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To better understand the relationship between the headquarters and subsidiaries of multinational corporations, we introduce and test a theoretical framework that builds on and extends the positive agency theoretic corporate governance literature. Results indicate that there are three types of subsidiary bundles of corporate governance mechanisms that are used by multinational corporations. In addition, the following factors can help predict what type of subsidiary bundle a multinational corporation will use to align the interests of its headquarters with a particular subsidiary: the multinational corporation’s international strategy, its subsidiary’s importance, environmental uncertainty faced by its subsidiary, and its subsidiary’s age.

As organizations have expanded globally, control mechanisms utilized in the past may need to be supplemented with a new type of personnel, that of the inpatriate. Expatriates were the most widely used staffing for corporate control, but due to various issues, a complementary set of employees to facilitate corporate goals could be utilized. Inpatriation, as a practical and conceptual means to augment expatriation, is discussed, compared with, and contrasted to, expatriation. This research explores the use of inpatriates in facilitating global control.

Although the idea of linking a shape grammar to a genetic algorithm is not new, this paper proposes a novel way of combining these two elements in order to provide a tool that can be used for design exploration. Using a shape grammar for design generation provides a way of creating a range of potential solutions to a design problem which fit with the designer's stylistic agenda. A genetic algorithm can then be used to take these designs and develop them into a much richer set of solutions which can still be recognised as part of the same family. By setting quantifiable targets for design performance, the genetic algorithm can evolve new designs which exhibit the best features of previous generations. The designer is then presented with a wide range of high scoring solutions and can choose which of these to take forward and develop in the conventional manner. The novelty of the proposed approach is in the use of a shape code, which describes the steps that the shape grammar has taken to create each design. The genetic algorithm works on this shape code by applying crossover and mutation in order to create a range of designs that can be tested. The fittest are then selected in order to provide the genetic material for the next generation. A prototype version of such a program, called Shape Evolution, has been developed. In order to test Shape Evolution it has been used to design a range of apartment buildings which are required to meet certain performance criteria.

In this paper, we present a proposed information environment (PROPIE) for enhanced interaction and value‐adding of electronic documents (e‐documents). The design of PROPIE was based on a thorough user needs and requirements assessment in interacting with information through well‐documented findings, and a focus group with twelve participants to elicit features that were deemed desirable in future interactions. The design was also based on an earlier work which reviewed the advancements in various user interface (UI) technologies, visualisation and interactive techniques, and a consideration of novel information structuring and organisation techniques that pose important implications for the design of more advanced UIs. Providing a suite of novel features and interactive tools that can be flexibly combined, PROPIE allows users to apply multiple novel ways to query intuitively and navigate information in an e‐document. The querying and browsing processes in PROPIE are supported by various interactive and visualisation techniques. Users work within a visually sovereign, integrated environment for information gathering and organising, based on navigable, fractional information objects that are also affiliated with rich metadata and additional layers of value‐adding information. A set of interface mock‐ups was developed to demonstrate the potential of the environment in supporting the design of a new generation of electronic journals (e‐journals). We report here empirical results from a study conducted to obtain representative users‘ feedback with regard to using PROPIE for interacting with e‐journals. Twenty‐two participants from a variety of academic backgrounds participated in the evaluation. Overall, PROPIE was found to have the potential both for enhancing the user’s interaction with information captured within e‐journals and for adding value to e‐documents in various ways.

This study aims to synthesize new disperse dyes based on novel pyrazolyl quinolinone derivatives EQ1 and EQ2 and evaluate their characteristics after dyeing them on a polyester fabric.

New dispersed dyes based on pyrazolyl quinolinone derivatives were prepared and confirmed by different analyses, such as infrared spectroscopy, elemental microanalysis and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. They were dyed on a polyester fabric. The characteristics of dyed polyester were determined by color measurements such as a*, b*, L*, C*, E, Ho, R% and color strength. The electronic structures of EQ1 and EQ2 in gaseous state were investigated using density functional theory/B3LYP/6-311++G (d, p) level of theory.

The suitability of the prepared dyestuffs for dyeing on polyester fabrics has been investigated. The study was concerned with comparing the contrasting depth of shade and levelness. The study was concerned mainly with dye uptake and color measurements at two different temperatures. The results showed that the exhaustion values of dyes inside the polyester at 130°C were higher than those obtained at conventional dyeing temperature (100°C). The exhaustion values of EQ2 were greater than those of EQ1 at 130°C with 2.2%, while the brightness of EQ2 was higher than that of EQ1 at the two investigated temperatures. The results of molecular orbital calculations show that the studied compounds are planar. In addition, the ionization potential of EQ1 was lower than that of EQ2. The results of the theoretical study helped in understanding the dyeing behavior of the investigated azo dyes.

The prepared disperse dyes based on pyrazolyl quinolinone derivatives could be used in textile dyeing of polyester on an industrial scale.

The case of metropolitan Doha presents a unique study that has witnessed several transition phases in the urbanization process. It has embarked in massive urbanization processes as part of the national planning vision. Nationals constitute 11% and expatriates constitute 89% of the total population of Qatar, which is environed by the government to manage the economic dynamism. Housing choice reflects the joint influences of government policies, housing market conditions, and personal factors such as housing preferences and the income level. The paper aims at studying housing choices for nationals and expatiates in metropolitan Doha through assessing the factors that limit housing choice for nationals and expatriates, providing policy recommendations to address the demand-supply gap in the market, and propose housing distribution in view of the developed housing choice framework. Three tools have been used: content analysis of reference data, questionnaire survey of housing preferences, and qualitative interview of experts' perceptions. This study has provided qualitative data on the issues of housing distribution and expansion in relation to housing choices. It has concluded baseline information for the nationals and expatriates housing distribution and the demographic dilemma.

The reactions between Sn–Ag–Cu lead‐free solders of various compositions and Au/Ni surface finish in advanced electronic packages were studied. Three solder compositions, Sn–3.5Ag, Sn4Ag–0.5Cu, and Sn–3.5Ag‐0.75Cu were used, and their performance was compared. It was found that the Sn–4Ag–0.5Cu solder gave the worst results in terms of shear strength. The poor performance of the Sn–4Ag–0.5Cu solder can be explained based on its microstructure. The types of intermetallic compounds formed at the interface were different for different solder compositions. When there was no Cu the reaction product was Ni₃Sn₄. For the Sn–3.5Ag–0.75Cu solder, the reaction product was (Cu_1‐p‐qAu_pNi_q)₆Sn₅ immediately after reflow, and two intermetallic compounds (Cu_1‐p‐qAu_pNi_q)₆Sn₅ and (Ni_1‐yCu_y)₃Sn₄ formed after aging at 180°C for 250 and 500 h. For the Sn–4Ag–0.5Cu solder, both Ni₃Sn₄ and (Cu_1‐p‐qAu_pNi_q)₆Sn₅ were present near the interface right after reflow, and there was a layer of solder between these two intermetallic compounds.

Research on performance management, as it applies to public sector organizations, has been addressed most often from a static perspective. A process-oriented view on performance is undertaken through use of perceived obstacles, garnered through two large surveys of U.S. government managers, to infer the adaptive paths federal agencies have followed. By applying a learning-based model founded on March’s framework of exploration and exploitation, the ideal-typical ways that public organizations adapt to a performance initiative can be distinguished, opening a window into the processes such learning entails. Structural equation modeling provides the statistical capacity to interpret exploration and exploitation as cohesive paths. Exploratory adaptation appears to have been largely counterproductive, as the obstacles associated with this dynamic indicated a roadblock rather than a path forward. But exploitation had the opposite effect, as its associated obstacles corresponded with greater use of performance measures for management activities and enhanced results orientation.