Entity Perspective Research Articles

Multi entity perspective freight demand modeling technique: Varying objectives and outcomes

The importance of freight transportation modeling and forecasting to better address planning issues is well recognized by policy makers. Compared to advancement in travel demand modeling for passenger travel, however, current freight demand modeling methods are not yet in the adequate levels to assess increasingly complex and important planning and policy issues. Three most important players in freight demand modeling are (a) shippers, (b) planners, and (c) policy (decision) makers who have different objectives. Past research is limited in proposing a unified methodology to address the objective of each player and to assess performance of transportation networks under conditions to achieve such objectives.In this paper, freight demand modeling is designed to address each objective of the three players in a multimodal transportation network. A freight transportation model that combines three geographic scales—national, state, and local—is proposed and developed to capture different characteristics of short- and long-distance freight flows with a focus on state-level modeling in Maryland. Data for the model include freight flows by commodity and by Freight Analysis Framework (FAF) zones, which are further disaggregated to Statewide Modeling Zones in Maryland; a transportation network with detailed link level attributes; user costs in addition to all details needed for the travel demand model. In the modeling framework autos are simulated simultaneously with trucks in a multi-class user equilibrium traffic assignment. The results demonstrate the network performance and key information on travel characteristics for each player. The proposed tool can be used for freight travel demand modeling for analyzing impacts of policies at state, county and local levels.

Exploring the effects of individual customer incivility encounters on employee incivility: The moderating roles of entity (in)civility and negative affectivity.

Incivility between customers and employees is common in many service organizations. These encounters can have negative outcomes for employees, customers, and the organization. To date, researchers have tended to study incivility as an aggregated and accumulated phenomenon (entity perspective). In the present study, we examined incivility as it occurs during a specific service encounter (event perspective) alongside the entity perspective. Using a mixed-method multilevel field study of customer service interactions, we show that individual customer incivility encounters (i.e., events) trigger employee incivility as a function of the employee's overall accumulated impression of the (in)civility in his or her customer interactions, such that the effects are more pronounced among employees who generally perceive their customer interactions to be more versus less civil. We also find that these interactive effects occur only among employees who are lower (vs. higher) in negative affectivity. Our results show that, in order to expand the understanding of customer incivility, it is important to study the incivility encounter, the social context in which negative customer interactions occur, and individual differences.

Multi-entity perspective transportation infrastructure investment decision making

Investment in new large transportation infrastructure is capital-intensive and irreversible in nature. Private sector participation in infrastructure investment has gained popularity in recent times because of scarcity of resources at the public sector, and because of the ability of the private sector to build, operate, maintain such facilities, and share future uncertainties. In such cases, there are multiple entities each with different objectives in the project. Traditional techniques used to determine feasibility of such projects and do not consider two critical elements. These are the need (1) to identify major entities involved in these projects and their individual objectives, and (2) the importance of analyzing measures of effectiveness of each entity in a multi-objective context. A framework is proposed to address these issues along with a set of relaxation policies to reflect the nature and level of participation by the entities.First, the feasibility of each single entity perspective is determined and next, a multi-objective optimization (MOO) is proposed reflecting the perspectives of all entities. The MOO results in pareto-optimal solutions to serve as tradeoff between the participation levels of the multiple entities. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used as a tool to narrow down number of options for decision makers for further consideration. AHP and MOO are integrated to determine the feasibility of strategies from multi-entity perspectives. The framework is examined on the proposed multibillion dollar international river crossing connecting the city of Detroit in the U.S. and the city of Windsor in Canada. This methodology provides a decision making process tool for large-scale transportation infrastructure investment consisting of multiple entities.

How does the deposited dose of oxide nanomaterials evolve in an in vitro assay?

In this work, the evolution of some key physicochemical parameters of oxide engineered nanomaterial (ENM) dispersions was studied during an in vitro biological assessment. Commercial oxide ENMs, SiO2 and TiO2, were dispersed in aqueous solutions (20 μg/mL) to A549 cells and N-hTERT keratinocytes and were assessed at several incubation times: 6, 24, 48, and 72 hours. The ENMs deposited dose and its particle size distribution (PSD) were followed each time. Centrifuge Liquid Sedimentation (CLS) measured the PSD and the ENMs deposited dose from a particle entity perspective, while Particle-Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) measured the ENMs deposited dose from an elemental mass perspective. No significant variations in PSD were observed for SiO2 ENMs during incubation in A549 cells and TiO2 ENMs in both cell lines, while a continuous evolution of the PSD is observed for SiO2 in N-hTERT keratinocytes. The deposited dose for TiO2 ENMs remained stable and similar in both cell lines due to a smaller specific surface area and a higher quantity of primary particles present during incubation. It is concluded that the observed differences in the deposited dose are related to an interaction between the proteins present in the media and the ENMs specific surface.

К ВОПРОСУ ОБ ИСТОЛКОВАНИИ ГРЕЧЕСКОГО λόγος

The article deals with an attempt to understand the meaning of λόγος, considering all significance this term in the modern philosophy obtained. The article focuses on the essence of polysemy and its explanatory ability from the λόγος entity perspective. Also it is considered the relation between λόγος and μύθος.

The Enterprise Entity and the Constitution of the American Economic Republic

Both Citizens United and the recent debate on opinions provided by rating agencies amid the financial crisis face the problems raised by defining the corporation as a legal person and a legal subject. In contrast, the enterprise entity perspective considers the corporation as an intermediate collective body and a legal object, granted with instrumental legal personality in some circumstances. The legal person view has been historically important to articulate private and public orders, and protect the private domain from abuse of public power. At the same time, it was and still is important to impose some social control and social duties towards the community on enterprise entities, especially in a world where corporations are allowed to own and control other corporations, constituting corporate groups that are autonomous and opaque fields of private power. From this perspective, the definition and role of enterprise entities point to the constitution of legal-economic orders. Drawing upon Dewey’s suggestion, the corporation can be defined as a functional set of mutual relations that has social consequences, controlled and modified by being the bearing of rights and obligations, privileges and immunities. This understanding embeds the corporation in its social context fraught with immanent conflicts of interest and representation. In this context, the enterprise entity emerges as an overarching principle (and idea) that can foster the unfolding formation of transient social orders. Here the quest for legal-economic principles becomes unavoidable. Like the corporation, these principles acquire duties and rights. They have the right to be tentatively free, which implies two distinctive duties: they are responsible towards reality, because they are expected to guide human actions in situation; and they are responsible towards society, because they are expected to facilitate welfare and justice and liberty in ordering social activities.

The Equity Theories and Financial Reporting: An Analysis

This paper reviews accounting literature in the English language on proprietary and entity theory in order to understand their implications for financial accounting and reporting. Although there is a lack of agreement on the definition and accounting implications of the various equity theories, the literature indicates clear differences between pure proprietary and pure entity perspectives of the firm. These differences particularly relate to the purpose of accounting and financial reporting, the distinction between debt and equity and its accounting implications for the analysis and recording of transactions and recordable events, and the definition, determination, disclosure and distribution of income. The main contribution of this paper is twofold. First, it explains in operational terms why an entity perspective of the company is theoretically irreconcilable with the asset–liability approach to the determination of income. Second, it makes clear that there is always an implicit perspective to financial reporting. Inconsistency in accounting standards results if the implicit perspective is not the same as the perceived focus of decision-usefulness.

Measurement in Financial Reporting

Much of the current thinking of accounting standard setters about measurement seems to be based on an idealized view of markets as being complete and in perfectly competitive equilibrium. In such conditions, there is a unique market price based on full information for every asset and liability, and there is an obvious attraction in using this price as the measure for accounting. This explains the apparent enthusiasm for single ideal measurement methods based on market price, such as fair value (FV), defined in SFAS 157 as a market selling price...

Exclusion and coordination in collaborative innovation and patent law

Intellectual property law has been criticised for over-arching scope of protection and at the same time, for insufficient protection. This seeming contradiction may stem from the discrepancies between the actual innovation practice and process and the models adopted in law. This paper illustrates this contradiction in the patent laws' treatment of collaborative innovators. Particularly, this study examines how the participation of multiple innovators at the initial stage of the innovation is regulated under the patent laws in the US, Japan and, to an extent, in Europe. A single entity perspective and a concurrent closed invention model implied in law create legal uncertainties for collaborative innovators. This brings forward the organisational capability that provides inter- and intra-firm governance structure over the innovative process and the uses of innovation in managing the uncertainties before, during and after collaboration. This capability is in a central role in addressing the seeming contradiction.

Castleman's disease in the head of the pancreas: report of a rare clinical entity and current perspective on diagnosis, treatment, and outcome

BackgroundCastleman's disease of the pancreas is a very rare condition that may resemble more common disease entities as well as pancreatic cancer.Case presentationHere we report the case of a 58-year-old African American male with an incidentally discovered lesion in the head of the pancreas. The specimen from his pancreaticoduodectomy contained a protuberant, encapsulated mass, exhibiting microscopic features most consistent with localized/unicentric Castleman's disease. These included florid follicular hyperplasia with mantle/marginal zone hyperplasia along with focal progressive transformation of germinal centers admixed with involuted germinal centers.ConclusionTo date, eight cases of Castleman's disease associated with the pancreas have been described in the world literature. We report the first case of unicentric disease situated within the head of the pancreas. In addition, we discuss the diagnostic dilemma Castleman's disease may present to the pancreatic surgeon and review current data on pathogenesis, treatment, and outcome.

Relational Leadership Theory: Exploring the social processes of leadership and organizing

Relational leadership is a relatively new term in the leadership literature, and because of this, its meaning is open to interpretation. In the present article I describe two perspectives of relational leadership: an entity perspective that focuses on identifying attributes of individuals as they engage in interpersonal relationships, and a relational perspective that views leadership as a process of social construction through which certain understandings of leadership come about and are given privileged ontology. These approaches can be complementary, but their implications for study and practice are quite different. After reviewing leadership research relative to these two perspectives I offer Relational Leadership Theory (RLT) as an overarching framework for the study of leadership as a social influence process through which emergent coordination (e.g., evolving social order) and change (e.g., new approaches, values, attitudes, behaviors, ideologies) are constructed and produced. This framework addresses relationships both as an outcome of investigation (e.g., How are leadership relationships produced?) and a context for action (e.g., How do relational dynamics contribute to structuring?). RLT draws from both entity and relational ontologies and methodologies to more fully explore the relational dynamics of leadership and organizing.

Asset Management, GASB 34, and the Local Entity Perspective

The paper presents a view of the benefits and drawbacks of applying GASB Statement No. 34 in a small municipal entity. Cole County, Missouri, is taking the requirement and using it to improve the long-term operations of the county to the benefit of the taxpayers. The county chose to use GASB 34’s modified reporting method, which, despite the effort required to maintain a database on the condition of the county’s infrastructure, can be used to justify maintenance costs. This is a cost-effective way to maintain a locality’s assets. If the infrastructure assets can be maintained in a predetermined condition, the need for deferred maintenance will decrease, and thus the life-cycle cost for the whole network will decrease.

Minority Interest in the Consolidated Retained Earnings Statement

Consolidated financial statements purport to report income, financial position, and cash flows of a parent company and its subsidiaries as if the group were a single company with one or more branches or divisions. Under the parent company theory, the consolidated entity perspective assumed in the consolidated income statement, the consolidated balance sheet, and the consolidated retained earnings statement differs from the consolidated entity perspective assumed in the consolidated cash flow statement. Even under extant expositions of the entity theory, the consolidated entity perspective assumed in the consolidated income statement, the consolidated balance sheet, and the consolidated cash flow statement differs from the consolidated entity perspective assumed in the consolidated retained earnings statement. This paper develops a consistent consolidated entity perspective for all four consolidated financial statements. It demonstrates that under the entity theory, consolidated retained earnings includes the separate equities of both the parent company stockholders and the minority interest. As such, both elements of retained earnings should be reported in the consolidated retained earnings statement to make it comparable to the consolidated retained earnings statement of companies without subsidiaries or with only wholly owned subsidiaries. The effect on certain financial ratios of public companies may be substantial. The paper also demonstrates that for purchased subsidiaries, minority interest in consolidated retained earnings includes unamortized write-ups of identifiable net assets and goodwill arising from purchase-type business combinations.