The European Space Agency BIOMASS mission: Measuring forest above-ground biomass from space

The primary objective of the European Space Agency's 7th Earth Explorer mission, BIOMASS, is to determine the worldwide distribution of forest above-ground biomass (AGB) in order to reduce the major uncertainties in calculations of carbon stocks and fluxes associated with the terrestrial biosphere, including carbon fluxes associated with Land Use Change, forest degradation and forest regrowth. To meet this objective it will carry, for the first time in space, a fully polarimetric P-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Three main products will be provided: global maps of both AGB and forest height, with a spatial resolution of 200 m, and maps of severe forest disturbance at 50 m resolution (where “global” is to be understood as subject to Space Object tracking radar restrictions). After launch in 2022, there will be a 3-month commissioning phase, followed by a 14-month phase during which there will be global coverage by SAR tomography. In the succeeding interferometric phase, global polarimetric interferometry Pol-InSAR coverage will be achieved every 7 months up to the end of the 5-year mission. Both Pol-InSAR and TomoSAR will be used to eliminate scattering from the ground (both direct and double bounce backscatter) in forests. In dense tropical forests AGB can then be estimated from the remaining volume scattering using non-linear inversion of a backscattering model. Airborne campaigns in the tropics also indicate that AGB is highly correlated with the backscatter from around 30 m above the ground, as measured by tomography. In contrast, double bounce scattering appears to carry important information about the AGB of boreal forests, so ground cancellation may not be appropriate and the best approach for such forests remains to be finalized. Several methods to exploit these new data in carbon cycle calculations have already been demonstrated. In addition, major mutual gains will be made by combining BIOMASS data with data from other missions that will measure forest biomass, structure, height and change, including the NASA Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation lidar deployed on the International Space Station after its launch in December 2018, and the NASA-ISRO NISAR L- and S-band SAR, due for launch in 2022. More generally, space-based measurements of biomass are a core component of a carbon cycle observation and modelling strategy developed by the Group on Earth Observations. Secondary objectives of the mission include imaging of sub-surface geological structures in arid environments, generation of a true Digital Terrain Model without biases caused by forest cover, and measurement of glacier and icesheet velocities. In addition, the operations needed for ionospheric correction of the data will allow very sensitive estimates of ionospheric Total Electron Content and its changes along the dawn-dusk orbit of the mission

Learning through and about practice: A lifeworld perspective

A diverse range of practice-based approaches has increased our understanding of learning in preparation for work and in the workplace. While these approaches are rich and varied, they generally conceptualise practice as a singular, rational whole, thereby overlooking the multiplicity of practice. Moreover, practice-based approaches commonly adopt an epistemological focus that neglects the ontological dimension central to learning. In other words, these approaches emphasise the knowledge or activities that are learned, at the expense of attention to who learners are becoming and what this process of becoming involves. We adopt a lifeworld perspective in proposing an alternative approach that focuses on development of 'ways of being', such as ways of teaching or managing. Ways of being guide and direct our activities, giving meaning to what we do and who we are. We outline the historical development and key features of this alternative approach. We use empirical material from our research on learning in highher education and the workplace in demonstrating how a lifeworld perspective can provide a new and innovative approach to practice-based learning

Rethinking environmental strategy: The role of regulatory response

An important assumption underlying the prevailing conception of environmental strategy is that mandatory, compliance-driven activities cannot generate unique organizational capabilities and therefore are not strategic considerations. In this paper, we challenge that assumption. Through the interpretive approach of phenomenography, this study investigates variation in regulatory response in the setting of Australia’s carbon regulations. Our findings reveal a significant, qualitative variation in regulatory response that demonstrates how mandatory, compliance-driven activities can generate unique organizational capabilities. We argue that these results require major revisions to our current conception of environmental strategy. Most important, our findings suggest that in order to explain organizations’ environmental strategies more accurately and comprehensively, existing theory of environmental strategy must be re-conceptualized to include both voluntary and mandatory activities

Developing a narrative perspective of asset bubbles

Asset bubbles are both widely studied and commonly occurring market events, yet they remain a poorly understood phenomenon from both a theoretical and practical standpoint. We argue that prior research has failed to put forward a robust theory or framework of asset bubbles due in part to the oversight of a central aspect of all bubble episodes, that being the role of narratives. In response to this oversight, we develop an alternative, narrative perspective of asset bubbles, a perspective that we believe offers a rather comprehensive account of these events that should help to not only synthesize much of current literature but also inspire a range of future studies

Sensemaking in 'real' versus virtual environments: A comparison and challenge

Weick’s sensemaking theory is one of the most influential theories in organization studi es and cont ends that how people make sense of their environment determines their action s (Holt & Sandbe rg, 2011; Oswick, Flemming & Hanlon, 2011) . Ever since he introduced the notion of sensemaking in his landmark book The social psychology of organizing (Weick, 1969) , Weick has continued to develop the sensemaking theory through his own research (e.g., Weick, 1988, 1991, 1995, 2003) , partnering with others (e.g., Weick & Roberts, 1993; Weick, Sutcliffe & Obstfeld, 2005 ), and influencing other researchers to explore sensemaking in areas as diverse as strategy (Kurtz & Snowden, 2003; Schneider, 1997) , decision making (Daft & Weick, 1984; Klein, 2004; Snowden, 2005) , knowledge management (Choo & Johnson, 2004; Thomas, Sussman & Henderson, 2001) , trust in organizations (Adobor , 2005) , identity (Ashforth, Harrison & Corley, 2008) , and organizational change (Gioia & Chittipeddi, 1991; Weick & Quinn, 1999 ). Yet existing sensemaking theory has almost exclusively been developed based on research of ‘real world’ organizational practices, that is, practices that take place in a traditional, face-to-face manner. Literally all of Weick’s development of the sensemaking theory has been conducted within real world organizations , from his seminal work The social psychology of organizing ( 1969 , 1979 ) and Sensemaking in organizations ( 1995 ) to his two latest books Making sense of the organization ( 2001 ) and Making sense of the organization: the impermanent organization ( 2009 ) . In a similar vein, almost all of the scholars who have applied and developed the sensemaking theory have done so on the empirical basis of real world organizations . Weick’s sensemaking theory and all its various applications and developments have therefore contributed significantly to our understanding of how sensemaking takes place in real world organizational settings ..

Cracking the enigma of asset bubbles with narratives

The hysteria and destruction created by asset bubbles have garnered widespread attention in recent years, resulting in a wealth of studies on these events from a range of disciplines. However, despite these efforts, we, as a diverse research community, have failed to predict, prevent, and even explain asset bubbles, while bouts of speculative mania continue to wreak havoc on the world’s economies. We argue that periods of intense market speculation are driven by narratives and narrative thought, and thus narrative research represents a promising alternative by which we may ultimately be able to crack the enigma of asset bubbles. In this article, we explain the core reasons behind this argument, outline a three-stage narrative perspective of asset bubble formation, and provide a research agenda for future narrative studies on these events

The experiential meaning of service quality

Within dominant marketing approaches, service quality is conceptualized as a fixed set of static service dimensions such as reliability and responsiveness that reflect consumer expectations and/ or perceptions. As an alternative to the dominant approaches, the aim in this work is to identify and describe the consumer’s lived experience of service quality. Achieved through an interpretive approach the findings presented here demonstrate that the dimensions and attributes consumers’ use for evaluating service quality are based upon what service quality means to consumers and how consumers experience service quality in a particular services context. Moreover, the findings show that the experiential meaning of service quality varies and this theoretical contribution has important implications for improving service quality and future research on service quality