Isomorphism Theory Research Articles

Athlete Graduation Rate Gaps at Division-I State Flagship Universities: An Exploratory Analysis Emphasizing Black Males

Discrepancies in Black male graduation rates at NCAA Division-I state flagship institutions have raised questions about claims of unilateral academic progress among certain revenue sport athletes. Researchers have identified gaps in NCAA and federal graduation rates between athletes and non-athletes based on race and type of sport participation. This exploratory study examines the degree to which graduation rates vary between football and male basketball athletes and male undergraduates at state flagship institutions. We pay particular attention to gaps in graduation rates for Black male athletes. We then seek theoretical explanations for these gaps by drawing on the athletic role-engulfment and key-player hypothesis, the mismatch education hypothesis, and the institutional isomorphism theory.

Complying, Transforming or Resisting in the New Austerity? Realigning Social Welfare and Independent Action among English Voluntary Organisations

AbstractThis paper considers implications for the English voluntary sector of recent shifts in the terms of engagement with the state following rapid political and policy changes under the UK Coalition government. It explores how ideas of what constitutes the voluntary sector are being reconstructed in policy and practical settings, examining processes contributing to re-shaping the voluntary sector's conception of itself and beliefs about legitimate activities and aspirations. It draws on theories of institutional isomorphism and governmentality to explore these changes which appear to be modifying and restricting the voluntary sector's role in social welfare, limiting its influence and its ability to act simultaneously within and against the state. The paper argues the integral role of the state in recasting the roles of different sectors but also discusses the extent to which voluntary sector compliance is necessary to ensure organisational survival, asking what spaces exist for independent activity and resistance.

Simplicity of condensed matter at its core: generic definition of a Roskilde-simple system.

The isomorph theory is reformulated by defining Roskilde-simple systems by the property that the order of the potential energies of configurations at one density is maintained when these are scaled uniformly to a different density. If the potential energy as a function of all particle coordinates is denoted by U(R), this requirement translates into U(Ra) < U(Rb) ⇒ U(λRa) < U(λRb). Isomorphs remain curves in the thermodynamic phase diagram along which structure, dynamics, and excess entropy are invariant, implying that the phase diagram is effectively one-dimensional with respect to many reduced-unit properties. In contrast to the original formulation of the isomorph theory, however, the density-scaling exponent is not exclusively a function of density and the isochoric heat capacity is not an exact isomorph invariant. A prediction is given for the latter quantity's variation along the isomorphs. Molecular dynamics simulations of the Lennard-Jones and Lennard-Jones Gaussian systems validate the new approach.

Isomorph theory prediction for the dielectric loss variation along an isochrone

This paper derives a prediction for the variation of the amplitude of the dielectric loss from isomorph theory, and presents an experimental test of the prediction performed by measuring the dielectric relaxation behavior of the van der Waals liquid 5-phenyl-4-ether (5PPE). The liquid is studied at isochronal states in the temperature range 266–333K and pressure range 0.1−300MPa, for relaxation times around 10−3s and 10−4s. From the isomorph statement that there is structural and dynamic invariance of isomorph states in reduced units for Roskilde simple liquids we derive four equivalent isomorph-invariant terms, one of which is used in analyzing our data. It is the frequency-dependent term χe(f)ργ−1, with electric susceptibility χe, density ρ, and density-scaling factor γ.Due to the unique design of our experimental setup, we obtain dielectric loss data where the amplitude is reproducible ±0.1%. We moreover find that the empty capacitance of the capacitor cell is stable within ±0.3% in our measuring range and can be assumed to be constant. Using this we predict for two isomorph states there is C2″(f)=C1″(f)(ρ1/ρ2)γ−1 to scale the imaginary capacitance, where C1 is the capacitance measurement at ambient pressure and C2 is the predicted capacitance at elevated pressure. We visually compare the predicted and measured plots and there is a good match between the two plots among the 42 pairs of isochronal states from the measurement.

Health Information Exchange as a Multisided Platform: Adoption, Usage, and Practice Involvement in Service Co-Production

Health Information Exchanges (HIE) are becoming integral parts of the national healthcare reform efforts, chiefly because of their potential impact on cost reduction and quality enhancement in healthcare services. However, the potential of an HIE platform can only be realized when its multiple constituent users actively participate in using its variety of services. In this research, we model HIE systems as multisided platforms that incorporate self-service technologies whose value to the users depends on both user-specific and network-specific factors. We develop a model of adoption, use, and involvement of clinical practices in the coproduction of the HIE services. This model is grounded in social network theory, service operations theory, and institutional isomorphism theory. A longitudinal study of actual adoption and use behaviors of 2,054 physicians within 430 community medical practices in Western New York over a three-year period has been carried out to evaluate the proposed model. This study has been supported by HEALTHeLINK, the Regional Health Information Organization of Western New York, which has an extensive database comprising over half a million transactions on patient records by the HIE users. We extracted panel data on adoption, use, and service coproduction behaviors from this database and carried out a detailed analysis using metrics derived from the foundational theories. Positioning practices within two distinct but interrelated networks of patients and practitioners, we show that adoption, use, and service coproduction behaviors are influenced by the topographies of the two networks, isomorphic effects of large practices on the smaller ones, and practice labor inputs in HIE use. Our findings provide a comprehensive view of the drivers of HIE adoption and use at the level of medical practices. These results have implications for marketing and revenue management of HIE platforms, as well as public health and national/regional healthcare policy making.

Health Information Exchange as a Multi-Sided Platform: Adoption, Usage and Practice Involvement in Service Co-Production

Health Information Exchanges (HIE) are becoming integral parts of the national healthcare reform efforts, chiefly owing to their potential impact on cost reduction and quality enhancement in healthcare services. However, the potential of a HIE platform can only be realized when its multiple constituent users actively participate in using its variety of services. In this research, we model HIE systems as multisided platforms that incorporate self-service technologies whose value to the users depends on both user-specific and network-specific factors. We develop a model of adoption, usage and the involvement of clinical practices in the co-production of the HIE services. This model is grounded in social network theory, service operations theory, and institutional isomorphism theory. A longitudinal study of actual adoption and usage behaviors of 2054 physicians within 430 community medical practices in Western New York over a three year period has been carried out to evaluate the proposed model. This study has been supported by HEALTHeLINK, the Regional Health Information Organization of Western New York, with an extensive database comprising of over half a million transactions on patient records by the HIE users. We extracted panel data on adoption, usage and service co-production behaviors from this database and carried out a detailed analysis using metrics derived from the foundational theories. Positioning practices within two distinct but interrelated networks of patients and practitioners, we show that adoption, usage and service co-production behaviors are influenced by the topographies of the two networks, isomorphic effects of large practices on the smaller ones, and practice labor inputs in HIE usage. Our findings provide a comprehensive view of the drivers of HIE adoption and usage at the level of medical practices. These results have implications for marketing and revenue management of HIE platforms, besides public health and national/regional healthcare policy making.

Scaling of the dynamics of flexible Lennard-Jones chains.

The isomorph theory provides an explanation for the so-called power law density scaling which has been observed in many molecular and polymeric glass formers, both experimentally and in simulations. Power law density scaling (relaxation times and transport coefficients being functions of ρ(γ(S)), where ρ is density, T is temperature, and γ(S) is a material specific scaling exponent) is an approximation to a more general scaling predicted by the isomorph theory. Furthermore, the isomorph theory provides an explanation for Rosenfeld scaling (relaxation times and transport coefficients being functions of excess entropy) which has been observed in simulations of both molecular and polymeric systems. Doing molecular dynamics simulations of flexible Lennard-Jones chains (LJC) with rigid bonds, we here provide the first detailed test of the isomorph theory applied to flexible chain molecules. We confirm the existence of isomorphs, which are curves in the phase diagram along which the dynamics is invariant in the appropriate reduced units. This holds not only for the relaxation times but also for the full time dependence of the dynamics, including chain specific dynamics such as the end-to-end vector autocorrelation function and the relaxation of the Rouse modes. As predicted by the isomorph theory, jumps between different state points on the same isomorph happen instantaneously without any slow relaxation. Since the LJC is a simple coarse-grained model for alkanes and polymers, our results provide a possible explanation for why power-law density scaling is observed experimentally in alkanes and many polymeric systems. The theory provides an independent method of determining the scaling exponent, which is usually treated as an empirical scaling parameter.

Isomorphic Properties of Network Governance: Comparing Two Watershed Governance Initiatives in the Lake Champlain Basin Using Institutional Network Analysis

In this paper a comparison of the two planned networks that appear in watershed planning documents for the Lake Champlain basin in 2010 One plan (2010 TMDL) was developed by a regulatory network initiated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and state legislature. The second plan (2010 OFA) was developed by a watershed partnership network spanning the governmental, nonprofit, and business sectors. This paper asks if these two planning networks reify themselves in the plans they create? The extent to which the structural and functional properties of the networks in this study are mirrored in the plans that they produce is measured. Using textual data mining techniques and institutional network analysis the authors examine measures of network centrality, develop a visual analysis of network structures and clusters, and examine statistical comparisons of the task structures found across the two planned networks.Institutional isomorphism theory is used to anticipate and explain any mirroring effects observed in the data. A comparison of policy tool identification, actor characteristics, and task structures for each plan is rendered. Findings suggest evidence of structural isomorphism, but not policy tool isomorphism occurring between the two planning regimes and possible explanations for these findings are given.

Session Type Isomorphisms

There has been a considerable amount of work on retrieving functions in function libraries using their type as search key. The availability of rich component specifications, in the form of behavioral types, enables similar queries where one can search a component library using the behavioral type of a component as the search key. Just like for function libraries, however, component libraries will contain components whose type differs from the searched one in the order of messages or in the position of the branching points. Thus, it makes sense to also look for those components whose type is different from, but isomorphic to, the searched one. In this article we give semantic and axiomatic characterizations of isomorphic session types. The theory of session type isomorphisms turns out to be subtle. In part this is due to the fact that it relies on a non-standard notion of equivalence between processes. In addition, we do not know whether the axiomatization is complete. It is known that the isomorphisms for arrow, product and sum types are not finitely axiomatisable, but it is not clear yet whether this negative results holds also for the family of types we consider in this work.

Neo-cadastres: innovative solution for land users without state based land rights, or just reflections of institutional isomorphism?

In many countries, authority for maintaining records of land ownership lies with national or state institutes, called ‘cadastres’ or ‘land registries’. The emergence of volunteered geographic information (VGI) and crowdsourcing potentially challenges this state based authority, enabling the construction of ‘neo’-cadastres (using the analogy of ‘neo’geography). Individual citizens can themselves map and record land tenure rights. This paper explores if and how VGI and crowdsourcing may redefine the state based cadastres and land registries, and the roles of land users who claim land rights outside of the state based institutions. Using theories of institutions and isomorphism we hypothesise that a parallel exists between emerging open systems and situations where no state-based cadastre exists: participants in both situations will position themselves to protect their interests. Three cases from Ghana, Canada, and Indonesia demonstrate how land users indicate their land tenure right boundaries based on personal views (the neo-cadastre), rather than on rules stipulated by a national authority (the traditional cadastre). In each case land users root their behaviour partly in local dependency relations and social advocacy networks. These locally embedded rules may not necessarily coincide with hierarchical institutional relations. Even in participatory adjudication activities conducted under the authority of national cadastres, land users are not completely free in providing their land boundaries. Instead, they adhere to certain locally embedded microsocial conventions. We conclude that VGI and crowdsourced based neo-cadastres will likely redefine, from passive to active, the roles of land users in cadastres. This creates an opportunity for citizens, but also a potential risk. Where implicit rules of the neo-cadastre do not co-evolve with traditional cadastral institutions, conflicts of land information and access to land may emerge. Neo-cadastres will be an artefact of this dissatisfaction, and may reflect new directions for cadastral institutions. Neo-cadastres will not be a direct trigger for wider cadastral change, but a piece of evidence that change and resistance are occurring.

Statistical mechanics of Roskilde liquids: Configurational adiabats, specific heat contours, and density dependence of the scaling exponent

We derive exact results for the rate of change of thermodynamic quantities, in particular, the configurational specific heat at constant volume, CV, along configurational adiabats (curves of constant excess entropy Sex). Such curves are designated isomorphs for so-called Roskilde liquids, in view of the invariance of various structural and dynamical quantities along them. The slope of the isomorphs in a double logarithmic representation of the density-temperature phase diagram, γ, can be interpreted as one third of an effective inverse power-law potential exponent. We show that in liquids where γ increases (decreases) with density, the contours of CV have smaller (larger) slope than configurational adiabats. We clarify also the connection between γ and the pair potential. A fluctuation formula for the slope of the CV-contours is derived. The theoretical results are supported with data from computer simulations of two systems, the Lennard-Jones fluid, and the Girifalco fluid. The sign of dγ∕dρ is thus a third key parameter in characterizing Roskilde liquids, after γ and the virial-potential energy correlation coefficient R. To go beyond isomorph theory we compare invariance of a dynamical quantity, the self-diffusion coefficient, along adiabats and CV-contours, finding it more invariant along adiabats.

Communication: The Rosenfeld-Tarazona expression for liquids’ specific heat: A numerical investigation of eighteen systems

We investigate the accuracy of the expression of Rosenfeld and Tarazona (RT) for the excess isochoric heat capacity, C(V)(ex)∝T(-2/5), for 18 model liquids. Previous investigations have reported no unifying features of breakdown for the RT expression. Here, liquids with different stoichiometric composition, molecular topology, chemical interactions, degree of undercooling, and environment are investigated. The RT expression is a better approximation for liquids with strong correlations between equilibrium fluctuations of virial and potential energy, i.e., "Roskilde-simple" liquids [T. S. Ingebrigtsen, T. B. Schrøder, and J. C. Dyre, Phys. Rev. X 2, 011011 (2012)]. This observation holds even for molecular liquids under severe nanoscale confinement which does not follow from the original RT bulk hard-sphere fluid perturbation theory arguments. The density dependence of the specific heat is predicted from the isomorph theory for Roskilde-simple liquids, which in combination with the RT expression provides a complete description of the specific heat's density and temperature dependence.

Communication: Two measures of isochronal superposition

A liquid obeys isochronal superposition if its dynamics is invariant along the isochrones in the thermodynamic phase diagram (the curves of constant relaxation time). This paper introduces two quantitative measures of isochronal superposition. The measures are used to test the following six liquids for isochronal superposition: 1,2,6 hexanetriol, glycerol, polyphenyl ether, diethyl phthalate, tetramethyl tetraphenyl trisiloxane, and dibutyl phthalate. The latter four van der Waals liquids obey isochronal superposition to a higher degree than the two hydrogen-bonded liquids. This is a prediction of the isomorph theory, and it confirms findings by other groups.

Anomalous properties of dew-bubble curves in the vicinity of liquid–vapor critical points

The explicit equation of dew-bubble curves in the vicinity of vapor–liquid critical points in mixtures has been derived within the scope of scaling theory and principle of isomorphism. It is shown that along these curves the pressure and the temperature depend non-analytically on the mixture density. As a consequence, the second derivatives (d2T/dρ2)DBC and (d2P/dρ2)DBC (taken along the dew-bubble curves) reveal cusp-like anomalies at the critical point. This specific feature enables one an easy estimation of the critical parameters of multicomponent mixtures directly from fitting a polynomial to dew-bubble-curve experimental data. To justify the proposed approach, the experimental data on dew-bubble curves for several binary and multicomponent mixtures have been analyzed and the positions of their critical points have been determined.

Why do policy leaders adopt global education reforms? A political analysis of SBM reform adoption in post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina

This paper presents a political analysis of school-based management reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). School-based management (SBM), based on the principle of school autonomy and community participation, is a school governance system introduced in many parts of the world, including post-conflict nations. Such a phenomenon seems to follow the pattern predicted by the theories of institutional isomorphism. According to the institutionalists in comparative education, a country adopts global education reforms so as to enhance nation-building and nation-state legitimacy within the international community (Meyer, Boli, Thomas, &amp; Ramirez, 1997; Ramirez &amp; Boli, 1987). However, a closer look at the SBM reform adoption process in BiH reveals that, after legislating the global reform, policy leaders appear to have willfully derailed its implementation. Careful analysis of their legitimacy contexts suggests that BiH leaders may have adopted the internationally-driven reform policy primarily for the purpose of enhancing their precarious domestic legitimacy. Such behavior can be explained by Weiler’s (1983; 1990) political utility theory, which has not yet been sufficiently incorporated into the analysis of educa­tional reform transfer. The study posits that policy leaders i­n reform-borrowing countries still play a crucial role in shaping education systems, even in the globalized world that is arguably driving these systems to converge. It is then important for comparative and international education scholars, as well as international donors, to critically assess the intent, practices and behaviors of the political leaders who accept global reforms.

The Evolution of European Merger Regulations and the Power of Ideas: A Pan-institutional Interpretation

The aim of this paper is to generate an understanding of the evolution of European competition policy in the context of the globalising economy of the 20th and early 21st centuries by analysing the role of ideas in influencing merger policies. Normally competition policy is framed by legal and economic studies as the set of regulations leading market competition according to criteria of efficiency and/or economic welfare. By advancing this analysis, the paper investigates on how abstract economic concepts and theories on the one hand, and material interests such as welfare and efficiency on the other, by influencing political actors’ understanding of reality, have shaped the decision-making process behind specific European competition policies. My analysis develops on the basis of what I call a pan-institutional methodology, a synthesis of an institutional understanding of competition policy and sociological theories of isomorphism. Pan-institutionalism reveals that the corpus of ideas, which favoured the neoliberal transformation that invested European institutions in the 20th and early 21st century, can be identified as German Ordoliberal and the Chicago paradigms of competition policy. To a degree, this latter US-originated approach has been internalised by Europe through formal and informal institutions, and adapted in light of the major oil crises of the 80’s. At the same time however, the reliance of Europe on the traditional Ordoliberal understanding of market practices has prevented a total harmonisation of EU competition policies with the American ones.

Isomorphic Pressures, Peripheral Product Attributes and Emerging Market Firm Export Performance

Drawing upon the neo-institutional theory of mimetic isomorphism and the concept of the extended product, we identify and empirically evaluate two potential product strategies that emerging market firms (EMFs) may use to improve their export performance while also addressing the financial, managerial expertise, and international experience limitations that they frequently face. Hierarchical regression is used to test our proposed peripheral product adaptation strategies on a unique dataset of 106 Chinese and Romanian exporters. We find that EMFs that change either of two visible peripheral product attributes (the brand name or the packaging) to conform to local market norms, on average, are more satisfied with their export performance than those that pursue other strategies. Our results also suggest that changing the brand name to conform to local market norms has more than twice the impact on EMF performance than does changing the packaging. Consistent with the tenets of neo-institutional theory, EMFs managers may be able to improve their firms’ export performance by changing the peripheral attributes of their products to conform to local market norms.

Achieving accuracy, generalization-to-contexts, and complexity in theories of business-to-business decision processes

This article describes field research methods that provide advances in developing accurate theories of business-to-business (B2B) decision processes. The article supports and extends prior work by Woodside (2010) that bridging qualitative and quantitative research method is possible to achieve accuracy, complexity, and generality across cases in B2B decision processes. As an aid in doing so, the article argues for the study of a few (n=5 to 50) cases via case study research (CSR). The article defines CSR, and describes several CSR theories and methods that are useful for describing, explaining, and forecasting processes occurring in business-to-business (B2B) contexts. The discussion includes summaries of six B2B case studies spanning more than 60years of research. This article advocates embracing the view that isomorphic theory of realities of B2B processes is possible via advances in CSR methods. The discussion advocates rejecting the dominant logic of attempting to describe and explain B2B processes by arms-length fixed-point surveys that usually involve responses from one executive per firm with no data-matching of firms in specific B2B relationships—such surveys lack details and accuracy necessary for understanding, describing, and forecasting B2B processes.

The effect of deterrence policy in software piracy

This research focuses on the comparison of piracy behaviour between Korea and Vietnam, and empirical validation of a model of software piracy based on expected utility theory, deterrence theory and institution isomorphism theory. A survey of 132 (Korea) and 145 (Vietnam) respondents was carried out in 2008 and PLS (Partial Least Square) was utilized for the analysis. Our results indicate that the relationships between punishment certainty and attitude, and mimetic pressure and intention, are significantly different between Korea and Vietnam. Several implications are considered from the political and cultural aspects.

The new logic in building isomorphic theory of management decision realities

PurposeThis article aims to describe ethnographic theory and research that maintains the integrity of the individual case while generalizing to multiple cases in research on management decisions. The study aims to provoke and prod management decision researchers to employ ethnographic research tools rather than relying only or mainly on the dominant logic of variable‐based empirical positivism.Design/methodology/approachDetails of two studies of multiple cases in two task environments inform explicit statements of the principles necessary for bridging the gap between management decision practice and research. Six principles serve as pillars for this bridge.FindingsAverages mislead. Partial regression coefficients inform about the impact of variables but mislead in hinting at the sufficiency of individual variables for all cases when high or low values on any one variable are not sufficient or necessary for a high or low outcome on a dependent variable. Research on management decisions must maintain the integrity of the individual case in analyzing and reporting findings on management decisions. Research tools are available now to accomplish these principles.Research limitations/implicationsGet out and into task environments of management decision makers and collect multiple rounds of emic‐etic‐emic‐etic interpretations of management decision processes and outcomes. Go to fsQCA.com to learn how to do qualitative comparative analysis of alternative causal recipes leading to relevant management decision outcomes.Originality/valueThis article describes and calls for a paradigm shift from the current empirical‐positivistic matrix‐algebra dominant logic to a new case‐based Boolean‐algebra logic for management decision researchers.