Personality, Productivity, and Instant Messaging

This paper explores the relationship between personality, productivity, and instant messaging. With the current and forecasted usage of IM software, business implications must be addressed. Managers should understand how to effectively manage this technology. Not understanding these implications could result in abuse and negatively impact productivity

Ethical data mining

The advent of data mining opens up a number of interesting prospects to increase competitiveness. To remain competitive, a corporation must strategically manage its information and react quicker than its competitors. However, this information must be kept secure, but accessible. Every organization must be held responsible for ensuring that their data is being used in a legal and ethical manner. This paper highlights both the positive and negative aspects of data mining. In addition, it provides insight into how information systems (IS) professionals and businesses may protect themselves from the negative ramifications associated with improper use of data

RFID: Revolutionizing inventory management across the supply chain

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is revolutionizing asset tracking, inventory management, and supply chain execution. RFID has the ability to track inventory with almost no human intervention, thus offering enormous potential for better inventory management across the supply chain. This paper discusses the application of RFID within four settings: (1) health care facilities, specifically hospitals; (2) tracking pharmaceuticals from manufacturing throughout distribution; (3) managing retain supply chains; and (4) tracking personnel, assets, and inventory in the military

B2B Trade Exchanges: A Study from a Seller\u27s Perspective

B2B transactions directly affect a company\u27s bottom line. More businesses are turning to e-marketplaces to conduct their purchasing and selling operations. This paper examines online trade exchanges and studies 20 manufacturing trade exchanges from a seller\u27s perspective

Perceived utility of the psycho-educational report to Foundation Phase teachers.

Despite controversies around the utilisation of specialised assessment within an inclusive approach to education, psycho-educational assessment practices persist in South Africa and are argued to still hold value. Nevertheless, it is essential that psycho-educational assessments and consequently the reports yielded effectively provide insight that is deemed useful to teachers presently functioning in inclusive classrooms. Accordingly, this study set out to investigate Foundation Phase teachers’ perceptions of the usefulness of the psycho-educational report. The sample of eight teachers was from a single, private Junior Primary School in Northern Johannesburg. The study focused on how useful teachers find reports for understanding and supporting learners. In addition, problems experienced by teachers with reports, and how they could be made more useful to them, were examined. This was addressed with consideration of the requirements of an inclusive approach to education. Although reports are found to provide the teachers with some useful insights for acquiring a more comprehensive understanding of the learner, there is need for improvement. Reports are generally perceived as useful for assisting the teachers in determining supportive interventions beyond the classroom context, but are thought to considerably lack utility for determining supportive interventions within the classroom. Criticism and preferences for technical aspects of reports were conveyed, most apparent being a problem with the overuse of technical language. Concern for a lack of consideration of learners as unique individuals was expressed, as well as an appeal for greater communication and collaboration with teachers. Yet, despite the uttered criticisms of psycho-educational reports, the teachers unanimously believe that reports still have the potential to hold great value to them within an inclusive approach to education. In view of the study findings, a number of recommendations for report writing are provided

Storytelling among child welfare social workers: constructing professional role and resilience through team talk

Child welfare social work is emotive and demanding work, requiring highly skilled and resilient practitioners. In a context of austerity, increased public scrutiny and accountability, defensive practice has been identified as a feature of professional practice. However, little is known about the processes through which social workers develop resilience or come to adopt a defensive stance in managing the demands of their work. This article focuses on professional storytelling among child welfare social workers. It examines how social workers construct their professional role through team talk and the implications of this for our understanding of professional resilience and defensiveness. Drawing on an in-depth narrative analysis of focus groups with social work teams, eight story types are identified in social workers’ talk about their work: emotional container stories, solidarity stories, professional epiphanies, professional affirmation stories, partnership stories, parables of persistence, tales of courageous practice and cautionary tales. Each story type foregrounds a particular aspect of child welfare practice, containing a moral about social work with vulnerable children and families. The article concludes with the implications of these stories for our understanding of both resilience and the pull towards defensiveness in child welfare social work

Investigation of the Hygroscopic and Morphological Properties of Atmospheric Aerosols

The first objective of this thesis was to examine the hygroscopic and morphological nature of various substances through the use of an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM). The hygroscopic growth and changes in morphology for pure-component aerosols were studied for particles greater than 2 µm in size. Hygroscopic growth was observed through changes in relative humidity (RH) and hygroscopic growth curves were created. The second objective of this thesis, the hygroscopic growth of multi-component aerosol mixtures, was studied using Hygroscopic Tandem Differential Mobility Analysis(HTDMA). The size distribution for an aerosol stream was determined before and after the stream was subjected to an increase in relative humidity

The Promise of Gangster Glamour: Sinatra, Vegas, and Alluring, Ethnicized, Excess

Las Vegas has been linked with Frank Sinatra since the 1950s. The highly‐publicized performances of the Rat Pack (consisting of Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford) at the Sands crystallized the image of Las Vegas as a place that mingled economic mobility with excess. This excess was often associated with ethnicity and frequently linked to crime. It was, however, the excess that made Las Vegas and Sinatra glamorous to many audiences