Andreas Kirsch and Natalia Grinberg
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199213535
- eISBN:
- 9780191707629
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199213535.001.0001
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Applied Mathematics
This book is devoted to problems of shape identification in the context of (inverse) scattering problems and problems of impedance tomography. In contrast to traditional methods which are based on ...
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This book is devoted to problems of shape identification in the context of (inverse) scattering problems and problems of impedance tomography. In contrast to traditional methods which are based on iterative schemes of solving sequences of corresponding direct problems, this book presents a completely different method. The Factorization Method avoids the need to solve the (time consuming) direct problems. Furthermore, no a-priori information about the type of scatterer (penetrable or impenetrable), type of boundary condition, or number of components is needed. The Factorization Method can be considered as an example of a Sampling Method. The book aims to construct a binary criterium on the known data to decide whether or not a given point z is inside or outside the unknown domain D. By choosing a grid of sampling points z in a region known to contain D, the characteristic function of D can be computed (in the case of finite data only approximately). The book also introduces some alternative Sampling Methods.Less
This book is devoted to problems of shape identification in the context of (inverse) scattering problems and problems of impedance tomography. In contrast to traditional methods which are based on iterative schemes of solving sequences of corresponding direct problems, this book presents a completely different method. The Factorization Method avoids the need to solve the (time consuming) direct problems. Furthermore, no a-priori information about the type of scatterer (penetrable or impenetrable), type of boundary condition, or number of components is needed. The Factorization Method can be considered as an example of a Sampling Method. The book aims to construct a binary criterium on the known data to decide whether or not a given point z is inside or outside the unknown domain D. By choosing a grid of sampling points z in a region known to contain D, the characteristic function of D can be computed (in the case of finite data only approximately). The book also introduces some alternative Sampling Methods.
Juan Luis Vazquez
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198569039
- eISBN:
- 9780191717468
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198569039.001.0001
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Mathematical Physics
The heat equation is one of the three classical linear partial differential equations of second order that form the basis of any elementary introduction to the area of PDEs, and only recently has it ...
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The heat equation is one of the three classical linear partial differential equations of second order that form the basis of any elementary introduction to the area of PDEs, and only recently has it come to be fairly well understood. This book provides a presentation of the mathematical theory of the nonlinear heat equation usually called the Porous Medium Equation (PME). This equation appears in a number of physical applications, such as to describe processes involving fluid flow, heat transfer, or diffusion. Other applications have been proposed in mathematical biology, lubrication, boundary layer theory, and other fields. Each chapter contains a detailed introduction and is supplied with a section of notes, providing comments, historical notes or recommended reading, and exercises.Less
The heat equation is one of the three classical linear partial differential equations of second order that form the basis of any elementary introduction to the area of PDEs, and only recently has it come to be fairly well understood. This book provides a presentation of the mathematical theory of the nonlinear heat equation usually called the Porous Medium Equation (PME). This equation appears in a number of physical applications, such as to describe processes involving fluid flow, heat transfer, or diffusion. Other applications have been proposed in mathematical biology, lubrication, boundary layer theory, and other fields. Each chapter contains a detailed introduction and is supplied with a section of notes, providing comments, historical notes or recommended reading, and exercises.
Andrew Sturdy, Karen Handley, Timothy Clark, and Robin Fincham
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199212644
- eISBN:
- 9780191707339
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199212644.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies, Knowledge Management
Drawing on a three‐year, in‐depth, ‘fly‐on‐the‐wall’ study of client‐management consultant interactions, knowledge flow in management consultancy projects is shown to be mediated by multiple and ...
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Drawing on a three‐year, in‐depth, ‘fly‐on‐the‐wall’ study of client‐management consultant interactions, knowledge flow in management consultancy projects is shown to be mediated by multiple and shifting boundaries or ‘insider‐outsider’ relationships. This challenges dominant assumptions about management consultancy as being either a source of new ideas and processes or simply the legitimation of client knowledge. Rather, different actors, roles, and types of knowledge are involved in an interactive and dynamic process where various boundaries are constructed, reinforced, negotiated, and transformed. The chapters selectively explore these dynamics, revealing the importance of boundary complexity; the role of humour and challenge in often tense relationships; and the importance of shared knowledge domains such as sector knowledge. They are based upon a model of client–consultant relationships developed from theories of knowledge and social boundaries. A wide range of consultancy contexts are covered, including: a US‐based strategy firm and a multinational client; the public and private sectors; a sole practitioner consultant; and IT implementation in financial services. These have a wider significance in terms of our understanding of project working, innovation/change, inter-organizational relations and professional and business services.Less
Drawing on a three‐year, in‐depth, ‘fly‐on‐the‐wall’ study of client‐management consultant interactions, knowledge flow in management consultancy projects is shown to be mediated by multiple and shifting boundaries or ‘insider‐outsider’ relationships. This challenges dominant assumptions about management consultancy as being either a source of new ideas and processes or simply the legitimation of client knowledge. Rather, different actors, roles, and types of knowledge are involved in an interactive and dynamic process where various boundaries are constructed, reinforced, negotiated, and transformed. The chapters selectively explore these dynamics, revealing the importance of boundary complexity; the role of humour and challenge in often tense relationships; and the importance of shared knowledge domains such as sector knowledge. They are based upon a model of client–consultant relationships developed from theories of knowledge and social boundaries. A wide range of consultancy contexts are covered, including: a US‐based strategy firm and a multinational client; the public and private sectors; a sole practitioner consultant; and IT implementation in financial services. These have a wider significance in terms of our understanding of project working, innovation/change, inter-organizational relations and professional and business services.
Lykke Friis and Anna Murphy
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198297574
- eISBN:
- 9780191598982
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198297572.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
Enlargement has required the EU to juggle four main challenges: the difficulties of integration, policy and functioning repercussions of enlargement, managing the order of accession to the EU, and ...
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Enlargement has required the EU to juggle four main challenges: the difficulties of integration, policy and functioning repercussions of enlargement, managing the order of accession to the EU, and the need for stronger policies towards non-member neighbours. This chapter presents a conceptual framework which combines governance theory with the concept of boundaries to explain this juggling act. It argues that this juggling act can only be sustained in the short term, and will come under pressure in the medium term.Less
Enlargement has required the EU to juggle four main challenges: the difficulties of integration, policy and functioning repercussions of enlargement, managing the order of accession to the EU, and the need for stronger policies towards non-member neighbours. This chapter presents a conceptual framework which combines governance theory with the concept of boundaries to explain this juggling act. It argues that this juggling act can only be sustained in the short term, and will come under pressure in the medium term.
Lionel Wee
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199737437
- eISBN:
- 9780199827107
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199737437.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This volume is a book-length critique of the concept of language rights. It presents a balanced, though ultimately skeptical, evaluation of language rights. Through a sophisticated ...
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This volume is a book-length critique of the concept of language rights. It presents a balanced, though ultimately skeptical, evaluation of language rights. Through a sophisticated synthesis of insights from a variety of disciplines, including linguistic anthropology, sociolinguistics, sociology and political philosophy, it demonstrates how the appeal to language rights faces a number of conceptual and practical problems, particularly because the discourse of rights is fundamentally inconsistent with the socially variable nature of language. The book also explores an alternative that is more in tune with the complexities of language in social life by suggesting that issues involving language are better managed within a model of deliberative democracy.Less
This volume is a book-length critique of the concept of language rights. It presents a balanced, though ultimately skeptical, evaluation of language rights. Through a sophisticated synthesis of insights from a variety of disciplines, including linguistic anthropology, sociolinguistics, sociology and political philosophy, it demonstrates how the appeal to language rights faces a number of conceptual and practical problems, particularly because the discourse of rights is fundamentally inconsistent with the socially variable nature of language. The book also explores an alternative that is more in tune with the complexities of language in social life by suggesting that issues involving language are better managed within a model of deliberative democracy.
Józef Ignaczak and Martin Ostoja‐Starzewski
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199541645
- eISBN:
- 9780191716164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199541645.003.0002
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Mathematical Physics
This chapter first presents a conventional and non‐conventional characterization of a thermoelastic process, giving four mixed initial‐boundary value problems (displacement‐temperature and ...
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This chapter first presents a conventional and non‐conventional characterization of a thermoelastic process, giving four mixed initial‐boundary value problems (displacement‐temperature and stress‐heat flux) in the both theories. These problems contain as special cases the so‐called natural problems: a natural displacement‐temperature problem in the L‐S or G‐L theory, a natural stress‐heat flux problem in the L‐S theory, a natural stress‐temperature problem in the G‐L theory. This is followed by a discussion, made rigorous through several theorems, of the relations among descriptions of a thermoelastic process in terms of various pairs of thermomechanical variables.Less
This chapter first presents a conventional and non‐conventional characterization of a thermoelastic process, giving four mixed initial‐boundary value problems (displacement‐temperature and stress‐heat flux) in the both theories. These problems contain as special cases the so‐called natural problems: a natural displacement‐temperature problem in the L‐S or G‐L theory, a natural stress‐heat flux problem in the L‐S theory, a natural stress‐temperature problem in the G‐L theory. This is followed by a discussion, made rigorous through several theorems, of the relations among descriptions of a thermoelastic process in terms of various pairs of thermomechanical variables.
Oliver Hart
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198288817
- eISBN:
- 9780191596353
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198288816.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
This book provides a framework for thinking about economic relationships and institutions such as firms. The basic argument is that in a world of incomplete contracts, institutional arrangements are ...
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This book provides a framework for thinking about economic relationships and institutions such as firms. The basic argument is that in a world of incomplete contracts, institutional arrangements are designed to allocate power among agents. The first part of the book is concerned with the boundaries of the firm. It is argued that traditional approaches such as the neoclassical, principal‐agent, and transaction costs theories cannot by themselves explain firm boundaries. The book describes a theory—the incomplete contracting or property rights approach—based on the idea that power and control matter when contracts are incomplete. If the terms of a transaction can always be renegotiated, the incentives of a party to undertake relationship‐specific investments will depend crucially on the ability to control the use of productive assets when renegotiation takes place. Asset ownership becomes an essential source of power. The theory suggests that firm boundaries are chosen to allocate power optimally among the various parties to a transaction. The foundations of incomplete contracting are also discussed.The remainder of the book applies incomplete contracting ideas to understand the financial structure of closely held and public companies. The analysis illustrates how debt acts as an automatic mechanism to constrain the behaviour of managers or owners of both kinds of companies. In closely held companies, debt can force an entrepreneur to pay out funds to investors rather than to himself. In a public company, ownership is dispersed among small shareholders causing a separation between ownership and control. It is argued that debt and equity choices, capital structure decisions, bankruptcy procedures, corporate governance, and takeovers, play a substantial role in limiting the ability of a (self‐interested) manager to make unprofitable but power‐enhancing decisions.Less
This book provides a framework for thinking about economic relationships and institutions such as firms. The basic argument is that in a world of incomplete contracts, institutional arrangements are designed to allocate power among agents. The first part of the book is concerned with the boundaries of the firm. It is argued that traditional approaches such as the neoclassical, principal‐agent, and transaction costs theories cannot by themselves explain firm boundaries. The book describes a theory—the incomplete contracting or property rights approach—based on the idea that power and control matter when contracts are incomplete. If the terms of a transaction can always be renegotiated, the incentives of a party to undertake relationship‐specific investments will depend crucially on the ability to control the use of productive assets when renegotiation takes place. Asset ownership becomes an essential source of power. The theory suggests that firm boundaries are chosen to allocate power optimally among the various parties to a transaction. The foundations of incomplete contracting are also discussed.
The remainder of the book applies incomplete contracting ideas to understand the financial structure of closely held and public companies. The analysis illustrates how debt acts as an automatic mechanism to constrain the behaviour of managers or owners of both kinds of companies. In closely held companies, debt can force an entrepreneur to pay out funds to investors rather than to himself. In a public company, ownership is dispersed among small shareholders causing a separation between ownership and control. It is argued that debt and equity choices, capital structure decisions, bankruptcy procedures, corporate governance, and takeovers, play a substantial role in limiting the ability of a (self‐interested) manager to make unprofitable but power‐enhancing decisions.
Susan W Brenner
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195385014
- eISBN:
- 9780199855414
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195385014.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
As new technologies develop, terrorist groups are developing new methods of attack by using the Internet, and by using cyberspace as a battlefield, it has become increasingly difficult to discover ...
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As new technologies develop, terrorist groups are developing new methods of attack by using the Internet, and by using cyberspace as a battlefield, it has become increasingly difficult to discover the identity of attackers and bring them to justice. The seemingly limitless boundaries of cyberspace have allowed virtually anyone to launch an attack from a remote and anonymous location. But once these attacks occur, it raises several important questions. Who should respond, and how? How should nation-states effectively deal with a cyber-attack? Will the United States and other nation-states be able to survive in a world where virtual boundaries are limitless? This book gives a thorough explanation of how military and law enforcement personnel respond to these attacks and why bringing cyber-terrorist to justice can be difficult and sometimes impossible.Less
As new technologies develop, terrorist groups are developing new methods of attack by using the Internet, and by using cyberspace as a battlefield, it has become increasingly difficult to discover the identity of attackers and bring them to justice. The seemingly limitless boundaries of cyberspace have allowed virtually anyone to launch an attack from a remote and anonymous location. But once these attacks occur, it raises several important questions. Who should respond, and how? How should nation-states effectively deal with a cyber-attack? Will the United States and other nation-states be able to survive in a world where virtual boundaries are limitless? This book gives a thorough explanation of how military and law enforcement personnel respond to these attacks and why bringing cyber-terrorist to justice can be difficult and sometimes impossible.
Catherine Clinton and Michele Gillespie (eds)
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195112436
- eISBN:
- 9780199854271
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195112436.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: 19th Century
When Europeans settled in the early South, they quarreled over many things—but few imbroglios were so fierce as battles over land. Landowners wrangled bitterly over boundaries with neighbors and ...
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When Europeans settled in the early South, they quarreled over many things—but few imbroglios were so fierce as battles over land. Landowners wrangled bitterly over boundaries with neighbors and contested areas became known as “the devil's lane.” Violence and bloodshed were but some of the consequences to befall those who ventured into these disputed territories. This book highlights important new work on sexuality, race, and gender in the South from the 17th- to the 19th-centuries. Chapters explore legal history by examining race, crime and punishment, sex across the color line, slander, competing agendas, and clashing cultures on the southern frontier. One chapter focuses on a community's resistance to a hermaphrodite, where the town court conducted a series of “examinations” to determine the individual's gender. Other pieces address topics ranging from resistance to sexual exploitation on the part of slave women to spousal murders, from interpreting women's expressions of religious ecstasy to a pastor's sermons about depraved sinners and graphic depictions of carnage, all in the name of “exposing” evil, and from a case of infanticide to the practice of state-mandated castration. Several of the chapters pay close attention to the social and personal dynamics of interracial women's networks and relationships across place and time. The book illuminates early forms of sexual oppression, inviting comparative questions about authority and violence, social attitudes and sexual tensions, the impact of slavery as well as the twisted course of race relations among blacks, whites, and Indians.Less
When Europeans settled in the early South, they quarreled over many things—but few imbroglios were so fierce as battles over land. Landowners wrangled bitterly over boundaries with neighbors and contested areas became known as “the devil's lane.” Violence and bloodshed were but some of the consequences to befall those who ventured into these disputed territories. This book highlights important new work on sexuality, race, and gender in the South from the 17th- to the 19th-centuries. Chapters explore legal history by examining race, crime and punishment, sex across the color line, slander, competing agendas, and clashing cultures on the southern frontier. One chapter focuses on a community's resistance to a hermaphrodite, where the town court conducted a series of “examinations” to determine the individual's gender. Other pieces address topics ranging from resistance to sexual exploitation on the part of slave women to spousal murders, from interpreting women's expressions of religious ecstasy to a pastor's sermons about depraved sinners and graphic depictions of carnage, all in the name of “exposing” evil, and from a case of infanticide to the practice of state-mandated castration. Several of the chapters pay close attention to the social and personal dynamics of interracial women's networks and relationships across place and time. The book illuminates early forms of sexual oppression, inviting comparative questions about authority and violence, social attitudes and sexual tensions, the impact of slavery as well as the twisted course of race relations among blacks, whites, and Indians.
H. L. Meakin
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198184553
- eISBN:
- 9780191674297
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198184553.003.0006
- Subject:
- Literature, 17th-century and Restoration Literature
This chapter sums up the key findings of this study on John Donne's articulation of the feminine in his prose and poetry. It suggests that Donne is more than the masculine monolith which has been ...
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This chapter sums up the key findings of this study on John Donne's articulation of the feminine in his prose and poetry. It suggests that Donne is more than the masculine monolith which has been part of the almost casual observance in criticism of his prose and poetry. It argues that there are valid grounds for extending Donne's reputation for originality and iconoclasm to his construction of gender. This is particularly true in his exploration of lesbian love and the fluidity of gender boundaries in his poems and early verse letters.Less
This chapter sums up the key findings of this study on John Donne's articulation of the feminine in his prose and poetry. It suggests that Donne is more than the masculine monolith which has been part of the almost casual observance in criticism of his prose and poetry. It argues that there are valid grounds for extending Donne's reputation for originality and iconoclasm to his construction of gender. This is particularly true in his exploration of lesbian love and the fluidity of gender boundaries in his poems and early verse letters.
Maurizio Ferrera
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199284665
- eISBN:
- 9780191603273
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199284660.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
To what extent and in what ways have European integration redrawn the boundaries of national welfare states? What are the effects of such redrawing? These questions are interesting and relevant ...
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To what extent and in what ways have European integration redrawn the boundaries of national welfare states? What are the effects of such redrawing? These questions are interesting and relevant because boundaries “count”: they are a pre-requisite for bonding individuals, groups, and territorial units, and for activating or strengthening their dispositions to share. Historically, welfare state formation can be read as a process of boundary-building — essentially through the establishment of compulsory public insurance schemes. European integration has prompted a reversal of this process: free movement and competition rules have in fact started to challenge the traditional bounding prerogatives of the nation-state in the social sphere. Today, the EU constrains not only the scope and content of bounding decisions (who is entitled to share what), but also the very “right to bound” in the first place. Such constraints have far reaching economic and financial implications. But their social and political implications may be even greater, given the importance of nation-based social sharing for material life chances, cultural identities and legitimation dynamics. As shown by the chapters in this book, reshuffling the “boundaries of welfare” can destabilise the basic architecture of Europe’s national societies and political systems. In order to counter this destabilisation, a carefully designed strategy of institutional reform is needed, capable of reconciling “solidarity” and “Europe” through stronger citizenship rights and more socially friendly regulatory instruments.Less
To what extent and in what ways have European integration redrawn the boundaries of national welfare states? What are the effects of such redrawing? These questions are interesting and relevant because boundaries “count”: they are a pre-requisite for bonding individuals, groups, and territorial units, and for activating or strengthening their dispositions to share. Historically, welfare state formation can be read as a process of boundary-building — essentially through the establishment of compulsory public insurance schemes. European integration has prompted a reversal of this process: free movement and competition rules have in fact started to challenge the traditional bounding prerogatives of the nation-state in the social sphere. Today, the EU constrains not only the scope and content of bounding decisions (who is entitled to share what), but also the very “right to bound” in the first place. Such constraints have far reaching economic and financial implications. But their social and political implications may be even greater, given the importance of nation-based social sharing for material life chances, cultural identities and legitimation dynamics. As shown by the chapters in this book, reshuffling the “boundaries of welfare” can destabilise the basic architecture of Europe’s national societies and political systems. In order to counter this destabilisation, a carefully designed strategy of institutional reform is needed, capable of reconciling “solidarity” and “Europe” through stronger citizenship rights and more socially friendly regulatory instruments.
Andreas Kirsch and Natalia Grinberg
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199213535
- eISBN:
- 9780191707629
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199213535.003.0003
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Applied Mathematics
For the mixed boundary value problem, the scattering domain D consists of several components with different types of boundary conditions. The chapter begins by reviewing results on uniqueness and ...
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For the mixed boundary value problem, the scattering domain D consists of several components with different types of boundary conditions. The chapter begins by reviewing results on uniqueness and existence, and proves a factorization of the far field operator. Even in the case where only Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions occur on the different components of D (which implies normality of the far field operator), the justification of the original Factorization Method remains an open problem. However, if domains are known a priori which separate the different types of components, then a modified Factorization Method can be constructed and justified. Numerical examples are presented.Less
For the mixed boundary value problem, the scattering domain D consists of several components with different types of boundary conditions. The chapter begins by reviewing results on uniqueness and existence, and proves a factorization of the far field operator. Even in the case where only Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions occur on the different components of D (which implies normality of the far field operator), the justification of the original Factorization Method remains an open problem. However, if domains are known a priori which separate the different types of components, then a modified Factorization Method can be constructed and justified. Numerical examples are presented.
Franco Malerba, Richard Nelson, Luigi Orsenigo, and Sidney Winter
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199290475
- eISBN:
- 9780191603495
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199290474.003.0007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic Systems
This chapter analyzes the changing boundaries of firms in terms of vertical integration and dis-integration (specialization) in dynamic and uncertain technological and market environments. In ...
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This chapter analyzes the changing boundaries of firms in terms of vertical integration and dis-integration (specialization) in dynamic and uncertain technological and market environments. In particular, it addresses the question of stability and change in firms’ decisions to ‘make or buy’ in contexts characterized by periods of technological revolutions punctuating periods of relative technological stability and smooth technical progress. The chapter is inspired by the case of the computer and semiconductor industries, and proposes the building blocks of a model in the ‘history-friendly’ style, showing how alternative dynamics of demand and technical change might generate profoundly different patterns of evolution in the two industries. The main argument proposed concerns the role of co-evolution in the upstream and downstream industries in explaining the changing boundaries of firms.Less
This chapter analyzes the changing boundaries of firms in terms of vertical integration and dis-integration (specialization) in dynamic and uncertain technological and market environments. In particular, it addresses the question of stability and change in firms’ decisions to ‘make or buy’ in contexts characterized by periods of technological revolutions punctuating periods of relative technological stability and smooth technical progress. The chapter is inspired by the case of the computer and semiconductor industries, and proposes the building blocks of a model in the ‘history-friendly’ style, showing how alternative dynamics of demand and technical change might generate profoundly different patterns of evolution in the two industries. The main argument proposed concerns the role of co-evolution in the upstream and downstream industries in explaining the changing boundaries of firms.
Paul L. Robertson and Gianmario Verona
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199290475
- eISBN:
- 9780191603495
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199290474.003.0008
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic Systems
This chapter explores the reciprocal relationship between technological innovation and the boundaries of the firm, and the paths in which firm boundaries might be expected to follow under different ...
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This chapter explores the reciprocal relationship between technological innovation and the boundaries of the firm, and the paths in which firm boundaries might be expected to follow under different circumstances. It argues that while one might follow Langlois (2003) in believing that there will be a tendency for large, vertically-integrated firms to become less common in the technological environment that is currently unfolding, other tendencies will also be afoot, leading to a spectrum of different types of inter- and intra-firm relationships. This includes the creation of new giant enterprises whose evolution in the early 20th century was described by Chandler (1962, 1977) as the imposition of a ‘visible hand’ to reduce uncertainties in market-based relationships.Less
This chapter explores the reciprocal relationship between technological innovation and the boundaries of the firm, and the paths in which firm boundaries might be expected to follow under different circumstances. It argues that while one might follow Langlois (2003) in believing that there will be a tendency for large, vertically-integrated firms to become less common in the technological environment that is currently unfolding, other tendencies will also be afoot, leading to a spectrum of different types of inter- and intra-firm relationships. This includes the creation of new giant enterprises whose evolution in the early 20th century was described by Chandler (1962, 1977) as the imposition of a ‘visible hand’ to reduce uncertainties in market-based relationships.
Iain Mclean and Alistair McMillan
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199258208
- eISBN:
- 9780191603334
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199258201.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
This chapter examines the evolution of unionism in Northern Ireland since it unexpectedly and paradoxically found itself under Home Rule, which its leading politicians had raised a private army to ...
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This chapter examines the evolution of unionism in Northern Ireland since it unexpectedly and paradoxically found itself under Home Rule, which its leading politicians had raised a private army to prevent. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK in which primordial Unionism, that is, the belief that the Union is good in and for itself, survives. But even so, primordialism runs in different streams — military, religious, intellectual — whose waters scarcely mix.Less
This chapter examines the evolution of unionism in Northern Ireland since it unexpectedly and paradoxically found itself under Home Rule, which its leading politicians had raised a private army to prevent. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK in which primordial Unionism, that is, the belief that the Union is good in and for itself, survives. But even so, primordialism runs in different streams — military, religious, intellectual — whose waters scarcely mix.
Iain Mclean and Alistair McMillan
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199258208
- eISBN:
- 9780191603334
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199258201.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
This chapter analyses what is now called the West Lothian Question (WLQ) after its persistent poser Tam Dalyell MP (formerly for West Lothian). The WLQ asks: Given partial devolution, why can an MP ...
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This chapter analyses what is now called the West Lothian Question (WLQ) after its persistent poser Tam Dalyell MP (formerly for West Lothian). The WLQ asks: Given partial devolution, why can an MP for a devolved territory become involved in devolved matters in England, but not in his own constituency? It has been said that ‘the WLQ is not really a question: every time it is answered, Tam just waits for a bit and then asks it again’. But that merely shows what a persistently nagging question it has been since long before Tam Dalyell. In fact, it was sufficient (although not necessary) to bring down both of Gladstone’s Home Rule Bills (1886 and 1893). The chapter shows how problematic all the proposed solutions are, especially when dealing with divided government where one UK-wide party controls a territory and the other controls the UK government. However, if devolution is to be stable, the governments and parties will have to live with the WLQ. New conventions for cohabitation will arise, and the UK and devolved party systems may diverge, even if party labels do not. The UK electorate treats everything except UK General Elections as second-order.Less
This chapter analyses what is now called the West Lothian Question (WLQ) after its persistent poser Tam Dalyell MP (formerly for West Lothian). The WLQ asks: Given partial devolution, why can an MP for a devolved territory become involved in devolved matters in England, but not in his own constituency? It has been said that ‘the WLQ is not really a question: every time it is answered, Tam just waits for a bit and then asks it again’. But that merely shows what a persistently nagging question it has been since long before Tam Dalyell. In fact, it was sufficient (although not necessary) to bring down both of Gladstone’s Home Rule Bills (1886 and 1893). The chapter shows how problematic all the proposed solutions are, especially when dealing with divided government where one UK-wide party controls a territory and the other controls the UK government. However, if devolution is to be stable, the governments and parties will have to live with the WLQ. New conventions for cohabitation will arise, and the UK and devolved party systems may diverge, even if party labels do not. The UK electorate treats everything except UK General Elections as second-order.
Gary A. Glatzmaier
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691141725
- eISBN:
- 9781400848904
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691141725.003.0010
- Subject:
- Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology
This chapter examines how boundary and geometry affect convection. It begins with a discussion of how one can implement “absorbing” top and bottom boundaries, which reduce the large-amplitude ...
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This chapter examines how boundary and geometry affect convection. It begins with a discussion of how one can implement “absorbing” top and bottom boundaries, which reduce the large-amplitude convectively driven flows within shallow boundary layers or the reflection of internal gravity waves off these boundaries in a stable stratification. It then considers how to replace the impermeable side boundary conditions with permeable periodic side boundary conditions to allow fluid flow through these boundaries and nonzero mean flow. It also introduces “two and a half dimensional” geometry within a cartesian box geometry and describes how a fully 3D cartesian box model could be constructed. Finally, it presents a model of convection in a fully 3D spherical-shell and shows how it can be easily reduced to a 2.5D spherical-shell model. The horizontal structures are represented in terms of spherical harmonic expansions.Less
This chapter examines how boundary and geometry affect convection. It begins with a discussion of how one can implement “absorbing” top and bottom boundaries, which reduce the large-amplitude convectively driven flows within shallow boundary layers or the reflection of internal gravity waves off these boundaries in a stable stratification. It then considers how to replace the impermeable side boundary conditions with permeable periodic side boundary conditions to allow fluid flow through these boundaries and nonzero mean flow. It also introduces “two and a half dimensional” geometry within a cartesian box geometry and describes how a fully 3D cartesian box model could be constructed. Finally, it presents a model of convection in a fully 3D spherical-shell and shows how it can be easily reduced to a 2.5D spherical-shell model. The horizontal structures are represented in terms of spherical harmonic expansions.
Stefano Bartolini
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199286430
- eISBN:
- 9780191603242
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199286434.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
This first chapter sketches the elements of a theory of voice structuring under different conditions of territorial confinement of actors and resources. Using Hirschman and Rokkan’s work, the chapter ...
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This first chapter sketches the elements of a theory of voice structuring under different conditions of territorial confinement of actors and resources. Using Hirschman and Rokkan’s work, the chapter formulates theoretical propositions about how processes of internal conflict generation and opposition development (political structuring) relate to the processes of boundary demarcation in a large-scale territorial polity, and how the two relate to the internal institutional hierarchy of the same territory. A correspondence is established between micro-individual choices of exit and the corresponding systemic processes of boundary building and control; the micro-individual loyalty and the systemic structures and processes of system maintenance; and the micro-individual propensity to voice and the systemic structuring of channels and organizations for representation. It is argued that the framework is general enough to be applied to different territorial political formations, to characterize pre-nation-state polities, as well as to understand post-nation-state polities.Less
This first chapter sketches the elements of a theory of voice structuring under different conditions of territorial confinement of actors and resources. Using Hirschman and Rokkan’s work, the chapter formulates theoretical propositions about how processes of internal conflict generation and opposition development (political structuring) relate to the processes of boundary demarcation in a large-scale territorial polity, and how the two relate to the internal institutional hierarchy of the same territory. A correspondence is established between micro-individual choices of exit and the corresponding systemic processes of boundary building and control; the micro-individual loyalty and the systemic structures and processes of system maintenance; and the micro-individual propensity to voice and the systemic structuring of channels and organizations for representation. It is argued that the framework is general enough to be applied to different territorial political formations, to characterize pre-nation-state polities, as well as to understand post-nation-state polities.
Tim O’Riordan and Tim Lenton
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265536
- eISBN:
- 9780191760327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265536.003.0025
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
The scientific world recognizes the Anthropocene, where the human hand appears to overcome natural cycles of energy, chemical processes, and land use. We may be approaching planetary boundaries of ...
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The scientific world recognizes the Anthropocene, where the human hand appears to overcome natural cycles of energy, chemical processes, and land use. We may be approaching planetary boundaries of natural tolerance, though these may be more regional than local. Yet the floors of any safe operating space need to offer scope for redistributing dignity, income, opportunity, social rights, and capabilities in a world of limiting ceilings. This is a difficult message to deliver in a time of unprecedented austerity and unemployment, with reducing public expenditures, falling real wealth, and rising household costs. Three scenarios are offered: more of the same with an inbuilt political and technological lock-in; a mix of resilience adaptations in a wide range of institutions and technologies along with associated social value shifts as crises deepen and become more observable; and a full-throated transformation to a more socially just and ecologically robust planet based on well-being and betterment, and the profound role of investing in social capital, capability building, and individual and collective flourishing. But this vision may not be possible for the very reason that tipping points will overwhelm us when we have no learnt capacities to accommodate and to avoid.Less
The scientific world recognizes the Anthropocene, where the human hand appears to overcome natural cycles of energy, chemical processes, and land use. We may be approaching planetary boundaries of natural tolerance, though these may be more regional than local. Yet the floors of any safe operating space need to offer scope for redistributing dignity, income, opportunity, social rights, and capabilities in a world of limiting ceilings. This is a difficult message to deliver in a time of unprecedented austerity and unemployment, with reducing public expenditures, falling real wealth, and rising household costs. Three scenarios are offered: more of the same with an inbuilt political and technological lock-in; a mix of resilience adaptations in a wide range of institutions and technologies along with associated social value shifts as crises deepen and become more observable; and a full-throated transformation to a more socially just and ecologically robust planet based on well-being and betterment, and the profound role of investing in social capital, capability building, and individual and collective flourishing. But this vision may not be possible for the very reason that tipping points will overwhelm us when we have no learnt capacities to accommodate and to avoid.
Tim Dunne
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199265206
- eISBN:
- 9780191601866
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199265208.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
The final two chapters in Part One investigate the evolving research agenda of the English School of International Relations and its contribution to contemporary international relations. In this ...
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The final two chapters in Part One investigate the evolving research agenda of the English School of International Relations and its contribution to contemporary international relations. In this chapter, the author explores what may be described as the ‘new agenda’ in English School thinking about world politics. He begins by briefly tracing the long history of the concept of international society, noting how it has become synonymous with the English School despite the fact that other paradigms have also made use of the term. He moves on to reiterate one of the central claims of the first part of this book: that the English School and the concept of international society have been propelled to the forefront of contemporary debates about world politics by important sociological and normative developments in mainstream international relations in North America. He then identifies four core and as yet unsolved ‘puzzles’ that will frame the English School's new agenda as it continues to develop; these are the relationship between agency and structure, the boundaries between international society and world society, the moral basis of international society, and the tension between forces of society and hierarchy in contemporary world politics.Less
The final two chapters in Part One investigate the evolving research agenda of the English School of International Relations and its contribution to contemporary international relations. In this chapter, the author explores what may be described as the ‘new agenda’ in English School thinking about world politics. He begins by briefly tracing the long history of the concept of international society, noting how it has become synonymous with the English School despite the fact that other paradigms have also made use of the term. He moves on to reiterate one of the central claims of the first part of this book: that the English School and the concept of international society have been propelled to the forefront of contemporary debates about world politics by important sociological and normative developments in mainstream international relations in North America. He then identifies four core and as yet unsolved ‘puzzles’ that will frame the English School's new agenda as it continues to develop; these are the relationship between agency and structure, the boundaries between international society and world society, the moral basis of international society, and the tension between forces of society and hierarchy in contemporary world politics.
