Newness Against the Grain: Democratic emergence in organisational and professional practice

What is the nature of democratic innovation in a performative culture? The purpose of this chapter is to help answer this question by giving conceptual substance to the notion of democratic emergence as a specific kind of innovation in the context of contemporary governance trends. It is argued that the performative governance which is the product of these trends is not invulnerable to challenge because of deficiencies in the capacity of managerialism and performative governance to improve services, and the creative spaces for agency and initiative created by the valuing of entrepreneurialism and innovation. The chapter draws on existing conceptual work on democratic approaches to school organisation and innovation, relevant literature on entrepreneurialism, and offers a brief insight into an example of democratic innovation in practice

Powerplexer

An electrical power distribution system is described for use in providing different dc voltage levels. A circuit is supplied with DC voltage levels and commutates pulses for timed intervals onto a pair of distribution wires. The circuit is driven by a command generator which places pulses on the wires in a timed sequence. The pair of wires extend to voltage strippers connected to the various loads. The voltage strippers each respond to the pulse dc levels on the pair of wires and form different output voltages communicated to each load

Kaleidoscopic light feedback for television systems

Technique generates special effects for broadcast television to study effects of light feedback on television systems. Signals are produced for tape recording, broadcasting, or displaying on black-and-white or color monitors. The patterns have from three to eight sides and expand, contract, or rotate at various speeds

Identifying biotic determinants of historic American eel (Anguilla rostrata) distributions

Traditionally, ecologists studying large scale patterns in species distributions emphasize abiotic variables over biotic interactions. Noting that both abiotic & biotic variables likely determine distributions of all organisms, many ecologists now aim for a more comprehensive view of species distributions, inclusive of both abiotic and biotic components (Soberón 2007)

Proton rich nuclei at and beyond the proton drip line in the Relativistic Mean Field theory

Ground state properties of proton-rich odd-$Z$ nuclei in the region $55\le Z \le 73$ are studied in the relativistic mean field (RMF) theory. The RMF equations are solved by using the expansion method in the Harmonic-Oscillator basis. In the particle-particle channel, we use the state-dependent BCS method with a zero-range $\delta$-force, which has been proved to be effective even for neutron-rich nuclei. All the ground state properties, including the one-proton separation energies, the ground state deformations, the last occupied proton orbits and the locations of proton drip line, are calculated. Good agreement with both the available experimental data and the predictions of the RHB method are obtained.Comment: the version to appear in Progress of Theoretical Physics, more discussions adde

Formulating a State Approach to Professional Development

When viewed from the perspective of an entire state\u27s needs, the challenges of designing professional development to meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation of 2001 are daunting. In Oklahoma, the concerns about delivering to rural and urban populations which contain a variety of underserved populations are further complicated by the differences in the way science and mathematics are structured as disciplines. We describe two model programs, one in science and one in mathematics, which take much different approaches. However, the programs have three common elements that make them highly successful. Each program engages teachers strongly, seeks to change learning by altering both teachers\u27 behavior and content knowledge, and is continuously reflective

Career progress and career barriers: Women MBA graduates in Canada and the UK

This article explores the career progress of female MBA graduates in Canada and the UK and the nature of career barriers experienced in each context. Results suggest that while Canadian women have similar career profiles to men, women in the UK lag behind their male counterparts after graduation from the course. At the same time, UK women encounter more intractable career barriers in the form of negative attitudes and prejudice. A model of the ‘MBA effect’ is proposed in terms of how the qualification may impact on career barriers. This incorporates three different types of barriers which are seen to operate at the individual level (person centred barriers) and at the intermediate/organizational level (organizational culture and attitudes, corporate practices) as well as, at the macro level, the impact of legislative frameworks. Results from the UK and Canadian surveys are discussed in relation to this model and in the context of feminist theory and women in management literature