An Audience Centred Approach to Business Process Reengineering

This paper describes a method for process modelling which is designed to provide guidance to the business process modeller. The method has evolved from our experience of attempting to apply software process modelling approaches to business processes. A major influence on the method has been our observations that a pragmatic approach to notation selection is required in order to maintain a meaningful dialogue with end-users. Business process modelling methods typically fall into two camps. General methods attempt to describe the managerial activities which surround the modelling itself (Coulson-Thomas, 94; GISIP, 95). Specific methods, on the other hand, tend to concentrate on the details of a particular notational approach. However, as with programming languages or design methods, no single notational approach is best suited to all problems. Ideally, the process modeller should be able to incorporate the appropriate notational approach into some coherent generic modelling method.This paper addresses the needs of the modeller at the detailed level without prescribing a specific notation. This is achieved by describing categories of modelling activities which the modeller should undertake within process modelling, and suggesting how notations may be used within these categories. Our method is generally applicable, and is illustrated here by models of processes within the Construction industry

Use of Hydrogen Peroxide to Disinfect Hydroponic Plant Growth Systems

Hydrogen peroxide was studied as an alternative to conventional bleach and rinsing methods to disinfect hydroponic plant growth systems. A concentration of 0.5% hydrogen peroxide was found to be effective. Residual hydrogen peroxide can be removed from the system by repeated rinsing or by flowing the solution through a platinum on aluminum catalyst. Microbial populations were reduced to near zero immediately after treatment but returned to pre-disinfection levels 2 days after treatment. Treating nutrient solution with hydrogen peroxide and planting directly into trays being watered with the nutrient solution without replenishment, was found to be detrimental to lettuce germination and growth

Leaving so soon? Skilled Migrants in New Zealand: Who says and who goes?

New Zealand’s ability to attract the migrants it needs is crucial to maximising the contribution migration makes to the economy. However, an area of equal importance is how well New Zealand retains the migrants it attracts. This paper presents findings from an analysis of data from administrative sources and the Longitudinal Immigration Survey: New Zealand (LisNZ). We explore which factors are associated with the retention of skilled migrants in their first years after taking up residence in New Zealand – that is, ‘who stays and who goes?’.Among other results, we find that more educated migrants are generally less likely to stay in New Zealand. However, this effect is stronger for Asians and South Africans than for other migrants

The Communication Conundrum Exercise: Pedagogy for Project-Based Learning

Many professionals spend a significant amount of their time managing and supporting project teams. To help students learn how to work in this environment, we present the Communication Conundrum Exercise (CCE). The CCE challenges students to solve a symbol-identification problem with tension from hierarchical controls and narrowly defined rules for communication. Students assume roles that correspond to the major roles found on real-life hybrid project teams, and work with the triple constraint triangle common in project management. We provide the rationale for the CCE and the method and results of our analyses from 126 management students in 26 groups, and provide the details of exercise setup, execution, and debrief. The CCE delivers a high-energy, high-impact experience for students on the nature of hybrid project teams and their communication challenges

A Crystallographic Map of the Transition from B-DNA to A-DNA

The transition between B- and A-DNA was first observed nearly 50 years ago. We have now mapped this transformation through a set of single-crystal structures of the sequence d(GGCGCC)(2), with various intermediates being trapped by methylating or brominating the cytosine bases. The resulting pathway progresses through 13 conformational steps, with a composite structure that pairs A-nucleotides with complementary B-nucleotides serving as a distinct transition intermediate. The details of each step in the conversion of B- to A-DNA are thus revealed at the atomic level, placing intermediates for this and other sequences in the context of a common pathway