Abstract: The Normalization Process Model is a theoretical model that assists in explaining the processes by which complex interventions become routinely embedded in health care practice. It offers a framework for process evaluation and also for comparative studies of complex interventions. It focuses on the factors that promote or inhibit the routine embedding of complex interventions in health care practice. A formal theory structure is used to define the model, and its internal causal relations and mechanisms. The model is broken down to show that it is consistent and adequate in generating accurate description, systematic explanation, and the production of rational knowledge claims about the workability and integration of complex interventions. The model explains the normalization of complex interventions by reference to four factors demonstrated to promote or inhibit the operationalization and embedding of complex interventions (interactional workability, relational integration, skill-set workability, and contextual integration). The model is consistent and adequate. Repeated calls for theoretically sound process evaluations in randomized controlled trials of complex interventions, and policy-makers who call for a proper understanding of implementation processes, emphasize the value of conceptual tools like the Normalization Process Model.

Abstract: Driven by recent empirical studies, we offer a new understanding of the degrees of freedom problem, and propose a refined concept of synergy as a neural organization that ensures a one-to-many mapping of variables providing for both stability of important performance variables and flexibility of motor patterns to deal with possible perturbations and/or secondary tasks. Empirical evidence is reviewed, including a discussion of the operationalization of stability/flexibility through the method of the uncontrolled manifold. We show how this concept establishes links between the various accounts for how movement is organized in redundant effector systems.

Abstract: Methodological Foundations and Operational Consequences of Social Multi-Criteria Evaluation (SMCE).- Dealing with a Complex World: Multiple Dimensions, Values and Scales.- Operationalizing Technical and Social Incommensurability in an SMCE Framework.- Consistency in Social Multi-Criteria Evaluation.- The Issue of Consistency: Basic Methodological Concepts.- The Issue of Consistency: Basic Discrete Multi-Criteria "Methods".- The Issue of Consistency: Lessons Learned from Social Choice Literature.- Mathematical Procedures to Search for Technical and Social Compromise Solutions.- Searching for the "Technical Compromise Solution": Solving the Discrete Multi-Criterion Problem in an SMCE Framework.- Searching for the "Social Compromise Solution": A Conflict Analysis Procedure for Illuminating Distributional Issues.- Conclusions.

Abstract: How can we tell whether resource-dependent people are socially resilient to institutional change? This question is becoming increasingly important as demand for natural resources escalates, requiring resource managers to implement policies that are increasingly restrictive on resource users. Yet policy changes are frequently made without a good understanding of the likely social and economic consequences. Knowledge of the resilience of resource users to changes in resource-use policies can assist in the design and implementation of policies that minimize the impacts on people while maximizing the sustainability of ecosystem goods and services. Despite the appeal of resilience as a framework for sustaining human-environment relations, there has been a distinct lack of explicit application of the concept by natural- resource managers. In response, we build on general resilience theory to develop a conceptual model of social resilience for resource-dependent users. We test and refine the operational virtues of the model using the commercial fishing industry in North Queensland. Detailed surveys of individual resource users provide data on historic response, expected well-being, and capacity as a basis for assessing resilience. We find that the response of fishers to generic yet anticipated change events is determined by four key characteristics: (1) perception of risk associated with change; (2) perception of the ability to plan, learn, and reorganize; (3) perception of the ability to cope; and (4) level of interest in change. These responses represent relative measures of the likely response of resource users to prospective changes in resource policy that affect the way in which the resource is used or accessed.

Abstract: This article surveys and analyzes twenty-four governmental and intergovernmental bodies that are currently active in peacebuilding in order to, first, identify critical differences in how they conceptualize and operationalize their mandate, and, second, map areas of potential concern. We begin by briefly outlining the various terms used by different actors to describe their peacebuilding activities and correlate these terms with differing core mandates, networks of interaction, and interests. We then identify the divisions regarding the specific approaches and areas of priority. Thus far most programs have focused on the immediate or underlying causes of conflict—to the relative neglect of state institutions. We conclude by raising concerns about how peacebuilding is institutionalized in various settings, including at the UN’s Peacebuilding Commission. KEYWORDS: peacebuilding, postconflict reconstruction, peacekeeping, United Nations.

Abstract: Disaster recovery represents the least understood aspect of emergency management, from the standpoint of both the research community and practitioners (Berke, Kartez, & Wenger, 1993; Rubin, 1991). When compared to the other widely recognized phases of emergency management, that is, preparedness, response, and mitigation, scholars have yet to address fundamental questions, while practitioners have failed to establish an integrated policy framework or utilize readily available tools to improve disaster recovery outcomes (Berke et al., 1993; May and Williams, 1986; Mileti, 1999). Since the 1990s the concept of sustainability has been adopted by hazards researchers and applied to mitigation (Berke, 1995a; Burby, 1998; Godschalk, et. al., 1999; Mileti, 1999), recovery (Becker, 1994a; Berke, Kartez, & Wenger, 1993; Eadie et al., 2001; Oliver-Smith, 1990; Smith, 2004; United States Department of Energy, 1998), and to a lesser extent preparedness and response (Tierney, Lindell, & Perry, 2001). While recognized as a meaningful paradigm among scholars and a limited number of practitioners, achieving sustainable recovery following disasters is not a widespread phenomenon in the United States, owing in large part to the current recovery model in practice today. It is therefore the intent of this chapter to describe an improved policy implementation framework focused on achieving sustainable recovery. Emphasis is placed on the analysis of the United States model of recovery and the development of specific recommendations to improve the process. Key issues and research questions are identified in order to advance this agenda, including the need to develop a theory of recovery that emphasizes specific factors that facilitate or hinder this approach. Next, a review of the literature highlights the fact that while past research has addressed several recognized dimensions of sustainable recovery, the research has not been linked to a unifying theory that helps to clarify our understanding of how sustainable recovery can be achieved.

Abstract: and Key Results This paper’s objective is to articulate, more precisely than has occurred in the past, the principal theory rationales underlying the Multinationality/Performance (M/P) link, by examining each claim for the negative or positive benefits of internationalization, from the lens of the theory of the firm and the multinational enterprise. A concurrent objective of this paper is to respond to critiques of M/P theory and discuss methodology and operationalization problems in empirical testing. While international expansion of a firm will not necessarily always improve performance (during the initial international expansion stage, or in cases where a firm may have over-internationalized), for the most part, over the considerable middle range of expansion, net positive benefits accrue from internationalization. Underlying theory rationales are detailed in the paper. The results of over one hundred empirical studies over the past 30 years appear, on superficial examination, to be contradictory, but can be reconciled by the recently proposed 3-stage or S-shaped general theory.

Abstract: Scholars in environmental management have called for better grounding of research on corporate greening within established organizational theories. We propose a conceptual framework (including suggestions for operationalizing it) that embeds empirical research within behavioural intent models and the concept of value-creating prosocial behaviours. We argue that conceiving of corporate greening as a prosocial behaviour in this manner provides an improved understanding of the dominant factors that motivate employees to engage in ecoinitiatives. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Abstract: The paper specifies the core elements of Amartya Sen's capability approach to socio-economic valuation. It analyzes recent formulations by some of Sen's close associates, in addition to his own work, and identifies important variants, obscurities and tensions, as well as the key rationale and value-added of the approach. The approach is placed within a system of partner discourses, notably the broader ‘human development’ approach. The paper then shows issues faced in operationalization, and dangers that overly vague specification of the approach's rationale and commitments could lead to questionable choices in practical use.

Abstract: This paper explores different conceptual and policy spaces of wellbeing. The increasing use of wellbeing in contemporary health debates affords geographers of health new arena in which to explore the processes that promote, remedy or regenerate health and ill-health. The paper first critically reviews the theoretical approaches and challenges for operationalizing the concept of wellbeing in both research and policy. We then present a framework of the spaces of wellbeing to provoke discussion and research amongst geographers of health. The paper concludes with proposals for future research orientations.

Abstract: We contribute to the normative discussion on sustainability learning and provide a theoretical integrative framework intended to underlie the main components and interrelations of what learning is required for social learning to become sustainability learning. We demonstrate how this framework has been operationalized in a participatory modeling interface to support processes of natural resource integrated assessment and management. The key modeling components of our view are: structure (S), energy and resources (E), information and knowledge (I), social-ecological change (C), and the size, thresholds, and connections of different social-ecological systems. Our approach attempts to overcome many of the cultural dualisms that exist in the way social and ecological systems are perceived and affect many of the most common definitions of sustainability. Our approach also emphasizes the issue of limits within a total socialecological system and takes a multiscale, agent-based perspective. Sustainability learning is different from social learning insofar as not all of the outcomes of social learning processes necessarily improve what we consider as essential for the long-term sustainability of social-ecological systems, namely, the co-adaptive systemic capacity of agents to anticipate and deal with the unintended, undesired, and irreversible negative effects of development. Hence, the main difference of sustainability learning from social learning is the content of what is learned and the criteria used to assess such content; these are necessarily related to increasing the capacity of agents to manage, in an integrative and organic way, the total social–ecological system of which they form a part. The concept of sustainability learning and the SEIC social-ecological framework can be useful to assess and communicate the effectiveness of multiple agents to halt or reverse the destructive trends affecting the life-support systems upon which all humans depend.

Abstract: Achieving a better understanding of the crime event in its spatio-tem- poral context is an important research area in criminology with major implications for improving policy and developing effective crime prevention strategies. However, significant barriers related to data and methods exist for conducting this type of research. The research requires micro-level data about individual behavior that is difficult to obtain and methods capable of modeling the dynamic, spatio-temporal interaction of offenders, victims, and potential guardians at the micro level. This paper presents simulation modeling as a method for addressing these challenges. Specifically, agent-based modeling, when integrated with geographic information systems, offers the ability to model individual behavior within a real environment. The method is demonstrated by operationalizing and testing routine activity theory as it applies to the crime of street robbery. Model results indicate strong support for the basic premise of routine activity theory; as time spent away from home increases, crime will increase. The strength of the method is in providing a research platform for translating theory into models that can be discussed, shared, tested and enhanced with the goal of building scientific knowledge.

Abstract: This paper describes conceptual difficulties that may be experienced by engineering faculty as they become engineering education researchers. Observation, survey, and assessment data collected at the 2005 NSF-funded Rigorous Research in Engineering Education workshop were systematically analyzed to uncover the five difficulties encountered by engineering faculty learning to design rigorous education studies: (1) framing research questions with broad appeal, (2) grounding research in a theoretical framework, (3) fully considering operationalization and measurement of constructs, (4) appreciating qualitative or mixed-methods approaches, and (5) pursuing interdisciplinary collaboration. The first four can be understood in terms of disciplinary consensus; they represent explicit steps in education research that are implicit in technical engineering research because there is greater consensus of methods and standards. This work better frames the issue of rigor in engineering education research by clarifying the fundamental differences that prevent application of traditional engineering standards of rigor directly to engineering education research.

Abstract: Objectives The growing recognition of clinical supervision as the basis for high-quality mental health services is apparent in policy, research and clinical practice, but an empirical definition is required to progress research and practice. Method A logical analysis was used to draft a working definition, and then a systematic review of 24 empirical studies of clinical supervision produced a best evidence synthesis, which was used to test and improve this definition. Results The logical analysis indicated that the most popular definition (Bernard & Goodyear, 1992) failed all four necessary tests of a good definition: precision, specification, operationalization and corroboration. The systematic review synthesis was then used to test the working definition, which passed these tests (with two amendments). Conclusion These two complementary review approaches created a firmer basis for advancing research and practice.

Abstract: Though a vast amount of empirical work stresses the beneficial effects of social capital, the recent literature has explicitly recognized the importance of distinguishing different types of social capital. Particularly, a distinction has been made between homogeneous (or bonding) and heterogeneous (or bridging) networks under the argument that the latter are more likely to generate positive externalities than the former. The empirical operationalization of this theoretical distinction has thus far, however, remained underdeveloped. The authors take a step to resolve this issue by assessing the diversity of (voluntary) association membership on a number of socioeconomic traits. The proposed methodology is applied to Flemish survey data on voluntary association membership. This analysis indicates that hobby clubs and humanitarian associations such as the Red Cross are among the most bridging associations, whereas women’s groups and associations for retired people are among the most bonding groups.

Abstract: It is argued that information systems are intentionally or unintentionally informed by moral values of their makers. Since information technology has become a constitutive technology which shapes human life it is important to be aware of the value ladenness of IT design. Examples of values incorporated in design are discussed. The approach to software engineering and systems development, which is referred to as “value sensitive design”, studies the ways in which our accepted moral values can be operationalized and incorporated in IT design. The historical background and future program of value sensitive design in IT are sketched.

Abstract: Innovation is a key component of most definitions of culture and intelligence. Additionally, innovations may affect a species' ecology and evolution. Nonetheless, conceptual and empirical work on innovation has only recently begun. In particular, largely because the existing operational definition (first occurrence in a population) requires long-term studies of populations, there has been no systematic study of innovation in wild animals. To facilitate such study, we have produced a new definition of innovation: Innovation is the process that generates in an individual a novel learned behavior that is not simply a consequence of social learning or environmental induction. Using this definition, we propose a new operational approach for distinguishing innovations in the field. The operational criteria employ information from the following sources: (1) the behavior's geographic and local prevalence and individual frequency; (2) properties of the behavior, such as the social role of the behavior, the context in which the behavior is exhibited, and its similarity to other behaviors; (3) changes in the occurrence of the behavior over time; and (4) knowledge of spontaneous or experimentally induced behavior in captivity. These criteria do not require long-term studies at a single site, but information from multiple populations of a species will generally be needed. These criteria are systematized into a dichotomous key that can be used to assess whether a behavior observed in the field is likely to be an innovation.

Abstract: Health decision aids are a potentially valuable adjunct to patient-physician communication and decision making. Although the overarching goal of decision aids--to help patients make informed, preference-sensitive choices--is widely accepted, experts do not agree on the means to achieve this end. In this article, the authors critically examine the theoretical basis and appropriateness of 2 widely accepted criteria used to evaluate decision aids: values clarification and reduction of decisional conflict. First, they argue that although clarifying values is central to decision making under uncertainty, it is not clear that decision aids--as they have been conceived and operationalized so far--can and should be used to achieve this goal. The pursuit of clarifying values, particularly values clarification exercises, raises a number of ethical, methodological, and conceptual issues, and the authors suggest research questions that should be addressed before values clarification is routinely endorsed. Second, the authors argue that the goal of reducing decisional conflict is conceptually untenable and propose that it be eliminated as an objective of decision aids.

Abstract: This overview of transaction cost economics is organized around the “Carnegie Triple” – be disciplined; be interdisciplinary; have an active mind. The first of these urges those who would open up the black box of economic organization to do so in a modest, slow, molecular, definitive way, with the object of deriving refutable implications and submitting these to empirical testing. The second recommends that the student of economic organization be prepared to cross disciplinary boundaries if and as this is needed to preserve veridical contact with the phenomena. The injunction have an active mind is implemented by being curious and asking the question “What is going on here?” The paper concludes with a discussion of operationalization.

Abstract: Part I: Introduction. 1. The Research Process. Part II: Preparing to Do Research. 2. Theory Building: Concepts and Hypotheses in Political Research. 3. Setting the Foundation: Techniques of Systematic Bibliographic Search. 4. Internet Research. 5. From Abstract to Concrete: Operationalization and Measurement. 6. Working from a Plan: Considerations in Research Design. 7. Who, What, Where, When: The Problem of Sampling. Part III: Quantitative Methods. 8. Survey Research. 9. Scaling Techniques. 10. Content Analysis. 11. Sources and Applications of Aggregate Data. 12. Comparative Research. 13. Social Network Analysis: Finding Structure in a Complex World. Part IV: Analyzing Quantitative Data. 14. Data Preparation and Data Processing. 15. Describing the Data: The Construction of Tables and Charts. 16. Statistics I: Summarizing Distributions on One Variable. 17. Statistics II: Examining Relationships Between Two Variables. 18. Statistics III: Examining Relationships Among Several Variables. Part IV: Qualitative Methods. 19. Direct Observation. 20. Focus Group Methodologies. 21. Elite and Specialized Interviewing. Part V: Conclusion. 22. Writing (and Reading) the Research Report. 23. Overview.

Abstract: Although acquisition criteria are a fundamental issue for SLA research, they have not always been adequately defined or elaborated in the literature. This article critically scrutinizes one such criterion, the emergence criterion, proposing an explicit, operational definition. After discussing emergence as a theoretical construct, the article addresses several points involved in its operationalization. These points concern all stages of a research project, from data collection to data organization and analysis. A concrete example is provided, leading to the formulation of an emergence criterion for the acquisition of two grammatical structures of Italian as a second language. Issues of reliability and validity are also discussed, providing indications for future research.

Abstract: Background The focus of this study was to design and pilot a questionnaire to measure young people's attitudes to breastfeeding using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). This is intended for subsequent use in a large-scale attitude survey, which in turn will inform the design of a breastfeeding intervention programme with adolescents. Methods The first three phases of a research programme employing the theory are described: belief elicitation, questionnaire development and a pilot study. Firstly, an elicitation study to identify the modal salient beliefs underlying young peoples' motivations to breastfeed, using six semi-structured focus groups with 48 young people, was performed. Secondly, the measurement instrument was constructed, incorporating all the key theoretical constructs and both direct and belief-based measures. The questionnaire was then piloted on a sample of 121 female and male schoolchildren to identify and assess the relative importance of the determinants of breastfeeding intention. Results The questionnaire proved to be reliable, and preliminary analysis provided strong support for the predictive power of the TPB. Conclusions Some key issues involved in the operationalization of the theory are highlighted, which may be of interest to researchers involved in the design of TPB questionnaires for use in other intervention programmes.

Abstract: The widespread usage of the Web and the Internet-as information and communication technologies (ICTs)-is a recent important public sector innovation. In general, various descriptive models present a linear progression of stages-typically, going from routine online tasks that previously required people to visit agencies and then on to higher level connections, including creation of e-democracy. In addition, observers employ e-government and e-governance interchangeably, thereby, inhibiting distinguishing between them. Alternatively, they are discrete patterns with the former stressing service delivery transactions and the latter networked participatory interactions. These developments are traceable through the history of information technology in the public sector and in the application of theories of information technology and social change. The relationship between e-government and e-governance-which can be termed the dual e-gov construct-is both asymptotic and curvilinear whose trajectories converge twice. Their second convergence produces certain unintended consequences-negative spillovers-which impact democracy detrimentally. In order to continue employing ICTs to promote citizen empowerment in government, these spillovers need to be articulated and addressed. The conclusion suggests ways to recognize the onset of these potentially harmful effects on democracy. INTRODUCTION The diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the public sector-particularly through the Internet and the World Wide Web-is now commonplace. Yet, the main implementation of ICTs, namely, as e-government and e-governance, has not been systematically differentiated. Nearly all observers treat them equivalently, not discretely. While Garson (2006) isolates them descriptively, he conflates their evolution. His explanation of four competing theories of information technology and social change, however, is useful in advancing the study of digital government. The theories provide grounding to clarify how the two electronic media are traveling different-though parallel-routes. Accordingly, employing these four conceptions-systems theory, technological determinism, sociotechnical theory, and reinforcement theory-contributes to meeting two important e-government and e-governance research objectives. The first is to explain that these electronic entities need to be operationalized as individual constructs and the other is to characterize them as comprising two curvilinear trajectories that converge twice over time. To these ends, the opening section briefly defines the four information technology and social change theories as they correlate with e-government and e-governance, for which the following section shows them as deriving from divergent trends in information technology (IT). Next, a review of prior research pinpoints that observers depict the two electronic forms as progressing linearly over various stages-in tandem as an unbroken diagonal. This view contrasts with the proposed formulation of e-government and e-governance as deploying similar technologies, while possessing unique missions. To support this alternative view, the ensuing discussion demonstrates that they do not belong to the same upward spiral, but, as noted, they generate curvilinear trajectories that converge twice. If the results of their initial convergence are untroubling, the second one is less forgiving, as it results in productive and unproductive outcomes. The conclusion suggests ways to anticipate certain of these unproductive outcomes as well as proposes areas for future investigation. FOUR INORMATION TECHNOLOGY THEORIES COUPLED TO TWO ELECTRONIC TRAJECTORIES The four information technology and social change theories are valuable guides to specify the variability between e-government and e-governance. To display this exceptionality, these theories can be coupled, joined in pairs, an approach which also reveals that both e-govs engender desirable as well as undesirable expectations. …

Abstract: Purpose – This paper proposes mainly that boards of directors (BOD) are teams that share characteristics with many other kinds of teams. As a consequence, some of the factors that lead to board effectiveness are the same factors that lead to team effectiveness in general. By integrating the organizational behaviour literature on teams with the governance literature, a comprehensive model of BOD performance is proposed.Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual paper proposes a model to assess the performance of a board and situates board performance as one input into firm performance.Findings – This paper outlines the dynamic interplay between board characteristics, functionality and performance and proposes a comprehensive model, based largely on the group dynamics literature.Research limitations/implications – Suggests that future research attempt to empirically address some (or all) of the items in the conceptual model. Acknowledges that operationalizing certain variables will prove challenging, but...