Ruin and organization studies

In this paper we offer a preliminary study of the various ways in which 'ruin' has significance for organization studies. One important motif associated with both modern and romantic treatments of the ruin is the revelatory impressions ruins make. In this respect the traditions of ruin writing will talk of their ?beauty?, their ?strangeness? or their capacity to ?intimidate?. In order to attend to this elusive phenomenon we must necessarily breach some of the self-imposed boundaries of our ?discipline?. Central to our strategy is the use of ?contiguity? as both method and textual structuring device that allows us to drift across iconic ruin images, ruin theories, and our own ruinous research experiences. This helps us learn how to ?dwell? in ruins without any impatient reaching after fact or explaining away ruins in the terms of any established tradition of theorizing in organization. In this way we hope to be able to open up new analytic spaces and associations for organizational researchers. These concern specifically a) a distinctive approach to time, history and memory; b) an increased awareness of the multiplicity of forces impinging on organization, but from which we so easily retreat behind the cordon sanitaire of organization-studies-as-usual; and c) a cognizance of how the very way we write is a mode of doing organization that is crucial for our ability and willingness to look into 'all corners of reality' so that we might better grasp organizational phenomena

Management as an Academic Discipline?

To study something like 'management' as an 'academic discipline' inevitably leads to the question: What is disciplinary about management? In this chapter we put in play various meanings of 'discipline' and the effects these produce. An important reference is the work of Michel Foucault who reminds us of the importance of a vigilant and permanent questioning of 'discipline'. One response is to linger - in a somewhat irreverent fashion - on certain issues that management scholars may have ignored in their corpus of knowledge. In what is a rather peculiar body of literature and practices that makes up ?business and management studies?, we show that discipline is far from disciplined. As a practice it is best characterised as promiscuous and eclectic. Yet, the clarion call of discipline remains. In a final twist, this chapter argues it is important to retain this legacy so that its constant re-invention remains a possibility

Protecting privacy of users in brain-computer interface applications

Machine learning (ML) is revolutionizing research and industry. Many ML applications rely on the use of large amounts of personal data for training and inference. Among the most intimate exploited data sources is electroencephalogram (EEG) data, a kind of data that is so rich with information that application developers can easily gain knowledge beyond the professed scope from unprotected EEG signals, including passwords, ATM PINs, and other intimate data. The challenge we address is how to engage in meaningful ML with EEG data while protecting the privacy of users. Hence, we propose cryptographic protocols based on secure multiparty computation (SMC) to perform linear regression over EEG signals from many users in a fully privacy-preserving(PP) fashion, i.e., such that each individual's EEG signals are not revealed to anyone else. To illustrate the potential of our secure framework, we show how it allows estimating the drowsiness of drivers from their EEG signals as would be possible in the unencrypted case, and at a very reasonable computational cost. Our solution is the first application of commodity-based SMC to EEG data, as well as the largest documented experiment of secret sharing-based SMC in general, namely, with 15 players involved in all the computations

Giraffe translocation population viability analysis

Most populations of giraffes have declined in recent decades, leading to the recent IUCN decision to upgrade the species to Vulnerable status, and some subspecies to Endangered. Translocations have been used as a conservation tool to re-introduce giraffes to previously occupied areas or establish new populations, but guidelines for founding populations are lacking. To provide general guidelines for translocation projects regarding feasibility, we simulated various scenarios of translocated giraffe populations to identify viable age and sex distributions of founding populations using population viability analysis (PVA) implemented in Vortex software. We explored the parameter space for demography and the genetic load, examining how variation in founding numbers and sex ratios affected 100 yr probability of population extinction and genetic diversity. We found that even very small numbers of founders (N ≤ 10 females) can appear to be successful in the first decades due to transient positive population growth, but with moderate population growth rate and moderate genetic load, long-term population viability (probability of extinction 95% genetic diversity of the source population in an isolated population, 50 females and 5 males are recommended to compose the founding population. Sensitivity analyses revealed first-year survival and reproductive rate were the simulation parameters with the greatest proportional influence on probability of extinction and genetic diversity. These simulations highlight important considerations for translocation success and data gaps including true genetic load in wild giraffe populations

La planta ideal de yuca para obtener rendimientos máximos

A series of trials were carried out using cassava. Crop growth rate increased with leaf area up to LAI 4; root growth rate increased up to LAI 3-3.5, then declined. LAI is determined by leaf size, leaf formation rate and individual leaf life. Leaf size reached a max 4 mo after planting and then decreased; the max was a varietal character. Leaf life was reduced by shading but in full daylight was determined by the var. Leaf formation rate/shoot apex showed little genetic vafiation and declined with time; large differences in leaf formation rate/plant were determined by differences in branching pattern. Top growth had preference over root growth, and root sink was not limiting when root no./plant was equal to or greater than 9. A computer program was written to implement a dynamic growth model, which suggests that high-yielding plants will branch late in life and possess large leaves and long leaf life. Potential yields of greater than 25 t/ha/yr dry roots are obtainable at 400-500 g cal (cm)-2 day radiation. (AS

Field evaluation of a malaria rapid diagnostic test (ICT Pf)

Background. Malaria rapid diagnostic tests (MRDTs) are quickand easy to perform and useful for diagnosing malaria in primary health care settings. In South Africa most malaria infections are due to Plasmodium falciparum, and HRPII-based MRDTs have been used since 2001. Previous studies in Africa showed variability in sensitivity and specificity of HRPIIbased MRDTs; hence, we conducted a field evaluation in Limpopo province to determine the accuracy of the MRDTcurrently used in public sector clinics and hospitals.Methods. A cross-sectional observational study was conductedto determine the sensitivity and specificity of an ICT Pf MRDT. We tested 405 patients with fever with ICT Pf MRDT and compared the results with blood film microscopy (the gold standard).Results. The overall sensitivity of the ICT Pf MRDT was 99.48% (95% confidence interval (CI) 96.17 - 100%), while specificity was 96.26% (95% CI 94.7 - 100%). The positive predictive value of the test was 98.48 (99% CI 98.41 - 100%), and the negative predictive value was 99.52% (95% CI 96.47 – 100%).Conclusions. The ICT Pf MRDT is an appropriate test to use in the field in South Africa where laboratory facilities are not available. It has a high degree of sensitivity and acceptable level of specificity in accordance with the World Health Organization criteria. However, sensitivity of MRDT at low levels of parasitaemia

The HIV-associated tuberculosis epidemic--when will we act?

Despite policies, strategies, and guidelines, the epidemic of HIV-associated tuberculosis continues to rage, particularly in southern Africa. We focus our attention on the regions with the greatest burden of disease, especially sub-Saharan Africa, and concentrate on prevention of tuberculosis in people with HIV infection, a challenge that has been greatly neglected. We argue for a much more aggressive approach to early diagnosis and treatment of HIV infection in affected communities, and propose urgent assessment of frequent testing for HIV and early start of antiretroviral treatment (ART). This approach should result in short-term and long-term declines in tuberculosis incidence through individual immune reconstitution and reduced HIV transmission. Implementation of the 3Is policy (intensified tuberculosis case finding, infection control, and isoniazid preventive therapy) for prevention of HIV-associated tuberculosis, combined with earlier start of ART, will reduce the burden of tuberculosis in people with HIV infection and provide a safe clinical environment for delivery of ART. Some progress is being made in provision of HIV care to HIV-infected patients with tuberculosis, but too few receive co-trimoxazole prophylaxis and ART. We make practical recommendations about how to improve this situation. Early HIV diagnosis and treatment, the 3Is, and a comprehensive package of HIV care, in association with directly observed therapy, short-course (DOTS) for tuberculosis, form the basis of prevention and control of HIV-associated tuberculosis. This call to action recommends that both HIV and tuberculosis programmes exhort implementation of strategies that are known to be effective, and test innovative strategies that could work. The continuing HIV-associated tuberculosis epidemic needs bold but responsible action, without which the future will simply mirror the past

PIN15 CHRONIC HEPATITIS B (CHB) MANAGEMENT COSTS IN SWEDEN

L'edifici fou construït l'any 1860, aproximadament.Primer pla, contrapicat d'un edifici d'habitatges entre mitgeres, en cantonada. Consta de planta baixa, cinc plantes pis i terrat. La façana és uniforme, de marcat estil academicista, amb un pòrtic amb pilars i arcs de mig punt a la planta baixa