Teaching Leadership from a Communication Perspective

Interest in leadership has intensified during the past decade. This heightened interest in leadership appears to be encouraging communication departments to offer leadership coursework. This article provides a model for a communication-based course in leadership. A sample syllabus, information on preferred teaching methods, and instructional resources are presented

A study of the mechanism of chemical reactivity of nitrogen tetroxide with titanium alloys Quarterly report, 1 Oct. - 31 Dec. 1967

Corrosion test of titanium alloys with nitrogen tetroxid

Improving the thermal performance of single-glazed windows using translucent granular aerogel

Copyright @ 2011 Taylor & FrancisCost-effective materials, products and installation methods are required to improve the energy efficiency of the UK's existing building stock. The aim of this paper is to assess the potential for high-performance translucent granular aerogel insulation to be retrofitted over single glazing to reduce heat loss without blocking out all of the useful natural light. In situ testing of a 10-mm-thick prototype panel, consisting of a clear twin-wall polycarbonate sheet filled with granular aerogel, was carried out and validated with steady-state calculations. Results demonstrate that an 80% reduction in heat loss can be achieved without detrimental reductions in light transmission. Payback calculations accounting for the inevitable thermal bridging from openable solutions such as roller shutters or pop-in secondary glazing suggest that a return on investment between 3.5 and 9.5 years is possible if products are consistently used over the heating season. Granular aerogel is a promising material for improving the thermal performance of existing windows. Future research will seek to map out different ways in which the material can be applied to the existing UK housing stock, identifying which systems offer the greatest potential for widespread CO2 savings over their life cycle.This work is funded by the EPSRC, Brunel University and Buro Happold Ltd

Coordinated neuronal ensembles in primary auditory cortical columns.

The synchronous activity of groups of neurons is increasingly thought to be important in cortical information processing and transmission. However, most studies of processing in the primary auditory cortex (AI) have viewed neurons as independent filters; little is known about how coordinated AI neuronal activity is expressed throughout cortical columns and how it might enhance the processing of auditory information. To address this, we recorded from populations of neurons in AI cortical columns of anesthetized rats and, using dimensionality reduction techniques, identified multiple coordinated neuronal ensembles (cNEs), which are groups of neurons with reliable synchronous activity. We show that cNEs reflect local network configurations with enhanced information encoding properties that cannot be accounted for by stimulus-driven synchronization alone. Furthermore, similar cNEs were identified in both spontaneous and evoked activity, indicating that columnar cNEs are stable functional constructs that may represent principal units of information processing in AI

Dipole-dipole interaction between orthogonal dipole moments in time-dependent geometries

In two nearby atoms, the dipole-dipole interaction can couple transitions with orthogonal dipole moments. This orthogonal coupling accounts for a number of interesting effects, but strongly depends on the geometry of the setup. Here, we discuss several setups of interest where the geometry is not fixed, such as particles in a trap or gases, by averaging over different sets of geometries. Two averaging methods are compared. In the first method, it is assumed that the internal electronic evolution is much faster than the change of geometry, whereas in the second, it is vice versa. We find that the orthogonal coupling typically survives even extensive averaging over different geometries, albeit with qualitatively different results for the two averaging methods. Typically, one- and two-dimensional averaging ranges modelling, e.g., low-dimensional gases, turn out to be the most promising model systems.Comment: 11 pages, 14 figure

Ab initio molecular dynamics study of manganese porphine hydration and interaction with nitric oxide

The authors use ab initio molecular dynamics and the density functional theory+U (DFT+U) method to compute the hydration environment of the manganese ion in manganese (II) and manganese (III) porphines (MnP) dispersed in liquid water. These are intended as simple models for more complex water soluble porphyrins, which have important physiological and electrochemical applications. The manganese ion in Mn(II)P exhibits significant out-of-porphine plane displacement and binds strongly to a single H2O molecule in liquid water. The Mn in Mn(III)P is on average coplanar with the porphine plane and forms a stable complex with two H2O molecules. The residence times of these water molecules exceed 15 ps. The DFT+U method correctly predicts that water displaces NO from Mn(III)P-NO, but yields an ambiguous spin state for the MnP(II)-NO complex.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Removing the walls and textbook from the classroom: A case study of one creative entrepreneurship class of multinational students in South Korea

Introducing creative elements into the syllabus and pedagogy of an Entrepreneurship class in a business school can be a risky endeavour for an educator and students alike. Populating the class with students from traditionally risk-averse cultures provides opportunities for everyone involved. Identifying the core behavioural issues for students in this learning experience brought creativity and entrepreneurship together in the academic environment. Emergent was a joint learning workshop using Skype, involving a book author, a multilingual multicultural class in South Korea and a culturally homogenous class in Indonesia. Along the way, the walls of the classroom were removed and the covers from the book disappeared. At the end of the journey, a new paradigm had emerged, driven and defined by the students that want to be the Entrepreneurs of their own worlds. This is the story of one creative entrepreneurship class of multinational students in South Korea

The effects of dog management on Echinococcus spp. prevalence in villages on the eastern Tibetan Plateau, China

Background The pastoral area of the eastern Tibetan plateau is a very important human echinococcosis endemic region. Domestic dogs are the main definitive host for the transmission of Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s.1.) and E. multilocularis to humans. To control the infection risks, a national-level canine echinococcosis prevention and control program has been implemented since 2015 in Shiqu County, Sichuan, China, The objective of this investigation was to evaluate its effect on Echinococcus spp. prevalence in dogs. Methods We surveyed 69 households with 84 owned dogs, for dog keeping information in the villages of Rizha and Eduoma. A total of 105 dog fecal samples, consisting of 75 from owned dogs and 30 unknown dog fecal samples were collected between 2015 and 2017 to determine Echinococcus spp. prevalence using copro-PCR. Eight variables based on household surveys were included into a logistic regression model for significantly relevant factors to canine echinococcosis prevalence in dogs. Results The overall Echinococcus spp. copro-DNA prevalence decreased significantly in dogs from 51.2% (2015) to 20.0% (2017) in Rizha, and insignificantly from 11.5% (2016) to 4.3% (2017) in Eduoma. Echinococcus multilocularis was the most prevalent species continually detected during the entire research period, while E. granulosus was rare and not detected in 2017. Echinococcus shiquicus prevalence was as high as E. multilocularis , although only detected in 2015 in Rizha. Unleashed dog feces were mainly collected in Rizha Village in 2015. Although 93.2% of owned dogs were leashed, and the monthly praziquantel dosing rate reached 97%, E. multilocularis infection could still be detected in 11.1% of owned dogs in 2017. Monthly deworming, leashing dogs 24h per day, and the avoidance of dogs feeding on livestock viscera are significant measures to prevent canine echinococcosis infection in owned dogs. Conclusion Carrying out a canine echinococcosis prevention and control program can significantly decrease the Echinococcus prevalence. The potential contact between leashed dogs and wild small mammals is still a risk to re-infect owned dogs. This study shows that the long term application of regular dog dosing in the vast remote echinococcosis endemic areas of west China is still challenging