Managing Uncertainty: Lessons from Xenophon\u27s Retreat

Propositions on dynamic capabilities and organizational politics are developed from management literature and are then evaluated using case analysis. The goal is to identify complementary aspects of these perspectives to change from an ancient example that can offer insights for management thought and practice today. Initially chronicled by Xenophon, roughly 10,000 Greek mercenaries spent over two years confronting demanding circumstances as they fought their way into and out of ancient Persia. The mercenaries\u27 response to changing circumstances offers a unique case for integrating literature on responses to uncertainty that range between rational and haphazard explanations. The analysis suggests uncertainty management is a complex phenomenon imperfectly represented by existing models

Black-Hole Transients and the Eddington Limit

I show that the Eddington limit implies a critical orbital period P_crit(BH) = 2d beyond which black-hole LMXBs cannot appear as persistent systems. The unusual behaviour of GRO J1655-40 may result from its location close to this critical period.Comment: 3 pages, no figures; to appear in MNRA

The American Aircraft Industrial Base: On the Brink

An article reviewing the decline in the American aircraft industrial base

The [Not So] Hidden Curriculum of the Legalist State in the Book of Lord Shang and the Han-Fei-Zi

This paper loosely draws some parallels between the experience of a subject in a so-called “Legalist” state with that of a contemporary student in Western schooling today. I explore how governance in the Book of Lord Shang and the Hanfeizi can be interpreted as pedagogy. Defining pedagogy in a relatively broad sense, I investigate the rationalizations for the existence of the state, the application of state mechanisms, and even the concentration of the ruler’s power all teach subjects habits, attitudes, and sensibilities in a similar fashion to what Philip Jackson called the “hidden curriculum”. Through his framework of “crowds, praise, and power” this paper will explore how governance teaches and what those subjected to it learn. This study also attempts to provide some insight into the usefulness of approaching “Legalist” texts with a positive sociological lens

Improved high volume air sampler

Sampler permits size separations of particles by directing sampled air through cross-sectional area sufficiently large that air velocity is reduced to point where particles or larger size will settle out. Sampler conducts air downward and through slots around periphery of unit into relatively open interior of house

Magnetic Fields, Accretion, and the Central Engine of Gamma-Ray Bursts

I briefly review magnetic effects in accretion physics, and then go on to discuss a possible central engine for gamma-ray bursts. A rotating black hole immersed in a non-axisymmetric magnetic field experiences a torque trying to align spin and field. I suggest that gamma-ray burst hosts may provide conditions where this effect allows rapid extraction of a significant fraction of the hole's rotational energy. I argue that much of the electromagnetic emission is in two narrow beams parallel and antiparallel to the asymptotic field direction. This picture suggests that only a mass 10^-5 Msun is expelled in a relativistic outflow, as required by the fireball picture.Comment: 8 pages, Invited talk to appear in the Proceedings of Magnetic Fields in the Universe, Angra dos Reis, Brazil, November 28 - December 3 200