How can coaching improve the effectiveness of Performance Management Conversations?

The purpose of this study was to establish how the use of coaching by managers within appraisal conversations could enhance performance at work. The motivation for the study was directed at improving performance related conversations between managers and employees. These conversations may be formal appraisals, or interim reviews. From a literature perspective, there is a high volume of empirical and practitioner literature in the area of performance management, including appraisals. However, there is a lack of empirical and practitioner material covering performance management when integrated with the manager as coach concept and when this concept is treated as an individual theme. Therefore, the evaluation of the performance management and manager as coach literature provided confirmation of the potential for this study. In addition, where empirical work is available, there is a tendency for this to have an employer focus, using the perceptions of managers and HR professionals. In this study, contributions were gathered from the employee as well as those of the manager and the HR professional. The research strategy adopted a grounded theory approach with research participants from both the private and public sector. Data collection comprised four stages, synonymous with grounded theory, and included semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. Data analysis, using constant comparison, enabled the development of further data collection and analysis through an additional questionnaire that was completed by participating managers. This enabled the collection of rich data demonstrating the value of the manager as coach concept within an appraisal conversation. The findings reveal appraisal conversations can deliver a more meaningful and value adding result for all stakeholders. Conceptually, the research delivers a theoretical model of the manager as coach concept within an appraisal conversation. The model identifies, the manager as coach, as a key enabler of individual performance improvement, which is also sustainable over the longer term. The model also illustrates a range of cultural factors that either enable or restrain the manager as coach concept in the appraisal context. Furthermore, the research establishes a range of benefits that enable the delivery of a quality conversation

Measurements of B→J/ψ at forward rapidity in p+p collisions at √s=510 GeV

We report the first measurement of the fraction of J=ψ mesons coming from B-meson decay (FB→J=ψ ) in p þ p collisions at ffiffi s p ¼ 510 GeV. The measurement is performed using the forward silicon vertex detector and central vertex detector at PHENIX, which provide precise tracking and distance-of-closestapproach determinations, enabling the statistical separation of J=ψ due to B-meson decays from prompt J=ψ. The measured value of FB→J=ψ is 8.1% 2.3%ðstatÞ 1.9%ðsystÞ for J=ψ with transverse momenta 0 \u3c pT \u3c 5 GeV=c and rapidity 1.2 \u3c jyj \u3c 2.2. The measured fraction FB→J=ψ at PHENIX is compared to values measured by other experiments at higher center of mass energies and to fixed-order-next-toleading-logarithm and color-evaporation-model predictions. The bb¯ cross section per unit rapidity [dσ=dyðpp → bb¯Þ] extracted from the obtained FB→J=ψ and the PHENIX inclusive J=ψ cross section measured at 200 GeV scaled with color-evaporation-model calculations, at the mean B hadron rapidity y ¼ 1.7 in 510 GeV p þ p collisions, is 3.63+1.92 −1.70 μb. It is consistent with the fixed-order-next-toleading-logarithm calculations.

An Active Learning Environment for Teaching Object-Oriented Concepts in Business Information Systems Curricula

Object-oriented concepts may become increasingly necessary for understanding and using business information systems. Business students are often exposed to object-oriented concepts in non-programming courses. We have used a text-based virtual reality, called a MOO, to provide students with an opportunity to learn object-oriented concepts by actively creating and using objects - but without writing code. After one lecture and two fifty minute labs, 75% of 172 business students successfully solved a goal-oriented exercise which required the use of object-oriented concepts. The MOO environment allowed the student to experience as well as learn object-oriented concepts without the use of a rigorous programming language

Behavioural assays of the effects of antidepressant drug treatment on the functioning of catecholamine systems

The effects of antidepressant drugs on central beta-adrenergic and dopaminergic receptor function were investigated using the anorexic effects of low doses of amphetamine and apomorphine as assays of beta-adrenergic function and presynaptic dopamine function respectively. Anorexia was typically examined using a microstructural analysis of feeding, which was validated observationally. Amphetamine anorexia was characterized by a decrease in eating time and an increase in eating rate. At 0.5 mg/kg both beta-adrenergic and dopaminergic antagonists reversed anorexic effects, whilst anorexia at 1.0 mg/kg was reversed by dopaminergic antagonists only. An enhancement of amphetamine anorexia was seen following acute desmethylimipramine treatment! this effect was exactly compensated for over chronic treatment, implying no net change at beta-adrenergic synapses. However, applying amphetamine intracranially showed that approximately 75% of the acute enhancement of amphetamine anorexia was mediated peripherally, suggesting an attenuation of beta-receptor function during chronic antidepressant drug treatment. Some further data suggested that an alpha-adrenergic change could also have contributed to the antidepressant drug-induced attenuation of anorexia. Low doses of apomorphine, specific for presynaptic dopamine receptors, induced an anorexia characterized by decreases in both eating time and eating rate. The dopamine receptor antagonists haloperidol and thioridazine reversed apomorphine anorexia by reversing eating time but not eating rate. Administration of apomorphine into nuclei A9 and A10 reduced total food intake and eating time but not eating rate. These findings imply that presynaptic dopamine receptors mediate the effects of apomorphine on eating time. Acute treatment with desmethylimipramine, enhanced apomorphine anorexia. During chronic treatment the apomorphine-induced reduction in eating time was sometimes attenuated, suggesting a presynaptic dopamine receptor subsensitivity. Anorexia was also enhanced following acute desmethylimipramine treatment with intracranial administration of apomorphine. Again, there was no clear evidence of subsensitivity following chronic treatment, but some evidence for subsensitivity in nucleus A10 during withdrawal. The significance of a reduced beta-receptor function and an increased dopamine function following chronic antidepressant drug treatment are discussed in relation to the biological basis of depression

THE RATIONALE FOR BIOCHEMICAL MONITORING OF THE FETUS

Peer Reviewe

Case Study Analysis in Reding/Language Arts: Getting to the Nitty-Gritty

On the first day of class in a graduate reading assessment and evaluation course, my students were asked to formulate a list of questions in cooperative groups that should be considered when doing a case study on a student to assess his or her skills and abilities including strengths and needs in read ing/language arts. They were asked to think of any areas of concern that may affect the student\u27s academic performance such as social or emotional factors. The following table of 20 questions was compiled by this group of 16 inservice teachers with varying levels of experience and expertise. The majority of teachers taught at the elementary level. One junior high, one high school teacher and one school librarian also enrolled in the course

Assessing the Effectiveness of Automated Emotion Recognition in Adults and Children for Clinical Investigation

Recent success stories in automated object or face recognition, partly fuelled by deep learning artificial neural network (ANN) architectures, has led to the advancement of biometric research platforms and, to some extent, the resurrection of Artificial Intelligence (AI). In line with this general trend, inter-disciplinary approaches have taken place to automate the recognition of emotions in adults or children for the benefit of various applications such as identification of children emotions prior to a clinical investigation. Within this context, it turns out that automating emotion recognition is far from being straight forward with several challenges arising for both science(e.g., methodology underpinned by psychology) and technology (e.g., iMotions biometric research platform). In this paper, we present a methodology, experiment and interesting findings, which raise the following research questions for the recognition of emotions and attention in humans: a) adequacy of well-established techniques such as the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), b) adequacy of state-of-the-art biometric research platforms, c) the extent to which emotional responses may be different among children or adults. Our findings and first attempts to answer some of these research questions, are all based on a mixed sample of adults and children, who took part in the experiment resulting into a statistical analysis of numerous variables. These are related with, both automatically and interactively, captured responses of participants to a sample of IAPS pictures