Knowledge Worker Productivity: Closing The Problem—Solution Gap

Peter Drucker (1999) states that “knowledge worker productivity is the biggest of the 21st century management challenges.” These traits that derail personal productivity have been identified in the responses of over 2,000 knowledge workers to the question, “What are the most significant things within your control or generated by you that get in the way of your productivity?” The top 10 survey response results are: 61% trying to do to much, 46% not saying no, 45% procrastinating, 44% doing it myself/not delegating, 37% perfectionism, 34% telephone/ rop by interruptions, 31% disorganization/clutter, 28% unrealistic time estimates, 19% poor planning, and 19% e-mail. I saw the opportunities as: (a) Are there a handful of high leverage personal work processing methods that people can use to counteract these productivity de-railers? (b) If implemented, how much efficiency improvement could be achieved

The Effect of Intelligence Test Feedback Upon Self-Concept as Measured by the EPPS

Previous research on the nature of the self-concept generally suggests that this particular construct is broad, stable, and not easily altered. Yet, current practice regarding the feedback of information concerning one\u27s intelligence quotient remains restrictive and unresponsive to this evidence. Individuals are protected from the knowledge of their test results ostensibly to prevent harmful effects upon their self-images. The present study focused on the impact of learning one\u27s assessed intelligence quotient upon needs taken from a measure of self-report. It was predicted that subjects who had received feedback accurately specifying their intelligence quotients and who had reported discrepancies between this score and the quotient they had expected to receive would score no differently from persons in control groups who had not been given their IQ scores. The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale was administered to twenty-seven college males and fifty college females, while the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule was administered to all of these subjects and to an additional control group of twenty-one. A Hotelling\u27s T2 test was performed to assess differences between the mean raw scores of the experimental and control groups on ten EPPS scales. The results of this analysis did not indicate a significant alteration in self-concept following IQ feedback. This occurred even though the feedback was subjectively reported to be discrepant from the subject\u27s own earlier estimates

Student Veteran\u27s Perceptions of Campus Support

College poses many challenges to the average population, however, there are additional challenges for different populations. For example, completion rates of nontraditional students are 33.7% (New, 2014), and for student veterans there are additional barriers to completing their college degree. Despite a variety of obstacles, veterans who were active duty after September 2001 have college completion rates of 51% (Cate, 2014). With this in mind, this exploratory study examined student veterans from Western Oregon University (WOU) overall wellbeing (moods, satisfaction with life, social integration) in association with the campus services and culture

Favoritism in the Courts of Early Modern England: A Study of James I and George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham

From 1614 to 1625, George Villiers ascended to the highest rank of power and prestige in the court of James I of England. Within a mere nine years (1614 to 1623), Villiers advanced from a simple gentleman to Duke of Buckingham and James\u27s permanent favorite. He first caught the king\u27s eye and was sworn a Cupbearer of the Privy Chamber in the fall of 1614. By April of 1615, Villiers was knighted and made a Gentleman of the Bedchamber as his courtly role increased. In 1616, he became Master of the Horse, Knight of the Garter, Baron of Whad~on, and Viscount Villiers. Also by 1616, according to his close friend Francis Bacon, Villiers was now the King\u27s Favourite, so voted, and so esteemed by all. 3 In 1617, 1618, and 1619 successively, Villiers was promoted to Earl of Buckingham and given membership in both the English and Scottish privy councils, then was elevated to Marquis of Buckingham, and subsequently was awarded the position of Lord High Admiral, all through James\u27s generous New Years\u27 presents. January 1619 also brought about a public dedication to Villiers in James\u27 s meditation on the Lord\u27s Prayer. Finally, in 1623 Villiers reached the pinnacle of the peerage as he was made the Duke of Buckingham,4 the only duke in England without a trace of royal blood.5 Such an expedient rise to the top of the power chain is quite surprising considering that Villiers was born into a lower role as the third son of a knight. However, his ascent can be understood as a result of his role as James\u27s favorite

Zoning Estoppel: Application of the Principles of Equitable Estoppel and Vested Rights to Zoning Disputes

Despite the historical rule that a government cannot be estopped while acting in a governmental capacity, as a local government does while exercising its zoning powers, it appears that a majority of the courts now hold that the defense of equitable estoppel may be raised against local governments in this and certain other kinds of zoning disputes

MICROSTRUCTURAL INDICATORS OF TRANSITION MECHANISMS IN TIME-DEPENDENT FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH IN NICKEL BASE SUPERALLOYS

Gas turbine engines are an important part of power generation in modern society, especially in the field of aerospace. Aerospace engines are design to last approximately 30 years and the engine components must be designed to survive for the life of the engine or to be replaced at regular intervals to ensure consumer safety. Fatigue crack growth analysis is a vital component of design for an aerospace component. Crack growth modeling and design methods date back to an origin around 1950 with a high rate of accuracy. The new generation of aerospace engines is designed to be efficient as possible and require higher operating temperatures than ever seen before in previous generations. These higher temperatures place more stringent requirements on the material crack growth performance under creep and time dependent conditions. Typically the types of components which are subject to these requirements are rotating disk components which are made from advanced materials such as nickel base superalloys. Traditionally crack growth models have looked at high temperature crack growth purely as a function of temperature and assumed that all crack growth was either controlled by a cycle dependent or time dependent mechanism. This new analysis is trying to evaluate the transition between cycle-dependent and time-dependent mechanism and the microstructural markers that characterize this transitional behavior. The physical indications include both the fracture surface morphology as well as the shape of the crack front. The research will evaluate whether crack tunneling occurs and whether it consistently predicts a transition from cycle-dependent crack growth to time-dependent crack growth. The study is part of a larger research program trying to include the effects of geometry, mission profile and environmental effects, in addition to temperature effects, as a part of the overall crack growth system. The outcome will provide evidence for various transition types and correlate those physical attributes back to the material mechanisms to improve predictive modeling capability

Presence and task performance:an approach in the light of cognitive style

The paper highlights the relationship between each of four bi-polar dimensions of personality cognitive style, such as extraversion–introversion, sensing–intuition, thinking–feeling and judging–perceiving, and the level of sense of presence experienced. Findings indicate that individuals who are more sensitive, more feeling or more introverted experience a higher level of presence. While not reaching statistical significance, differing cognitive styles appear to impact on task performance. The apparent negative relationship discovered between sense of presence and task performance should be considered in the light of task characteristics. We discuss the implications of these findings and how they contribute to an understanding of the complex relationship that exists between presence and task performance and how this subsequently ought to influence the design of virtual environments

Investment Activities of Relocated Tenement Landlords—A Pilot Study

It appears remarkable that the literature on slum clearance and housing rehabilitation contains so very little on the investment and behavior patterns of owners of substandard housing. Yet the success of housing code enforcement efforts and associated programs of housing improvement depends almost entirely on the response, attitude, and behavior of owners and investors in substandard housing

Repair Severely Damaged Rotors By Submerged Arc Welding.

LecturePg. 35-42Severely damaged rotors often can be rebuilt even when damage has occurred to the shaft/rotor forging. Such shop repair returns what would have been a scrapped or degraded rotor to original equipment standards. The repair procedure is to: • Remove damaged areas of the rotor by machining. • Build up metal with metallurgically compatible weld wire and fluxes, using submerged arc welding in sequences as dictated by repair design. • Thoroughly inspect the welded/machined area by magnetic particle, ultrasonic, and dye check procedures after each sequence. • Stress relieve the welded area after each sequence, using computer controlled heating of the desired area so as to control hardness in the heat affected zone (HAZ) and assure adequate metallurgical properties in the weld metal. • Repeat these sequences until the repaired area conforms to the design required by welding engineering, mechanical engineering, insurance specialists, and/or consulting metallurgical laboratories. These procedures can often provide metallurgical properties superior to those of the original material, move the heat affected zone (HAZ) out of the steam path, strengthen the repaired area, compensate for anticipated problems, and/or improve the original design of the rotor. Such repairs involve use of special jigs, equipment, techniques, and procedures. A detailed description of the turbine rim weld repair is given, including use of supplementary pictures, drawings and techniques. Cracks were discovered in the body of a nominal22 in diameter, first stage Curtis wheel of a forged turbine rotor. Laboratory analysis indicated the cracks were due to stress corrosion, believed to have been caused by caustic introduced accidentally with inlet steam. The damaged portion of the wheel was removed by machining at a point well into the unaffected portion of the wheel. The remaining rim was welded to build up, heat treated, finish machined to accept blades, and rebladed. The finished rotor was dynamically balanced at operating speed, installed in its casing, and returned to service. The reinstalled rotor has operated without trouble at up to design conditions for a number of months. These welding procedures were evolved and improved through experience gained over the past eight years in the repair of about 80 damaged turbine rims. Similar repairs have also been performed on centrifugal compressor rotor wheels and shafting. Monitoring and periodic shop inspection of these welded rotors has shown no degradation in the repaired areas. Repair costs have been well below those that would have been incurred by replacement with original vendor equipment and, most often, in significantly less time than it would have taken if a new rotor was provided from the original equipment manufacturer