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The Academy of Management Journal (AMJ) provides a broad platform for empirical management research that encompasses diverse topics, methodologies, and data types. Despite the wide array of studies published, successful research projects share key elements, such as an intriguing research question, a structured theoretical foundation, and a suitable research setting. This From the Editors piece introduces the AMJ Management Research Canvas, a guide for scholars to systematically address these core elements. By helping researchers align their studies with essential design and theoretical criteria, the canvas aims to improve the quality and coherence of submissions, benefiting both novice and experienced scholars in management and organizational research.

University of Massachusetts Boston Business schools, like their universities, reproduce racialized socioeconomic inequality. Few empirical studies examine how such reproduction occurs or is challenged. Recently, some institutions have issued anti-racist proclamations (ARPs) suggesting willingness to dismantle racialized structures. Our qualitative study examines the impact of ARPs on a U.S. business school and its university by asking: How do organizational members’ perceptions of, and responses to, ARPs facilitate the reproduction or challenging of racialized socioeconomic inequality? By analyzing interviews, focus groups, and archival data, we find that ARPs generate positive responses but also face opposition, with some advocating a return to a colorblind approach. Findings show the political dynamics activated in attempts to oppose and enact anti-racism. We introduce interpellative sensemaking to theorize how individuals are recruited into ideological battles over racialized systemic power structures. Our findings highlight how ambiguity and fear—of being “too woke” or “not woke enough”—play out differently across racialized positional-ities, impeding effective anti-racism. Our “bigger picture” framework (Lindebaum, 2024) reveals colorblind ideology’s role in maintaining racialized socioeconomic inequality. We argue for management educators to adopt colorbraveness—an approach that intentionally, reflexively, and accountably counters persistent racialized inequalities. We offer policy and practical suggestions for enacting colorbraveness in business schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the entire search space of 32-layer ZnxCd1−xTe superlattices to find the structures that minimize and maximize the bandgap at each possible zinc concentration. The searching is accomplished through an accurate and efficient combination of valence force field dynamics, the empirical pseudopotential method, and the folded spectrum method. We also describe the use of an alternate preconditioner that improves the robustness and efficiency of the locally optimal preconditioned conjugate gradient's solutions to the folded spectrum method. The physical properties of these superlattices, such as their formation energies, bandgaps, densities of states, effective masses, and optical response functions, are investigated with density functional theory paired with hybrid functionals and compare well to available experimental measurements. It is revealed that the bandgap of ZnxCd1−xTe may change by up to 0.2 eV depending on how the layers in the superlattice are ordered. Stacking order has a large, irregular effect on the effective masses, but optical response functions seem insensitive to it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many theoretical methods have been applied to research user behaviour and requirements. However, the uncertainty associated with customer characteristics often biases the conclusions drawn from customer research and affects the effectiveness of product design. In this paper, Bayesian networks (BN) are introduced into the research on customer behaviour analysis based upon theory of planned behaviour (TPB), and an analysis model driven by customer research data is established from the perspective of user behaviour intention to guide design optimisation. Combining the User background Factor with the TPB Factor, the model analyses the uncertainty of the association between the two, and corrects the errors in the designer's prior knowledge through structural learning. By a case study the paper finds that the evaluations that enhance customers' subjective norms and perceived behavioural control lead to a greater probability of purchase or use. In addition, customers with specific characteristics are more inclined to generate behaviour intention. The paper finally provides a design optimisation plan based upon the result of the research and discusses about the advantages of the research approaches and the directions of future researches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To operationalize the extent to which firms place a strategic emphasis on human capital and human resource management (HRM), we draw on the strategy field's dominant logic theory and on the emerging literature on executive compensation for the heads of major firm functions, such as HRM. Specifically, we investigate whether the pay of human resource executives (HREs) relative to other members of top management teams (TMTs) is related to firm performance. After controlling for the endogeneity of HRE status as one of the highest paid executives on the TMT, we find in a comprehensive sample of the largest US firms that HRE relative pay is positively related to firm financial performance, specifically Tobin's Q. We also find that the relationship of HRE relative pay with Tobin's Q is stronger in relatively smaller and younger firms in our sample. The findings suggest that a strategic emphasis on human capital and HRM leads to higher firm value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outsourcing is an important strategic decision of high-tech firms. However, while the research has extensively studied the implications of outsourcing to high-tech clients, its impact on high-tech vendors remains underexplored. This study empirically estimates the impact of government outsourcing contracts on high-tech vendors. Employing the earnings-return analyses framework, we find that, for high-tech vendors engaged in government outsourcing contracts, the stock market places a higher value on each unit of unexpected earnings compared to other firms. Additionally, this impact becomes stronger for contracts with longer terms, for contracts outsourced by the U.S. government or by countries with better political and economical stability. We obtain causal evidence through difference-in-differences (DID) analyses of high-tech firms' initiations of government contracts. Mechanism analyses uncover two primary drivers behind this impact: increased persistence of future earnings and improved alignment between accrual earnings and cash flows. Overall, our research indicates that when valuing high-tech firms, the stock market incorporates information from supply-chain networks, especially that related to government customers. Our results underscore the importance of obtaining government outsourcing contracts for high-tech firms' managers. Becoming a vendor to the government helps a high-tech firm reduce the uncertainty faced by its outside investors, who in turn value the high-tech firm's earnings to a greater extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research proposes an empirical framework to help firms understand to what degree the transaction-specific Net Promoter Scores (NPS) spill over and affect customer spending across multiple product categories under the same parent brand. The proposed framework is applied to novel individual-level, cross-sectional, and time-series NPS ratings matched with transaction details from a leading lifestyle conglomerate in the Middle East. Findings provide strong support for the presence of the NPS spillover in brand extensions and show that the spillover is moderated by customer learning both within and across categories. The theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the Net Promoter Score's (NPS) popularity among managers, the marketing literature has given limited attention to this indicator and has, instead, focused primarily on its impact on business performance. However, to highlight the mechanisms that contribute to the formation of the NPS and identify operational means to improve the score, it is important to get a deeper understanding of the factors that distinguish the NPS's customer categories ("detractors," "passives," and "promoters"). Accordingly, this research explores the relationship between perceived value and the NPS. An empirical study of 893 customers from two specialized retail chains was conducted to examine the relations between value sources and customer categorization as "detractors," "passives," or "promoters". The results also lead to the identification of differentiated value profiles according to these customer categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An enduring trait of modern corporations is their propensity to diversify into multiple lines of business. Penrosian theories conceptualize diversification as a strategy to exploit a firm's fungible, yet "untradeable," resources and point to the redeployment of technological know-how as an important driver thereof. However, less understood are the characteristics of technological assets that underlie firms' diversification decisions and the impact that diversification has on firms' subsequent development of technologies. In this paper, we expand the existing theories in two ways. First, we argue that central to understanding firms' diversification decisions is a distinction between their technological assets that are applicable to many markets and ones that are useful in only a limited number of contexts. To this end, we develop a novel way to characterize technologies along a continuum from highly general-purpose to highly market-specific. Second, we explore empirically the idea that diversification is an adaptive learning process involving both the exploitation of existing capabilities and the creation of novel ones. Using data on three decades of patenting and diversification histories of 28,376 firms, we find that (i) a firm's possession of general-purpose technological assets is positively associated with its decision to diversify and (II) firms that enter a new industry through diversification develop technologies that are specialized to the target industry. Our findings have implications for understanding firm growth, diversification, and evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIMS: To describe sources of health information and health-seeking behaviours of adults (aged ≥18) living in medically underserved communities in the Philippines. DESIGN: This is a secondary, quantitative analysis from a cross-sectional parent study. Participants completed a 10-item, self-report survey on their sources of health information, healthcare providers sought for health and wellness and health-seeking behaviours when ill. Responses were evaluated across two age groups (

When does pay dispersion elicit positive or negative employee attitudes? A review of the pay dispersion literature indicates a controversy around this vital question and suggests that numerous contingency factors moderate the effects of pay dispersion. In an empirical study of four Finnish companies consisting of 141 work units, we examine contingencies in attitudinal reactions to job‐based pay dispersion among blue‐collar workers. Based on archival pay data matched with employee survey responses (n = 536), we find that perceptions of pay basis legitimacy, task interdependence, and an individual's pay standing within the work unit explain the strength and direction of the relation between job‐based pay dispersion and employee attitudes (i.e., work engagement and organizational commitment). Our findings have implications for the design of pay systems and contribute to a better appreciation of the complexities underlying employee attitudinal responses to pay dispersion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a university's information resource center, the library has always provided services for teachers and students. However, there is a lack of in-depth research on the relationship between the allocation of library resources and the competitiveness of universities in innovation and entrepreneurship (CUIE). Clarifying that relationship could help optimize library resources to enhance CUIE and enrich the empirical research system of library science. Based on clarifying the composition of library resources, correlation and regression analyses were used to verify the effect of library resource allocation on CUIE. The results show that human, academic, and spatial resources of the library can improve CUIE. The quality of human resources is more important than quantity for CUIE. For academic resources, electronic resources play a greater role than paper resources in CUIE, and spatial resources have the least effect. To maximize CUIE, the university library must optimize its resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa is home to 27 of the world's 28 poorest, marginalised and most vulnerable countries. There are limited studies on the challenges and opportunities of researching marginalised consumers in Africa, even though more than 440 million marginalised consumers consume products and services that require market research. This paper aims to critically identify and discuss the challenges and opportunities for researching marginalised consumers in Africa using insights from empirical studies conducted in various countries between 2009 and 2022. The paper proposes a conceptual framework that outlines the methodological and operational challenges and enablers for market research and concludes with practical guidelines of considerations that researchers should take for researching the marginalised in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IssueWhen frontline employees' voice is not heard and their ideas are not implemented, patient care is negatively impacted, and frontline employees are more likely to experience burnout and less likely to engage in subsequent change efforts.Critical theoretical analysisTheory about what happens to voiced ideas during the critical stage after employees voice and before performance outcomes are measured is nascent. We draw on research from organizational behavior, human resource management, and health care management to develop a multilevel model encompassing practices and processes at the individual, team, managerial, and organizational levels that, together, provide a nuanced picture of how voiced ideas reach implementation.Insight/advanceWe offer a multilevel understanding of the practices and processes through which voice leads to implementation; illuminate the importance of thinking temporally about voice to better understand the complex dynamics required for voiced ideas to reach implementation; and highlight factors that help ideas reach implementation, including voicers' personal and interpersonal tactics with colleagues and managers, as well as senior leaders modeling and explaining norms and making voice-related processes and practices transparent.Practice implicationsOur model provides evidence-based strategies for bolstering rejected or ignored ideas, including how voicers (re)articulate ideas, whom they enlist to advance ideas, how they engage peers and managers to improve conditions for intentional experimentation, and how they take advantage of listening structures and other formal mechanisms for voice. Our model also highlights how senior leaders can make change processes and priorities explicit and transparent.

The article investigates the role of transnational criminal groups in migration governance. Although this topic has attracted increasing global attention due to the intersection of migration management and crime, academic research remains limited. Most studies tend to view criminal groups merely as threats to migration governance or as peripheral actors. The article advocates for a significant paradigm shift in conventional debate on transnational governance. Rather than merely viewing criminal groups as global challenges for various actors to tackle, we should acknowledge them as pivotal actors influencing these challenges. Based on empirical research on migrant smuggling and human trafficking in the Greece and Libya, the article sheds more light on the complex relationships between these criminal actors, state actors and other key stakeholders in migration governance. It shows how criminal groups not only disrupt but also actively shape migration governance, and may even play a crucial role in the functioning and reproduction of its legal apparatus. In so doing, the article transcends both mainstream perspectives that view crime as a mere challenge to migration governance and critical studies that frame the role of crime in migration governance solely in terms of a state-driven process of 'criminalization'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Symbiotic relationships between enterprises help mitigate resource and environmental impacts of industrial activities via exchanging waste or by‐products as material inputs among each other. However, the emergence of such symbiotic relationships under complex driving factors across different geographical scales remains hitherto not well understood. Here, we provide an analytic framework including a random forest model and Shannon index, to systematically describe and explain the scale effects of driving factors underlying the symbiotic relationships. Based on a questionnaire survey for 324 enterprises in Chun'an, a typical industrial city in eastern China, we applied this analytical framework. The results show that, first, the quantity of symbiotic relationships exhibits an inversely proportional function across various geographical scales. Second, there exist significant differences in the dominant factors at different scales. Finally, the diversity of importance of factors and the emergence of symbiotic relationships exhibit a consistent trend of fluctuation, providing evidence for the explanatory potential of our proposed analytical framework for the driving mechanisms of emergence. We find that when enterprises are simultaneously affected by multiple driving factors with potent forces (referred to as the diversity of importance), symbiotic behaviors are more likely to occur. Moreover, our results suggest that fostering symbiotic relationships necessitates considering the variations in driving factors across different scales comprehensively and formulating targeted promotional measures tailored to the specific driving factors of different enterprise types. Our proposed framework would help to maximize industrial symbiosis potentials in a specific region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The main goal of the article is to determine the mediating role of HRM outcomes in the relationships between staffing the organization and company performance results and to establish whether there are any identifiable regularity in this scope in the pre-pandemic and pandemic period in the HQs and foreign subsidiaries of MNCs. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical research included 200 MNCs headquartered in Central Europe. To capture the actual relations between the variables under study the raw data in the variables were adjusted with the efficiency index (EI). The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to verify the research hypotheses and assess the mediating effects. Findings: The research findings show that, with the exception of the HQs in the pandemic period, when staffing had a negative effect on the company performance results in quality, in other cases it had a positive effect on results in HRM, finance, innovativeness and quality, both in the pre-pandemic and pandemic period, although this effect was not always statistically significant. Furthermore, the company's performance results in HRM mediate positively the relationships between staffing and the other three categories of company performance results, regardless of the organizational level (HQs' or subsidiaries') and time period under consideration. Additionally, during the pandemic, the company's performance results in HRM mediate the relationships between staffing and the other company's performance results stronger than in the pre-pandemic time. Originality/value: In addition to confirming the results of some other studies, the article also provides new knowledge. It determines the mediating role of HRM outcomes in the relationship between staffing and company performance results in finance, innovativeness and quality. Moreover, it identifies certain regularities in the four studied contexts, which is a novelty in this type of research. It also uses an innovative approach to including employee KPIs as the efficiency index in analyzing the relationships between the variables under study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: International experience has long been recognized as a crucial determinant for firms' knowledge management in the existing literature. However, within a global context, the relationship between international experience and the performance of multinational enterprises is intricate and remains ambiguous. While the impact of people mobility has been extensively studied, limited understanding exists regarding how global mobility of people and evolving external environments reshape the relationship. This study aims to integrate existing empirical evidence on this relationship and examines the contingencies posed by environmental factors. Design/methodology/approach: This study conducted a multilevel meta-analysis based on a sample of 231 effect sizes collected from 167 articles to systematically examine the international experience–performance relationship, considering the moderating effect of the global mobility of people and the rise of national sentiments (including authoritarianism and protectionism). A two-stage procedure comprising Hedges-Olkin-type meta-analysis and random-effects meta-analytic regression was adopted. Findings: The findings demonstrate a predominantly positive international experience–performance relationship that varies across studies owing to differences in research design, variable measurements and firm characteristics. The relationship is positively moderated by the global mobility of people, yet the positive effect is contingent upon the level of national sentiments within home countries. The beneficial effect of inbound mobility on this relationship is attenuated by authoritarianism and protectionism, while the effect of outbound mobility is positively influenced by authoritarianism and less affected by protectionism. Originality/value: This study offers novel theoretical insights into multinationals' knowledge accumulation in the internationalization process. It contributes to the existing literature by presenting an integrated framework elucidating the international experience–performance relationship. Building upon the knowledge-based view, it integrates environmental dynamics and national sentiments to investigate the performance implications of multinationals' international experience, thereby providing valuable practical insights for effective global knowledge management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The centrality of community engagement in disease prevention and health promotion interventions highlights the need to understand the contextual factors that shape participation. Sense of Community (SoC), characterized by feelings of belonging, connection, and interdependence among members of a community, has emerged as a key component of community capacity and is therefore expected to influence engagement outcomes. However, empirical evidence is needed to assess its actual impact on community engagement. Additionally, the literature lacks a broader synthesis of the role and implications of SoC in this context. This study aims to review the empirical literature on SoC in disease prevention and health promotion, with a special focus on its association with community engagement. Methods: A scoping review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines, searching for empirical studies published between 1974 and 2023 via Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed. Results: Nineteen studies were included in the review, revealing three key themes: (1) the community to which SoC refers – among intervention participants, within community coalitions, and defined by the place of residence; (2) the interpretation of SoC, either as a generic, intuitive concept or as a theoretically defined construct; (3) the ways in which SoC is studied – as a predictor of engagement but also as an outcome of the interventions. Generic SoC among intervention participants emerged as a positive outcome and a factor contributing to engagement. However, as the scope expanded to encompass broader communities and SoC became more theoretically grounded, these dynamics shifted. SoC related to the place of residence did not exhibit significant improvement after interventions. Broader community-level SoC showed positive associations with engagement among members of community coalitions, but evidence was less consistent among the individuals targeted by interventions. Conclusions: The review highlighted a scarcity of empirical research on SoC despite its recognition as a key component of community capacity. Contextualizing SoC is crucial, as its interpretation significantly influences its role in disease prevention and health promotion interventions. Further research is needed to clarify whether SoC can foster engagement at all community levels, especially among the general population. This is particularly relevant amid the current context of escalating health needs and strained traditional resources, where community engagement is increasingly essential to ensuring the sustainable delivery of disease prevention and health promotion efforts. If SoC can drive widespread engagement, it could play a pivotal role in building more proactive and autonomous health-promoting communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines cesarean section (C‐section) deliveries in Ghana from 2008 to 2017 in 10 regions, distinguishing between scheduled and emergency procedures. Scheduled C‐sections target specific maternal conditions, such as advanced age, multiparity, and medical history, while emergency C‐sections address acute fetal distress, preeclampsia, bleeding, and other urgent situations. The analysis reveals various regional patterns, with the Brong‐Ahafo Region showing a potential deceleration after 2017 and the Upper West Region indicating a possible acceleration. The high number of C‐sections in Greater Accra and Ashanti may be related to population density and health facilities. The study proposes empirical models, including linear, quadratic, and exponential components, emphasizing quasilinearity. The exponential model suggests transient and permanent phases of cesarean frequency, with the latter dominated by quasilinearity. Optimal parameter values are determined, which highlights the stability of the model. However, caution is advised when projecting too far into the future due to the inevitable slowing of observed trends. The findings offer insights for healthcare planning, resource allocation, and policymaking, emphasizing the need for region‐specific approaches and ongoing monitoring of cesarean dynamics to inform nuanced interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to the usual slope and location parameters included in a regular two‐parameter logistic model (2PL), the logistic positive exponent (LPE) model incorporates an item parameter that leads to asymmetric item characteristic curves, which have recently been shown to be useful in some contexts. Although this model has been used in some empirical studies, an identifiability analysis (i.e., checking the (un)identified status of a model and searching for identifiablity restrictions to make an unidentified model identified) has not yet been established. In this paper, we formalize the unidentified status of a large class of fixed‐effects item response theory models that includes the LPE model and related versions of it. In addition, we conduct an identifiability analysis of a particular version of the LPE model that is based on the fixed‐effects one‐parameter logistic model (1PL), which we call the 1PL‐LPE model. The main result indicates that the 1PL‐LPE model is not identifiable. Ways to make the 1PL‐LPE useful in practice and how different strategies for identifiability analyses may affect other versions of the model are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continued influence effect (CIE) of misinformation refers to the persistence of misinformation's impact on memory and inference even when individuals are aware of a retraction. This study examined whether collaborative processes affect the CIE and investigated the underlying mechanisms through three experiments. Experiment 1 explored the general impact of collaboration on the CIE. Experiment 2 further dissected collaboration into turn-taking and free collaboration conditions, assessing their effects on the CIE at various recall intervals. Building on these findings, Experiment 3 delved into the mechanisms driving the differential effects of turn-taking and free collaboration on misinformation correction. Results revealed that turn-taking collaboration consistently mitigates the CIE, while the effect of free collaboration on misinformation correction is moderated by recall time. This variation is attributed to differences in re-exposure, cross-cuing, and forgetting across collaboration types. The present study contributes empirical support to the Knowledge Revision Theory of the CIE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical cyclone forecasting relies on accurate sea surface temperature, yet the errors in available sea surface temperature products remain unclear. Here, I evaluate the sea surface temperature errors under tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific based on surface drifters across eight widely-used datasets, including satellite, atmospheric and oceanic analysis-or-reanalysis products, spanning from 2014 to 2023. The ensemble mean bias and root-mean-squared-error are firstly quantified. Both satellite and oceanic analysis sea surface temperatures exhibit a cold bias, while atmospheric analysis-or-reanalysis sea surface temperature shows a warm bias. Specifically, atmospheric analysis-or-reanalysis products consistently show a warm bias in the right-rear quadrant of the tropical cyclone coordinate system. Regarding root-mean-squared-error, for most products, the right side consistently exhibits higher errors than the left side. SST bias significantly impacts tropical cyclone intensity change as indicated by empirical relationship. These results provide direct insights for operational tropical cyclone forecasting and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A number of patients have complex care needs that arise from interactions among multiple factors, such as multimorbidity, mental health issues, and social vulnerability. These factors influence decisions about healthcare and health services. Shared decision-making (SDM), a collaborative process between patients and professionals, is known to improve the quality of the decision-making process. However, follow-up challenges of patients with complex care needs (PCCNs) can lead to SDM specificities. Objective: To identify specificities of SDM with PCCNs. Methods: We conducted a scoping review using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology. We conducted a systematic search across MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Academic Search Complete databases. Empirical studies about SDM with PCCNs published between 1997 and 2023 were eligible for inclusion. We conducted a mixed thematic analysis using deductive (Ottawa Decision Support Framework and Interprofessional Shared Decision-Making Model) and inductive approaches. Following Arksey & O'Malley's and Levac et al.'s methodological recommendations, we consulted experts (researchers, healthcare professionals, and patient partners) to enhance the findings. Results: Twelve studies were included in the review. Overall, our results demonstrated the importance of recognizing some specificities of SDM with PCCNs, such as the simultaneous presence of multiple decisions and the multidisciplinary and intersectoral nature of the healthcare and health services they receive. Conclusion: This scoping review highlights some specificities that must be considered in SDM with PCCNs to maintain its already-known benefits and ensure positive health and decision-making outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of competitive sports, the evaluation of compensation incentive effectiveness is key to the optimization of compensation systems for athletes. This study creates a model of the athlete compensation incentive effect from single and multinomial grouping perspectives, combining empirical research (SEM) with fuzzyset qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) based on a sample of 352 validated data. The results lead to two findings. First, athletes' direct economic compensation, direct non-economic compensation, and indirect non-economic compensation have a significant positive effect on the incentive effect of compensation. Second, that the incentive effect of high compensation has two configurations, namely "economic value" and "economic environmental value." It seems that the effective combination of compensation factors can enhance the motivation effect in a "different way." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We discuss the evolution of a computational model of delusions, beginning with a background consideration of how computational psychiatry, with its roots firmly based in cognitive neuropsychiatry, seeks to develop descriptive and mechanistic models that reach across different levels of explanation in order to provide more comprehensive understanding of how neurobiological, cognitive, subjective and sociocultural factors may all contribute to complex psychopathology. This quest for bridging explanations – or "consilience" – across the levels is a shared goal of computational psychiatry and cognitive neuropsychiatry and is, we argue, crucial to explaining delusional beliefs. We outline how early computational models appealed to prediction error disturbances as a basis for understanding the early emergence of delusions and show that, despite empirical support, there have been certain explanatory limitations that make a simple prediction error account partially limited. Embedding the account within the increasingly influential hierarchical predictive processing framework subsequently offered a more powerful and comprehensive account, particularly by encouraging the consideration hierarchically-organized inference and its evolution over time. However, further limitations remain in its explanatory scope, most notably the fact that delusions can emerge rapidly and suddenly in a way that seems revelatory and convincing. This phenomenon is not easily encompassed by the standard predictive processing account which emphasizes an iterative process of optimizing inference. However, more recent development in the form of "Hybrid Predictive Coding" posits a complementary rapid inference mechanism. We discuss how this hybrid approach may be key to a more comprehensive computational understanding of delusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 'Must We Mean What We Say?', Stanley Cavell defends the method of ordinary language philosophy while arguing that the special status of philosophical claims about language arises from the fact that these statements are expressions of self-knowledge. Recently, Nat Hansen (2017) has explored Cavell's position in relation to empirical research on linguistic usage. This paper challenges Hansen's reading of Cavell, and presents an alternative interpretation that withstands some of Hansen's objections. For Cavell, claims about 'what we say' are claims about observable matters of fact, but nevertheless they are not, and cannot ever be, observation-based claims. The point of observing ordinary usage is to remind the philosopher of what is contained within the practical mastery that she already possesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces a novel approach to estimate tail dependence in financial contagion using mixture copulas. Addressing the challenges of weight parameter estimation in conventional models, we propose a Bayesian model averaging method to determine optimal copula weights. Through both simulations and empirical studies, the proposed method demonstrates improved robustness and accuracy, particularly when handling extreme weight scenarios. These advancements offer more reliable measurements of financial contagion, contributing to enhanced risk management and policy-making in interconnected financial markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BIM‐based planning approval for major infrastructure measures The planning approval marks a decisive milestone in the realization process of major infrastructure projects. However, this phase is often characterized by time‐consuming procedures and the associated rising costs. In view of the urgent need to develop efficient and sustainable infrastructure solutions, the digitalization and acceleration of approval procedures such as the planning approval procedure (PFV) is becoming increasingly important. In this context, the Building Information Modeling (BIM) method is coming into focus as a promising solution. Based on an empirical study, this article identifies 13 optimization possibilities in the PFV, which are recorded in the form of user stories. Based on these findings, a concept for BIM‐based planning approval is developed, which represents a concrete approach to how approval procedures can be accelerated and made more citizen‐friendly. The designed concept enables the project sponsor and the planning approval authority to coordinate the planning approval process by using a common data platform (Common Data Environment, CDE) and to exchange all relevant data and information. The concept developed is to be fleshed out and supplemented with requirements as part of the BIM4People (08/23–01/26, 19FS2057A) research project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The goal of the study is to provide guidelines for a simplified South African Value-Added Tax (VAT) Act. Motivation: The current VAT Act lacks logical structure and is therefore complex to teach, apply in practice and administer. The study on which this article reports investigated the structure of the VAT Act as an element of legal complexity. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research was conducted in two phases: a literature review, followed by semi-structured interviews. Main findings: Existing empirical studies confirm that the poor structure, layout and organisation of the VAT Act contribute to its complexity. In addition, research confirms that improvements to structure, layout and organisation enhance the readability of statutes. Interviewees agreed that the current incoherent structure of the VAT Act contributes to its complexity. The findings confirm that the complexity of the VAT Act raises compliance and administrative costs. Practical implications/Managerial impact: The literature review and interview findings contribute to the development of guidelines for a simplified South African VAT Act, which is the contribution of this study. The principles include adhering to a VAT vendor's lifecycle, grouping sections together, introducing headings and subheadings, using clear signposting, employing international benchmarks and seeking a solution that addresses local challenges most effectively. Novelty/Contribution: One recommendation that stands out is to completely rewrite the VAT Act. As a first step in this rewrite project, it is recommended that an index be developed using the guidelines. This is an initial step towards simplification of the South African VAT Act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Software maintenance is a challenging and laborious software management activity, especially for open‐source software. The bugs reports of such software allow tracking maintenance activities and were used in several empirical studies to better predict the bug resolution effort. These reports are known for their large size and contain nonrelevant instances that need to be preprocessed to be suitable for use. To this end, instance selection (IS) has been proposed in the literature as a way to reduce the size of the datasets, while keeping the relevant instances. The objective of this study is to perform an empirical study that investigates the impact of data preprocessing through IS on the performance of bug resolution prediction classifiers. To deal with this, four IS algorithms, namely, edited nearest neighbor (ENN), repeated ENN, all‐k nearest neighbors, and model class selection, are applied on five large datasets, together with five machine learning techniques. Overall, 125 experiments were performed and compared. The findings of this study highlight the positive impact of IS in providing better estimates for bug resolution prediction classifiers, in particular using repeated ENN and ENN algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contributes to the debate on the platformization of society by presenting a theoretical framework that describes the influence of strategic action fields (SAFs) on the emergence of platform architectures. It shifts the focus from already successful platforms to contested processes of platformization, understood as the gradual reorganization of fields around the architectures of digital platforms. To assess the influence of fields on platformization processes, the article combines the architectural view of platforms and the theory of SAFs. The resulting framework emphasizes that platform organizations may occupy powerful positions in fields, but they also depend on the contributions of users and complementors to establish these positions in the first place. Therefore, the forms and outcomes of platformization are influenced by the conditions in SAFs, particularly the stage in the field's temporal trajectory and the field position of platform organizations. By re-examining a growing body of empirical research, the article distinguishes platformization processes in emerging, stable, and transforming fields, and presents scenarios for each case. By theorizing a wide range of platformization processes and outcomes beyond disruption, the article offers a nuanced understanding of the proliferation of digital platforms and the influence of platform organizations in contemporary societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To identify risk and protective factors associated with physician performance in practice; to use this information to create a risk assessment scale; and, to test use of the risk assessment scale with a new population of assessed physicians. Design: Physician assessments that were completed by community-based physicians between March 2016 and February 2022 (n=2708) were gathered to determine what professional characteristics and practice context factors were associated with poor peer practice assessment (PPA). The predictive capacity of the resulting model was then tested against a new sample of physician assessments completed between March 2022 and February 2023 (n=320). Results: N=2401 physicians were eligible for inclusion in a logistic regression analysis, which resulted in an empirical model containing 11 variables that was able to account for 21.6% of the variance in the likelihood of receiving a poor PPA generated by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia. The resulting model, when tested against 320 new cases, was able to predict good versus poor PPA performance with a sensitivity of 0.79 and specificity of 0.75. Not having undertaken peer review (OR=1.47) created a risk like that arising from a full decade passing since completion of medical school (OR=1.50). Conclusion: In addition to being the largest known study of its type, this work builds on similar studies by demonstrating the capacity to use regulator-mandated peer review to empirically identify physicians who are at risk of substandard performance using factors that are safe from claims of violating Human Rights Codes; that emphasize modifiable aspects of practice; and that can be readily updated to account for change over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, the inclusion of graphic photographs in the news has been a matter of controversy. One important criticism made by news audiences is that the publication of graphic imagery could be guided by racial and cultural biases. However, there is little empirical research to either support or disprove this notion. Therefore, this study investigated several factors that could be related to the publication of graphic imagery. Images included in news about tragic events published by Mexican, U.S. and German print newspapers (N = 1,746) were analyzed in a quantitative content analysis. We particularly studied whether the inclusion of graphic images is more likely for certain events or for certain victims. Results showed that news about geographically and culturally distant events is more likely to include graphic imagery than news about proximate events. In addition, we discovered that non-White victims and non-citizen are more likely to be shown in graphic imagery. Finally, we found that Mexican and U.S. newspapers are more likely to publish graphic images than German newspapers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sandy clay is defined as a sand–clay mixture with the mechanical behavior dominated by fine clay but affected by coarse sand. Twenty sets of one-dimensional incremental load consolidation and falling head permeability coefficient tests were performed on sandy clays. The samples of sandy clays were prepared by mixing two hosted clays with different sand fractions from 0% to 60%. The interrelation between the change of permeability coefficient with void ratio and the compression curves is established. The results indicate that the effect of sand fractions on permeability coefficient can be attributed to the variation of void ratio at liquid limit induced by sand fractions. The initial void ratio affects permeability coefficient by changing the void ratio under the same effective vertical stress. These two findings highlight that the permeability coefficient-void ratio relationship of sandy clays is a function of void ratio at liquid limit and void ratio. An empirical method of estimating permeability coefficient is also proposed using two physical indices of void ratio and void ratio at liquid limit for sandy clays having void ratio at liquid limits ranging from 0.63 to 1.73 and initial void ratios varying from 0.72 to 2.67. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing consensus that hydrology education should move towards student-led learning formats and simultaneously incorporate recent hydrologic technologies that reflect workforce expectations. Prior theory suggests improvements in learning outcomes from student-led learning; however, little empirical evidence has been collected to confirm this success. We measured the classroom impact of three teaching modalities: 1) instructor-led lectures, 2) student-led hydrologic modeling, and 3) student-led design evaluation studios. Educational outcomes were measured with student surveys, direct observation of class activity, and student grades. In aggregate, the student population did not express a significant preference for one modality over another, yet individual students showed dramatic preferences for each modality. This suggests best practice is to increase the variety of teaching modalities we employ as instructors to positively engage more students. The total frequency of interactions between students and the instructor was similar across all three modalities; however, the frequency of student-initiated engagements (both total and unique engagements) significantly increased in both student-led modalities. Variations in student enthusiasm did not correlate with written assessment scores. Alternating modalities improved interest in hydrologic science and perceptions of positive experiences, however, did not change the retention of hydrologic concepts. Multiple teaching modalities should be employed to engage the greatest number of students and generate enthusiasm, and multiple methods of assessing student learning should be employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical evidence is insufficient on the specific roles GIS learning plays in developing students' understanding various spatial concepts. The present study aims to draw attention to common struggles of learning some spatial concepts in geography and offer directions for future research on GIS learning and the development of student spatial concept lexicon. Three types of technical terms – neutral, helpful associations, and hindering associations – by Glessmer and Brose (2014) provided an excellent framework to explain why some concepts are more or less difficult for students to grasp. Our findings suggest that learning map scale and map projection are relatively easy because they are neutral and introduced as a new vocabulary. Overlay and density are terms provoking helpful associations because they carry a similar meaning in everyday language, so most students had no problems understanding the meaning of these concepts. Spatial association seemed to elicit unhelpful association because everyday use of the term, association, is not precise enough to define spatial association, resulting in students confused with other terms. Future research must be done in the context of GIS requiring students to be able to not only know spatial concepts but clearly articulate these concepts regarding various GIS applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose/Objective: Small sample sizes are a common problem in disability research. Here, we show how Bayesian methods can be applied in small sample settings and the advantages that they provide. Method/Design: To illustrate, we provide a Bayesian analysis of employment status (employed vs. unemployed) for those with disability. Specifically, we apply empirically informed priors, based on large-sample (N = 95,593) July 2019 Current Population Survey (CPS) microdata to small subsamples (average n = 26) from July 2021 CPS microdata, defined by six specific difficulties (i.e., hearing, vision, cognitive, ambulatory, independent living, and self-care). We also conduct a sensitivity analysis, to illustrate how various priors (i.e., theory-driven, neutral, noninformative, and skeptical) impact Bayesian results (posterior distributions). Results: Bayesian findings indicate that people with at least one difficulty (especially ambulatory, independent living, and cognitive difficulties) are less likely to be employed than people with no difficulties. Conclusions/Implications: Overall, results suggest that Bayesian analyses allow us to incorporate known information (e.g., previous research and theory) as priors, allowing researchers to learn more from small sample data than when conducting a traditional frequentist analysis. Impact and Implications: We provide a Bayesian tutorial for selecting priors, computing, and interpreting results within the context of disability research. We hope to inspire future research using Bayesian analysis for small sample disability data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides fresh empirical insights into the evolving nature of policy analytical capacity in Australia, Britain, Canada, and New Zealand. We argue for a focus on the formal policy staff employed in government to provide greater conceptual clarity and empirical purchase regarding specific types of policy analytical resources linked to capacity. Using ten years of administrative data we chart the evolution of the size, composition, and distribution of formal public service policy staff in these cases. We find, contrary to expectations, that formal policy staff have increased in all four cases. Comparative analysis reveals not only uneven staffing capacity across government organizations, but also important developments in the seniority and distribution of staff in "analysts" and "managers" classifications. The findings are used to generate country profiles that demonstrate more nuanced patterns of policy analytical capacity change over time. The findings also raise important questions about shortcomings in how governments track and classify their policy staff, and their ability to effectively manage policy analytical resources in policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Usually, work beyond retirement is seen as part of the active and healthy aging paradigm. However, during the work-to-retirement transition, some people can experience activity and value re-prioritization, which might align more closely with the theory of gerotranscendence. The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to explore the concept of gerotranscendence in a group of retirement-aged workers (n = 219) and determine the relationship between gerotranscendence and motivation for work beyond retirement. To collect data, the Slovenian version of a 4-point Gerotranscendence Scale with 10 items (GTS-10) was used for the first time. Principal component analysis of the GTS-10 suggested that the internal structure of the Slovenian version of the GTS-10 corresponded to the original scale. Gerotranscendence was predicted by the presence of meaningful activities in a person's life (β = 0.184, p =.006) and uninterrupted pattern of life (β = 0.343, p <.001). The workers' motivation for prolonged work activity was influenced by a sense of autonomy and mastery engagement in work provided (β = 0.214, p =.008) as well as by Cosmic transcendence (β = 0.192, p =.005). Workers' social relations were characterized by enjoying being with others and meeting new people, which is contrary to the theory of gerotranscendence. The study suggests that gerotranscendence can be relevant in understanding workers' motivation for prolonged work activity. However, there might be nuances of the concept specific to the studied population and cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metaphors pervade media and political constructions of crime and justice, provoking responses and shaping actions. Scholarship in adjacent disciplines illustrates that emotion-metaphors offer unique insight into emotional and interpretive processes, valuably illuminating sense-making, problem solving and action. Yet, metaphors are rarely analysed within criminology, leaving an important opportunity for theorizing emotions and their implications largely unrealized. We explore the analytical and theoretical potential of emotion-metaphors for criminology, using empirical research conducted in the penal voluntary sectors of England and Scotland. Drawing on focus groups with volunteers and paid staff, we analyse the metaphors that non-profit practitioners mobilized to convey how their work felt: (1) absurd and unstable, (2) vulnerable and constrained, (3) devalued and discarded and (4) risky and all-consuming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on custodial institutions has been the subject of intense scrutiny. During the pandemic, many international jurisdictions failed to develop clear and child-focussed plans for the management of children in custody, instead relying on strategies developed for adult populations. Presenting the findings from the United Kingdom's (England Wales) first empirical in-depth exploration of the impacts of COVID-19 on children at each stage of the Youth Justice System, this article discusses the devastating effect on incarcerated children. The pandemic exacerbated existing failures in the children's secure estate, eradicated children's rights and exposed children to increased vulnerabilities. We present an urgent need for a fundamental ideological reconsideration of the purpose of custody for children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]