Dynamic analysis of interventions designed to achieve millennium development goals (MDG): The case of Ghana

An increasing number of countries are orientating their development strategies based on the millennium development goals (MDG), a broad set of directives agreed to by the United Nations (UN) in the year 2000. Developing coherent plans to achieve MDG has been complicated by their multidisciplinary nature, and by the complexity of the system being managed. The “system” here is the socio-economic construct within which populations live and operate. In an effort to support this planning process, various approaches have been developed to help realize MDG within specified budgets. The work described here complements the most commonly used approaches by analyzing the impact of alternative interventions in an integrated socio-economic-environmental framework. In doing so, we utilize system dynamics, which is well-suited to support the analysis of dynamic, complex issues such as those that characterize MDG planning. Such an approach allows us to estimate impacts of MDG-related interventions on the economic and demographic development of countries under study, as well as the possible synergies between and amongst selected interventions, e.g., those involving education and health. Results indicate that failure to account for such factors can lead to sub-optimal strategies. Our objective is thus to provide policy-makers with a more comprehensive view of the outcomes generated by alternative MDG interventions, with emphasis on the ability to finance given strategies.     

Teaching proactivity in the entrepreneurial classroom

Abstract

This article examines the extent to which a proactive attitude can be considered a component of the entrepreneurial mindset and can be learned in the entrepreneurial classroom. We test the impact on students’ proactive attitude of two different teaching methods: a teacher-directed approach and a self-directed learning approach. We include group potency and emotions as variables that may moderate proactivity learning outcomes. Our sample is composed of 281 Master students in a French business school. Using a mixed methodological approach, the results demonstrate that the proactive attitude can be learned and that collaborative teamwork, a creative team spirit and positive emotions contribute to its development. We offer guidelines for the pedagogical design of EM education, an alternative tool to assess its impact, and a better understanding of emotional factors associated with group potency in student entrepreneurial teams.     

Technology valuation of a scanning probe microscope developed at a university in a developing country

Precompetitive technology (PT) refers to devices, equipment, software or processes primarily developed at universities in developing countries for research or teaching as a result of externally financed projects contracted between the university institutes, centers or faculties and industry. PT is generally embodied in the form of laboratory prototypes and is licensed via technology transfer (TT) contracts between the university and external funding agencies or other interested parties. In the process of defining the terms of a TT contract, a fundamental question arises: what is the monetary value of a precompetitive technology? In this paper we present a methodology for PT valuation based on the identification of specific value points (SVP) related to its development. The four-step method includes the definition of a PT value range based on cost and market approaches, expected incomes, present value and scoring in order to determine the relative weights of the primary aspects of the intellectual capital behind the technology. The valuation methodology is applied to the specific example of a scanning probe microscope (SPM) developed at the Centro de Ciencias Aplicadas y Desarrollo Tecnológico of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).     

Youth unemployment in Nigeria: nature,causes and solutions

Quality & Quantity - This study investigates the nature and causes of youth unemployment in Nigeria, with the aim of proffering evidence-based workable solutions as policy recommendation. Its...     

Is there a managerial life cycle? Evidence from the NFL

We use data from the NFL over 1920–2004 to examine the relationship between age and managerial performance controlling for other relevant influences. Our results indicate that age enhances performance up to a point at which increasing age predicts diminished performance—a managerial life cycle. Moreover, rates of change in the life cycle are relatively gradual, which is consistent with gradual changes in the marginal product of human capital and depreciation rates for human capital rather than levels that are fixed for long periods. With a lag of about 7–10 years, the effects are very similar to those found between age and athletic performance in previous studies by Fair. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Beyond the Business Case for Diversity in Organizations

Many organizations and institutions are spending extensive time, money, and resources to justify a focus on diversity. In this paper, we argue that, instead of justifying demographic diversity, the more appropriate focus is on properly managing the processes and outcomes of a diverse workforce. Demographic diversity in the workplace is a reality. In terms of both composition and sheer numbers, the workforce today is more demographically diverse than it has ever been, and there is every indication that it will be even more diverse in the future. Accordingly, this paper argues that we must go beyond the business case for diversity to effectively utilize the diversity that already exists and create a just workplace.     

Averting Regulatory Enforcement: Evidence from New Source Review

This paper explores firms' response to regulatory enforcement. New Source Review (NSR), a provision of the Clean Air Act, imposes stringent emissions limitations on significantly modified older power plants. In 1999, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sued owners of 46 plants for NSR violations. We study how electricity companies respond to both the perceived threat of future action, and the action itself. A discrete choice model estimates plants likelihood of being named in lawsuits increases with large historic emissions and investments. On the eve of the lawsuits, emissions at plants with a one standard deviation greater probability of being sued fell approximately 10%.     

Aligning Misaligned Systemic Innovations: Probing Inter‐Firm Effects Development in Project Networks

Implementing systemic innovations in a project network can significantly improve its performance; however, implementing systemic innovations is difficult if project network structures misalign to the innovation. Little research has examined how project network structures can align to systemic innovations. To address this research gap, we studied an advanced building information modeling tool implemented in a Finnish design and development project network. We found that misaligned innovations are aligned through a process of task sequence alignment, knowledge base alignment, and work allocation alignment. Our findings are important; they suggest that implementing systemic innovations in project networks is a multistage inter‐firm process.     

Charitable giving inside and outside the workplace: the role of individual and firm characteristics

Over the past several decades, charitable solicitations in the workplace have played an increasing role in the fundraising strategies of nonprofit organizations. Although many studies have examined the factors that influence overall charitable giving, very few studies have focused on giving when asked to donate in the workplace. This paper examines the determinants of charitable giving in and outside of the workplace in addition to the role of individual and firm-level characteristics. The study is based on one of the largest surveys of workplace giving including unique information on both workplace giving and overall charitable giving for 6000 employees in the USA. Specific factors uniquely influence charitable giving in the workplace. An employee's personal level of confidence in the nonprofit sector is strongly likely to influence workplace donations. At the firm level, an organization's size and industry also affect the presence of workplace campaigns and giving trends. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Review of: “UNCERTAINTY AND ITS EFFECT ON CAPITAL INVESTMENT ANALYSIS,” by Martin B. Solomon,Jr. Management Science,Volume 12, No. 8, April 1966

In this paper we extend Thompson's [17] work using time series models within the discounted cash flow framework to estimate the cost of equity capita] for a firm. In particular we do the following: First, we prove the existence and uniqueness of a solution for the cost of equity capital. Secondly, we verify that the cost of equity function is continuously differentiable and derive the formula for its reliability. Formulas for both the cost and its reliability are in terms of infinite sums or infinite dimension matrices. Thirdly, we derive estimators of the cost of equity capital and its reliability which are in terms of finite sums and easy to calculate. We show that these estimated converge to the cost of equity capital and its reliability. Finally, our procedure for estimation applies to a wide variety of time series models that may be used to forecast dividends.