Academic Librarianship and Career Adaptability

The inspiration for this essay is Barbara Fister’s assertion that librarians must embrace functions that have not traditionally been part of the academic librarian’s portfolio. We shall examine the need for career adaptability in librarianship and use a case study to illustrate the four attributes librarians need to develop to ensure career adaptability. The case study involved collaboration between Kansas State University (KSU) Libraries, an agronomy professor, and the Global Research Alliance to develop an open access croplands research database. We will draw upon the field of vocational psychology to discuss career adaptability and ways librarians can develop the traits needed for good career adaptability: career concern, career control, career curiosity and career confidence (4 Cs) (Savickas, 2005)

The Value of Adaptability

This paper examines a firm's ability to respond correctly to an unexpected change in the environment (i.e., its adaptability). We develop a model that allows for empirical examination of the impact of a firm's adaptability on its expected profits. The theory shows that a firm's adaptability can be estimated by the squared correlation between an unexpected change and the firm's reaction. The estimates show that adaptability has a large positive impact on the average profit rate and the market value of a firm. We also find that an increase in risk is correlated with a rise in adaptability.

How career variety promotes the adaptability of managers: a theoretical model

This paper presents a theoretical model showing how managerial adaptability develops from career variety over the span of the person’s career. By building on the literature of career theory, adult learning and development, and career adjustment, we oVer a new conceptualization of managerial adaptability by identifying its behavioral, cognitive, and socio-emotional dimensions, discuss how these competencies can develop from the variety of managers’ cumulative career experiences, and propose several individual and career-related factors that moderates the relationship between managerial career variety and adaptability

The impact of self-efficacy and cognitive appraisal on coping adaptability in military recruits : a test of a model and its impact on organisational outcomes : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University

The present research aimed to test a model of adaptation in RNZAF recruits which was similar in structure to transactional models of stress such as Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) model. Using a longitudinal design and dispositional measures the study assessed the impact of general self-efficacy and cognitive appraisal at the start of recruit training on coping adaptability at the end of training. These variables were also assessed as to their impact on organisationally relevant variables including organisational commitment, perceived performance improvement and readiness for next career phase. Overall the study had two broad aims. The first was to confirm the relationships between appraisal, coping adaptability and outcomes as previously shown in transactional models of stress and coping. The second aim was to discover how self-efficacy impacted on the model, more specifically, whether it acted as a moderator, mediator or antecedent to the appraisal – coping relationship. The results confirmed that challenge appraisal was associated with better organisational outcomes, this relationship was fully mediated by coping adaptability. Self-efficacy was strongly correlated with challenge appraisal however did not moderate the appraisal – coping relationship nor did it mediate the appraisal – coping adaptability relationship. The direct relationship between self-efficacy and coping adaptability was however, fully mediated by challenge appraisal. Threat appraisal did not demonstrate strong relationships with the remaining variables in this sample. Additionally, general self-efficacy, challenge appraisal and coping adaptability were associated with organisational commitment and readiness but not with performance improvement

Adaptability: Does Students’ Adjustment to University Predict Their Mid-Course Academic Achievement and Satisfaction?

Individual differences in ‘adaptability’–cognitive, behavioural, and emotional adjustment in the face of change, novelty, and uncertainty–are theorised to influence students’ academic achievement and course satisfaction; although the literature examining these relations in tertiary education is sparse. In the present study, first-year undergraduate students were surveyed for their adaptability, academic buoyancy, and academic motivation (predictor variables) along with their mid-course academic achievement and course satisfaction (outcome variables). Correlation analyses revealed that adaptability was significantly associated with all other variables in this study. Multiple regression analyses revealed that after controlling for individual differences in academic buoyancy and academic motivation, adaptability explained unique variance in both academic achievement and course satisfaction. These findings have important implications for researchers and educators seeking to understand first-year students’ adjustment to university and the influence this may have on their educational outcomes.</p

Speed and Adaptability of Overlap Fermion Algorithms

We compare the efficiency of four different algorithms to compute the overlap Dirac operator, both for the speed, i.e., time required to reach a desired numerical accuracy, and for the adaptability, i.e., the scaling of speed with the condition number of the (square of the) Wilson Dirac operator. Although orthogonal polynomial expansions give good speeds at moderate condition number, they are highly non-adaptable. One of the rational function expansions, the Zolotarev approximation, is the fastest and is adaptable. The conjugate gradient approximation is adaptable, self-tuning, and nearly as fast as the ZA.Comment: 30 Pages, 7 Figures, RevTex4, New results for Zolotarev Algorithm, causing major changes in Section V and Concluding sectio

Objectivity, Proximity and Adaptability in Corporate Governance

Countries appear to differ considerably in the basic orientations of their corporate governance structures. We postulate the trade-off between objectivity and proximity as fundamental to the corporate governance debate. We stress the value of objectivity that comes with distance (e.g. the market oriented U.S. system), and the value of better information that comes with proximity (e.g. the more intrusive Continental European model). Our key result is that the optimal distance between management and monitor (board or shareholders) has a bang-bang solution: either one should capitalize on the better information that comes with proximity or one should seek to benefit optimally from the objectivity that comes with distance. We argue that this result points at an important link between the optimal corporate governance arrangement and industry structure. In this context, we also discuss the ways in which investors have "contracted around" the flaws in their own corporate governance systems, pointing at the adaptability of different arrangements.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39651/3/wp266.pd

Adaptability Checking in Multi-Level Complex Systems

A hierarchical model for multi-level adaptive systems is built on two basic levels: a lower behavioural level B accounting for the actual behaviour of the system and an upper structural level S describing the adaptation dynamics of the system. The behavioural level is modelled as a state machine and the structural level as a higher-order system whose states have associated logical formulas (constraints) over observables of the behavioural level. S is used to capture the global and stable features of B, by a defining set of allowed behaviours. The adaptation semantics is such that the upper S level imposes constraints on the lower B level, which has to adapt whenever it no longer can satisfy them. In this context, we introduce weak and strong adaptabil- ity, i.e. the ability of a system to adapt for some evolution paths or for all possible evolutions, respectively. We provide a relational characterisation for these two notions and we show that adaptability checking, i.e. deciding if a system is weak or strong adaptable, can be reduced to a CTL model checking problem. We apply the model and the theoretical results to the case study of motion control of autonomous transport vehicles.Comment: 57 page, 10 figures, research papaer, submitte