Mediated Communication for Deaf Postsecondary Students in the United States

The increasing numbers of deaf students in postsecondary education place a strain on the institution\u27s resources. To obtain information on how U.S. colleges and universities address this problem, all institutions having significant numbers of deaf students were sent a questionnaire. The results of the survey reveal an awareness of assistive listening devices and depict a variety of approaches to recruiting, orienting, and supervising sign-language interpreters. In addition, the sale of assistive listening devices is briefly discussed. Models for managing interpreter services are examined with respect to their advantages and disadvantages

Traversable Wormholes in Geometries of Charged Shells

We construct a static axisymmetric wormhole from the gravitational field of two charged shells which are kept in equilibrium by their electromagnetic repulsion. For large separations the exterior tends to the Majumdar-Papapetrou spacetime of two charged particles. The interior of the wormhole is a Reissner-Nordstr\"om black hole matching to the two shells. The wormhole is traversable and connects to the same asymptotics without violation of energy conditions. However, every point in the Majumdar-Papapetrou region lies on a closed timelike curve.Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX, 1 figur

Representations of Menger (2,n)(2,n)-semigroups by multiplace functions

Investigation of partial multiplace functions by algebraic methods plays an important role in modern mathematics were we consider various operations on sets of functions, which are naturally defined. The basic operation for $n$-place functions is an $(n+1)$-ary superposition $[ ]$, but there are some other naturally defined operations, which are also worth of consideration. In this paper we consider binary Mann's compositions \op{1},...,\op{n} for partial $n$-place functions, which have many important applications for the study of binary and $n$-ary operations. We present methods of representations of such algebras by $n$-place functions and find an abstract characterization of the set of $n$-place functions closed with respect to the set-theoretic inclusion

Psychological Safety and Norm Clarity in Software Engineering Teams

In the software engineering industry today, companies primarily conduct their work in teams. To increase organizational productivity, it is thus crucial to know the factors that affect team effectiveness. Two team-related concepts that have gained prominence lately are psychological safety and team norms. Still, few studies exist that explore these in a software engineering context. Therefore, with the aim of extending the knowledge of these concepts, we examined if psychological safety and team norm clarity associate positively with software developers' self-assessed team performance and job satisfaction, two important elements of effectiveness. We collected industry survey data from practitioners (N = 217) in 38 development teams working for five different organizations. The result of multiple linear regression analyses indicates that both psychological safety and team norm clarity predict team members' self-assessed performance and job satisfaction. The findings also suggest that clarity of norms is a stronger (30\% and 71\% stronger, respectively) predictor than psychological safety. This research highlights the need to examine, in more detail, the relationship between social norms and software development. The findings of this study could serve as an empirical baseline for such, future work.Comment: Submitted to CHASE'201

Biased Information Search in Homogeneous Groups: Confidence as a Moderator for the Effect of Anticipated Task Requirements

When searching for information, groups that are homogeneous regarding their members’ prediscussion decision preferences show a strong bias for information that supports rather than conflicts with the prevailing opinion (confirmation bias). The present research examined whether homogeneous groups blindly search for information confirming their beliefs irrespective of the anticipated task or whether they are sensitive to the usefulness of new information for this forthcoming task. Results of three experiments show that task sensitivity depends on the groups’ confidence in the correctness of their decision: Moderately confident groups displayed a strong confirmation bias when they anticipated having to give reasons for their decision but showed a balanced information search or even a disconfirmation bias (i.e., predominately seeking conflicting information) when they anticipated having to refute unterarguments. In contrast, highly confident groups demonstrated a strong confirmation bias independent of the anticipated task requirements

Vacuum arc plasma thrusters with inductive energy storage driver

An apparatus for producing a vacuum arc plasma source device using a low mass, compact inductive energy storage circuit powered by a low voltage DC supply acts as a vacuum arc plasma thruster. An inductor is charged through a switch, subsequently the switch is opened and a voltage spike of Ldi/dt is produced initiating plasma across a resistive path separating anode and cathode. The plasma is subsequently maintained by energy stored in the inductor. Plasma is produced from cathode material, which allows for any electrically conductive material to be used. A planar structure, a tubular structure, and a coaxial structure allow for consumption of cathode material feed and thereby long lifetime of the thruster for long durations of time

Corporate Culture and Its Connection with External and Internal Public Relations

The main aim of this article is to present the influence of corporate culture on company's stakeholders. This paper signalises the tendency in corporate communication with its internal and external publics. It is focused on two issues: corporate social responsibility and employer branding. Those two categories are consequences of corporate culture model.Głównym celem artykułu jest zaprezentowanie wpływu jaki wywiera charakter kultury korporacyjnej na związanych z przedsiębiorstwem interesariuszy (stakeholders). W artykule zasygnalizowane zostały główne tendencje wyznaczające charakter komunikacji między organizacją a jej wewnętrznym i zewnętrznym otoczeniem. Tekst koncentruje się na dwóch kwestiach: społecznej odpowiedzialności przedsiębiorstwa (corporate social responsibilty) i budowanie wizerunku pracodawcy (employer branding), które zaprezentowane zostały jako efekty określonego modelu kultury organizacyjnej

Resist, comply or workaround? An examination of different facets of user engagement with information systems

This paper provides a summary of studies of user resistance to Information Technology (IT) and identifies workaround activity as an understudied and distinct, but related, phenomenon. Previous categorizations of resistance have largely failed to address the relationships between the motivations for divergences from procedure and the associated workaround activity. This paper develops a composite model of resistance/workaround derived from two case study sites. We find four key antecedent conditions derived from both positive and negative resistance rationales and identify associations and links to various resultant workaround behaviours and provide supporting Chains of Evidence from two case studies

Etching of random solids: hardening dynamics and self-organized fractality

When a finite volume of an etching solution comes in contact with a disordered solid, a complex dynamics of the solid-solution interface develops. Since only the weak parts are corroded, the solid surface hardens progressively. If the etchant is consumed in the chemical reaction, the corrosion dynamics slows down and stops spontaneously leaving a fractal solid surface, which reveals the latent percolation criticality hidden in any random system. Here we introduce and study, both analytically and numerically, a simple model for this phenomenon. In this way we obtain a detailed description of the process in terms of percolation theory. In particular we explain the mechanism of hardening of the surface and connect it to Gradient Percolation.Comment: Latex, aipproc, 6 pages, 3 figures, Proceedings of 6th Granada Seminar on Computational Physic

Gender and educational leadership in England: a comparison of secondary headteachers' views over time

In the context of gender being a barrier to accessing leadership, this paper presents a comparison of the views of men and women head teacher (principals) of secondary schools in England in the 1990s and in 2004. The same survey instrument was used on both occasions. The perceptions of the head teachers show change in some areas and no change in others. Overall, women are more likely to become head teachers and are now less likely to be categorised into pastoral roles, but in some cases women still meet prejudice from governors and others in the wider community. Women head teachers are more likely to have partners and children than in the 1990s, sharing equally or carrying most of the domestic responsibilities, whereas male colleagues are most likely to have partners who take the majority of responsibility in the home. Essentialist stereotypes about women and men as leaders still prevail, although both the women and men head teachers see themselves as adopting a traditionally ‘feminine’ style of leadership. Women head teachers are likely to see some benefits in being a woman in a role stereotypically associated with men. However, there has been an increase in the proportion of women who feel that they have to prove their worth as a leader, and this may be linked with increased levels of accountability in schools