Wie ist Globalisierung m?glich? Zur Entstehung globaler Vergleichshorizonte am Beispiel von Wissenschaft und Sport

The article conceives of globalization as a highly improbable phenomenon. In contrast to the mainstream of the globalization literature, we ask under which conditions the globalization of societal fields can potentially become an empirical reality. We proceed in three steps: The second part presents an explanatory model that identifies the conditions under which global horizons of comparison may emerge. Our model is predicated on the assumption that the globalization of societal fields is enabled not only by relational linkages (??ties??) but by public comparative discourses (??cultural linkages??) too. In the third part, we apply this model on the development of modern science and competitive sports, proving the explanatory power of our model and showing that in both cases global horizons of comparison first consolidated in the late 19^th century. The final part concludes with reflections on commonalities and differences between the two cases, on the applicability of the model to other social fields (e.g, economy) and on its implications for the analysis of globalization processes.     

Paths towards Family‐friendly Working Time Arrangements: Comparing Workplaces in Different Countries and Industries

Although studies have examined the distribution and conditions of employer‐provided work–family arrangements, we still lack a systematic investigation of how these vary for different countries and industries. Based on the European Working Conditions Survey 2010, this study examines the conditions under which firms provide family‐friendly working time arrangements and what the differences are across four countries (Austria, Denmark, Italy and the UK) and four industries. The impact of employee representatives, employee involvement, manager support and female managers varies across countries and industries because of the institutional environment (prevailing family model, industrial relations) and workforce composition (gender). The impact of employee representatives depends on their co‐determination rights, and the direction of their effect on the prevailing family model (e.g. negative in conservative countries such as Austria) and the gender composition of the workforce (negative in male‐dominated production, but positive in services). Employee involvement in the work organization is significantly positive in Austria and Denmark (both with co‐operative industrial relations), while manager support has the strongest effect in the UK (liberal regime). At the industry level, female supervisors are positively associated with family‐friendly working time arrangements only in the male‐dominated production industry. These findings suggest that the effects of agency variables and their direction vary depending on the institutional context.     

The Roles of Supply Chain Intelligence and Adaptability in New Product Launch Success

Many new product introductions continue to be unsuccessful, and while researchers have studied product development processes, relatively few studies directly address new product launch. We do so in the present research and posit that supply chain intelligence, defined as technological and competitive knowledge sourced and integrated from suppliers, customers, and competitors, plays an important role in explaining new product launch success. We further employ the knowledge‐based view to theorize that both supply chain adaptability and product innovation capability act as important mediators of the effects of supply chain intelligence on new product launch success and firm financial performance. While the former capability refers to a firm's ability to quickly adjust its supply chain to react to market and product design changes, the latter refers to the firm's proficiency in developing innovative new products. We test hypothesized relationships among these factors utilizing data collected in a survey of 229 U.S. manufacturing firms. Results point to the central role of supply chain adaptability in capturing the benefits of supplier technological intelligence for enhanced product innovation capability, new product launch success, and firm financial performance. In contrast, product innovation capability serves as the generative means by which customer and competitor intelligence is translated into more successful new product launches, which, in turn, produce superior firm financial performance. Overall, these findings contribute to a better understanding of factors that can explain why certain product launches are more successful than others, and offer practical insights for appropriate investments in the development of related knowledge resources.     

Variations in provider capacity to offer accessible health care for people with disabilities

Since social workers are likely to practice in a range of health care settings, their training focusing on human behavior in the social environment could help providers develop strategies to improve access to care for people with disabilities. In this article, results from a comprehensive survey of providers about access to health care for people with a broad range of disabilities are reported. Results suggest that a minority of providers report difficulty serving people with disabilities. However, dentists and mental health/substance abuse providers are significantly less likely than other providers to report that they provide accessible services to individuals with disabilities. These providers are less likely to report having had training related to mobility impairments, providing mirrors at their facility, having an accessible door, or providing assistance with personal care needs, and are more likely to report that their building poses a barrier for people with disabilities. Social workers are well positioned to take a leadership role in working with providers and patients to improve access to health care for people with disabilities. A social work framework of understanding the individual in a social environment may be the most appropriate perspective for creating innovative strategies for addressing the complex, multidimensional needs of people with disabilities who experience limited access to care.     

Mapping Prefrontal Cortex Functions in Human Infancy

It has long been thought that the prefrontal cortex, as the seat of most higher brain functions, is functionally silent during most of infancy. This review highlights recent work concerned with the precise mapping (localization) of brain activation in human infants, providing evidence that prefrontal cortex exhibits functional activation much earlier than previously thought. A systematic evaluation of the activation patterns in these neuroimaging studies mainly based on functional near‐infrared spectroscopy reveals that prefrontal cortex function can be broadly divided into two distinct anatomical clusters with different functional properties. One cluster of activations falls within the region of the medial prefrontal cortex and is mainly involved in affective processes; another cluster is located in lateral aspects of the prefrontal cortex and shows sensitivity to cognitive processes such as memory and attention. This distinction is in line with adult data and evolutionary models and may represent a developmentally continuous organization principle of prefrontal cortex function. All in all, this review is aimed at providing a synthesis of new findings that are emerging from the use of neuroimaging techniques with infants as well as at encouraging further theory‐driven research to understand the developmental origins of prefrontal cortex function.     

Inter-organizational network structures in Russia: organizational changes from institutional and social embeddedness perspectives

Theory posits that organizations are embedded socially within their environment. The level of embeddedness depends highly on the environmental uncertainty a company and its network partners face. The latest research on transition economies indicates that the institutional framework in these countries is highly relevant for inter-organizational structures (i.e. formalization, standardization, frequency, intensity and reciprocity). As Russia constitutes a good example of high environmental uncertainty, a closer look at organizational changes in general and inter-organizational network structures in particular is taken. This paper extends the theoretical and empirical scope of social and economic theories on inter-organizational structures by formulating a conceptual framework that unites economic rationalism with socially embedded arguments. Contributing to emerging international HRD literature, the objective is to understand better the institutional influences on network structures and thus on organizational change. Moreover, it will be demonstrated how far organizational changes and human resource development is associated with institutional influences on network structures.     

Testing for an excessive number of zeros in time series of bounded counts

For the modeling of bounded counts, the binomial distribution is a common choice. In applications, however, one often observes an excessive number of zeros and extra-binomial variation, which cannot be explained by a binomial distribution. We propose statistics to evaluate the number of zeros and the dispersion with respect to a binomial model, which is based on the sample binomial index of dispersion and the sample binomial zero index. We apply this index to autocorrelated counts generated by a binomial autoregressive process of order one, which also includes the special case of independent and identically (i. i. d.) bounded counts. The limiting null distributions of the proposed test statistics are derived. A Monte-Carlo study evaluates their size and power under various alternatives. Finally, we present two real-data applications as well as the derivation of effective sample sizes to illustrate the proposed methodology.     

Communication About Micropollutants in Drinking Water: Effects of the Presentation and Psychological Processes

This study investigates how people change their risk perception, trust, and behavior as a consequence of being informed about the occurrence of micropollutants in drinking water. Micropollutants are substances present in extremely low concentrations that might be dangerous in higher concentrations. Data were gathered in the city of Zurich, Switzerland in 2013 using a questionnaire in which the information on micropollutants was presented differently to 12 experimental groups. Data of the key constructs were gathered before and after this information, so that causal effects could be quantified by regression analyses. Affective reactions to the information turned out to be the critical mediator of changes in risk perception (operationalized as the perceived change of quality due to pollution), which is an important determinant of changes in behavior and trust. Also, direct effects of affective reactions on behavior and trust were observed. Trust before appraising risks reduces negative affective reactions; however, it also reduces perceived quality (i.e., increases risk perception) and trust after risks are appraised. The different forms of information mainly influenced the participants’ affective reactions, but they also influenced perceived quality. The presentation with the least negative effects was a comparison of the intake of the substance by water with intake by food. The experimental design with repeated measurement that considers trust as a determinant and consequence of risk perception uncovered positive and negative effects of trust before appraising risks on changes of risk perception and trust due to appraising risks.     

Plan Colombia: illegal drugs,economic development and counterinsurgency – a political economy analysis of Colombia's failed war

This article examines the socioeconomic effects of the illegal drug industry on economic and social development in Colombia. It shows that illegal drugs have fostered violence and have had a negative effect on economic development. This article also shows that the Plan Colombia anti‐drug policy has been an ineffective strategy in terms of decreasing drug production, generating economic development and reducing violence. Since this study includes both a statistical analysis of the effects that violence and illegal drugs have on the economic growth of Colombia, along with an evaluation of the Plan Colombia policy programme, it fills the gap between existing empirical studies of the Colombian illegal drug industry and specific analyses of Plan Colombia.