1,155 research outputs found
Seeding for Monarchs, Pollinators, and Living Snow Fence
The establishment of the correct mix of native plant species on roadsides can benefit water quality, provide a habitat for pollinators including the monarch butterfly, and at the same time offer protection from snow drifting. Reduced mowing and beatification is another benefit. This presentation covers the where, what, and how to make this happen. What have we learned in the past 20 years that can make wildflower establishment less expensive and more successful
How to promote knowledge sharing in cross-functional NPD teams
This paper investigates the common issues that may arise in cross-functional new product development (NPD) teams from a Knowledge Management perspective. The study has been built around a contextualized trigger, where several factors were preventing a new-born NPD team from performing effectively. The purpose of this paper is to give insights of the main dynamics involved in the knowledge sharing process throughout the application of a systematic problem-solving approach to the case investigated by the authors. Due to the impossibility of building a universal recipe suitable for every team in every situation, this work represents a compromise trying to exemplify how to prioritise interventions in a given context, in order to provide a benchmark for similar circumstances. This paper, using an action research method within a single case context, takes shape around the advises and suggestions made by authors to Electronic Connected Ltd (disguised name), a small-medium enterprise (SME) in a situation of NPD paralysis. In particular, the paper emphasizes the importance of effective leadership and supporting environment in facilitating communication, enhancing cohesiveness, fostering joint commitment and giving direction in order to enable knowledge sharing and to leverage capabilities to conclusively deliver new products
Utilities and residential tenancies - part 2: future directions for rental housing standards
This report considers a range of data and regulatory and policy interventions from international and domestic jurisdictions with the objective of improving the provision of utilities for private rental housing in Victoria.
Overview
There are a range of issues affecting the provision of utilities to tenants, particularly:
low income households are more likely to occupy rental dwellings with a combination of low thermal effi ciency and ineffi cient appliances
tenants are unlikely to be able to upgrade appliances or relocate to dwelling of higher thermal quality due to other market pressures
energy consumption and costs are higher for many tenants relative to equivalant households in other tenures
market processes and programs often preclude participation from residential tenants or have onerous access barriers
Future Directions for Rental Housing Standards provides:
a discussion of options for energy effi ciency improvements in the conclusion of Part one
a discussion of current regulatory processes concerning the energy and water effi ciency of private rental housing
options for improving the provision of energy and water services including both regulatory and non-regulatory options
a focus on the policy processes arising from Council of Australian Government (COAG) reform
Risk of Resource Failure and Toolkit Variation in Small-Scale Farmers and Herders
Recent work suggests that global variation in toolkit structure among hunter-gatherers is driven by risk of resource failure such that as risk of resource failure increases, toolkits become more diverse and complex. Here we report a study in which we investigated whether the toolkits of small-scale farmers and herders are influenced by risk of resource failure in the same way. In the study, we applied simple linear and multiple regression analysis to data from 45 small-scale food-producing groups to test the risk hypothesis. Our results were not consistent with the hypothesis; none of the risk variables we examined had a significant impact on toolkit diversity or on toolkit complexity. It appears, therefore, that the drivers of toolkit structure differ between hunter-gatherers and small-scale food-producers
Social mobility and ‘openness’ in creative occupations since the 1970s
Social mobility in the cultural sector is currently an important issue in government policy and public discussion, associated with perceptions of a collapse in numbers of working-class origin individuals becoming artists, actors, musicians and authors. The question of who works in creative occupations has also attracted significant sociological attention. To date, however, there have been no empirically grounded studies into the changing social composition of such occupations. This article uses the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study to show that, while those from more privileged social backgrounds have long dominated, there has been no change in the relative class mobility chances of gaining access to creative work. Instead, we must turn to the pattern of absolute mobility into this sector in order to understand claims that it is experiencing a ‘mobility crisis’
Spin-dynamics of the low-dimensional magnet (CH3)2NH2CuCl3
Dimethylammonium copper (II) chloride (also known as DMACuCl3 or MCCL) is a
low dimensional S=1/2 quantum spin system proposed to be an alternating
ferro-antiferromagnetic chain with similar magnitude ferromagnetic (FM) and
antiferromagnetic (AFM) exchange interactions. Subsequently, it was shown that
the existing bulk measurements could be adequately modeled by considering
DMACuCl3 as independent AFM and FM dimer spin pairs. We present here new
inelastic neutron scattering measurements of the spin-excitations in single
crystals of DMACuCl3. These results show significant quasi-one-dimensional
coupling, however the magnetic excitations do not propagate along the expected
direction. We observe a band of excitations with a gap of 0.95 meV and a
bandwidth of 0.82 meV.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures included in text, submitted to proceedings of
International Conference on Neutron Scattering, December 200
PenQuest Volume 5, Number 1
Table of Contents for this Volume:
Success by Shatney
Maria by Jane O’Neal
Intrusions by Mark McBride
The Mystery of the Back Porch Light by Nature Johnston
Truth and the Violin by Shatney
Corporate America by Julie Crowell
Pete’s Cafe by Nature Johnston
Geranium by Anne Benjamin
The Man Who Buried His Books by William Slaughter
Erasures by William Slaughter
Mind You and other poems by Kate Mathews
Coffee in the Tea Room by Kathleen O’Brien
The Children by Katharine Rodier
Sisters, Reclamation, Not Wanting to Say, “I Told You So,” But… by Kathleen O’Brien
Genetics by Kathleen O’Brien
The Anguish of Flames by Kathleen O’Brien
turning plows by Mark McBride
A Valediction for My Father by Jonathan Williams
Untitled by Mark Sablow
Artificial Portrait by Kevin Christenson
Untitled by Latrell Mickler
Untitled by Kevin Christenson
Galvanistic Ascension by Mark Grisham
Power Surge by Mark Grisham
Untitled by Lori Kirsbau
Run, Jump, Throw and Catch: How proficient are children attending English schools at the Fundamental Motor Skills identified as key within the school curriculum?
This study examined proficiency levels in fundamental motor skills (FMS) in children within Key Stage 1 and 2 of the English school system. Four hundred and ninety-two children aged 6–9 Years old (245 boys, 247 girls) from school Years Two (n = 130), Three (n = 154) and Four (n = 208) participated in this study. FMS for the run, jump, throw and catch were assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development – 2. The proportion of children who achieved mastery or near mastery of the skills was determined. For the whole sample, 18.5% (n = 91) did not achieve mastery in any of the four skills. A similar proportion (18.7%, n = 92) achieved mastery in all four of the FMS examined in this study. The proportion of children achieving mastery of all four skills was lower for Year Two children (0%) compared to children in years Three (24%) and Four (25%). More boys (25.7%) achieved mastery in all four of the FMS compared to girls (11.7%). Individual behavioural components in skill performance were also examined. The results of the present study highlight that less than one-fifth of children aged 6–9 years old have mastered the four key FMS identified by the physical education (PE) curriculum despite having the developmental potential to become fundamentally competent by six years of age. Fostering positive trajectories of FMS development presents a challenge for PE specialists given the association between FMS mastery in childhood and physical activity, weight status and health.N/
Cultural engagement and the economic performance of the cultural and creative industries: an occupational critique
This article presents a new critical engagement with the concept of Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs), focusing on the rationale for grouping occupations and industries under this label. We show how the definition of ‘creativity’ used to demonstrate CCIs’ economic performance remains contested and variable, particularly with regard to the inclusion of specific parts of the IT sector. In demonstrating the importance of IT to the economic narrative regarding CCIs, we then unfold a related critique, exploring patterns in cultural consumption within CCI occupations. We demonstrate how some CCI workers have distinctively high cultural consumption, others reflect their broader social class, and some, including IT workers, show lower than expected consumption. Overall, we question the coherence of the prevailing CCI category, particularly in government policy, and suggest a new mode of ‘cultural’ occupational analysis for the sociology of CCIs
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