Choices: an exploratory study of the decision-making behaviors of school superintendents

Ed. D.--University of Oklahoma, 2016Includes bibliographical references (leaves 161-171).Decision-making practices of school superintendents have previously been studied in the context of decision-making in response to a program or initiative, identifying decision-making styles, and ethical decision-making. Administrative mindfulness provides the construct to explore the cognitive mindset of superintendents as they make decisions. Prospect theory provides the conceptual framework to explore the process used by superintendents as they frame decisions, determine reference points, and evaluate options based on those reference points. The qualitative research design of this study employed semi-structured interviews as the primary method of data collection. Cross-case analysis was used to highlight variations in the data and to identify patterns within the data. Findings in the study referenced the substantial influence deferring to experts by superintendents played during their decision-making as they gathered information about a dilemma, determined their reference points, and evaluated options. Each school superintendent in the study provided definitive cognitive processes used in his decision making reflecting attributes of administrative mindfulness. When discussing a decision of regret, each subject identified an absence of at least one attribute of administrative mindfulness. Reference points, in the decision-making processes of superintendents, were discovered to be value-laden and unique to the superintendent rather than being quantifiable as situated in behavioral economics. However, reference points in both superintendent decision-making and behavioral economics provide a tool for evaluating various options and assessing risk. The study concluded that the overlay of administrative mindfulness on a school superintendent's decision-making process provides multiple opportunities to enhance decision-making. Those improvements to the decision-making processes are dependent upon the management of a superintendent's ego, a commitment to deferring to experts, and cognitive effort on the part of the superintendent to seek improvements in his decision-making practices

On the entropy of plasmas described with regularized κ\kappa-distributions

In classical thermodynamics the entropy is an extensive quantity, i.e.\ the sum of the entropies of two subsystems in equilibrium with each other is equal to the entropy of the full system consisting of the two subsystems. The extensitivity of entropy has been questioned in the context of a theoretical foundation for the so-called $\kappa$-distributions, which describe plasma constituents with power-law velocity distributions. We demonstrate here, by employing the recently introduced {\it regularized $\kappa$-distributions}, that entropy can be defined as an extensive quantity even for such power-law-like distributions that truncate exponentially.Comment: Preprint accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

MHD Simulation of the Inner-Heliospheric Magnetic Field

Maps of the radial magnetic field at a heliocentric distance of ten solar radii are used as boundary conditions in the MHD code CRONOS to simulate a 3D inner-heliospheric solar wind emanating from the rotating Sun out to 1 AU. The input data for the magnetic field are the result of solar surface flux transport modelling using observational data of sunspot groups coupled with a current sheet source surface model. Amongst several advancements, this allows for higher angular resolution than that of comparable observational data from synoptic magnetograms. The required initial conditions for the other MHD quantities are obtained following an empirical approach using an inverse relation between flux tube expansion and radial solar wind speed. The computations are performed for representative solar minimum and maximum conditions, and the corresponding state of the solar wind up to the Earths orbit is obtained. After a successful comparison of the latter with observational data, they can be used to drive outer-heliospheric models.Comment: for associated wmv movie files accompanying Figure 7, see http://www.tp4.rub.de/~tow/max.wmv and http://www.tp4.rub.de/~tow/min.wm

Will Products Liability Litigation Help Protect IoT Users from Cyber-Physical Attacks?

While there is an identifiable trend towards protecting consumers from data breaches and data misuses related to IoT devices through new legislation, new regulations, government enforcement actions, and private lawsuits, there has been little progress towards creating similar legally enforceable standards of care for “cyber-physical device security.” This article explores this underdeveloped area of academic inquiry into cyber-physical device security within the context of product liability litigation in the United States. The two questions addressed in this article are: (1) Have there been any successful products liability court decisions in the United States that have held IoT manufacturers liable for creating IoT products with inadequate cyber-physical device security; and (2) Is it likely that product liability litigation will soon lead to significant change in IoT cyber-physical device security? Analysis of laws, regulations, and court cases shows that the answer to both questions is negative. These findings have implications for IoT device users, device manufacturers, and the government agencies whose job it is to deter data breaches and other IoT-related cyberattacks

Семантична еволюція латинських і романських дієслів із значенням «звертатися»

Статья из специализированного выпуска научного журнала "Культура народов Причерноморья", материалы которого объединены общей темой "Язык и Мир" и посвящены общим вопросам Языкознания и приурочены к 80-летию со дня рождения Николая Александровича Рудякова.Стаття із спеціалізованого випуску наукового журналу "Культура народов Причерноморья", матеріали якого поєднані загальною темою "Мова і Світ" і присвячені загальним питанням мовознавства і приурочені до 80-річчя з дня народження Миколи Олександровича Рудякова