Measuring a customer intimacy culture in a value discipline context.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate a questionnaire for the assessment of a customer intimacy culture in the value discipline context. The main survey was completed by using a convenience sample of permanent employees (N = 200) at line, middle and top management levels of an organisation in the entertainment industry. This sample was taken from staff on structured developmental paths, while attending scheduled training events. The 169 completed questionnaires that were returned were used for the final data analyses. Owing to the small sample size, an adapted procedure for first- and second-level factor analyses was used, followed by an iterative item analysis. The preliminary findings suggest that the questionnaire can be applied for assessing customer intimacy cultures

The predictive validity of the APIL-B in a financial institution.

The purpose of this study was to assess the predictive validity of the APIL test battery, designed to identify learning potential. A sample of 235 successful job applicants completed the APIL Battery and the scores obtained were compared with a set of job success ratings provided by their direct managers. The predictive validity and the use of this psychometric device were assessed within the broad context of the provisions of the Employment Equity Act (55 of 1998), and the manner in which the information about an employee is to be used. The findings are generally positive and their implications are discussed below

The relationship between sense of coherence and goal setting.

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the dimensions of Sense of Coherence and Goal Setting. A sample of 80 management consultants participated in the study. Confirmatory reliabilities of the dimensions used in the Goal Setting Questionnaire (independent variable) and Sense of Coherence 29 item Orientation to Life Questionnaire (dependent variable), ranged from 0,54 to 0,97. A canonical correlation of 0,569 (DF = 39; p = 0,021) was obtained between the dimensions of these two questionnaires

2-(Ammonio­meth­yl)pyridinium sulfate monohydrate

In the crystal of the title hydrated molecular salt, C6H10N2 2+·SO4 2−·H2O, N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into layers parallel to the ab plane. C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds are observed both within these layers and between mol­ecules and ions in adjacent layers

Developing creative and innovative thinking and problem-solving skills

Published ArticleA specific financial services organisation in South Africa realised that they had to join the innovation revolution in order to remain commercially competitive due to unexpected competitors entering the traditional financial services domain. The evaluation question asks whether employees in a financial services organisation can develop creative and innovative thinking and problem-solving skills through an intervention such as a workshop, and can a benefit for the business unit and organisation be identified. This qualitative study employed Utilisation Focused Evaluation (UFE) to address the evaluation question. Questionnaires, pen-and-paper tests and interviews were used to gather data. Descriptive statistics were applied to report the data. The most critical finding confirmed that individuals can acquire creative and innovative thinking and problem-solving skills. The acquisition of these skills though is not sufficient on its own to establish a culture supportive of creativity and innovation. The study culminated in the creation of The Triple I Creativity and Innovation Model. The Triple I Creativity and Innovation Model illustrates how a workshop with distinctive training design features can impact the individual, the business unit and the organisation in order to initiate, ideaneer and ignite creativity and innovation

Robust single image noise estimation from approximate local statistics

Abstract: Abstract—A novel method for estimating the variance and standard deviation of the additive white Gaussian noise contained in an image will be presented. Only a single image is used to estimate the noise properties. Local image outliers are discarded, this allows us to separate the additive zero mean white Gaussian noise contained in a noisy image from the original image structure..

A new adaptive colorization filter for video decompression

HD content is more in demand and requires a lot of bandwidth. In this paper, a new real-time adaptive colorization filter for HD videos is presented. This approach reduces the required bandwidth by reducing non-key frames in the HD video sequence to grayscale and colourizing these frames at the decompression stage. Additionally this technique determines the frame status based on the image information

(N-Benzoyl-N′-phenyl­thio­urea-κS)chlorido(η4-1,5-cyclo­octa­diene)rhodium(I)

The title compound, [RhCl(C8H12)(C14H12N2OS)], is a rhodium(I) derivative with a functionalized thio­urea ligand. Despite the presence of several heteroatoms, the thio­urea ligand coordinates only in a monodentate fashion via the S atom. The geometry of the coordination sphere is approximately square planar about the RhI atom, with two bonds to the π-electrons of the 1,5-cyclo­octa­diene ligand, one bond to the Cl− ligand and one bond to the S atom of the thio­urea ligand. The mol­ecular structure is stabilized by intra­molecular N—H⋯O and N—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonding. Inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter­actions lead to the formation of layers extending parallel to (011)

Calcium supplementation to prevent pre-eclampsia - a systematic review

Background. Calcium supplementation during pregnancy may prevent high blood pressure and preterm labour. Objective. To assess the effects of calcium supplementation during pregnancy on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and related maternal and child adverse outcomes. Design. A systematic review of randomised trials that compared supplementation with at least 1 g calcium daily during pregnancy with placebo. Search strategy. The Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group trials register (October 2001) and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (Issue 3, 2001) were searched and study s were contacted. Data collection and analysis. Eligibility and trial quality were assessed. Data were extracted and analysed. Main results. There was a modest reduction in the risk of pre-eclampsia with calcium supplementation (relative risk (RR) 0.68, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.57- 0.81). The effect was greatest for women at high risk of hypertension (RR 0.21, 95% CI: 0.11 - 0.39) and those with low baseline calcium intake (RR 0.32, 95% CI: 0.21 - 0.49). There was no overall effect on the risk of preterm delivery, although there was a reduction in risk among women at high risk of hypertension (RR 0.42, 95% CI: 0.23 - 0.78). There was no evidence of any effect of calcium supplementation on stillbirth or death before discharge from hospital. There were fewer babies with birthweight 95th percentile was reduced (RR 0.59, 95% CI: 0.39 - 0.91). Conclusions. Calcium supplementation appears to be beneficial for women at high risk of gestational hypertension and in communities with low dietary calcium intake. These benefits were confined to several rather small trials, and were not found in the largest trial to date, conducted in a low-risk population. Further research is required. (South African Medical Journal: 2003 93(3): 224-228

Alignment invariant image comparison implemented on the GPU

Abstract: This paper proposes a GPU implemented algorithm to determine the differences between two binary images using Distance Transformations. These differences are invariant to slight rotation and offsets, making the technique ideal for comparisons between images that are not perfectly aligned..