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Income inequality in urban China has experienced a dramatic growth during the last decade. Between 2003 and 2010, the variance of log income among the working population climbed from 0.66 to 0.88, amounting to a 33% increase. In the meantime, the composition of the urban labor force was considerably reshaped by college expansion, shrinkage of state-owned enterprises, and a surge of rural-to-urban migration. By explicitly taking into account these institutional and demographic changes, this article attempts to adjudicate between six competing explanations for the recent rise in income inequality: (1) widening regional disparities, (2) increasing returns to education, (3) expansion of tertiary education, (4) shrinkage of state-owned enterprises, (5) rural-to-urban migration, and (6) growing residual inequality. Using both ANOVA-based decompositions and a parametric approach recently developed by Western and Bloome (2009), I decompose the total change in inequality into four detailed components: essential change in between-group inequality, essential change in within-group inequality, dispersion effect, and transfer effect. The counterfactual analyses show that over two thirds of the growth in income inequality during the sample period can be explained by compositional changes in individual and contextual characteristics. In particular, the bulk of this composition effect stems from college expansion and the shrinking employment of state-owned enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, an innovative methodology to generate the automatic ground motion areas mapping is presented. The methodology is based on the analysis of the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)-based displacement time series. The procedure includes two modules developed using the ModelBuilder tool (ArcGis). These modules allow to identify the ground motion areas (GMA) using only one dataset and the persistent GMA (PGMA) considering the different monitored periods and datasets. These areas represent clusters of targets characterized by the same displacement time series trend. The procedure was tested using different sensors such as ERS-1/2, ENVISAT, COSMO-SkyMed and Sentinel-1 covering the periods, 1992–2000, 2003–2010, 2012–2016 and 2014–2017, respectively, over an area of about 500 km 2 in the Venetian-Friulian coastal Plain (NE Italy). The resulting mapping allows to detect priority areas where to address further in situ investigations such as to verify the presence of localized buried landforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the launching of the Industrialised Building System (IBS) first project in 1960's, the Malaysian government has enthusiastically promote the IBS as a successful tool to deliver a construction project and to ease the problems that have been long haunting the Malaysian construction industry such as delay, wastage, defects and the negative 3D (Dirty, Difficult and Difficult) image of construction industry. So far, the take ups are still below targeted figure as stipulated in IBS Roadmap 2003–2010. Thus, this paper aims to identify the involvement of Sarawak contractors in IBS through questionnaires. The results indicated that IBS is still considered new to most of the contractors in Sarawak and thus, further indicated that they were still lacking exposure to IBS. Most of the contractors agreed that IBS will enhance better project delivery. However, lack of volume to economically use of IBS becomes the main setback to the implementation of IBS in Sarawak. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The main objective of this paper is to scrutinize current studies of Knowledge Management System (KMS) in organization throughout contemporary literatures. The focus is to discover theories, models as well as their approaches of existing studies. The review analyses 30 published articles between 2003–2010 from high quality journals. The results reveal that the majority of existing studies fundamentally based on traditional theories and conventional models of adoption, acceptance and diffusion to study the impact of KMS in the organization while the focus of factor based study is mainly from implementation study. On the other hand, the theoretical approaches to conduct the research in this field generally from variance whereas the process approach is scant. Therefore, the future research could give more attention on process approach which allows exploiting more on interpretive paradigm and qualitative as methodological approach which could possibly generate new knowledge in this field of study. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) analysis is an effective technique to map 3- dimensional surface deformation with high spatial resolution. The aim of this study was to evaluate the capability of InSAR analysis when applied to ground monitoring of an environmental disaster. We performed a time series InSAR analysis using ENVISAT/ASAR and ALOS/PALSAR data and commercial software to investigate subsidence around the Kanto District of Japan. We also investigated techniques for efficient early detection of landslides in Kyushu using time series analysis that incorporated synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images. ENVISAT/ ASAR data acquired from 2003-2010 and ALOS/PALSAR data acquired from 2006-2011 were used to detect poorly expressed geomorphological deformation by conducting time series analyses of periodically acquired SAR data. In addition, to remove noise caused by geographical feature stripes or phase retardation, we applied median filtering, histogram extraction processing, and clarification of the displacement with a Laplacian filter. The main functions of the InSAR time series analysis are the calculation of phase differences between two images and the inversion with smoothness constraint for the estimation of deformation along the line of sight. The results enabled us to establish criteria for the selection of suitable InSAR data pairs, and provided the final error estimation of the derived surface deformation. The results of the analysis in the Kanto District suggested that localized areas of uplift and subsidence have occurred at irregular intervals in this area. Furthermore, the method offers the possibility of early warning of environmental disasters such as landslide and abrupt subsidence. Our results confirm the effectiveness of InSAR analysis for the monitoring of ground deformation over wide areas via the detection of localized subsidence and landslides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial and temporal variations in SPM concentration in the White Sea, Russia, are directly (mineral particles from the water basin) or indirectly ("blossom" of diatoms due to supply of nutrients) caused by river runoff. Interannual variations in SPM concentration for the White Sea are low and do not exceed 18% (2003-2010); hence, they are statistically insignificant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To comply with the requirements of EU Directive 2009/28/EC for using renewable energy sources (RES) in Latvia, the agricultural industry has to become a significant supplier of resources to energy producers and consumers. Agricultural crops have always been used for the production of food, feed, fibre, and fuel. Already in 2003, the program "Biofuel Production and Use in Latvia (2003-2010)" was approved. The approval of the program laid the foundations for a biofuels market. Biofuel production satisfies the domestic market demand, as well as the excess is being exported. At the end of the program, the government stopped supporting the biofuels industry. First-generation biofuel production is not competitive without government support. First-generation biofuel production technology could not overcome the development of the valley of death. Only the creation of bio-economy-based technologies for biofuel production can ensure its competitiveness [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern industrial democracies are increasingly being characterized as "social movement societies." These societies have higher levels of contentious political action, but these activities are increasingly institutionalized, professionalized, and involve more porous boundaries between the contentious and the routine sides of politics (Meyer and Tarrow 1998). Government policies for funding social movements have been an important part of this institutionalizing and professionalizing process. This article examines these trends and begins with an historical examination of government policies of funding social movements in Canada. These policies are significant in the ways that they impact the level of contention and the extent of challenge that social movements offer the state. Through an examination of the press releases of two environmental social movements in Canada, the World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace, this article examines the extent to which changing government funding practices and policies impact the framing and tactics of these organizations over an eight-year period from 2003-2010. By examining these two organizations over time, this article sheds light on the dynamic relationship between government and social movement organizations in modern democracies and illustrates how the actions of government can shape the character and nature of social movement challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sets out to discover similarities regarding the efficiency of financial institutions within the CEE countries. Similarities are also required within SEE countries that are not EU members to understand better their financial development. We apply cluster analysis techniques for the period 2003-2010 in order to see the trend of homogeneity of these countries. The results show that Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are more integrated countries, while Hungary and Poland have fewer similarities by comparison with the other countries. Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina have greater similarities with the other CEE countries that are EU member states than with Serbia, Albania and Montenegro, which are usually classified in a separate group. Therefore, because of their position we included Greece in the cluster analysis of the SEE countries that are not members of the EU. This inclusion clarified the position of Albania, which seemed to have many more similarities with this country. Furthermore, it seems even more obvious that Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are included in the same group, while Serbia is again at some distance from the other countries. Such differences appear to be maintained during the period under consideration, leaving scope for further integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Snow water equivalent have been retrieved from passive microwave instruments for many decades. Current SWE products from NSIDC and GlobSnow are achievements of traditional spectral difference method and newly developed assimilation algorithm combining model estimates with ground-based weather station data. In this paper, validation analysis show that GlobSnow SWE possess less RSM errors in each month and higher stability through the whole winter for all Sturm's snow classes. In term of snow changes, both NSIDC and GlobSnow products mainly shows similar temporal trend. Even although the total snow amount in northern hemisphere decreased from 1978 to 2010, snow mass is increasing in higher latitude and decreasing in lower latitude in the first 9 years, appearing kind of antiphase oscillation between higher and lower latitude; and in the next 15 years, 1988–2002, this phenomenon still exists but gradually disappears. Until resent 8 years, 2003–2010, all kinds of snow in north hemisphere decreased with relatively drastic tendency. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A soil moisture retrieval algorithm using AMSR-E microwave satellite data has been developed by the NIMR. In this study, the relationship between soil moisture retrieved from the NIMR algorithm and the occurrence of Asian dust is statistically analyzed. The frequency of Asian dust events was recorded at 410 sites in China from 2003–2010 in three regions; the Gobi desert, Inner Mongolia and Northeast China. Results showed low soil moisture values of around 0.1 g/cm3 in the Gobi desert and Inner Mongolia. Soil moisture values in Northeast China were marginally higher than in other regions. About 55% of Asian dust in the Gobi desert occurred when the monthly mean soil moisture was less than the monthly mean soil moisture for eight years. Approximately 75% of Asian dust in Northeast China occurred when soil moisture was the same as the monthly mean soil moisture for eight years [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Estuarine biogeochemistry plays a key role in the cycling of biological and chemical parameters. In the present study, a first attempt has been made towards the coupling of a realistic three-dimensional estuarine circulation model with biophysical model in the Hooghly Estuary (21°36′–22°16′N and 87°42′–88°15′E) to simulate and capture the varying effect of plankton biomass with response to river discharge and tidal effect. In-situ observational data for physico-chemical and biological parameters were collected from different sampling stations during 2003–2010 are assimilated using successive over relaxation method (SOR) and multiscale objective analysis (OA) and incorporated in Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) to setup a higher resolution both in horizontal (0.5 km × 0.5 km) and vertical (8 vertical levels) biogeochemical model. Strong tidal influence with sliding growth of phytoplankton (less than 1mg/l) towards south and low dissolved oxygen (DO) is low (5.27 mg/l) in the Haldi River mouth also affects water quality. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper draws on a range of empirical data collected during the years 2003-2010 (see Enli and Thumim 2009; Thumim forthcoming, 2012; Thumim 2010; Thumim 2009; Thumim 2009a; Thumim 2008) to elaborate two propositions. Firstly I argue that because of the ubiquity of self-representation across a range of settings we should now think in terms of a genre of selfrepresentation, and secondly that there are myriad differences in what kinds of work different examples of this genre seem to be doing in contemporary digital culture. I suggest that analysing three dimensions of mediation processes (institutional, textual and cultural) enables us to decipher the value, and therefore the politics, at stake in diverse examples of the genre of self - representation which may appear alike at the textual level. The paper concludes by considering the role that notions of 'ordinary people' and 'community' may play in contemporary governance, as a result of their repeated invocation in the now ubiquitous genre of self-representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the theory and practice of regression techniques for prediction of stock price trend by using a transformed data set in ordinal data format. The original pre-transformed data source contains data of heterogeneous data types used for handling of currency values and financial ratios. The data formats in currency values and financial ratios provide a process for computation of stock prices. The transformed data set contains only a standardized ordinal data type which provides a process to measure rankings of stock price trends. The outcomes of both processes are examined and appraised. The primary design is based on regression analysis from WEKA machine learning software. The stock price movement in Bursa Malaysia is used as our research setting. The data sources are corporate annual reports which included balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement. The variables included in the data set were formed based on stock market trading fundamental analysis approach. Classifiers in WEKA were used as algorithms to produce the outcomes. This study showed that the outcomes of regression techniques can be improved for the prediction of stock price trend by using a dataset in standardized ordinal data format. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Neva estuary is a shallow water body, characterized by low salinity (0–3.5‰) and high level of eutrophication. Sampling was conducted along the coast in 2002–2011 by scuba-diving method. Every summer we observed mass development of fast-growing filamentous macroalgae (up to 450 gDWm−2) and the formation of decaying mats. During study period dredging works and land reclamation led to significant decline of total macroalgal biomass in 2008, but in next three years the biomass reached previous meanings. Natural factors, as a weather conditions and salinity also influenced on coastal communities. Changes of salinity determined distribution of marine species in the Neva estuary. At the same time weather conditions influenced on seasonal dynamic of macroalgae. Correlation analysis showed significant link between average seasonal biomass (depth 0.5 m) of macroalgae and average wind speed during sampling season (R=−0.94, p<0.05). At the same time the link between midsummer biomass and temperature was founded. Our study showed, that species composition and biomass of macroalgal communities reflected complex of antropogenic and natural factors, which influenced on the Neva estuary. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes a comparison between ocean skin temperature as estimated by MODIS 11µm radiation in both day and night overpasses, and near-surface measurements made by Argo buoys co-located in time and space with MODIS pixels located in two 20° × 20° regions in the eastern Pacific Ocean, for the period 2003–2010. On average, Argo temperatures were warmer than MODIS temperatures, by about 0.3°C on average in the daytime, and 0.8°C at night. There was significant month-to-month variation in these relationships, but little interannual variability. In general, the measurements are not directly interchangeable within established limits of uncertainty for SST measurements, but are when the mean monthly differences are taken into account. The mean differences themselves provide useful information on the relationship between ocean skin temperature and that a few metres below the surface. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The spatial and temporal characters of & over Yangtze River Delta (YZD) are analyzed using monthly averaged tropospheric & column densities from GOME (1996–2002) and SCIAMACHY (2003–2010) measurements. In addition, with the land cover map of YZD, the characters of & concentration over different ecosystem have been analyzed. The results indicated that the tropospheric & column densities in YZD increased distinctly from 1996 to 2010 and it showed distinct regional and seasonal variation. It has the highest concentration in winter while lowest in summer. Under the influence of the urbanization process, the highest & column densities appeared at cities and metropolis while the lowest column densities appeared in forest. The sharp increasing of tropospheric & column appeared in water bodies, followed urban land and woodland. Furthermore, we compared with the & column and the mass concentration of N dry deposition from the control experiments, they performed significant correlation and the high R value (R2=0.86, P&#60;0.001). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since global warming issues have a growing concern in many parts of the world, monitoring water vapor variability as one of the climate parameters is very important to quantify its warming trend. Global Positioning System (GPS) technology provides an essential tool in retrieving atmospheric precipitable water vapor (PWV) on the global scale with superior temporal and spatial resolution. This paper reports the variability of PWV observed at four selected stations in Antarctica. PWV has been characterized and exhibits an annual cycle signal with a large seasonal variation; largest in the Austral summer and lowest in the Austral winter. PWV found correlated well with surface temperature. The maximum average of PWV and the surface temperature over the period 2003–2010 at all stations exhibited to decrease with slopes of ∼0.38 and ∼0.15, respectively. This implies that four selected stations in the duration of study are less affected by the global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Arctic coastal polynyas, defined here as persistent openings in the winter sea ice pack, are significant areas for ocean-atmosphere heat exchange, high winter sea ice production with resulting brine rejection and the dependence of local ecosystems. It is therefore critical to accurately quantify polynya area to understand their spatial and temporal variability, particularly in the context of recent dramatic Arctic sea ice declines. In this study, a erosion algorithm (a morphology image-processing technique) is applied to AMSR-E (Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS) sea ice concentrations in the Arctic during January-December from 2003 to 2010 to remove regions with low sea ice concentrations in the marginal ice zone and obtain sea ice pack regions with low sea ice concentrations in polynyas. The daily time series of water area within polynyas are extracted by a water integration method after sea ice concentrations are preprocessed using the morphology image-processing techniques. Based on the water area within polynyas, the monthly and interannual variability of all polynyas in the Arctic is studied [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Firms can derive significant benefits from locating innovation activities in foreign countries. Yet, such offshoring of innovation activities comes with notable downsides, particularly the risk of innovation misappropriation in host countries with weak intellectual property rights (IPR) regimes. Although prior research has focused on how firms attempt to manage this downside risk through innovation-specific remedies and knowledge protection strategies, the role of firm nonmarket capabilities, notably political capabilities, has thus far been largely overlooked. We argue that firm political capabilities can help protect firms from the possible misappropriation of their intangible resources in weak IPR regimes, but that this effect will only materialize when a firm's home and host countries maintain favorable diplomatic relationships. Our theorizing thus considers multiple levels of political influence that affect a firm's ability to overcome the risks associated with weak IPR regimes. We find support for our predictions in a sample of 479 innovation offshoring investments made by 102 firms from 12 home countries over the period 2003-2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two earth fissures appeared in Murcia province (southeastern Spain) after the flood occurred because of a heavy downpour on 28 September 2012. In this area, located within the Guadalentín Valley, up to 212 L m -2 was reported that day. More than 200 agricultural exploitations were destroyed by the flooding, with a devastating effect on many infrastructures, such as a main A-7 highway bridge that collapsed in this event. The earth fissures appeared after this flooding in the towns of Puerto Lumbreras and Totana. The first fissure showed a straight-line direction approximately parallel to the main geological structures of the Guadalentín Valley. The total length of the fissure was 400 m and was 2 to 3 m in depth. The soil in the fissure is classified as a low-plasticity silt with some sand and clay, ML, according to the Unified Soil Classification System. From the sieve and hydrometer tests, the percentage of silt in these samples was between 48 % and 68 %, the clay content between 12 % and 30 % and the sand content between 2 % and 40 %. The plasticity index was smaller than 9.2 for all the samples. To evaluate the piping and internal erosion susceptibility of the soil, pinhole, crumb and geochemical tests were done on the collected samples. A result of non-dispersive soil was obtained from crumb and pinhole tests. Nevertheless, the pH, sodium adsorption ratio and exchangeable sodium percentage tests showed that some samples could be affected by the dispersion of the soil. Also, the collapsible potential of the soil was studied, showing negative results for all the samples except for that collected at the southern end of the fissure, which showed a medium to high potential. Concerning the Totana fissure, it appeared with different branches and holes instead of as a rectilinear pattern. The total length of the fissure was 190 m, with the soil characterized as a silty soil. Lastly, INSAR data, GPS, GPR and land subsidence maps were used to study the possible origin of these fissures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advanced Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (A-DInSAR) techniques and 3-D groundwater flow and geomechanical models are integrated to improve our knowledge about the Tertiary detritic aquifer of Madrid (TDAM). In particular, the attention is focused on the Manzanares-Jarama well field, located to the northwest of Madrid, which experienced five cycles of extensive groundwater withdrawal followed by natural recovery, to cope with the droughts occurred in summer 1995, 1999, 2002, 2006, and 2009. Piezometric records and A-DInSAR data acquired by ERS-1/2 and ENVISAT satellites during the periods 1992–2000 and 2002–2010, respectively, have been used to calibrate the groundwater flow and the geomechanical models. A time-lag of about one month between the hydraulic head changes and the displacements of the land surface has been detected by a joint wavelet analysis of A-DInSAR and piezometer head time series. Overall, the results show the effectiveness of the proposed integrated approach composed of A-DInSAR and 3-D geomechanical model to characterize the aquifer-system response during and after the groundwater withdrawal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interpretation of land subsidence time-series to understand the evolution of the phenomenon and the existing relationships between triggers and measured displacements is a great challenge. Continuous wavelet transform (CWT) is a powerful signal processing method mainly suitable for the analysis of individual nonstationary time-series. CWT expands time-series into the time-frequency space allowing identification of localized nonstationary periodicities. Complementarily, Cross Wavelet Transform (XWT) and Wavelet Coherence (WTC) methods allow the comparison of two time-series that may be expected to be related in order to identify regions in the time-frequency domain that exhibit large common cross-power and wavelet coherence, respectively, and therefore are evocative of causality. In this work we use CWT, XWT and WTC to analyze piezometric and InSAR (interferometric synthetic aperture radar) time-series from the Tertiary aquifer of Madrid (Spain) to illustrate their capabilities for interpreting land subsidence and piezometric time-series information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land subsidence caused by overexploitation of aquifers manifests with an increasing frequency in several regions of Greece. The first signs of land subsidence have been identified since 1965 at the west side of Thessaloniki (broader Kalochori village region), in the form of a progressive marine invasion. Since then several areas have been investigated and proved to be affected mainly by the overexploitation of the aquifers. The Multidisciplinary nature of the subsidence mechanism combining the geological, hydrogeological and morphological setting of the areas with the human activities and the land use data makes their study complicated and require the intervention of multiple scientific specialties. Furthermore, at several sites, beside ground truth data, the land subsidence trends and extends have been also identified via multi-temporal InSAR techniques, such as PSI and SBAS techniques. Among the sites to be presented in the current paper is the wider area of Kalochori village in the eastern part of Thessaloniki plain, the east and west Thessaly plain in central Greece and the region extending to the west–southwest of the Amyntaio opencast coalmine in West Macedonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how and under which conditins tapping into university science can boost firm innovative performance. Using insights from organizational learning theory, our theoretical model recognizes that engaging in research alliances with universities induces learning opportunities for firms, and investigates specific contingencies that likely reinforce or weaken such learning effects. We conjecture that firms are likely to reap greater innovation related benefits from reaching out to university science when they pursue more exploratory rather than exploitative innovations. We further contend that such innovation gains are stronger for firms with a broader (cf. narrower) technological expertise. Our empirical analysis is based on a panel dataset of 220 US therapeutic biotechnology firms over the period 2003-2010. Our results from estimating negative binomial models provide empirical support to these contentions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has identified a dilemma regarding the effects of repeat collaboration on creative project performance. Reactivating knowledge from previous collaboration economizes new project ventures, but it may also hinder creativity because of constrained creative abrasion and myopic learning. Existing research on how to solve the dilemma emphasizes increasing the variability in the project team. Building on the theory of creative abrasion and myopic learning, we argue that increasing variability in project characteristics may represent another means for navigating the dilemma. We first show that reactivating previously successful relationship dyads in new projects tends to increase creative project performance on average. We then proceed to show that reactivating previously successful relationship dyads on projects that are similar in terms of project sophistication is more likely to have a negative effect on creative project performance. However, this negative effect is mitigated by reactivating previously successful relationship dyads on projects that are different in terms of project sophistication. The findings suggest that introducing a different set of project characteristics activates current knowledge and experiences stored in the interpersonal ties in different ways which have a positive effect on creative project performance. We test and find support for our theory using project data from the digital advertising industry in Norway from 2003-2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores whether corporate environmental responsibility (CER) in supply chain play an important role in improving financial performance. I examines the impact of CER from both scopes -- internal operation and supply chain -- on a firm's short-term and long-term financial performance. By employing a unique dataset about carbon footprint covering 19 industry sectors in North America for 2003-2010, I find the evidence that firms benefit not only from CER in internal operation but also from CER in their supply chain. Further, I argue that regulatory stringency weakens the positive CER effects on short-term financial performance, but it strengthens the positive CER effects on long-term financial performance. This finding is consistent with the prediction of a natural resource-based view and stakeholder theory. By investigating two distinct scopes of carbon footprint, this study sheds new light on the importance of CER not only from firms' internal operation but also from their supply chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the performance effect of business model reconfiguration in incumbent firms in an environment where IP protection is not an option. We utilize a direct measure of business model reconfiguration to test the performance effect. Furthermore, we look at the influence of contingency factors on this relationship. Business model reconfiguration is operationalised quantitatively and tested empirically. We use a panel dataset consisting of single, incumbent firms to test our hypotheses. The empirical setting is the Australian pension industry, an established and fast growing industry. The panel spans the years 2003-2010 and consists of a total of 63 firms. The empirical analysis shows a positive, inverse u-shaped effect of business model reconfiguration within incumbents on their operational performance. This effect is moderated by the size of the firm and the resource munificence of the firm. Smaller sized firms are better able to exploit the opportunities of business model reconfiguration and show a reinforcement of the effect. Firms with low resource munificence show a lower ability to exploit the opportunities of business model reconfiguration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

R&D activity by local and foreign firms is increasing in environments with weak intellectual property rights (IPR). What are the dynamics of R&D investment when firms from multiple industries co-locate in such environments? Given that co-location can result in knowledge spillovers, we argue that local firms can 'free-ride' on nearby foreign and local firms. Furthermore, local firms are expected to free-ride more from other local firms within their industry and from foreign firms from other industries. Relying on fieldwork and analysis of a unique sample of 3,475 R&D lab investment decisions during 2003-2010 in India, we find that local firms free-ride from other local firms both within and across industries. Our results contribute a more nuanced view of knowledge spillovers in environments with weak IPR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We focus on R&D laboratory closure to determine how the innovation activity in a specific area and proximity to other firms influences the location strategies of firms. We use interviews with R&D managers in India to motivate our hypotheses and draw on a unique dataset of R&D laboratories in India during 2003-2010 to empirically examine them. Our results indicate closure is positively affected by concerns over knowledge spillovers to nearby local firms in the same industry and concerns about crowding out of local labor markets to nearby foreign labs in the same industry. However, these effects are not homogeneous but depend on a firm's characteristics. The effects on closure are significant when the focal firm is large or small but not of intermediate size, suggesting that the downsides of agglomeration are not confined to large advanced firms but also detrimentally effect small firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores antecedents to business model innovation and empirically tests theoretical findings. We relate firm characteristics to the propensity to innovate the business model. In order to test our hypotheses, we develop a quantitative model for business model innovation, utilizing the NK-model approach. We developed and analysed a unique dataset of incumbent Australian pension funds covering the years 2003-2010. This dataset allows us to specifically look at firm characteristics that can promote business model innovation. The empirical results indicate significant positive effects of experience with previous merger and acquisition transactions and heterogeneity of industry experience of the management board on the propensity of a firm to innovate its business model. These results indicate that firms incorporate inferences from highly disruptive experiences for subsequent decisions on business model innovation. Furthermore, the analysis underlines the fact that conflict arising from heterogeneity on the management board can counteract inertia within the firm and increase the propensity to innovate the business model. In contrast, dependence on an old business model has a significant negative influence on the propensity to innovate the business model. This is evidence that firms with a strong pull from existing assets embedded within an old business model struggle to break free and innovate their business model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work explores whether the physical characteristics of chemical emissions, and the resulting salience of those emissions, affect how noticeable they are to the public eye. That is we theorize the relationship between chemical emissions and the social processes that enable their detection, and empirically test whether differences in environmental materiality (defined as the physical, tangible characteristics reflected in a chemical's diffusion and vividness) can predict differences in firm-level environmental performance. The central thesis of this work proposes that firms tend to focus on chemical emissions that are most noticeable to stakeholders while overlooking those that are less obvious. Drawing toxic emissions data from the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI), we test hypothesized relationships on a panel dataset of firms that operate Canadian facilities (across four industries) from 2003-2010. The results from our analysis reveal that firms respond to emissions that are broad-reaching, especially when those emissions are more obvious. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work aims at the retrieval of the cloud optical thickness and estimate the cloud radiative forcing from ground-based spectral and broadband irradiance observations taken at the Atmospheric Physics Observatory of the University of Évora (southwestern Europe). The cloud optical thickness is derived from the ground-based spectral irradiance measurements, for 7 years of observations available, and its spatial representativeness is analyzed through comparisons with independent remote sensing retrievals from the MODIS cloud product, onboard the Terra and Aqua satellites. The surface cloud radiative forcing is estimated from ground-based broadband solar irradiance measurements for the same period and its variability is examined. The surface cloud forcing efficiency (cloud radiative forcing per unit of cloud optical thickness) is also presented. The cloud radiative forcing attained is in addition compared, for selected cases, with modeling results obtained from numerical simulations with the MesoNH mesoscale atmospheric model, showing a fairly good agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrialised Building System (IBS) has been promoted by the Malaysian government as it is considered as an innovative method of building construction that offers benefits and advantages compared to the existing methods of building construction in Malaysia. The existing methods rely heavily on on-site based labour resources and implement the building construction works in an uncontrolled environment. This has been a factor in the problems confronting the Malaysian construction industry. Although there has been numerous government actions to increase the adoption of IBS in Malaysia, its acceptance among constructors is not encouraging. This paper aims to propose an alternative method of analysis that should allow us to explain and pinpoint the key mechanisms that block or induce the development process of IBS practice in Malaysia. Through a literature review, this paper highlights the Technological Transitions and System of Innovations frameworks. From these, a System Functions framework has been chosen to study the development, diffusion and use of IBS in a Malaysian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present the outcomes of a literature review on the interconnection of Decision Support Systems (DSS) and online social networking. Although a large number of research papers postulate, in one way or another, that Decision Support Systems and online social networking are interconnected, only a small amount of them actually elaborates on such connection. Therefore, we underwent a large bibliographic review, based on four major bibliographic indexing resources to reveal the actual interconnection of DSS and online social networking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]