Unaliasing of aliased line component frequencies

This paper is concerned with undoing aliasing effects, which arise from discretely sampling a continuous‐time stochastic process. Such effects are manifested in the frequency‐domain relationships between the sampled and original processes. The authors describe a general technique to undo aliasing effects, given two processes, one being a time‐delayed version of the other. The technique is based on the observations that certain phase information between the two processes is unaffected by sampling, is completely determined by the (known) time delay, and contains sufficient information to undo aliasing effects. The authors illustrate their technique with a simulation example. The theoretical model is motivated by the helioseismological problem of determining modes of solar pressure waves. The authors apply their technique to solar radio data, and conclude that certain low‐frequency modes known in the helioseismology literature are likely the result of aliasing effects. The Canadian Journal of Statistics 38: 116–135; 2010 © 2010 Statistical Society of Canada     

Rethinking constraints on public relations practice

Analysis of survey responses from 371 public relations professionals in four-year colleges and universities revealed two constraints on how public relations is practiced. In the communication technician role, disclosure of information about the organization is constrained. In the manager role, participation in the decision-making process is constrained. Implications of these constraints for what can be communicated outside and what can be done inside the organization are discussed. Strategies for practitioners and educators in addressing constraints are presented, particularly in light of the recent movement toward Total Quality Management (TQM) in U.S. organizations.Duane Sweep is a marketing officer for the First American Bank in Minot ND; Glen T. Cameron is an assistant professor and RuthAnn Weaver Lariscy is an associate professor, both in public relations at the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia.     

Changes in Product Attributes and Costs as Drivers of New Product Diffusion and Substitution

Diffusion theory has typically focused on how communication, internal or external to a social system, leads to adoptions and diffusion of an innovation. We develop a diffusion and substitution model based on a somewhat different perspective. In some cases, progressive improvements in product attributes and/or continual cost reduction seem to be a key driver of the diffusion process. For example, after introduction of the 5.25‐inch disk drive, its capacity continually increased, and accordingly, so did customer willingness‐to‐pay. Our model is based on a linear reservation price framework, in which a product is described by its depth (defined as the difference between a product̂s maximum reservation price and its production cost), and its breadth (related to the slope of its reservation price curve), indicating how broadly it appeals across various customer segments. Because of changes in product depths and breadths over time, customers who previously preferred the old product may later prefer the new product, thus creating the diffusion process. While the Bass model describes diffusion as a function of the coefficients of innovation and imitation, in our model, it is described by the coefficients of depth and breadth (the rates of change in relative depth and breadth), along with an S‐coefficient that we associate with the technology S‐curve. We fit our model to data from the disk‐drive and the microprocessor industries.     

Matching Product Architecture and Supply Chain Configuration

In this paper, we examine the suggested link between product architecture (i.e., the extent to which a product is modular vs. integral) and supply chain configuration (i.e., whether the product development is done internally by the manufacturer in an integrated supply chain or in collaboration with a supplier in a decentralized supply chain). Our model suggests that the choice of product architecture depends on firm, market, and product characteristics in addition to supply chain structure. In contrast to other studies, we find that the optimal mapping from architecture to supply chain structure is not always one‐to‐one. A decentralized supply chain may be associated with a more integral product when the technical collaboration penalty is not excessive and suppliers have significantly superior product development capabilities. Furthermore, in a decentralized supply chain, the nature of the relationship between the original equipment manufacturer and its supplier (adversarial or collaborative) plays a role in the choice of product architecture: modular architectures are more likely when the parties have adversarial relationships, while long‐term trust‐based relationships facilitate more integral product architectures.     

Finding Primary Publics: A Test of the Third-Person Perception in Corporate Crisis Situations

Exaggerated projections of the 3rd-person effect of crisis news on target groups may play a key role in escalating corporate crises. A 2 (locus of control: internal vs. external) × 2 (product category of crisis: food vs. laptop) experiment found that the 3rd-person perception varies as a function of product category. Our results indicated that in a laptop product category crisis, participants perceived target audiences to be more influenced than themselves when locus of control was internal rather than when it was external. This study delved into the potential effect on target groups and the corporation resulting from possible exaggerated perceptions of the impact of the crisis on the target groups. This perception may prompt or even pressure target audiences to react more strongly in keeping with the perceived impact, not their actual concern with the crisis. In turn, corporations may respond to a target audience based on the reaction the target audience feels obligated to portray in response to perceived impact, not actual impact measured independently in various ways.     

Working off the farm: Impacts on quality of life

The purpose of this paper is to determine the effects of off-farm employment on perceptions of quality of life. Data collected on 311 Western Ontario male and female farmers revealed that although most indicated satisfaction with their lives, some differences are apparent. Women employed off the farm report more areas of lower satisfaction than their male counterparts and men and women working solely on the farm. Low levels of satisfaction with time issues, leisure and exercise were most evident for employed women. Men employed off the farm report the most effects from time issues, satisfaction with the farm business, income and the environment. People working off the farm feel their farms are less successful and are more concerned with their environment. Whereas the farm family's pluriactivity enables many to hold on to herished aspects of the farming lifestyle for a while, its burdens are perceived to fall neaviest on female farmers especially if they have young children. The magnitude of their concerns about the quality of their environment and not being able to farm successfully suggests that many of these farmers would improve their quality of life by peeding up the transition out of farming before all their farm's equity is lost.