Knowledge transfer processes in IT outsourcing relationships and their impact on shared knowledge and outsourcing performance

What is the impact of specific knowledge-transfer processes on the level of shared knowledge and, in turn, on outsourcing performance in outsourcing relationships? Drawing on a series of case studies covering IT providers and banks, we investigate several applied knowledge-transfer processes dedicated to the transfer of explicit or tacit knowledge between outsourcing banks and their providers. We examine the differential influence of various types of knowledge transfer on shared knowledge between the parties and on the resulting outsourcing performance. Results depict the differential impact of various knowledge-transfer processes dedicated to the transfer of explicit, or tacit knowledge, respectively, on the development of shared knowledge. Interestingly, the combination of both knowledge-transfer processes dedicated to the transfer of explicit knowledge and those dedicated to the transfer of tacit knowledge proves to be most effective. Furthermore the results indicate that high levels of shared knowledge positively influence outsourcing performance. In addition to previous literature, we found transfer processes for explicit knowledge in an outsourcing context to consist of two dimensions: The content dimension, primarily focused on in literature, and the sender–receiver dimension of transfer processes which are rarely addressed in outsourcing literature. The content dimension embraces mechanisms such as trainings, SLAs and standards that define how content has to be interpreted, whereas the sender–receiver dimension of transfer processes of explicit knowledge defines explicit, documented interaction structures between parties.     

What All Parents Need to Know? Exploring the Hidden Normativity of the Language of Developmental Psychology in Parenting

In this article we focus on how the language of developmental psychology shapes our conceptualisations and understandings of childrearing and of the parent‐child relationship. By analysing some examples of contemporary research, policy and popular literature on parenting and parenting support in the UK and Flanders, we explore some of the ways in which normative assumptions about parenthood and upbringing are imported into these areas through the language of developmental psychology. We go on to address the particular attraction of developmental psychology in the field of parenting and upbringing within our current cultural context. Drawing on the work of (among others) Zygmunt Bauman, we will show how developmental psychology, as one of the instruments that contributes to a breaking down of our existential condition into a series of well‐defined, and thus apparently manageable, tasks and categories, displaces rather than confronts the possibly limitless depth of the enormity of the reality of ‘being a parent’.     

层次图(混合Horn)公式的部分极大可满足性

本文为解决一类混合Horn公式([13,14]),又称为层次图公式([15])的MAXSAT问题进行了基于随机局部搜索过程的经验研究.具体地,我们首先在随机CNF公式的MAX2SAT及MAX3SAT问题上进行WalkSAT和Tabu-Sat(及其变种)的比较,其次,我们在层次图公式上比较了上述过程的改进版本,这些公式编码了随机生成层次图的最小化跨边问题.本文所引入的Tabu-Sat过程,当在搜索空间中检测到一个圈的时候,动态地改变Tabu长度参数.另一个被称为Vector-Tabu-Sat的过程,对所有的布尔变元进行独立的Tabu长度参数管理.一些数值实验的结果显示,我们改进的Tabu-Sat变种在子句个数增长的时候优于Walksat.     

Die 1960er Jahre als Formationsphase von modernem Doping und Anti-Doping

Many contemporary forms of doping and anti-doping developed in the 1960s regarding substances, social perception, doping and anti-doping strategies and actors. The first significant steps towards regulation were made during this period. Anti-doping in West Germany was based on the principle of partnership between sport and state. However, it was not a specifically German solution but in line with the common anti-doping strategies of most other European countries. At the same time limits and obstacles of anti-doping became apparent.     

Investigating the theoretical structure of the DAS‐II core battery at school age using Bayesian structural equation modeling

Bayesian structural equation modeling (BSEM) was used to investigate the latent structure of the Differential Ability Scales—Second Edition core battery using the standardization sample normative data for ages 7–17. Results revealed plausibility of a three‐factor model, consistent with publisher theory, expressed as either a higher‐order (HO) or a bifactor (BF) model. The results also revealed an alternative structure with the best model fit, a two‐factor BF model with Matrices (MA) and Sequential and Quantitative Reasoning (SQ) loading on g only with no respective group factor loading. This was only the second study to use BSEM to investigate the structure of a commercial ability test and the first to use a large normative sample and the specification of both approximate zero cross‐loadings and correlated residual terms. It is believed that the results produced from the current study will advance the field's understanding of not only the factor structure of the DAS‐II core battery but also the potential utility of BSEM in psychometric investigations of intelligence test structures.     

Student psychological distress and degree dropout or completion: a discrete-time,competing risks survival analysis

Studies of psychological distress (PD) in university students have shown that they have high prevalence rates. These findings have raised concerns that PD may be leading to poorer student outcomes, such as elevated dropout rates. The aim of this study was to examine the association of PD in undergraduate university students with the competing risks of degree dropout or completion. It analysed data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. The sample comprised 1265 university students. PD (i.e., probable depression and/or anxiety) was measured with a validated cut-off score of ≤65 on the 5-item Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5) from the Short Form 36 (SF-36). The study used an accelerated longitudinal design with student year of study as the metric of time and estimated dynamic discrete-time, competing risks survival models. Contrary to expectations, the study found that students with PD had lower odds of degree dropout and higher odds of degree completion than students without PD in year 4 of their degrees. This study contributes to the empirical literature on university student mental health by showing that, while PD can be debilitating and negatively affect students’ general educational experience, it is not as harmful to academic progress as might be assumed.