Japan External Trade Organization

While exploration and exploitation represent two fundamentally different approaches to organizational learning, recent literature has increasingly indicated the need for firms to achieve a balance between the two. This balanced view is embedded in the concept of ambidextrous organizations. However, there is little direct evidence of the positive effect of ambidexterity on firm performance. This paper seeks to test the ambidexterity hypothesis by examining how exploration and exploitation can jointly influence firm performance in the context of firms' approach to technological innovation. Based on a sample of 206 manufacturing firms, we find evidence consistent with the ambidexterity hypothesis by showing that (1) the interaction between explorative and exploitative innovation strategies is positively related to sales growth rate, and (2) the relative imbalance between explorative and exploitative innovation strategies is negatively related to sales growth rate.

This article introduces a large new cross-country database, the Database of Political Institutions. It covers 177 countries over 21 years, 1975-95

This handbook reviews the key palaeoecological methods applied to primarily organic lake and mire deposits. Particular attention is paid to Holocene environmental changes in the temperate zone, but most methods can be applied to older Quaternary deposits and to areas outside the temperate zone. The need for uniform methods of correlating stratigraphical data on a continental scale is emphasized. The first part of the book concentrates upon the theoretical background to environmental change, examining relationships between physical and biological environments and how they are affected by changes in climate, hydrology and human impact. The research strategy applied to palaeoecological studies of lakes and mires is then considered, introducing the concept of 'reference sites' for stratigraphical correlations. Recommended methods for dealing with these sites are described in subsequent sections. These include sampling and mapping techniques, stratigraphical methods, dating methods, and physical, chemical and biological methods. The numerical treatment of biostratigraphical data is discussed in the final section. The content is based upon the work of the International Geological Correlation Programme Project 158B.

People have a tendency to marry within their social group or to marry a person who is close to them in status. Although many characteristics play a role in the choice of a spouse, sociologists have most often examined endogamy and homogamy with respect to race/ethnicity, religion, and socioeconomic status. I first give an overview of hypotheses on the causes of endogamy and homogamy. The various hypotheses that have been suggested in the literature can be distinguished as arguments about three more general factors: (a) the preferences of marriage candidates for certain characteristics in a spouse, (b) the interference of “third parties” in the selection process, and (c) the constraints of the marriage market in which candidates are searching for a spouse. Second, I summarize empirical research by answering four questions: (a) To what extent are groups endogamous and how do groups differ in this respect? (b) How has endogamy changed over time? (c) Which factors are related to endogamy? (d) How do various dimensions of partner choice coincide? Third, I discuss strengths and weaknesses of past research. Strengths include the mass of descriptive work that has been done and the development of a multifaceted theoretical perspective which gives sociological theorizing an edge over psychological and economic theories of partner choice. Weaknesses include the lack of standardization of methods in describing patterns and trends and the relatively weak integration of empirical and theoretical work.

The most up-to-date yeast identification and reference manual ever published. Includes descriptions of the 678 currently recognised species and over 1300 high quality photomicrographs. Readily usable keys and tables allow identification of all of the species described.

D. J. Hickson, C. R. Hinings, C. A. Lee, R. E. Schneck, J. M. Pennings, A Strategic Contingencies' Theory of Intraorganizational Power, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 16, No. 2 (Jun., 1971), pp. 216-229

Magnetic Weyl semimetals with broken time-reversal symmetry are expected to generate strong intrinsic anomalous Hall effects, due to their large Berry curvature. Here, we report a magnetic Weyl semimetal candidate, Co3Sn2S2, with a quasi-two-dimensional crystal structure consisting of stacked kagome lattices. This lattice provides an excellent platform for hosting exotic topological quantum states. We observe a negative magnetoresistance that is consistent with the chiral anomaly expected from the presence of Weyl fermions close to the Fermi level. The anomalous Hall conductivity is robust against both increased temperature and charge conductivity, which corroborates the intrinsic Berry-curvature mechanism in momentum space. Owing to the low carrier density in this material and the considerably enhanced Berry curvature from its band structure, the anomalous Hall conductivity and the anomalous Hall angle simultaneously reach 1,130 Ω−1 cm−1 and 20%, respectively, an order of magnitude larger than typical magnetic systems. Combining the kagome-lattice structure and the long-range out-of-plane ferromagnetic order of Co3Sn2S2, we expect that this material is an excellent candidate for observation of the quantum anomalous Hall state in the two-dimensional limit.

Nan Dirk De Graaf, Paul M. De Graaf, Gerbert Kraaykamp, Parental Cultural Capital and Educational Attainment in the Netherlands: A Refinement of the Cultural Capital Perspective, Sociology of Education, Vol. 73, No. 2 (Apr., 2000), pp. 92-111

This text presents analyses of historically-situated discursive events during which ideas about language are formed, articulated and authoritatively entextualized.

Triacylglycerol (TAG) is known to be synthesized in a reaction that uses acyl-CoA as acyl donor and diacylglycerol (DAG) as acceptor, and which is catalyzed by the enzyme acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferase. We have found that some plants and yeast also have an acyl-CoA-independent mechanism for TAG synthesis, which uses phospholipids as acyl donors and DAG as acceptor. This reaction is catalyzed by an enzyme that we call phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase, or PDAT. PDAT was characterized in microsomal preparations from three different oil seeds: sunflower, castor bean, and Crepis palaestina. We found that the specificity of the enzyme for the acyl group in the phospholipid varies between these species. Thus, C. palaestina PDAT preferentially incorporates vernoloyl groups into TAG, whereas PDAT from castor bean incorporates both ricinoleoyl and vernoloyl groups. We further found that PDAT activity also is present in yeast microsomes. The substrate specificity of this PDAT depends on the head group of the acyl donor, the acyl group transferred, and the acyl chains of the acceptor DAG. The gene encoding the enzyme was identified. The encoded PDAT protein is related to lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase, which catalyzes the acyl-CoA-independent synthesis of cholesterol esters. However, budding yeast PDAT and its relatives in fission yeast and Arabidopsis form a distinct branch within this protein superfamily, indicating that a separate PDAT enzyme arose at an early point in evolution.

This paper reports on a unique study of a large, random sample of business start-ups that were identified prior to the actual, commercial launch of the ventures. The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, to present frequencies on the involvement of the Swedish population in the small business sector (particularly in start-ups of firms) and to compare these with estimates from Norway and the USA, which are based on studies using a similar research design. The authors also discuss the possible reasons for the differences that emerge between countries. Second, the characteristics of nascent entrepreneurs (i.e. individuals trying to start an independent business) are analysed and compared for sub-groups within the sample and with characteristics of business founders as they appear in theoretical accounts or retrospective empirical studies of surviving all firms. In order to get a representative sample from the working age population, respondents ( n = 30, 427) were randomly selected and interviewed by telephone. It was found that 2.0% of the Swedish population at the time of the interview were trying to start an independent business. Sweden had a significantly lower prevalence rate of nascent entrepreneurs compared to Norway and the USA. Nascent entrepreneurs were then compared to a control group of people not trying to start a business. The results confirmed findings from previous studies of business founders pointing to the importance of role models and the impression of self-employment obtained through these, employment status, age, education and experience. Marital status, the number of children in the household, and length of employment experience were unrelated to the probability of becoming a nascent entrepreneur. The gender of the respondent was the strongest distinguishing factor. Importantly, the results suggest that while one has a reasonably good understanding of the characteristics associated with men going into business for themselves, the type of variables investigated here have very limited ability to predict nascent entrepreneur status for women.

These two volumes are important to any man of science, medical or otherwise. In the historical review Head shows the slow progress of man hampered by so-called knowledge, the preconceptions of the authorities of their time and the immediate past. He reviews Hughlings Jackson's advanced views, showing the influence they have had on progress in understanding of the relation of the action of the brain to thinking. He then sets forth with comprehensive clarity his views on aphasia, the relation of the use of symbols to thinking and expressive conduct. The second volume contains the reports of the clinical cases, preceded by an introduction in which the reader is oriented by digests of case reports toward (1) grave disorders of speech, (2) specific forms of aphasia, i. e., verbal, syntactical, nominal and semantic, and (3) lesions met in these cases of speech disorders. There is a complete general index and

Problem-based learning (PBL) is widely regarded as a successful and innovative method for engineering education. Since the development of the PBL model at McMaster University in Canada in the late 1960s, many different varieties have emerged. This paper highlights the Dutch approach of directing the learning process through problem analysis and the Danish model of project-organised learning. Various definitions of the concept PBL identify characteristics at the levels of theoretical learning principles, educational models and educational practices. The McMaster–Maastricht PBL model and the Aalborg model of project work share characteristic features such as the theoretical principle of the problem analysis at the basis of the learning process, integration of knowledge and practice, collaboration and group work. Notable differences were found with respect to the type of assignments, assessment methods and organisation of the group work. In comparison to traditional engineering curricula, the PBL models appear to inspire a higher degree of involvement in study activities and, consequently, a higher level of complex comprehension. A possible drawback is the risk of gaps in specific knowledge areas. Therefore, it is crucial that the students in a PBL curriculum become lifelong learners who have learned to take responsibility for their own learning process.

Floquet engineering, the control of quantum systems using periodic driving, is an old concept in condensed matter physics dating back to ideas such as the inverse Faraday effect. However, there is a renewed interest in this concept owing to (a) the rapid developments in laser and ultrafast spectroscopy techniques, (b) discovery and understanding of various "quantum materials" hosting interesting exotic quantum properties, and (c) communication with different areas of physics such as artificial matter and nonequilibrium quantum statistical physics. Here, starting from a nontechnical introduction with emphasis on the Floquet picture and effective Hamiltonians, we review the recent applications of Floquet engineering in ultrafast, nonlinear phenomena in the solid state. In particular, Floquet topological states and their application to ultrafast spintronics and strongly correlated electron systems are overviewed.

Identifying causal relationships and quantifying their strength from observational time series data are key problems in disciplines dealing with complex dynamical systems such as the Earth system or the human body. Data-driven causal inference in such systems is challenging since datasets are often high dimensional and nonlinear with limited sample sizes. Here, we introduce a novel method that flexibly combines linear or nonlinear conditional independence tests with a causal discovery algorithm to estimate causal networks from large-scale time series datasets. We validate the method on time series of well-understood physical mechanisms in the climate system and the human heart and using large-scale synthetic datasets mimicking the typical properties of real-world data. The experiments demonstrate that our method outperforms state-of-the-art techniques in detection power, which opens up entirely new possibilities to discover and quantify causal networks from time series across a range of research fields. Copyright © 2019 The Authors,

Robots are becoming an integral component of our society and have great potential in being utilized as an educational technology. To promote a deeper understanding of the area, we present a review of the field of robots in education. Several prior ventures in the area are discussed (post-2000) with the help of classification criteria. The dissecting criteria include domain of the learning activity, location of the activity, the role of the robot, types of robots and types of robotic behaviour. Our overview shows that robots are primarily used to provide language, science or technology education and that a robot can take on the role of a tutor, tool or peer in the learning activity. We also present open questions and challenges in the field that emerged from the overview. The results from our overview are of interest to not only researchers in the field of human-robot interaction but also administration in educational institutes who wish to understand the wider implications of adopting robots in education.

Part 1: The Analysis of Uncertainties in Dealing with Complex Problems in Networks 1. Uncertainties in Dealing with Complex Problems in the Network Society 2. Uncertainty about Content: Knowledge Conflicts and Asymmetrical Debates 3. Uncertainty and Process: Problem Solving as Strategic Game 4. Uncertainty and Institutions: Patterns, Rules and Trust 5. Uncertainties and Governments: Old and New Responses 6. Summing Up: Dealing with Uncertainties in Networks Part 2: The Management of Uncertainties in Dealing with Complex Problems in Networks 7. Mapping Uncertainties in Games and Networks 8. Managing Content: Furthering Cross-Frame Reflection and the Creation of Negotiated Knowledge 9. Managing the Game 10. Managing the Network: Strategies for Institutional Design 11. Managing Uncertainties in Networks

Washington's "revolving door"—the movement from government service into the lobbying industry—is regarded as a major concern for policy-making. We study how ex-government staffers benefit from the personal connections acquired during their public service. Lobbyists with experience in the office of a US Senator suffer a 24 percent drop in generated revenue when that Senator leaves office. The effect is immediate, discontinuous around the exit period, and long-lasting. Consistent with the notion that lobbyists sell access to powerful politicians, the drop in revenue is increasing in the seniority of and committee assignments power held by the exiting politician.

Image classification has advanced significantly in recent years with the availability of large-scale image sets. However, fine-grained classification remains a major challenge due to the annotation cost of large numbers of fine-grained categories. This project shows that compelling classification performance can be achieved on such categories even without labeled training data. Given image and class embeddings, we learn a compatibility function such that matching embeddings are assigned a higher score than mismatching ones; zero-shot classification of an image proceeds by finding the label yielding the highest joint compatibility score. We use state-of-the-art image features and focus on different supervised attributes and unsupervised output embeddings either derived from hierarchies or learned from unlabeled text corpora. We establish a substantially improved state-of-the-art on the Animals with Attributes and Caltech-UCSD Birds datasets. Most encouragingly, we demonstrate that purely unsupervised output embeddings (learned from Wikipedia and improved with fine-grained text) achieve compelling results, even outperforming the previous supervised state-of-the-art. By combining different output embeddings, we further improve results.