品化趋势,但这是各个社会群体博弈后,选择商品化手段对养老金体系进行调整的过程。     

Community participation in the management of wetland nature reserve：a case study of Nanjishan Nature Reserve, Jiangxi, China

In recent years, more and more conflicts have emerged in the management of nature reserves, of which themain problem is that how to carry out the campaign of conservation along with the promotion of development of localeconomics. To resolve the actual problem in Nanjishan National Wetland Nature Reserve and explore the idiographicmethod of the management of the wetland reserve, some studying methods including face-to-face interviews, informaldiscussion with local leaders and officials, group discussion with local fishers, questionnaire, and job of the conversationstation have been carried out. The results show that the education level of the local people is low; only 5% of the localpeople have an opportunity to the junior college; the main income of the local people is fishing, which accounts for 70%more or less; and the income is coming down year by year because of the unreasonable way of fishing. To cope with theproblems, some reformative way of management and the development of the reserve are introduced, such as establishingan NOG that constitutes of local fishermen to achieve the goal of community co-management, developing Bed andBreakfast and so on. Through practice of the management of the participation of the local people, we draw the conclusionthat the local people have a great desire to improve their life level, and to make the co-management of the reserve easy,it is important for the managers to play the role of pilot including engrafting the new ideas, giving some subsidy toencourage the local people to take part in the management. In addition, making local people perceive value of the reserveand the close relation between reserve conservation and the promotion of level of their life. On this basis, they incline totake part in the management of the reserve.     

Wage share,globalization and crisis: the case of the manufacturing industry in Korea,Mexico and Turkey

The aim of this paper is to analyze the changes in the wage share in the manufacturing industry in Mexico, Turkey and Korea in the era of globalization. The focus is on the one hand on the effects of globalization on the wage share, which is measured by the effects of international trade and FDI intensity of the economy. On the other hand, the process of opening up has been accompanied by major currency crises in most developing countries in the last decade, which has affected the wage share through exchange rate depreciation and economic recession. The paper develops a Post‐Keynesian conflicting claims model for an open economy under the pressure of globalization, and an equation for the wage share is estimated for each country using the Seemingly Unrelated Regression method. The results show that both recessions and nominal depreciations have a clear and lasting negative effect on the manufacturing wage share in all countries, whereas the effect of openness, in particular international trade depends on industrial policy structure. Increased export intensity leads to a decline in the manufacturing wage share in Turkey and Mexico, but has no significant effect in Korea. The positive expectations from FDI are also not materialized in any of the three countries.     

Modeling the lifetime costs of insulin glargine and insulin detemir in type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients in Canada: a meta-analysis and a cost-minimization analysis

Abstract

Background:

Two basal insulin analogues, insulin glargine once daily and insulin detemir once or twice daily, are marketed in Canada.

Objective:

To estimate the long-term costs of insulin glargine once daily (QD) versus insulin detemir once or twice daily (QD or BID) for type 1 (T1DM) and type 2 (T2DM) diabetes mellitus from a Canadian provincial government’s perspective.

Methods:

A cost-minimization analysis comparing insulin glargine (IGlarg) to insulin detemir (IDet) was conducted using a validated computer simulation model, the CORE Diabetes Model. Lifetime direct medical costs including costs of insulin treatment and diabetes complications were projected. T1DM and T2DM patients’ daily insulin dose (T1DM: IGlarg QD 26.2?IU; IDet BID 33.6?IU; T2DM: IGlarg QD 47.2?IU; IDet QD 65.7?IU or IDet BID 80.4?IU) was derived from a meta-analysis of randomized trials. All patients were assumed to stay on the same treatment for life. Costs were discounted at 5% per annum and reported in 2010 Canadian Dollars.

Results:

The meta-analysis showed T1DM and T2DM patients had similar HbA_1c change from baseline when receiving IGlarg compared to IDet (T1DM: 0.002%-points; p?=?0.97; T2DM: ?0.05%-points; p?=?0.28). Treatment of T1DM patients with IGlarg versus IDet BID resulted in lifetime cost savings of $4231 per patient. Treatment of T2DM patients with IGlarg resulted in lifetime cost savings of $4659 per patient versus IDet QD and cost savings of $8709 per patient versus IDet BID.

Conclusions:

Similar HbA_1c change from baseline can be achieved with a lower IGlarg than IDet dose. From the perspective of a Canadian provincial government, treatment of T1DM and T2DM patients with IGlarg instead of IDet can generate long-term cost savings. Main limitations include trial data were derived from multi-country studies rather than the Canadian population and self-monitoring blood glucose costs were not included.     

Conceptual niche management of grassroots innovation for sustainability: The case of body disposal practices in the UK

The grassroots has recently been identified as an alternative site for the development of innovations that may contribute to shifts towards more sustainable systems of consumption and production. While the characteristics of these innovations have been elaborated, it remains unclear how these alternative ideas and practices can be purposively supported to populate incumbent systems. This is especially so in light of the difficulty the grassroots face in connecting forcefully with the mainstream.This article will address this issue by outlining an adaptation of conceptual niche management - an approach that focuses on the embedding of guiding principles used to fulfill basic societal needs - that is sensitive to grassroots innovation. The framework will be applied to the current UK body disposal system to illustrate how such transformative sustainability ideas may be capitalised on.     

Investing in natural capital as management strategy in fisheries: The case of the Baltic Sea cod fishery

Many of today's fish stocks are officially managed following the precautionary approach. Yet, different political objectives and uncertainties among fishermen about their economic future make its implementation difficult. Over 75% of all commercially valuable stocks are exploited, overused, or collapsed and in a state of recovery [FAO, 2004. The state of the world fisheries and aquaculture. FAO, Rome. Managing fish stocks with an ecosystem-based approach is likely to stop the divestment of natural capital by combining sustainable use strategies with the preservation of marine ecosystems. Using the example of the Baltic Sea cod fishery, we show that a recovery program is economically and ecologically viable and reduces negative externalities. While policy makers must assist fishermen during the early years of the program, fishermen will experience greater landings and profits in subsequent years.     

Explicating the market dimension in the study of digital innovation: a management framework for digital innovation

Digital innovation is gaining momentum among academics and business practitioners. Featuring increasingly cross-industry and multi-actor innovation processes, digital innovation reveals the inherent technology bias in the dominant perspectives on innovation. This study aims to transfer the focus from technology-centred ideas of digital innovation to a more balanced concept in which digital innovation is conceptualised as a combination of multiple needs and solutions linked to various actors and their behaviours. The study builds on a longitudinal case study. The article contributes by providing a partial response to the explicit calls for strategic frameworks that capture the process of digital innovation. Furthermore, the article explicates the market dimension of digital innovation and extends the analysis of the market dimension from a limited view of customer information and user knowledge to further include needs, actions, and behaviours of market actors directly or indirectly using, complementing, or substituting the digital innovation and innovation process.     

Dynamic capabilities and entrepreneurial management in large organizations: Toward a theory of the (entrepreneurial) firm

Mainstream economic theory has generally excluded consideration of the role of managers, which has, in turn, impaired its ability to explain resource allocation by, and heterogeneity among, firms. In the real world, managers are called on to fill entrepreneurial and leadership roles: sensing opportunities, developing and implementing viable business models, building capabilities, and guiding the organization through transformations. These entrepreneurial management tasks are part of the organization׳s capabilities, which also encompass embedded organizational processes that can be slow to change. An understanding of entrepreneurial management and organizational capabilities will contribute to more realistic economic models and a better understanding by policy makers of industrial dynamics and the requirements of innovation.     

Exploring the variability of patient costs in disease management programs: a hierarchical modelling approach

Disease management programs include a wide variation of patients with different chronic diseases and different health care utilization. The aim of this article was to identify factors on patient-level and organizational-level that explain the variability in costs of patients with different chronic diseases enrolled in a DMP by employing a rigorous analytical model. A generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) was specified to perform a multi-level analysis of cross-sectional hierarchical data from 16 DMPs in the Netherlands. Multiple imputation, sub-group analysis per disease and analysis from both the health care and the societal perspectives were also performed. Our model showed that age, the presence of cardiovascular disease, multi-morbidity and payments on top of the payment for the usual care had positive relation with costs, while better quality of life was associated with lower health care costs. In the COPD sample, physical activity and employment were associated with health care costs. Our study showed that there is great variability in health care costs among patients included in DMPs and identified patient and organizational explanatory factors. The findings are relevant to the design of future DMPs and their payment schemes.     

Learning in,through, and about participatory technology assessment: the case of Nanotechnologies for Tomorrow's Society (NanoSoc)

In participatory technology assessment (pTA), technical and nontechnical communities convene to share their views on a sociotechnical challenge, in an attempt to render technology research and development more socially robust. Taking these commitments to transdisciplinary collaboration and co-construction of technology as entry points, this article describes key tensions that emerged in a Flemish pTA project on nanotechnologies, entitled ‘Nanotechnologies for Tomorrow's Society’ (NanoSoc). The tensions relate to how the terms of participation were enacted, the potentially conflicting aims embedded in the project's mission and methods, the various roles initiating pTA researchers (social scientists) assumed throughout the project's duration, and the deliberative-democratic rationale that sustains pTA frameworks at large. The article is a response to a pressing question posed to the author by pTA professionals, project participants and policymakers who ask publics to partake in science and technology decision making: now that NanoSoc is concluded, what can we learn from it?     

The role of top management team diversity in shaping the performance of business model innovation: a threshold effect

Business model innovation is one of the firm’s most important strategic decisions. Top management team (TMT), as the critical decision-makers, has essential influence upon such decisions. However, the role of TMT diversity in shaping the performance of business model innovation is less explored in the literature. Based on a sample dataset of 906 observations of small and medium enterprises from China Startups Stock Market during the period of 2009–2011, we find that TMT diversity exhibits a significant threshold effect on the relationship between business model innovation (in terms of novelty-centred and efficiency-centred business model) and firm performance. More specifically, when TMT functional diversity arrives at a certain level, the positive relationship between novelty-centred business model and firm performance becomes more pronounced. On the other hand, the positive relationship between efficiency-centred business model innovation and firm performance will be more significant when TMT tenure diversity increases to a certain level.     

Emergy evaluation of the artificial forest ecosystems in the watershed of Miyun Reservoir：a case study for ecosystems valuation and environmental management

To build the artificial forest ecosystem is the major eco-economic development model in the watershed of Miyun Reservoir. It is very important to evaluate the benefits of those ecosystems. Emergy theories are very helpful for us to establish a science-based assessment framework. Emergy evaluation of the artificial forest ecosystems in the watershed of Miyun Reservoir is used to asses the relative values of several ecological functions （sometimes called ecosystem services） and main ecosystem storages （sometimes called natural capital）. The main driving energies, internal processes and storages are evaluated. The main functions, including transpiration, GPP and infiltration, are evaluated, which are 609em$/ha/yr, 6,245em$/ha/yr and 340em$/ha/yr respectively. The total values of major environmental services are 4,683em$/ha/yr in the artificial forest ecosystem. The main storages of natural capital including live biomass, soil moisture, organic matter, underground water and landform are estimated, which are 112,028em$/ha, 9em$/ha, 40,718em$/ha, 34em$/ha and 6,400,514em$/ha respectively. The largest value is landform, which accounts for 97.7% of these calculated total emdollar values. The concept of replacement value is explored using the emergy values of both ecosystem services and natural capital. The total calculated replacement values are 302,160em$/ha.     

A comparative analysis of the change in R&D efficiency: a case of R&D leaders in the technology industry

This paper measures the cumulative change in research and development (R&D) efficiency of globally leading R&D companies in the technology industry. We use Data Envelopment Analysis /Malmquist index to analyse 49 such companies. The change in R&D efficiency is analysed by decomposing the Malmquist index into ‘catch-up’ and ‘frontier shift’ indices, and by comparing cumulative indices to those at the starting period. Those cumulative indices are obtained at both a firm and an industry level. Results indicate that the overall R&D efficiency of these globally leading R&D companies declined slightly during the period 2007–2013. At a firm level, this study determines in detail how the trend of each firm in R&D activities differs from other companies.     

Understanding the economic,daily functioning,and diabetes management burden of non-severe nocturnal hypoglycemic events in Canada: differences between type 1 and type 2

Objective:

To examine the daily functioning, diabetes management, and economic burden of non-severe nocturnal hypoglycemic events (NSNHEs) in Canada and differences in impacts by diabetes type.

Research design and methods:

A 20-min web-based survey, with items derived from the literature, expert and patient interviews, assessing the impact of NSNHEs, was administered to patients with self-reported diabetes aged ≥18 having an NSNHE in the past month.

Results:

Two thousand, two hundred and seventy-nine Canadian persons with diabetes were screened with 200 respondents meeting criteria and included in the analysis sample. Out of 87 working respondents, 15 reported on average 3.5?h of lost work (absenteeism). The reduction in work productivity (presenteeism) reported was comparable to the impact of arthritis. Other functional impacts included sleep and daily activities. Additionally, respondents’ increased their usual blood sugar monitoring practice, on average, 4.2 (SD?=?7.5) extra tests were conducted in the week following the event and reduced their insulin over the following 4.8 days. Increased healthcare utilization was also reported. Increased costs as a result of NSNHE for lost work productivity, increased diabetes management, and resource utilization was CAD 70.67 per person per year in this sample. Limitations of the study include the biases which are associated with a web-based survey and self-reported data.

Conclusions:

NSNHEs have serious consequences for patients and diabetes management practices. Greater attention to treatments which reduce NSNHEs can have a major impact on improving functioning while reducing the economic burden of diabetes.     

Study on the clustering of a typical industry：a case of apple industry in Shaanxi Province, China

The apple industry in Shaanxi Province is a resource-based industry; compared to the best productiveregions at home and abroad, it is advantageous in high quality as well as geographical and natural resources. Currently,big changes have occurred in the apple market supply-demand relations; long-term and comprehensive shortage haspassed; the buyer＇s market has come into being; competitions in the domestic market are fierce. At the same time, theforeign apple will impact on the domestic market, increasing competitive pressure. Foreign anti-dumping measures,green barriers and technologies restrict the exportation of the domestic apple. Based on successful experience of otherindustrial clusters, this paper analyzes the existing problems in the development of Shaanxi apple industrial cluster,combining empirical analysis, qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis, proposes specific policy recommendationsand get the conclusions. First, the characteristics of the agricultural industrial cluster are analyzed; Shaanxi appleindustry is characterized by cluster. Second, the rapid development of Shaanxi apple industrial cluster exposes someproblems. Third, we need the government to control the disorderly competition of Shaanxi apple industry.