Team building: it's not just about the beers!

The New Zealand Kellogg Rural Leaders Programme develops emerging agribusiness leaders to help shape the future of New Zealand agribusiness and rural affairs. Lincoln University has been involved with this leaders programme since 1979 when it was launched with a grant from the Kellogg Foundation, USA.Team Building is one of those trendy Human Resources buzzwords that get thrown around when we think we should be doing something for our staff But what is it? Is it worthwhile? Will it be worth the cost, time and effort? Many employers have organized Team Building activities for their staff and then later questioned the value when things didn't seem to change in the workplace . We need to change our perception of Team Building. "It's not just about the beers!" It is good to have fun, but results are just as important. Team Building is about ongoing, focused, planned, outcome driven behaviour that should in some form happen daily. It is about the environment or culture in the workplace, how people interrelate, and the support they provide for each other

Introduction to GIS

Do you have a research question that you would like to depict geographically? Have you ever wanted to include a map in your presentations or reports, but could not find one that suits your specific needs? This workshop will address these questions by introducing participants to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a tool that facilitates the visualization of spatial data, geographic analysis, and the production of maps. Attendees will learn the basics of GIS terminology, explore different GIS software packages, and will walk through a hand-on tutorial focused on basic geographic analysis. No prior GIS knowledge required. The presentation slides are available by clicking the Download button on the right. Click here to view a short video shown during the workshop. Supporting materials for a workshop activity, as well as the video and audio files of this workshop, are listed as additional files below and are available for download

Management in the financial services : emotional labour and gender

This thesis examines the development of management in financial services and its implications on managers' activities and socialisation. The thesis uses gender and emotional labour as the main themes for the discussion of management in the financial services. The thesis reports on two ethnographic case studies within two UK retail banks. Analyses are based on data derived from interviews, observations and documents. Both the literature and data suggest that management in the service sector centres around the management of organisational cultures. Managers must disseminate the organisational values in order to extract excellent customer service from the front-line staff. Managers themselves are acculturated into the organisation and its values, in order to more easily acculturate their staff. The data indicates that although management appears to have been feminised, masculine values still dominate. Managers are socialised into organisational cultures in which human relations rhetoric looms large and both male and female managers employ `feminine' management styles. Confusingly however, male managers' skills seem to be valued more and male-dominated business areas receive greater kudos. A disjunction between rhetoric and reality is thus evident. In addition, both management and emotional labour are presented as gendered in sociological literature. The data indicates that although management styles and practices are perceived to be gendered, there is little evidence to support the stereotypes. Both men and women can be seen to be performing emotional labour too, but it is the expectations of others and their different life experiences that can lead to gender differences in the way that emotional labour is displayed.Department of Sociology, University of Plymouth

What is Happening to Commercial Malls: Evaluating Contradicting Opinions

The retail environment has been changing in recent years and this has had profound impacts on American shopping malls. This paper will examine the dying mall phenomenon and compare and contrast the differing opinions of major news outlets. This study will identify and analyze the driving forces of change including the recent shift in demographics, the rise of the bargain hunter, the power of millennials and the desire for experiences amongst consumers. It was discovered that A rated malls are thriving whilst C and D rated malls are in danger of dying out. The more successful malls are those that offer consumers experiences in addition to shopping and have turned themselves into destinations. The least successful are those that have failed to modernize and adapt to the changing retail environment

Introduction to Web Mapping

While most of us depend on programs like Google Maps to help us navigate the world, it barely scratches the surface of the diverse world of web mapping. In this introductory workshop, participants will learn about web mapping platforms, how digital maps are typically used, different visualization techniques for engaging users, and tips for searching and integrating data to create finished maps. A variety of web-based tools will be discussed, including Carto and OpenStreetMap. Participants will be guided through a tutorial that teaches them the basics of web mapping. No GIS or coding experience necessary. The presentation slides are available by clicking the Download button on the right. The Excel file for the Carto demonstration, as well as the video and audio files of this workshop, are listed as additional files below and are available for download

Finding, Organizing, and Creating Spatial Data

To produce a compelling and attractive map, it is necessary to have quality data. However, finding quality data and using it to prepare maps can be quite challenging. This workshop will begin with a review of different types of spatial data, how to access it, and strategies for understanding and organizing it. We will then focus on creating our own data by georeferencing scanned paper maps. Georeferencing involves assigning geographic coordinates to images (e.g., maps, aerial photos) that lack a defined coordinate system. Georeferencing helps us locate where an image is located in the world so we can effectively use it in GIS software. Ideally, participants should have basic knowledge of GIS software or have attended the Introduction to GIS session. This workshop requires Photoshop and ArcMap. If you are affiliated with the University of Kentucky and do not have the software on your computer, you will need to consult UK Information Technology Services to find campus computers with the software installed. The presentation slides are available by clicking the Download button on the right. The scanned map for the workshop activity, as well as the video and audio files of this workshop, are listed as additional files below and are available for download

L-spaces, taut foliations, and graph manifolds

If $Y$ is a closed orientable graph manifold, we show that $Y$ admits a coorientable taut foliation if and only if $Y$ is not an L-space. Combined with previous work of Boyer and Clay, this implies that $Y$ is an L-space if and only if $\pi_1(Y)$ is not left-orderable.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure; version 3 is accepted version, to appear in Compositio Mathematic