Adjustments in inter-cultural communication of expatriate and host national in local operation

Due to the global expansion of international hotel chains into culturally isolated countries, such as China, many hotels are in need of qualified staffs in local operation where a strong culture exists. When expatriate managers are sent abroad for overseas assignments, they are often confronted with the conflicts that are caused by inter-cultural differences between expatriates and host nationals. This paper examines several aspects of cultural and interpersonal issues involved in the conflicts, and seeks to determine any necessary adjustment from the information gathered by telephone interviews with the current expatriate managers in Beijing, China. Furthermore, the study discusses essential skills needed for expatriate and local managers to accomplish their objectives better

What might speakers '"Tacitly know"?

Journal ArticleThe theory of innate ideas, as revived by certain developments in transformational grammar, has been the subject of extensive discussion. In this paper I shall argue that there are no grounds at present for the claim, advanced by rationalist linguists, that one must posit certain highly specific items of tacit knowledge (or innate ideas) in order to account for linguistic behavior

Single-cell protein dynamics reproduce universal fluctuations in cell populations

Protein variability in single cells has been studied extensively in populations, but little is known about temporal protein fluctuations in a single cell over extended times. We present here traces of protein copy number measured in individual bacteria over multiple generations and investigate their statistical properties, comparing them to previously measured population snapshots. We find that temporal fluctuations in individual traces exhibit the same universal features as those previously observed in populations. Scaled fluctuations around the mean of each trace exhibit the same universal distribution shape as found in populations measured under a wide range of conditions and in two distinct microorganisms. Additionally, the mean and variance of the traces over time obey the same quadratic relation. Analyzing the temporal features of the protein traces in individual cells, reveals that within a cell cycle protein content increases as an exponential function with a rate that varies from cycle to cycle. This leads to a compact description of the protein trace as a 3-variable stochastic process - the exponential rate, the cell-cycle duration and the value at the cycle start - sampled once each cell cycle. This compact description is sufficient to preserve the universal statistical properties of the protein fluctuations, namely, the protein distribution shape and the quadratic relationship between variance and mean. Our results show that the protein distribution shape is insensitive to sub-cycle intracellular microscopic details and reflects global cellular properties that fluctuate between generations

Illumination uniformity in endoscopic imaging

Standardised endoscopic digital images were taken and analysed using an image analysis software (National Instruments Vision Assistant version 7.1.1). The luminance plane was extracted and the pixel intensity distribution was determined along a horizontal line at the position of highest average intensity (centroid). The data was exported to MS Excel and the pixel intensity (y-axis) was plotted against pixel position (x-axis). A trendline using a 2nd order polynomial curve was fitted to each data set. The resultant equation for each curve was compared with equations obtained from other images taken under various illumination conditions and settings

Individuality and slow dynamics in bacterial growth homeostasis

Microbial growth and division are fundamental processes relevant to many areas of life science. Of particular interest are homeostasis mechanisms, which buffer growth and division from accumulating fluctuations over multiple cycles. These mechanisms operate within single cells, possibly extending over several division cycles. However, all experimental studies to date have relied on measurements pooled from many distinct cells. Here, we disentangle long-term measured traces of individual cells from one another, revealing subtle differences between temporal and pooled statistics. By analyzing correlations along up to hundreds of generations, we find that the parameter describing effective cell-size homeostasis strength varies significantly among cells. At the same time, we find an invariant cell size which acts as an attractor to all individual traces, albeit with different effective attractive forces. Despite the common attractor, each cell maintains a distinct average size over its finite lifetime with suppressed temporal fluctuations around it, and equilibration to the global average size is surprisingly slow (> 150 cell cycles). To demonstrate a possible source of variable homeostasis strength, we construct a mathematical model relying on intracellular interactions, which integrates measured properties of cell size with those of highly expressed proteins. Effective homeostasis strength is then influenced by interactions and by noise levels, and generally varies among cells. A predictable and measurable consequence of variable homeostasis strength appears as distinct oscillatory patterns in cell size and protein content over many generations. We discuss the implications of our results to understanding mechanisms controlling division in single cells and their characteristic timescalesComment: In press with PNAS. 50 pages, including supplementary informatio

Managing the Magic behind the Movies. ACAMP: The Applicability of Agile Project Management to the Visual Effects Industry

Visual effects (VFX) are a cornerstone of modern filmmaking, yet research into their management approaches is still significantly limited. Agile project management (APM) is widely seen as being the most effective project management approach in technology-reliant, and innovative environments, all of which are characteristics commonly found in the VFX industry. We conducted a series of interviews to understand the extent to which APM techniques have been applied in the VFX industry, considering the theoretical transferability of APM to such non-software focused, creative teams. The interviews were conducted with a range of VFX professionals who differed in country of origin, seniority, background, gender, and the size of the companies they worked for. We identified an overall alignment of current management practice to core APM axioms, yet there is only a partial adoption of an existing formalised agile methodologies. We also identified a consistent set of adaptive and responsive PM practices across a diverse range of companies. We hypothesise that there exists a previously unidentified incarnation of Agile we have named Adapted Creative Agile Management of Projects (ACAMP)

Lessons Learned on Building and Operating Software Defined CubeSat for Scalable Satellites

Software Defined CubeSats are small and low-cost satellites that utilize software-based technologies for their operations and functionalities. While traditional hardware based CubeSats in large-scale systems have limitations for scalability due to their fixed environments, Software Defined CubeSats offer many advantages such as flexibility, scalability, cost-effectiveness, reliability, and rapid deployments. IBM Endurance CubeSat is a Software Defined CubeSat that aims to pave the way for future space missions. On May 25th, 2022, IBM Endurance CubeSat launched successfully in Florida, USA, and now it provides CubeSat as a Service to users who need to conduct space missions or experiments. The CubeSat uses virtualization technology and cloud-based infrastructure to perform data processing, equipped with sensors and a camera. In order to provide a stable CubeSat as a Service, the Mission Control System has continuously improved and operated with 184 successful jobs uploaded from the ground and executed dynamically in space. Development and automation tool shave also been developed and operated for end users to develop code for themselves. Currently, the CubeSat is provided as a Service for various scientific research experiments in the fields of device security, Earth observation, and sensor analysis from schools and higher education. The CubeSat uses containers for packaging and deploying applications. Containers are a type of virtualization technology that allows applications and their dependencies to be packaged together in a single and self-contained unit, which helps deploy and manage applications in different environments, such as cloud computing, edge computing, and space-based systems. This feature of hardware independence performs data processing and storage tasks in a highly flexible and dynamic manner. Containers also enable easy updates and upgrades to satellites’ hardware capabilities, responding quickly to changing mission requirements and user needs. In this paper, we will show how to implement and operate CubeSat as a Service by utilizing Software Defined Environment and Container/Virtualization Technologies. In addition, we will also demonstrate how to automate the process using CI/CD (Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment) pipeline. First, we will describe Virtualized Software Runtime consisting of an off-the shelf Operating System, Podman, and MicroShift. Podman is an open-source container technology that is widely used for deploying applications in cloud and edge computing environments. We used Podman to deploy applications on the CubeSat, running complex applications and services in a scalable and efficient manner. MicroShift is an open-source container orchestration platform that automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. Second, we will introduce a CubeSat Mission Control Center for Software Defined CubeSats. The CubeSat Mission Operations Center is a centralized facility responsible for controlling and monitoring the operations of CubeSats. Third, we will show CI/CD pipeline that has a set of practices and tools to automate the software development process, from code creation to deployment. The CI/CD pipeline helps to automate the software development and deployment process. This centralized software lifecycle management enables frequent updates and improvements to keep pace with users’ changing requirements and needs

Preparation and characterization of tapioca starch–poly(lactic acid) nanocomposite foams by melt intercalation based on clay type

Abstract Tapioca starch (TS), poly(lactic acid) (PLA), and four different organoclays (Cloisite 10A, Cloisite 25A, Cloisite 93A and Cloisite 15A) were used to produce nanocomposite foams by melt-intercalation. Structural, thermal, physical and mechanical properties were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and an Instron universal testing machine, respectively. The first XRD peaks for all four nanocomposite foams, were observed to shift to lower angles, indicating that intercalation occurred. The extent of intercalation depended on the type of organoclay and was exhibited in the sequence of Cloisite 10A \u3e 25A \u3e 93A \u3e 15A. Glass transition temperatures (Tg), melting temperatures (Tm), and transition enthalpies (ΔH) of the foams were investigated by DSC. Radial expansion ratio (RER), unit density, bulk spring index (BSI), bulk compressibility, Young’s modulus (E), water absorption index (WAI), and water solubility index (WSI) were influenced (p \u3c 0.05) significantly with the addition of different organoclays into the TS/PLA matrix

Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis risk and liver disease.

Objective. Evaluate the incidence of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) in patients with liver disease in the peritransplant period. Materials and Methods. This IRB approved study retrospectively reviewed patients requiring transplantation for cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or both from 2003 to 2013. Records were reviewed identifying those having gadolinium enhanced MRI within 1 year of posttransplantation to document degree of liver disease, renal disease, and evidence for NSF. Results. Gadolinium-enhanced MRI was performed on 312 of 837 patients, including 23 with severe renal failure (GFR < 30 mL/min/1.73 cm(2)) and 289 with GFR > 30. Two of 23 patients with renal failure developed NSF compared to zero NSF cases in 289 patients with GFR > 30 (0/289; P < 0.003). High dose gadodiamide was used in the two NSF cases. There was no increased incidence of NSF with severe liver disease (1/71) compared to nonsevere liver disease (1/241; P = 0.412). Conclusion. Renal disease is a risk factor for NSF, but in our small sample our evidence suggests liver disease is not an additional risk factor, especially if a low-risk gadolinium agent is used. Noting that not all patients received high-risk gadolinium, a larger study focusing on patients receiving high-risk gadolinium is needed to further evaluate NSF risk in liver disease in the peritransplant period