Terms Of Potential Changes Research Articles

Network approaches and strategic management: Exploration opportunities and new trends

PURPOSE: The analysis of the literature shows that the attempts to conceptualize the strategic aspects of the network bring a significant impact on the development of research on organizational networks. This article aims to analyze the new trends in strategic management, and in particular on the possibility of exploring the network approach in strategic management, through the existing literature and the presentation of the new contributions of the following articles published in the current issue. METHODOLOGY: The article is descriptive in character; thus it is based on a literature review and its constructive critics. A narrative literature review was used to present the main assumptions and features of the network approach in strategic management, along with an indication of emerging trends and new directions. Also the identification of theoretical foundations for understanding the processes of strategic change in inter-organizational networks and the proposition of the way to understand network strategy were presented. FINDINGS: The research included in this issue shows that from a network perspective, business strategy plays an important role in guiding the development of individual relationships and networks. Exploring the network approach in strategic management allows one to adopt the category of network strategy, which can be described through the coexistence of cooperation and competition. IMPLICATIONS FOR THEORY AND PRACTICE: Considerations lead to the conclusion that the business strategy must be expressed in terms of potential changes in the network in which the company operates, taking into account its current and selected position in the network. Despite the fact that the current state of research on organizational networks in the theory of strategic management shows that this approach is already quite well established, on the basis of the analysis of research results concerning the conceptualization of strategic aspects of the network, the existing problems and limitations were identified. ORIGINALITY AND VALUE: The main problems related to the exploration of the network approach and the resulting consequences for the definition of the network strategy were indicated. Also, the combination of an organizational and economic approach with the logic of competitive advantage and relational annuity. The demonstration that the network perspective in strategic management allows for a more complete understanding of the strategic behavior of modern enterprises.

Content Analysis of Curriculum-Related Studies in Turkey between 2000 and 2014

Knowledge generation and sharing has become the most critical precondition for sustainable community development as a result of globalization (Akkoyunlu & Yilmaz, 2005; Akpinar & Aydin, 2007; Dogan, 2012). The education system changes and renews itself in parallel with these conditions (Kosterelioglu & Ozen, 2014). In recent years, signs of constructivist approaches have been seen in the curriculum, which has had update attempts as an effect of changes in Turkey's education system. Briefly, the constructivist approach says that knowledge is individually formed, and this process occurs thanks to an individual's active interactions with their own environment (Baki, 2008). Consequently, students have an active role in the process of generating the knowledge that one's social environment and culture create in order to make learning permanent and functional (Gurol, 2002). This approach brings new perspectives and concepts to education and can be summarized as student-centered and lifelong education (Akpinar & Gezer, 2010). The most concrete sign that education systems are formed by new understandings are that curriculum is certainly known as the road-map of education activities (Gozutok, 2003). Curricula are the most significant central components of a country's educational system (Ta§, 2007; Yecilyaprak, 2006). Curriculum is always open for improvement, because innovations reflected in the education system are observable to the extent that they are a part of the curriculum (Gozutok, 2003; Kosterelioglu & Ozen, 2014; Yapici & Demirdelen, 2007). Concordantly, the Ministry of National Education (MEB) has begun curriculum-development studies through the innovations and developments they've made in the education system since 2004 within the scope of a constructivist approach (Doganay & Sari, 2008). With the 2004 decision of the Board of Education and Discipline, Turkish, Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Science and Technology curricular classes prepared for 1st-5th graders were put into effect during the 2005-2006 academic year with developments that were able to reflect student-centered and constructivist approaches. Also, with the Board's 2005 decision, some changes were brought about in the Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Science and Technology curriculum for 6th-8th graders; with the Board's 2006 decision, Music, Visual Arts, Religion and Ethics, Revolution History, Physical Training, and English curriculum were also changed for 1st-8th graders. Additionally, the Board of Education and Discipline's 2008 decision caused Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, and Geometry curricular developments for secondary education to start being applied during the 2009-2010 academic year. Finally, with the Board's 2013 decision, changes have gradually been made to the Mathematics (5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades), Science (3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades), English (2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades) curricula and Math, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geometry curricula for high schools (see URL-1).A curriculum can only be determined to be valid and effective after it has been applied and the outcome assessed. As a consequence, curricula need to be considered regularly and systematically in terms of potential changes (Erturk, 1972; Saylan, 2001). Although these assessments hold great importance for determining considerations when developing curricula in order for the next one to be more successful, it is hard to tell whether the Board of Education and Discipline have made profound use of the research results.The Aim of StudyIt is unimaginable that an education system would be indifferent to changes in the educational field in keeping pace with the 21st century (Ozdemir, 2000; Ozden, 1999). In fact, these curriculum changes shape an important part of education reform change (Sahlberg, 2006). Education reform change is a structuring that all countries have given priority in recent years (Dogan 2012; Sahlberg, 2006). …

Effect of adsorbent addition on floc formation and clarification

Adding adsorbent into the coagulation process is an emerging treatment solution for targeting hard-to-remove dissolved organic compounds from both drinking water and industrial wastewater. The impact of adding powdered activated carbon (PAC) or organoclay (OC) adsorbents with ferric chloride (FeCl3) coagulant was investigated in terms of potential changes to the coagulated flocs formed with respect to size, structure, and breakage and regrowth properties. The ability of dissolved air flotation (DAF) and sedimentation (SED) clarification processes to remove hybrid adsorbent-coagulant flocs was also evaluated through clarified water quality analysis of samples collected in bench-scale jar test experiments. The jar tests were conducted using both a synthetic fresh water and oily wastewater test water spiked with dissolved aromatic compounds phenol and naphthalene. Results of the study demonstrated that addition of adsorbent reduced the median coagulated floc size by up to 50% but did not affect floc strength or regrowth potential after application of high shear. Experimental results in fresh water demonstrated that sedimentation was more effective than DAF for clarification of both FeCl3-PAC and FeCl3-OC floc aggregates. However, experimental tests performed on the synthetic oily wastewater showed that coagulant-adsorbent floc aggregates were effectively removed with both DAF and sedimentation treatment, with lower residual turbidity achieved in clarified water samples than with coagulation treatment alone. Addition of OC or PAC into the coagulation process resulted in removals of over half, or nearly all of the dissolved aromatics, respectively.

NGSS and the landscape of engineering in K-12 state science standards

Recent documents pertaining to K-12 education have fostered a connection between engineering and science education to help better prepare our students and future citizens to better meet the current and future challenges of our modern and technological society. With that connection, there has been a concerted effort to raise the visibility of engineering within K-12 science education, which is reflected in the Framework for K-12 Science Education and the recently released Next Generation Science Standards. As states look towards the adoption and implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards, it is important to take a deeper look at the shift in K-12 science education that is being suggested by these documents and what that means in terms of the potential changes for states that have chosen to adopt these standards. The main research question that has guided the work for this paper is: What is the extent and quality of the engineering that is present in state science standards and the Next Generation Science Standards? This paper will present a detailed analysis of the landscape of engineering in K-12 policy before and after the release of the NGSS through a comparative case study of academic state science standards and Next Generation Science Standards. This comparison provides insight into what the widespread adoption of the NGSS would mean in terms of potential changes in the way we implement science education in the United States. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 52: 296–318, 2015

Altered States of Embodiment and the Social Aesthetics of Acupuncture

Acupuncture therapy encompasses various domains of experience: from the aesthetics and atmosphere of the clinic; to the sensorial aspects of needling; to the aftereffects in terms of potential changes in health and lifestyle. In my research (conducted in Galway and Dublin Ireland) one of the prevailing reasons expressed by patients as to the appeal of acupuncture, and rationale for its continual use, was that treatments were regarded as both pleasurable and transformative. This transformation–in either an immediate-sensorial, or a long-term behavioral way–is the key focus of this paper. Interviews with patients strongly suggested that an embodied sense of transformation– experiencing unusual bodily and emotional sensations–is not only part of the appeal, but is one of the key constructs for determining the medical efficacy of acupuncture. Such embodied transformations are referred to as altered states of embodiment (ASE).

Bilayer Asymmetry, Cholesterol Content, and Ligand Binding Influence Membrane Protein Sequestering in Raft-Mimicking Lipid Mixtures

Lipid heterogeneities and membrane proteins are widely considered to show an important functional relationship in plasma membranes. However, the analysis of this intriguing relationship is challenging, due to the small size and transient nature of lipid heterogeneities in the plasma membrane environment. Recently, we presented a powerful model membrane platform that allows the thorough analysis of membrane protein sequestering and oligomerization in well-defined heterogeneous lipid environments using confocal fluorescence intensity analysis paired with a photon counting histogram (PCH) method (1). By applying this experimental approach, here we show that bilayer asymmetry has a significant influence on the sequestering of αvβ3 and α5β1 integrins. Our experiments demonstrate a higher affinity of integrins for the liquid-disordered (ld) phase in the presence of bilayer-spanning liquid-ordered (lo)-ld phase separations. In contrast, a preference for the lo phase is observed in an asymmetric bilayer with lo-ld phase separations, which are exclusively located in the top leaflet of the bilayer. Importantly, PCH analysis shows that the observed changes in integrin sequestering are not caused by altered receptor oligomerization states. In another set of experiments, we also demonstrate that changes in cholesterol may have a profound impact on integrin sequestering without altering receptor oligomerization state. The obtained results are discussed in terms of potential changes in lipid packing density and hydrophobic thickness within the model membrane. The experimental model membrane approach is also applied to explore the functionally important relationship between the sequestering, level of dimerization, and ligand binding of the GPI-anchored urokinase receptor.(1) Siegel, A. P. et al. (2011) Biophys J101(7): 1642-1650.

Combining community-level spatial modelling and expert knowledge to inform climate adaptation in temperate grassy eucalypt woodlands and related grasslands

Many studies predict effects of future climate scenarios on species distributions, but few predict impacts on landscapes or ecological communities, the scales most relevant to conservation management. We combined expert knowledge with community-level spatial modelling (using artificial neural networks, ANN, and generalised dissimilarity modelling, GDM) to inform climate adaptation management in widespread but highly threatened temperate grassy ecosystems (TGE) of Australian agricultural landscapes. GDM predicted high levels of ‘biotically-scaled environmental stress’ (scaled in terms of potential change in species composition of communities) for plants, reptiles and snails within the TGE under medium, and especially high, 2070 climate scenarios. Predicted stress was lower for birds, mammals and frogs, possibly owing to generally wider species distributions, but these models do not account for changing habitat characteristics. ANN predicted environments within the current TGE biome will become increasingly favourable for formations such as chenopod shrublands, Casuarina L. forests and Callitris Vent. forests by 2070, although classification error for eucalypt woodland in current climates was high. Expert knowledge and GDM suggest these predictions may be mediated by attributes such as environmental heterogeneity that confer resilience, but GDM confirms that widespread degradation has greatly compromised the capacity of TGE to adapt to change. Based on model predictions and expert knowledge we discuss five potential climate change outcomes for TGE: decreasing fire frequency, structural change, altered functional composition, exotic invasion, and cascading changes in ecological interactions. Although significant ecological change in TGE is likely, it is feasible to ameliorate non-climatic limits to adaptation and promote reassembly by native rather than exotic species. Current conservation efforts already target similar goals, and reinforcing and adjusting these approaches offer the highest priority, lowest risk climate adaptation options. We conclude that despite high uncertainties, combining community-level modelling with expert knowledge can guide climate adaptation management.

Measuring patterns of disability using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health in the post-acute stroke rehabilitation setting

To determine whether the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) model is adequate for assessing disability patterns in stroke survivors in the sub-acute rehabilitation setting in terms of potential changes in functional profiles over time. Functional profiles of 197 stroke patients were assessed using the ICF Checklist and the Functional Independence Measure (FIMTM) at admission and discharge from rehabilitation hospital. The ICF Checklist was applied based on medical documentation and rehabilitation team meetings. Descriptive analyses were performed to identify changes in ICF categories and qualifiers from admission to discharge, and correlations between different improvement measures were calculated. Mean rehabilitation duration was 60 days; patients' mean age was 60 years, with mean FIM-score 75 at admission. Mean FIM-score improvement at discharge was 12.5. Within Body Functions, changes in at least 10% of patients were found regarding 13 categories; no categories within Body Structures, 24 within Activities and Participation, and 2 within Environmental Factors. Changes were mostly due to improvement in qualifiers, except for within Environmental Factors, where they were due to use of additional categories. Correlations between improvements in Body Functions and Activities and Participation (regarding capacity and performance), as well as between capacity and performance within Activities and Participation, were approximately 0.4. Rating ICF categories with qualifiers enables the detection of changes in functional profiles of stroke patients who underwent an inpatient rehabilitation programme. :

Goal orientations in Russian university students: from mastery to performance?

Research in the UK has shown that students start their university career with the goal of mastering their subject, but this focus shifts as they progress through their degree program. Studies have suggested that unlike students in the UK, Russian students continue to take a strong mastery approach to their work. The main aim of this study was to assess whether the effects observed in UK studies could be found in a Russian context. In a cross‐sectional study, 618 students across four years of a degree program in a Russian university completed an achievement‐goal questionnaire. Results revealed patterns similar to the studies in the UK; Russian students’ levels of mastery were significantly lower after Year 1. The results are discussed in terms of potential changes in Russian culture. Methodological issues relating to the relative failure of some questionnaire items to validate fully within their hypothesised constructs are also discussed.

Potential changes and eyelid microvibration elicited by flash stimulation.

The photopalpebral reflex evoked in the upper eyelid of the rabbit by flash stimulation was studied in terms of potential change (PPR) and microvibration (MV) and the following conclusions drawn. (1) Of the PPR components, the early components from PPR1 to PPR4 are mainly ERG components, while PPR5 to PPR9 and MV are components appearing via the central nervous system. (2) Excitation of the brainstem reticular formation is involved in the appearance of the central PPR components and MV. Components PPR6 to PPR8 and MV originate in excitation of the same nervous tissue, but PPR9 occurs by excitation of different nervous tissue. (3) Contraction of the extraocular muscles, as well as the orbicularis oculi muscles, is involved in the appearance of MV. (4) Unit discharge takes place in the brainstem reticular formation coinciding with the occurrence of MV and an increase in discharge takes place later. The relation of the increase in this late discharge to PPR9 must be further investigated.