How career variety promotes the adaptability of managers: a theoretical model

This paper presents a theoretical model showing how managerial adaptability develops from career variety over the span of the person’s career. By building on the literature of career theory, adult learning and development, and career adjustment, we oVer a new conceptualization of managerial adaptability by identifying its behavioral, cognitive, and socio-emotional dimensions, discuss how these competencies can develop from the variety of managers’ cumulative career experiences, and propose several individual and career-related factors that moderates the relationship between managerial career variety and adaptability

Wildlife Damage Management Class and Curriculum at the University of Georgia

The Warnell School of Forest Resources at the University of Georgia offers a course in wildlife damage management. The 3-credit hour course is taught at the undergraduate/graduate level. Enrollment is restricted to 10 students. The course is offered in spring semester every year and co-taught by a wildlife faculty member and the State Director of USDA - Wildlife Services (WS), who holds adjunct faculty status. The course consists of 2 hours of classroom lecture and a minimum of 3 hours laboratory time each week. Lectures cover basic principles of wildlife damage control. Lab time is devoted to field exercises related to wildlife damage management activities conducted by Wildlife Services. During spring semesters in 2002 and 2003 students participated in Canada goose and feral duck removal utilizing alph-chloralose, use of explosives for beaver damage control, deer collections at three residential communities, predator trapping and management, pigeon removal with rocket nets, double-crested cormorant collection and food habits analysis, interactive media training, an on-line discussion group with high school students regarding urban deer management, a visit to an aquaculture facility, and the presentation of three 30-minute lessons to a local elementary school science club. In this paper, we will discuss the course philosophy and course outline, review the wildlife curriculum at the University of Georgia, present some results of lab exercises and discuss the course evaluation

Tree Competition Reduces Cattle Growth Rates in Eucalypt Woodlands of Queensland

The wiregrass/bluegrass (Aristida/Bothriochloa) native pasture community in Eucalypt woodlands is a major cattle producing resource in Queensland. The effects of poplar box tree (Eucalyptus populnea) competition (at 5 m2/ha tree basal area) and grazing pressure on pastures and on growth of Brahman-cross steers were measured in a grazing experiment. Treatments were 2 tree competition levels (live trees or clearing) by 3 grazing pressures (low - 25%, medium - 50% and high - 75% utilisation of annual pasture growth). Pasture yield and pasture foliage cover increased for 3 years from the reduction in tree competition by clearing and by low grazing pressure with increasing annual rainfall. Clearing increased pasture yield by 33% in the first summer growing season and by 94% in the third year. After 3 years, foliage cover after clearing was 51% compared with 39% in pastures with live trees. Pasture yield and cover were reduced by 34% and 33% respectively by high grazing pressure compared with the low rate. Reducing tree competition by clearing produced a 39% increase in annual average daily steer weight gain (0.32 kg/day) over the third year, by eliminating weight loss in winter. Annual steer growth was highest at the low and medium grazing pressures, with most rapid growth in summer when pastures were green and growing. Highest liveweight in the third year occurred with clearing and low grazing pressure (gaining 131 kg/hd). There was greatest liveweight loss (14 kg/hd) between autumn and spring at high grazing pressure

Discovery of PF-06928215 as a high affinity inhibitor of cGAS enabled by a novel fluorescence polarization assay

Cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) initiates the innate immune system in response to cytosolic dsDNA. After binding and activation from dsDNA, cGAS uses ATP and GTP to synthesize 2\u27, 3\u27 -cGAMP (cGAMP), a cyclic dinucleotide second messenger with mixed 2\u27-5\u27 and 3\u27-5\u27 phosphodiester bonds. Inappropriate stimulation of cGAS has been implicated in autoimmune disease such as systemic lupus erythematosus, thus inhibition of cGAS may be of therapeutic benefit in some diseases; however, the size and polarity of the cGAS active site makes it a challenging target for the development of conventional substrate-competitive inhibitors. We report here the development of a high affinity (KD = 200 nM) inhibitor from a low affinity fragment hit with supporting biochemical and structural data showing these molecules bind to the cGAS active site. We also report a new high throughput cGAS fluorescence polarization (FP)-based assay to enable the rapid identification and optimization of cGAS inhibitors. This FP assay uses Cy5-labelled cGAMP in combination with a novel high affinity monoclonal antibody that specifically recognizes cGAMP with no cross reactivity to cAMP, cGMP, ATP, or GTP. Given its role in the innate immune response, cGAS is a promising therapeutic target for autoinflammatory disease. Our results demonstrate its druggability, provide a high affinity tool compound, and establish a high throughput assay for the identification of next generation cGAS inhibitors

Discovery of PF-06928215 as a high affinity inhibitor of cGAS enabled by a novel fluorescence polarization assay

Cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) initiates the innate immune system in response to cytosolic dsDNA. After binding and activation from dsDNA, cGAS uses ATP and GTP to synthesize 2\u27, 3\u27 -cGAMP (cGAMP), a cyclic dinucleotide second messenger with mixed 2\u27-5\u27 and 3\u27-5\u27 phosphodiester bonds. Inappropriate stimulation of cGAS has been implicated in autoimmune disease such as systemic lupus erythematosus, thus inhibition of cGAS may be of therapeutic benefit in some diseases; however, the size and polarity of the cGAS active site makes it a challenging target for the development of conventional substrate-competitive inhibitors. We report here the development of a high affinity (KD = 200 nM) inhibitor from a low affinity fragment hit with supporting biochemical and structural data showing these molecules bind to the cGAS active site. We also report a new high throughput cGAS fluorescence polarization (FP)-based assay to enable the rapid identification and optimization of cGAS inhibitors. This FP assay uses Cy5-labelled cGAMP in combination with a novel high affinity monoclonal antibody that specifically recognizes cGAMP with no cross reactivity to cAMP, cGMP, ATP, or GTP. Given its role in the innate immune response, cGAS is a promising therapeutic target for autoinflammatory disease. Our results demonstrate its druggability, provide a high affinity tool compound, and establish a high throughput assay for the identification of next generation cGAS inhibitors

Attitudes of Students in a Wildlife Damage Management Class Towards Nuisance Wildlife Control

Students majoring in wildlife management at the University of Georgia have the option of enrolling in our Wildlife Damage Management course. Students participate in a variety of field activities associated with the laboratory portion of the class while also attending twice-weekly lectures on wildlife damage topics. Each spring at the beginning of the semester, students participate in a short survey to assess their opinions on various topics related to wildlife damage management. The same students participate in the same survey at the end of the semester. We have been collecting pre-and post-course data since 1994. Significantly more students agreed with a variety of coyote (Canis latrans) control activities in the post-class survey except when asked about paying farmers and ranchers for livestock losses. They disagreed with this practice and did not change their view. Students generally agreed with the practice of using poison to control selected species except eagles but there were fewer significant attitude shifts pre-and post-class. As expected, students scored high on knowledge questions related to coyotes. The statement that producers had the right to protect property saw a significant change in attitude (\u3e percentage agreed post-class)

The Photometric Variability of the Chromospherically Active Binary Star HD 80715

Differential UBVRI photometry of the double-lined BY Dra system HD 80715 (K3 V + K3 V) obtained in December 1987 is presented. The star is found to be a variable with a full amplitude of 0.06 mag in V and a period similar or equal to the orbital period of 3.804 days. The mechanism of the variability is interpreted as rotational modulation due to dark starspots. In an attempt to detect chromospheric activity, high-resolution CCD spectra were obtained at Ca II H and K and at Fe I 6430 A and Ca I 6439 A, the photospheric lines normally used for Doppler imaging. HD 80715 shows double H and K emission features at a constant flux level for each component

Spread Supersymmetry

In the multiverse the scale of SUSY breaking, \tilde{m} = F_X/M_*, may scan and environmental constraints on the dark matter density may exclude a large range of \tilde{m} from the reheating temperature after inflation down to values that yield a LSP mass of order a TeV. After selection effects, the distribution for \tilde{m} may prefer larger values. A single environmental constraint from dark matter can then lead to multi-component dark matter, including both axions and the LSP, giving a TeV-scale LSP lighter than the corresponding value for single-component LSP dark matter. If SUSY breaking is mediated to the SM sector at order X^* X, only squarks, sleptons and one Higgs doublet acquire masses of order \tilde{m}. The gravitino mass is lighter by a factor of M_*/M_Pl and the gaugino masses are suppressed by a further loop factor. This Spread SUSY spectrum has two versions; the Higgsino masses are generated in one from supergravity giving a wino LSP and in the other radiatively giving a Higgsino LSP. The environmental restriction on dark matter fixes the LSP mass to the TeV domain, so that the squark and slepton masses are order 10^3 TeV and 10^6 TeV in these two schemes. We study the spectrum, dark matter and collider signals of these two versions of Spread SUSY. The Higgs is SM-like and lighter than 145 GeV; monochromatic photons in cosmic rays arise from dark matter annihilations in the halo; exotic short charged tracks occur at the LHC, at least for the wino LSP; and there are the eventual possibilities of direct detection of dark matter and detailed exploration of the TeV-scale states at a future linear collider. Gauge coupling unification is as in minimal SUSY theories. If SUSY breaking is mediated at order X, a much less hierarchical spectrum results---similar to that of the MSSM, but with the superpartner masses 1--2 orders of magnitude larger than in natural theories.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

Electron multiplication CCD detector technology advancement for the WFIRST-AFTA coronagraph

The WFIRST-AFTA (Wide Field InfraRed Survey Telescope-Astrophysics Focused Telescope Asset) is a NASA space observatory. It will host two major astronomical instruments: a wide-field imager (WFI) to search for dark energy and carry out wide field near infrared (NIR) surveys, and a coronagraph instrument (CGI) to image and spectrally characterize extrasolar planets. In this paper, we discuss the work that has been carried out at JPL in advancing Electron Multiplying CCD (EMCCD) technology to higher flight maturity, with the goal of reaching a NASA technology readiness level of 6 (TRL-6) by early-to-mid 2016. The EMCCD has been baselined for both the coronagraph's imager and integral field spectrograph (IFS) based on its sub-electron noise performance at extremely low flux levels - the regime where the AFTA CGI will operate. We present results from a study that fully characterizes the beginning of life performance of the EMCCD. We also discuss, and present initial results from, a recent radiation test campaign that was designed and carried out to mimic the conditions of the WFIRST-AFTA space environment in an L2 orbit, where we sought to assess the sensor's end of life performance, particularly degradation of its charge transfer efficiency, in addition to other parameters such as dark current, electron multiplication gain, clock induced charge and read noise

A "superstorm": When moral panic and new risk discourses converge in the media

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Health, Risk and Society, 15(6), 681-698, 2013, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13698575.2013.851180.There has been a proliferation of risk discourses in recent decades but studies of these have been polarised, drawing either on moral panic or new risk frameworks to analyse journalistic discourses. This article opens the theoretical possibility that the two may co-exist and converge in the same scare. I do this by bringing together more recent developments in moral panic thesis, with new risk theory and the concept of media logic. I then apply this theoretical approach to an empirical analysis of how and with what consequences moral panic and new risk type discourses converged in the editorials of four newspaper campaigns against GM food policy in Britain in the late 1990s. The article analyses 112 editorials published between January 1998 and December 2000, supplemented with news stories where these were needed for contextual clarity. This analysis shows that not only did this novel food generate intense media and public reactions; these developed in the absence of the type of concrete details journalists usually look for in risk stories. Media logic is important in understanding how journalists were able to engage and hence how a major scare could be constructed around convergent moral panic and new risk type discourses. The result was a media ‘superstorm’ of sustained coverage in which both types of discourse converged in highly emotive mutually reinforcing ways that resonated in a highly sensitised context. The consequence was acute anxiety, social volatility and the potential for the disruption of policy and social change