Molecular beam epitaxy of highly mismatched N-rich GaNSb and InNAs alloys

GaN materials alloyed with group V anions form the so-called highly mismatched alloys (HMAs). Recently, the authors succeeded in growing N-rich GaNAs and GaNBi alloys over a large composition range by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PA-MBE). Here, they present first results on PA-MBE growth and properties of N-rich GaNSb and InNAs alloys and compare these with GaNAs and GaNBi alloys. The enhanced incorporation of As and Sb was achieved by growing the layers at extremely low growth temperatures. Although layers become amorphous for high As, Sb, and Bi content, optical absorption measurements show a progressive shift of the optical absorption edge to lower energy. The large band gap range and controllable conduction and valence band positions of these HMAs make them promising materials for efficient solar energy conversion devices

Voice Flows To And Around Leaders: Understanding When Units Are Helped Or Hurt By Employee Voice

In two studies, we develop and test theory about the relationship between speaking up, one type of organizational citizenship behavior, and unit performance by accounting for where employee voice is flowing. Results from a qualitative study of managers and professionals across a variety of industries suggest that voice to targets at different formal power levels (peers or superiors) and locations in the organization (inside or outside a focal unit) differs systematically in terms of its usefulness in generating actions to a unit's benefit on the issues raised and in the likely information value of the ideas expressed. We then theorize how distinct voice flows should be differentially related to unit performance based on these core characteristics and test our hypotheses using time-lagged field data from 801 employees and their managers in 93 units across nine North American credit unions. Results demonstrate that voice flows are positively related to a unit's effectiveness when they are targeted at the focal leader of that unitwho should be able to take actionwhether from that leader's own subordinates or those in other units, and negatively related to a unit's effectiveness when they are targeted at coworkers who have little power to effect change. Together, these studies provide a structural framework for studying the nature and impact of multiple voice flows, some along formal reporting lines and others that reflect the informal communication structure within organizations. This research demonstrates that understanding the potential performance benefits and costs of voice for leaders and their units requires attention to the structure and complexity of multiple voice flows rather than to an undifferentiated amount of voice.Business Administratio

Increased periodontal attachment loss in patients with systemic sclerosis

Background: Patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases and periodontitis share common pathogenetic characteristics, such as pro-inflammatory traits causative for tissue degradation and loss of function. Aim of the present case control study was to investigate the association between systemic sclerosis (SSc) and periodontitis. Methods: The association between SSc and periodontitis was examined in 58 SSc patients and 52 control patients, matched for age and gender. Periodontal examination included periodontal attachment loss, probing pocket depth, bleeding on probing, plaque index and gingival index. Potential risk factors of periodontitis were assessed through patients' questionnaires. Results: In unadjusted analyses, patients with SSc had a significant 0.61 mm higher periodontal attachment loss (95 % confidence interval (CI), 0.24 - 0.97; p = 0.002) when compared to controls. In a stepwise logistic regression, including SSc status, age, gender, education, smoking, alcohol consumption and BMI, only SSc status, age, and gender remained significantly associated with periodontitis. Adjusted for age and gender, patients with SSc had 0.52 mm higher periodontal attachment loss compared to controls (95 % CI, 0.16 - 0.88; p = 0.005). The strength of the association of SSc with periodontal attachment loss remained statistically significant after further adjustment for plaque index (0.44 mm; 95 % CI 0.02 - 0.86; p = 0.038) or gingival index (0.61 mm; 95 % CI, 0.24 - 0.97 p = 0.001). Conclusions: The study demonstrates higher periodontal clinical attachment loss in SSc patients, which remained significant following adjustment. The study indicates a possible relationship between SSc and periodontitis

Numerical investigation of geogrid back-anchored sheet pile walls

peer reviewedIn the last decades, geosynthetic reinforcement has been widely used in geotech-nical applications. Recently, geogrid has also been used to back-anchor sheet pile walls. However, this system has not received sufficient attention neither in research nor in construction. Due to the complex interactions between soil, geogrid and sheet pile wall, the applicability of common design guidelines for conventionally back-anchored walls to this particular system has to be proven. To develop a fundamental understanding about the influence of various components of the system on its behaviour, numerical investigations have been conducted within this study. In this paper the influence of geogrid inclination, design of geogrid-sheet pile connection including prestressing and geogrid position on the earth pressure distribution and wall deformation is discussed. The numerical results revealed that the position of geogrid and design of geogrid-sheet pile connection significantly affect the earth pressure distribution. The wall deformations are mainly influenced by the geogrid position

The cubicle warrior: the marionette of the digitalized warfare

In the last decade we have entered the era of remote controlled military technology. The excitement about this new technology should not mask the ethical questions that it raises. A fundamental ethical question is who may be held responsible for civilian deaths. In this paper we will discuss the role of the human operator or so-called ‘cubicle warrior’, who remotely controls the military robots behind visual interfaces. We will argue that the socio-technical system conditions the cubicle warrior to dehumanize the enemy. As a result the cubicle warrior is morally disengaged from his destructive and lethal actions. This challenges what he should know to make responsible decisions (the so-called knowledge condition). Nowadays and in the near future, three factors will influence and may increase the moral disengagement even further due to the decrease of locus of control orientation: (1) photo shopping the war; (2) the moralization of technology; (3) the speed of decision-making. As a result, cubicle warriors cannot be held reasonably responsible anymore for the decisions they make

Critical analysis of information security culture definitions

This article aims to advance the understanding of information security culture through a critical reflection on the wide-ranging definitions of information security culture in the literature. It uses the hermeneutic approach for conducting literature reviews. The review identifies 16 definitions of information security culture in the literature. Based on the analysis of these definitions, four different views of culture are distinguished. The shared values view highlights the set of cultural value patterns that are shared across the organization. An action-based view highlights the behaviors of individuals in the organization. A mental model view relates to the abstract view of the individual’s thinking on how information security culture must work. Finally, a problem-solving view emphasizes a combination of understanding from shared value-based and action-based views. The paper analyzes and presents the limitations of these four views of information security culture definitions

How Does Reasoning (Fail to) Contribute to Moral Judgment? Dumbfounding and Disengagement

Recent experiments in moral psychology have been taken to imply that moral reasoning only serves to reaffirm prior moral intuitions. More specifically, Jonathan Haidt concludes from his moral dumbfounding experiments, in which people condemn other people’s behavior, that moral reasoning is biased and ineffective, as it rarely makes people change their mind. I present complementary evidence pertaining to self-directed reasoning about what to do. More specifically, Albert Bandura’s experiments concerning moral disengagement reveal that moral reasoning often does contribute effectively to the formation of moral judgments. And such reasoning need not be biased. Once this evidence is taken into account, it becomes clear that both cognition and affect can play a destructive as well as a constructive role in the formation of moral judgments

Organization Culture as an Explanation for Employee Discipline Practices

Most supervisors dread employee discipline and often employ strategies not officially sanctioned by the organization. Poorly designed discipline systems cause this variation in discipline practices. Inconsistent discipline can cause losses in productivity and reduce employee morale. Extant literature offers little in the form of guidance for improving this important human resource activity. This article explore where normative literature on organizational culture may have explanatory value for understanding variation in discipline practices. The article suggests two groups of factors that have causal effects on discipline practices. The tangible factors are those describing the formal practices the organization wishes its employees to follow. The intangible factors provide cues for explaining why informal strategies emerge as successful practices for getting things done. Using this conception of organization culture, the article proposes hypotheses for future testing to validate the suspected influence of culture on decisions regarding employee discipline.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Intermediated Social Preferences: Altruism in an Algorithmic Era

What are the consequences of intermediating moral responsibility through complex organizations or transactions? This paper examines individual decision-making when choices are known to be obfuscated under randomization. It reports the results of a data entry experiment in an online labor market. Individuals enter data, grade another individual’s work, and decide to split a bonus. However, before they report their decision, they are randomized into settings with different degrees of intermediation. The key finding is that less generosity results when graders are told the split might be implemented by a new procurement algorithm. Those whose decisions are averaged or randomly selected among a set of graders are more generous relative to the asocial treatment. These findings relate to “the great transformation” whereby moral mentalities are shaped by modes of (a)social interaction