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Previous studies have applied theories of European integration to interpret crisis-led policymaking processes and integration outcomes in the EU. However, there has been little attempt to appraise the analytical leverage offered by major integration theories as a function of different crisis pressures. We theorize that diverse combinations of crisis pressures generate four decision-making scenarios in the EU, each of which can be ascribed to different combinations of analytical insights from neofunctionalism, intergovernmentalism, postfunctionalism, and federalism. We illustrate the value of our framework in relation to four EU crises concerning the euro area, refugees, Brexit and Covid-19. Overall, the paper makes a theoretical contribution to advance the debate on crisis-led integration in the EU.

Transformative service initiatives (TSIs) refer to activities by organizations (public, private, nonprofit) or volunteers to serve people experiencing vulnerabilities, including long-term challenges (e.g., refugees, homeless people, undocumented immigrants, ex-convicts) and try to improve their well-being. To advance the concept of TSI, this study proposes a 3A (Awareness, Alignment, Access) Integration Process Framework that can facilitate empirical tests of whether participation in TSIs affects people’s access to critical services. The empirical evidence affirms a positive influence of TSI participation on two TSR outcomes (application and access to higher education), according to data from a longitudinal study of 2,068 refugees (Study 1) that relies on propensity score matching and regression analysis. Study 2 uses qualitative data from six focus groups and identifies 16 barriers to successful refugee integration; it also identifies four individual strategies to overcoming those integration barriers. From academic and public policy perspectives, the findings demonstrate that efforts to plan and implement TSIs should follow a stepwise process to achieve the intended transformative outcomes. These findings can help academic, public policy, and civil society actors design and implement TSIs in various contexts to benefit people experiencing vulnerability.

Defence integration is frequently in demand but hardly supplied. Sovereignty concerns and a desire for national control constrain integration of the core state power of arms production. The Europea...

In this age of data visualization, it is important to understand our perception of the symbols that are used. For example, does the perceived size of a disc correspond most closely to its area, diameter, circumference, or some other measure? When multiple items are present, this becomes a question of ensemble perception. Here, we compare observers' performance across three different tasks: judgments of (i) the mean diameter, (ii) the total diameter, or (iii) the total area of (N = 1, 2, 3, or 7) test circles compared with a single reference circle. We draw a parallel between Anne Treisman's feature integration theory and Daniel Kahneman's cognitive systems, comparing the preattentive stage to System 1, and the focused attention stage to System 2. In accordance with Kahneman's prediction, average size (diameter) of the geometric figures can be judged with considerable accuracy, but the total diameter of the same figures cannot. Like the total length, the cumulative area covered by circles was also judged considerably less accurately than the mean diameter. Differences in efficiency between these three tasks illustrate powerful constraints upon visual processing: The visual system is well adapted for the perception of the mean size while there are no analogous mechanisms for the accurate perception of the total length or cumulative area. Thus, in visualizing data, using bubble charts proportional to area may be misleading as our visual system seems better adapted to perceive disc size by the radius rather than the area.

Feature integration theory proposes that visual features, such as shape and color, can only be combined into a unified object when spatial attention is directed to their location in retinotopic maps. Eye movements cause dramatic changes on our retinae, and are associated with obligatory shifts in spatial attention. In two experiments, we measured the prevalence of conjunction errors (that is, reporting an object as having an attribute that belonged to another object), for brief stimulus presentation before, during, and after a saccade. Planning and executing a saccade did not itself disrupt feature integration. Motion did disrupt feature integration, leading to an increase in conjunction errors. However, retinal motion of an equal extent but caused by saccadic eye movements is spared this disruption, and showed similar rates of conjunction errors as a condition with static stimuli presented to a static eye. The results suggest that extra-retinal signals are able to compensate for the motion caused by saccadic eye movements, thereby preserving the integrity of objects across saccades and preventing their features from mixing or mis-binding. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.3758/s13414-019-01873-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Indonesia is one of the archipelagic states in the world that has a very important role for international shipping, so there is a need for security controls to maintain the sovereignty of the territorial waters of the Republic of Indonesia by providing 3 shipping lines that can be passed by ships from other countries to be able to cross through the archipelagic sea lane. One of them is ALKI-I which crosses the Natuna Sea, Karimata Strait, Java Sea, and Sunda Strait. One of the joint operations carried out by the TNI to anticipate all forms of violations and threats in ALKI-I is the ALKI-I Security Operation. The main theory used in the discussion of this research is the Interoperability theory, supported by several theories including integration theory, system theory, theory coordination, and security theory. This research uses an explanative qualitative approach using Nvivo Software for processing data obtained from in-depth interviews with operations executors. The results of the analysis conducted using the Miles, Huberman and Saldana models found that the impact caused by the problem was that the operation was not yet effective and efficient.Keywords: ALKI-I Security Operation, Interoperability Theory, Miles Huberman and Saldana models analysis, NVivo Software, The Doctrine Of Joint Operations

The development of society, the increase of people's income and other factors have driven the upgrading of tourism consumption.In recent years, with the rapid development of social new media, there are more and more ways to spread culture, and the innovative development of cultural derivatives has become one of the important links. Excellent cultural derivatives can greatly improve the status of culture in social groups and establish regional cultural brands. Due to the impact of modern new technologies and new models, the design of cultural derivatives is also facing new opportunities and challenges in integrating historical features, creating scale experience and providing good services. As to the problems and insufficiency in derivatives innovation and development, this study takes Shanghai History Museum (SHM) culture derivatives design as an example, by adopting evaluation principle and Semantic Differential Method, to evaluate viewers feedback in products, interactive, service, brand four dimensions on the basis of investigation and questionnaire research. With the integration of the above principles, this study defines cultural derivative design with a new logic, clarifies the development paradigm of cultural heritage inheritance and innovation, to improve the realistic value of cultural heritage.

In recent years, the prevalence of sensory integration disorders in children in urban areas has increased. Most existing sensory integration treatments are located in hospital-based sensory integration units; however, medical resources are extremely limited, making it difficult to guarantee the appropriate treatment time and intervention results for many children. The concept of sensory integration therapy must be disseminated widely and correctly to meet these children’s needs. Although most urban communities have a high number of children’s spaces, these spaces require improvement. This study proposes the incorporation of the concept of sensory integration therapy into neighborhood open spaces for children to positively impact children’s sensory development. The purpose of this study is to determine the effective facility factors of an occupational therapy room, translate them into a community facility design, clarify the categories and relative importance of each design attribute, and explore the design strategies of the children’s facilities in neighborhood open spaces based on the sensory integration theory. This study investigates the importance of the sensory integration treatment level. The facilities in neighborhood open spaces for children can be considered systemic structures consisting of five partitioned units with different levels of importance among the synergistic components within each unit. These structures will enable children to experience sensory stimulation during daily outdoor play and will serve as preventive and therapeutic tools.

Wearable devices and applications (apps) that offer a variety of features intended to support exercisers have flooded the marketplace. Organismic integration theory (OIT) proposes that motivations to exercise can vary along a spectrum of self-determination. To best serve exercisers and assist organizations that are developing and promoting fitness technologies, we need a better understanding of how individuals’ exercise motivations influence their fitness technology feature set use. We also need to determine the impact of fitness technology features on enhancing or undermining wellness outcomes—such as subjective vitality. Our results suggest that almost every subtype of exerciser, where the subtype is defined by OIT motivations toward exercise, has a unique use profile. Our findings also suggest that the social interaction and data management features of current fitness technologies show promise in assisting well-being outcomes, but only for the more self-determined and amotivated subtypes of exercisers. This leads us to suggest that providing every type of exerciser the motivational support that best fits their motivational profile may not be a trivial task, but it ultimately may be necessary for fitness technologies to be universally useful in supporting wellness outcomes.

WeChat is a typical representative of mobile media technology, which changes the way people live and work. This paper explores influence factors of users' release behavior intention, from the perspective of recessive perception factors of technology acceptance and obvious factors of task technology fit based on the integration theory of Motivation Model theory (MM) and Need-Technology Fit theory (NTF). Some suggestions are put forward to improve users' behavior intention and actual behaviors, to provide the reference for the optimization of mobile social media information technology.

La arquitectura empresarial como enfoque de integración de las Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones (TIC), y la teoría de Integración del Sistema de Dirección de la Empresa (ISDE) poseen como elemento común la integración; sin embargo la ISDE no ha logrado desarrollar capacidades para la gestión integrada de las TIC desde la perspectiva de la dirección, en un contexto empresarial donde la gestión eficiente de TIC para alcanzar los objetivos estratégicos constituye una capacidad distintiva. Por tanto se propone un instrumento para evaluar variables de arquitectura empresarial en un modelo de dirección estratégica basado en la teoría de la ISDE. La aplicación del instrumento en el hotel Park View permitió identificar las causas de bajo desempeño de variables importantes como: relación entre actores del negocio y vigilancia tecnológica, ello ayudó a focalizar las áreas de mejora y desarrollar capacidades de arquitectura empresarial en el proceso de dirección estratégica.

Despite the development of fundamental rights mechanisms in the European Union, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the governance of the Eurozone has led to policies that have undermined basic social rights. The purpose of this article is to explain why it is that the European Union has been able to act in this manner despite the assurances supposedly enshrined in its own rights guarantees. To do this, recent advancements in critical integration theory that posit European integration as the outcome of competing hegemonic projects are drawn upon. The construction of fundamental rights is conceptualised within the context of the institutional framework of the European Union and the current dominant neoliberal project. It is argued that the process of construction of rights has led to a highly restrictive understanding of what the concept of fundamental rights entails in the European Union. This has allowed European Union institutions to rhetorically commit to rights while simultaneously acting to undermine rights in practice.

We argue that there is a commonality between federal states and the EU: both face a dilemma between sub-unit autonomy and collective problem-solving. We develop the structure of this dilemma, which...

Background: Foreign trade is the area in which the effects of the Baltic countries’ (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) accession to the European Union manifested themselves relatively quickly. Basically, the liberalization of trade with the Member States and the adoption of the principles of a common trade policy with third party countries resulted in the changing of the terms of trade with all countries from. These changes, according to integration theory, should result in the cre­ation of as well as the shifting of trade streams. Research purpose: The purpose of the analysis in this article is to demonstrate that the indicated changes resulting from economic integration were factors that influenced the size and structure of foreign trade in the Baltic States. Methods: The total commodity turnover and its division into product types according to the SITC classification were analyzed. Attention was particularly focused on the share of intra-Community trade to overall trade, as well as changes in the exchange of goods between the Baltic countries and the rest of the world. The research period covers the years 2005–2018, and the data for the calculations was taken from the Eurostat database. Conclusions: The study reveals that the effect of creating trade was more visible before the accession of the Baltic countries to the integration group than after. There was also a shift of trade towards non-Community trade, while internal trade shifted towards new member states.

This paper explains the main contents of the integration theory of modern e-commerce enterprises, which covers the architecture, theoretical basis, enabling technology and general reference system of the modern integration theory. Then, on the basis of integration theory, the basic concepts and structures of virtual enterprise organization network and virtual enterprise group are defined, and the structure model of virtual enterprise group and virtual enterprise integration model based on Mufti-agent are proposed accordingly. Finally, using system analysis method, and based on building a multi-level framework of virtual enterprise integrated management, the contents of integrated management at all levels are analyzed in detail, which is based on technology integration, taking business integration as the core, organizational integration as the guarantee and strategic knowledge integration as the goal. A virtual enterprise technology integration platform model based on such model is constructed. The model is applied to the integrated management design of virtual enterprise, and a series of improvement measures are put forward to realize the multi-level integrated management.

Purpose This paper aims to conceptualise a framework of “transnational human resource management” (HRM) and to demonstrate the validity of the model. Design/methodology/approach Evidence is drawn from survey of 93 large Japanese multinational companies (MNCs). Data are analysed through descriptive statistics, hierarchical multiple regression analyses and mediation effect analyses. Findings The analysis reveals that the practices for normative and systems integration are associated with increasing levels of social capital and geocentric staffing, respectively, and the social capital and geocentric staffing fully mediate the relationship between normative and systems integration and transnationality. Originality/value The research extends the integration theory in international HRM and demonstrates the validity of our framework for transnational HRM. The authors also shed light on the reality of the integration aspects of international HRM in Japanese MNCs.

Salient object detection has become a primary focus of research in computer vision, since it bridges the cognitive process in scene understanding and the distinction in the minute object details. In the current state-of-the-art literatures on salient object detection, the focus is in finding one or several more discriminative features to segment the salient object from the background. However, in the analysis of complex scenes, most techniques are challenged by noise, granularity and regions in the scene image with similar pixel intensities. Inspired by the feature integration theory in cognitive psychology, it is noticed that the salient objects can be associated with the image regions that are consistently distinct in most of the feature spaces. Base on this point, the feature distinctions are computed in each feature space respectively, and a saliency flow model is proposed to formulate the process of the saliency spread directly. Both low level and mid-level features are involved. Finally, the saliency map is obtained through fusing the feature distinction maps with the tuned weights after a post-processing. The consistent feature distinctions are free from the specific elaborate features and represent higher robustness in the complex scenes. This also benefits our model. Extensive experiments on six public benchmark databases demonstrate the robustness and the superior performance of the proposed method. HighlightsA new saliency flow model is proposed to formulate the saliency spread process.Multiple feature distinctions are used to overcome the disturbance of background.Both low level and mid level features are considered.The proposed method represents higher robustness in the complex scenes.

In this article, I present a framework that would accommodate the classic ideas of visual information processing together with more recent computational approaches. I used the current knowledge about visual crowding, capacity limitations, attention, and saliency to place these phenomena within a standard neural network model. I suggest some revisions to traditional mechanisms of attention and feature integration that are required to fit better into this framework. The results allow us to explain some apparent theoretical controversies in vision research, suggesting a rationale for the limited spatial extent of crowding, a role of saliency in crowding experiments, and several amendments to the feature integration theory. The scheme can be elaborated or modified by future research.

Supply chain management has a critical role in steering business success through coordinated activities of the value chain partners. The success of fast-moving consumer goods companies (FMCGs) has a direct relationship with the performance of the leading retailers, which are their main channel of distribution. The supply chain of the leading South African food FMCGs and the corresponding retail chain stores was studied with the aim of establishing that collaboration and integration enhanced the response to the customers’ requirements. The study was grounded on collaboration and integration theory, and a qualitative research methodology was used. Non-probability sampling was used, and senior managers selected from the two types of firms were interviewed. The data collected was transcribed, coded and thematically interpreted using content analysis. The outcome of the study indicated that supply chain collaboration and integration of the FMCG retailers, enhanced response to the customers’ requirements.

In view of the visual cognition theory, this paper aims to construct a universal evaluation system for automotive interior rendering. In terms of visual cognition and feature integration theory, this paper propose a visual cognitive evaluation framework for interior styling. Corresponding evaluation indexes are extracted and the weights of each index assigned. Application is conducted to test the effectiveness and feasibility of the evaluation system. The results show that a hierarchical relationship existed in the cognition of automotive interior rendering, and evaluation indexes can be divided into two attributes: basic index and additive index. The effectiveness and feasibility of the evaluation system is satisfied, which is effective to help designers to improve the scheme rendering specifically, and assist enterprises to make relevant decisions.

The research on the relationship between electricity and economy of North China can make a contribution to the development of electric power industry policy. Based on the history data of electricity demand and economic growth from 1986 to 2010 in North China, the grey-relational theory is applied to determine the keyfactors influencing electricity demand. On this basis, the co-integration model and error correction model are employed to establish the relationship model between electricity demand and economic growth of North China. From the perspective of long-term equilibrium, when GDP increases 1%, total electricity consumption increases 0.8270%; when industrial added value of a share of GDP increases1%, total electricity consumption increases1.3011%; when electric power efficiency increases 1%, total electricity consumption increases by 4.5965%; when urbanization rate increases 1%, total electricity consumption increases3.0079%. Therefore, theelectric power efficiency is the main factor to promote the increase of electricity demand.

The rapid development of information technology and e-commerce has been gradually changing people's consuming habits and lifestyles. As e-services have extensive applications, the e-service platform has become an effective way to deliver services. In order to cater to different demands of consumers, enterprises have established the online channel and integrated it with the traditional channel. Improving the integration quality between these channels requires coordination between online and offline activities, including online e-services and offline experiences. In this paper, we attempt to explore, on the basis of the two-channel integration theory, the innovation in the application of eservices during the process of channel integration and some key issues in the dualchannel integration. The innovation redefines the main role of e-services, the e-service platform system, and the content of e-services.

This contribution aims at questioning the explanatory capacity of sociological approaches to European integration in times of crisis. Its main argument is that in times of turmoil – perceived or real – analysis of actors’ strategies and cognitive frames is crucial for understanding the emergence of solutions proposed to remedy the problem. Starting from a sociological definition of crisis, the article illustrates through empirical examples how the cognitive frames in which actors evolve determine their analysis of problems as well as solutions. Sociological approaches to public policy, which reject the basic assumption of actors behaving solely according to a presumed material cost–benefit analysis, help us to better grasp the complexity of decision-making. The main reason for this is that they allow for linking the domestic and European levels when analysing cognitive and decision-making processes, instead of concentrating on either European citizens or European elites separately.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse ways of organizing integrated care for older persons in Sweden during the past decade. Design/methodology/approach – The data consist of 62 cases of development work, described in official reports. A meta-analysis of cases was performed, including content analysis of each case. A theoretical framework comprising different forms of integration (co-ordination, contracting, co-operation and collaboration) was applied. Findings – Co-operation was common and collaboration, including multiprofessional teamwork, was rare in the cases. Contracting can be questioned as being a form of integration, and the introduction of consumer choice models appeared problematic in inter-organization integration. Goals stated in the cases concerned steering and designing care, rather than outcome specifications for older persons. Explicit goals to improve integration in itself could imply that the organizations adapt to strong normative expectations in society. Trends over the decade comprised development of local health care systems, introduction of consumer choice models and contracting out. Research limitations/implications – Most cases were projects, but others comprised evaluations of regular organization of integrated care. These evaluations were often written normatively, but constituted the conditions for practice and were important study contributions. Practical implications – Guiding clinical practice to be aware of importance of setting follow-up goals. Social implications – Awareness of the risk that special funds may impede sustainable strategies development. Originality/value – A theoretical framework of forms of integration was applied to several different strategies, which had been carried out mostly in practice. The study contributes to understanding of how different strategies have been developed and applied to organize integrated care, and highlights some relationships between integration theory and practice.

International audience; The present paper studies the potential synergies between a popular approach in saliency extraction - FIT (feature integration theory) and source coding principles. By combining these two approaches, a new saliency model, extracted directly at the HEVC steam syntax elements level is defined. The experiments confront the new model to the human saliency, captured by eye-tracking devices. They consider a reference corpus representing density fixation maps, two objective criteria, two objective measures and 7 state-of-the-art saliency models (3 acting in pixel domain and 4 acting in compressed domain)

Purpose Retention is one of the key performance indicators in university quality assurance processes. The purpose of this paper is to identify the causes leading to low retention rates for first-year undergraduate computing students in a UK higher education institution (HEI). Design/methodology/approach The study applies Tinto’s student integration theory, and connects it with the behavioural patterns of students. Data were collected from 901 students using Pascarella and Terenzini’s questionnaire (integration scales). This data were combined with student enrolment information and analysed using the structural equation modelling technique. Findings The study results indicate that Tinto’s student integration theory is useful in analysing student retention, but this accounts for only a modest amount of variance in retention. Nevertheless, important relationships amongst student’s initial and later academic goals and commitments have been identified through this new approach to analysing retention. The largest direct effect on retention was accounted for by initial goals and institutional commitments, followed by later goals and institutional commitments. In addition, the results show that academic and social integration constructs can have an influence on the student retention processes. When all, or some, of these relationships are operating towards students’ benefits, appropriate services or programmes, such as student support systems, can have their maximum benefits. Originality/value The authors mapped behavioural-related retention factors using a learning community lens. The study explored students’ social and learning experiences within the context of a UK HEI by employing Tinto’s model. This is the first time the model has been tested in this context.

China's grain circulation industry market structure is highly decentralized, with the deepening of reform and market mechanism further improving; M&A will inevitably become an important means of competition in the market to grain circulation enterprises. Based on fully investigating Characteristics of the grain circulation enterprises, this paper uses merger integration theory, firstly analyzes China's grain circulation enterprises M&A model and the interests, secondly inspects the Integration and M&A costs and risks, finally presents the measures of integration to prevent and reduce the risk of M & A.

Research in the Netherlands on the success of students in higher education is highly influenced by Tinto’s integration theory. This paper is part of a broader PhD research, in which I investigate the possible influence of the use of social media (Facebook) by students. By comparing various studies conducted in line with the tradition of the integration theory, this paper focuses on a limited amount of variables. By taking the best-proven variables to represent satisfaction, this research measures and test these variables, derived from Tinto’s theory as one latent variable. The internal consistency is tested by factor analysis and the reliability is measured with Cronbach’s alpha and Guttman’s lambda-2. All data is collected by digital surveys among the first year students in 2011-2012 at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences with a limited enrollment of 904. Ultimately, this paper provides insight into the potential use of a simplified version of the integration theory and to include, in later study, the role of social media as a factor of integration in education. In addition, it will open the possibility to create a model for student success, which will have a better fit with the present generation of students in the developed world.

In parallel of rise of Asia and particularly the PRC, different approaches to Asian regionalism have emerged on international scene, which, according to the author’s detailed analysis, can be divided into four approaches. They were respectively advocated by the US, Japan, the PRC and ASEAN and have been competing with each other in their quest for leadership in Asian integration. In order to measure their potential development and impact on Asian regionalism, the author took reference of the similar competition in the European integration between 1950 and 1974 and its theoretical explanation. The author then formulated a framework of analysis composed of four indicators in the region: power structure, cooperation of transnational elite, potential spillover of the original integrated sector and the institutional building. Having evaluated the four approaches to Asian regionalism with help of these indicators, the author concluded that the US-led Trans-Pacific regionalism still dominates Asian integration for the US is far more powerful than any other individual powers or any coalitions in the region. It could easily mobilize those pro-US elite throughout Asia. The pathfinder and later TPP in APEC could serve as an integrated sector potentially producing spillover in related fields. However, American approach’s Achilles’ Heel is its failure to build up strong institutions owing to Washington’s passive and reluctant attitude towards Asian regionalism. If Washington refuses to adapt itself to the fast evolving Asian regionalism, it could leave place to the PRC or even ASEAN in a long run as China’s economy is fast developing and its political influence is rapidly rising and ASEAN is accelerating construction of its own communities.

This paper examines empirically the factors that affect the adoption of Internet banking by Tunisian bank customers. As base model, we use the technology acceptance model (TAM) and theory of planned behavior (TPB). The model employs security and privacy, self efficacy, government support, and technology support, in addition to perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude, social norm, perceived behavior control and intention to use Internet banking. Structural equation modeling is employed to examine the inter-correlations among the proposed constructs. A survey involving a total of 284 respondents is conducted and confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine the measurement efficacies. Theoretically, this study confirms the applicability of the TAM model and TPB in predicting Internet banking adoption by Tunisian bank customers. The results allow banks' decision makers to develop strategies that can encourage the adoption of Internet banking. Banks should improve the security and privacy to protect consumers' personal and financial information, which will increase the trust of users. Government should also play a role to support bank industry by having a clear and solid law on this will ensure that customers are more confident for using Internet banking, ensuring a better Internet infrastructure and helps them to encourage users to use Internet banking. Lastly, Tunisian Banks should focus on those clients who already have a home PC, access Internet and more educated and younger since they are the most likely to adopt Internet banking.

The article presents information about the new integration theory of sustainable regional development. It is an empirically verified theory; its main components are the business environment quality (BEQ), the innovation potential of companies (IPC), and the use of human resources (UHR). Its foundations can be expressed as follows: an improvement of regional quality of business environment stimulates the development of entrepreneurial activities with positive impacts on employment rate and creation of innovations; thus generated synergic effects reinforce the territorial integration of economy and regional competitiveness, which form the basic prerequisites for sustainable regional development. The objective validity of the theory has been confirmed mainly based on hypotheses that BEQ values have strong links to GDP level and further and correspond with the population of regions as the essential measure of their significance. Application of theory allowed formulating a regional development strategy of the Czech Republic.

Natural disasters and public health emergencies occurred frequently and nearly everywhere in recent years. The emergencies not only seriously affected the production and life of people in disaster areas, but also brought huge economic losses to the state. In order to minimize these losses, the government must establish emergency procurement system to ensure providing necessary materials after emergencies in the fastest speed, best quality and lowest cost for the affected areas. Based on this, this paper, using integration theory, recognizes the government emergency procurement platform system, operating system and supervision system as the elements of the government emergency procurement system, and laid the foundation for further study.

This paper analyzes the current status of rural information in Chinese, and analyzes the influencing factors on the effect of information technology applied in the rural areas from a technology adoption point of view. Then using the integration theory of technology adoption model and network externality theory, it increases the factors of network externality and cost to construct a model of user behavior model of information technology in rural areas. Finally, it proves the validity of model factors by empirical research to provide theory for the further development of information technology in rural areas.

The purpose of this study was to examine the diversity-related change process a university athletic department was undertaking. A comprehensive model was developed by drawing from full integration theory and institutional theory. Following an organizational diagnosis perspective, data were collected through semistructured interviews, internal documents from the athletic department and university culture centers, associated websites, and press releases. Results indicate that political, functional, and social pressures for change influenced the implementation of various diversity initiatives. Despite these efforts, two primary groups of factors served to impede the progress: organizational factors, in the form of top management support and systemic integration, and perceptual processes, in the form of social processes and utility. Results suggest that for diversity-related change to be successful, it is important to consider how diversity impacts the entire sport organization, internal and external stakeholders’ perceptions, and the meaningful influence of organizational factors.

Integration is a buzzword in manufacturing strategies for global competitiveness. However, some fundamental questions have yet to be answered scientifically; namely, what is integration, why integrate, and what should be integrated? How do existing integration models approach the problems of integration and to what extent are they successful? A theory-based model of information requirements for integrated manufacturing is needed to answer these questions properly. Such a model can unify hitherto narrowly defined and domainoriented approaches. We suggest a paradigm of parallel formulation and use it to formulate the information requirements for integration, including data and knowledge classes, decision spaces, and logical interactions.

In feature integration theory (FIT; A. Treisman & S. Sato, 1990), feature detection is driven by independent dimensional modules, and other searches are driven by a master map of locations that integrates dimensional information into salience signals. Although recent theoretical models have largely abandoned this distinction, some observed results are difficult to explain in its absence. The present study measured dimension-specific performance during detection and localization, tasks that require operation of dimensional modules and the master map, respectively. Results showed a dissociation between tasks in terms of both dimension-switching costs and cross-dimension attentional capture, reflecting a dimension-specific nature for detection tasks and a dimension-general nature for localization tasks. In a feature-discrimination task, results precluded an explanation based on response mode. These results are interpreted to support FIT's postulation that different mechanisms are involved in parallel and focal attention searches. This indicates that the FIT architecture should be adopted to explain the current results and that a variety of visual attention findings can be addressed within this framework.

Schneider and Shiffrin (1977) proposed that training under consistent stimulus-response mapping (CM) leads to automatic target detection in search tasks. Other theories, such as Treisman and Gelade's (1980) feature integration theory, consider target-distractor discriminability as the main determinant of search performance. The first two experiments pit these two principles against each other. The results show that CM training is neither necessary nor sufficient to achieve optimal search performance. Two other experiments examine whether CM trained targets, presented as distractors in unattended display locations, attract attention away from current targets. The results are again found to vary with target-distractor similarity. Overall, the present study strongly suggests that CM training does not invariably lead to automatic attention attraction in search tasks.

Information technology (IT) adoption research recognizes theoretical limitations in discerning if and when user behavior results from perceived external influences or from personal volition. A clear understanding of this issue requires a precise distinction between mandatory and volitional behaviors. Consistent with organismic integration theory (OIT), this study situates the locus of user motivations inside the user. Drawing upon an endogenous view of behaviors, this research makes three key contributions. First, it develops the theoretical basis for clearly discerning if and when behavior results from perceived external influences or from personal volition. Specifically, it examines how endogenous psychological feelings of autonomy, freedom, conflict, and external pressure can predict and explain user intentions. Second, it proposes that behavior may result from combinations of perceived external influences and personal volition. Recognizing how such "collections of motivations" together influence behavior advances our understanding beyond the "dichotomy" of extrinsic versus intrinsic motivations often adopted in prior research. Third, it proposes that some desired behaviors may be thwarted or impeded by a conflict between perceived external influences and personal volition. The theoretically grounded research model was empirically validated in a field study on Blackboard, a Web-based education platform at a large university. Data collected from a sample of 211 users were tested using structural equation models of initial system adoption and experienced use. Empirical support was found for the proposed model and related hypotheses. The results of this study advance our understanding about user motivations for adopting IT.

The Treaty of Lisbon presents itself as the answer to three key constitutional questions: How should the division of competencies between the Union and the member states best be defined? How can actors be positioned and procedures be structured to increase the Union’s capacity to act? What provisions will make the EU system ‚more democratic‘ and thereby increase its legitimacy? In answering these questions the member states are faced with a number of structural dilemmas. A series of changes to the existing provisions is expected to lead to increased efficiency as well as more democratic participation and controls within individual institutions and procedures. It is uncertain, however, if these effects will prove mutually reinforcing or if, on the contrary, they will turn out to be counterproductive in combination. The underlying constitutional problems and questions are not conclusively addressed by the Lisbon Treaty.

This paper focuses on two theoretical frameworks of integration (neo‐functionalism and liberal inter‐governmentalism), exploring their implications for current trends of integration in European higher education: the marketization of and trade in educational services, the involvement of supranational institutions, and the focus on quality assessment at the possible expense of academic freedom.

Does visual search involve a serial inspection of individual items (Feature Integration Theory) or are items grouped and segregated prior to their consideration as a possible target (Attentional Engagement Theory)? For search items defined by motion and shape there is strong support for prior grouping (Kingstone and Bischof, 1999). The present study tested for grouping based on inter-item shape symmetry. Results showed that target-distractor symmetry strongly influenced search whereas distractor-distractor symmetry influenced search more weakly. This indicates that static shapes are evaluated for similarity to one another prior to their explicit identification as 'target' or 'distractor'. Possible reasons for the unequal contributions of target-distractor and distractor-distractor relations are discussed.

The objective of the authors was to examine nursing staff workload. The examination is based on the workload model of Robert Karasek and on the status integration theory of P. Gibbs and Walter T. Martin. As a means of examination, an open questionnaire consisting of 55 items and 76 variables was given to nurses working in different fields of health care, studying in higher education instead, or to persons with a degree in nursing (n = 465). The main concern of the authors was to attempt to identify the inconsistencies in nursing status which might come from limited decision-making freedom and high workplace requirements. In the process of statistical analysis of the data, considerable deviation was observed regarding some scales of the questionnaire. The authors emphasize that the reasons for the inconsistencies in nursing status might originate either from traditional cultural elements or from increased workload based on unclear competencies which are forced on the nurses.

What difference do institutional environments make? Do they primarily affect strategy, with constraining and enabling effects on behavior as rationalists hold? Or do they also affect attitudes, identities, and how interests are formulated as constructivists assert? Within a given institutional environment, what impact does the "style" of decision making-which beyond formal characteristics such as the decision rule includes informal rules, norms, and shared understandings-play in determining bargaining outcomes? This article examines these questions in the context of EU decision making by focusing on the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper). Coreper is an ideal laboratory to test these questions empirically, because this committee represents the needle's eye through which the legislative workload of the Council flows. And the permanent representatives who live in Brussels and meet weekly to prepare upcoming ministerial meetings are exemplars of state agents given their prominence in articulating and defending national interests across the gamut of EU affairs.