Evaluating the difference in employee engagement before and after business and cultural transformation interventions

Levels of engagement within an organization can have substantial and measurable impacts upon the outputs of an organization. The objective of this exploratory study was to establish, the difference between employee engagement before and after a business and culture transformation intervention in the workplace. The participants of an IT firm represented all employee levels in the organization. A preintervention and post-intervention sample consisted of 427 and 253 individuals respectively. The Gallup q12 method was used to determine if differences exist in employee engagement before and after a two year pre- and post merger intervention. The main findings of the research indicated that there was a limited impact on employee engagement before and after the business and culture transformation interventions, and are discussed accordingly

Piezoelectric Fans using Higher Flexural Modes for Electronics Cooling Applications

Piezoelectric fans are gaining in popularity as low-power-consumption and low-noise devices for the removal of heat in confined spaces. The performance of piezoelectric fans has been studied by several authors, although primarily at the fundamental resonance mode. In this article the performance of piezoelectric fans operating at the higher resonance modes is studied in detail. Experiments are performed on a number of commercially available piezoelectric fans of varying length. Both finite element modeling and experimental impedance measure- ments are used to demonstrate that the electromechanical energy conversion (electromechanical coupling factors) in certain modes can be greater than in the first bending mode; however, losses in the piezoceramic are also shown to be higher at those modes. The overall power consumption of the fans is also found to increase with increasing mode number. Detailed flow visualizations are also performed to understand both the transient and steady-state fluid motion around these fans. The results indicate that certain advantages of piezoelectric fan operation at higher resonance modes are offset by increased power consumption and decreased fluid flow

Using GIS for spatial analysis of rectal lesions in the human body

Abstract Background Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been used in a wide variety of applications to integrate data and explore the spatial relationship of geographic features. Traditionally this has referred to features on the surface of the earth. However, it is possible to apply GIS in medicine, at the scale of the human body, to visualize and analyze anatomic and clinical features. In the present study we used GIS to examine the findings of transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM), a minimally-invasive procedure to locate and remove both benign and cancerous lesions of the rectum. Our purpose was to determine whether anatomic features of the human rectum and clinical findings at the time of surgery could be rendered in a GIS and spatially analyzed for their relationship to clinical outcomes. Results Maps of rectal topology were developed in two and three dimensions. These maps highlight anatomic features of the rectum and the location of lesions found on TEM. Spatial analysis demonstrated a significant relationship between anatomic location of the lesion and procedural failure. Conclusion This study demonstrates the feasibility of rendering anatomical locations and clinical events in a GIS and its value in clinical research. This allows the visualization and spatial analysis of clinical and pathologic features, increasing our awareness of the relationship between anatomic features and clinical outcomes as well as enhancing our understanding and management of this disease process. </p

Resonant Magnetic Vortices

By using the complex angular momentum method, we provide a semiclassical analysis of electron scattering by a magnetic vortex of Aharonov-Bohm-type. Regge poles of the $S$-matrix are associated with surface waves orbiting around the vortex and supported by a magnetic field discontinuity. Rapid variations of sharp characteristic shapes can be observed on scattering cross sections. They correspond to quasibound states which are Breit-Wigner-type resonances associated with surface waves and which can be considered as quantum analogues of acoustic whispering-gallery modes. Such a resonant magnetic vortex could provide a new kind of artificial atom while the semiclassical approach developed here could be profitably extended in various areas of the physics of vortices.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Dipole radio-frequency power from laser plasmas with no dipole moment

The radio-frequency power radiated from laser-target plasmas in a vacuum can be orders of magnitude greater than expected from such sources that have a negligible electric dipole moment. A model combining the Tidman-Stamper circuit model of a laser-target plasma with the theory of radiation from currents immersed in plasmas, however, predicts scaling of electric-dipole power radiated from laser plasmas in agreement with experiments.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, as published in Applied Physics Letter