Biting Tongues/ Critical Theory as Creative Tool: Using Bakhtin’s Theory of Double-Voiced Discourse to Edit a Short Novel

Biting Tongues is a short, character-driven novel set in South East England in 2001. Central to its narrative present is the recovery of 27-year old Adam Strange from a 13-year coma and its repercussions on his mother, Peggy, his father, Bill and his sister, Jess. Although his recovery is initially welcomed, old tensions resurface to force a re-evaluation of each of the four central characters’ senses of self and personal relationships, especially as the truth of the coma, and of events surrounding it, begin to emerge. The narrative is interspersed with segments depicting each character’s personal history and the events leading up to and following Adam’s coma. It is a novel of fragile identities and of alienation, not only of each character from another and from contemporary society, but also of inward alienation from perceived morals, values and sense of self. Critical Theory as Creative Tool describes the process of adapting Mikhail Bakhtin’s theories of double-voiced discourse and polyglossia to develop an editorial tool for critiquing an earlier draft of Biting Tongues which has assisted in creating the draft submitted here. It investigates why such an adaptation is relevant to structural problems posed by themes and content in Biting Tongues and evaluates the strengths of its implementation. Primarily using Bakhtin’s essay ‘Discourse in The Novel’ and the chapter ‘Discourse in Dostoevsky’ from Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics (1984), this dissertation also uses the work of other Bakhtinian scholars and counterpoints the main argument with a structuralist reading of the theory of free-indirect discourse

Implications of Technological Progress for the Measurement of Technology Acceptance Variables: The Case of Self-efficacy

Despite decades of technological and organizational change our research in the area of technology adoption continues to use measures for constructs that were developed during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In this research-in-progress paper, we examine one such measure, computer-self-efficacy. We consider the implications of changing technologies and context and propose a new direction for conceptualizing and measuring self-efficacy. We present an updated conceptualization and a definition for a new construct called Technology Self-efficacy. We describe our process for developing the item pool for this new construct and outline our plans for testing the new instrument’s validity

Job Satisfaction in Agile Development Teams: Agile Development as Work Redesign

Agile software-development advocates claim that an important value proposition of agile methods is that they make people more motivated and satisfied with their jobs. While several studies present anecdotal evidence that agile methods increase motivation and satisfaction, research has not theoretically explained or empirically examined how agile development practices relate to team members’ feelings about their work. Drawing on the management and software-development literature, we articulate a model of job design that connects agile development practices to perceptions of job characteristics and, thereby, improve agile team members’ job satisfaction. Using data collected from 252 software-development professionals, we tested the model and found a positive relationship between agile project-management and software-development practices and employees’ perceptions of job characteristics. Further, we found direct effects between agile development-practice use and job satisfaction. Finally, we found interaction effects between the use of agile project-management and software-development approaches and the perception of job autonomy. With this study, we contribute to the literature by theoretically explaining and directly evaluating agile development practices’ impact on individuals’ perceptions about their job characteristics and on their job satisfaction

Workgroup Embeddedness and Professionalism among IT Professionals: Impacts on Work-Life Conflict and Organizational Citizenship

Over the course of their careers, IT professionals become embedded in their workplace. In the organizational behavior literature, research has found that job embeddedness provides direct, positive benefits for employers, including lower turnover intentions, lower levels of withdrawal behaviors, lower actual turnover, and more. In this paper, we present a more nuanced view, namely that embeddedness among IT professionals may influence the development of professionalized mindsets, which, in turn, has a mix of positive and negative consequences. To understand these relationships, we introduce a concept called workgroup embeddedness (WGE). WGE captures how IT professionals become embedded in their organizational workgroup or unit. We report a multiphase study that (1) developed a measure of WGE, (2) established the validity of WGE, and (3) evaluated the implications of WGE among 150 IT professionals using data collected at two points in time. We found that WGE drives an increase in professionalism, which, in turn, increases work-life conflict. Also, we found that both WGE and professionalism positively influence organizational citizenship behaviors. These findings indicate that WGE may play a role in socializing and driving more professionalized mindsets among IT professionals, such as professional identification, which leads to positive outcomes like citizenship behaviors but may come at the expense of negative consequences in professionals’ nonwork lives. Post hoc findings highlight that belief in public service and identification with the IT profession influence work-life conflict and organizational citizenship. We conclude with implications for research and practice

Minne uudet työpaikat syntyivät vuonna 2016?

Analyysissa tarkastellaan vuonna 2016 tapahtunutta uusien työpaikkojen syntyä toimipaikkatasolla. Analyysi on jatkoa TEM-analyyseille 53/2013, 64/2015 ja 72/2016. Käsiteltävänä on niin netto- kuin bruttomääräinenkin työpaikkojen luominen. Nettotyöllisyys kasvoi noin 11 000 henkilöllä vuonna 2016

Paleogeodetic records of seismic and aseismic subduction from central Sumatran microatolls, Indonesia

We utilize coral microatolls in western Sumatra to document vertical deformation associated with subduction. Microatolls are very sensitive to fluctuations in sea level and thus act as natural tide gauges. They record not only the magnitude of vertical deformation associated with earthquakes (paleoseismic data), but also continuously track the long-term aseismic deformation that occurs during the intervals between earthquakes (paleogeodetic data). This paper focuses on the twentieth century paleogeodetic history of the equatorial region. Our coral paleogeodetic record of the 1935 event reveals a classical example of deformations produced by seismic rupture of a shallow subduction interface. The site closest to the trench rose 90 cm, whereas sites further east sank by as much as 35 cm. Our model reproduces these paleogeodetic data with a 2.3 m slip event on the interface 88 to 125 km from the trench axis. Our coral paleogeodetic data reveal slow submergence during the decades before and after the event in the areas of coseismic emergence. Likewise, interseismic emergence occurred before and after the 1935 event in areas of coseismic submergence. Among the interesting phenomenon we have discovered in the coral record is evidence of a large aseismic slip or “silent event” in 1962, 27 years after the 1935 event. Paleogeodetic deformation rates in the decades before, after, and between the 1935 and 1962 events have varied both temporally and spatially. During the 25 years following the 1935 event, submergence rates were dramatically greater than in prior decades. During the past four decades, however, rates have been lower than in the preceding decades, but are still higher than they were prior to 1935. These paleogeodetic records enable us to model the kinematics of the subduction interface throughout the twentieth century

Genetic architecture of EEG power spectra in early life

We measured the electroencephalogram (EEG) in 209 5 year old monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs to estimate the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to EEG power spectra in early life. Data from same-sex and from opposite-sex twin pairs were used to test for sex differences in genetic influences. Results showed high concordance for EEGs of MZ twins for absolute and relative power in δ, θ, α1, α2, β1 and β2 bands. A model with additive genetic and unique environmental influences explained individual differences in both absolute and relative power in almost all bands and all electrode positions. Heritability of EEG power spectra was high. For absolute power the highest heritabilities were observed in θ, α1, α2 and β1 power bands (mean heritability 81, 81, 78, and 73%, respectively). Somewhat lower heritabilities were found in δ and β2 bands (mean heritability 55 and 64%, respectively). For relative power heritabilities were 63, 76, 71, 72, 68, and 65 for δ, θ, α1, α2, β1, and β2, respectively. Virtually no sex differences in heritability were found. These findings indicate that the background EEG is one of the most heritable characteristics in early life

Development Tests of a Cryogenic Filter Wheel Assembly for the NIRCam Instrument

The James Webb Space Telescope is an infrared-optimized space telescope scheduled for launch in 201 3. Its 6.5-m diameter primary mirror will collect light from some of the first galaxies formed after the big bang. The Near Infrared camera (NIRCam) will detect the first light from these galaxies, provide the necessary tools for studying the formation of stars, aid in discovering planets around other stars, and adjust the wave front error on the primary mirror (Fig. 1). The instrument and its complement of mechanisms and optics will operate at a cryogenic temperature of 35 K. This paper describes tests and test results of the NIRCam Filter Wheel assembly prototype

Machine Learning based Parameter Sensitivity of Regional Climate Models -- A Case Study of the WRF Model for Heat Extremes over Southeast Australia

Heatwaves and bushfires cause substantial impacts on society and ecosystems across the globe. Accurate information of heat extremes is needed to support the development of actionable mitigation and adaptation strategies. Regional climate models are commonly used to better understand the dynamics of these events. These models have very large input parameter sets, and the parameters within the physics schemes substantially influence the model's performance. However, parameter sensitivity analysis (SA) of regional models for heat extremes is largely unexplored. Here, we focus on the southeast Australian region, one of the global hotspots of heat extremes. In southeast Australia Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is the widely used regional model to simulate extreme weather events across the region. Hence in this study, we focus on the sensitivity of WRF model parameters to surface meteorological variables such as temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed during two extreme heat events over southeast Australia. Due to the presence of multiple parameters and their complex relationship with output variables, a machine learning (ML) surrogate-based global sensitivity analysis method is considered for the SA. The ML surrogate-based Sobol SA is used to identify the sensitivity of 24 adjustable parameters in seven different physics schemes of the WRF model. Results show that out of these 24, only three parameters, namely the scattering tuning parameter, multiplier of saturated soil water content, and profile shape exponent in the momentum diffusivity coefficient, are important for the considered meteorological variables. These SA results are consistent for the two different extreme heat events. Further, we investigated the physical significance of sensitive parameters. This study's results will help in further optimising WRF parameters to improve model simulation