Search results

The purpose of this paper is to determine the validity of using classical laminated plate theory to predict strain concentration factors in notched laminates under bending.

The objective was accomplished by comparing results predicted by classical theory to those from more refined theories that incorporate transverse shear and other 3D effects in the analysis. Three notch sizes and two laminate types were considered. The results were obtained through finite element analysis.

Strain concentration factors predicted by the classical theory were generally found to be significantly lower than those predicted by the more refined theories. However, these differences tended to be very localized to the vicinity of the notch tip.

This study points out a potential deficiency in a commonly used design tool. The seriousness of this deficiency can best be determined by further research, particularly through a systematic testing program.

Field emergence poses an intriguing problem for institutional theorists. New issue fields often arise at the intersection of different sectors, amidst extant structures of meanings and actors. Such nascent fields are fragmented and lack clear guides for action; making it unclear how they ever coalesce. The authors propose that provisional social structures provide actors with macrosocial presuppositions that shape ongoing field-configuration; bootstrapping the field. The authors explore this empirically in the context of social impact investing in the UK, 2000–2013, a period in which this field moved from clear fragmentation to relative alignment. The authors combine different computational text analysis methods, and data from an extensive field-level study, to uncover meaningful patterns of interaction and structuration. Our results show that across various periods, different types of actors were linked together in discourse through “actor–meaning couplets.” These emergent couplings of actors and meanings provided actors with social cues, or macrofoundations, which guided their local activities. The authors thus theorize a recursive, co-constitutive process: as punctuated moments of interaction generate provisional structures of actor–meaning couplets, which then cue actors as they navigate and constitute the emerging field. Our model re-energizes the core tenets of new structuralism and contributes to current debates about institutional emergence and change.

Talk of “macrofoundations” helps foreground the constitutive and contextualizing powers of institutions – dynamics that are inadvertently obscured by the imagery of microfoundations. Highlighting these aspects of institutions in turn opens intriguing lines of inquiry into institutional reproduction and change, lived experience of institutions, and tectonic shifts in institutional configurations. However, there is a twist: taking these themes seriously ultimately challenges any naïve division of micro and macro, and undermines the claim of either to a genuinely foundational role in social analysis. The authors propose an alternative “optometric” imagery – positioning the micro and the macro as arrays of associated lenses, which bring certain things into focus at the cost of others. The authors argue that this imagery should not only encourage analytic reflexivity (“a more optometric institutionalism”) but also draw attention to the use of such lenses in everyday life, as an underexplored but critical phenomenon for institutional theory and research (“an institutionalist optometry”).

Misconduct and deviance amongst police officers are substantial issues in policing around the world. This study aims to propose a prediction model for serious police misconduct by variation of the theory of planned behaviour.

Using two data sets, one quantitative and one qualitative, provided by an Australian policing agency, a random forest analysis and a qualitative content analysis was performed. Results were used to inform and extend the framework of the theory of planned behaviour. The traditional and extended theory of planned behaviour models were then tested for predictive utility.

Each model demonstrated noteworthy predictive power, however, the extended model performed particularly well. Prior instances of minor misconduct amongst officers appeared important in this rate of prediction, suggesting that remediation of problematic behaviour was a substantial issue amongst misconduct prone officers.

It is an important implication for policing agencies that prior misconduct was predictive of further misconduct. A robust complaint investigation and remediation process are pivotal to anticipating, remediating and limiting police misconduct, however, early intervention models should not be viewed as the panacea for police misconduct.

This research constitutes the first behavioural model for police misconduct produced in Australia. This research seeks to contribute to the field of behavioural prediction amongst deviant police officers, and offer an alternative methodology for understanding these behaviours.

The study of markets encompasses a number of disciplines – including anthropology, economics, history, and sociology – and a larger number of theoretical frameworks (see Plattner, 1989; Reddy, 1984; Smelser & Swedberg, 1994). Despite this disciplinary and theoretical diversity, scholarship on markets tends toward either realist or constructionist accounts (Dobbin, 1994; Dowd & Dobbin, forthcoming).¹ Realist accounts treat markets as extant arenas that mostly (or should) conform to a singular ideal-type. Realists thus take the existence of markets as given and examine factors that supposedly shape all markets in a similar fashion. When explaining market outcomes, they tout such factors as competition, demand, and technology; moreover, they can treat the impact of these factors as little influenced by context. Constructionist accounts treat markets as emergent arenas that result in a remarkable variety of types. They problematize the existence of markets and examine how contextual factors contribute to this variety. When explaining market outcomes, some show that social relations and/or cultural assumptions found in a particular setting can qualify the impact of competition (Uzzi, 1997), demand (Peiss, 1998), and technology (Fischer, 1992). Constructionists thus stress the contingent, rather than universal, processes that shape markets.

Students with disabilities consistently underperform on academic achievement tests. In part, this is due to teachers being underprepared to provide the evidence-based instruction needed to help students with disabilities succeed. Historically, professional development (PD) has been provided to educators yielding disappointing results. In this chapter, what is known about the components of effective PD and how to evaluate a PD program will be discussed. In particular, the role of coaching and the use of technology in PD models will be explored. The next steps in improving PD will be discussed.

The Bureau of Economics in the Federal Trade Commission has a three-part role in the Agency and the strength of its functions changed over time depending on the preferences and ideology of the FTC’s leaders, developments in the field of economics, and the tenor of the times. The over-riding current role is to provide well considered, unbiased economic advice regarding antitrust and consumer protection law enforcement cases to the legal staff and the Commission. The second role, which long ago was primary, is to provide reports on investigations of various industries to the public and public officials. This role was more recently called research or “policy R&D”. A third role is to advocate for competition and markets both domestically and internationally. As a practical matter, the provision of economic advice to the FTC and to the legal staff has required that the economists wear “two hats,” helping the legal staff investigate cases and provide evidence to support law enforcement cases while also providing advice to the legal bureaus and to the Commission on which cases to pursue (thus providing “a second set of eyes” to evaluate cases). There is sometimes a tension in those functions because building a case is not the same as evaluating a case. Economists and the Bureau of Economics have provided such services to the FTC for over 100 years proving that a sub-organization can survive while playing roles that sometimes conflict. Such a life is not, however, always easy or fun.

This investigation highlights the discrepancies in sustainability reporting practices, and their implications for sustainable service.

A comparative analysis methodology was employed, examining sustainability reports from similarly situated companies, specifically PepsiCo and Coca-Cola and The Home Depot, Lowe’s and HomePro. This approach was chosen to uncover variances in sustainability reporting and practices within these sectors using the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) guidelines which all four firms followed in their sustainability reports.

The study reveals significant disparities in how companies within the same industry apply SASB guidelines. These inconsistencies highlight a broader issue of non-standardization in sustainability reporting, leading to challenges in effectively evaluating the relative performance of companies in the same sector.

The findings suggest managers must prioritize standardized and transparent sustainability reporting to build stakeholder acceptance and trust.

This paper contributes to the existing literature by providing a detailed comparison of sustainability practices in two distinct industry sectors. It offers new insights into the challenges and importance of standardizing sustainability reporting and the potential impact on stakeholders.