Single Conceptual Framework Research Articles

An integrated conceptual framework for sustainable agroindustry

Sustainable Sustainable agroindustry is an important concept that is often cited by academics and practitioners in the field. However, its definition and underlying constructs are rarely discussed. This paper provides a review and summary of different frameworks that are used to define and understand sustainable agroindustry. This review is summarized and synthesized into a single conceptual framework of a business model for shaping sustainable agro-industry. The main concepts to be discussed are agro-industry, business models, and sustainability. The expected outcome of this single conceptual framework is for agro-industry development by identifying key elements of strategic initiatives for further research. The business model can support the realization of sustainable agro-industry by taking into account three aspects of the indicator namely economic, social and environmental. These three indicators must be met in creating a business model by taking into account aspects of the business model that includes value creation, value delivery and value capture. A single conceptual framework of business models for sustainable agro-industry can be created if three aspects of the business model can meet the three main indicators for sustainable agro-industry.

What was ‘Indian’ Political Economy? On the separation of the ‘social’, the ‘economic’, and the ‘ethical’ in Indian nationalist thought, 1892–1948

AbstractThis article argues that to gauge the significance of state planning in mid-twentieth century India, it is necessary to study the trajectory of what was called ‘Indian political economy’ during the late nineteenth century and first half of the twentieth. Through a close reading of selected texts, I demonstrate that the transmutation of Indian political economy into an abstract science of economics was a function of Indian nationalists’ inability to hold together the ‘social’, ‘economic’, and ‘ethical’ spheres within a single conceptual framework. The separation of these three spheres was the enabling factor behind the conceptualization of planning as a purely technical process of economic management. Further, the article contends that these conceptual developments cannot be adequately explained with reference to either ‘elite’ interests or the insidious effects of ‘colonial’ discourses. Rather, the narrative demonstrates that economic abstractions can—and must—be grounded in the historical development of capitalist social forms that transformed the internal fabric of Indian society. Drawing on a theory of capitalism as a historically specific form of social mediation, I argue that a Marxian social history of Indian state planning can overcome certain limitations inherent in extant approaches. Finally, the interpretation proposed here opens up the possibility of putting Indian history in conversation with a broader development during the first half of the twentieth century, namely the separation of political economy into economics and sociology.

СПІВВІДНОШЕННЯ ПОНЯТЬ «ДЕРЖАВНЕ УПРАВЛІННЯ», «ПУБЛІЧНЕ УПРАВЛІННЯ» ТА «ПУБЛІЧНЕ АДМІНІСТРУВАННЯ В КАТЕГОРІАЛЬНОМУ АПАРАТІ АДМІНІСТРАТИВНОГО ПРАВА

In the article the problems of relation of the concepts of «public manage­ment», «state management», «public administration» are considered in the conditions of transformation of state management and in accordance with new trends in the development of the state and society. The discussion issues of formation, development and essence of these categories are analyzed. In the science of administrative law, there is a need to rethink the category of public admi­nistration, determine the scope of its application in administrative law, and study its connections with related categories and the possibilities of their application in the Ukrainian legal space. Public administration as a complex phenomenon is associated with various concepts and categories that can be considered related to a certain extent, such as state regulation, management, public administration, and public management. Among these categories, public management and public administration have become increasingly common in recent years. Becoming and development of public management in Ukraine is impossible without a clear interaction of all its elements, which requires the development of a single conceptual framework with its fixing in laws, clear definition of authorities for all subjects of administrative process, use of modern effective methods and technologies of management, to provide citizens at the level of the world standards.

Accounting and analytical system of capital formation for agricultural enterprises in the context of anti-crisis management

The article studies the accounting and analytical capital system, since any economic entity must have a certain capital and clearly understand for what purposes it should be directed. However, a single conceptual framework for the definition of «capital» and its components does not exist today. During the study there have been used such methods as: analysis, synthesis, concretization and abstraction, classification, grouping and others. As a result of the study, there has been clarified the notion of «an accounting and analytical system», studied theoretical approaches to the formation and functioning of the accounting and analytical capital system for agricultural enterprises; there has been determined the concept of the accounting and analytical capital system; there have been studied the main factors of agricultural production that influence the formation of the accounting and analytical capital system; there have been determined the main elements (subsystems) of the accounting and analytical capital system and the relationship of the accounting and analytical system of capital formation with the development of an anti-crisis program for agricultural enterprises, there have been clarified the stages in the implementation of an anti-crisis program and the scheme of the accounting and analytical capital system for agricultural enterprises.

The Topical Issues of Coding the Regional Social Security Legislation (On the Example of the Volgograd Region)

Introduction: social security is one of the most important elements of the social policy of the state. Many legal acts are adopted in the social security field. In order to ensure the uniform understanding and interpretation of the content of the normative legal acts in the social security field, their systematization as well as the practical application in the law enforcement process the regional legislators have codified the social security legislation in a number of subjects of the Russian Federation. Using the methods of scientific knowledge, especially the method of system analysis, it is found that the complexity of the problem involves the use of both the law-making and law-realization directions and forms of the legal adaptation of the current legislation of the state. The aim of the study is to conduct a comparative analysis of the social codes adopted in the subjects of the Russian Federation, to identify common approaches in the implementation of the law-making activities for the codification of the social security legislation. The system analysis of the law-making process on the codification of the social security legislation in the subjects of the Russian Federation allowed establishing that the adopted codes had significant differences in structure and content. However, having quite significant differences, the codes have a common property – each of them has one common characteristic – a special part of all adopted social codes is built on a categorical principle. Results: on the basis of the analysis some problems of the law-making activity of the regional legislators on the codification of the social legislation are revealed. Conclusions: 1) it is necessary to adopt a number of federal laws: a codified federal law defining the goals and objectives of the social legislation of the Russian Federation and the subjects of the Russian Federation, the federal law on the sources of law, on the delimitation of powers in law-making between the Russian Federation and its subjects; 2) to establish common principles for the country’s implementation of social security; 3) to develop a single conceptual framework that provides a single legal regime for regulating relations in the social security sphere; 4) to develop a model regional social code as a model for the regional legislators.

Minimal coherence among varied theory of mind measures in childhood and adulthood

Theory of mind—or the understanding that others have mental states that can differ from one’s own and reality—is currently measured across the lifespan by a wide array of tasks. These tasks vary across dimensions including modality, complexity, affective content, and whether responses are explicit or implicit. As a result, theoretical and meta-analytic work has begun to question whether such varied approaches to theory of mind should be categorized as capturing a single construct. To directly address the coherence of theory of mind, and to determine whether that coherence changes across development, we administered a diverse set of theory of mind measures to three different samples: preschoolers, school-aged children, and adults. All tasks showed wide variability in performance, indicating that children and adults often have inconsistent and partial mastery of theory of mind concepts. Further, for all ages studied, the selected theory of mind tasks showed minimal correlations with each other. That is, having high levels of theory of mind on one task did not predict performance on another task designed to measure the same underlying ability. In addition to showing the importance of more carefully designing and selecting theory of mind measures, these findings also suggest that understanding others’ internal states may be a multidimensional process that interacts with other abilities, a process which may not occur in a single conceptual framework. Future research should systematically investigate task coherence via large-scale and longitudinal efforts to determine how we come to understand the minds of others.

On Some Paradoxes of the Russian Innovation Infrastruct

This paper analyzes the modern trends in the development of innovation infrastructure (II) in Russia and abroad. An intensive way of development of foreign technology parks is shown, which, acquiring new qualitative features, become centers of innovation at the international level, i.e. they transform to Innovation Centers (IC). The specific features of IC as an institute of innovative economy are marked. The main trend of the development of the Russian innovation infrastructure is shown as an extensive one, relying mainly on a quantitative increase and a partial modernization of the old elements. This is the path generated by contradictions, shortcomings and mistakes in the actions of the state and business. Some paradoxes of the development of the Russian innovation infrastructure are considered: the lack of reliable information about the quantitative configuration of innovation infrastructure, the lack of unified conceptual tools for the system of II elements, effective mechanisms for their interaction, and the innovation’s demand. The main reasons for the emergence of these paradoxes are associated with the lack of a unified (systemic) approach for solving a problems accumulated in the innovation sphere are analyzed. It is shown that the state attempts directed to the development of innovation policy and its financial support, to introduce various mechanisms of interaction between the participants of the innovation process, revive some II elements, as well as the creation of principal new elements, do not bring the expected results. We propose a number of ways for overcoming the existing paradoxes. They include: developing and implementing a single conceptual framework of innovation policy, the state monitoring and reporting system, and linking innovation infrastructure development plans with Federal Strategies and Programs.

Exploring Interactions between the Gut Microbiota and Social Behavior through Nutrition.

Microbes influence a wide range of host social behaviors and vice versa. So far, however, the mechanisms underpinning these complex interactions remain poorly understood. In social animals, where individuals share microbes and interact around foods, the gut microbiota may have considerable consequences on host social interactions by acting upon the nutritional behavior of individual animals. Here we illustrate how conceptual advances in nutritional ecology can help the study of these processes and allow the formulation of new empirically testable predictions. First, we review key evidence showing that gut microbes influence the nutrition of individual animals, through modifications of their nutritional state and feeding decisions. Next, we describe how these microbial influences and their social consequences can be studied by modelling populations of hosts and their gut microbiota into a single conceptual framework derived from nutritional geometry. Our approach raises new perspectives for the study of holobiont nutrition and will facilitate theoretical and experimental research on the role of the gut microbiota in the mechanisms and evolution of social behavior.

CONCEPTUAL PRINCIPLES OF EVALUATION OF ACTIVITIES OF ENTERPRISES AND THEIR CAPITALIZATION BASED ON VALUE ADDED

Topicality. In today's financial and economic analysis of the company's main indicators are output and profit, but they have significant disadvantages. The indicator "output" includes the results of the activities of suppliers of goods and services and, accordingly, does not provide adequate representation about the results of the enterprise itself. And the indicator "profit" reflects the interests of only the owners of the enterprise. Its use encourages lower wages, social security financing and employee training, and also indicates a contradiction between the interests of society and the owners of enterprises. All this determines the relevance of the definition of indicators that will ensure an adequate representation of the results of the enterprise and a single conceptual framework for assessing the results of economic activity at the micro, mega and macro levels. Aim and tasks. Analyze the existing indicators of assessing the effectiveness of the enterprise, to determine their main disadvantages. Consider the possibility of using the indicator �gross value added� as the main indicator of an enterprise. Conduct a comparative analysis of the possibility of using different variants of the indicator �value added� to assess the performance of an enterprise. Consider using the indicator �gross value added� as a conceptual basis for evaluating the economic activities at the micro, mega and macro levels.. Research results. As the main indicators of the enterprise, using "output" and "profit". The first indicator consists of gross value added and intermediate consumption. The latter is the result of the activities of other enterprises. In this case, the external contribution can be decisive, and therefore the indicator "output" does not provide adequate representation of the results of enterprises. Another key indicator of enterprise activity is profit. At orientation to it, payment of labor, financing of social security and training of employees is the cost of the enterprise and the less they are, the greater the profit of the enterprise. But in modern conditions, in order to ensure sustainable economic development of a separate enterprise and the country as a whole, it is important to consider that hired workers are carriers of intellectual capital. Loss or reduction of this capital may lead to more significant losses than loss of physical and financial capital. Under such conditions, it is advisable to use the indicator "gross value added" as the main indicator of the effectiveness of the enterprise. Based on this indicator, the main result of the country's economic activity (gross domestic product) and regions (gross regional product) is determined. Gross value added is a very important indicator in terms of meeting the needs of all stakeholders in the productive activity of the company's: employees, owners of the enterprise, the state. The "gross value added" indicator is the main indicator of the company's activities from the point of view of the interests of the whole society, and the indicator "profit" is the main one from the point of view of the owners of the enterprise. The presence of these two indicators reflects the contradiction between the interests of society and the owners of enterprises. The use of the indicator "gross value added" as the main indicator of the company's activity provides a single conceptual basis for assessing the results of economic activity at the micro, mega and macro levels. The study of literary sources suggests the use of different indicators "value-added" to assess the performance of the enterprise. The greatest recognition was given to the "Economic Value Added" (EVA), "Shareholder Value Added " (SVA) and "Market Value Added" (MVA). According to the results of the analysis of these indicators, it was concluded that their general disadvantage is that they reflect the interests of the owners of the enterprise, and not society. Conclusions. Gross value added has a greater analytical value than profit, because, firstly, it gives a more adequate representation of the results of enterprises, and secondly, it determines the potential for capital accumulation. The use of this indicator provides a single conceptual framework for assessing the results of economic activity at the micro, mega-and macro level, since gross domestic product (GDP) and gross regional product (GRP) consist of the gross value added of all institutional units (residents), respectively, of the country and region.

The co-occurrence of anaemia and stunting in young children.

Anaemia and stunting are prevalent nutritional problems among children of low-income countries that have profound effects on development, morbidity, and mortality. Many use a single conceptual framework to identify the basic determinants of these and other forms of malnutrition. One would expect that problems with matching underlying determinants should co-occur in affected individuals to a greater degree than by chance. In 2 populations of children-ages 6-18months in Bihar, India, (n=5,664) and 6-36months in Lambayeque, Peru (n=688)-we measured the frequency of the co-occurrence of anaemia and stunting. We compared this value with the value expected by chance, the product of the prevalence of anaemia and stunting, using a chi-square test. We also built logistic regression models for each condition. The frequency of co-occurrence in the Indian population was 21.5%, and in the Peruvian population, it was 30.4%, which are similar to frequencies expected by chance, 21.3% (p=.97) and 31.5% (p=.85). In Peru, anaemia was associated with age and consumption of treated water. Stunting was associated with age, sex, dietary diversity, hand washing, language spoken, and wealth. In India, anaemia was associated with age, sex, caste, dietary diversity, and household hunger. Stunting was associated with age, sex, caste, wealth, and maternal illiteracy. Despite some basic shared factors, anaemia and stunting are more independent than commonly assumed. Interventions that target children based on 1 condition may miss children with the other form of malnutrition.

When channel conflict positively affect performance: evidence from ICT supplier-reseller relationship

PurposeThis paper aims to study the positive impact of functional conflict and conflict management in improving supplier–reseller relationship performance in multi-channel setting (reseller together with supplier’s sales reps). The authors develop four hypotheses, including direct and mediated effects, about conflict management, conflict and the impact on channel performance.Design/methodology/approachThe authors’ sample of suppliers in the information and communication technology (ICT) industry in Brazil consists of an interesting setting of multi-channel distribution, as suppliers deal with sales reps in combination with reseller channels to offer products to customers. The sample is representative of the industry, including more than 60 per cent of the ICT suppliers. The model was tested with partial least squares in the context of ICT industry in Brazil.FindingsThe empirical test shows that although an increase in functional conflict improves channel performance (direct effect), an excessive increase may amplify the dysfunctional conflict, thereby damaging channel performance (indirect effect). The negative interplay between the two natures of conflicts is counterbalanced with conflict management. Results show that conflict management improves channel performance by decreasing the harmful effects of dysfunctional conflict. This paper contributes to the theory by deepening our understanding of conflict, a critical challenge underlying supplier–reseller relationships in marketing channels. For managers, this research clarifies the importance of considering and managing conflict of different nature in the context of multi-marketing channels.Originality/valueThe contribution of the authors’ study is twofold. First, they develop an integrative mediating model with key constructs of multi-channels’ conflict and channel performance. They incorporate the causal relationships between functional and dysfunctional conflict, conflict management and channel performance into a single conceptual framework. This integrative mediating model to the best of their knowledge has not been developed before. Second, they provide managers with a broad understanding of conflict management implications to supplier’s multi-channel strategy, and how functional conflict can actually be beneficial for channel performance.

PROTOCOL: Impact of the food environment on diet-related health outcomes in school-age children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

PROTOCOL: Impact of the food environment on diet-related health outcomes in school-age children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

High-temperature charge density wave correlations in La1.875Ba0.125CuO4 without spin–charge locking

Although all superconducting cuprates display charge-ordering tendencies, their low-temperature properties are distinct, impeding efforts to understand the phenomena within a single conceptual framework. While some systems exhibit stripes of charge and spin, with a locked periodicity, others host charge density waves (CDWs) without any obviously related spin order. Here we use resonant inelastic X-ray scattering to follow the evolution of charge correlations in the canonical stripe-ordered cuprate La1.875Ba0.125CuO4 across its ordering transition. We find that high-temperature charge correlations are unlocked from the wavevector of the spin correlations, signaling analogies to CDW phases in various other cuprates. This indicates that stripe order at low temperatures is stabilized by the coupling of otherwise independent charge and spin density waves, with important implications for the relation between charge and spin correlations in the cuprates.

Group Concept Mapping As A Strategy for Defining Patient-Centered Outcomes In Proms and Pro-Pms

Although patient engagement in health research is commonly recognized as a priority, there is a lack of guidance regarding appropriate and feasible methods for defining patient-centered outcomes. This is critical when developing both patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and PRO-based performance measures (PRO-PMs). One area that has been particularly ignored is engaging patients in the creation of conceptual frameworks that define outcomes that matter to patients. Clinicians and researchers generally create these frameworks, relying on the incorporation of the patient voice through one-on-one interviews, surveys, and focus groups. However, each of these strategies are fraught with limitations, including patient response bias and potential limitations of generalizability. In addition, they do not leverage the potential of social research networks and group-based technological solutions to develop patient-centered conceptual frameworks. This presentation addresses the following objectives in PROM and PRO-PM development: (1) review of group concept mapping (GCM; Concept Systems®) as a viable method for engaging patients, (2) provision of examples of GCM applications in defining outcomes, and (3) discussion of strengths and limitations of this approach. GCM combines qualitative (statement generation and sorting) and quantitative (multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis) methods to generate visual maps depicting a conceptual model. This presentation will show examples of studies that have utilized GCM for the development of PROMs and a recent Robert Wood Johnson Foundation PRO-PM study to define patient perceptions of “good” healthcare. Strengths of GCM include evidence of validity and reliability, ability to incorporate multiple stakeholder views into a single conceptual framework, and the potential for application to measurement and evaluation. Potential limitations include problems with technical literacy, attrition, and managing response burden. Methods to address these limitations will be discussed. Overall, GCM represents a valuable participatory concept development strategy with the potential to enhance traditional researcher-driven methods in PROM and PRO-PM development.

Klein-Weyl's program and the ontology of gauge and quantum systems

We distinguish two orientations in Weyl's analysis of the fundamental role played by the notion of symmetry in physics, namely an orientation inspired by Klein's Erlangen program and a phenomenological-transcendental orientation. By privileging the former to the detriment of the latter, we sketch a group(oid)-theoretical program—that we call the Klein-Weyl program—for the interpretation of both gauge theories and quantum mechanics in a single conceptual framework. This program is based on Weyl's notion of a “structure-endowed entity” equipped with a “group of automorphisms”. First, we analyze what Weyl calls the “problem of relativity” in the frameworks provided by special relativity, general relativity, and Yang-Mills theories. We argue that both general relativity and Yang-Mills theories can be understood in terms of a localization of Klein's Erlangen program: while the latter describes the group-theoretical automorphisms of a single structure (such as homogenous geometries), local gauge symmetries and the corresponding gauge fields (Ehresmann connections) can be naturally understood in terms of the groupoid-theoretical isomorphisms in a family of identical structures. Second, we argue that quantum mechanics can be understood in terms of a linearization of Klein's Erlangen program. This stance leads us to an interpretation of the fact that quantum numbers are “indices characterizing representations of groups” ((Weyl, 1931a), p.xxi) in terms of a correspondence between the ontological categories of identity and determinateness.

Causal relationships between population stability and food‐web topology

Summary Historically, food‐web theory has examined the aspects of natural communities that are responsible for maintaining stability in complex communities. The two main lines of research emphasize either topological aspects damping the propagation of perturbations, or population–stability mechanisms that regulate population outbreaks and prevent a total system destabilization. Recent studies, however, have demonstrated that these two aspects act synergistically to produce a single conceptual framework. Nevertheless, causal relationships are still unexplored: it remains uncertain if topological patterns maintain population stability, or alternatively, if population stability promotes food‐web topology. In this contribution, we explored the causal relationships between food‐web topology and population stability within complex communities. We generated food webs, using three models with specific biological assumptions, and measured three population‐stability variables, i.e. the proportion of locally stable three‐species and four‐species modules and the proportion of stable matrices; and two topological variables, i.e. modularity and degree of omnivory. We then used path analysis to evaluate two causality hypotheses, in which (i) topology promotes population stability, and (ii) population stability promotes food‐web topology. We found that population stability promoted food‐web topology for all models, despite the different biological assumptions. We also observed consistent causal relationships between variables, in accordance with recent literature. These results suggest that studies that intend to discuss the appearance of omnivorous behaviour or the stabilization aspect of compartmentalization, should first consider the stability of population dynamics. Additionally, they strongly support a recently proposed theory of an intrinsic mechanism to natural communities, selecting topologies capable of producing an equilibrium point where all species could coexist, and shaping natural communities to a similar and consistent pattern. A lay summary is available for this article.

La sección francesa del CEDI: aportaciones a un proyecto europeo (1952-1964)

El Centro Europeo de Documentación e Información (CEDI) en Francia desarrolló una intensa labor en la formación de un ideario compartido por las distintas secciones nacionales en el que despuntaría el concepto de la «Europa de las patrias». Los integrantes de la delegación francesa, adscritos en su mayoría al movimiento político liderado por De Gaulle, mediaron en su intento por encajar a España en la CEE. El ascenso progresivo de los franceses en la dirección del CEDI (1962-1964) nos obliga a recurrir a varias fuentes documentales, entre las que sobresalen el archivo personal del que fuera su presidente, Edmond Michelet, y el fondo de Alfredo Sánchez Bella como uno de sus principales promotores. Se trata de determinar las estrategias y los grados de colaboración en un proyecto de Europa que se apoyaría en la reivindicación de los valores cristianos a partir de una óptica conservadora.

Development of the complex description of business processes in the organization

The analysis of graphic and formal methods and techniques for description of business processes is conducted. It is revealed the lack of a common approach to information presenting of all business processes lifecycle. The proposed information technology for combining different descriptions in a unit and methods of transition from one description mode to another is not yet possible to implement without loss of information and ensuring all participants of business processes lifecycle in a single conceptual framework. A comprehensive interrelated description of all aspects of business processes is proposed. This description appears in text, image, formal and algorithmic species as different forms of a single process models, which complement each other and can best solve various problems. This approach provides a convenient way of describing the process by specialists of different levels: from the head in the conceptual process design (planning) to direct performer during his work in securing the conditions for monitoring and control process. The basis for the creation of an information technology and software environment for planning, modeling, analysis, support and performance management of business processes is developed.

The past and future of law and development

In this focus feature, David Trubek and Michael Trebilcock present an assessment of the past forty years of the law and development movement and map the challenges that lie ahead. While law and development research today seems to be on more solid ground than it was in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it is still at risk of facing a second demise. The recent revival of the law and development movement has been marked by a research agenda increasingly attuned to the importance of local context. On the one hand, contextualization has countered the ethnocentric analysis produced in the Global North and exported to developing countries in the 1960s. On the other hand, attention to context has caused a severe fragmentation of the academic dialogue, as the concern with adaptation to particular circumstances defies any attempt to somehow connect these research efforts in one single conceptual framework. The new generation of law and development scholars is thus left with the challenge of maintaining contextualization, while avoiding letting the movement break down into a ‘series of self-referential silos.’

USING THE FRAMEWORK OF DISTRIBUTED COGNITION IN THE EVALUATION OF A COLLABORATIVE TOOL

This paper reports on the preliminary findings of an on-going research on the usability of an interactive tabletop, DiamondTouch in a computer-supported collaborative design environment. It summarizes the analysis of the collaborative design activities around the table. Modelled after a household coffee table, DiamondTouch provides users with an informal environment where users can sit on comfortable chairs while interacting with the table concurrently. The framework of distributed cognition was used as an analytic tool which demonstrated how the communicative events around the tabletop were used to bring the design representations into coordination with one another and how information processing activity was performed. Researcher examined the relationship between actors, artifacts, and the settings in which interactions occur. Within a single conceptual framework, the representations flowing through functional systems as objects of analysis could be identified and allowed researcher to reason about design artifacts and cognitive artifacts. These helped in identifying characteristics which could enhance the usability of DiamondTouch, and potential weaknesses of the tabletop.