Robert A. Hanneman

E‐business capabilities model

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework to evaluate e‐business strategic capabilities using structural equation modelling (SEM) approach.Design/methodology/approach – The paper identifies three e‐business capabilities, namely business strategy, supply chain strategy and e‐business readiness. These capabilities are further decomposed under technology, organization and people dimensions to assess their contribution for business effectiveness. A questionnaire is designed and implemented using SEM technique. Survey data from 143 firms from the UK are collected to test our theoretical model. In particular, we have tested a positive, mediating/reciprocal relationships among multidimensional measures of business strategy, supply chain strategy and e‐business adoption. Further hypotheses are developed to evaluate a direct positive impact of e‐business on companys performance.Findings – This empirical analyses demonstrate several key findings: success of e‐business in UK firms is ...

General Education Models: Continuity and Change in the U.S. Undergraduate Curriculum, 1975-2000

General education requirements comprise, on average, approximately 30% of the undergraduate curriculum and therefore represent an important feature of the student academic experience in American colleges and universities. Previous studies have not fully examined the origins of the most important models of general education, the distribution of these models among higher education institutions, or the causes for change in general education requirements over time. In this study we describe and analyze the organization of general education requirements in U.S. four-year colleges and universities over a 25-year period, 1975 –2000. We show that four models of general education persisted throughout the period. We will label these the “core distribution areas,” “traditional liberal arts,” “cultures and ethics,” and “civic/utilitarian” models. We show that two of these models arose near the beginning date of the study. The rise of these new models is one important change in general education. Another is the addition of new subject requirements, particularly in areas related to basic academic skills, gender and racial-ethnic diversity, and non-Western cultures. These course-level changes, we will argue, reflect

Predicting Placement in Families Who Have Children with Severe Handicaps: A Longitudinal Analysis.

Effects of child characteristics and home environment on caregivers behavioral intentions regarding placement were examined longitudinally for 100 families of children with severe mental retardation. Prior behavioral intentions significantly predicted actual placement, independent of other factors. Child characteristics, with one exception, failed to predict intentions or actual placement behavior. The more normative the childs appearance, the less likely caregivers were to seriously consider placement and to place. Higher socioeconomic standing of mothers promoted more serious consideration of placement as did larger numbers of siblings. Some factors of home quality promoted more active consideration but did not directly affect actual placements. Stress on caregiver contributed to both placement intentions and actual placements. Support resources, on the other hand, had little effect on placement intentions or placement.

Simulation Modeling and Theoretical Analysis in Sociology

The use of computer simulation experiments as a tool for working with theories is not as widespread in sociology as it is in most scientific disciplines. This brief article explains how modeling is a distinctive activity from either “theory” or “empirical analysis” but how it informs both and connects them. Simulation models are artificial objects created to translate theoretical generalizations into specific scenarios involving states (variables and/or actors) and rates (the dynamic causal laws hypothesized to generate change over time in the states). Simulation models are analyzed to understand the full range of implications of theoretical statements as they apply to producing historical realizations under particular circumstances. Simulation analysis operates by a method of experimentation, unlike mathematical modeling and statistical modeling. The strengths and limitations of these three approaches to studying models are discussed, and suggested to be complementary rather than competitive with each other. Last, this article briefly points out some of the unique features of the exemplars that compose the remainder of this special issue of Sociological Perspectives.

E-supply chain operational and behavioural perspectives: an empirical study of Malaysian SMEs

A review of the literature suggests that much of the existing e-supply chain adoption literature is not firmly grounded in theory. Where many previous studies have identified technology as the key determinant, we argue that operational and behavioural perspectives should be duly taken into consideration while adopting e-technology. Therefore, inspired by the systems engineering principles, we propose a generic framework for evaluating business performance of e-supply chain companies. A questionnaire was designed and survey data from 208 Malaysian SMEs was collected. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed to test the impact of Supply Chain Strategy, E-Business Adoption, and the interaction of these constructs, on overall Business Performance. With regards to the operational perspective the results suggest that E-Business Adoption relates more positively to Business Performance compared to Supply Chain Strategy construct. Also, Technology Capability scored relatively higher compared to Organisational Capability and Attitudinal Capability. Overall Supply Chain Relationship (behavioural perspective) demonstrates a relatively weak result. Our findings suggest that where Malaysian SMEs are technology orientated, however, they need to develop efficient logistics networks to cater for a geographically dispersed population. Also, they need to pay serious attention towards ‘softer’ issues, in that to bring about attitudinal changes that allow developing closer collaboration with their supply chain companies. We argue that operational and behavioural perspectives can be embedded within the systems engineering principles that provide necessary theoretical underpinning for conducting such a research. The empirical findings provide useful guidelines for SMEs that wish to embark upon an e-business adoption journey. Furthermore, the measures produced here can be used as a benchmarking exercise for the SMEs who have already adopted e-technology.

Cooperatives and the business cycle: The Israeli case☆

Abstract This paper uses data from Israel to explore the impact of changing economic conditions on the formation and dissolution of worker cooperatives. We find only mixed support for the widely held notion that cooperative formations conform to a counter-cyclical pattern. Foundings of Israeli worker cooperatives appear to respond counter-cyclically to GDP growth, but procyclically to unemployment. There is stronger evidence for countercyclicality in the dissolutions of these cooperatives, as they at least appear quite resistant to economic downturns. In general, we find that the dynamics of this population are driven less by economic conditions than by political and institutional factors.

Social groups, sport and political engagement in New Zealand

Many prominent social theorists contend that memberships in voluntary associations make major contributions to making citizens more engaged with democracy. Although substantial attention has been directed at the potential role of sports groups, previous studies using survey data have not found membership in sports groups to be associated with political activity. New Zealand presents an important context for testing this theory, given its high levels of public participation in sports groups. We find that membership in sports and other social groups is associated with higher levels of political engagement. We discuss how these findings advance our understanding of the role that specific group memberships may have in democratic societies.

Declining Academic Fields in U.S. Four-Year Colleges and Universities, 1970-2006

This research identifies 22 fields that declined in absolute numbers and/or prevalence over a 35-year period. Most were basic fields in the arts and sciences. Steep declines were evident only in a few fields, notably European languages and literatures. Larger, higher status, and historically liberal arts oriented institutions were less likely to drop declining fields.

Optimizing the choice of influential nodes for diffusion on a social network

Summary An optimization approach is taken to locating the optimal set of initial contacts in a social network to maximize the number of total network members reached by a message. It is assumed that initial contacts are costly and that the number of initial contacts must be minimized simultaneously with maximizing the total number of network members contacted. A bi-objective probabilistic integer programming model is developed that assumes that actors are heterogeneous in the probability that they will pass messages along their ego networks. Considering the complexity of solving the proposed model, it reformulated as a pure integer programming model. The algorithm is illustrated by the analysis of message passing in a short-message system (texting) among university students. Copyright

Applying modality and equivalence concepts to pattern finding in social process-produced data

Large amounts of detailed transactional information are generated by ongoing social processes. For managing and mining such data, we treat them as “objects” and “relations”. These ideas strongly parallel the way that social network analysts conceive of social structure. Modality (roughly, distinguishing multiple classes of social actors or nodes in networks) and equivalence classes (roughly, distinguishing general patterns in the ways that objects in classes are related to one another or to objects in other classes) have proven to be very useful in helping social network analysts to think about complex relational structures among social objects. Dimensional and generalized “block models” of multi-modal social networks provide tools for designing searches to identify patterns. The ideas are illustrated by descriptions of how a number of social process-produced data might be approached, including bibliographic databases, communications logs, virtual communities, and economic transactions.