3,805 research outputs found
Letter from The Science Agency
Letter concerning filling positions with The Science Agency
Letters between The Science Agency and W. J. Kerr
Letter concerning filling a position in horticulture with The Science Agency
The state of the art in evaluating the performance of assistant and associate deans as seen by deans and assistant and associate deans.
This study explores the little-understood process of evaluating the performance of assistant and associate deans at dental colleges in the United States and Canada. Specifically, this research aimed to identify the methods, processes, and outcomes related to the performance appraisals of assistant/associate deans. Both deans and assistant/associate deans were surveyed. Forty-four of sixty-six deans (66.7 percent) and 227 of 315 assistant/associate deans (72.1 percent) completed surveys with both close-ended and open-ended questions. In addition, ten individuals from each group were interviewed. Results indicate that 75-89 percent of assistant/associate deans are formally evaluated, although as many as 27 percent may lack formal job descriptions. Some recommended best practices for performance appraisal are being used in a majority of colleges. Examples of these best practices are having at least yearly appraisals, holding face-to-face meetings, and setting specific, personal performance objectives/benchmarks for assistant/associate deans. Still, there is much room to improve appraisals by incorporating other recommended practices. Relatively high levels of overall satisfaction were reported by both assistant/associate deans and deans for the process and outcomes of appraisals. Assistant/associate deans rated the value of appraisals to overall development lower than did deans. Qualitative data revealed definite opinions about what constitutes effective and ineffective appraisals, including the use of goal-setting, timeliness, and necessary commitment. Several critical issues related to the results are discussed: differences in perspectives on performance reviews, the importance of informal feedback and job descriptions, the influence of an assistant/associate deans\u27 lack of tenure, and the length of service of deans. Lastly, recommendations for enhancing performance evaluations are offered
Strategic management and organizational behavior in dental education: reflections on key issues in an environment of change.
With issues such as shrinking revenue, access to care, faculty workloads, and graying faculty, dental schools are faced with difficult challenges that fall to dental school deans to manage. Do dental school deans have the organizational skill sets and ethical frameworks necessary to address the challenges now facing dental schools? The purpose of this article is to pose questions and suggestions regarding some of the key issues in dental colleges today and to stimulate discussion in the dental community about needed changes in dental education
The state of the art in evaluating the performance of department chairs and division heads.
This study explores the little understood process of evaluating the performance of department chairs/division heads in dental schools. Specifically, this research aimed to elucidate the methods, processes, and outcomes related to the job performance of department chairs/division heads. Forty-three deans and 306 chairs completed surveys with both close-ended and open-ended questions. In addition, ten deans and ten chairs were interviewed. Results indicate that 80 to 90 percent of department chairs are formally evaluated, although as many as 50 percent may lack job descriptions. Recommended best practices for performance appraisal--such as having at least yearly appraisals, holding face-to-face meetings, and setting specific, personal performance objectives/benchmarks for chairs--are being used in most schools. Still, there is much room to improve appraisals by incorporating other recommended practices. Overall high levels of satisfaction were reported by both chairs and deans for the process and outcomes of appraisals. Qualitative data showed some convergence of opinions about appraisals with the notable exception of informal feedback. We explore some implications of these results, especially as they relate to improving performance appraisals
Seismic behaviour of geotechnical structures
This paper deals with some fundamental considerations regarding the behaviour of geotechnical structures under seismic loading. First a complete definition of the earthquake disaster risk is provided, followed by the importance of performing site-specific hazard analysis. Then some suggestions are provided in regard to adequate assessment of soil parameters, a crucial point to properly analyze the seismic behaviour of geotechnical structures. The core of the paper is centered on a critical review of the analysis methods available for studying geotechnical structures under seismic loadings. All of the available methods can be classified into three main classes, including the pseudo-static, pseudo-dynamic and dynamic approaches, each of which is reviewed for applicability. A more advanced analysis procedure, suitable for a so-called performance-based design approach, is also described in the paper. Finally, the seismic behaviour of the El Infiernillo Dam was investigated. It was shown that coupled elastoplastic dynamic analyses disclose some of the important features of dam behaviour under seismic loading, confirmed by comparing analytical computation and experimental measurements on the dam body during and after a past earthquake
Li-loaded liquid scintillators produced by direct dissolution of compounds in diisopropylnaphthalene (DIPN)
The paper describes preparation of Li-loaded liquid scintillators by
methods involving direct dissolution of Li salts in the commercial
diisopropylnaphthalene (DIPN) solvent, without the formation of water-in-oil
emulsions. Methods include incorporation of Li that, unlike previously
reported formulations, does not require additions of water or a strong acid
such as hydrochloric acid (HCl). Results of the conducted experiments show that
dissolution of aromatic and aliphatic Li salts in DIPN can be easily
achieved at 0.1- 0.3% by weight of atomic Li, using small additions of
waterless surfactants, or mild carboxylic acids. An alternative way suggests
incorporation of Li as a part of a surfactant molecule that can be
dissolved in DIPN without any solubilizing additions. Proposed methods enable
preparation of efficient Li-loaded liquid scintillators that, at a large
scale of 50 cm, exhibit good pulse shape discrimination (PSD) properties
combined with up to 107% of light output and up to 115% of the attenuation
length measured relative to standard undoped EJ-309 liquid scintillator.Comment: Submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research
Stable cubulations, bicombings, and barycenters
We prove that the hierarchical hulls of finite sets of points in mapping
class groups and Teichm\"uller spaces are stably approximated by a CAT(0) cube
complexes, strengthening a result of Behrstock-Hagen-Sisto. As applications, we
prove that mapping class groups are semihyperbolic and Teichm\"uller spaces are
coarsely equivariantly bicombable, and both admit stable coarse barycenters.
Our results apply to the broader class of "colorable" hierarchically hyperbolic
spaces and groups.Comment: 80 pages, 25 figure
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