Note and Comment

The Proposed Code of Legal Ethics for the American Bar Association; The Power of a court of Equity to Order the Exhumation of a Dead Body for Examination in Aid of the Defense of a Civil Action at Law; The Consolidation of Municipal Corporations and the Federal Constitution; The Scalper in Law and in Equity; The Basis of Equitable Jurisdiction in Cases of Fraud

Towards practice-based studies of HRM: an actor-network and communities of practice informed approach

HRM may have become co-terminus with the new managerialism in the rhetorical orthodoxies of the HRM textbooks and other platforms for its professional claims. However, we have detailed case-study data showing that HR practices can be much more complicated, nuanced and indeed resistive toward management within organizational settings. Our study is based on ethnographic research, informed by actor-network theory and community of practice theory conducted by one of the authors over an 18-month period. Using actor-network theory in a descriptive and critical way, we analyse practices of managerial resistance, enrolment and counter-enrolment through which an unofficial network of managers used a formal HRM practice to successfully counteract the official strategy of the firm, which was to close parts of a production site. As a consequence, this network of middle managers effectively changed top management strategy and did so through official HRM practices, coupled with other actor-network building processes, arguably for the ultimate benefit of the organization, though against the initial views of the top management. The research reported here, may be characterized as a situated study of HRM-in-practice and we draw conclusions which problematize the concept of HRM in contemporary management literature

Evaluation and interpretation of regional and site-specific hydrochemical data bases for water quality assessment

International audienceThe spatial distribution of stream water composition, as determined by the Geochemical Baseline Survey of the Environment (G-BASE) conducted by the British Geological Survey (BGS) can be successfully related under baseflow conditions to bedrock geochemistry. Further consideration of results in conjunction with site-specific monitoring data enables factors controlling both spatial and temporal variability in major element composition to be highlighted and allows the value of the survey to be enhanced. Hence, chemical data (i) from streams located on Lower Silurian (Llandovery) bedrock at 1 km2 resolution collected as part of the G-BASE survey of Wales and the West Midlands and (ii) from catchment monitoring studies located in upland mid-Wales (conducted by Institute of Terrestrial Ecology), have been considered together as an example. Classification of the spatial survey data set in terms of potentially controlling factors was carried out so as to illustrate the level of explanation they could give in terms of observed spatial chemical variability. It was therefore hypothesised that on a geological lithostratigraphic series of limited geochemical contrast, altitude and land-use factors provide better explanation of this variability than others such as lithology at sampling site and stream order. At an individual site, temporal variability was also found to be of considerable significance and, at a monthly time-step, is explicable in terms of factors such as antecedent conditions and seasonality. Data suggest that the degree of this variability may show some relationship with stream order and land-use. Monitoring data from the region also reveal that relationships between stream chemistry and land-use may prove to be strong not only at base flow but also in storm flow conditions. In a wider context, predictions of the sensitivity of stream water to acidification based on classifications of soil and geology are successful on a regional scale. However, the study undertaken here has shown that use of such classification schemes on a catchment scale results in considerable uncertainty associated with prediction. Uncertainties are due to the large degree of variability in stream chemistry encountered both spatially within geological units and temporally at individual sampling sites

Exploring the stability of communication network metrics in a dynamic nursing context

Network stability is of increasing interest to researchers as they try to understand the dynamic processes by which social networks form and evolve. Because hospital patient care units (PCUs) need flexibility to adapt to environmental changes (Vardaman et al., 2012), their networks are unlikely to be uniformly stable and will evolve over time. This study aimed to identify a metric (or set of metrics) sufficiently stable to apply to PCU staff information sharing and advice seeking communication networks over time. Using Coefficient of Variation, we assessed both Across Time Stability (ATS) and Global Stability over four data collection times (Baseline and 1, 4, and 7 months later). When metrics were stable using both methods, we considered them "super stable." Nine metrics met that criterion (Node Set Size, Average Distance, Clustering Coefficient, Density, Weighted Density, Diffusion, Total Degree Centrality, Betweenness Centrality, and Eigenvector Centrality). Unstable metrics included Hierarchy, Fragmentation, Isolate Count, and Clique Count. We also examined the effect of staff members' confidence in the information obtained from other staff members. When confidence was high, the "super stable" metrics remained "super stable," but when low, none of the "super stable" metrics persisted as "super stable." Our results suggest that nursing units represent what Barker (1968) termed dynamic behavior settings in which, as is typical, multiple nursing staff must constantly adjust to various circumstances, primarily through communication (e.g., discussing patient care or requesting advice on providing patient care), to preserve the functional integrity (i.e., ability to meet patient care goals) of the units, thus producing the observed stability over time of nine network metrics. The observed metric stability provides support for using network analysis to study communication patterns in dynamic behavior settings such as PCUs.National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of HealthOpen access articleThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Note and Comment

A Spurious Law Course; Railroad Taxation in Michigan and Wisconsin; Surgical Operation on Minor Without Consent of Parent; The Power of Municipal Corporations to Grant Exclusive Privileges; Inheritance Taxes and the Right to Transfer and Inherit Property; The Sovereign Power of a State to Prevent Election Frauds; Original Jurisdiction of Supreme Court in Election Cases

Note and Comment

Constitutional Privileges in the Philippine Islands; A Laudatory Publication as a Cause of Action; The Cy-Pres Doctrine; Duty of Vendee to See to Investment of Funds; the Power to Declare a forfeiture and Sell Property Used in Violation of a Statute; Dying Declarations; Juvenile Courts and Jury Trials for Neglected, Delinquent, Children

Note and Comment

The Law School; Unauthorized Operation by Physician; The Kansas Oil Refinery Bill; Garnishment of Public Corporations; The rule in Wild\u27s Case Today; Effect of a complicated Form of Ballot on the Elector\u27s Freedom of Choice; Situs of Debts for Garnishment; Malicious Interference With the Contract of Employmen

Switched reluctance motor design for electric vehicles based on harmonics and back EMF analysis

Permanent magnet synchronous motors are widely accepted in automotive applications. The high torque density, high rotational speed with maximum efficiency in electric vehicle applications is technically challenging for motor design. However, these machines are expensive and difficult to work at high-temperature harsh environment due to permanent magnets demagnetisation features. Alternatively, switched reluctance motors can provide similar output characteristics and a wider speed. Thus these are considered to be more fault tolerant and more reliable. This study proposes a 20 kW, three-phase switched reluctance motor and analyse its overall performance and harmonic contents. The study is conducted by optimising the slot filling factor, excitation voltage and switching sequence of an asymmetrical half bridge converter. A finite element model is used to predict the core and copper losses and other influencing parameters. Simulation results are presented and analysed the effectiveness of the proposed switched reluctance motor (SRM)