1,629 research outputs found
Group Maintenance Behaviors in the Decision-Making Styles of Self-Organizing Distributed Teams
Businesses, universities, and other organizations are increasingly reliant on self-organizing, distributed teams which are enabled by information and communication technologies (ICTs). However, inherent geographical, organizational, and social limitations of ICTs challenge the relationships necessary for groups to make effective decisions. Understanding how group maintenance plays out within the context of different styles of decision making may provide insight into social tactics undertaken in such teams. Group maintenance is defined as discretionary, relation-building behavior that enables group members to trust and cooperate with one another more easily [1]. Decision style refers to the extent to which group decision making involves a broad contribution from group members other than leaders. It may range from the most autocratic style where a decision is made by one or a few individuals, to truly collaborative where every member has the opportunity to affect the decision.
This study examines group maintenance within decision-making behaviors of Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) development teams as examples of distributed teams. Most FLOSS software is developed by such teams that are both dynamic and self-organizing, comprised of professionals, users, and other volunteers working in a loosely coupled manner [2-4]. These teams are nearly entirely virtual in that developers contribute from around the world, meet face-to-face infrequently (if at all), and coordinate their activities primarily through computer-mediated communications (CMC) [6, 7]
Common Ground: Exploring the intersection between information, technology, art and design
University research is becoming increasingly multidisciplinary in
both the nature of the problems being investigated and the makeup
of the teams of researchers that tackle these complex
challenges. Information schools are in a unique position to
participate across a range of these projects. This poster describes
an initiative to discover potential areas for collaboration between
Syracuse University???s iSchool and the College of Visual and
Performing Arts, focusing on the synergies between information,
technology, art and design
Push-Pull Control of Motor Output
Inhibition usually decreases input–output excitability of neurons. If, however, inhibition is coupled to excitation in a push–pull fashion, where inhibition decreases as excitation increases, neuron excitability can be increased. Although the presence of push–pull organization has been demonstrated in single cells, its functional impact on neural processing depends on its effect on the system level. We studied push–pull in the motor output stage of the feline spinal cord, a system that allows independent control of inhibitory and excitatory components. Push–pull organization was clearly present in ankle extensor motoneurons, producing increased peak-to-peak modulation of synaptic currents. The effect at the system level was equally strong. Independent control of the inhibitory component showed that the stronger the background of inhibition, the greater the peak force production. This illustrates the paradox at the heart of push–pull organization: increased force output can be achieved by increasing background inhibition to provide greater disinhibition
The Spatial Clustering of Low Luminosity AGN
We present the first multi-parameter analysis of the narrow line AGN
clustering properties. Estimates of the two-point correlation function (CF)
based on SDSS DR2 data reveal that Seyferts are clearly less clustered than
normal galaxies, while the clustering amplitude (r_0) of LINERs is consistent
with that of the parent galaxy population. The similarities in the host
properties (color and concentration index) of Seyferts and LINERs suggest that
the difference in their r_0 is not driven by the morphology-density relation.
We find that the luminosity of [O I] emission shows the strongest influence on
AGN clustering, with low L([O I]) sources having the highest r_0. This trend is
much stronger than the previously detected dependence on L([O III]), which we
confirm. There is a strong correspondence between the clustering patterns of
objects of given spectral type and their physical properties. LINERs, which
exhibit high r_0, show the lowest luminosities and obscuration levels, and
relatively low gas densities (n_e), suggesting that these objects harbor black
holes that are relatively massive yet weakly active or inefficient in their
accretion, probably due to the insufficiency of their fuel supply. Seyferts,
which have low r_0, are luminous and show large n_e, suggesting that their
black holes are less massive but accrete quickly and efficiently enough to
clearly dominate the ionization. The low r_0 of the H II galaxies can be
understood as a consequence of both the morphology-density and star formation
rate-density relations, however, their spectral properties suggest that their
centers hide amidst large amounts of obscuring material black holes of
generally low mass whose activity remains relatively feeble. Our own Milky Way
may be a typical such case.[abridged]Comment: 27 pages, color figures, some are severely degraded in resolution,
emulateapj. See http://www.physics.drexel.edu/~constant/work/agnclustering.ps
for high resolution version. Accepted to Ap
Affirmative Pedagogy: Affirmative Approaches as a Pedagogical Framework to Improve LGBTQ+ College Retention
Demographics and coexisting tremor, cervical dystonia and vocal fold disorders in a group of patients with spasmodic dysphonia
Dati demografici e presenza di tremore, distonia cervicale e patologie delle corde vocali in un gruppo di pazienti con disfonia spasmodica.
Riassunto: L’obiettivo principale di questo studio è quello di descrivere le caratteristiche demografiche e cliniche di un gruppo di pazienti affetti da disfonia spasmodica (SD). Come obiettivo secondario, abbiamo valutato l’età dei pazienti al momento della diagnosi associandola al sesso e tremore non cordale. Sono stati valutati retrospettivamente settantaquattro pazienti consecutivi, trattati per SD alla Mayo Clinic di Jacksonville dall’1 ottobre 2015 al 31 marzo 2018. Sono stati raccolti dati riguardanti sesso, età alla diagnosi, BMI, tipo di SD, storia personale di stress maggiore/depressione, recenti infezioni delle vie aeree superiori (URTI), presenza di patologie neurologiche o delle corde vocali coesistenti. La maggioranza dei pazienti è risultata di sesso femminile con un’età media alla diagnosi di 61 anni (17-80). Il BMI medio è 25,7 (16,9-63,7). le associazioni diagnostiche più comuni sono state disfonia da iperadduzione e MTD (18,9%); disfonia da iperadduzione e tremore (17,6%). La disfonia da iperadduzione isolata è stata trovata nel 52,7% dei casi. Il 36,6% dei pazienti era affetto da tremore mentre il 15,5% da distonia cervicale. Sono state identificate patologie delle corde vocali come paresi/paralisi (3,1%), cisti (3,1%), neoformazioni (4,7%), polipi (1,6%), sinechie glottiche anteriori (1,6%). Non è stata riscontrata alcuna associazione fra sesso e distonia o tremore non cordale. L’età avanzata alla diagnosi ha mostrato un’associazione statisticamente significativa con la distonia cervicale (P = 0,049) ma non con il tremore non vocale (P = 0,22). In questo gruppo di pazienti affetti da SD la maggior parte dei casi non mostra contestuali patologie neurologiche o patologie delle corde vocali. I pazienti più anziani alla diagnosi di SD hanno più probabilità di essere affetti da distonia cervicale
Active Galactic Nuclei in Void Regions
We present a comprehensive study of accretion activity in the most underdense
environments in the universe, the voids, based on the SDSS DR2 data. Based on
investigations of multiple void regions, we show that AGN's occurrence rate and
properties differ from those in walls. AGN are more common in voids than in
walls, but only among moderately luminous and massive galaxies (M_r < -20, log
M_*/M_sun < 10.5), and this enhancement is more pronounced for the weakly
accreting systems (i.e., L_[O III] < 10^39 erg/s). Void AGN hosted by
moderately massive and luminous galaxies are accreting at equal or lower rates
than their wall counterparts, show less obscuration than in walls, and
similarly aged stellar populations. The very few void AGN in massive bright
hosts accrete more strongly, are more obscured, and are associated with younger
stellar emission than wall AGN. Thus, accretion strength is probably connected
to the availability of fuel supply, and accretion and star-formation co-evolve
and rely on the same source of fuel. Nearest neighbor statistics indicate that
the weak accretion activity (LINER-like) is not influenced by the local
environment. However, H IIs, Seyferts, and Transition objects prefer more
grouped small scale structures, indicating that the rate at which galaxies
interact with each other affects their activity. These trends support a
potential H II -> Seyfert/Transition Object -> LINER evolutionary sequence that
we show is apparent in many properties of actively line-emitting galaxies, in
both voids and walls. The subtle differences between void and wall AGN might be
explained by a longer, less disturbed duty cycle of these systems in voids.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures (1 color); to appear in ApJ, submitted on May 11,
200
Hydrodynamical Simulations of Galaxy Clusters with Galcons
We present our recently developed {\em galcon} approach to hydrodynamical
cosmological simulations of galaxy clusters - a subgrid model added to the {\em
Enzo} adaptive mesh refinement code - which is capable of tracking galaxies
within the cluster potential and following the feedback of their main baryonic
processes. Galcons are physically extended galactic constructs within which
baryonic processes are modeled analytically. By identifying galaxy halos and
initializing galcons at high redshift (, well before most clusters
virialize), we are able to follow the evolution of star formation, galactic
winds, and ram-pressure stripping of interstellar media, along with their
associated mass, metals and energy feedback into intracluster (IC) gas, which
are deposited through a well-resolved spherical interface layer. Our approach
is fully described and all results from initial simulations with the enhanced
{\em Enzo-Galcon} code are presented. With a galactic star formation rate
derived from the observed cosmic star formation density, our galcon simulation
better reproduces the observed properties of IC gas, including the density,
temperature, metallicity, and entropy profiles. By following the impact of a
large number of galaxies on IC gas we explicitly demonstrate the advantages of
this approach in producing a lower stellar fraction, a larger gas core radius,
an isothermal temperature profile in the central cluster region, and a flatter
metallicity gradient than in a standard simulation
The kinematics of ionized gas in lyman-break analogs at z ~ 0.2
We present results for 19 “Lyman-break analogs” observed with Keck/OSIRIS with an adaptive-optics-assisted
spatial resolution of less than 200 pc. We detect satellites/companions, diffuse emission, and velocity shear, all
with high signal-to-noise ratios. These galaxies present remarkably high velocity dispersion along the line of sight
(~70 km s^(−1)), much higher than standard star-forming spirals in the low-redshift universe. We artificially redshift
our data to z ~ 2.2 to allow for a direct comparison with observations of high-z Lyman-break galaxies and find
striking similarities between both samples. This suggests that either similar physical processes are responsible
for their observed properties, or, alternatively, that it is very difficult to distinguish between different mechanisms
operating in the low- versus high-redshift starburst galaxies based on the available data. The comparison between
morphologies in the UV/optical continuum and our kinemetry analysis often shows that neither is by itself sufficient
to confirm or completely rule out the contribution from recent merger events. We find a correlation between the
kinematic properties and stellar mass, in that more massive galaxies show stronger evidence for a disk-like structure.
This suggests a co-evolutionary process between the stellar mass buildup and the formation of morphological and
dynamical substructure within the galaxy
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