Open Repositories 2012

THE Open Repositories conference (OR) took place in Edinburgh in July, and showcased five days of the best the repository world has to offer. This year’s conference attracted 460 delegates from more than 40 countries, and once again showed the passion and enthusiasm of the repository community

Non-discursive knowledge and the construction of identity. Potters, potting and performance at the bronze age tell of Százhalombatta, Hungary

This article explores the relationship between the making of things and the making of people at the Bronze Age tell at Százhalombatta, Hungary. Focusing on potters and potting, we explore how the performance of non-discursive knowledge was critical to the construction of social categories. Potters literally came into being as potters through repeated bodily enactment of potting skills. Potters also gained their identity in the social sphere through the connection between their potting performance and their audience. We trace degrees of skill in the ceramic record to reveal the material articulation of non-discursive knowledge and consider the ramifications of the differential acquisition of non-discursive knowledge for the expression of different kinds of potter's identities. The creation of potters as a social category was essential to the ongoing creation of specific forms of material culture. We examine the implications of altered potters' performances and the role of non-discursive knowledge in the construction of social models of the Bronze Ag

Report on the 'Unlocking Attitudes to Open Access' survey, May-July 2011

As part of a nationwide project to discover more about attitudes to open access the Warwick Research Archive Portal (WRAP) team hosted a survey to allow all members of the Warwick research community, both academics and postgraduate researchers, to contribute their viewpoints to a wider survey. The wider survey is being collated by the The Repositories Support Project (RSP) as part if their work for JISC in collaboration with the United Kingdom Council of Research Repositories (UKCoRR) and it is hoped will create a nationwide picture about the opinions of UK academics on issues such as open access, intellectual property and research archives. This report presents the findings of the 71 responses received by the WRAP team and includes a series of recommendations for future advocacy and developments of both WRAP and the University of Warwick Publications service

Generative Compression

Traditional image and video compression algorithms rely on hand-crafted encoder/decoder pairs (codecs) that lack adaptability and are agnostic to the data being compressed. Here we describe the concept of generative compression, the compression of data using generative models, and suggest that it is a direction worth pursuing to produce more accurate and visually pleasing reconstructions at much deeper compression levels for both image and video data. We also demonstrate that generative compression is orders-of-magnitude more resilient to bit error rates (e.g. from noisy wireless channels) than traditional variable-length coding schemes

Developing Crisis Management Skills Through A Realistic Case Involving A Chemical Spill

Increasingly, managers and public relations officials seem to be at the forefront of newscasts as a variety of organizational crises develop.  Business educators attempting to teach appropriate crises management knowledge and develop skills needed to address such a crises should incorporate realistic case scenarios to challenge students.  Such realistic cases should appropriately address communication and management needs related to crises that may develop.  This paper presents a realistic case that has been used to instill crisis management skills in a business public relations class

It Is A Small World After All: Teaching Business Ethics In A Global Environment

Increasingly, managers and employees are facing ethical issues when conducting business in the global marketplace. Business educators attempting to teach appropriate ethical behavior and develop skills for dealing with complex ethical situations need to incorporate realistic case scenarios to challenge students.  Such cases should appropriately address personal, corporate and international and cultural issues students are likely to face.  This paper presents realistic cases that have been used to teach ethical decision-making in international business classes

Management Implications Of A Czech National Identity In The European Union

The unique Czech identity played a role in the country’s joining the European Union.  There are a number of distinct characteristics of the Czech identity that are actually quite compatible to membership in the Union.  The history of the Czech nation which has a significant impact on the national identity of the country is discussed along with an explanation or definition of national identity.  The Czech identity and the European identity are compared and contrasted.  Finally, management implications of the Czech identity are discussed

Caught In A Severe Thunderstorm, Fuel Is Low, Passenger Having Heart Attack, Hydraulics Are Failing, Instruments Are Iffy, And No Airport Is In Sight: Quick As The Pilot, What Do You Do?

University administrators can take a cue from pilots. Pilots regularly face decision situations where much lies in the balance. So it is with university administrators. The department, college or university itself can be compared to an aircraft. In flight, there are times when the sun shines and winds are favorable: a comfortable flight results and the mission is accomplished. At other times, thunderstorms ravage the skies, fuel may run low, structures and people may fail, and problems arise. So it is with universities and colleges. Sometimes things are great and at other times problems arise that interfere with the institutions role and mission. It is in the parallels of flying and leading an educational institution that allows flying wisdom to be of use