- Zimmerman, Peter A (x)
- Weatherhead Doctor of Management Programs (x)
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Show moreThe nonprofit sector of our economy is a special class of entities with an expansive array of organizations and activities dedicated to the common good and well-being of others. Even though this sector has constructed creative and forward thinking initiatives, obstacles remain which interfere with their accomplishment of significant achievements. The struggle to maintain their respected position, unique character and role in society remains prevalent. In order to stay competitive, organizations are constantly assessing their current capacity to deliver needed services. Today, a number of umbrella associations of nonprofits have implemented assessment and certification programs intended to produce organizational improvement for their member organizations. Based on analysis of phenomenological interviews and guided by institutional theory, the research reported here is designed to identify factors that differentiate between organizations that chose to participate in the Louisiana Standards for Excellence organizational assessment program and those that did not. Drawing on concepts of organizational learning and broadened accountability, the research further explores whether those nonprofits successfully achieving certification experience an enhanced commitment to ongoing organizational learning.
Doctorate of Management Programs
English
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Show moreDespite abundant information describing the advantages that accrue from successful implementation of world class manufacturing (WCM) best practices, previous research provides little insight as to why the same techniques are able to foster competitiveness at one site yet fail to do so in another. Practitioners maintain that such discrepancies are due to contextual factors that preclude even immanently rational improvements from manifesting themselves in their operations. General purpose technology (GPT) theory suggests that heterogeneity results from innovational complementarities needed to fully benefit from the routine use of WCM practices. This exploratory study provides empirical support for complementary organizational changes, whereas it is unable to substantiate the contention that exogenous factors account for cross-factory differences. The implication for managers lies in identifying just in time production as a general purpose practice (GPP), suggesting that even though the direct impact may be substantial, it represents only a part and not necessarily the most important part, of its potential contribution towards overall performance.
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Show moreThis applied research project focused on hospital mergers and the combination of "business" and "people" factors that allow full potential to be achieved. The business factors included finances and the "people" factors related to culture and practices. We sought to examine whether or not both factors were necessary in order for the merger to reach full potential. "Merger" was defined as the creation of a single entity out of two in which there is movement of services or staff. A "merger stabilization model" was developed that predicted potential merger synergy as dependent upon "people" fit and "business" fit. Four merged hospital locations for field research were selected based on a matrix of: 1) better for the business/better for the employees; 2) better for the business/worse for the employees; 3) worse for the business/better for the employees; 4) worse for the business/worse for the employees. Interviews were conducted with 107 individuals in these locations representing a cross-section of governance, management, medical staff, employees, patients, and community representatives. A quantitative survey was conducted with the employees that compared culture and practices aspects post-merger to pre-merger. Secondary data were also examined, including financial information, patient and employee satisfaction information, and media coverage. The model's prediction that achieving merger potential requires business fit as well as culture fit was not proven. Additional "process" factors emerged from the data which impact merger potential outside the model's factors of business fit and culture fit: leadership, including transparency and motivation, time, and proximity. Of all seven factors examined, leadership and business fit were the most critical factors both pre- and post-merger influencing a hospital merger's ability or inability to achieve potential. The factor of culture fit, time, and proximity contributed in a secondary way to achieving full merger potential. These findings have implications for hospital leaders. Even though market conditions may prompt an alliance, business fit and leadership primarily impact merger success. Culture fit as well as the process factors unique to a particular merger setting (time and proximity) can enable or disable achievement of potential. Hospital mergers will have a better chance of reaching expected potential when the importance of business fit and leadership are recognized as key determinants of merger outcome.
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Show moreOrganizations promote widely ranging workplace programs and initiatives with the goal of instituting change or maintaining previously adopted change. Often these programs and initiatives are designed to establish global standards through consistent member behavior. Using data from over 400 members of diverse organizations, this study examines several factors that affect program commitment and usage. Drawing upon innovation theory, I focus on the concept of end-user adaptation, or, as used herein, adaptation proximal activities. With regard to this mechanism, I propose and establish the mediating role that personal engagement plays in employee propensity to adopt adaptation proximal activities with regard to the program commitment and usage outcomes. Further, several conditions antecedent to personal engagement are identified with a focus on the elements of trust, control, and management behavior. Lastly, the role of risk taking propensity is explored and found to be more complex than originally conceptualized. Taken together the results indicate that characteristics of both the organization member and the workplace environment determine the degree to which workplace programs and initiatives will prove successful.
Doctorate of Management Programs
English
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Show moreAdolescence is a very significant period in a young persons’ life. It is a time when youth are growing and establishing individual identities. It is also a critical time for learning essential life skills. However, we often don’t recognize the importance of teaching leadership to our children. We simply rely on someone else to teach these skills. Parents become preoccupied and concerned about how their children are doing in school or in a sports program, and developing leadership skills fades from our list of “things to do” for our children. Parents make the erroneous assumption that the educational system will fully prepare their children to accept leadership roles later in adult life. The fact of the matter is we often don’t fully understand the developmental process of adolescent leadership. Such as, what are the emotional and behavioral prerequisites required for an adolescent to learn leadership skills, how should leadership be cultivated, and what does the learning environment have to look like for leadership development to take place? Adults have a significant role in cultivating leadership in their children. They not only provide the support system for this learning process, but need to build certain behavioral and emotional competencies to serve as a foundation for growth. Adults enrich and cultivate the adolescent’s self esteem; they provide challenges and build the confidence of the independent self, and act as a safety net providing love, guidance and reflection. A critical part of transitioning from adolescent to adulthood is learning about leadership. How often is this fact overlooked? My research will involve the study of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) organization. This organization has been in existence for over 93 years, and has graduated over 100 millions boys. Like most youth organizations, leadership training and development is one of the missions of the Boy Scout program. The purpose of my research is to discover how youth leadership development in the BSA is unfolded. What personal competencies does an adolescent need as a prerequisite for leadership to develop? How leadership skills are cultivated, and what is the optimal learning environment? My research will provide illustrations of how essential leadership skills are learned and developed. Furthermore, I want to discover the organizational and/or structural factors in the BSA that create this environment. Leadership is taught at a very basic level in the Boy Scouts, the young boys, between the ages of ten through seventeen learn, responsibility, accountability, organizational skills, the ability to communicate, and how to give direction and delegate. Learning even the very basic skills is important at this age. Research has shown that, “leadership development starts early,” and that, “skills critical for effective leadership, including the capacity to understand and interact with others, develop strikingly in adolescence and especially in young adulthood” (Gardner, J.W., 1987). Yet even with these learned skills many adolescents never get the opportunity to ever use their leadership skills (Linden & Fertman, 1998). My ethnographic research will focus on describing, analyzing, and interpreting the learning and development process of leadership. I want to gain an understanding of how this intriguing and complex process works. I will study the learning and developmental process, and will also make an assessment of the learned leadership skills. My ethnography will incorporate field observations, as well as group and individual interviews of scout leadership, adult volunteers and parents. This will be done primarily at the weekly scheduled scout troop meetings. Tape recorded interviews of scouting leaders, parents and adult volunteers, and data from field observations will be gathered, sorted, categorized, analyzed and interpreted. Participants in the research will include: Boy Scout members (ages 10 to 17), scouting leadership, adult unit leaders, adult committee members, adult volunteers, and parents. The results of my research will help those involved in the Boy Scouts of America organization, other youth leadership organizations, teachers and counselors in schools, and those working with troubled youth. My research will identify the adolescent competencies needed as a precondition to develop leadership skills. Additionally, it will provide the necessary information about constructing the proper learning environment so that development can be optimized.
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Show moreScholarly literature supports the notion that businesses benefit from long term collaborative relationships with trading partners, yet arm?s length, adversarial relationships between buyers and sellers persist. Although scholarly research provides insights regarding conceptual and operational aspects of buyer-seller collaborations, very little has been published concerning the preparation or activities that lead into collaborative relationships. To address this gap this study conducted research involving semi structured interviews with buyers and sellers to understand how collaboration evolves in buyer seller relationships. Of specific interest is how buyer seller relationships, characterized by fear of opportunism and guarded behavior, transition to collaboration characterized by openness and partnering behaviors. Findings suggest relationship specific adaptations such as zero based pricing and action research projects act as catalysts to break restrictive buyer paradigms and influence the re construction of buyer paradigms better aligned to collaborative interactions. This paradigm shift is associated with two significant outcomes: (1) an opportunity for sellers to assume a new identity in the eyes of the buyer and (2)increased organizational performance for buyers and sellers alike.
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Show moreThe static portfolio construction process is an efficient and rational choice to allocate clients? assets in well behaved markets. However, if markets become disruptive, like in 2008, relying on historic risk/return relationships becomes challenging and active financial advisor intervention necessary. The literature is silent about how financial advisors learn from such dislocations and how it affects their asset allocation process. Semi-structured interviews with 30 US financial advisors yielded insights into what shaped their decision making process. We identified five factors that appear to have had the strongest effect on their behavior, namely their enduring belief in recurring historic patterns, continued reliance on model assumptions, active time horizon management, their cognitive capacity and perceived locus of control.
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Show moreAs we enter the 21st century, Americans have much of which to be proud: we are seen as the strongest and most influential country in the world: our way of life - everything from clothes to movies to economic policies - are seen as the ideal to which many people in other countries aspire. But America also has a dark side: people who must eat out of garbage cans and sleep on sidewalks; urban areas that are unsafe places in which to live; schools that are crumbling around students who have lost their inspiration; and mass media that sell sex, violence and bad news. America today is a society of contrasts - for those people who are making it, the world looks find as long as they can protect themselves; for those who are not, the world that they live in is often dark, dangerouse, and depressing. Given this reality, are we as a society succeeding or failing? How might we do better? This paper attempts to tackle this question by using a different lens in essence a different paradigm - to view and assess the forces that are currently shaping our culture, and, if left unaltered, will also shape our future. The intention of seeing things through a new lens is simple: when things are viewed in a new light, different ways of seeing and doing often become more visible. It seems timely to view our society with new eyes.
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Show moreSocial networking platforms, systems designed to provide digital content services specifically for social network sites, continue to develop through a rapid combination of components forming a service ecology that is much more than a single tool or service. In spite of this development, the most widely utilized theories of technology adoption and usage have focused on single user level tool adoption which limits their explanatory power of services platforms. These platforms have experienced tremendously rapid growth rates and the current state-of-the-art research attempts to explain this phenomenon through an economic or network effect lens, which fall short in explaining individual or social antecedents driving this phenomenon. Filling these gaps, the present study identifies social and technological factors that influence widespread and fast adoption of digital services on social networking platforms. Our findings suggest that (a) perceived usefulness has a strong, positive effect on predicting two critical elements of social contagion ? fan out and retention, and (b) individual behaviors of voyeurism and exhibitionism and the platform processes of co-creation and co-production provide a stronger explanation of social contagion on social networking platforms than single-user focused technology adoption theories. This study makes an important theoretical contribution by articulating the impact of social factors on fan out and retention on social networking sites thus offering new vistas to examine digital platform growth and the diffusion of digital services.
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Show moreSeveral federated nonprofit associations have implemented assessment and certification programs intending to produce institutional improvement for member organizations. Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a foundation, this study develops and tests a theoretical extension of TAM to organizations that chose to participate in one such program (the Louisiana Standards for Excellence organizational assessment) and those that did not. The results largely validate TAM and indicate that usefulness, access barriers related to resources, attitudes, executive director proactivity and behavioral intent all influence the decision to pursue voluntary certification. These findings advance current theory and contribute to the foundation for future research aimed at understanding user adoption behavior in a general sense, and more specifically, in the nonprofit sector.
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Show moreThis paper describes the design, conduct and outcomes of an Appreciative Inquiry-based intervention. The subject group was a newly formed unit of a health care organization. The unit was formed by merging elements of two preexisting groups, and was guided by inexperienced managers. Previous interaction between those groups had been characterized by distrust and competition. Appreciative Inquiry provided the foundation for the intervention. Members of the unit galvanized around identified strengths, shared values and beliefs, shared perspectives, and a positive vision of their future; the normative-relational aspect of the intervention. On that foundation, members of the unit developed generative skills and new behaviors for building trust, communicating, connecting, collaborating in thought and task, and organizational learning; the cognitive-behavioral aspect of the intervention. The collective pursuit of their vision and other possibilities, and the use of active application of new behaviors are reflected in the changing structural attributes of the unit’s social network. Findings provide insight into how Appreciative Inquiry works, and suggest that the unit has begun a process of conscious evolution and organizational renewal.
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Show morePurpose: This paper aims to critically examine the relationship between Fun at Work, Manager Job Satisfaction, and Employee Job Satisfaction and their Independent variables Role Model, Selflessness, Personal Fulfillment and Joy of Training. Approach: This paper is based on quantitative research into Fun at Work. A total of 338 Managers and Employees of advertising, marketing and sales professionals in the Albany, NY/Capital Region Market was used in this sample. The study was separated into two parts: Managers and Employees, and examined the role of Mentoring, with particular attention to such factors as Selflessness, Manager as a Role Model, Fulfilling Work and the Joy of Training. Findings: The data revealed several interesting findings, especially with regards to training employees. It seems that the amount of Job Satisfaction a Manager has while training an Employee is directly affected by the amount of Fun they are having in the process. And, if a manager is not having Fun while training employees, his degree of Job Satisfaction is significantly diminished. We also discovered that the importance of being a Role Model was less significant for employees’ Job Satisfaction—both directly and indirectly—than previously believed. This study contributes to the Fun at Work literature by providing new data on the effect that Mentoring has on the Mentor—an area that is rarely studied, and has very little academic literature. Practical Implications: Fun at Work is not accomplished by throwing luncheons, picnics or parties. It is accomplished when organizations create a culture where Managers and Employees are engaged in Meaningful and Challenging Work, and where they can contribute, and feel Empowered to make decisions. This leads to increased Job Satisfaction which leads to higher Productivity. Keywords: fun; mentor; role model; selflessness; joy of training; personal fulfillment
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Show moreTelecommunications privatization, competition, liberalization, and regulatory independence in several countries have been embarked with the goals of maximizing universal access to telecommunications services as a developmental goal, promoting efficiency through competition and establishment of world class telecommunications networks. Using interview data from India and China –the two countries that have very different governments and policies, leading to differing approaches to the introduction of telecommunication competition and infrastructure development -- this paper provides analyses of privatization, competition, liberalization processes and legal frameworks governing telecommunications. India has set policy via recommendations of publicly visible independent regulatory authority while China has pursued a strategy of competition among government-owned organizations. The Indian case study shows evidence of complimentarity between privatization and competition in deepening network penetration and in dramatically restraining the rise of service pricing among privatized operators. China’s case study reveals that the state retained all the control rights, planned the country’s infrastructure development and made very little progress in regulatory reform including the enactment of telecoms laws, yet made substantial progress in infrastructure development. It remains to be seen whether India's relatively transparent and market driven approach to telecommunications policy (and access) will prove effective in the long run.
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Show moreThis paper describes research to establish and test a model that proposes relationships between Learning Experiences and Job Performance. Service Competence—a construct that integrates technical, cognitive, and social/emotional competencies—was adapted from social learning, emotional intelligence, and emotional labor theories and was proposed as mediating the relationship between learning experiences and job performance. Individual values were proposed to moderate the relationship between Learning Experiences and Service Competence. Alignment of an individual’s dominant value with the organization’s dominant value was proposed to moderate the relationship between Service Competence and Job Performance. Technical help desk employees at a major US retailer participated in this study. Participants completed a survey that included elements of a modified Bar-On EQi instrument and the Schwartz Value Survey. Additionally, managers evaluated the technical competence, productivity and quality for each participant. The research yielded several findings. Service Competence was shown to include Technical Competence, Cognitive Competence, and Social/Emotional Competence. When controlling for age, however, Technical Competence and Social/Emotional Competence were shown to mediate the relationship between Learning Experiences and Job Performance while Cognitive Competence had a direct effect on Job Performance. Years of Education was shown to be positively correlated with Flexibility. Training was shown to be positively correlated with Technical Competence, but negatively correlated with Flexibility. Apprenticeship was not shown to have an effect on Job Performance after controlling for Age. The experience of a Mentor Relationship was shown to have a positive correlation with Flexibility but a negative correlation with Technical Competency. Individual Values did not moderate any relationship between Learning Experiences and Service Competence. Technical Competence was positively correlated to Productivity and Quality. Problem Solving Competency was positively correlated with Productivity. Flexibility was positively correlated with Productivity. Inter-Personal Relationship competency was negatively correlated with Quality. Alignment with Organizational Values did have a strong moderating effect on the relationship between Technical Competency and Productivity. The findings validate, to some level, key aspects of theory behind the model. Specifically, the construct of Service Competence has clear relevance to Job Performance. Additionally, values have a strong moderating effect on Job Performance.
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Show moreThe work of scientists is heterogeneous-a series of interactions within networks composed of individuals from diverse fields and disciplines (Star & Griesemer, 1989). Generation of new knowledge is essential in the organizations in which these individuals associate; the bridge that holds them together. Knowledge generation takes place at both the individual and collective levels (Brown and Duguid, 1998). Professional organizations attract individuals because they provide a unique forum, a space in which they converge to pursue common goals. Actor-network Theory (ANT) is concerned with how heterogeneous networks and the associations that comprise them come into existence and operate to construct their own space (Murdoch, 1998). Construction occurs in events of the spaces in which research takes place and discoveries are made in networks. ANT views networks as formed through a processes of translation, occurring in phases (Callon, 1986). Translation models require focus on how actor-networks are created, strengthened or weakened, rather than on cause and effect (Tatnall, 1999). The theory is intended as a means for transcending and navigating the dualisms of nature/society, local/global, action/ structure, etc. (Law, 1997; Latour, 1987; Murdoch, 1998). I propose a qualitative field study on the ways in which members of a mature research organization, the Society for Investigative Dermatology, enter and interact in research networks as part of the science of medicine. I will describe the setting, theoretical underpinnings and research method of a study that will trace the path traveled by actors who enter and exit the boundaries of an organization, circulating and forming connections.
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Show moreLeadership theory defines authentic leaders as those holding high moral values, and posits that authentic leaders, through their integrity and altruism, inspire followers to emulate them by also developing their own values, integrity and caring. If the authentic leadership construct is valid, then followers must perceive their leaders’ integrity and altruism before they will desire to emulate them, and these perceptions should be influenced by leaders’ value content. This empirical study addresses that fundamental question: Do leaders’ values impact their perceived authenticity – their integrity and altruism – in the eyes of their followers?
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Show moreThis qualitative study examined factors that contribute to end of life decision-making regarding formulation of advance directives for individuals within the ‘baby boomer’ age range. Using a grounded theory methodology a substantive theory of awareness of end of life identifies four contexts under which advance directives are formulated and implemented. The L-A-M-P awareness model was identified through a series of interviews with fifteen individuals, who are considered generally well, and not anticipating imminent incapacity or death. My findings indicate that one’s prior personal experiences with death and dying are unique and these experiences may influence formulation of their own advance directives. The process of formulating written advance directives is complex. The individuals’ written advance directives ranged from simple declarative request for no heroic measures to a list of criteria and conditions under which certain treatments are to be administered or restricted.
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Show moreThis study addresses some of the challenges and opportunities that African Americans encounter in their quest for economic and personal progress. Further, the study implies that minority entrepreneurs are a special breed of entrepreneur, combining personal, professional, and financial success with that of shared-identity peers. African American entrepreneurs' views of success transcend personal financial gain to incorporate economic and civic progress with those with whom they share identity. Twenty African American entrepreneurs in South Africa and in the United States were interviewed. These individuals were identified through various local and government agencies, as well as through individuals who are in contact with Norfolk State University. I collected the data from these persons in South Africa and in Virginia. The data were evaluated analyzed by two professors, two entrepreneurs, and by me, and the results are an agreed upon compilation of the findings by each of us. Within the framework of entrepreneurship and using the qualitative methodology, this inquiry compares the experiences of African Americans in The Republic of South Africa to African Americans in the United States (US). My original premise was that African American entrepreneurs in South Africa and in the US became entrepreneurs to escape American corporate racism. In addtion, I hypothesized that those in South Africa were more interested in nation building than their US counterparts and those those in South Africa defined success more altruistically than those in the US. Finally, I postulated that those who moved to South Africa were seeking a "homeland," validity, and self esteem. The results indicate that although racism does account for some of the individuals becoming entrepreneurs, generally, it was the older entrepreneurs who were motivated to entrepreneurship by corporate racism. For the most part, the younger group did not regard corporate racism as a factor in their becoming entrepreneurs. In addition, both groups are actively involved in nation-building, and entrepreneurs in South Africa and in the US define success similarly. Finally, the search for homeland, validity, and self-esteem by those who have moved to South Africa was confirmed. This investigation suggests that individuals who return to their native homelands may encounter difficulties they may not have anticipated in the process of acclimatization in the new environment. Further, the US may be losing valuable job-producing individuals who are not willing to tolerate the confining environment of corporate America. This examination implies that African Americans are now interested in creating and building community in South Africa and in the US. However, in South Africa, these individuals are welcomed and highly regarded for the skills they bring and for the color of their skin, in contrast to the US where some feel their skin color has been a barrier to their success. Finally, while African Americans have made significant econimic progress over the last 30 years, they contineu to experience many of the same problems of the past. Though not as much as historially, discrimination and racism in the US continue to be problematic. Some African Americans are choosing to remove themselves from these obstacles by relocating to a different country. In addition, many are moving to the South (US) where, paradoxically, they feel more welcome than in the past. African Americans are pursuing their economic and personal goals in places where they perceive they are appreciated and valued. Further, for African Americans entrepreneurs in South Africa and in the US, economic progress apears to be less important than reaching personal fulfillment and contributing to society.
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Show moreWith the challenges facing the nonprofit sector in the United States – increasing competition, decreased funding sources, and rising demand for services – nonprofit organizations must make significant adaptations to continue playing an effective role in society. One of those adaptations – social entrepreneurship – has emerged as a creative response to the new demands facing nonprofits. This ethnographic study of a nonprofit family services organization investigated how both traditional and social entrepreneurship approaches were used and how the dynamic tension between these differing approaches is balanced. The data presented suggest that traditional management and social entrepreneurship approaches can be blended through a “continuum of practice,” and the tension resulting from integration is a positive factor that sustains a healthy balance between two extremes.
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Show moreThe transition from staff nurse to nurse leader is a natural promotional pathway in a nursing career. Yet seldom are staff nurses who are promoted to management prepared – either practically or psychologically – for the job. This study, based on semi-structured qualitative interviews with 13 nurse leaders, describes from their perspectives, the perils of ill-prepared promotion to management. Our findings suggest that nurse leaders often “do” management but continue to “be” nurses. The schism between doing and being, as seen in previous research in other contexts, impacts nurse leader’s attitude, job satisfaction and performance. In an era where the nurse leader is seen as vital in helping to stem the nation’s escalating nursing shortage, understanding – and remedying – barriers to optimal performance is crucial.
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