Enemy Reaction to Overlord: Allied Intelligence Assessment, 6 May 1944

Editor’s Note: In the months leading up to Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy, Allied planners invested heavily in their attempts to learn about German dispositions. Much has been written about the “failure” of the Allies to detect the German 352nd Division which nearly doomed the American landings at Omaha. However, this was only one small piece of the intelligence picture. Ultra decrypts based on German wireless messages provided Allied planners with details of the German Order of Battle in France though the exact location of battalions, regiments and divisions was not always certain. Brigadier Bill Williams, General Montgomery’s senior intelligence officer, was responsible for producing a monthly update on the “Enemy Build-up” in Normandy together with an estimate of the German reaction to the invasion. This report, stamped “BIGOT,” the highest level of secrecy, was sent to Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Wright, the senior intelligence officer (GSOI) at First Canadian Army Headquarters on 6 May 1944 for information and comment. The letter reproduced below is the covering letter to the report, while the report itself follows on the next page. This report represents the best knowledge the Allies had of German troop dispositions and intentions prior to the invasion. In hindsight, it is remarkable just how perceptive, detailed and correct this intelligence assessment turned out to be in regards to German capabilities and reactions to the invasion. Perhaps it is time to concentrate on Allied successes rather than alleged “failures.

STD Services Delivery Arrangements in Georgia County Health Departments

Background: Uniformity, standardization, and evidence-based public health practice are needed to improve the efficiency and quality of services in local health departments (LHDs). Among the highest priority and most common public health services delivered by LHDs are services related to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine potential variations in the delivery of sexually transmitted disease (STD) services among county health departments (CHD) in Georgia, to determine if potential variations were due to varied administrative practices, and to understand delivery arrangements so that future cost studies can be supported.Methods: Web-based surveys were collected from 134 county health departments in Georgia in 2015.Results: Screening for gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis occurred in all the surveyed CHDs. Sixty-eight percent of the CHDs had one or more staff who performed investigations for persons already screened positive for STDs. Partner notification services provided by the CHD staff occurred in only 35 percent of the surveyed CHDs.Conclusions: Variances regarding diagnostic methodologies, work time expenditures, and staff responsibilities likely had an influence on the delivery of STD services across Georgia's CHDs. There are opportunities for uniformity and standardization of administrative practices

Strategic pathways to engineering education research: case study of a top-down initiative

In this paper we first present a line of research into potential pathways to facilitate broader participation of engineering educators in education research, one that we propose to develop in various international contexts. Then in the main part of the work we focus on an application of our approach in one specific national context, that of Malaysia. A top-down pathway is proposed to describe recent developments in engineering education research in Malaysia. Analysis of publications from 2000 to date has indicated an increase in engineering education research since the introduction of outcome based education in the country. A Community of Practice in engineering education is beginning to emerge and some research universities are establishing research groups and centres of excellence for research in the field

2006 Homicide Report: An Analysis of Homicides in Oakland from January through December, 2006

Urban Strategies Council has produced quarterly reports on homicides in Oakland throughout 2006. Through the cooperation of the Oakland Police Department Homicide Section, we have obtained detailed information on the homicides occurring during 2006. From these data we have created this report on the characteristics of the 148 homicides that occurred in Oakland from January 1 through December 31, 2006. This report presents annual data from 2006 and shows how characteristics of homicides in Oakland changed from 2005 to 2006 and how 2006 homicides compare with the five -- year averages from 2001-2005.This report summarizes available information such as victim and/or suspect demographic characteristics, locations and times of the incidents. Comparing 2006 data to a five-year average of homicides helps to provide a context for understanding whether there are emerging patterns that differ substantially from the patterns in prior years

Phase change in engineering knowledge production: from an academic to an entrepreneurial contex

This study uses the characterization of contrasting modes of knowledge production to follow the engineering design and research activity of a group of engineers who migrated from an academic environment to a successful startup firm. Semi-structured interviews were used to construct a narrative approach characterizing their activities in the two settings. We relate their practice to Mode 1 and Mode 2 knowledge production phases and note the importance of a phase change in the transition between the two modes

Tracking engineering education research and development: contributions from bibliometric analysis

In recent years, bibliometric analysis of publications has been receiving growing attention in engineering education research as an approach that can bring a number of benefits. In this paper two such forms, taxonomical analysis and citation analysis, are applied to papers from the first 2011 number of IEEE Transactions on Education (21 papers) and from the two 2011 numbers of the ASEE-published Advances in Engineering Education (22 papers). In the former approach, seven taxonomical dimensions are used to characterize the papers and in the second the references cited in the 43 papers were studied so as to analyze how the researchers were informed by previous studies. The results suggest that the silo effect identified by Wankat for disciplinary engineering education journals in 2009 was still apparent in the IEEE Transactions on Education in 2011. The Advances in Engineering Education papers show a wide range of cited references, including reference disciplines outside of engineering education, and this suggests that research published there is likely to be informed by a broad range of previous studies which may be interpreted as a sign of a growing maturity of engineering education as a research discipline

Lessons from an innovation-leader and tools to learn them

Purpose: A number of recent reports have suggested that communication and management skills are important competences for engineers today and are likely to continue so in the future. While participation in strategy management decisions is expected to be important for engineers in technology driven firms, little attention is given to strategy management tools in many undergraduate engineering courses. The paper demonstrates one approach to tackling this issue. Design/methodology/approach: The authors initially present a critique of the use of standard strategy management tools SWOT analysis and Porter’s 5 Forces for decision making about future company policy. This critique is then complemented by a case-study of a university start-up, a recognized innovation-leader, in which SWOT analysis, Porter’s 5 Forces and PESTLE analysis are applied retrospectively as sense-making constructs to understand the firm’s previous policy decisions. Findings and Originality/value: The paper illustrates the potential of retrospective use of strategy management tools is demonstrated. Research limitations/implications: An obstacle confronting researchers in studies of this type is that for reasons of confidentiality it is difficult to gain access to current objective data on the financial situation and policy decisions of a firm. Furthermore this work presents a single case study. Both limitations are addressed in the appropriate section of the article. Originality/value: The value of the retrospective use of strategy management tools is illustrated. The paper makes proposals regarding how such data can be employed in role-play activities in preparing engineers to develop interdisciplinary communication skills in the context of strategy management decision makingPeer Reviewe