Culture and the coaching practitioner: An interview with Dr Alastair Macfarlane

Dr Alastair Macfarlane is a management practitioner, consultant and coach in the international domain. In this interview he explains how he takes a holistic approach to the preparation for an international assignment. Macfarlane emphasises the importance in coaching of self-awareness, the ability to reflect and being open to learn, as well as a consideration for the needs of any family that may come along. He tells of his own experiences and confrontations with cultures that were not his own, and gives practical advice for coaches working with a global workforce and organisations looking to send their employees abroad

Risks and Ultraviolet Budgets using Earth Observation (RUBEO): Including a nonstandard atmosphere and geographic ozone trend differences in risk assessments

No RIVM report number in publicationUV-budget maps (the geographical distribution of effective UV at ground level) can be derived from satellite data. These UV-budget maps visualise changes in effective UV caused by ozone depletion and changes in cloud cover and aerosol content. Alterations in UV-budget maps over time give - in combination with dose-effect models for UV-induced effects - insight in the associated risks for human health and the environment. This report describes the results of the RUBEO-project: calculating Risks and Ultraviolet Budgets using Earth Observation (RUBEO). RUBEO aims at a better cloud parameterisation and incorporating temporal and spatial resolution for surface albedo, aerosol content and tropospheric ozone content. The geographical distribution of ozone and UV climatology and trends over Europe are analysed, and a cost-benefit analysis of satellite based UV budget mapping is provided. The UV-budget mapping can be applied using TOMS and GOME ozone data. A large scale statistical analysis of cloud effects is given comparing ISCCP and TOMS based remote sensing methods with cloud effects derived from ground measurements. Both satellite derived methods correlate well (r 0.93) with the ground based analysis. Correction for non-zero albedo, under clear sky conditions, adds maximal 8% to the yearly effective UV-budget. Temporal and spatial differences in aerosol optical thickness and tropospheric ozone content, result in a decrease in effective UV of 3% for every 0.1 increase in aerosol optical thickness, and in a decrease in effective UV of 4% for every 10 DU increase in tropospheric ozone. Stratospheric ozone trends of -1 to -4% per decade observed over Europe correspond to a 0.5 to 4% increase in skin cancer weighted effective UV. The largest trends are seen in the central part of Western Europe. At present satellite based UV-budget maps form a functional basis for trend analysis and risk assessment. However, satellite data and ground-based observations are both indispensable. Maps for changing UV-budgets and associated skin cancer risks have been used in 'state of the environment', reports. Such overviews, regularly published by the Dutch National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and the European Environmental Agency (EPA), support the evaluation and formulation of adequate environmental policies. This report describes a project carried out in the framework of the Users Support Programme (USP-2), under responsibility of the Netherlands Remote Sensing Board (BCRS).Beleidscommissie Remote Sensing (BCRS

Coaching and Cross-Cultural Transitions: a narrative inquiry approach

This article explores the use of a narrative inquiry approach as a research method for research on coaching practice. It is based on an MA research project on the application of developmental theory to the construction of a stage model for use in cross-cultural coaching practice. Seven international students at a UK university business school related their experiences of living in the UK and how it affected their perspectives of themselves and their meaning-making processes. The article attempts to address three questions: what purpose can narrative inquiry serve in coaching research? What are the pitfalls of a narrative inquiry approach? And perhaps most importantly, how useful could a narrative inquiry be in showing up cultural bias in developmental theory? Initial findings and emerging future research themes are highlighted

Histological investigations of the secondary phloem of gymnosperms

An anatomical study of secondary phloem of the different species of Gymnosperms showed that three categories could be distinguished, which may represent three evolutionary stages. These three categories were:Pseudotsuga taxifolia type, to which belong many Pinaceae (while the other Pinaceae species belong to a subtype, e.g. the Tsuga canadensis subtype);Gingko biloba type, to which belong the Cycadaceae, Araucariaceae and many Podocarpaceae and Taxaceae;Chamaecyparis pisifera type, to which belong the Cupressaceae, Taxodiaceae and the rest of the Taxaceae and Podocarpaceae.The phylogenetic sequence of the axial system and the reduction of the phloem rays starts in the Ps. taxifolia type with an almost uniform axial system and ray- albuminous cells, and a complex heterogeneous phloem ray, differentiating through the G. biloba type to the C. pisifera type, which has a highly specialized axial system with phloem-albuminous cells and a simpler, reduced homogeneous phloem ray. The reduction of the phloem rays parallels the differentiation of the axial system