In many domains evidence exists that expertise development goes along with the adaptation of cognitive structures and processes. Whilst it is generally assumed that expertise and its acquisition is ...domain-specific, there are nevertheless similarities across domains that may evoke comparable processes and lead to similar cognitive restructuring. The “Knowledge Restructuring through Case Processing” (KR-CP) theory is proposed as a domain-general framework that takes into account similarities and differences between domains in order to explain corresponding processes and performances of professionals in different domains. The KR-CP theory is based on the assumption that dealing with complex cases plays a major role in many professional domains and allows for cognitive adaptations to routine as well as novel situations. The focus of this review is to investigate the capacity of this assumption to explain expertise development in multiple domains. Starting from the domain of medicine, in which such outcomes have been extensively studied, three further domains are analysed. Evidence is reviewed from counselling and psychotherapy, business management, and law. Thereby specific methodological complications emerge concerning the criteria for expert selection, the definition of levels of expertise, or the degree of authenticity of participants' tasks. Nevertheless, direct and strong indications for restructuring knowledge into scripts and macro-concepts could be identified in all three domains. To further substantiate the KR-CP theory, studies are needed that explicitly address the comparison of case processing in different domains.
•We formulated a domain-general framework that takes similarities and differences between professional domains into account.•Studies in three different domains (psychotherapy and counselling, business management and law) were analysed.•The assumption that case processing shapes students’ and experts’ knowledge structures was tested.•Similarities in case formats and processing appear to result in similarities in knowledge structures across domains.•What individuals perceive as ‘a case’ in their domain depends on expertise level, theoretical school and professional role.
We present the analysis of the catalytic activity of gold nanoparticles in aqueous solution as a function of temperature. As a model reaction, the reduction of p-nitrophenol (Nip) by sodium ...borohydride (BH4 –) is used. The gold nanoparticles are immobilized on cationic spherical polyelectrolyte brushes that ensure their stability against aggregation. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy shows that the Au nanoparticles are faceted nanocrystals. The average size of the nanoparticles is 2.2 nm, and the total surface area of all nanoparticles could be determined precisely and was used in the subsequent kinetic analysis. Kinetic data have been obtained between 10 and 30 °C by monitoring the concentrations of Nip and BH4 – by UV–vis spectroscopy. The reaction starts after an induction time t 0, and the subsequent stationary phase yields the apparent reaction rate, k app. All kinetic data could be modeled in terms of the Langmuir–Hinshelwood model; that is, both reactants must be adsorbed onto the surface to react. The analysis of the temperature dependence of k app leads to the heat of adsorption of both Nip and BH4 – and the surface of the Au nanoparticles. Moreover, the true activation energy of the surface reaction is obtained. The analysis of t 0 reveals clearly that the induction period is not related to the limitations due to diffusion but to the surface restructuring of the Au nanoparticles induced by the adsorbed Nip. The rate 1/t 0 of this substrate-induced surface restructuring is found to be proportional to the square of the surface coverage, θNip, by Nip and therefore points to a cooperative process.
This paper reviewed the history of the coupling relationship between land consolidation and urban-rural development in China since 1949. It found that, although land consolidation projects in ...non-integrated urban-rural development phases improved the quality and quantity of cultivated land, it did not improve the rural decline effectively before 2013 because it focused more on land issues and did not complement and stimulate urban and rural development. Comprehensive land consolidations in China are expected to operate as both a tool and a platform for the operation of a developmental policy that aims to promote rural vitalisation through the integration of urban-rural development. The case of Huai Town was analysed using a framework of Rural In Situ Urbanisation (RISU) through a semi socio-economic restructuring. This was done to present an innovative style of RISU in which villagers live in towns and their livelihoods, living spaces, and public services are urbanised while they still retain both their rural land rights and rural household registrations, which allowed for the integration of urban and rural resources, the protection of villagers' interests, and a smooth social transition. The key factors for these comprehensive land consolidations to help combat rural decline include a bottom-up, community-supported structure; a coordinated approach incorporating livelihood transformation, population urbanisation, and land urbanisation, with livelihood transformation serving as the foundation; and the protection of villagers’ rights and interests.
•Land consolidation projects before 2013 in China did not improve the rural decline effectively.•Comprehensive land consolidations in China are expected to operate as both a tool and a platform for the operation of a developmental policy that aims to promote rural vitalization.•The key factors for comprehensive land consolidations to help combat rural decline include a community-supported structure; a coordinated approach and the protection of villagers’ rights.•The type of RISU in the case township achieved the integration of urban and rural elements to combat rural decline in which villagers who lived in small towns were still with rights to village land collective ownership.
In this paper we address the problem faced by a company that needs to decide the number and location of facilities to close in order to reduce the size of their retail distribution network, whilst ...minimising the market share that is lost to their competitor, who is also engaged in a network reduction process. The problem is modelled as a bilevel competitive delocation model and is formulated as a variant of the well-known (r|p)-centroid problem. The formulation takes into account the existence of a certain level of customer loyalty, which implies that customers may decide to visit a more distant facility of their regular provider rather than rely on a closer competitor’s facility. A depth-first search implicit enumeration algorithm is proposed for solving a diverse set of instances of the problem. The analysis of an instance based on a real-life setting, and intensive numerical experimentation, provide evidence of the effectiveness of the algorithm for the solution of real-size problems, and confirm the practical validity of our modelling approach. Our results also highlight the importance of considering spatial loyalty in network restructuring scenarios.
•A novel competitive delocation problem is studied.•Spatially loyalty customers are considered in the model.•A bi-level programming formulation is proposed inspired in the (r|p)-centroid problem.•An exact depth-first search implicit enumeration algorithm is proposed.•Extensive computational experimentation is performed to validate our approach.
This paper investigates the effect of the “First Financial Restructuring” (FFR) on the operating efficiency of commercial banks in Taiwan. Applying data envelopment analysis (DEA) to operations data ...for 40 commercial banks over the 6-year period 2000–2005, we find that while the banks have lower operating efficiency on average during the reform period (2002–2003) compared to the pre-reform period (2000–2001), improved operating efficiency is reflected in the post-reform period (2004–2005). Our results remain unchanged even after controlling for the non-performing loan ratio, capital adequacy ratio, bank ownership, size, and GDP growth rate. These results suggest that the improved efficiency in the post-reform period is possibly due to enhanced banking and risk management practices and benefits obtained from compliance with the FFR.
The clinical successes in immunotherapy have been both astounding and at the same time unsatisfactory. Countless patients with varied tumor types have seen pronounced clinical response with ...immunotherapeutic intervention; however, many more patients have experienced minimal or no clinical benefit when provided the same treatment. As technology has advanced, so has the understanding of the complexity and diversity of the immune context of the tumor microenvironment and its influence on response to therapy. It has been possible to identify different subclasses of immune environment that have an influence on tumor initiation and response and therapy; by parsing the unique classes and subclasses of tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) that exist within a patient's tumor, the ability to predict and guide immunotherapeutic responsiveness will improve, and new therapeutic targets will be revealed.
Studying the restructuring behavior of doped catalyst materials under electrochemical reaction conditions is important for understanding the structure–property relationships and for developing design ...principles for better catalysts. As a well-known catalyst for both the cathode (H2 evolution reaction, HER) and anode (O2 evolution reaction, OER) reactions of water electrolysis, CoP can be made even more active by cationic or anionic substitution. However, the dependence of catalytic reactivity on substitutional doping has not been sufficiently understood in the context of restructuring under working conditions. In this work, cation (Fe)- and anion (S)-substituted CoP nanoparticles are synthesized, and their surface oxidation under ambient conditions and restructuring under HER and OER conditions are investigated. For Fe0.5Co0.5P, the Fe substituents are more easily oxidized than Co in the air; they are also more difficult to reduce under HER conditions in alkaline electrolyte, and the remaining Fe–OH species on the surface hampers the activity for HER. For CoP0.5S0.5, the S substituents are less oxidized than P in the air; they are also more difficult to oxidize under OER conditions in alkaline electrolyte, and the remaining sulfate-like species enhances the activity for OER.
Corporate divestitures around acquisitions Aktas, Nihat; Baros, Aleksandra; Croci, Ettore
Journal of corporate finance (Amsterdam, Netherlands),
April 2022, 2022-04-00, Volume:
73
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Divestitures often accompany acquisitions. Relying on a global sample, we provide support for the efficient restructuring view of acquisition-related divestitures. These divestitures add on average ...2% to the total value creation of the acquisition process, translating into a value increase of $149 million. We test various efficiency channels potentially explaining this value contribution. The results indicate that the value contribution varies with the synergistic potential of the acquisition process. We do not find empirical support for efficiency-improvement related to agency correction, financial constraint relaxation, and regulatory concern anticipation. Examining returns for divestitures only, we find that those around acquisitions are not transactions with weak bargaining positions.
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