Operational models for epidemics of problematic drug use: the Mover-Stayer approach to heterogeneity

A modified version of a susceptibles-infectives-removed (S-I-R) model for the HIV/AIDS epidemic, proposed at the beginning of the 1990s and recently generalized, is presented to mirror the epidemics of problematic drug use. The generalized model, which belongs to the susceptibles-infectives-susceptibles (S-I-S) class of epidemic models, can be used both to estimate interesting epidemic macro-parameters and to make scenario analyses. The model is a compartmental Mover-Stayer-type structure (Soc. Methods Res. 11 (1983) 345; Bull. Narcotics LIII (1-2) (2001) 39; Biometrics 55(4) (1999) 1252; Math. Biosci. 107 (1991) 521) and allows taking into account possible heterogeneous behaviours of the susceptibles. Such models, in fact, consider the susceptible population as subdivided into two main groups: the group of stayers, that is, the group of individuals who are considered not at risk of “infection”, and the group of movers (possibly divided into sub-groups with different risk behaviour) who are at risk of infection. Due to the interactions between infectious individuals and the susceptibles, some of these may pass to the drug user compartments and begin a “drug user career”. The model is presented and studied from a qualitative point of view using a Markov hybrid approximation. Some qualitative evaluation of the possible impact of interventions directed both towards susceptibles (primary prevention) and towards users (secondary prevention and/or law enforcement) are presented. Specific “what if” scenario analyses are obtained by simulation. Possible future developments are outlined.     

Recent Changes in the Regulation of Financial Markets and Reporting in Canada*

The regulation of financial reporting and financial markets has undergone significant change in both the United States and Canada since 2000. In Canada, the regulatory regime is particularly complex and politically controversial, with much speculation about possible future directions. This paper's purpose is to explain the current regulatory environment as it stands in mid‐2006 to assist those who teach or conduct research in this domain. On the basis of a review of existing regulations and related studies, this paper first provides an explanation of the major jurisdictional issues that affect financial reporting and regulation in Canada, including identifying the roles of the key players. Second, it identifies specific reporting changes that might be of particular relevance to prospective capital market researchers. Where relevant, comparisons are made with regulatory provisions in the United States, because the majority of capital markets research concerns U.S. securities exchanges regulation, and the Canadian regulations themselves often refer to U.S. regulations as a point of comparison. We find that the lack of a single national securities regulator in Canada and overlaps in federal and provincial jurisdiction and among regulatory bodies mean there is a large range of players involved in financial markets regulation. Ongoing efforts to improve integration include the new passport system, improved harmonization of securities regulation, and consideration of mergers between some of the involved organizations. Other changes have led to a greater emphasis in Canada on the regulation of continuous disclosure and corporate governance than was previously the case. Changes in specific reporting regulations and guidelines since 2002 have generally increased the amount of disclosure.     

A methodological approach to the marketing process in the biotechnology-based companies

The article addresses the commercialization activities of biotechnology-based companies in a European context and discusses whether these companies are able to gain adequate market perceptions and set adequate marketing processes, taking into account three analytical steps: strategic marketing definition, marketing implementation, and evolution of strategy and implementation. A methodological approach was developed, considering the specific nature of the technology and the companies. The case of Portuguese companies was used to test this methodology.The findings support the hypothesis that marketing issues constitute a problem for these companies, since most of them had serious difficulties in going through the marketing process. Marketing deficiencies were largely connected to the access to human resources with relevant management and marketing capabilities and were particularly felt by companies introducing discontinuous innovations.The research confirms that this methodology is useful in the assessment of the marketing management process in biotechnology-based companies.     

Organization and Management in an Anglo-French Consortium: The Case of Transmanche-Link

This paper presents the results of a comparative organizational assessment of the behaviour and organization of the British and French managers who constructed the Channel Tunnel. In the context of a common adhocratic organization, a principal components analysis of the survey results differentiates the British and French respondents on five dimensions: fonceur /procedural; competitive/collegial; involved/distanced; individualistic/supportive; and stress. These quantitative results are supported by qualitative data from interviews and open-ended questions. A preliminary explanation of the results in terms of a configurational analysis of the differences between the British and French managers surveyed is then offered. The paper argues that an organizational assessment methodology is compatible with societal approaches which attempt to understand nationally distinctive configurations of organization and management.     

Actor network pictures and networking activities in business networks: An experimental study

In recent years, there has been increasing interest among business-to-business marketing scholars in the processes of managerial cognition. In particular, actors' network pictures, defined as the cognitive representations of managers' business surroundings have attracted much attention. However, there has so far been no empirical research on the impact that network pictures have on managerial behavior. The purpose of this paper is therefore to understand if and how specific pertinent network picture characteristics — namely power, dynamics, broadness, and indirectness — are associated with different behavioral choices, i.e. networking strategies. Based on an experiment with 445 Executive MBA students, all international managers across different industries, we find that managers' choices when managing business relationships, their strategic actions, are affected by the way they perceive their surrounding business network. However, amongst the different theoretical models of networking activities tested, only the power dimension showed significant associations with all four network picture characteristics. This study represents the first to empirically study the connection between cognition and behavior in business-to-business markets, as well as one of the few to apply an experimental design to study a business-to-business marketing related phenomenon. Also, it paves the way for future understanding of the association between network picture characteristics and networking strategies in interaction between actors.     

The state in science, technology and innovation districts: Conceptual models for China

Throughout the world the creation of successful technology districts has become a major issue for public policy makers. This paper analyses the potential role of the state in entrepreneurship and the creation of technology districts, and outlines implications for China's social market economy. We identify three types of technology districts: (1) market-driven technology districts such as Silicon Valley in the USA and Cambridge in the UK; (2) state-driven technology districts targeting foreign multinational companies, such as Sophia Antipolis in France and Singapore; (3) state-driven technology districts which nurture local companies, such as the Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park in Taiwan. We believe that these three typologies provide the foundation for better understanding the potential role of the state in science and technology for China in the early 21st century.     

Financial and economic performance of major Brazilian credit cooperatives

The credit union's main functions are the provision of individual financial loans based on collective savings, reaching up to provide full banking services, with expansion of its social function. Cooperatives are an alternative to supply a credit demand in the market, because a third of the municipalities have no bank branches. Although the participation of cooperatives in credit operations is still small compared to the Brazilian national banking system, its continued growth demonstrates the importance of this sector. In this sense, the analysis of the performance of these cooperatives becomes relevant to the extent that incentives to industry expansion differ from other financial institutions. In this context, this study aimed to analyze which the financial and economic performance of Brazil's largest credit unions. This performance analysis was performed using the indicators proposed by the CAMEL model, then the data envelopment analysis (DEA). It can be seen that there is a positive relationship between the use of variables in the model and the measurement of financial performance of credit unions. Moreover, according to the results, it can be observed that Uniprime Northern Paraná, Sicoob Cocred and Sicredi North RS/SC were cooperatives that stood out as efficient.     

Leader＇s Human Capital as an Alternative for Relational Leadership

The current research attempts to revitalize contingency leadership theory. Instead of focusing on subordinate attributes as a substitute for leadership theory, this study examines leader＇s human capital attributes as a leadership contingency variable. This paper offers a fresh perspective to contingency leadership literature by exploring a new set of variables. Addressing leader-member exchange （LMX） rather than the conventional focus on leader＇s behaviors, this study examines previously untested contingency variables. Using a matched sample of leaders and employees from Portuguese firms, this study examines leader＇s education and leader＇s organizational tenure as alternatives for LMX with assessed job performance and organizational citizenship as dependent variables. Testing new independent variables sheds additional light on contingency approaches to leadership; as a result, this paper improves the current state of research on contingency leadership. Results seem to indicate that leader＇s education is an alternative for LMX as well as suggesting that the leader＇s organizational tenure improves LMX. This paper proposes that research focusing on the substitute for leadership may need to examine a different set of variables to determine the viability of contingency approaches to leadership.     

Does local and Euro area sentiment matter for sovereign debt markets? Evidence from a bailout country

Does sentiment impact the sovereign debt markets? This article investigates whether lagged domestic and Euro area irrational sentiment (optimism or pessimism unwarranted by fundamentals) predicts future sovereign bond spreads, in Portugal, between January 2000 and December 2013. We find that domestic and Euro area sentiment negatively forecasts total return spreads and that this effect is stronger during the bailout period. Also, we find that the business sentiment is even most noticed. Therefore, Portuguese sovereign debt market is prone to the influence of investors’ sentiment.