Towards an Organizational Strategic Vitality Theory: A Study of a Public Sector Board of Directors

Boards of directors govern practically all organizations of significant size in the public and private sector. Improving the understanding of how boards function is critical because when boards fail, the results can be devastating. Little is understood about the functioning of boards of directors in the public sector, which accounts for a significant amount of the gross national product of the world\u27s economy. The author observed a public sector board of directors for one year. Using the grounded theory research method to analyze the observations, he generated a theory of organizational strategic vitality that describes how a board of directors that is motivated to sustain its organization\u27s strategic vitality will undertake actions to increase the board\u27s effectiveness; strengthen relationships with customers, stakeholders, and partners; create an effective strategy; infuse the strategy throughout its organization; and evaluate and foster strategic performance. In addition, this study found that this public sector board\u27s motivation was self-determined, that motivation affected the selection of the board\u27s primary role, and that the other major roles of a board can become subservient to the primary role once chosen. In addition to these findings, organizational classism was identified as a major impediment to strategic implementation

Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets: A Review of the Uniform Law Conference of Canada\u27s Proposed Uniform Act and Comparable American Model Legislation

No jurisdiction in Canada has yet enacted comprehensive legislation regarding fiduciary access to the digital assets of an individual who has died, become incapacitated, or has appointed an attorney or other representative. In August, 2016, the Uniform Law Conference of Canada (ULCC) adopted a uniform Act on fiduciary access to digital assets (ULCC Uniform Act). This paper discusses why there may be a need for legislation, and then examines the most important elements of the ULCC Uniform Act. The Act, which tends to favour fiduciary access and media neutrality, is compared throughout the paper with the two American Acts prepared by the American Uniform Law Commission. The first American Act was adopted in 2014 and then withdrawn due to concerns voiced by internet service providers and civil liberty groups regarding privacy issues, and the other, a revised version, was subsequently adopted in 2015

Dissonance, development and doing the right thing : a theoretical exploration of altruistic action as an adaptive intervention

This theoretical exploration was undertaken to give consideration to the phenomenon of altruistic action as a potential focus for therapeutic intervention strategies. The very nature of altruism carries with it a fundamentally paradoxical and discrepant conundrum because of the opposing forces that it activates within us; inclinations to put the welfare of others ahead of self-interest are not experienced by the inner self as sound survival planning, though this has historically been a point of contention. Internal and external discrepancies cause psychological dissonance and inner conflict between self-protective strategies and core value constructs, the reconciliation of which is a driving force in our development across cognitive, moral and personality domains. By considering the mechanisms of altruism through the lenses of various dissonance and cognitive-developmental theories, we are provided with the vehicle and engine for altruistic growth and the transcendence of thought-action repertoires from defensive strategies that restrict conscious awareness to strategies that foster and employ it. Furthermore, it is suggested that altruistic action may be an effective catalyst in attaining more authentically altruistic perspectives, other-oriented attitudes, and higher-stage moral development

Authors' Reply to Hill: Comment on "The Great British Medalists Project: A Review of Current Knowledge on the Development of the World's Best Sporting Talent".

This letter refers to the original article available at: doi:10.1007/s40279-016-0476-2; https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs40279-016-0476-2; http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/23120

Observations of meteor-head echoes using the Jicamarca 50 MHz radar in interferometer mode

International audienceWe present results of recent observations of meteor-head echoes obtained with the high-power large-aperture Jicamarca 50 MHz radar (11.95° S, 76.87° W) in an interferometric mode. The large power-aperture of the system allows us to record more than 3000 meteors per hour in the small volume subtended by the 1° antenna beam, albeit when the cluttering equatorial electrojet (EEJ) echoes are not present or are very weak. The interferometry arrangement allows the determination of the radiant (trajectory) and speed of each meteor. It is found that the radiant distribution of all detected meteors is concentrated in relative small angles centered around the Earth's Apex as it transients over the Jicamarca sky, i.e. around the corresponding Earth heading for the particular observational day and time, for all seasons observed so far. The dispersion around the Apex is ~18° in a direction transverse to the Ecliptic plane and only 8.5° in heliocentric longitude in the Ecliptic plane both in the Earth inertial frame of reference. No appreciable interannual variability has been observed. Moreover, no population related to the optical (larger meteors) Leonid showers of 1998?2002 is found, in agreement with other large power-aperture radar observations. A novel cross-correlation detection technique (adaptive match-filtering) is used in combination with a 13 baud Barker phase-code. The technique allows us to get good range resolution (0.75 km) without any sensitivity deterioration for the same average power, compared to the non-coded long pulse scheme used at other radars. The matching Doppler shift provides an estimation of the velocity within a pulse with the same accuracy as if a non-coded pulse of the same length had been used. The velocity distribution of the meteors is centered around 60 km s?1 corresponding to velocities slightly under the solar escape velocity (72 km s?1). Less than 8% of the velocities correspond to interstellar speeds. Higher relative velocity accuracy is obtained by cross-correlating the echoes from pulse-to-pulse, albeit with an ambiguous velocity displacement which cannot be resolved with the current observing technique. This higher relative accuracy allows the precise measurement of the deceleration of the meteors as they enter the atmosphere. In addition, an independent radial velocity is determined from the derivative of the instantaneous position. Other statistical distributions of interest are also presented

Statistical characteristics of low-latitude ionospheric field-aligned irregularities obtained with the Piura VHF radar

International audienceWe present a summary of the statistical characteristics of echoes from ionospheric (E- and F-region) field-aligned irregularities obtained with the Piura VHF radar. This radar is located at ~ 7.0° dip latitude, just outside the equatorial electrojet (EEJ) region. Our results are based on (1) intermittent observations made between 1991 and 1999 just few days a year, and (2) continuous observations made between January 2000 and June 2001. During most of the intermittent observations, simultaneous measurements of EEJ and equatorial spread F (ESF) irregularities were performed with the Jicamarca VHF radar. From the continuous measurements, we have obtained the diurnal and seasonal characteristics of a variety of parameters (percentage of occurrence, signal-to-noise ratio and/or Doppler velocities) from the lower and upper E-region irregularities and also from F-region irregularities over Piura. For example, we have found that (1) the E-region echoes are stronger and occur more frequently during local summer (i.e. between December and March); (2) between May and June, the E-region echoes are weaker and occur less frequently; moreover, during these months, a semidiurnal wave with large amplitudes is observed in the meridional wind (> 100 ms- 1); (3) there is vertical wavelength of about 20 km in the Doppler velocity, particularly after midnight; (4) the lower (upper) E-region Doppler velocities are influenced mainly by meridional winds (equatorial F-region vertical drifts). In addition, we have observed that the seasonal and daily occurrences of Piura F-region irregularities are similar to the occurrence of topside ESF irregularities over Jicamarca. The likelihood of occurrence of F-region irregularities over Piura and, therefore, topside ESF over Jicamarca is greater when there are no E-region irregularities over Piura. On the other hand, there is more probability of observing bottomtype/bottomside ESF irregularities over Jicamarca when E-region irregularities are observed over Piura

A Platform for the Analysis of Qualitative and Quantitative Data about the Built Environment and its Users

There are many scenarios in which it is necessary to collect data from multiple sources in order to evaluate a system, including the collection of both quantitative data - from sensors and smart devices - and qualitative data - such as observations and interview results. However, there are currently very few systems that enable both of these data types to be combined in such a way that they can be analysed side-by-side. This paper describes an end-to-end system for the collection, analysis, storage and visualisation of qualitative and quantitative data, developed using the e-Science Central cloud analytics platform. We describe the experience of developing the system, based on a case study that involved collecting data about the built environment and its users. In this case study, data is collected from older adults living in residential care. Sensors were placed throughout the care home and smart devices were issued to the residents. This sensor data is uploaded to the analytics platform and the processed results are stored in a data warehouse, where it is integrated with qualitative data collected by healthcare and architecture researchers. Visualisations are also presented which were intended to allow the data to be explored and for potential correlations between the quantitative and qualitative data to be investigated

Replacing Old Bridges with New – Stepping Up Student Learning by Rebuilding the Foundation with Faculty-Librarian Collaboration

Your foundations are set - clear syllabus, collaborative assignments, scheduled library instructions, and excellent faculty-librarian communication - but what about demonstrated learning, updated technologies, and an infusion of instruction energy? Sometimes a librarian needs to partner with faculty to initiate a demolition and reengineering of the collaborative bridge. Our dilemma: Should we patch up an existing assignment or tackle a course reengineering? Using new girders of current learning theory, measurable learning outcomes, concept maps, just-in-time instructions, research consultations, and information literacy assessments, we rebuilt the class. Dig into the foundation with us and explore using these supports to help your collaborative bridges stand firm. As the Builders , the presenters will describe the rebuilding process, demonstrate tools and techniques, provide sample classroom materials, solicit input, and lead discussion. As the Designers , participants will consider this project for their own use, evaluate the tools for usability and scale, and interact with other designers in coordinated discussion