Soil phosphorus status in organic and conventional vegetable farms in Southeast Queensland, Australia

The soil phosphorus (P) status (0-10 cm) of two farming systems (organic (OF) and conventional (CF) vegetable farms) at two locations (Gatton and Stanthorpe) was examined amongst a suite of soil fertility indicators. The P status was similar between farming systems, in contrast to some broad-acre organic systems. Examination of farm management records revealed substantial overlap between P inputs at both localities with CF systems also receiving organic inputs, e.g. green manure and composts. A statistical analysis of the effects of different inputs also indicated that P fertility did not vary significantly between farms. Soil P levels were medium to high across farm types indicating a potential environmental risk for vegetable producers particularly in sandy well drained soils. The three methods of extraction Colwell, Olsen and Resin were well correlated with each other and produced similar results indicating the similar nutrient pools exist between farming system

No ethics please, we're MBAs: An alumni assessment: Working paper series--03-14

Corporate scandals cause critics to assign a portion of the blame to business educators and demand business schools strengthen ethics curriculum. This study examines the importance alumni placed on ethics and social responsibility in their assessment of MBA Program Effectiveness. Scales were developed for MBA Program Effectiveness as well as the predictor variables, Qualitative Skills, Quantitative Skills and Citizenship. Results of a stepwise multiple regression indicate MBA Program Effectiveness was predicted by Qualitative and Quantitative Skills. Citizenship did not enter the equation. Apparently, alumni did not use their program's ethical judgment and social responsibility components to assess MBA Program Effectiveness

Personalized services: A pivotal component of MBA program assessment: Working paper series--03-17

The business faculty at a large southwestern university evaluated their MBA Program by surveying key constituent groups. This study presents an analysis of data obtained from one of these groups: the MBA program's alumni. The specific research question - Do alumni base their assessment of MBA program effectiveness on non-curricular aspects of their MBA program experience? Three factor analytically derived scales were developed reflecting Personalized Service, Career Placement and Program Administration and then used to predict alumni assessments of MBA Program Effectiveness. Results of a stepwise multiple regression indicate MBA Program Effectiveness was predicted by Personalized Service. Career Placement and Program Administration did not enter the equation. These results are particularly salient given many business schools' growing dependence on alumni financial support

Developing Core Competence Related Theory: Working Paper Series--08-06

This article reviews methodological tradeoffs inherent in developing theory related to core competencies. Integrating the position and resource-based views of strategy, it presents an argument that such theoretical development will occur through researching corporate value provision situations encompassing a nomological network of core competencies, the corporate processes they enable, and the customer value delivered by these processes. Next, it briefly discusses phenomena included within this network. Then, the article reviews the applicability of three classes of methodologies to this nomological approach: 1) Field research, including interviews and observation; 2) Survey research; and 3) Unobtrusive research, including document analysis and analysis of existing statistics. Finally, it identifies issues that arise from using these methodologies to develop competence related theory

Understanding, Finding, and Conceptualizing Core Competence Depth: A Framework, Guide, and Generalization for Corporate Managers and Research Professionals: Working Paper Series--11-03

In recent years, managerial interest in corporate core competencies as competitive tools has risen greatly. Corporate managers and professionals often have several questions regarding them. First, what are corporate core competencies? Second, how can they determine which core competencies, or which aspects of them, their firm holds deeply? More generally, what does it mean for a firm to hold a competence deeply? Utilizing concrete examples, this paper answers the first question by presenting a framework describing the elements of core competencies, their internal dynamic, and their breadth. It answers the second question by providing a usable methodology for discovering the depth a firm's core competencies. As it does so, it answers the third question by presenting a generalized conceptualization of core competence depth. The authors propose that this framework, methodology, and generalization will prove useful to corporate managers and research professionals interested in strengthening their core competencies and applying them more effectively

Building active learning applications and opportunities into a distance-learning leadership course: Working paper series--09-07

This paper describes how the authors created an on-line leadership course that retained as much of the rich, interactive nature of the face-to-face version as possible. The seven "best practice" design criteria offered by Chickering and Reisser (1993) are discussed as they relate to specific course design and instructional requirements for instructor orientation, course management organization and tool use, community building as well as the development of thematic modules and their associated assignments. Student comments provided by a case study of the on-line course (Griffin, 2007) are provided that support the efficacy of this approach

Understanding, Finding, and Applying Core Competencies: A Framework, Guide, and Description for Corporate Managers and Research Professionals: Working Paper Series--09-15

In recent years, managerial interest in corporate core competencies as competitive tools has risen greatly. Corporate managers and professionals often have three questions regarding them. First, what are corporate core competencies? Second, how can the ones held by a particular firm be identified? Third, how do core competencies integrate with other kinds of corporate knowledge to produce particular products and services? This paper answers the first question by presenting a framework describing the internal dynamic and elements of core competencies. It answers the second by providing a usable guide to discovering them within a firm. It answers the third by describing core competencies' place within the structure of organizational knowledge held by corporations. The authors hope that this framework, guide, and description will prove useful to corporate managers and research professionals interested in strengthening their core competencies and applying them more effectively

Organizational Competencies: A Content Analysis: Working Paper Series--07-01

This article presents the results of research examining the composition and internal dynamics of organizational competencies held by four major technology corporations. The research used content analysis of corporate documents and in-depth interviews with corporate professionals to reveal that these competencies draw upon corporate understanding of phenomena related to communication networks, documents, and integrated circuits. The competencies identified contain seven component categories. Five involve understandings of core phenomena, intellectual disciplines, various technologies, and classes of products and services. Two involve functional, technological, and integrated skills. Importantly, during use the understandings and skills within competencies dynamically interact with one another, powerfully supporting corporate competitiveness. Interview results reveal organizational competencies to be intermediate knowledge. They are developed by applying more enduring corporate capabilities, such as strategic vision, and they enable the creation of more transient knowledge, such as familiarity with specific customers

An interpretive business statistics course encompassing diverse teaching and learning styles: Working paper series--05-04

An interpretive-learner-centered approach attempting to match diverse learning and teaching styles is implemented to improve student learning and reduce high attrition for an undergraduate business statistics course. The redesigned course focuses on the interpretation and implications of statistical results through real business problems and data while relegating the mechanical steps of computation via formulae to the background. The philosophy that "students are responsible for their education" is embraced; thus, a mastery approach to learning was adopted utilizing pre-lecture, post-lecture and lab web quizzes all with multiple attempts allowed. Cooperative learning serves as a common thread in the course through the use of student teams in lectures, labs and two project assignments. Team projects require students to create business reports in which all statistical jargon is translated into everyday language. Results from assessment data collected on student learning styles, pre and post assessments and the various course components indicate a significant reduction in course attrition and improved student learning

Predicting space climate change

The recent decline in the open magnetic flux of the Sun heralds the end of the Grand Solar Maximum (GSM) that has persisted throughout the space age, during which the largest‐fluence Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) events have been rare and Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) fluxes have been relatively low. In the absence of a predictive model of the solar dynamo, we here make analogue forecasts by studying past variations of solar activity in order to evaluate how long‐term change in space climate may influence the hazardous energetic particle environment of the Earth in the future. We predict the probable future variations in GCR flux, near‐Earth interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), sunspot number, and the probability of large SEP events, all deduced from cosmogenic isotope abundance changes following 24 GSMs in a 9300‐year record