Organisational rhetoric and leadership in agile : a Wittgensteinian inquiry.

The focal point of this research has been the unpicking of reported experience versus rhetoric around a neo-bureaucratic approach to project management, referred to as “Agile”. This monolithic entity consists of many distinct methodologies, with an overlapping conceptual core. An understanding of Agile discourse is established through the data analysed as an object of comparison. The research findings speak to the space of legitimated expression and action, the depth grammar, of Agile organisation. The research was undertaken from a perspective of leadership agnosticism, in that the term was sceptically treated and included only in an emic capacity. The research is a coding-based analysis which runs across three strands of linguistic “metafunction”, as defined by Michael Halliday’s “Systemic Functional Grammar”. A total of 35 Agile experience reports were analysed through this process. The codes derived in this first pass were aggregated into groupings based on the perceived relation of events captured, termed manifestations. These manifestations were then themselves aggregated into a smaller set of categories. In practice, this meant a reduction from 138 codes, grouping similar exemplars, to 16 manifestations and then 6 categories. These categories establish the core concepts around which the depth grammar is presented through the first discussion chapter. This research has two primary contributions to Agile and another relating to leadership. In leadership studies, this research stands as an early empirical demonstration of the value in leadership agnosticism. Relating to Agile, a much needed description of the focal points of organisational talk in Agile practice is provided. Furthermore, it is argued that concepts of leadership had a significant role to play in disguising the continued operation of power in Agile contexts. This thesis, then, represents a contribution to Agile literature by providing a fuller exploration of the empirical challenges facing Agile’s idealised “Santa’s workshop” or “Hollywood/Disneyland” template.The focal point of this research has been the unpicking of reported experience versus rhetoric around a neo-bureaucratic approach to project management, referred to as “Agile”. This monolithic entity consists of many distinct methodologies, with an overlapping conceptual core. An understanding of Agile discourse is established through the data analysed as an object of comparison. The research findings speak to the space of legitimated expression and action, the depth grammar, of Agile organisation. The research was undertaken from a perspective of leadership agnosticism, in that the term was sceptically treated and included only in an emic capacity. The research is a coding-based analysis which runs across three strands of linguistic “metafunction”, as defined by Michael Halliday’s “Systemic Functional Grammar”. A total of 35 Agile experience reports were analysed through this process. The codes derived in this first pass were aggregated into groupings based on the perceived relation of events captured, termed manifestations. These manifestations were then themselves aggregated into a smaller set of categories. In practice, this meant a reduction from 138 codes, grouping similar exemplars, to 16 manifestations and then 6 categories. These categories establish the core concepts around which the depth grammar is presented through the first discussion chapter. This research has two primary contributions to Agile and another relating to leadership. In leadership studies, this research stands as an early empirical demonstration of the value in leadership agnosticism. Relating to Agile, a much needed description of the focal points of organisational talk in Agile practice is provided. Furthermore, it is argued that concepts of leadership had a significant role to play in disguising the continued operation of power in Agile contexts. This thesis, then, represents a contribution to Agile literature by providing a fuller exploration of the empirical challenges facing Agile’s idealised “Santa’s workshop” or “Hollywood/Disneyland” template

Language games : a productive metaphor for discursive research?

This paper lays the analytic framework for ongoing research into the use of the term “leadership” by practitioners of Agile project management. Taking inspiration from Wittgenstein’s entreaty to “struggle against the bewitchment of our understanding by the resources of our language” (2009, p. 52, §109), we might operationalise his notion of “objects of comparison”. Synthesising work from critical discourse analysis, and narrative analysis, we detail a proposed framework through which we might examine the diverse – potentially divergent – ways in which language furnishes us with a depth grammar through which we articulate self, other and world. At conference, we will draw upon publicly available ‘experience reports’ (a form of autobiographical reflective text) produced by practitioners of the Agile project management methodology to unpack the amorphous notion of ‘Leadership in Agile teams’. The paper concludes with reflections on the method’s potential as a means for opening dialogue with practitioners

Industry 5 and the human in human-centric manufacturing

The 4th Industrial Revolution, or, Industry 4 (I4) involves a qualitatively new level of interconnectedness between system and point technologies, and human-machine interactions. The calls for a shift to Industry 5 (I5) in digital manufacturing stem from concerns for human labour working in I4, namelyhealth and safety, data generation and extraction. I5 seeks to reframe hu-man-machine relations to reflect a values driven approach based on collaboration and co-design. Sensors play an important role in these developments. This article explores how engineering experts integrate such values into their modelling. Two questions are addressed: 1. To what extent is con-sideration of the human integrated into discussions of advanced operational technologies, whether as end users or as contributors to the process? 2. How do these findings inform I5’s quest for hu-man-centric manufacturing reflecting collaboration and co-design between human and machine? Drawing on an interdisciplinary perspective, a systematic literature review and interpretive coding of academic papers considers relevant I5 technologies (digital twins, cyber-physical systems), and applications (robotics, sensors). Findings demonstrate an increase in output addressing human ac-tivity in modelling and the technologies available to address this concern, but the human-centric approach in I5 so far neglects the potential for human agency to increase the effectiveness of manufacturing systems

Impact of Changes to the Atmospheric Soluble Iron Deposition Flux on Ocean Biogeochemical Cycles in the Anthropocene

Iron can be a growth‐limiting nutrient for phytoplankton, modifying rates of net primary production, nitrogen fixation, and carbon export ‐ highlighting the importance of new iron inputs from the atmosphere. The bioavailable iron fraction depends on the emission source and the dissolution during transport. The impacts of anthropogenic combustion and land use change on emissions from industrial, domestic, shipping, desert, and wildfire sources suggest that Northern Hemisphere soluble iron deposition has likely been enhanced between 2% and 68% over the Industrial Era. If policy and climate follow the intermediate Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 trajectory, then results suggest that Southern Ocean (>30°S) soluble iron deposition would be enhanced between 63% and 95% by 2100. Marine net primary productivity and carbon export within the open ocean are most sensitive to changes in soluble iron deposition in the Southern Hemisphere; this is predominantly driven by fire rather than dust iron sources. Changes in iron deposition cause large perturbations to the marine nitrogen cycle, up to 70% increase in denitrification and 15% increase in nitrogen fixation, but only modestly impacts the carbon cycle and atmospheric CO2 concentrations (1–3 ppm). Regionally, primary productivity increases due to increased iron deposition are often compensated by offsetting decreases downstream corresponding to equivalent changes in the rate of phytoplankton macronutrient uptake, particularly in the equatorial Pacific. These effects are weaker in the Southern Ocean, suggesting that changes in iron deposition in this region dominates the global carbon cycle and climate response

Root traits explain plant species distributions along climatic gradients yet challenge the nature of ecological trade-offs

Ecological theory is built on trade-offs, where trait differences among species evolved as adaptations to different environments. Trade-offs are often assumed to be bidirectional, where opposite ends of a gradient in trait values confer advantages in different environments. However, unidirectional benefits could be widespread if extreme trait values confer advantages at one end of an environmental gradient, whereas a wide range of trait values are equally beneficial at the other end. Here, we show that root traits explain species occurrences along broad gradients of temperature and water availability, but model predictions only resembled trade-offs in two out of 24 models. Forest species with low specific root length and high root tissue density (RTD) were more likely to occur in warm climates but species with high specific root length and low RTD were more likely to occur in cold climates. Unidirectional benefits were more prevalent than trade-offs: for example, species with large-diameter roots and high RTD were more commonly associated with dry climates, but species with the opposite trait values were not associated with wet climates. Directional selection for traits consistently occurred in cold or dry climates, whereas a diversity of root trait values were equally viable in warm or wet climates. Explicit integration of unidirectional benefits into ecological theory is needed to advance our understanding of the consequences of trait variation on species responses to environmental change.</p

Sugarcane (Saccharum X officinarum): A Reference Study for the Regulation of Genetically Modified Cultivars in Brazil

Global interest in sugarcane has increased significantly in recent years due to its economic impact on sustainable energy production. Sugarcane breeding and better agronomic practices have contributed to a huge increase in sugarcane yield in the last 30 years. Additional increases in sugarcane yield are expected to result from the use of biotechnology tools in the near future. Genetically modified (GM) sugarcane that incorporates genes to increase resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses could play a major role in achieving this goal. However, to bring GM sugarcane to the market, it is necessary to follow a regulatory process that will evaluate the environmental and health impacts of this crop. The regulatory review process is usually accomplished through a comparison of the biology and composition of the GM cultivar and a non-GM counterpart. This review intends to provide information on non-GM sugarcane biology, genetics, breeding, agronomic management, processing, products and byproducts, as well as the current technologies used to develop GM sugarcane, with the aim of assisting regulators in the decision-making process regarding the commercial release of GM sugarcane cultivars

A communal catalogue reveals Earth’s multiscale microbial diversity

Our growing awareness of the microbial world’s importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth’s microbial diversity

Global, regional, and national incidence and mortality for HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria during 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013

BACKGROUND: The Millennium Declaration in 2000 brought special global attention to HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria through the formulation of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 6. The Global Burden of Disease 2013 study provides a consistent and comprehensive approach to disease estimation for between 1990 and 2013, and an opportunity to assess whether accelerated progress has occured since the Millennium Declaration. METHODS: To estimate incidence and mortality for HIV, we used the UNAIDS Spectrum model appropriately modified based on a systematic review of available studies of mortality with and without antiretroviral therapy (ART). For concentrated epidemics, we calibrated Spectrum models to fit vital registration data corrected for misclassification of HIV deaths. In generalised epidemics, we minimised a loss function to select epidemic curves most consistent with prevalence data and demographic data for all-cause mortality. We analysed counterfactual scenarios for HIV to assess years of life saved through prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) and ART. For tuberculosis, we analysed vital registration and verbal autopsy data to estimate mortality using cause of death ensemble modelling. We analysed data for corrected case-notifications, expert opinions on the case-detection rate, prevalence surveys, and estimated cause-specific mortality using Bayesian meta-regression to generate consistent trends in all parameters. We analysed malaria mortality and incidence using an updated cause of death database, a systematic analysis of verbal autopsy validation studies for malaria, and recent studies (2010-13) of incidence, drug resistance, and coverage of insecticide-treated bednets. FINDINGS: Globally in 2013, there were 1·8 million new HIV infections (95% uncertainty interval 1·7 million to 2·1 million), 29·2 million prevalent HIV cases (28·1 to 31·7), and 1·3 million HIV deaths (1·3 to 1·5). At the peak of the epidemic in 2005, HIV caused 1·7 million deaths (1·6 million to 1·9 million). Concentrated epidemics in Latin America and eastern Europe are substantially smaller than previously estimated. Through interventions including PMTCT and ART, 19·1 million life-years (16·6 million to 21·5 million) have been saved, 70·3% (65·4 to 76·1) in developing countries. From 2000 to 2011, the ratio of development assistance for health for HIV to years of life saved through intervention was US$4498 in developing countries. Including in HIV-positive individuals, all-form tuberculosis incidence was 7·5 million (7·4 million to 7·7 million), prevalence was 11·9 million (11·6 million to 12·2 million), and number of deaths was 1·4 million (1·3 million to 1·5 million) in 2013. In the same year and in only individuals who were HIV-negative, all-form tuberculosis incidence was 7·1 million (6·9 million to 7·3 million), prevalence was 11·2 million (10·8 million to 11·6 million), and number of deaths was 1·3 million (1·2 million to 1·4 million). Annualised rates of change (ARC) for incidence, prevalence, and death became negative after 2000. Tuberculosis in HIV-negative individuals disproportionately occurs in men and boys (versus women and girls); 64·0% of cases (63·6 to 64·3) and 64·7% of deaths (60·8 to 70·3). Globally, malaria cases and deaths grew rapidly from 1990 reaching a peak of 232 million cases (143 million to 387 million) in 2003 and 1·2 million deaths (1·1 million to 1·4 million) in 2004. Since 2004, child deaths from malaria in sub-Saharan Africa have decreased by 31·5% (15·7 to 44·1). Outside of Africa, malaria mortality has been steadily decreasing since 1990. INTERPRETATION: Our estimates of the number of people living with HIV are 18·7% smaller than UNAIDS's estimates in 2012. The number of people living with malaria is larger than estimated by WHO. The number of people living with HIV, tuberculosis, or malaria have all decreased since 2000. At the global level, upward trends for malaria and HIV deaths have been reversed and declines in tuberculosis deaths have accelerated. 101 countries (74 of which are developing) still have increasing HIV incidence. Substantial progress since the Millennium Declaration is an encouraging sign of the effect of global action. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

An ethnography of multiplicity : Wittgenstein and plurality in the organisation

This paper responds to the stream’s call to critically examine the bounds of truth, taking the relatively mundane an example of the term “Agile” and investigating the slack and multiple connotations associated with this term’s use in organisational discourse. The term may, at various points be used to mean a company value, a project management method, or a “holistic approach” for improvement. Arguably this variety is symptomatic of the messy “experienced reality” facing practitioners whose organizational lives evolve not as neatly separated linear strands but as a Gordian knot of expectations and hopes. This vagueness has consequences, with meanings often shaped to fit the needs of embedded power relations. The contribution of the paper, then, lies in questioning the apolitical nature of current critical investigative ethnography of pluralistic reported “truths”. I argue that by investigating and critically engaging with competing or coexisting discourses or language games and their associated forms of life, we may render transparent or at least partially refocus attention on the conceptual or ideological baggage which shape our consensuses. In so doing we may avoid unwittingly reinforcing the interests of those we aim to critique and instead shed light on whose “truth” we have been conveying as we open up new facets of our lives in organisations. The events of the past few years have led many to declare that we now live in an era of post-truth; alternative facts, a concept for better or worse now irreversibly lodged in the public consciousness, have existed for far longer than this recent acclaim and condemnation suggests. In trying to generate a coherent account we can choose to treat these problems of reporting as a challenge to be overcome. However, rather than joining the cacophony of voices calling for a return to the hegemony of singular essential facts, perhaps we could gain significant critical insight by exploring this freshly highlighted intersection between reported “truth” and power; while valuing and respecting calls for ethnographic researchers to “describe reality”, we see that the very notion of “the truth” is one that is inextricably tied to notions of power and orthodoxy. The data used in the illustrative analysis will, by necessity, be studies and reports performed by others. However, the illustration is not the contribution, rather it is the method which, instead of trying to “resolve” this plurality of reported experience, will make our lived multitude of meanings the specific target of our attentions; an ethnography of multiplicity centred around Wittgenstein’s notions of forms of life, language games and grammatical investigation, utilising his work to inform primarily what John Van Maanen may term the headwork and the textwork of ethnographic research. This descriptive method, built on a critical analysis of existing Wittgensteinian approaches to organisational research and ethnography, aims to bring his philosophical insights more fully to bear and in new ways. Ethnography has undergone many changes, phases and identity crises since the heyday of Clifford Geertz, and while he drew much inspiration from Wittgenstein it would be inappropriate to claim to follow in his tradition. In truth, the ethnographic work would draw more inspiration from is that of Tom Boelstorff or Bill Maurer; work which, while revealing, is deeply reflexive about its position in the world and its inherent limitations

Assessing transfusion practice in elective surgical patients: a baseline audit

Background Externally generated hospital benchmarking data indicated that the blood transfusion rate within elective surgical orthopaedic and gastrointestinal patients at a metropolitan, tertiary healthcare facility was higher than comparable Australian hospitals. An investigation of transfusion practices was undertaken with the aim of understanding the reasons contributing to this higher incidence. Study Methods A chart audit was undertaken of every major, elective, surgical orthopaedic and gastrointestinal patient who received a blood transfusion between July and December 2017. The audit aimed to ascertain whether patients were screened and treated for preoperative anaemia and measure the clinical appropriateness of transfusions according to the National Blood Authority (NBA) Perioperative Patient Blood Management (PBM) recommendations. The key recommendations include the utilisation of restrictive transfusion thresholds (in conjunction with clinical assessment) and the administration of a single unit followed by clinical reassessment. Results Forty‐five patients had 72 transfusion episodes; 40% of episodes were considered inappropriate (n = 29). Of these, 76% (n = 22) did not have evidence of decompensation, and of the remaining that did (24%, n = 7), there was no evidence of clinical reassessment after transfusion. 42% (n = 19) of patients were anaemic preoperatively, of which only 21% (n = 4) had iron studies, and only one patient received intravenous iron preoperatively. Conclusion Opportunities exist to improve the preoperative anaemia screening processes and clinical decision‐making in transfusion practice. The baseline results of this audit will inform an improvement plan to develop interventions to enhance practice