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This study provides evidence on how changes in management accounting and control systems (MACS) associate with competition, organizational capacity to learn, decentralization, and firm size. In doing this, it replicates (and extends) Libby and Waterhouse’s (L&W) Canadian study in the context of Australian manufacturing firms.

Drawing on contingency theory, the study uses data from a mail-out survey of a sample of Australian manufacturing firms.

Change in MACS was found to be significantly and positively associated with greater organizational capacity to learn and a more intensely competitive environment. Firm size and decentralization were not highly significant with changes in MACS. Additional analysis of the data indicated the generalizability of the L&W model across divisions of large corporations, but not across stand-alone firms and local market-oriented firms.

The results contribute to the field of management accounting change by suggesting that when an organization experiences changes in its business environment its management control systems need changes too.

An analysis of the relevant literature has demonstrated that many similarities exist between Pioneers (women working or hoping to work in male‐dominated occupations) and Traditionals (women working in or hoping to work in female‐dominated occupations). Clearly background, personality, motivation and attitudes alone are relatively poor predictors of preference for entry into traditionally male occupations. Therefore the typical Pioneer, which earlier research has attempted to identify, does not exist. The ways in which women's personal characteristics influence occupational choice and work entry should be placed within a wider context to include the external, structural and situational factors which inhibit and facilitate women's entry into male‐dominated occupations. A more qualitative approach is needed rather than the standard questionnaire methods.

Professional touching behavior (PTB), defined as intentional touching behavior that occurs between organizational members and that falls within the boundaries of appropriateness and professionalism in the workplace, is prevalent in organizations. Scholars from multiple disciplines, including human resources researchers, have acknowledged the importance of physical contact for facilitating interpersonal communication and relationship-building. However, PTB may not only elicit positive reactions from those who receive it but also negative reactions as well, with implications for social dynamics in organizations. PTB can, on the one hand, fulfill employees’ desires for interpersonal connection; at the same time, such physical contact at work can represent a threat to employees’ health. To explain the nature and implications of these divergent effects of receiving PTB, the authors draw upon sociometer theory and behavioral immune system (BIS) theory to model the emotional, cognitive, and physiological processes via which, and the conditions under which, receiving such behavior will result in socially functional responses and prompt subsequent prosocial behavior, and when PTB will be perceived as a health risk and prompt withdrawal behavior. The theoretical framework of this chapter expands our conceptual understanding of the consequences of interpersonal physical contact at work and has important human resources management (HRM) implications for organizational managers.

Judgments and decision are central to entrepreneurship, but capturing them empirically is challenging. Shepherd and Zacharakis (1997) addressed this challenge by identifying metric conjoint analysis as an experimental method capable of capturing the decision policies of actors engaged in entrepreneurial task, creating a “window of opportunity” for entrepreneurship research. On the twentieth anniversary of this chapter, the authors reflect on the impact the ideas had on their own work and careers, while, at the same time, address the possibility that the “typical” conjoint study may have reached the end. From this platform, the authors identify unknown attributes, interactive effects, rich media, mixed methods, and sophisticated data analysis as potential pathways by which conjoint analysis can continue to advance understanding of entrepreneurship. Their conclusion is that when coupled with impactful research questions, innovative uses of conjoint analysis have an important role to play in the future of entrepreneurship research. Hence, the authors believe that Dean A. Shepherd’s and Zach Zacharakis’s bold effort will continue as a quintessential resource for those researchers who wish to tap the mind of entrepreneurs, investors, and other key actors as they traverse the journey of business venturing.

This study examines employees of Australian firms engaged in sports sponsorship activity. Where the employee is aware of that sponsorship, we consider the ways in which the general beliefs and attitudes of employees towards sponsorship link to their specific attitudes towards the sponsorship activity of their employer and whether these attitudes may influence their behaviour within the organisation. A model linking employees' attitudes towards their employers' sponsorship activity, the creation of favourable attitudes towards working for that employer and behaviours that can benefit the employing organisation is tested and supported. Implications of results include: a stronger focus on using sports sponsorship for internal marketing purposes; involvement of employees in determining the sponsored activity or organisation; and reassessing the overall benefits that derive from sports sponsorship.

This paper aims to investigate the additive manufacturing (AM) approach of a spatial complex curve feature (SCCF, mapped from two-dimensional nonuniform rational B-splines [2D-NURBS] curve) on a complex surface based on a serial robot using plasma built-up welding, and lays a foundation for plasma AM SCCFs on complex surfaces by combining the NURBS theory with the serial robotic kinematics.

Combining serial robotic kinematics and NURBS theory, a SCCF mapped from a square-like 2D-NURBS curve is prepared on a predefined complex NURBS surface using serial robotic plasma AM. The interpolation points C (ui) on the square-like 2D-NURBS curve are obtained using the equi-chord length interpolation method, and mapped on a predefined NURBS surface to get mapped points S (ui, vj). The homogeneous transformation matrix T = [n o a S (ui, vj)] of the plasma torch is calculated using the mapped points S (ui, vj) and the designated posture [n o a]. Using the inverse kinematics of the serial robot, the joint vector θ of the serial robot can be computed. After that, the AM programs are generated and transferred into the serial robotic controller and carried out by the serial robot of Motoman-UP6. The 2D-NURBS curve (square-like) is considered as AM trajectory planning curve, while its corresponding SCCF mapped from the 2D-NURBS curve as AM trajectory.

Simulation and experiments show that the preparation of SCCF (mapped from 2D-NURBS curve) on complex NURBS surface using robotic plasma AM is feasible and effective.

A SCCF mapped from a 2D-NURBS curve is prepared on a complex NURBS surface using the serial robotic plasma AM for the first time. It provides a theoretical and technical basis for plasma AM to produce SCCFs on complex surfaces. With the increasing demand for surface remanufacturing of complex parts, the serial robotic plasma AM of SCCFs on complex NURBS surfaces has a broad application prospect in aero-engine components, high-speed rail power components, nuclear industry components and complex molds.

Criminal history has been conceptualised as a socially stigmatised identity. From this perspective, we can understand criminal history as invisible, concealable and ‘not readily apparent to others’ (Chaudoir & Fisher, 2010, p. 236). Although previous periods of incarceration cannot be detected per se, during this chapter, we present several elements, such as embodiment, appearance-based inferences (i.e. assumptions of what a criminal history looks like), and information as proxy (e.g. résumé gaps, credit history), which may contribute to individual assessments and interpretations of the appearance of a criminal history. Once perceived, these elements may contribute an array of unique career experiences as individuals with a criminal history seek to navigate their employment experience. Therefore, this chapter offers insight into how the appearance of criminal history information, particularly when presented without a thorough explanation, may be left to interpretation and bias throughout the employment experience.

This paper aims to summarize the influence law of hybrid deposited and micro-rolling (HDMR) technology on the bead morphology and overlapping coefficient. A better bead topology positively supports the overlapping deposited in multi-beads between layers while actively assisting the subsequent layer's deposition in the wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM). Hybrid-deposited and micro-rolling (HDMR) additive manufacturing (AM) technology can smooth the weld bead for improved surface quality. However, the micro-rolling process will change the weld bead profile fitting curve to affect the overlapping coefficient.

Weld bead contours for WAAM and HDMR were extracted using line lasers. A comparison of bead profile curves was conducted to determine the influence law of micro-zone rolling on the welding bead contour and fitting curve. Aiming at the optimized overlapping coefficient of weld bead in HDMR AM, the optimal HDMR overlapping coefficient curve was proposed which varies with the reduction based on the best surface flatness. The mathematical model for overlapping in HDMR was checked by comparing the HDMR weld bead contours under different rolling reductions.

A fitting function of the bead forming by HDMR AM was proposed based on the law of conservation of mass. The change rule of the HDMR weld bead overlapping spacing with the degree of weld bead rolling reduction was generated using the flat-top transition calculation for this model. Considering the damming-up impact of the first bead, the overlapping coefficient was examined for its effect on layer surface flatness.

Using the predicted overlapping model, the optimal overlapping coefficients for different rolling reductions can be achieved without experiments. These conclusions can encourage the development of HDMR technology.

Adopting a dual processing cognitive perspective, this study explores the decision-making processes past the start-up stage that small entrepreneurial businesses employ to grow. The author examines how entrepreneurs evaluate and make decisions on growth opportunities in their business environment. The author uses cognitive style as a theoretical lens to capture differences in information processing, combining interviews and psychometric questionnaires to analyse cognitive styles. The longitudinal mixed methods approach illustrates the richness of the entrepreneur’s decision-making process, which the author tracks over a two-year period. The author determines how intuitive and analytical cognitive styles are used by entrepreneurs and the contribution these styles make to decision-making. The findings show that the two cognitive styles are versatile as entrepreneurs adjust and adapt their cognitive style over time, in keeping with the situational factors of their business environment. The author also finds marked differences between novice and mature entrepreneurs and that experienced entrepreneurs exhibited greater levels of cognitive versatility, which was directly linked to their prior experience. The study has significant implications for future research, which should consider the question how an entrepreneur’s cognitive style is dependent on the business context and their prior experience.

This chapter introduces readers to a complex adaptive systems approach for integrating research on genes, behavior, and social structures/institutions. Until recently, scientists have resorted to reductionism as a decoding and epistemological strategy for understanding human health. The complex bonds among health’s biological, behavioral, and social dimensions, however, cannot be fully grasped with reductionist schemas. Moreover, because reducing and simplifying can lead to incomplete understanding of phenomena, the resulting deficient knowledge has the potential to be harmful.

To achieve its purpose, this primer will: (1) introduce fundamental notions from complexity science, useful for inquiry and practice integrating research on genes, behavior, and social structures; (2) outline selected methodological strategies employed in studying complex adaptive/dynamic systems; (3) address the question, “Specifically, how can a dynamic systems approach be helpful for integrating research on genes, behavior, and social structures/institutions, to improve the public’s health?”; and (4) provide examples of studies currently deploying a complexity perspective.

The originality/value of this primer rests in its critique of the research status quo and the proposition of an alternative lens for integrating genomic, biomedical, and sociological research to improve the public’s health. The topic of complex adaptive/dynamic systems has begun to flourish within sociology, medicine, and public health, but many researchers lack exposure to the topic’s basic notions and applications.