Strategy and struggle: discourses of learning, change and influence in later-career middle-managers’ identity-work

The future of the workforce is grey. Workers classified as later-career workers, that is, those over the age of 50, currently comprise 20% of the European workforce and will represent 30% by the end of the current decade. The aim of this session is to enable participants to appreciate the extent and sources of learning in later-careers through the use of an identity lens. The session will present empirical findings from a study of later-career middle managers’ practice and learning. The qualitative, interpretivist study used image-elicitation methods to generate extensive narrative accounts of managerial practice and learning. This data is currently being analysed using both content analysis and narrative analysis approaches. The data collection and analytical approaches will be detailed and discussed. The data is being interpreted in the light of identity theorising, specifically post-structuralist notions of identity-work and identity-regulation. Theorising in this area will be overviewed and key debates highlighted and the researchers’ position asserted. Initial inductive analysis of the data demonstrated that, contrary to established research findings that later-career workers experience limited learning at work, the manager-participants actually experienced extensive learning in their workplaces. From this initial analysis it became clear that the manager-participants’ subjectivities were particularly prominent within their narratives of practice. These subjectivities and can be understood as both the object of learning and as integral to the process of learning. Further analysis is now showing that the narratives comprise considerable identity-work, whereby the managers were learning to “be” a particular type of manager, a manager who, for example, although late in their career journey, remained dynamic and open to change. Therefore, use of the identity lens has demonstrated that contrary to assumptions, these later-career managers were maintaining their employability, organisational contributions and capabilities for continuous learning late into their careers. It will be suggested that the experiences of these managers can contribute towards a better understanding of the ageing workforces of developed economies

“The Secret is Out!” Supporting Weight Loss through Online Interaction

This chapter provides a case study of how social support is communicated through online discussion on a weight loss community website. The site has many features including member profiles, journals, discussion boards, exercise and food trackers, and charts to help members keep track of their weight loss efforts. Members set goals, write journal entries, comment on one another’s journals, upload photos, join groups and challenges, and concerns issues related to diet, exercise, lifestyle changes, and other issues in their lives. Through analysis of journal entries and discussion forum comments, we discern how members demonstrate and respond to social support with one another. We also investigate the ways in which features of the online discussion help people communicate support. This study has implications for facilitators or web designers who want to create online spaces that foster supportive communication, particularly related to health concerns

1-(4-Bromo-3-chloro­phen­yl)-3-meth­oxy-3-methyl­urea (chlorbromuron)

In the title urea-based herbicide, C9H10BrClN2O2, there exist multiple inter- and intra­molecular inter­actions. Most notably, the intra­molecular hydrogen bond between the urea carbonyl O atom and an aromatic H atom affects the planarity and torsion angles of the mol­ecule by restricting rotations about the Ar—secondary amine N and the secondary amine N and the carbonyl C. The two N atoms in the urea fragment are in different environments. One is planar; the other, pseudo-C 3v. It is likely that the different nitro­gen-atom geometries and the restricted rotations within the mol­ecule impact the bioactivity of chlorbromuron

Not according to plan: Exploring gaps in city climate planning and the need for regional action

As the country's primary economic and population centers, cities drive most greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and will absorb most climate-related costs. And the growing frequency of floods, fires, droughts, and heat waves puts cities of all sizes in greater danger.To reduce these costs and amplify benefits, cities need to reduce emissions (or "decarbonize") their built environment. Eliminating fossil fuel consumption from their transportation, building, and electricity sectors is essential; collectively, these sectors produce nearly two-thirds of national GHG emissions. However, achieving those reductions will require more than simply relying on new federal rules and funding, including those in the Inflation Reduction Act. Local planners, policymakers, and practitioners need to coordinate on new infrastructure investments.One of the first steps cities have taken is the drafting of "climate action plans"—many of which pledge specific carbon reductions. Yet even as these plans proliferate, cities leaders are struggling to hit their targets. One gap in city climate planning and action is internal, with cities often failing to specify detailed strategies that will advance their goals. The other gap is regional: Individual cities do not have the fiscal, technical, or programmatic capacity to single-handedly drive decarbonization across their metropolitan regions, and often, they do not coordinate with other jurisdictions.This report attempts to better understand why cities are failing to meet their targets and what can be learned from the planning practices that are working well. By evaluating the most comprehensive decarbonization plans across 50 of the country's largest cities, the report judges how well the strategies and actions in these plans prepare cities for meaningful, accountable decarbonization

Bill Russell Memorial Correspondence 1970

Documents include a letter to Bill Russell from Robert Sunderland, V.P. of Student Affairs and Harold Logwood, Chairman of the Black Student Union notifying him USF\u27s plan to create the Bill Russell Room in honor of the alum athlete. Page 3 is a letter from Harold Logwood to Father Jonsen requesting the administration to issue Bill Russell an honorary degree from USF during the unveiling of the Bill Russell Room. Pages 4-7 are BSU notes, plans and a schedule to raise money for the creation of the Bill Russell Room

Presolar Diamond in Meteorites

Presolar diamond, the carrier of the isotopically anomalous Xe component Xe-HL, was the first mineral type of presolar dust that was isolated from meteorites. The excesses in the light, p-process only isotopes 124Xe and 126Xe, and in the heavy, r-process only isotopes 134Xe and 136Xe relative to the solar ratios indicate that Xe-HL was produced in supernovae: they are the only stellar source where these two processes are believed to take place. Although these processes occur in supernovae, their physical conditions and timeframes are completely different. Yet the excesses are always correlated in diamond separates from meteorites. Furthermore, the p-process 124Xe/126Xe inferred from Xe-L and the r-process 134Xe/136Xe from Xe-H do not agree with the p-process and r-process ratios derived from the solar system abundance, and the inferred p-process ratio does not agree with those predicted from stellar models. The 'rapid separation scenario', where the separation of Xe and its radiogenic precursors Te and I takes place at the very early stage (7900 sec after the end of the r-process), has been proposed to explain Xe-H. Alternatively, mixing of 20% of material that experienced neutron burst and 80% of solar material can reproduce the pattern of Xe-H, although Xe-L is not accounted for with this scenario

MEF2C regulates outflow tract alignment and transcriptional control of Tdgf1

Congenital heart defects are the most common birth defects in humans, and those that affect the proper alignment of the outflow tracts and septation of the ventricles are a highly significant cause of morbidity and mortality in infants. A late differentiating population of cardiac progenitors, referred to as the anterior second heart field (AHF), gives rise to the outflow tract and the majority of the right ventricle and provides an embryological context for understanding cardiac outflow tract alignment and membranous ventricular septal defects. However, the transcriptional pathways controlling AHF development and their roles in congenital heart defects remain incompletely elucidated. Here, we inactivated the gene encoding the transcription factor MEF2C in the AHF in mice. Loss of Mef2c function in the AHF results in a spectrum of outflow tract alignment defects ranging from overriding aorta to double-outlet right ventricle and dextro-transposition of the great arteries. We identify Tdgf1, which encodes a Nodal co-receptor (also known as Cripto), as a direct transcriptional target of MEF2C in the outflow tract via an AHFrestricted Tdgf1 enhancer. Importantly, both the MEF2C and TDGF1 genes are associated with congenital heart defects in humans. Thus, these studies establish a direct transcriptional pathway between the core cardiac transcription factor MEF2C and the human congenital heart disease gene TDGF1. Moreover, we found a range of outflow tract alignment defects resulting from a single genetic lesion, supporting the idea that AHF-derived outflow tract alignment defects may constitute an embryological spectrum rather than distinct anomalies

Best News User Guide: Coalitions

This user guide was created to help tobacco control staff and partners implement evidence-based best practices by translating research into practical guidance. The user guides focus on strategies (e.g., programs and interventions) that have shown strong or promising evidence of effectiveness. Recommendations in this guide are suggestions for utilizing coalitions in comprehensive tobacco control programs.https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cphss/1062/thumbnail.jp