Ethnic Diversity and Organizational Performance: Assessing Diversity Effects at the Managerial and Street Levels

As the public sector workforce becomes more ethnically diverse and as government agencies make attempts to "manage" that diversity, the importance of understanding how diversity affects workplace interactions and work-related outcomes increases. Little public sector research has examined the impact of diversity on performance outcomes. This paper seeks to fill this gap by studying the effects of the ethnic diversity of managers and street level bureaucrats on work-related outcomes. We use basic in-group/out-group theories from psychology to form hypotheses relating diversity to performance. The results of diversity research using social identification and categorization theory and similarity/attraction theory led us to form the hypothesis that greater levels of ethnic diversity among public managers and street-level bureaucrats will lead to lower organizational performance, when the task requires significant coordination and collaboration. Diversity research that uses the information and decision-making theory, while scant, led us to form a second hypothesis that greater levels of ethnic diversity among public managers and street-level bureaucrats will lead to higher organizational performance, when the task does not require significant coordination and collaboration. Our results were mixed. We found support for the first hypothesis with respect to street-level bureaucrats but not for managers. The results did not support our second hypothesis -- we actually found an opposite relationship for street-level bureaucrats from what we expected. Overall, the results support previous research that suggests that increased levels of ethnic diversity can lead to process-oriented difficulties in the workplace and negatively affect workrelated outcomes. Working Paper 06-3

Experiments shed new light on nickel-fluorine reactions

Isotopic tracer experiments and scale-impingement experiments show fluorine to be the migrating species through the nickel fluoride scale formed during the fluorination of nickel. This is in contrast to nickel oxide scales, where nickel is the migrating species

Fast reroute paths algorithms

In order to keep services running despite link or node failure in MPLS networks, RSVP-TE fast reroute (FRR) schemes use precomputed backup label-switched path tunnels for local repair of LSP tunnels. In the event of failure, the redirection of traffic occurs onto backup LSP tunnels that have the same quality of service constraints as original paths. Local repair of LSP tunnels notably differ from traditional (1:1) dedicated path protection schemes in that traffic is diverted near the point of failure which speeds up the protection process by not having to notify the source and then resend the lost traffic. This gain in protection delay is crucial for MPLS networks which would otherwise suffer from an important recovery latency. In this paper, we investigate the algorithmic aspects of computing original paths along with their back-up so that they satisfy quality-of-service constraints (namely, delay) for single link or multiple link failure. In the case of single link failure, we propose an algorithm in O(nm+n 2log(n)) that computes shortest guaranteed paths with their backup towards a single destination. In the case of directed graphs, we show that this algorithm is optimal by proving that computing shortest guaranteed paths is as hard as to compute multiple source shortest paths in directed graphs. In the case of undirected graphs, we propose a faster algorithm with time complexity O(mlog(n)+n 2). We also provide a distributed algorithm based on Bellman-Ford distance computation which converges in 3n rounds at wors

What do Women Want? Men, Women, and Job Satisfaction in the Public Service

Research in organizational behavior and public administration has long considered differences between men and women at work. Research indicates that men and women often communicate differently, prefer different approaches to organizational structure and design, and view rewards through different lenses. As women become better represented in public organizations, and at higher levels, it becomes even more important to explore sex-based differences. This paper seeks to uncover differences between men and women when it comes to determinants of job satisfaction. We use the existing literature to develop a series of hypotheses about the different factors that predict job satisfaction for the sexes. We test these hypotheses using data from a survey of health and human services managers, finding that there are more commonalities than differences when it comes to what satisfies men and women at work. Working Paper 06-3

Analyse et détection des trajectoires d'approches atypiques des aéronefs à l'aide de l'analyse de données fonctionnelles et de l'apprentissage automatique

L'amélioration de la sécurité aérienne implique généralement l'identification, la détection et la gestion des événements indésirables qui peuvent conduire à des événements finaux mortels. De précédentes études menées par la DSAC, l'autorité de surveillance française, ont permis d'identifier les approches non-conformes présentant des déviations par rapport aux procédures standards comme des événements indésirables. Cette thèse vise à explorer les techniques de l'analyse de données fonctionnelles et d'apprentissage automatique afin de fournir des algorithmes permettant la détection et l'analyse de trajectoires atypiques en approche à partir de données sol. Quatre axes de recherche sont abordés. Le premier axe vise à développer un algorithme d'analyse post-opérationnel basé sur des techniques d'analyse de données fonctionnelles et d'apprentissage non-supervisé pour la détection de comportements atypiques en approche. Le modèle sera confronté à l'analyse des bureaux de sécurité des vols des compagnies aériennes, et sera appliqué dans le contexte particulier de la période COVID-19 pour illustrer son utilisation potentielle alors que le système global ATM est confronté à une crise. Le deuxième axe de recherche s'intéresse plus particulièrement à la génération et à l'extraction d'informations à partir de données radar à l'aide de nouvelles techniques telles que l'apprentissage automatique. Ces méthodologies permettent d'améliorer la compréhension et l'analyse des trajectoires, par exemple dans le cas de l'estimation des paramètres embarqués à partir des paramètres radar. Le troisième axe, propose de nouvelles techniques de manipulation et de génération de données en utilisant le cadre de l'analyse de données fonctionnelles. Enfin, le quatrième axe se concentre sur l'extension en temps réel de l'algorithme post-opérationnel grâce à l'utilisation de techniques de contrôle optimal, donnant des pistes vers de nouveaux systèmes d'alerte permettant une meilleure conscience de la situation.Improving aviation safety generally involves identifying, detecting and managing undesirable events that can lead to final events with fatalities. Previous studies conducted by the French National Supervisory Authority have led to the identification of non-compliant approaches presenting deviation from standard procedures as undesirable events. This thesis aims to explore functional data analysis and machine learning techniques in order to provide algorithms for the detection and analysis of atypical trajectories in approach from ground side. Four research directions are being investigated. The first axis aims to develop a post-op analysis algorithm based on functional data analysis techniques and unsupervised learning for the detection of atypical behaviours in approach. The model is confronted with the analysis of airline flight safety offices, and is applied in the particular context of the COVID-19 crisis to illustrate its potential use while the global ATM system is facing a standstill. The second axis of research addresses the generation and extraction of information from radar data using new techniques such as Machine Learning. These methodologies allow to \mbox{improve} the understanding and the analysis of trajectories, for example in the case of the estimation of on-board parameters from radar parameters. The third axis proposes novel data manipulation and generation techniques using the functional data analysis framework. Finally, the fourth axis focuses on extending the post-operational algorithm into real time with the use of optimal control techniques, giving directions to new situation awareness alerting systems

The Four Principles of Geographic Routing

Geographic routing consists in using the position information of nodes to assist in the routing process, and has been a widely studied subject in sensor networks. One of the outstanding challenges facing geographic routing has been its applicability. Authors either make some broad assumptions on an idealized version of wireless networks which are often unverifiable, or they use costly methods to planarize the communication graph. The overarching questions that drive us are the following. When, and how should we use geographic routing? Is there a criterion to tell whether a communication network is fit for geographic routing? When exactly does geographic routing make sense? In this paper we formulate the four principles that define geographic routing and explore their topological consequences. Given a localized communication network, we then define and compute its geographic eccentricity, which measures its fitness for geographic routing. Finally we propose a distributed algorithm that either enables geographic routing on the network or proves that its geographic eccentricity is too high.Comment: This manuscript on geographic routing incoporates team feedback and expanded experiment

Family Faculty Perceptions: Sharing Their Story

This qualitative study examines the experiences of family members who participated as Family Faculty in the Families as Faculty program. All of these family members were primary caregivers for students with disabilities. Families as Faculty is part of some of the teacher preparation programs at universities in New Mexico. Three research questions were explored. First, why do families choose to participate in this program? Second, what are the benefits and challenges they experience as participants in the program? And finally, what about their experience influences their decision to continue or terminate their participation in the program? Data were collected through telephone interviews utilizing open-ended questions. Results indicated that Family Faculty chose to participate in the Families as Faculty program because they believed that by sharing their stories, they can influence students in teacher preparation programs, thus positively impacting classroom practice. Family Faculty report many benefits and no challenges from participating in the program. Overall the participants reported that their experiences were extremely positive and they expected to continue their participation in the future. Implications for future research are discussed