Consumer Information and Education Effects on Knowledge and Choice of Fire Resistant Upholstery

The effects of consumer education and information treatments on choice of alternative products are described. Knowledge of upholstery serviceability and flammability before and after these treatments is measured as well as simulated purchase behavior of 448 Canadian consumers. Subjects show an increase in knowledge between pre- and posttests. The choice of fire resistant upholstery differs among consumer information treatments but not among education treatments. The policy implications of these findings are discussed.     

Hybrid organization structures: A path to cost savings and customer responsiveness

In order to cut costs while increasing customer responsiveness, some corporations are integrating the competitive features of small companies with the resources of large corporations. They are adopting a hybrid type of organization by decentralizing decisionmaking to the business units and centralizing administrative functions at the corporate level. This article outlines the characteristics of a hybrid corporation and describes the role of corporate staffs within five corporations that have evolved to a hybrid structure. Some first steps on the path to a hybrid structure and corresponding staff activities are also described. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION IN POLLUTION REDUCTION: A SOCIO-TECHNICAL PERSPECTIVE

Is industrial pollution reduction solely a matter of applying technical solutions to technical problems, or do organizational strategies and human factors also play an important part? In 1991 the US Environmental Protection Agency began collecting data on organizational strategies in pollution control as part of its Toxic Release Inventory database. An exploratory analysis of the 1991–1992 Toxic Release Inventory data revealed evidence that internally based, socially driven organizational strategies such as employee participation can have a dramatic impact on pollution reduction. The results are reported here of the second phase of this research: the approach is broadened to define general ‘internal’ versus ‘external’ strategies, and ‘social’ versus ‘technical’ approaches. There is strong evidence that the combination of internal and external strategies is superior to either alone; there is even stronger evidence that a socio-technical approach is better than either alone, and still stronger support for a combination of all of these criteria.     

Experience with a simulator for training ammonia plant operators

A computer-based simulator was used for training operators prior to the start-up of a new fertilizer complex which includes a 1,350-MTPD ammonia plant, two 1,100-MTPD urea plants, and a steam and power generation plant with two 18-MW gas turbines. The simulator offered many benefits, which can be used for continued education of operators and engineering studies.     

Safe storage of dilute ethylene oxide mixtures in water

In the past industry has had to rely on a number of “rules of thumb” to provide a means of reasonable analysis for many design, operation, safety and similar issues. The lack of readily available computing facilities made the use of “rules of thumb” a necessary part of doing business in the hydrocarbon processing industry. And these “rules of thumb” have proven useful and allowed many tasks to be accomplished successfully. Today, however, availability of mainframe computers or desktop computing facilities has provided a tool that has decreased the need to rely on “rules of thumb.” And in many cases processing improvements can only be accomplished by replacing “rules of thumb” with more rigorous analysis. In the ethylene oxide producing/consuming industry a widely-used “rule of thumb” concerns the storage of ethylene oxide water solutions. A well-publicized “rule” stated that solutions in excess of 1-2 weight percent ethylene oxide in water should not be stored [1]. This “rule” is certainly valid in many situations. However, this guideline may be unnecessarily restrictive in other cases. The impact of several key process parameters impacts the amount of ethylene oxide in water than can be safely stored. This study will show that higher concentrations of ethylene oxide in water can be safely stored under the right circumstances. The study will also discuss the key variables that determine whether aqueous ethylene oxide solutions can be safely stored. Finally, a methodology used in determining how much ethylene oxide in water can be safely stored will be outlined.     

政府分权促进了政策创新吗?

传统观点认为,政府分权因考虑到了地方政府所进行的一些同步实验而促进了政策创新。然而,这里却忽视了一个学习外部性问题：成功的政策实验为所有政府提供了有用的信息。虽然地方政府忽视了它。但中央政府却不应该如此。本文使用社会学习模型对集权和分权情况下的政策创新进行了比较。结论是：倘若地方政府相对同质或者数量较大,集权将比分权导致更多的政策创新;而如果有多种实验政策可供利用的话,分权也许会比集权能引发更多的政策创新。     

An approach to evaluate the acute impacts from simulated accidental releases of chlorine and ammonia

The manner in which specific chemicals are used is studied in order to identify plausible release scenarios and the probability of their occurrence.     

Technology-enabled interactions in digital environments:a conceptual foundation for current and future research

Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science -