Cultural Wellbeing Index: A Dynamic Cultural Analytics Process for Measuring and Managing Organizational Inclusion as an Antecedent Condition of Employee Wellbeing and Innovation Capacity

The purpose of this study was to validate an inclusive, holistic, evidence-based index to measure the impact of organizational culture on employee wellbeing. This study utilized a new Cultural Wellbeing Index (CWI), a composite of other validated cultural metrics including inputs of hope, trust, and belonging. Internal validity of the index was measured using Cronbach’s alpha and Pearson correlation. Four logistic regression models were completed to test the correlative power of the CWI to employee health, retention, engagement, and job satisfaction. CWI shows strong internal validity and strong correlative and predictive power with employee wellbeing metrics among the population surveyed

Interactive Effects of Drought and Fire on Co-Existing Woody and Herbaceous Communities in a Temperate Mesic Grassland

Increased drought and woody encroachment are likely to have substantial and interactive effects on grassland carbon and water cycling in the future. However, we currently lack necessary information to accurately predict grassland responses to drought-by-fire interactions in areas experiencing woody encroachment. A more thorough understanding of these interactive effects on grass-shrub physiology would improve the effectiveness of demographic vegetation models and refine predictions of future changes in grassland ecosystem function. To this end, we constructed passive rainout shelters over mature Cornus drummondii shrubs and co-existing grasses in two fire treatments (1-year and 4-year burn frequency) at the Konza Prairie Biological Station (north-eastern Kansas, USA) that reduced precipitation by 50%. Plant responses to drought and fire were monitored at the leaf-level (gas exchange, predawn and midday water potential, turgor loss point) and the whole-plant level (aboveground biomass). Here, we report results from the 2020 growing season, after three years of treatment. Photosynthetic rates of C. drummondii and Andropogon gerardii, a dominant C4 grass, were lower in drought treatments at the end of the growing season. A. gerardii also exhibited higher photosynthetic rates in the 4-year burn watershed, but C. drummondii rates were not impacted by burn frequency. Predawn and midday leaf water potential for both species, as well as turgor loss point for C. drummondii, were lower in the 4-year burn treatment, indicating increased water stress. This trend was more pronounced in drought shelters for C. drummondii. These results indicate that three years of 50% precipitation reduction has resulted in modest impacts on water stress and gas exchange in both species. Long-term studies of co-existing grasses and shrubs are useful for informing management of woody encroachment during drought and help to identify whether multiple external pressures (drought and fire) are needed to reverse grassland-to-shrubland transitions in temperate mesic grasslands

Hydraulic Responses of Shrubs and Grasses to Fire Frequency and Drought in a Tallgrass Prairie Experiencing Bush Encroachment

The increase in abundance and density of woody plants in herbaceous ecosystems (i.e. bush encroachment) is occurring globally and is driven by reduced fire frequency, climate change, and the utilization of deeper, more reliable soil water by woody plants. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of the physiological processes through which woody and herbaceous plants use water will provide greater insight into the mechanisms of bush encroachment, as well as the trajectory of encroachment in a changing climate. Our objective was to assess how experimental changes in water availability and fire frequency impact belowground water-use traits in Cornus drummondii, the primary encroaching shrub within North American tallgrass prairies, and Andropogon gerardii, a dominant C4 grass. Shelters that reduced precipitation by 50% (drought) and 0% (control) were built over mature shrubs growing in sites that were burned at 1-year and 4-year frequencies. We assessed the water transport capability of shrubs and grasses growing in each treatment by measuring the maximum hydraulic conductance (Kmax) of entire root systems. We also assessed the vulnerability of shrub root segments to loss of hydraulic function by measuring the pressure at which 50% of the maximum hydraulic conductivity is lost (P50). Grass and shrub roots had opposite responses to drought and these patterns varied with fire treatment. Grasses growing in drought plots had lower root Kmax than control grasses. Conversely, root Kmax did not differ significantly between treatments in shrubs. However, drought shrub roots were less vulnerable to water stress than control roots (P50=-1.5 and -0.20 MPa, respectively). These results suggest that the ability of grass roots to use water declined with drought, while the ability of shrub roots to resist water stress increased with drought. Future work should investigate whether these drought responses are associated with altered root growth patterns

Representational capacity of a set of independent neurons

The capacity with which a system of independent neuron-like units represents a given set of stimuli is studied by calculating the mutual information between the stimuli and the neural responses. Both discrete noiseless and continuous noisy neurons are analyzed. In both cases, the information grows monotonically with the number of neurons considered. Under the assumption that neurons are independent, the mutual information rises linearly from zero, and approaches exponentially its maximum value. We find the dependence of the initial slope on the number of stimuli and on the sparseness of the representation.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, Phys. Rev. E, vol 63, 11910 - 11924 (2000

Predictive validity of the UK clinical aptitude test in the final years of medical school:a prospective cohort study

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Deep-ultraviolet cavity ringdown spectroscopy

The sensitive optical detection technique of cavity ringdown spectroscopy is extended to the wavelength range 197-204 nm. A novel design narrowband Fourier-transform-limited laser is used, and the technique is applied to gas-phase extinction measurements in CO2, SF6, and O-2. Further demonstration of the system capabilities is given in high-resolution recordings of the Schumann-Runge (0, 0), (1, 0), and (2, 0) bands in O-2. (C) 2004 Optical Society of America

Music for Thought: Examining Saudi Identities Expressed Through Music on Social Media

The aim of this chapter is to investigate how social media help create and diffuse popular music in Saudi Arabia and how such music questions the officially accepted identities and social practices. Social media are widely used as means of promotion among artists around the world; yet Saudi Arabia deserves special attention. This is because traditional media act much more strictly as gatekeepers in the kingdom; hence, social media offer greater possibility for circulation of popular entertainment, especially when it touches upon the questions related to the core values of the Saudi society. Such is the case of recordings by Hesham Fageeh “No woman, No drive” (2013) or the recently trending video clip “Hwages” that, both, received peak visibility online and sparked debates about women empowerment. Similarly, some videos trending online prompted a dance craze, for instance, “Barbs” showed a choreography that was subsequently copied by fans who uploaded their performances online. Dancing is a prohibition among the conservative segments of society; yet, the vastly young population of Saudi Arabia seeks entertainment.Social media in Saudi Arabia have become primordial means of communication in the kingdom with highest rates of social media participation in the Middle East and seventh rank in the world (2016). Consequently, this chapter employs a mixed-method approach in order to uncover how social media breaks the monopoly on entertainment by promoting different musical genres and encouraging social debate

Engaging with issues of emotionality in mathematics teacher education for social justice

This article focuses on the relationship between social justice, emotionality and mathematics teaching in the context of the education of prospective teachers of mathematics. A relational approach to social justice calls for giving attention to enacting socially-just relationships in mathematics classrooms. Emotionality and social justice in teaching mathematics variously intersect, interrelate or interweave. An intervention, usng creative action methods, with a cohort of prospective teachers addressing these issues is described to illustrate the connection between emotionality and social justice in the context of mathematics teacher education. Creative action methods involve a variety of dramatic, interactive and experiential tools that can promote personal and group engagement and embodied reflection. The intervention aimed to engage the prospective teachers with some key issues for social justice in mathematics education through dialogue about the emotionality of teaching and learning mathematics. Some of the possibilities and limits of using such methods are considered