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This qualitative study investigated how small group communication influences the development of shared mental models in a committee of public librarians addressing a problem-solving task. It examines the influence of communication themes, functions, roles, and rules on the group's development of shared mental models about the task and about team interaction. Data were collected over the course of a year from group meetings, email messages, group documents, and participant interviews and then analyzed using existing coding schemes and qualitative coding techniques. The findings indicate that within the group there was a strong superficial convergence around the task mental model and the team interaction mental model but a weaker convergence at a deeper level. Analysis of the group communication data shows that the group focused discussion on understanding the problem and identifying tasks, enacting group roles and rules that facilitated sharing information. The functions of their messages focused on task communication. The findings suggest that, in this group, communication themes most heavily influenced the development of a shared mental model about the task, while communication roles, rules, and functions were more influential toward the development of a shared mental model about team interaction. Implications for practice include adopting intentional tactics for surfacing mental models at various points in the group life and anchoring the emerging model within the collective cognition of the group through devices such as narratives, objects, or documentary materials.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of insider ownership decreases on stock returns for firms undergoing seasoned equity offerings (SEOs).

Insider data were gathered for firms undergoing SEOs and this information used to compute the insider ownership percentage decreases caused by the SEOs. These insider percentage decreases and standard compounded abnormal return methodology were used to test signaling theory.

It was discovered that the short‐run and long‐run stock returns accompanying SEOs are not consistent with what signaling theory predicts. In particular, for greater decreases in insider ownership percentages, a superior market response for both short‐run tests and long‐run post‐SEO tests was often found.

Prior research has not examined how the change in insider ownership caused by a corporate event influences stock returns. Future research can build on the univariate tests by examining the impact of insider ownership within a multivariate framework.

Investors cannot profit by following the behavior of insiders by selling shares in companies where insiders lower their ownership percentages. This is because insiders appear to have personal agendas that they follow when decreasing their holdings.

This is the first study to examine how changes in insider ownership caused by a significant corporate event affect stock returns. The findings of this empirical examination challenge signaling theory as regards insider knowledge, the ability of insiders to convey their privileged knowledge (if it exists), and the capacity of outsiders to decipher and act on insider actions.

This research investigated the impacts of COVID-19 on construction enterprises and good practices adopted by the enterprises in reducing COVID-19 risks. The Sendai Framework (TSF) is widely accepted as a strategic roadmap to reduce disaster risks throughout the life cycle of a disaster. As such, with the aim of enhancing the resilience of Australian construction enterprises, the identified good practices were mapped with TSF priorities to consolidate COVID-19 risk reduction practices that can be adopted by Australian construction enterprises.

Case study research approach was used, and three case studies were conducted with small, medium and large construction enterprises. Small, medium and large enterprises were selected based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics classification of the business size. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with three executive members from the three enterprises. Data were analysed using content analysis.

The study found that construction enterprises faced demand and supply side impacts. Infrastructure projects, funded by public sector clients and larger enterprises were least affected. Investments and demand for residential and other building projects were reduced by private sector clients, affecting small and medium enterprises. Findings also show that the construction enterprises adopted good practices in identifying, managing, investing on resilience and recovery that align with TSF priorities. All three enterprises agreed on some common good practices on risk identification, risk management and effective recovery. Different views were shared on investments related to disaster resilience.

This study contributes to mitigate the COVID-19 impacts on construction enterprises and subsequent economic and social impacts.

This research found how Australian construction enterprises survived during COVID-19. The study adopted TSF to construction and COVID-19 context while consolidating COVID-19 risk reduction practices.

Outlines how human competency engineering can be used as a change maangement or organizational development tool, based upon studies conducted in Canada, Hong Kong and Indonesia. Suggests that a change model based on the practical application of social science and physical science concepts can be applied over several cultures.

Analyses the economic system slice‐wise, taking the main economic activities for a year together. Within this slice the development of the economic activities is characterized by plus or minus signs according to an increase or decrease of the activities. This yearly sequence of plus and minus signs is taken as a pattern. Analyses these economic patterns according to cybernetic and economic criteria. Sign‐equivalent patterns are taken together as groups. The chronological development of these groups gives the profiles of the economy. The development of profiles is quite concordant with the business cycle of the economy in question.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the operational performance of industrial park infrastructures in Germany to find first indications for cost saving potentials.

Between 2006 and 2007, six chemical parks and chemical related industrial parks in Germany participated in a benchmarking study with focus on operation and maintenance of buildings, communication infrastructures and traffic infrastructures. Based on data analysis in combination with workshops, numerous key performance indicators were defined and calculated.

To compare the different complexities of the analysed infrastructures, the most important key performance indicators were adjusted using correction factors defined and verified during the workshops. This made a discussion based on comparable and comprehensible figures possible which increased the acceptance and applicability of the benchmarking methodology. The benchmarking results showed large differences in performance levels, indicating that there are significant cost saving potentials in some industrial parks.

The comparability may remain limited due to the partly insufficient availability of data from the participants. Other limitations are due to the small number of investigated industrial parks and the focus of the benchmarking study on Germany.

The developed benchmark and best practice methodology is well suited to evaluate best practice in the field of industrial park infrastructures. It is important for industrial parks to understand the individual performance level and to adapt best practice in all areas.

In light of the difficulties the governments typically face in conserving and managing their rich public cultural heritage, which often lingers in a condition of neglect, this study aims to identify a set of additional tools capable of providing adequate financial resources as well as skills.

The general research methodology adopted is of a qualitative, rather than a quantitative, nature. In fact, the resulting considerations are mainly the consequence of a first broad theoretical examination, aimed at analyzing the different management models a public entity may adopt, and an applicable verification, aimed at describing some case histories selected by means of interviews.

The study develops a preliminary reflection on possible sector-specific models for public-built cultural heritage management that have not been well defined yet, especially so in reference to one of the institutional options, namely, the adoption of public–private–people agreements. Indeed, in addition to establishing the ties needed to link public institutions with the business sector, some strong involvement of society as a whole is advised to foster the implementation of projects and expedite the solution of shared problems. At a local level, for instance, private stakeholder participation must be encouraged, with special attention to the latter's cultural closeness to the territory involved.

This research identifies some tools suitable for adoption in the cultural heritage field, which would serve as perfect examples of community involvement and commitment, and some useful case studies resulting from the Italian context.

The purpose of this paper is to explore client‐reported functions of deliberate self‐injury for prisoners located within a dangerous and severe personality disorder site.

As interviews produced in‐depth data indicating a very idiosyncratic experience of the function of deliberate self‐injury, interpretative phenomenological analysis was used within a small‐scale case study design.

Identified functions mirrored current quantitative research but few emerging themes were identified across the sample. Participants presented with varying levels of insight into their deliberate self‐injury.

A small sample of young males was used within the study.

A “status‐seeking” function of deliberate self‐injury was also observed, which is not explicitly discussed within the current literature base. This study's findings can be of use to treatment providers for this population given their complex responsivity needs.

The effect of pomegranate whole and inside peels before and after extraction of the tannic acid have been carried out in stimulated media and in gastrointestinal conditions

Adding pomegranate peels with and without tannins at different levels to bio-stirred yoghurt to study its effect as prebiotic, in addition to evaluating the effect on physiochemical, sensorial and rheological properties

The results reveal that pomegranate peels before and after removing tannins had no effect on the viability of a single strain of Lb. acidophilus in stimulated media, while the growth of mixed probiotic culture (Lb.acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum) was enhanced when pomegranate peels (whole and inside part) free from tannins were used. Tannin-free pomegranate peels enhanced the viability of probiotic culture under gastrointestinal conditions. In this study, all probiotic cultures were maintained counts around log 8 cfu /g in stirred bio-yoghurt supplements with pomegranate peels after 21days. Bio-yoghurt supplemented with pomegranate peels at 0.5% gained high scores for overall acceptability.

Pomegranate has been recognized as a good source of antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Some researchers have utilized pomegranate peel in fermented milk, but most of the studies have found that tannins inhibit the bacterial culture. This study recommended that the supplementation of low-fat bio-yoghurt with tannin-free pomegranate peels enhanced the texture properties, viscosity of the product, as well as the viability of probiotic culture during shelf life. Therefore, the tannin-free pomegranate peel could be used as a prebiotic in functional fermented dairy products.

This study employs Stein Rokkan's methodological approach to analyse state formation in the Greater Middle East. It develops a conceptual framework distinguishing colonial, populist and democratic pacts, suitable for analysis of state formation and nation-building through to the present period. The framework relies on historical institutionalism. The methodology, however, is Rokkan's. The initial conceptual analysis also specifies differences between European and the Middle Eastern state formation processes. It is followed by a brief and selective discussion of historical preconditions. Next, the method of plotting singular cases into conceptual-typological maps is applied to 20 cases in the Greater Middle East (including Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey). For reasons of space, the empirical analysis is limited to the colonial period (1870s to the end of World War 1). Three typologies are combined into one conceptual-typological map of this period. The vertical left-hand axis provides a composite typology that clarifies cultural-territorial preconditions. The horizontal axis specifies transformations of the region's agrarian class structures since the mid-19th century reforms. The right-hand vertical axis provides a four-layered typology of processes of external intervention. A final section presents selected comparative case reconstructions. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first time such a Rokkan-style conceptual-typological map has been constructed for a non-European region.