Showing papers by "Georgia State University published in 2005"

Defining International Entrepreneurship and Modeling the Speed of Internationalization

Abstract: This article provides a reformulated definition of international entrepreneurship. Consistent with the new definition, a model is presented of how the speed of entrepreneurial internationalization is influenced by various forces. The model begins with an entrepreneurial opportunity and depicts the enabling forces of technology, the motivating forces of competition, the mediating perceptions of entrepreneurs, and the moderating forces of knowledge and networks that collectively determine the speed of internationalization.

Recommended effect size statistics for repeated measures designs.

Abstract: Investigators, who are increasingly implored to present and discuss effect size statistics, might comply more often if they understood more clearly what is required. When investigators wish to report effect sizes derived from analyses of variance that include repeated measures, past advice has been problematic. Only recently has a generally useful effect size statistic been proposed for such designs: generalized eta squared (η G 2 ; Olejnik & Algina, 2003). Here, we present this method, explain that η G 2 is preferred to eta squared and partial eta squared because it provides comparability across between-subjects and within-subjects designs, show that it can easily be computed from information provided by standard statistical packages, and recommend that investigators provide it routinely in their research reports when appropriate.

A Customer Relationship Management Roadmap: What Is Known, Potential Pitfalls, and Where to Go

Abstract: The goal of this preface is to describe how the special section on customer relationship management (CRM) was developed. In May 2003, Richard Staelin, Executive Director of the Teradata Center for Customer Relationship Management at Duke University, proposed that Journal of Marketing (JM) publish a special section. The proposal included activities that were designed to promote interactions among marketing academics and practitioners; the goal was to stimulate dialogue and new research on CRM. I found the proposal attractive because CRM is a broad-based topic that interests many marketers. After extensive discussion, the American Marketing Association (AMA) and the Teradata Center formally agreed to cosponsor the special section. Subsequently, there was a conference on Relationship Marketing and Customer Relationship Management (cochaired by Michael Ehret, Wesley Johnston, Michael Kleinaltenkamp, and Lou Pelton) that took place at Freie Universitat Berlin in the summer of 2003; a conference on Cus...

Grounded Theory Methods and Qualitative Family Research.

Abstract: Among the different qualitative approaches that may be relied upon in family theorizing, grounded theory methods (GTM), developed by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss, are the most popular. Despite their centrality to family studies and to other fields, however, GTM can be opaque and confusing. Believing that simplifying GTM would allow them to be used to greater effect, I rely on 5 principles to interpret 3 major phases in GTM coding: open, axial, and selective. The history of GTM establishes a foundation for the interpretation, whereas recognition of the dialectic between induction and deduction underscores the importance of incorporating constructivism in GTM thinking. My goal is to propose a methodologically condensed but still comprehensive interpretation of GTM, an interpretation that researchers hopefully will find easy to understand and employ. Key Words: content analysis, grounded theoretical analysis, qualitative methods, theory construction. There is an irony-perhaps a paradox-here: that a methodology that is based on "interpretation" should itself prove so hard to interpret. (Dey, 1999, p. 23) Beginning in the early 1970s with the creation of the National Council on Family Relations' Theory Construction and Research Methodology Workshop, and continuing through a series of volumes on family theories and methods (Bengtson, Acock, Allen, Dilworth-Anderson, & Klein, 2005a; Boss, Doherty, LaRossa, Schumm, & Steinmetz, 1993; Burr, Hill, Nye, & Reiss, 1979a, 1979b), family studies has become a field where methodologically based theorizing matters. Cognizant of this fact, family scholars place a premium on research techniques that facilitate the development of new ideas. In quantitative studies, multivariate statistical techniques are essential to the theorizing process. In qualitative studies, any number of approaches may be used to generate theory, but family scholars tend to rely on a multivariate nonstatistical (or quasistatistical) set of procedures, known as grounded theory methods (GTM). GTM were originally devised to facilitate theory construction, and their proponents routinely assert that a GTM approach promotes theorizing in ways that alternative methods do not (see Glaser, 1978, 1992; Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss, 1987; Strauss & Corbin, 1990a, 1998). Besides being drawn to GTM's theory-generating potential, family scholars may be attracted to GTM's compatibility with quantitative research. Unlike some other qualitative approaches, which are expressly descriptive in their intent (e.g., phenomenological analysis), GTM are purposefully explanatory (Baker, Wuest, & Stern, 1992). With government granting agencies viewing quantitative and qualitative methods as "mutually supportive" (National Institutes of Health, 2001; see also Ragin, Nagel, & White, 2004), investigators may feel that referring to GTM procedures in their proposals will increase their chances of getting funded. Yet another reason that family scholars may be disposed to use GTM is that a number of qualitative software programs (e.g., ATLAS, ETHNOGRAPH, and NUD*IST) were designed-or are at least believed to have been designed or reconfigured-with GTM in mind (Scale, 2005). Given the many books and articles devoted to outlining the procedures, one might presume that a basic grasp of GTM is within easy reach. Such is not the case, however. Apart from the fact that GTM guidelines can be opaque and confusing, there is also a war of sorts being fought among different GTM interpreters. Debates abound over whose version of GTM is genuine, and the verbal sparring occasionally has gotten nasty. Studying GTM can be exhilarating, but it also can be extremely challenging, with an inordinate amount of time devoted to trying to figure out what different GTM procedures mean. Some of my students have confessed that they found doing grounded theory more tiring than inspiring, and a few have abandoned the approach altogether, after deciding that the procedures were needlessly cumbersome. …

Modulation of aggressive behaviour by fighting experience: mechanisms and contest outcomes.

Abstract: Experience in aggressive contests often affects behaviour during, and the outcome of, later contests. This review discusses evidence for, variations in, and consequences of such effects. Generally, prior winning experiences increase, and prior losing experiences decrease, the probability of winning in later contests, reflecting modifications of expected fighting ability. We examine differences in the methodologies used to study experience effects, and the relative importance and persistence of winning and losing experiences within and across taxa. We review the voluminous, but somewhat disconnected, literature on the neuroendocrine mechanisms that mediate experience effects. Most studies focus on only one of a number of possible mechanisms without providing a comprehensive view of how these mechanisms are integrated into overt behaviour. More carefully controlled work on the mechanisms underlying experience effects is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn. Behavioural changes during contests that relate to prior experience fall into two general categories. Losing experiences decrease willingness to engage in a contest while winning experiences increase willingness to escalate a contest. As expected from the sequential assessment model of contest behaviour, experiences become less important to outcomes of contests that escalate to physical fighting. A limited number of studies indicate that integration of multiple experiences can influence current contest behaviour. Details of multiple experience integration for any species are virtually unknown. We propose a simple additive model for this integration of multiple experiences into an individual's expected fighting ability. The model accounts for different magnitudes of experience effects and the possible decline in experience effects over time. Predicting contest outcomes based on prior experiences requires an algorithm that translates experience differences into contest outcomes. We propose two general types of model, one based solely on individual differences in integrated multiple experiences and the other based on the probability contests reach the escalated phase. The difference models include four algorithms reflecting possible decision rules that convert the perceived fighting abilities of two rivals into their probabilities of winning. The second type of algorithm focuses on how experience influences the probability that a subsequent contest will escalate and the fact that escalated contests may not be influenced by prior experience. Neither type of algorithm has been systematically investigated. Finally, we review models for the formation of dominance hierarchies that assume that prior experience influences contest outcome. Numerous models have reached varied conclusions depending on which factors examined in this review are included. We know relatively little about the importance of and variation in experience effects in nature and how they influence the dynamics of aggressive interactions in social groups and random assemblages of individuals. Researchers should be very active in this area in the next decade. The role of experience must be integrated with other influences on contest outcome, such as prior residency, to arrive at a more complete picture of variations in contest outcomes. We expect that this integrated view will be important in understanding other types of interactions between individuals, such as mating and predator-prey interactions, that also are affected significantly by prior experiences.

Nurse Moral Distress and Ethical Work Environment

Abstract: This study examined the relationship between moral distress intensity, moral distress frequency and the ethical work environment, and explored the relationship of demographic characteristics to moral distress intensity and frequency. A group of 106 nurses from two large medical centers reported moderate levels of moral distress intensity, low levels of moral distress frequency, and a moderately positive ethical work environment. Moral distress intensity and ethical work environment were correlated with moral distress frequency. Age was negatively correlated with moral distress intensity, whereas being African American was related to higher levels of moral distress intensity. The ethical work environment predicted moral distress intensity. These results reveal a difference between moral distress intensity and frequency and the importance of the environment to moral distress intensity.

Graphical passwords: a survey

Abstract: The most common computer authentication method is to use alphanumerical usernames and passwords. This method has been shown to have significant drawbacks. For example, users tend to pick passwords that can be easily guessed. On the other hand, if a password is hard to guess, then it is often hard to remember. To address this problem, some researchers have developed authentication methods that use pictures as passwords. In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive survey of the existing graphical password techniques. We classify these techniques into two categories: recognition-based and recall-based approaches. We discuss the strengths and limitations of each method and point out the future research directions in this area. We also try to answer two important questions: "Are graphical passwords as secure as text-based passwords?"; "What are the major design and implementation issues for graphical passwords?" This survey will be useful for information security researchers and practitioners who are interested in finding an alternative to text-based authentication methods

A Temporal Analysis of Quarterly Earnings Thresholds: Propensities and Valuation Consequences

Abstract: Applying a Burgstahler and Dichev (1997)/Degeorge et al. (1999) type methodology to quarterly data for the 1985–2002 time period, we show that, since the mid‐1990s, but not before then, managers seek to avoid negative quarterly earnings surprises more than to avoid either quarterly losses or quarterly earnings decreases. Our findings suggest that the quarterly earnings threshold hierarchy proposed by Degeorge et al. (1999) does not apply to recent years, and that managers' claim that avoiding quarterly earnings decreases is the threshold they most seek to achieve (Graham et al. 2004) is inconsistent with their actions. We provide an intuitively appealing economic rationale for why the shift in threshold hierarchy occurred; since the mid‐1990s, but not before then, investors unambiguously rewarded (penalized) firms for reporting quarterly earnings meeting (missing) analysts' estimates more than they did for meeting (missing) the other two thresholds. We provide several explanations for why investors unambi...

Young Adults' Wishful Identification With Television Characters: The Role of Perceived Similarity and Character Attributes

Abstract: In this study, 208 young adults completed questionnaires measuring their perceptions of and responses to their favorite fictional television characters, both male and female. Measures included perceived attitude similarity, perceived character attributes (smart, successful, attractive, funny, violent, admired), and wishful identification with the characters. Wishful identification was defined as the desire to be like or act like the character. Respondents reported greater wishful identification with same-gender characters and with characters who seemed more similar in attitudes. Both men and women identified more strongly with successful and admired characters of the other gender, but they differed in the attributes that predicted their wishful identification with same-gender characters. Men identified with male characters whom they perceived as successful, intelligent, and violent, whereas women identified with female characters whom they perceived as successful, intelligent, attractive, and admired. Hum...

Judgemental Overconfidence, Self-Monitoring, and Trading Performance in an Experimental Financial Market

Abstract: We measure the degree of overconfidence in judgment (in the form of miscalibration, i.e., the tendency to overestimate the precision of one’s information) and self-monitoring (a form of attentiveness to social cues) of 245 participants and also observe their behaviour in an experimental financial market under asymmetric information. Miscalibrated traders, underestimating the conditional uncertainty about the asset value, are expected to be especially vulnerable to the winner’s curse. High self-monitors are expected to behave strategically and achieve superior results. Our empirical results show that miscalibration reduces and self-monitoring enhances trading performance. The effect of the psychological variables is strong for men but non-existent for women.

First Results from the CHARA Array. II. A Description of the Instrument

Abstract: The CHARA Array is a six 1 m telescope optical/IR interferometric array located on Mount Wilson, California, designed and built by the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy of Georgia State University. In this paper we describe the main elements of the Array hardware and software control systems, as well as the data reduction methods currently being used. Our plans for upgrades in the near future are also described.

The Psychology of Terrorism

Abstract: Preface to 2nd Edition Introduction 1: Psychological Warfare 2: Understanding Terrorism 3: Terrorist Minds? 4: Involvement 5: Engagement 6: Disengagement 7: Towards a Science of Terrorist Behaviour Select Bibliography

An Introduction to Critical Cartography

Abstract: This paper provides a brief introduction to critical cartography. We define critical cartography as a one-two punch of new mapping practices and theoretical critique. Critical cartography challenges academic cartography by linking geographic knowledge with power, and thus is political. Although contemporary critical cartography rose to prominence in the 1990s, we argue that it can only be understood in the historical context of the development of the cartographic discipline more generally. We sketch some of the history of this development, and show that critiques have continually accompanied the discipline. In the post-war period cartography underwent a significant solidification as a science, while at the same time other mapping practices (particularly artistic experimentation with spatial representation) were occurring. Coupled with the resurgence of theoretical critiques during the 1990s, these developments serve to question the relevance of the discipline of cartography at a time when mapping is increasingly prevalent and vital.

Models of Performance‐Measurement Use in Local Governments: Understanding Budgeting, Communication, and Lasting Effects

Abstract: While attention has been paid to a few cities and counties exhibiting effective performance measurement systems, most US local governments have been active in the development and use of performance measurement for several decades This research examines the effects of performance-measurement information on budgetary decision making, communication, and other operations of US local governments Data are drawn from a national survey of city and county administrators and budgeters that included nearly 300 governments Findings indicate the use of performance measurement by local departments is pervasive, although survey respondents are less enthusiastic about measurement effectiveness Study results show subtle distinctions between city and county officials in their use of performance measurement for budgetary purposes and processes Research findings indicate the consistent, active integration of measures throughout the budget process is important in determining real budget and communication effects in local governments

Elements of Strategic Planning and Management in Municipal Government: Status after Two Decades

Abstract: This article focuses on the use of strategic planning and management processes in municipal governments with populations over 25,000. Strategic planning has been used in municipalities for 20 years now, but little is known about how it is used and the results obtained. In particular, we explore whether municipal governments tie other components of the overall strategic management process to their strategic plans. Findings do not show a dramatic expansion in the use of strategic planning, but there is some evidence of growing sophistication, as demonstrated by links to other management and decision-making activities. Managers were enthusiastic about their experiences with strategic planning and largely satisfied with their achievement of goals and objectives. Overall, we find a raising of the bar as far as strategic planning is concerned, but the use of comprehensive strategic management is only beginning to develop in a small number of leading-edge municipalities.

Risk Aversion and Incentive Effects: New Data without Order Effects

Abstract: Holt and Laury (2002) used a menu of ordered lottery choices to make inferences about risk aversion under various payment conditions. The main results of that paper were: (a) subjects are risk averse, even for relatively small payments of less than $5; (b) risk aversion increases sharply with large increases in the scale of cash payoffs; and (c) there is no significant effect from increasing the scale of hypothetical payment. With a few exceptions noted in the paper, all treatments began with a low-payment choice, followed by a choice with hypothetical payments that had been scaled up (by 20 , 50 , or 90 ), followed by a real-cash decision with the same high payment scale (20 , 50 , or 90 ), followed by a single, final, low (1 ) real payment choice. Those in the 90 treatment could earn amounts ranging from $9.00 to $346.50 in this task. As Glenn W. Harrison et al. (2004) correctly note, this design confounds order and treatment effects since the high real payment choice was always completed after the low real and high hypothetical payment tasks. In a new experiment reported below, we first seek to replicate Harrison et al.’s finding that the order effect (participating in a low-payment choice before making a high-payment choice) magnifies the scale effect. In a second treatment, each subject completes the menu of lottery choices under just one payment condition (1 or 20 , real or hypothetical), thereby eliminating any order effects. I. New Data

Race, Poverty, and Teacher Mobility

Abstract: This paper provides information about the importance of non-pecuniary school characteristics, such as race and poverty, on teacher turnover in Georgia. Simple descriptive statistics indicate that new teachers are more likely to leave schools with lower test scores, lower income, or higher proportions of minorities. A linear probability and a competing risks model of transitions out of first teaching jobs allow us to separate the importance of these highly correlated school characteristics. The estimates imply that teachers are much more likely to exit schools with large proportions of minority students, and that the other univariate statistical relationships are driven to a large extent by their correlation with the minority variable. Thus, while the common notion that teachers are more likely to leave high poverty schools is correct, it occurs because teachers are more likely to leave a particular type of poor school - one with a large proportion of minorities.

Diversity, Representation, and Performance: Evidence about Race and Ethnicity in Public Organizations

Abstract: In the past twenty years, the growing percentages of racial and ethnic minorities in the United States have led scholars to pay increased attention to the issue of diversity. However, very little research using the public organization as the unit of analysis has sought to understand the true impact of workforce diversity on work-related outcomes. This study seeks to understand the impact of one type of diversity-race and ethnicity-on organizational outcomes in public education. Using data from Texas public school districts, the article finds that diversity among managers is unrelated to the three performance outcomes tested, while diversity among teachers is negatively related to one and positively related to two performance outcomes. Representation among managers, on the other hand, is positively related to all three performance outcomes, while representation of teachers is negatively related to one of the outcomes. In the past twenty years, the growing percentages of racial minorities in the United States have brought diversity to the attention of public management and policy scholarship. Public administration research has recently considered an abundance of diversity-related issues, including racial integration of federal agencies (Corwell and Kellough 1994; Kellough 1990; Kellough and Elliott 1992), private versus public sector diversity management initiatives (Dobbs 1996), and problems with diversity program implementation (Riccucci 1997; Von Bergen, Soper, and Foster 2002). Universities have created courses in diversity management, which have led to a number of new textbooks in the past ten years (Chemers, Oskamp, and Costanzo 1995; Henderson 1994; Riccucci 2002). However, much of the work on diversity stems from a normative view that any diversity leads to positive consequences (Wise and Tschirhart 2002). With few exceptions (Wise and Tschirhart 2000), the research has not attempted to assess the real value of diversity. Many, if not most, articles on diversity that appear in the core public management journals are case studies of diversity programs, statistical analyses of workforce trends, or "best Earlier versions of this article were presented at the Georgetown Public Management Research Conference, Washington, DC, October 9-11, 2003, and at the Seminar on the Determinants of Performance in Public Organizations, Cardiff, Wales, May 6-8, 2004. Special thanks to Kenneth Meier, Laurence O'Toole, and Lois Wise for their helpful comments and suggestions. Address correspondence to the author at pitts@cviog.uga.edu. doi: 10.1 093/jopart/muiO33 Advance Access publication on March 10, 2005 ? The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Inc. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oupjournals.org. This content downloaded from 207.46.13.28 on Tue, 30 Aug 2016 05:22:58 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 616 Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory practices" studies. Although case studies can be valuable tools through which to build theory, they should be supplemented by quantitative research. Work in social psychology and business administration has been using quantitative methods to test hypotheses connecting diversity and performance (Wise and Tschirhart 2000). Demographic changes warrant the attention of further research. In 1980 whites made up 80 percent of the total U.S. population.1 By 2000, that figure had decreased to only 69 percent, while all other racial and ethnic groups in the United States had increased. This represents a substantial population shift in a relatively short period of time, and evidence suggests that diversity will continue to increase into the twenty-first century (Johnston and Packer 2000). Globalization and related economic changes in the United States have combined to create unforeseen levels of racial and ethnic heterogeneity. Along these same lines, more people are speaking languages other than English at home, people with disabilities are becoming more functional with better technology and changing social attitudes, and the baby boom population has increased the number of retired, older citizens. The United States is becoming increasingly diverse on a number of dimensions. The labor force is experiencing similar trends, and estimates project that white men will account for only 37 percent of the U.S. workforce by 2008.2 Studies have shown that U.S. workers are becoming older and more balanced with respect to gender and race, particularly in the public sector (Bond, Galinsky, and Swanberg 1998; Johnston and Packer 1990). The typical assumption is that these changes in the workforce and population require greater efforts toward hiring and retaining diverse employees. Some research argues that diversity is necessary in order for organizations to be "competitive" (see particularly Thomas 1991). However, whether diversity among agency employees results in increased organizational performance is an empirical question that is rarely tested in the public administration literature (Wise and Tschirhart 2000).3 This article takes on three interrelated questions as its focus. Does racial diversity increase or decrease organizational performance? Does racial representation-matching agency employees to characteristics of the target population increase or decrease performance? Are these relationships different for street-level bureaucrat diversity and manager diversity? After reviewing the relevant literatures, I will examine the impact of racial diversity on a series of performance outcomes in one public policy setting. RESEARCH ON DIVERSITY Representative Bureaucracy Two streams of research touch on the issue of public sector organizational diversity: representative bureaucracy and research on diversity effects. Representative bureaucracy considers whether a public organization employs a bureaucracy that matches the general population on salient indicators of diversity, such as race, ethnicity, or gender (Meier and Nigro 1976; Mosher 1968; Pitkin 1967; Selden 1997). The theory holds that passive I All of these population statistics can be located at http://www.censusscope.org/us/chart_race.html (accessed January 2005). 2 Workforce projection statistics are available from the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics at http://stats.bls.gov (accessed January 2005). 3 Recruiting and retaining more diverse employees is a legitimate normative goal for government organizations, but it is nevertheless necessary to understand the impact of increased diversity so that management strategies can be developed. This content downloaded from 207.46.13.28 on Tue, 30 Aug 2016 05:22:58 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Pitts Diversity, Representation, and Performance representation-the bureaucracy matches the general population on these indicators-will lead to active representation, which is the formulation of policies that will benefit the interests of diverse groups (Meier 1993a; Mosher 1968). The link between passive and active representation is premised on research showing that people from similar backgrounds race, for example-will have similar values and beliefs (Meier 1976; Mosher 1968; Pitkin 1967; Selden 1997). For example, representative bureaucracy at its simplest suggests that, based on shared values and beliefs, a black bureaucrat will be more likely than a white bureaucrat to represent the policy preferences of black citizens. This notion was an early basis for affirmative action in the public sector (Selden and Selden 2001). However, for active representation to occur, and for representative bureaucracy to make sense, bureaucrats must be afforded discretion in their jobs vis-a-vis policymaking or implementation, and the policy issue must be salient to the specific group being represented (Keiser et al. 2002; Meier 1993a; Selden 1997; Sowa and Selden 2003). Even if these criteria are met, passive representation does not always result in active representation, and ongoing research has attempted to identify factors that result in a link between the two (Keiser et al. 2002; Meier 1993b; Selden 1997). This line of research has shown the benefits of representation in the public education policy setting (Keiser et al. 2002; Meier and O'Toole 2001; Meier, Wrinkle, and Polinard 1999; but see Nielsen and Wolf 2001), as well as in federal agencies (Dolan 2000; Hindera 1993). Little work has considered representative bureaucracy as it relates to agency performance per se. Rather, most studies of representative bureaucracy seek to understand whether a given group benefits from representation in government. The aggregation of benefits for all of these groups implicitly constitutes agency performance, so the issue is more in framing the question than in the substance of conclusions drawn in research. However, in an era of results-based government and increased support for businesslike accountability mechanisms, it is relevant to consider representation as it explicitly relates to agency performance, and this subtle distinction is one that has not been made in the literature.

Surveying Freedom: Folk Intuitions about free will and moral responsibility

Abstract: Philosophers working in the nascent field of ‘experimental philosophy’ have begun using methods borrowed from psychology to collect data about folk intuitions concerning debates ranging from action theory to ethics to epistemology. In this paper we present the results of our attempts to apply this approach to the free will debate, in which philosophers on opposing sides claim that their view best accounts for and accords with folk intuitions. After discussing the motivation for such research, we describe our methodology of surveying people’s prephilosophical judgments about the freedom and responsibility of agents in deterministic scenarios. In two studies, we found that a majority of participants judged that such agents act of their own free will and are morally responsible for their actions. We then discuss the philosophical implications of our results as well as various difficulties inherent in such research.

Redistribution via Taxation: The Limited Role of the Personal Income Tax in Developing Countries

Abstract: Inequality has increased in recent years in both developed and developing countries Tax experts, like others, have focused on how taxes may reduce the inequality of income and wealth In developed countries, the income tax, especially the personal income tax, has long been viewed as the primary instrument for redistributing income This Article examines whether it make sense for developing countries to rely on personal income taxes to redistribute income We think not, for three reasons First, the personal income tax has done little, if anything, to reduce inequality in many developing countries Second, it is not costless to pretend to have a progressive personal income tax system Third, opportunity costs also exist from relying on taxes for redistributive purposes If countries want to use the fiscal system to reduce poverty or reduce inequality, they need to look elsewhere This Article begins with some initial reflections on the redistributive role of the tax system It then considers the relative success of developed and developing countries in using tax systems to redistribute income Finally, This Article examines some alternatives in reforming the personal income tax, as well as options available to developing countries in designing and implementing more progressive fiscal systems

A Taxonomy of Born-global Firms

Abstract: ■ This study develops a taxonomy to better understand "born-global" firms, a breed of young companies that begin selling their products in foreign markets at or near the firm's founding. ■ The study describes each firm grouping with regard to its basic orientations and the generic strategies that it applies, as well as associated international performance outcomes.

Individual differences and usage behavior: revisiting a technology acceptance model assumption

Abstract: A critical assumption of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is that its belief constructs - perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) - fully mediate the influence of external variables on IT usage behavior. If this assumption is true, researchers can effectively "assume away" the effects of broad categories of external variables, those relating to the specific task, the technology, and user differences. One recent study did indeed find that belief constructs fully mediated individual differences, and its authors suggest that further studies with similar results could pave the way for simpler acceptance models that ignore such differences. To test the validity of these authors' results, we conducted a similar study to determine the effect of staff seniority, age, and education level on usage behavior. Our study involved 106 professional and administrative staff in the IT division of a large manufacturing company who voluntarily use email and word processing. We found that these individual user differences have significant direct effects on both the frequency and volume of usage. These effects are beyond the indirect effects as mediated through the TAM belief constructs. Thus, rather than corroborating the recent study, our findings underscore the importance of users' individual differences and suggest that TAM's belief constructs are accurate but incomplete predictors of usage behavior.