Showing papers by "Concordia University published in 2005"
TL;DR: The authors describes self-determination theory as a theory of work motivation and shows its relevance to theories of organizational behavior, which has received widespread attention in the education, health care, and sport domains.
Abstract: Cognitive evaluation theory, which explains the effects of extrinsic motivators on intrinsic motivation, received some initial attention in the organizational literature. However, the simple dichotomy between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation made the theory difficult to apply to work settings. Differentiating extrinsic motivation into types that differ in their degree of autonomy led to self-determination theory, which has received widespread attention in the education, health care, and sport domains. This article describes self-determination theory as a theory of work motivation and shows its relevance to theories of organizational behavior. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
5,816 citations
01 Jan 2005
5,640 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the impact of a family's control rights over a firm's assets generates three dominant propensities (parsimony, personalism, and particularism), which give advantages in scarce environments, facilitate the creation and utilization of social capital, and engender opportunistic investment processes.
Abstract: Recent attempts to identify the basis of family–controlled firms’ competitive advantage have drawn upon the resource–based view of the firm. This article supplements these efforts and advances the argument that family–controlled firms’ competitive advantage arises from their system of corporate governance. Systems of corporate governance embody incentives, authority patterns, and norms of legitimation that generate particular organizational propensities to create competitive advantages and disadvantages. For comparative purposes, the characteristics of managerial, alliance, and family governance are reviewed. The impact of a family's control rights over a firm's assets generates three dominant propensities (parsimony, personalism, and particularism). These propensities give advantages in scarce environments, facilitate the creation and utilization of social capital, and engender opportunistic investment processes. The experience of family–controlled firms in emerging markets is drawn upon to illustrate th...
1,272 citations
25 Feb 2005-Materials Science and Engineering A-structural Materials Properties Microstructure and Processing
TL;DR: A review of the recent work on polymer matrix nanocomposites is presented in this paper, where a number of composite systems with amorphous and/or crystalline polymer matrices and different nano-sized filler materials are discussed.
Abstract: A review of the recent work on polymer matrix nanocomposites is presented. This review is not intended to be comprehensive, but provides an overview of the processing techniques and trends in the mechanical behavior and morphology of nanocomposites. A number of composite systems with amorphous and/or crystalline polymer matrices and different nano-sized filler materials are discussed.
1,096 citations
TL;DR: An extended version of the technology acceptance model, including cognitive absorption, is used in a formal empirical study to explain the acceptance of on-line learning systems and for cognitive absorption as a variable that influences TAM variables.
911 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify determinants of corporate environmental disclosure using multi-theoretical lenses that rely on economic incentives, public pressures and institutional theory, focusing on large firms from a continental Europe country, Germany, with a distinct legal and regulatory context and where environmental concerns are especially acute.
Abstract: Investors and stakeholders in continental Europe are becoming increasingly concerned about corporate environmental policies. As a result, many firms are voluntarily increasing the extent of their environmental disclosure in their annual report. While mostly unregulated, corporate environmental disclosure does have potential economic significance considering the scarcity of alternative information sources. The purpose of this study is to identify determinants of corporate environmental disclosure using multi-theoretical lenses that rely on economic incentives, public pressures and institutional theory. The study focuses on large firms from a continental Europe country, Germany, with a distinct legal and regulatory context and where environmental concerns are especially acute. Results show that Risk, Ownership, Fixed Assets Age, Firm Size as well as routine determine the level of environmental disclosure by German firms in a given year. Moreover, consistent with institutional theory, results sugge...
887 citations
TL;DR: This paper defines user adaptation as the cognitive and behavioral efforts performed by users to cope with significant information technology events that occur in their work environment and identifies four adaptation strategies which are hypothesized to result in three different individual-level outcomes.
Abstract: This paper defines user adaptation as the cognitive and behavioral efforts performed by users to cope with significant information technology events that occur in their work environment. Drawing on coping theory, we posit that users choose different adaptation strategies based on a combination of primary appraisal (i.e., a user's assessment of the expected consequences of an IT event) and secondary appraisal (i.e., a user's assessment of his/her control over the situation). On that basis, we identify four adaptation strategies (benefits maximizing, benefits satisficing, disturbance handling, and self-preservation) which are hypothesized to result in three different individual-level outcomes: restoring emotional stability, minimizing the perceived threats of the technology, and improving user effectiveness and efficiency. A study of the adaptation behaviors of six account managers in two large North American banks provides preliminary support for our model. By explaining adaptation patterns based on users' initial appraisal and subsequent responses to an IT event, our model offers predictive power while retaining an agency view of user adaptation. Also, by focusing on user cognitive and behavioral adaptation responses related to the technology, the work system, and the self, our model accounts for a wide range of user behaviors such as technology appropriation, avoidance, and resistance.
750 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a multi-objective optimization model that could assist designers in green building design is presented, which includes those parameters that are usually determined at the conceptual design stage and that have critical influence on building performance.
673 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors extended knowledge of cognitive processing of country of origin cues by refining the concept of country image and investigating its role in product evaluations, and found that country image, product beliefs, and product evaluations affect product evaluations simultaneously regardless of consumers' level of familiarity with a country's products.
Abstract: Purpose – This study was designed to extend knowledge of cognitive processing of country of origin cues by refining the concept of country image and investigating its role in product evaluationsDesign/methodology/approach – Data were collected from residents of a large North American metropolitan A total of 436 usable questionnaires were returned Data analysis was conducted using the EQS structural equation modeling softwareFindings – We found that country image is a three‐dimensional concept consisting of cognitive, affective, and conative components We modeled the relationships among country image, product beliefs, and product evaluations, and found that country image and product beliefs affect product evaluations simultaneously regardless of consumers' level of familiarity with a country's products Findings also indicated that the structure of country image influences product evaluations both directly and indirectly through product beliefs Consistent with affect transfer theory, the results showe
610 citations
TL;DR: This paper provides an overview of continuous improvement, its inception, how it evolved into sophisticated methodologies used in organizations today, and existing research in this field in the literature.
Abstract: – To provide an overview of the history, evolution, and existing research on continuous improvement., – Extensive review of the literature., – This paper provides an overview of continuous improvement, its inception, how it evolved into sophisticated methodologies used in organizations today, and existing research in this field in the literature., – It does not provide an exhaustive review of the existing literature, or an exhaustive list of all continuous improvement programs, only the most well known., – This paper traces how organizations have used various tools and techniques to address the need for improvement on various levels. The paper also presents research conducted in this field. It should be of value to practitioners of continuous improvement programs and to academics who are interested in how continuous improvement has evolved, and where it is today. To the authors’ knowledge, no recent papers have provided an historical perspective of continuous improvement. Furthermore, our paper also discusses the existing research in this field.
583 citations
TL;DR: Results demonstrated that children with ADHD were nominated as nonfriends by children of higher social preference and who were better liked by others, and had fewer dyadic friends than comparison children.
Abstract: Participants included 165 children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; 130 boys, 35 girls) and their 1,298 same-sex classmates (1,026 boys, 272 girls) who served as raters. For each child with ADHD, a child of the same sex was randomly selected from the same classroom to serve as a comparison child, which yielded 165 dyads. Consistent with predictions, contrasted with the comparison children, those with ADHD were lower on social preference, higher on social impact, less well liked, and more often in the rejected social status category; they also had fewer dyadic friends. When liking ratings that children made versus received were examined, children with ADHD had less positive imbalance and greater negative imbalance relative to comparison children. Analyses that considered the types of peers who chose children with ADHD as friends or nonfriends demonstrated that children with ADHD were nominated as nonfriends by children of higher social preference and who were better liked by others.
TL;DR: A novel FP-array technique is presented that greatly reduces the need to traverse FP-trees, thus obtaining significantly improved performance for FP-tree-based algorithms and works especially well for sparse data sets.
Abstract: Efficient algorithms for mining frequent itemsets are crucial for mining association rules as well as for many other data mining tasks. Methods for mining frequent itemsets have been implemented using a prefix-tree structure, known as an FP-tree, for storing compressed information about frequent itemsets. Numerous experimental results have demonstrated that these algorithms perform extremely well. In this paper, we present a novel FP-array technique that greatly reduces the need to traverse FP-trees, thus obtaining significantly improved performance for FP-tree-based algorithms. Our technique works especially well for sparse data sets. Furthermore, we present new algorithms for mining all, maximal, and closed frequent itemsets. Our algorithms use the FP-tree data structure in combination with the FP-array technique efficiently and incorporate various optimization techniques. We also present experimental results comparing our methods with existing algorithms. The results show that our methods are the fastest for many cases. Even though the algorithms consume much memory when the data sets are sparse, they are still the fastest ones when the minimum support is low. Moreover, they are always among the fastest algorithms and consume less memory than other methods when the data sets are dense.
TL;DR: OrfPredictor facilitates the annotation of EST-derived sequences, particularly, for large-scale EST projects, and predicts the coding regions based on the translation reading frames identified in BLASTX alignments.
Abstract: OrfPredictor is a web server designed for identifying protein-coding regions in expressed sequence tag (EST)-derived sequences. For query sequences with a hit in BLASTX, the program predicts the coding regions based on the translation reading frames identified in BLASTX alignments, otherwise, it predicts the most probable coding region based on the intrinsic signals of the query sequences. The output is the predicted peptide sequences in the FASTA format, and a definition line that includes the query ID, the translation reading frame and the nucleotide positions where the coding region begins and ends. OrfPredictor facilitates the annotation of EST-derived sequences, particularly, for large-scale EST projects. OrfPredictor is available at https://fungalgenome.concordia.ca/tools/OrfPredictor.html.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the impact of various attitudes and personality characteristics on environmentally friendly behaviors, from a locus of control (LOC) perspective, and found four distinct dimensions of ELOC, two of which relate to an external LOC (biospheric altruism and corporate skepticism) and the other two relating to an internal LOC (economic moti...
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of various attitudes and personality characteristics on environmentally‐friendly behaviors, from a locus of control (LOC) perspective. Specifically, we developed and tested a model linking a related construct, environmental locus of control (ELOC), to a series of pro‐environmental behaviors.Design/methodology/approach – The context related to various personal and household behaviors vis‐a‐vis the environment, and the subject pool consisted of a diverse group of urban consumers. A survey was employed to measure various attitudinal and personality variables corresponding to internal/external locus of control, as well as a battery of pro‐environmental behaviors. The research propositions were tested using a structural equation modeling approach.Findings – We found four distinct dimensions of ELOC, two of which relate to an external LOC (“biospheric‐altruism” and “corporate skepticism”) and the other two relate to an internal LOC (“economic moti...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the effects of ambient scent and music on consumers' evaluations of a store, its environment and offered merchandise, and found that the effect of adding an ambient Christmas scent is moderated by the nature of the background music.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the effects of three unique intangibility dimensions on a consumer's ability to evaluate goods and services, and the perceived risk associated with the transaction.
Abstract: Intangibility has long been studied as a unidimensional construct with the focus being placed upon the physical element. This paper explores the effects of three unique intangibility dimensions on a consumer’s ability to evaluate goods and services, and the perceived risk (PR) associated with the transaction. The authors examine these relationships in purchase environments that include both traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers and the Internet. Their investigation further incorporates prior knowledge as a moderating factor into the proposed framework. This allows for a thorough comparison of the effects and relationships that exist between intangibility and its consequences in general, evaluation difficulty (ED) and perceived risk (PR) in particular. The authors develop hypotheses pertaining to the proposed model and test them with two experiments. The empirical results are broadly supportive of the hypotheses. Theoretical and managerial implications to the services marketing literature are discussed.
TL;DR: The purpose of the note is to show such a possibility by using the Prandtl-Ishlinskii (PI) hysteresis model to fuse available robust control techniques to have the basic requirement of stability of the system.
Abstract: Control of nonlinear systems preceded by unknown hysteresis nonlinearities is a challenging task and has received increasing attention in recent years due to growing industrial demands involving varied applications. In the literature, many mathematical models have been proposed to describe the hysteresis nonlinearities. The challenge addressed here is how to fuse those hysteresis models with available robust control techniques to have the basic requirement of stability of the system. The purpose of the note is to show such a possibility by using the Prandtl-Ishlinskii (PI) hysteresis model. An adaptive variable structure control approach, serving as an illustration, is fused with the PI model without necessarily constructing a hysteresis inverse. The global stability of the system and tracking a desired trajectory to a certain precision are achieved. Simulation results attained for a nonlinear system are presented to illustrate and further validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
TL;DR: It is shown that there exists a close relationship between the class separability measure introduced here and the alignment measure defined recently by Cristianini, and that the optimized kernel is more adaptive to the input data.
Abstract: In this paper, we present a method of kernel optimization by maximizing a measure of class separability in the empirical feature space, an Euclidean space in which the training data are embedded in such a way that the geometrical structure of the data in the feature space is preserved. Employing a data-dependent kernel, we derive an effective kernel optimization algorithm that maximizes the class separability of the data in the empirical feature space. It is shown that there exists a close relationship between the class separability measure introduced here and the alignment measure defined recently by Cristianini. Extensive simulations are carried out which show that the optimized kernel is more adaptive to the input data, and leads to a substantial, sometimes significant, improvement in the performance of various data classification algorithms.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors empirically examine the relationship between the quality and reputation of a firm's management and various aspects of its IPO and post-IPO performance, a relationship that has so far received little attention in the literature.
TL;DR: In this paper, a special issue of the Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology explores directions for research and development on electronic portfolios, which are digital containers capable of storing visual and auditory content; software for which may also be designed to support a variety of pedagogical processes and assessment purposes.
Abstract: This lead article for the special issue of the Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology explores directions for research and development on electronic portfolios, which are digital containers capable of storing visual and auditory content; software for which may also be designed to support a variety of pedagogical processes and assessment purposes. The paper is organized around several key questions: What are the types and characteristics of electronic portfolios? What are the outcomes and processes that electronic portfolios support for their creators? What are the contexts in which EPs are most effective and worthwhile? Who are electronic portfolio users/viewers and how do we provide appropriate professional development to encourage correct adoption and widespread and sustained use? What do we know and need to know about technical and administrative issues? What is evidence of electronic portfolio success? How do we move forward with funding and infrastructure?
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of three unique intangibility dimensions on a consumer's ability to evaluate goods and services, and the perceived risk associated with the transaction are examined in both traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers and the Internet.
TL;DR: In this article, a literature review of the existing body of empirically-based studies relating to the causes and implications of how the ethical climate of a company ultimately affects the incidence of workplace deviance is performed.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this article is to perform a literature review of the existing body of empirically‐based studies relating to the causes and implications of how the ethical climate of a company ultimately affects the incidence of workplace deviance.Design/methodology/approach – The article examines the issue of ethical contexts and climates within organizations, as measured by the Ethical Climate Questionnaire developed in 1987 by Victor and Cullen , and their implications in the daily work lives of participants. The causes of unethical behaviour, including the presence of counter norms, the environment in which a firm operates, and organizational commitment, as well as the manifestation of this behaviour in the form of workplace deviance, are reviewed. Finally, current trends in preventing workplace deviance are investigated, including promoting a strong culture of ethics, and the use of “toxic handlers”, individuals who take it upon themselves to handle the frustrations of fellow employees.Findi...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate the relative importance of contractual and relational governance on exchange performance and the influence of the boundary spanner on the implementation of these governance mechanisms and on the exchange performance.
Abstract: Academics and managers are confronted with reconciling the social and economic aspects of business-to-business exchanges. In a service context, the authors investigate the relative importance of contractual and relational governance on exchange performance and the influence of the boundary spanner on the implementation of these governance mechanisms and on exchange performance. They test a model of the governance of commercial banking exchanges using interview data with both parties to the exchange (the account manager as the bank’s boundary spanner and the business client). Relational governance is the predominant governance mechanism associated with exchange performance. Contractual governance is also positively associated to exchange performance, but to a much lesser extent. The closeness of the account manager to the client company in terms of information gathering is also positively associated to exchange performance. However, this is mediated through both contractual and relational governance mechanisms with relational governance being the stronger mechanism.
TL;DR: Aircraft grade epoxy-clay nanocomposites based on tetraglycidyl-4, 4′-diaminodiphenylmethane (TGDDM) cured with diaminodiphhenyl sulphone (DDS) were synthesized as discussed by the authors.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors validate measures of the risk factors associated with outsourcing IT operations, including cost reduction, improved quality of service, and access to technological expertise, using data from a survey of 132 IT executives.
Abstract: Outsourcing information technology (IT) operations has been recognized to have important potential benefits, including cost reduction, improved quality of service, and access to technological expertise. Researchers and practitioners also recognize that, in some circumstances, IT outsourcing entails risk, and that it sometimes leads to undesirable consequences that are the opposite of the expected benefits. The main purpose of this study was to validate measures of the risk factors associated with outsourcing IT operations. Insights from transaction costs theory suggest that there exist three major sources of risk factors for IT outsourcing: the transaction, the client and the supplier. From these insights, preliminary measures of IT outsourcing risk factors were developed and data from a survey of 132 IT executives were analyzed with partial least squares to assess their reliability and validity. The results confirm that these factors are useful indicators for assessing IT outsourcing risks.
TL;DR: An overview of some of the better known quantization techniques for systems with finite numbers of degrees-of-freedom can be found in this paper, including canonical quantization and the related Dirac scheme, introduced in the early days of quantum mechanics.
Abstract: This survey is an overview of some of the better known quantization techniques (for systems with finite numbers of degrees-of-freedom) including in particular canonical quantization and the related Dirac scheme, introduced in the early days of quantum mechanics, Segal and Borel quantizations, geometric quantization, various ramifications of deformation quantization, Berezin and Berezin–Toeplitz quantizations, prime quantization and coherent state quantization. We have attempted to give an account sufficiently in depth to convey the general picture, as well as to indicate the mutual relationships between various methods, their relative successes and shortcomings, mentioning also open problems in the area. Finally, even for approaches for which lack of space or expertise prevented us from treating them to the extent they would deserve, we have tried to provide ample references to the existing literature on the subject. In all cases, we have made an effort to keep the discussion accessible both to physicists and to mathematicians, including non-specialists in the field.
TL;DR: In this paper, the notion of strong and weak situations is used to argue that situational strength is a boundary condition of the relation between propensity to trust and intention to trust, and that the perceived ability, benevolence, and integrity of the trustee predicted an individual's trustworthiness.
Abstract: Two studies were conducted to examine the antecedents of intention to trust proposed by Mayer, Davis, and Schoorman [1995, Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 709–734]. In their model, intention to trust is influenced by the perceived characteristics of the trustee and the predisposition of the trustor. We found that perceived ability, benevolence, and integrity of the trustee predicted an individual’s intention to trust. Propensity to trust, that is, an individual’s disposition to trust, correlated with intention to trust when information about trustworthiness was ambiguous, but did not correlate with intention to trust when information about trustworthiness was clear. The notion of strong and weak situations is used to argue that situational strength is a boundary condition of the relation between propensity to trust and intention to trust.
TL;DR: This paper found that participants with high levels of intolerance of uncertainty reported more concern about ambiguous situations than did participants with low levels of uncertainty, and that the tendency to make threatening interpretations of ambiguous situations was more highly related to the degree of uncertainty than to worry, anxiety, or depression.
Abstract: Research suggests that intolerance of uncertainty is a cognitive process involved in excessive worry and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Although previous studies indicate that intolerance of uncertainty and excessive worry are highly and specifically related, the question of how intolerance of uncertainty might lead to worry has yet to be empirically examined. This paper presents two studies investigating intolerance of uncertainty and information processing. Study 1 used an incidental learning task to examine the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and the recall of stimuli denoting uncertainty. The results showed that participants high in intolerance of uncertainty, relative to those low in intolerance of uncertainty, recalled a higher proportion of words denoting uncertainty. Study 2 investigated whether intolerance of uncertainty would be associated with threatening interpretations of ambiguous information. The results showed that participants high in intolerance of uncertainty reported more concern about ambiguous situations than did participants with low levels of intolerance of uncertainty. In addition, the tendency to make threatening interpretations of ambiguous situations was more highly related to intolerance of uncertainty than to worry, anxiety, or depression. Taken together, these findings suggest that intolerance of uncertainty is associated with information processing biases that may be involved in the etiology of excessive worry and GAD.
TL;DR: Key structures of the limbic forebrain exhibit daily oscillations in clock gene expression that are controlled not only by input from the SCN but, importantly, by hormonal and neurochemical changes that normally accompany motivational and emotional states.
Abstract: There is considerable evidence that circadian rhythms in mammals can be modulated by emotional state, but how emotional state modulates specific circadian outputs is poorly understood. We analyzed the expression of the circadian clock protein Period2 (PER2) in three regions of the limbic forebrain known to play key roles in emotional regulation, the central nucleus of the amygdala (CEA), the basolateral amygdala (BLA), and the dentate gyrus (DG). We report here that cells in all three regions exhibit daily rhythms in expression of PER2 that are under the control of the master clock, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The rhythm in the CEA and the rhythms in the BLA and DG are diametrically opposite in phase and are differentially affected by adrenalectomy. Adrenalectomy completely abolished the PER2 rhythm in the CEA but had no effect on the PER2 rhythms in the BLA and DG. We previously reported a rhythm in PER2 expression in the oval nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis that is identical in phase and sensitivity to adrenalectomy to that found in the CEA. Together, these findings show that key structures of the limbic forebrain exhibit daily oscillations in clock gene expression that are controlled not only by input from the SCN but, importantly, by hormonal and neurochemical changes that normally accompany motivational and emotional states. Thus, cells within these areas are strategically positioned to integrate the inputs from the SCN and emotional states to modulate circadian rhythms downstream from the SCN clock.
TL;DR: Drawing on three research projects in which the author has been involved—all grounded in a sex-as-work approach—as well as the work of others, clear guidelines for ethical, nonexploitive methodologies are embedded in the solutions provided.
Abstract: The challenges involved in the design of ethical, nonexploitative research projects with sex workers or any other marginalized population are significant. First, the size and boundaries of the population are unknown, making it extremely difficult to get a representative sample. Second, because membership in hidden populations often involves stigmatized or illegal behavior, concerns regarding privacy and confidentiality are paramount and difficult to resolve. In addition, they often result in challenges to the validity of the data. Third, in spite of evidence to the contrary, associations between sex work and victimization are still strong, dichotomies remain prevalent, and sex workers are often represented as a homogeneous population. Drawing on three research projects in which the author has been involved—all grounded in a sex-as-work approach—as well as the work of others, this article provides several strategies for overcoming these challenges. Clear guidelines for ethical, nonexploitive methodologies are embedded in the solutions provided.