Institutionalizing the Network Form: How Life Scientists Legitimate Work in the Biotechnology Industry

This study combines insights from economic sociology on recent structural changes in the knowledge economy with neoinstitutionalist analyses of cultural change in organizations. Because a network form of organization relies on interorganizational ties, new models of legitimacy emerge alongside of old ones, rather than replacing them, so that seemingly contradictory institutions coexist in the network form. This article explores how life scientists legitimate working in the biotechnology industry—a new option that nevertheless fails to delegitimate the old academic path. The data are based on qualitative observations of a young biotechnology firm. These are supplemented by observations at a university laboratory and interviews with 41 life scientists.     

A test of the characteristic function and the Harsanyi function in N-person normal form sidepayment games

This paper reports the results of a laboratory experiment investigating sidepayment games represented in normal form. Attempts to predict payoff allocations via the application of solution concepts (such as the Shapley value or the nucleolus) encounter a problem in games of this form, because the game must first be transformed into some other form. Commonly, this other form is a set function defined over coalitions, such as the von Neumann-Morgenstern characteristic function. Because there are numerous possible transformations, the question arises as to which one provides the most accurate basis for prediction of payoffs.The laboratory experiment tested three such transformations - the mixed strategy characteristic function, the pure strategy characteristic function, and the Harsanyi threat function. Payoff predictions from two solution concepts (Shapley value, nucleolus) were computed on the basis of each of these transformations, making a total of six theories under test.Results of the study show, in general, that payoff predictions based on the Harsanyi threat function and on the mixed strategy characteristic function were more accurate than those based on the pure strategy characteristic function. The most accurate theories were the Shapley value computed from the Harsanyi function, the nucleolus computed from the Harsanyi function, and the Shapley value computed from the mixed strategy characteristic function. Less accurate were the nucleolus computed from the mixed strategy characteristic function and both the nucleolus and the Shapley value computed from the pure strategy characteristic function.This research was supported by grants SOC-7726932 and SES-8319322 from the National Science Foundation. The authors express appreciation to Yat-Tuck See, Jyh-Jen Horng Shiau, and Raymond Wong for assistance in computer programming, and to Jennifer Brandt, Young C. Choi, David C. Dettman, Laurel Dettman, Stephen B. Geisheker, Irving J. Ginsberg, Mike P. Griffin, Kimberly Ihm, Todd Isaacson, Christy Kinney, Mary Kohl, Sue Pope, Tammy Schmieden, Jill Schwarze, Susan Winter, and Kenneth Yuen for assistance in data collection and analysis.     

Closed Circuit TV Debate Bridges the Gap between Schools

Abstract

Children of Cambodia's Killing Fields: Memoirs by Survivors, compiled by Dith Pran. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, 1998. 199 pp. ISBN 0-300-06839-5. $14.95.     

Veterans’ Use of Programs and Services as They Transition to Civilian Life: Baseline Assessment for the Veteran Metrics Initiative

Abstract

A substantial minority of veterans struggle as they reintegrate into civilian life, reporting problems with vocational attainment, legal/financial/housing challenges, physical and mental health conditions, and social/interpersonal issues. While there are thousands of programs and services offered to veterans, little is known about which ones they use. In the current exploratory study, veterans separated from active duty in the prior three-months (48,965) were invited to complete a survey. Two primary questions were addressed: What programs/services did veterans use to assist in their reintegration to civilian life? What specific components/attributes of those programs did veterans report using? A total of 9566 veterans completed the survey. Approximately, two-thirds of veterans used at least one program to enhance their well-being, while one-third reported using multiple programs across multiple domains. Veterans primarily sought assistance for employment and educational advancement. Fewer veterans sought assistance for legal/financial/housing, health, and social functioning challenges. Social service providers and policy makers should be aware of the resources veterans use as they reintegrate into civilian life. Future research should examine factors that predict the use and nonuse of veteran reintegration programs, how use changes over time, and what factors predict program/service use, particularly among veterans at risk for poor transition outcomes.     

Assessing Television’s ‘Political Dramas’

Because drama is so important to the television schedules, and because television remains a ubiquitous and pervasive medium, TV drama is a constant cultural presence. Some of its stories are about politics, featuring the work of government, the contestation of elections, party rivalry and negotiation, and so on, with a cast of characters including leaders, advisors, journalists, celebrities and citizens: they echo, refract, replay, model and feed into narratives about real‐world politics in a variety of ways. Dramatic stories of this kind are important for the sake of their potential contribution to what citizens believe ‐ and feel ‐ about politics itself. Dramatised political stories and characters appear in a wide range of genres, from factually based docudramas to situation comedy and soap opera, and have become the focus of international academic attention for a number of scholars in politics departments as well as those working from within media and cultural studies. This article looks at a range of approaches to studying political drama on television, raising questions about generic variety, the ideas and the kinds of analysis that have been applied and the varying assessments that have been put forward.     

The Politics of competence: Views from around the Globe

Abstract

There has been little attempt to situate notions of competence historically or culturally and the definition of competence has not changed much once applied to different national workforce development policies. An international group of scholars examines this topic as one of the products of HRD research and practice and notes the need to recontextualize the construct of competence within social, political and cultural practices.     

Inclusion or Exclusion? Exploring Barriers to Employment for Low-Income Older Adults

Faced with economic uncertainty and declining retirement security, older adults have increasingly tried to remain in, or return to, the workforce in recent years. Unfortunately, a host of factors, such as ageism and changing skill requirements, present challenges for older adults seeking employment. Low-income older adults, in particular, may lack necessary education and skills and have limited access to job opportunities and training. In this review, we examine factors that inhibit and support employment for low-income older adults and explore the role of social work in facilitating their inclusion in the workforce.     

Displacement,caregiving, and the ecological system of youth in foster care: a theoretical perspective

Children involved in the child welfare (i.e., foster care) system are at a greater risk for numerous negative outcomes in adolescence and adulthood (e.g., lower educational attainment, higher risk for a criminal record). For children in foster care who experience placement disruption (i.e., removed from a foster home and placed in another nonpermanent placement), the risks significantly increase. Informed by the ecological systems model, the authors propose a theoretical perspective to explain the unique aspects of a foster child’s development and discuss how this framework informs child welfare practice and intervention for foster children at risk for placement disruption. This perspective has the potential to provide a framework that has implications for foster caregivers and child welfare professionals and to inform future policies.