Measuring the performance of research and technology programs: A balanced scorecard approach

Research programs, like other government programs, are now being requested to demonstrate relevance and value added to national social and economic needs. Complexity, unpredictability and other factors make it difficult to define specific performance measures for R&D programs. This paper describes the performance measurement efforts of one technology development program within the U.S. Department of Energy and proposes a strategy for applying this balanced scorecard approach to a fundamental research organization. Simple logical models of the inputs, activities, outcomes and long term results of R&D programs are proposed. A critical few measures of performance that answer questions from multiple audiences are then chosen across this performance spectrum. This paper describes work performed by Sandia National Laboratories Energy Policy and Planning Department, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185, with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC0494AL85000. The continued support and enthusiams of Darrell Beschen in the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and Iran Thomas in DOE Office of Energy Research, Basic Energy Sciences, is appreciated. The authors also acknowledge the contributions of John Reed and the training in the logic chart and performance spectrum provided by Ron Corbeil and Steve Montague. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent the opinions of the U.S. Department of Energy.     

Models of university technology transfer: analyses and policies

Recent data on European countries show that innovation leaders perform better than economies with low levels of innovation investment and institutions that do not favor knowledge and technology transfer activities. This result confirms that to achieve a high level of performance, countries need a balanced innovation system performing well across all dimensions. More interestingly, the two most important indicators that have been driving increases in performance include new doctoral graduates and international scientific co-publications, that is, two channels of knowledge transfer from universities to firms. This special issue of the Journal of Technology Transfer is dedicated to the discussion of models of university technology transfer, mostly from a European perspective.     

基于社会资本提升领导者权力性影响力的探讨

领导者权力性影响力是领导者有效管理组织的必要条件，因此，如何提升领导者的权力性影响力是一个值得我们研究的课题。近年来．随着竞争的不断加剧和环境不确定性的增加，社会资本在领导者有效管理组织中日益凸显其独特魅力.本文通过对领导者社会资本影响力的获取与权力性影响力之间关系的分析．认为领导者对社会资本的占有是提升其权力性影响力的重要途径．提出了领导者获得社会资本并借此提升其权力性影响力的建议．希望对领导者有效管理组织有所裨益.     

Are Congressional Leaders Middlepersons or Extremists? Yes

Infuential theories of legislative organization predict that congressional leaders will be selected from the center of their parties. Yet previous research has generally rejected the “middleperson hypothesis,” finding leaders to be extremists. We challenged these findings by testing more‐appropriate null hypotheses via Monte Carlo simulation. We found that congressional leaders (and leadership candidates as a whole) tend to be closer to their party's median than would occur by chance, but leaders also tend to be selected from the left of the median for Democrats and to the right for Republicans. Compared to the pool of announced candidates for leadership positions, winners are not ideologically distinctive. This result suggests that factors affecting the ideology of leaders tend to operate more at the candidate emergence stage.     

National Party Efforts to Recruit State Legislators to Run for the U.S. House

We explore factors that influence the chances that a state legislator will be the target of national party recruitment to run for the U.S. House. Using data from a sample of legislators in 200 U.S. House districts, we find that national party contact reflects strategic considerations of party interests. State legislators serving in professional institutions and in competitive districts are most likely to be contacted by national party leaders. In addition, the analysis suggests that national party leaders may be sensitive to the potential costs to the state legislative party: legislators in institutions that are closely balanced between the parties are slightly less likely to be contacted.     

Support for public research spin-offs by the parent organizations and the speed of commercialization

We empirically analyze whether support by the parent organization in the early (nascent and seed) stage speeds up the process of commercialization and helps spin-offs from public research organizations generate first revenues sooner. To identify the impact of support by the parent organization, we apply multivariate regression techniques as well as an instrumental variable approach. Our results show that support in the early stage by the parent organization can speed up commercialization. Moreover, we identify two distinct channels—the help in developing a business plan and in acquiring external capital—through which support by the parent organization can enable spin-offs to generate first revenues sooner.     

中间层级何以保障政府运转? ——政府过程中的副职领导研究

【问题】中国副职领导官员通过怎样的机制介入政府过程?作为中间层级的政府群体,他们如何处理政府运行中的组织目标和执行能力的关系?副职领导官员对于理解政府治理有着怎样的理论与实践意义?【方法】论文基于田野调查和访谈,重点关注政府中的互动“事件”,依据“条条—块块”“上层—下层”“重要—日常”维度获得了19个案例,并进行了扎根理论分析。【发现】副职领导官员凭借分管、集体化和复杂性特征成为兼顾组织目标和执行能力的“保障性耦合枢纽”,并表现出三种机制:其一,方案转化机制,即结合价值目标和能力水平议定行动方案;其二,激励统率机制,即在上级授权之下动员、组织和引导下属官员;其三,调适纠偏机制,即对组织运行的潜在问题进行调节。这些机制使政府过程富有层层过渡的弹性,把压力化指标不断转化,并将激励链条贯穿于组织网络之中。【贡献】组织不会一直保持均衡结构,而中国情境中的副职领导官员能够使政府组织实现动态平衡,启示了中间层级研究的价值。论文审视了副职领导官员群体的重要性,揭示了他们在中国科层组织中的独特作用:作为积极的集体性行动者,副职领导官员串联协同各个层级,将政府有效运转起来。     

物证鉴定实验室的组织和服务体系

世界各国物证鉴定实验室组织结构有多种形式。本文综述了物证鉴定实验室的内部组织、上级组织和服务体系模式 ,分析讨论各种模式的特性和优缺点。物证鉴定实验室组织形式由多种因素决定 ,没有最佳模式     

Reclaiming Futures: A Model for Judicial Leadership in Community Responses to Juvenile Substance Abuse

Juvenile courts across the country have become the leading service delivery system for youths with substance abuse problems, not by choice, but by necessity. At 10 communities around the nation, judges and project staff are in their fifth year of pioneering changes to the way the juvenile justice system helps teens in trouble with drugs, alcohol, and crime. These judges are part of Reclaiming Futures, an initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and they are working with local leaders to re‐invent the way law enforcement, courts, probation, detention facilities, treatment providers, families, schools, and the community work together to help troubled youths succeed. Together, they have written a guide for judges, court administrators, government entities, community leaders, and interested citizens to share the knowledge and experience they have gained from the nationwide Reclaiming Futures initiative. Their goal is to encourage and motivate others to launch similar projects in their communities, and to provide a blueprint for judges and others striving to undertake this level of collaboration.     

From a child's point of view: Intergenerational influences on the organization of household and labor

That household strategies bear directly on the lives of individual household members is a much-stated fact. That household strategies have profound long-term effects on the options and choices made by individual household members also has received much less attention. By focusing on intergenerational relations within the context of households, this article brings to light certain long-term effects which household relations have on the lives of adult children in terms of the organization of their domestic and laboring lives. The article shows that the decisions pertaining to household organization and development of labor strategies are heavily influenced by individual, personal evaluations of the quality of long-term moral and emotional relations across generations.     

From a child''s point of view: Intergenerational influences on the organization of household and labor

That household strategies bear directly on the lives of individual household members is a much-stated fact. That household strategies have profound long-term effects on the options and choices made by individual household members also has received much less attention. By focusing on intergenerational relations within the context of households, this article brings to light certain long-term effects which household relations have on the lives of adult children in terms of the organization of their domestic and laboring lives. The article shows that the decisions pertaining to household organization and development of labor strategies are heavily influenced by individual, personal evaluations of the quality of long-term moral and emotional relations across generations.     

The organization of work as a factor in social well-being

Even though innovations in the organization of work have prompted a transition in work systems, the effect of the organization on employees is often not considered. Using personal interviews, direct observations, and relevant documents over a 17-month period, this case study of a worker-owned and -managed producer cooperative was undertaken to understand how fundamental changes in the organization of work affect workers and their families. The findings affirm that the organization of work is a pivotal aspect of individuals' quality of life, principally in that expanding personal choice--in a context of income security and an absence of formal hierarchy--enhances personal and familial well-being. From a policy perspective, the study demonstrates the potential for organizing work so that market demands are balanced with concerns for social well-being     

Childhood abuse and neurocognitive performance in adulthood: a preliminary study of executive functioning in offenders

Childhood abuse has an important negative influence on long-term executive functioning performance. Although this has been studied in non-offenders (controls), few investigations have examined offender samples. The aims of this study were: to study the influence of childhood abuse history on adulthood executive functioning in offenders, and to examine whether executive performance is affected differentially by different abusive events. It was found that in comparison with controls (n?=?17) and with non-abused offenders (n?=?22), the abused offenders (n?=?18) have poorer performance on psychomotor-cognitive processing speed and cognitive flexibility. In abused offenders, it was also found that physical abuse events primarily and significantly affected adulthood performance in these cognitive abilities. In conclusion, this study helps us to know, preliminarily, the neurocognitive profile of abused offenders and how different abusive events suffered in childhood (e.g. physical and emotional abuse) differentially affect executive functioning of this sample.     

The Impact of Leadership Removal on Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations

Objectives

Has the Mexican government’s policy of removing drug-trafficking organization (DTO) leaders reduced or increased violence? In the first 4 years of the Calderón administration, over 34,000 drug-related murders were committed. In response, the Mexican government captured or killed 25 DTO leaders. This study analyzes changes in violence (drug-related murders) that followed those leadership removals.

Methods

The analysis consists of cross-sectional time-series negative binomial modeling of 49 months of murder counts in 32 Mexican states (including the federal district).

Results

Leadership removals are generally followed by increases in drug-related murders. A DTO’s home state experiences more subsequent violence than the state where the leader was removed. Killing leaders is associated with more violence than capturing them. However, removing leaders for whom a $30m peso bounty was offered is associated with a smaller increase than other removals.

Conclusion

DTO leadership removals in Mexico were associated with an estimated 415 additional deaths during the first 4 years of the Calderón administration. Reforming Mexican law enforcement and improving career prospects for young men are more promising counter-narcotics strategies. Further research is needed to analyze how the rank of leaders mediates the effect of their removal.     

近代法律概念理论的语境分析——以奥斯丁和丘汉平为比较视点

通过以奥斯丁和丘汉平为个案的中西比较,对法律理论的周边语境进行分析,是新型知识社会学在法学中的一种探索,可以更为深入地理解近代法学理论的历史发动,进而深入理解发展至今的世界法学运作的内在隐蔽含义。     

Medicare, Medicaid and CLIA programs; extension of certain effective dates for clinical laboratory requirements and personnel requirements for cytologists--HCFA. Final rule with comment period

This final rule extends certain effective dates for clinical laboratory requirements in regulations published on February 28, 1992, which implemented provisions of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) and announces our approval of a certifying organization for qualifying cytotechnologists. This rule extends the date by which an individual must enroll in an HCFA-approved cytology proficiency testing (PT) program and the date by which an individual with a doctoral degree must possess board certification to qualify as a director of a laboratory that performs high complexity testing. In addition, we are extending the phase-in of the quality control requirements applicable to unmodified, moderate complexity tests cleared for commercial distribution by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We are extending the date to meet applicable CLIA QC requirements for laboratories using commercial, nonmodified tests to fulfill certain quality control (QC) requirements. These effective date extensions do not reduce the current requirements for quality test performance. The date extensions are necessary due to the limited number and scope of currently operating cytology PT programs, resource constraints that have prevented commencement of the substantial number of quality control reviews, and inability of many laboratory directors to complete certification requirements within the time period originally specified.     

The structure of drug trafficking mafias: the ‘Ndrangheta and cocaine

The paper analyses the social organization of two drug trafficking mafia groups. The groups belonged to the 'Ndrangheta, a mafia from Calabria, a Southern Italian region. Based on judicial sources, multiple linked analyses examine the tasks, statuses and social network structures of the two groups. The analyses showed that the formal hierarchy of the mafias does not play a relevant role in the organization of drug trafficking. At the same time, the two groups exhibited a particular organizational structure, with a clear division of tasks and signals of status differentiation among the members. Remarkably, the analyses highlighted the strategic positioning of the criminal leaders. The most prominent participants (high-status individuals) were not those most involved in criminal activities (i.e. the most central in the network). This positioning strategy allowed minimizing the risks and ensuring effective management of smuggling operations. Criminal leaders were able to control the activities thanks to the specific cultural, family, kinship and ritual ties characterizing the mafias. This specific organizational structure may explain the strong resilience of mafias to law enforcementaction. Implications for both research and law enforcement are discussed.     

Moving from the Mainstream to the Margins: Lessons in Culture and Power

This article highlights the ways in which power is conceptualized, activated, and institutionalized in American culture. Drawing from research and the author’s experience within mainstream and culturally-specific organizations in the violence against women field, this article exposes the subtle, yet pervasive mechanisms that lead to the marginalization of culturally specific communities and smaller, typically culturally specific, community-based organizations. By design and unconsciously, researchers, mainstream organization, and leaders often perpetuate a system designed to localize research, evaluation, services and resources for white people, organizations and institutions. This occurs for example, when researchers center and elevate a “gold-standard” of evidence-based practices, research, and evaluation that share no frame of reference to those being “studied” and most effected. It also happens when organizations marginalize culturally specific community members and organizations by seeking their participation at the final stages rather than at the conception of projects. The author provides concrete recommendations that researchers, providers, and leaders can adopt to counteract institutional oppression and help move culturally-specific communities and organizations from the margins to the center.     

Gathering at the AOSIS: perceived cooperation among Pacific Small Island States

The Association of Small Island States occupies a unique role at the United Nations (UN) whereby it advocates on behalf of islands states (and those with similar geographies) on issues from climate change to development to economic initiatives and trade. As part of a larger research endeavor, interviews were conducted with the AOSIS representative (or a knowledgeable delegate) from over a dozen Pacific Small Island States (PSIS) with regard to climate change planning and preparation. This research is unique in that approximately three-quarters of the sought-after island states agreed to give anonymous, non-attributable interviews about diplomatic and sensitive topics. This particular subset of the research question focused upon how PSIS self-perceive their participation and membership in the only island-based organization at the UN level speaking on behalf of islands and whether their understandings and assessment of AOSIS merged with theoretical frameworks describing productive and fruitful multijurisdictional cooperation. The findings from the research illustrate that PSIS overwhelmingly identify AOSIS as an organization that provides a stable and cooperatively balanced organizational structure that promotes collaboration and solidarity across the Pacific. With the research questions focused on climate change in particular, respondents’ answers indicate an organization seen as successfully and effectively following many of the theoretical tenets of a collaborative- and cooperative-based type of governance, often only seen in hypothetical, literature-based examples.     

Introduction

In Sweden, female prison officers are a long-established fact. Today women make up about 38% of the prison officer work-force. However, the distribution of sexes in the organization is quite uneven between different types of prison wings and units, and at the in-group level there is an informal gendered division of labour going on. The article deals with how a gendered division of labour comes about as a result of socially established motives and notions among prison officers, as well as prisoners, about men's and women's different qualities in performing different types of work tasks. It is based on data from a minor interview study (from 2006), and a 3-year multi-strategic research project containing qualitative case-studies and a nationwide survey (from 2007–2009). The article concludes that a great number of female officers contribute to a more prominent position for the rehabilitative side of prison work. However, the on-going gendered division of labour in and between wings and units is also one important factor behind sub-cultural differentiation and variations in work practices in the prison organization. A more balanced distribution of the sexes would stimulate rehabilitative work and a more unified view of the occupational role throughout the whole organization.