Boston College

About: Boston College is a education organization based out in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 9749 authors who have published 25406 publications receiving 1105145 citations. The organization is also known as: BC.

The functional spectrum of low-frequency coding variation

Abstract: Background Rare coding variants constitute an important class of human genetic variation, but are underrepresented in current databases that are based on small population samples. Recent studies show that variants altering amino acid sequence and protein function are enriched at low variant allele frequency, 2 to 5%, but because of insufficient sample size it is not clear if the same trend holds for rare variants below 1% allele frequency.

Sense of coherence, life stress, and psychological distress: a prospective methodological inquiry.

Abstract: Antonovsky (1987) has proposed the Sense of Coherence (SOC) as a global perceptual predisposition in responding to life stress. Composed of comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness, this construct has been associated with more adaptive coping in previous cross-sectional studies. This prospective study (N = 95) investigated the association of SOC (assessed by Antonovsky's measure) with life stress and symptoms. SOC was correlated negatively with life stress and symptoms and appeared to mitigate the impact of life stress. SOC was not found to be a buffer variable. Implications of these findings are presented, as are methodological issues that concern Antonovsky's measure.

Moving Forward by Looking Back: Reclaiming Unconventional Research Contexts and Samples in Organizational Scholarship

Abstract: The AMJ mission statement, appearing in the front matter of every issue the Journal publishes and on the Academy of Management’s website, reads in part as follows: “The mission of the Academy of Management Journal is to publish empirical research that tests, extends, or build management theory and contributes to management practice.” But who and what must we researchers study to fulfill that mission? Looking at the table of contents of any recent issue, one could easily get the impression that to generate, extend, or test management theory, and contribute to management practice, one must study managers—preferably in for-profit business enterprises. Indeed, of the 639 papers appearing in the 60 issues of AMJ published between 1997 and 2007, only 47 (approximately 7 percent) focused on “lower-echelon employees” (i.e., nonmanagerial/nonprofessional staff) as their primary participants. Just under 80 articles (approximately 12 percent) were based on data collected in or about nonbusiness enterprises (e.g., universities, hospitals, unions, government agencies, schools, and nongovernmental agencies [NGOs]), a figure falling to fewer than 40 studies (6 percent) if one excludes the student samples used in the vast majority of studies coded as university-based. And only 38 studies (6 percent) examined not-for-profit organizations. In this commentary, we argue that as scholars, we should remind ourselves that some of the most significant contributions to management theory emerged from what might best be labeled “unconventional” organizational research: research where either or both the sample and the context are unusual by today’s norms. Specifically, we are referring to studies intended to enhance understanding of critical organizational phenomena and relations by focusing on lower-echelon employees and/or exploring phenomena or relations that are observable or open to discovery in extreme or “unusual” contexts. It is remarkable to note that what may be seen as “unconventional” now was once the bread and butter of management scholarship. Indeed, many if not most of the classical studies in organizational behavior and theory were studies of workers rather than managers. For example, Roethlisberger and Dickson’s (1939) classic, Management and the Worker, was based on observations of workers, not managers, as were most of the studies in the human relations tradition emerging from it (Perrow, 1986). Similarly, much of the classical research on conflict and control in organizations also emerged from studies of lower-echelon workers (e.g., Crozier, 1964; Dalton, 1959; Kornhauser, Dubin, & Ross, 1954; Zald, 1962a, 1962b). Furthermore, rather than looking to for-profit enterprises for insights, these and other classic researchers primarily looked to a variety of organizations and institutions other than conventional businesses, including political parties (Michels, 1966), trade unions (Lipset, Trow, & Coleman, 1956), hospitals (Comstock & Scott, 1977), schools (e.g., Weick, 1976), public authorities (e.g., Selznick, 1949), and nonprofits/social movements (e.g., Zald & Denton, 1963). Such an approach is certainly not altogether absent from the contemporary management literature. For example, a substantial portion of the research conducted by industrial/organizational psychologists focuses on nonmanagers. Moreover, articles such as Weick’s (1993) study of the Mann Gulch disaster, and Dutton and Dukerich’s (1991) study of the Port Authority of New York, concern nonbusiness settings. Notwithstanding, research in these unconventional areas appears far less prevalent today. Yes, the leading management journals (including AMJ) continue to publish, and even encourage, research on blue-collar and other “nonexempt” workers. Similarly, periodic special research forums (such as the one published by AMJ in December 2009) demonstrate special effort to encourage the generation and testing of management theory focusing on or having significant policy implications for social institutions, government agencies, and NGOs. But more can be done. Journals can only publish what they receive, so more research activity of this sort will likely lead to more publications. We wish to acknowledge the assistance of Jane Dutton and Dikla Siegal for helping us estimate the prevalence of unconventional research as a proportion of the research published by AMJ. We would also like to thank Duane Ireland, Elizabeth Morrison, and Wenpin Tsai for their comments on drafts of this essay. Academy of Management Journal 2010, Vol. 53, No. 4, 665–671.

Terahertz single pixel imaging with an optically controlled dynamic spatial light modulator

Abstract: We present a single pixel terahertz (THz) imaging technique using optical photoexcitation of semiconductors to dynamically and spatially control the electromagnetic properties of a semiconductor mask to collectively form a THz spatial light modulator (SLM). By co-propagating a THz and collimated optical laser beam through a high-resistivity silicon wafer, we are able to modify the THz transmission in real-time. By further encoding a spatial pattern on the optical beam with a digital micro-mirror device (DMD), we may write masks for THz radiation. We use masks of varying complexities ranging from 63 to 1023 pixels and are able to acquire images at speeds up to 1/2 Hz. Our results demonstrate the viability of obtaining real-time and high-fidelity THz images using an optically controlled SLM with a single pixel detector.