The American theatre before the revolution

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University, 1936. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

Three units in eleventh-grade English

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University, 1938. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

An exploratory study of organisational transformation in manufacturing SMEs

In a competitive environment organisations are driven to continuously change and adapt to emerging conditions in order to sustain competitive advantage. The reported decline of the manufacturing sector in the UK is believed to be the result, in part, of the failure of manufacturing organisations to adapt by transforming their businesses, particularly small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The field of change management is long established and contains a plethora of theories, frameworks, models, and discussions on organisational change and transformation, yet it seems that there is a disconnect between this body of knowledge and its implementation by practitioners. Since the majority of the work in this area is based on empirical analyses of large organisations, it could be argued that the assumption that it can be 'scaled down' to fit the SME context is invalid, as SMEs are well recognised as having distinctive characteristics that warrant specific investigation. Thus, the thesis is focused on providing insights into the transformation behaviour of manufacturing SMEs in order to further understanding of why these organisations struggle to transform. Using the content, process, context framework as its foundation, the transformations of four manufacturing SMEs in Scotland are analysed and discussed using an exploratory case study methodology. The findings suggest that the content of transformation in manufacturing SMEs reflects existing theory, however in addition content elements of ownership or leadership, new management team, and extension of product/service portfolio were in evidence. The process through which manufacturing SMEs transform aligns with the theory of punctuated equilibrium; however the punctuations themselves are not transformational. Leadership, appropriate knowledge and skills, access to resources, and external collaboration are contextual enablers to transformation, whereas culture is a barrier if not aligned to the new behaviours required. The discussions also led to a number of emerging propositions concerning the pace of transformation, patterns of constituent changes, and differences between family and non-family owned/managed organisations, which are presented as areas for future empirical investigation

Catalytic asymmetric C-H insertion reactions of α-diazocarbonyl compounds

The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the development of asymmetric catalysts for C-H insertion reactions over the past two decades, focusing on the application of these catalysts in the decomposition of α-diazocarbonyl compounds. Given the rapid pace of development in the field of enantioselective C-H insertion chemistry, an up-to-date review of this type is warranted. While recent reviews22,23 have dissected their content into intramolecular and intermolecular processes, this article is differentiated in extending this division to include classification of C-H insertion reactions according to product type. Thus, catalytic methods for the asymmetric synthesis of carbocyclic compounds, oxygen-containing heterocycles, nitrogen-containing heterocycles and sulfur-containing heterocycles are readily identifiable. Due to the diversity of compounds resulting from intermolecular C-H insertion processes, classification of reactions by product type was not attempted in this section of the review

Delivering sustained performance through a structured business process approach to management

Purpose:- This paper aims to demonstrate the performance benefits of adopting a business process perspective to managing a business and, through grounded research, propose a revised business process architecture which builds upon recent advances in business process thinking. Design/methodology/approach:- A brief review of business process terminology and architecture is presented. A set of perspectives is developed which is used to structure summary field notes from grounded research conducted in a UK manufacturing plant of a Fortune 500 corporation. A management system model of the case study company is proposed which in turn is used to modify the existing business process architecture. Findings:-Business management processes are modelled and analysed as observed in the field and compared to recent models of 'Manage' Processes - it is discovered that Manage Processes have an architecture which is core to their ability to sustain competitive advantage. It is also shown that adopting a business process architecture perspective when direction-setting and controlling the business can deliver superior business performance and sustained delivery of value. Research limitations/Implications:-The model is developed from grounded research in one organisation only and therefore requires further testing by means of further case studies (although steps are taken to ensure initial validity of the model). Also, the model is still relatively high level and the further case studies should be used to create more detailed practice models for the processes. Practical implications:- The model developed is sufficiently generic to be tested with other organisations, and with the addition of further case studies a useful maturity model workbook could be created. This could aid practitioners in the analysis and improvement of the performance management process from a business process architecture perspective. Originality/value:- This is the first analysis of recent 'Manage Process' models from an in depth, grounded approach and a new 'Manage Process' architecture is proposed. Keywords:- Performance Management, Business Process Architecture, Manage Processes, Grounded Research Paper Type:- Case Stud

Probing user values in the home environment within a technology driven Smart Home project

Smart Home technology looks set to become an increasingly common feature of domestic life. However commercial desire for technical innovation rather than explicit user needs are often the driving force behind the development of Smart Home products and services. This study adapts the Cultural Probe approach developed by Gaver et al. [2] to collect primarily visual data about what people value within their home environment. Whereas Cultural Probes are predominantly used to build empathy with users when designing product concepts, this approach attempted to provide similarly fun and engaging prompts for data collection when the design process and project context required more structured consideration of user needs. This paper presents the method developed, project findings and recommendations on how the method should be applied

Choreographic and Somatic Approaches for the Development of Expressive Robotic Systems

As robotic systems are moved out of factory work cells into human-facing environments questions of choreography become central to their design, placement, and application. With a human viewer or counterpart present, a system will automatically be interpreted within context, style of movement, and form factor by human beings as animate elements of their environment. The interpretation by this human counterpart is critical to the success of the system's integration: knobs on the system need to make sense to a human counterpart; an artificial agent should have a way of notifying a human counterpart of a change in system state, possibly through motion profiles; and the motion of a human counterpart may have important contextual clues for task completion. Thus, professional choreographers, dance practitioners, and movement analysts are critical to research in robotics. They have design methods for movement that align with human audience perception, can identify simplified features of movement for human-robot interaction goals, and have detailed knowledge of the capacity of human movement. This article provides approaches employed by one research lab, specific impacts on technical and artistic projects within, and principles that may guide future such work. The background section reports on choreography, somatic perspectives, improvisation, the Laban/Bartenieff Movement System, and robotics. From this context methods including embodied exercises, writing prompts, and community building activities have been developed to facilitate interdisciplinary research. The results of this work is presented as an overview of a smattering of projects in areas like high-level motion planning, software development for rapid prototyping of movement, artistic output, and user studies that help understand how people interpret movement. Finally, guiding principles for other groups to adopt are posited.Comment: Under review at MDPI Arts Special Issue "The Machine as Artist (for the 21st Century)" http://www.mdpi.com/journal/arts/special_issues/Machine_Artis

DO IT Trial: vitamin D Outcomes and Interventions in Toddlers - a TARGet Kids! randomized controlled trial.

BackgroundVitamin D levels are alarmingly low (<75 nmol/L) in 65-70% of North American children older than 1 year. An increased risk of viral upper respiratory tract infections (URTI), asthma-related hospitalizations and use of anti-inflammatory medication have all been linked with low vitamin D. No study has determined whether wintertime vitamin D supplementation can reduce the risk of URTI and asthma exacerbations, two of the most common and costly illnesses of early childhood. The objectives of this study are: 1) to compare the effect of 'high dose' (2000 IU/day) vs. 'standard dose' (400 IU/day) vitamin D supplementation in achieving reductions in laboratory confirmed URTI and asthma exacerbations during the winter in preschool-aged Canadian children; and 2) to assess the effect of 'high dose' vitamin D supplementation on vitamin D serum levels and specific viruses that cause URTI.Methods/designThis study is a pragmatic randomized controlled trial. Over 4 successive winters we will recruit 750 healthy children 1-5 years of age. Participating physicians are part of a primary healthcare research network called TARGet Kids!. Children will be randomized to the 'standard dose' or 'high dose' oral supplemental vitamin D for a minimum of 4 months (200 children per group). Parents will obtain a nasal swab from their child with each URTI, report the number of asthma exacerbations and complete symptom checklists. Unscheduled physician visits for URTIs and asthma exacerbations will be recorded. By May, a blood sample will be drawn to determine vitamin D serum levels. The primary analysis will be a comparison of URTI rate between study groups using a Poisson regression model. Secondary analyses will compare vitamin D serum levels, asthma exacerbations and the frequency of specific viral agents between groups.DiscussionIdentifying whether vitamin D supplementation of preschoolers can reduce wintertime viral URTIs and asthma exacerbations and what dose is optimal may reduce population wide morbidity and associated health care and societal costs. This information will assist in determining practice and health policy recommendations related to vitamin D supplementation in healthy Canadian preschoolers