Speaking Right: HRDs Role in Mediating Good Boardroom Conversations

Purpose This paper aims to explore the impact discourse has on decision making practices within the boardroom and considers how personal proficiency in micro-language use can enhance an individual’s personal efficacy in influencing boardroom decisions. The work uses Habermas’ theory of communicative action to critique board talk, highlighting the need for greater understanding of the power of everyday taken for granted talk in strategy shaping. It illuminates the contribution that human resource development (HRD) professionals can make to the management of such behaviour and minimising dysfunctional behaviour and enabling effective boardroom practices. Design/methodology/approach Traditional governance theory from a business and organisational perspectives are provided before considering the boardroom environment and HRD’s role. The authors undertake ethnographic research supported by conversation analysis to explore how directors use talk-based interpersonal routines to influence boardroom processes and enact collective decision making. The authors provide one extract of directors’ talk to illustrate the process and demonstrate what the data “looks like” and the insights it holds. Findings The analysis suggests that the established underlying assumptions and rationale ideologies of corporate governance are misplaced and to understand the workings of corporate governance HRD academics and professionals need to gain deeper insight into the employment of talk within boards. Armed with such insights HRD professionals can become more effective in developing strategies to address dysfunctional leadership and promote good governance practice throughout their organisation. Social implications The work raises a call for HRD to embrace a societal mediation role to help boards to become a catalyst for setting good practice which is strategically aligned throughout the organisation. Such roles require a more dialogical, strategic and critical approach to HRD, and professionals and academics take a more holistic approach to leadership development. Originality/value The paper considers the role of the development of HRD interventions that both help individuals to work more effectively within a boardroom environment and support development to shape a boardroom culture that promotes effective governance practice by influencing boardroom practice thereby promoting strong governance and broad social compliance throughout the organisation

Leonid flashers—meteoroid impacts on the Moon

We examine the conditions under which optical impact flashes might be observable on the Moon’s disk during the times of annual meteor shower activity. Our attention is primarily directed towards the Leonid shower given the high probability that it will undergo repeated outburst activity during the next several years. The Leonid stream to Moon encounter geometry is discussed, and we find that the best probable times to perform optical surveys will be in 1999 and 2002. We estimate that a one kilogram Leonid meteoroid might produce a magnitude-2 optical transient on the Moon’s disk

Miniature Intelligent Sensor Module

An electronic unit denoted the Miniature Intelligent Sensor Module performs sensor-signal-conditioning functions and local processing of sensor data. The unit includes four channels of analog input/output circuitry, a processor, volatile and nonvolatile memory, and two Ethernet communication ports, all housed in a weathertight enclosure. The unit accepts AC or DC power. The analog inputs provide programmable gain, offset, and filtering as well as shunt calibration and auto-zeroing. Analog outputs include sine, square, and triangular waves having programmable frequencies and amplitudes, as well as programmable amplitude DC. One innovative aspect of the design of this unit is the integration of a relatively powerful processor and large amount of memory along with the sensor-signalconditioning circuitry so that sophisticated computer programs can be used to acquire and analyze sensor data and estimate and track the health of the overall sensor-data-acquisition system of which the unit is a part. The unit includes calibration, zeroing, and signalfeedback circuitry to facilitate health monitoring. The processor is also integrated with programmable logic circuitry in such a manner as to simplify and enhance acquisition of data and generation of analog outputs. A notable unique feature of the unit is a cold-junction compensation circuit in the back shell of a sensor connector. This circuit makes it possible to use Ktype thermocouples without compromising a housing seal. Replicas of this unit may prove useful in industrial and manufacturing settings - especially in such large outdoor facilities as refineries. Two features can be expected to simplify installation: the weathertight housings should make it possible to mount the units near sensors, and the Ethernet communication capability of the units should facilitate establishment of communication connections for the units

Genetic variability of Taenia saginata inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences

Taenia saginata is an important tapeworm, infecting humans in many parts of the world. The present study was undertaken to identify inter- and intraspecific variation of T. saginata isolated from cattle in different parts of Iran using two mitochondrial CO1 and 12S rRNA genes. Up to 105 bovine specimens of T. saginata were collected from 20 slaughterhouses in three provinces of Iran. DNA were extracted from the metacestode Cysticercus bovis. After PCR amplification, sequencing of CO1 and 12S rRNA genes were carried out and two phylogenetic analyses of the sequence data were generated by Bayesian inference on CO1 and 12S rRNA sequences. Sequence analyses of CO1 and 12S rRNA genes showed 11 and 29 representative profiles respectively. The level of pairwise nucleotide variation between individual haplotypes of CO1 gene was 0.3–2.4 % while the overall nucleotide variation among all 11 haplotypes was 4.6 %. For 12S rRNA sequence data, level of pairwise nucleotide variation was 0.2–2.5 % and the overall nucleotide variation was determined as 5.8 % among 29 haplotypes of 12S rRNA gene. Considerable genetic diversity was found in both mitochondrial genes particularly in 12S rRNA gene. © 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Examining the role of faith community groups with sexual offenders: A systematic review

The aim of this paper is to examine the role of faith-based communities and activities in helping those convicted of sexual offending to desist from crime and reintegrate back into their communities. It was found that much of the current research is limited to non-offending juvenile populations. Where research has been carried out on adult offenders, these tend to be custodial cases and exclude those convicted of sexual offending. The role of religious and spiritual groups in helping people convicted of sexual offending to desist from crime, while reintegrating into the community is, therefore, unknown. A number of parallels between the factors needed to promote desistance from sexual offending and the conditions encountered when engaged with a faith community are outlined. We would note that a religious and spiritual environment can: promote motivation to change, provide access to pro-social peers, offer moral guidance, provide a support network, and help bring meaning into people's lives. The potential for people to use faith-based communities or organizations to facilitate offending are also considered. Finally, implications for probation work and future research are also discussed

Foresight and action learning supporting transition: An account of practice

Integrating foresight into corporations has proved to be challenging. This account of practice reports on the introduction of futures and foresight (FF) teaching content into an executive Masters programme. The FF contentwas further linked to and provided a background for action learning sets. The purpose was to identify how introducing distant time horizons would help participants to adapt and change their perspectives in problem solving and professional development. The report describes how FF was incorporated across the programme and used to develop insightful conversations in the action learning sets. Citing two case examples, the authors reflect on how participants responded to these new elements and offer insights into the value of introducing FF as an interdisciplinary element in a programme

Time for a Nappy Change: beliefs and attitudes towards modern cloth nappies.

The United Nations Environment Programme highlights how the use of disposable nappies has become unsustainable, yet the practice of using modern cloth nappies (MCN) is niche. This study uses mixed methods of survey, story completion and focus group methods to explore how behaviour beliefs and attitudes to behaviour contribute to families’ decision making regarding the nappy system they use for their children. 1588 responded to the survey; 38 completed story completion activity; 24 participated in groups. This study finds that beliefs about the performance as a nappy, environmental credentials, financial considerations, laundry, effort, and hygiene differ according to the level of personal experience of using MCN. While beliefs about the environmentalcredentials of MCN create powerful drivers for the intention to use MCN, other beliefs about the upfront costs, laundry and effort contribute a negative attitude to MCN overall if their support network of other MCN users is not established. Current MCN users found using cloth nappy retailer websites, nappy libraries, and social media groups, including pre-loved and-sell groups, to be beneficial in improving attitude to MCN. This study concludes that interventions that simultaneously reduce or remove perceived barriers such as upfront costs, financial risks and too much effort, paired with campaigns which increase the likelihood of finding support, are more likely, than individual interventions, to be effective in increasing the number of families using MCN.Further study is needed to investigate the potential of interventions which reduce the financial risks such as, easy to access hire kits, spread the cost of MCN and pre-natal and newborn public services such as midwives and health visitors being well informed and encouraging of the use of MCN.<br/

Time for a Nappy Change: controls affecting families’ nappy choices

Lifecycle assessments suggest that modern cloth nappies have fewer environmental impacts than their disposablecounterparts in terms of GHG, plastic and landfill (UNEP 2021). However, despite these apparent environmentalbenefits consumers still use predominantly disposable nappies. This paper will use theories of plannedbehaviour to explore the differences in perceived and actual behaviours between disposable and cloth nappyusers. A self-selecting web-based survey was used to recruit participants with children up to the age of fiveand explore their decision-making in this regard. The findings of the survey reveal that disposable nappy usersare more likely to prioritise convenience and to cite additional laundry loads as the main reasons for not usingcloth nappies. This is despite tending to have the necessary infrastructure (such as disposable income, spaceand washing facilities) to enable them to do so. This indicates that the perceptions of home-laundered clothnappies as inconvenient makes families more likely to opt for disposable nappies. Whilst cloth nappies weregenerally assumed to be more environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing by all parents irrespectiveof their choices, this was not enough to overcome the convenience and ease of use for the majority of participants.This study concludes that many disposable nappy users select disposable nappies with the assumptionthat they are easier and more convenient when this may not be the case. The implication of this study is thatinterventions which improve the convenience of cloth nappies and the perception of ease of use will encouragegreater uptake of cloth nappies.References.UNEP. (2021) Recommendations from Life Cycle Assessments Single-use nappies and their alternatives hostedby. United Nations Environment Programme

Molecular and morphological characterization of the tapeworm Taenia hydatigena (Pallas, 1766) in sheep from Iran

Although Taenia hydatigena is one of the most prevalent taeniid species of livestock, very little molecular genetic information exists for this parasite. Up to 100 sheep isolates of T. hydatigena were collected from 19 abattoirs located in the provinces of Tehran, Alborz and Kerman. A calibrated microscope was used to measure the larval rostellar hook lengths. Following DNA extraction, fragments of cytochrome c oxidase 1 (CO1) and 12S rRNA genes were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction method and the amplicons were subjected to sequencing. The mean total length of large and small hooks was 203.4 μm and 135.9 μm, respectively. Forty CO1 and 39 12S rRNA sequence haplotypes were obtained in the study. The levels of pairwise nucleotide variation between individual haplotypes of CO1 and 12S rRNA genes were determined to be between 0.3-3.4% and 0.2-2.1%, respectively. The overall nucleotide variation among all the CO1 haplotypes was 9.7%, and for all the 12S rRNA haplotypes it was 10.1%. A significant difference was observed between rostellar hook morphometry and both CO1 and 12S rRNA sequence variability. A significantly high level of genetic variation was observed in the present study. The results showed that the 12S rRNA gene is more variable than CO1. © 2013 Cambridge University Press