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Gathering
Kinds of Gathering Selected AbstractsINFORMATION GATHERING BY A PRINCIPAL,INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 4 2006Ed Nosal In the standard principal,agent model, the information structure is fixed. In this article the principal can choose to acquire additional information about the state of the world before he contracts with an agent. In the event that the principal acquires this information, the agent never learns what the principal knows about the state of the world. I examine cases where the agent can and cannot observe whether the principal has acquired the additional information. The implications for risk sharing, information acquisition, investment, and welfare are examined for both cases. [source] THE NEW ZEALAND PRESS ASSOCIATION 1880,2006: THE RISE AND FALL OF A CO-OPERATIVE MODEL FOR NEWS GATHERINGAUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW, Issue 1 2008Article first published online: 6 FEB 200, Grant Hannis co-operatives; monopoly; New Zealand; news media; transaction costs The establishment of New Zealand's press agency, the New Zealand Press Association (NZPA), as a co-operative news gathering agency in 1880 has traditionally been regarded as reflecting a pioneering spirit of newspaper unity or as being largely determined by the political situation of the time. But these explanations are insufficient. Applying economic and organisational theories of co-operatives to the history of NZPA, this paper reveals it was market conditions that led to the creation of NZPA as a co-operative news gathering service. Following profound changes in those market conditions, NZPA recently abandoned this co-operative news gathering model. [source] Information Gathering and Changes in Threat and Opportunity Perceptions*JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 3 2007Marc H. Anderson abstract Managers need to make sense of emerging strategic issues that could significantly impact their businesses. While models of this sensemaking process suggest that information gathering affects interpretations (which affect action and performance), researchers have argued that our understanding of the role of information in changing interpretations is underdeveloped. This paper investigates the role of the time managers spend searching for information and the diversity of the information they find in changing managers' perceptions that an equivocal, strategic issue represents a threat and opportunity for their businesses. The methodology involves a longitudinal research design in which managers recorded multiple, process-oriented measures of their information gathering activity. Results suggest that time spent searching for information leads to changes towards seeing the issue as more of a threat, while the diversity of information found leads to changes towards seeing it as less of a threat. We found no effect of information gathering on opportunity perceptions. [source] Global Public Health Implications of a Mass Gathering in Mecca, Saudi Arabia During the Midst of an Influenza PandemicJOURNAL OF TRAVEL MEDICINE, Issue 2 2010Kamran Khan MD Background. Every year millions of pilgrims from around the world gather under extremely crowded conditions in Mecca, Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj. In 2009, the Hajj coincided with influenza season during the midst of an influenza A (H1N1) pandemic. After the Hajj, resource-limited countries with large numbers of traveling pilgrims could be vulnerable, given their limited ability to purchase H1N1 vaccine and capacity to respond to a possible wave of H1N1 introduced via returning pilgrims. Methods. We studied the worldwide migration of pilgrims traveling to Mecca to perform the Hajj in 2008 using data from the Saudi Ministry of Health and international air traffic departing Saudi Arabia after the 2008 Hajj using worldwide airline ticket sales data. We used gross national income (GNI) per capita as a surrogate marker of a country's ability to mobilize an effective response to H1N1. Results. In 2008, 2.5 million pilgrims from 140 countries performed the Hajj. Pilgrims (1.7 million) were of international (non-Saudi) origin, of which 91.0% traveled to Saudi Arabia via commercial flights. International pilgrims (11.3%) originated from low-income countries, with the greatest numbers traveling from Bangladesh (50,419), Afghanistan (32,621), and Yemen (28,018). Conclusions. Nearly 200,000 pilgrims that performed the Hajj in 2008 originated from the world's most resource-limited countries, where access to H1N1 vaccine and capacity to detect and respond to H1N1 in returning pilgrims are extremely limited. International efforts may be needed to assist resource-limited countries that are vulnerable to the impact of H1N1 during the 2009 to 2010 influenza season. [source] A Gathering of Memories: Family, Nation, and Church in a Forgetful World , By Charles R. PinchesRELIGIOUS STUDIES REVIEW, Issue 1 2007David H. Jensen No abstract is available for this article. [source] The True Structures of the Vannusals, Part,1: Initial Forays into Suspected Structures and Intelligence Gathering,ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE, Issue 31 2009C. Nicolaou Prof. Zwei weitere vermutete Strukturen ausgeschlossen: Die Totalsynthesen der gezeigten Verbindungen schufen die Grundlage für die Aufklärung der wahren Struktur des marinen Naturstoffs Vannusal,B und seines Verwandten, Vannusal,A. [source] Solving Inductive Reasoning Problems in Mathematics: Not-so-Trivial PursuitCOGNITIVE SCIENCE - A MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL, Issue 2 2000Lisa A. Haverty This study investigated the cognitive processes involved in inductive reasoning. Sixteen undergraduates solved quadratic function,finding problems and provided concurrent verbal protocols. Three fundamental areas of inductive activity were identified: Data Gathering, Pattern Finding, and Hypothesis Generation. These activities are evident in three different strategies that they used to successfully find functions. In all three strategies, Pattern Finding played a critical role not previously identified in the literature. In the most common strategy, called the Pursuit strategy, participants created new quantities from x and y, detected patterns in these quantities, and expressed these patterns in terms of x. These expressions were then built into full hypotheses. The processes involved in this strategy are instantiated in an ACT-based model that simulates both successful and unsuccessful performance. The protocols and the model suggest that numerical knowledge is essential to the detection of patterns and, therefore, to higher-order problem solving. [source] Animating Quadrupeds: Methods and ApplicationsCOMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 6 2009Ljiljana Skrba I.3.7 [Computer Graphics]: 3D Graphics and Realism , Animation Abstract Films like Shrek, Madagascar, The Chronicles of Narnia and Charlotte's web all have something in common: realistic quadruped animations. While the animation of animals has been popular for a long time, the technical challenges associated with creating highly realistic, computer generated creatures have been receiving increasing attention recently. The entertainment, education and medical industries have increased the demand for simulation of realistic animals in the computer graphics area. In order to achieve this, several challenges need to be overcome: gathering and processing data that embodies the natural motion of an animal , which is made more difficult by the fact that most animals cannot be easily motion-captured; building accurate kinematic models for animals, with adapted animation skeletons in particular; and developing either kinematic or physically-based animation methods, either by embedding some a priori knowledge about the way that quadrupeds locomote and/or adopting examples of real motion. In this paper, we present an overview of the common techniques used to date for realistic quadruped animation. This includes an outline of the various ways that realistic quadruped motion can be achieved, through video-based acquisition, physics based models, inverse kinematics or some combination of the above. [source] Automatic Creation of Object Hierarchies for Radiosity ClusteringCOMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 4 2000Gordon Müller Using object clusters for hierarchical radiosity greatly improves the efficiency and thus usability of radiosity computations. By eliminating the quadratic starting phase very large scenes containing about 100k polygons can be handled efficiently. Although the main algorithm extends rather easily to using object clusters, the creation of ,good' object hierarchies is a difficult task both in terms of construction time and in the way how surfaces or objects are grouped to clusters. The quality of an object hierarchy for clustering depends on its ability to accurately simulate the hierarchy of the energy flow in a given scene. Additionally it should support visibility computations by providing efficient ray acceleration techniques. In this paper we will present a new approach of building hierarchies of object clusters. Our hybrid structuring algorithm provides accuracy and speed by combining a highly optimized bounding volume hierarchy together with uniform spatial subdivisions for nodes with regular object densities. The algorithm works without user intervention and is well suited for a wide variety of scenes. First results of using these hierarchies in a radiosity clustering environment are very promising and will be presented here. The combination of very deep hierarchies (we use a binary tree) together with an efficient ray acceleration structure shifts the computational effort away from form factor and visibility calculation towards accurately propagating the energy through the hierarchy. We will show how an efficient single pass gathering can be used to minimize traversal costs. [source] Independence Threats, Litigation Risk, and the Auditor's Decision Process,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 4 2005Allen D. Blay Abstract This study examines the effect of independence threats and litigation risk on auditors' evaluation of information and subsequent reporting choices. Using a Web-based experiment, I tracked auditors' information gathering and evaluation leading to a going-concern reporting decision. Specifically, 48 audit managers assessed client survival likelihood, gathered additional information, and suggested audit report choices. I found that auditors facing high independence threats (fear of losing the client) evaluated information as more indicative of a surviving client and were more likely to suggest an unmodified audit report, consistent with client preferences. In contrast, auditors facing high litigation risk evaluated information as more indicative of a failing client and were more likely to suggest a modified audit report. In addition, the association between risk and report choice was fully mediated by final information evaluation. This suggests that it is unlikely that different reporting choices resulted from a conscious choice bias, but rather that motivated reasoning during evidence evaluation plays a key role in the effect of risk in auditor decision making. [source] Customer Learning Processes, Strategy Selection, and Performance in Business-to-Business Service Firms,DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 2 2004Debra Zahay ABSTRACT Learning about customers takes place through relevant dialogues with those customers, also known as customer relationship management (CRM). As relationships develop, information about the customer is gathered in the firm's customer information systems (CIS): the content, processes, and assets associated with gathering and moving customer information throughout the firm. This research develops a measure of CIS management capabilities based on learning organization theory and measured by the ability to get, store, move, and use information throughout the business unit. This measure is then used to analyze customer learning processes and associated performance in the context of marketing strategic decision making. This study of 209 business services firms finds that generic marketing strategy positioning (low-cost and differentiation) and the marketing tactics of personalization and customization are related to CIS development. Customer information systems development in turn is associated with higher levels of customer-based performance, which in turn is associated with increased business growth. Since the strongest association with customer-based performance is strategy selection, the long-term benefits of the knowledge gained from the CIS may be in the ability to assist in measuring customer-based performance, rather than in the ability to immediately contribute to performance. Finally, for these firms, customization and personalization are not directly associated with performance and thus may not be necessary to support every firm's marketing strategy. [source] The Shaping of San Livelihood Strategies: Government Policy and Popular ValuesDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 3 2002Michael Taylor The importance of understanding the livelihood strategies of poor people has received a fresh impetus over the last few years with the emphasis by many Western donors on poverty reduction. This article examines the livelihood strategies of San people in three villages on the northern peripheries of the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Their economic marginalization is compounded by their ethnic background; a stigma that also marginalizes them politically and socially. The analysis presented here not only challenges stereotypes commonly associated with San by demonstrating the interconnectedness of different means of ,looking for life', but it also brings to the fore the importance of considering institutional factors that regulate livelihood strategies. The article focuses on some of the unexpected consequences of the wider policy environment, and on how the values associated with different ways of life affect material subsistence strategies. These are particularly pronounced for people with a heritage of hunting and gathering living in a society that regards such practices as ,backward'. [source] Comparative morphology and evolutionary pathways of the mouthparts in spore-feeding Staphylinoidea (Coleoptera)ACTA ZOOLOGICA, Issue 3 2003Oliver Betz Abstract This study surveys the external morphology of the mouthparts in the guild of spore-feeders among the coleopterous superfamily Staphylinoidea, evaluating the influence of different phylogenetic and ecological starting points on the formation of their mouthparts. Our emphasis is on a scanning electron microscope analysis (SEM) of the involved trophic structures in spore-feeding larvae and adults of the Ptiliidae, Leiodidae and Staphylinidae, describing the fine structure of their main functional elements. Functionally, mouthpart structures resemble brushes, brooms, combs, rakes, rasps, excavators, knives, thorns, cram-brushes, bristle troughs, blocks and differently structured grinding surfaces. Their different involvement in the various aspects of the feeding process (i.e. food gathering, transporting, channelling and grinding) is deduced from our SEM analyses plus direct video observations. We infer five different patterns of food transport and processing, discriminating adults of ptiliids, leiodids plus staphylinids (excluding some aleocharines), several aleocharine staphylinids, and the larvae of leiodids and staphylinids. The structural diversity of the mouthparts increases in the order from (1) Ptiliidae, (2) Leiodidae towards (3) Staphylinidae, reflecting the increasing systematic and ecological diversity of these groups. Comparisons with non-spore-feeders show that among major lineages of staphylinoids, shifts from general microphagy to sporophagy are not necessarily constrained by, nor strongly reflected in, mouthpart morphology. Nevertheless, in several of these lineages the organs of food intake and grinding have experienced particular fine-structural modifications, which have undergone convergent evolution, probably in response to specialized mycophagy such as spore-feeding. These modifications involve advanced galeal rakes, galeal or lacinial ,spore brushes' with arrays of stout bristles, reinforced obliquely ventrad orientated prosthecal lobes and the differentiations of the molar grinding surfaces into stout teeth or tubercles. In addition, several staphylinids of the tachyporine and oxyteline groups with reduced mandibular molae have evolved secondary trituration surfaces, which in some aleocharines are paralleled by considerable re-constructions of the labium,hypopharynx. [source] Targeting Chemical and Biological Warfare Agents at the Molecular LevelELECTROANALYSIS, Issue 14 2003Omowunmi Abstract After the September,11 tragedies of 2001, scientists and law-enforcement agencies have shown increasing concern that terrorist organizations and their "rogue" foreign government-backers may resort to the use of chemical and/or biological agents against U.S. military or civilian targets. In addition to the right mix of policies, including security measures, intelligence gathering and training for medical personnel on how to recognize symptoms of biochemical warfare agents, the major success in combating terrorism lies in how best to respond to an attack using reliable analytical sensors. The public and regulatory agencies expect sensing methodologies and devices for homeland security to be very reliable. Quality data can only be generated by using analytical sensors that are validated and proven to be under strict design criteria, development and manufacturing controls. Electrochemical devices are ideally suited for obtaining the desired analytical information in a faster, simpler, and cheaper manner compared to traditional (lab-based) assays and hence for meeting the requirements of decentralized biodefense applications. This articler presents a review of the major trends in monitoring technologies for chemical and biological warfare (CBW) agents. It focuses on research and development of sensors (particularly electrochemical ones), discusses how advances in molecular recognition might be used to design new multimission networked sensors (MULNETS) for homeland security. Decision flow-charts for choosing particular analytical techniques for CBW agents are presented. Finally, the paths to designing sensors to meet the needs of today's measurement criteria are analyzed. [source] Evidence-based policy or policy-based evidence gathering?ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 5 2010Biofuels, the 10% target, the EU Abstract The 2009 Renewable Energy Directive mandates EU member-states' road transport fuel to comprise a minimum of 10% renewable content by 2020. This target is expected to be met predominantly from biofuels. However, scientific evidence is increasingly questioning the ability of biofuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when factors such as indirect land-use change are taken into consideration. This paper interrogates the 10% target, critically assessing its political motivations, use of scientific evidence and the actions of an individual policy entrepreneur who played a central role in its adoption. We find that the commitment of EU decision-making bodies to internal guidelines on the use of expertise and the precautionary principle was questionable, despite the scientific uncertainty inherent in the biofuels debate. Imperatives located in the political space dominated scientific evidence and led to a process of ,policy-based evidence gathering' to justify the policy choice of a 10% renewable energy/biofuels target. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Primary to Secondary LOTE Articulation: A Local Case in AustraliaFOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 3 2001Article first published online: 31 DEC 200, Robert C. Kleinsasser Data taken from an independent school's admission documents over a 4-year period provide insights and reveal trends concerning students' preferences for language study, LOTE study continuity, and reasons for LOTE selection. The data also provides an accounting of some multiple LOTE learning experiences. The analysis indicates that many students who begin a LOTE in the early grades are thwarted in becoming proficient, because (1)continuation in the language is impossible due to unavailability of instruction; (2)expanded learning is hampered by teachers' inability to deal with a range of learners, (3)extended learning is hampered by administrative decisions or policies, or (4)students lose interest in the first LOTE and switch to another: Finally, a call is made for data gathering and research in local contexts to gain a better understanding of LOTE articulation challenges at the local, state, national, and international levels. [source] Sex-dependent use of information on conspecific feeding activities in an amphibian urodelianFUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Pedro Aragón Summary 1Animals can make decisions by observing the behaviour of others. Their decisions vary depending on whether the benefits of using such information exceed the costs. Thus, it is worthwhile to explore the potential costs associated with different sources of information to understand the consequences of sociality. Previous studies focused mainly on the costs inherent to information gathering, whereas sex differences with regard to the costs arising from information use have received less attention. 2To explore this further I performed two complementary experiments. The first experiment aimed to examine individual responses to different combinations of information types that are likely to appear in nature, to test whether there is a sex-dependent response in the Bosca's newt, Lissotriton boscai. I tested the time needed for individuals to eat food items by trial-and-error tactics (personal information), and when a conspecific, which was eating or not, was added to the food cue. The second experiment aimed to evoke social interactions that are likely to arise after the choice of using information on conspecific feeding activities is made. I examined the potential costs associated with direct competition between same-sex pairs in food-limited conditions. 3Results of experiment 1 revealed that in both sexes the latency to eat food items was shorter in the presence of non-feeding conspecifics, but only females took advantage when information related to feeding activities where added to the food cue. Results of experiment 2 showed that when faced with a limited resource of food, females were more prone to engage in costly interactions. 4This study suggests that the balance between costs and benefits associated with the short-term use of information on conspecific feeding behaviour in combination with food cues may differ between sexes. Differential information uses by sexes might have profound consequences in intraspecific relationships and in the evolution of vertebrates' social systems. [source] ,Allowed into a Man's World' Meanings of Work,Life Balance: Perspectives of Women Civil Engineers as ,Minority' Workers in ConstructionGENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 1 2009Jacqueline H. Watts This article discusses how women working as civil engineers within the UK construction industry perceive work,life balance and considers strategies they use to achieve this. The findings are presented of a qualitative research project that explored the experiences of women in this role, focusing on the subcultural context of a profession that is dominated by the values of presenteeism and infinite availability. A feminist post-structuralist framework is used to analyse how women negotiate their personal and professional time and the extent to which their other roles as carers and nurturers unsettle male work practices in this highly gendered profession. There are gradually increasing numbers of women in professional construction roles and their success appears to depend on being able to fit in to the dominant masculine culture of long working hours and the male pub gathering. Despite an increased presence, women's minority status in construction continues to challenge their professional identity and this is central to the conflict many face between the dual roles of corporate worker and private non-work person. [source] GEOGRAPHERS AND THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY,GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW, Issue 1 2004RONALD REED BOYCE ABSTRACT. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was the largest, most comprehensive, and most controversial regional development and planning project in U.S. history. Geographers were involved from its inception and made impressive contributions. Aside from the unit area method of data gathering and mapping, little is known about their contributions, some of which were truly ahead of their time. Although their work and recommendations were often discarded and unheeded because of political turbulence, the geographers rarely complained or entered into the political arena. Their work in the TVA has generally gone unheralded and even unappreciated within the geography profession. The primary purpose of this article is to document their contributions. [source] Gravity gradiometer systems , advances and challengesGEOPHYSICAL PROSPECTING, Issue 4 2009Daniel DiFrancesco ABSTRACT The past few years have witnessed significant advances and unparalleled interest in gravity gradiometer instrument technology as well as new deployment scenarios for various applications. Gravity gradiometry is now routinely considered as a viable component for resource exploration activities as well as being deployed for global information gathering. Since the introduction of the torsion balance in the 1890s, it has been recognized that gravity gradient information is valuable , yet difficult and time-consuming to obtain. The recent acceptance and routine use of airborne gravity gradiometry for exploration has inspired many new technology developments. This paper summarizes advances in gravity gradient sensor development and also looks at deployment scenarios and gradiometer systems that have been successfully fielded. With projected improved system performance on the horizon, new challenges will also come to the forefront. Included in these challenges are aspects of instrument and system intrinsic noise, vehicle dynamic noise, terrain noise, geologic noise and other noise sources. Each of these aspects is briefly reviewed herein and recommendations for improvements presented. [source] A wedding in the family: home making in a global kin networkGLOBAL NETWORKS, Issue 3 2002Karen Fog Olwig Rituals such as weddings and funerals are significant for transnational family networks as events where scattered relatives meet and validate shared kinship and common origins. They are particularly important when taking place at a family ,home' that has been a centre of social and economic relations and locus of emotional attachment. This article analyses a wedding on a Caribbean island involving a large global family network, which occurred at a critical point in the family's history. It became an occasion when members asserted their notions of belonging rooted in the ,home', not just as members of a common kin group, but as persons whose life trajectories had involved them in different social, economic and geographical contexts. Individually they had dissimilar interpretations and expectations of their place in the home, and these were played out at the wedding. The gathering allowed a display of family solidarity, but was also a site where differing views of individuals' contribution to the global household were expressed, and rights to belong in the family home and, by implication, the island were contested. [source] Using time-domain reflectometry to characterize shallow solute transport in an oak woodland hillslope in northern California, USAHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 15 2002Chris G. Campbell Abstract The natural heterogeneity of water and solute movement in hillslope soils makes it difficult to accurately characterize the transport of surface-applied pollutants without first gathering spatially distributed hydrological data. This study examined the application of time-domain reflectometry (TDR) to measure solute transport in hillslopes. Three different plot designs were used to examine the transport of a conservative tracer in the first 50 cm of a moderately sloping soil. In the first plot, which was designed to examine spatial variability in vertical transport in a 1·2 m2 plot, a single probe per meter was found to adequately characterize vertical solute travel times. In addition, a dye and excavation study in this plot revealed lateral preferential flow in small macropores and a transport pattern where solute is focused vertically into preferential flow pathways. The bypass flow delivers solute deeper in the soil, where lateral flow occurs. The second plot, designed to capture both vertical and lateral flow, provided additional evidence confirming the flow patterns identified in the excavation of the first plot. The third plot was designed to examine lateral flow and once again preferential flow of the tracer was observed. In one instance rapid solute transport in this plot was estimated to occur in as little as 3% of the available pore space. Finally, it was demonstrated that the soil anisotropy, although partially responsible for lateral subsurface transport, may also homogenize the transport response across the hillslope by decreasing vertical solute spreading. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Life cycle assessment in management, product and process design, and policy decision making: A conference reportINTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2005Joyce Cooper On 24 September 2003, life cycle assessment (LCA) practitioners and decision makers gathered at the InLCA/LCM Conference in Seattle, Washington, USA (see http://www.lcacenter.org/lnLCA-LCM03/index.html) to discuss the role of LCA in management, product design, process development, and regulatory/policy development decisions and to compare life cycle-based methods and tools with traditional product evaluation methods and tools. This article is a summary of that meeting and was prepared by the organizers as an overview of the many different technical, regulatory policy, and decision-making policy perspectives presented to an international gathering of participants representing academia and the industrial and regulatory communities. [source] Organizing and personalizing intelligence gathering from the webINTELLIGENT SYSTEMS IN ACCOUNTING, FINANCE & MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2002Hwee-Leng Ong In this paper, we describe how an integrated web-based application, code-named FOCI (Flexible Organizer for Competitive Intelligence), can help the knowledge worker in the gathering, organizing, tracking and dissemination of competitive intelligence (CI). It combines the use of a novel user-configurable clustering, trend analysis and visualization techniques to manage information gathered from the web. FOCI allows its users to define and personalize the organization of the information clusters according to their needs and preferences into portfolios. These personalized portfolios created are saved and can be subsequently tracked and shared with other users. The paper runs through an example to show how the use of a predefined domain template coupled with personalization can greatly enhance an organization and tracking of CI gathered from the web. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Strategic Teaching: Student Learning through Working the ProcessINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ART & DESIGN EDUCATION, Issue 2 2010Nancy Spanbroek The designers of our future built environment must possess intellectual tools which will allow them to be disciplined, flexible and analytical thinkers, able to address and resolve new and complex problems. In response, an experimental and collaborative design studio was designed to inspire and build on students' knowledge and their creative thinking abilities through a series of explorative exercises and modelling. The learning experience of students undertaking this studio was enabled and guided by a collaboration of teachers experienced in both teaching and creative practice. A series of guest creative practitioners joined the studio's intensive 10-week hands-on workshop sessions within which students undertook set exercises. These creative research workshops then served to inform subsequent design development of the students' work through planning and documentation over a period of 4 weeks. Strategic teaching is central to the creative development process. The driving educational belief, as idea and practice, is that by bringing ideas to life in design, by working with full-scale three-dimensionality, students are able to cement their commitment to ,working the process', towards becoming excellent designers. This ambitious strategy enables students to work on the many different aspects of the design problem towards meeting their design outcome at the highest level of resolution and intent. Through a combination of pragmatic tasks , writing and developing design briefs , and visual tasks , evidence gathering and analysis of design through photographic, modelling and diagramming exercises , students were encouraged to think outside and beyond the ,normal' realm of design practice. [source] Quality Audit in Financial Investment ServicesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 2 2000Stanislav Karapetrovic This paper discusses the following two questions: What is a ,Quality Audit'? Why and how does it apply to financial investment services? ,Quality' in this important field of service is understood as the perception of the investor about achieving satisfactory returns, under generally accepted risks, within a planned time. The service provider normally assures this quality with due care mostly in information gathering, communication and investment decision-making. Once this quality assurance is adequately formalized and documented, a ,quality audit' can be performed. The ISO 9000 international standards and guidelines describe a quality system that can be applied to provide meaningful quality assurance in investment services. Respective quality audits are described in the ISO 10011 Quality Audit Guideline. The development of quality assurance systems and quality audits for compliance and improved performance presents benefits to both the client and the investment service provider. [source] Space Internet architectures and technologies for NASA enterprisesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKING, Issue 5 2002Kul Bhasin NASA's future space communication needs and requirements will be addressed through a space communications network that mirrors the terrestrial Internet in its capabilities and flexibility. NASA's needs and requirements for future data gathering and distribution by this Space Internet have been obtained from NASA's Earth Science Enterprise (ESE), the Human Exploration and Development in Space (HEDS), and the Space Science Enterprise (SSE). To address NASA's future needs, we propose and describe an integrated communications infrastructure based on Internet technologies, the architectures within the infrastructure, and the elements that make up the architectures. The architectures meet the requirements of the enterprises beyond 2010 with Internet compatible technologies and functionality. The elements of an architecture include the backbone, access, inter-spacecraft, and proximity communication parts. From the architectures, technologies have been identified which have the most impact and are critical for the implementation of the architectures. Published in 2002 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Marketing information systems in tourism and hospitality small- and medium-sized enterprises: a study of Internet use for market intelligenceINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 4 2001Emma Wood Abstract This study investigates the nature of marketing information systems (MkIS) within small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and focuses on the importance of external information and market intelligence. The sources of market intelligence are investigated with particular emphasis on understanding the usefulness of the Internet for external information gathering. The empirical research to support the study uses survey methods to investigate marketing information systems, market intelligence and Internet use within hospitality and tourism SMEs in the Yorkshire and Humber region. The findings indicate that SMEs in this sector make use of informal marketing information systems which mainly concentrate on internal and immediate operating environment data. Important wider market intelligence is underutilised owing mainly to the resource constraints of these smaller businesses. The Internet has not yet been recognised as an important source for market intelligence despite having the benefits of providing much of the necessary data more quickly and at a lower cost than many other sources. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Transitory Sites: Mapping Dubai's ,Forgotten' Urban SpacesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2008YASSER ELSHESHTAWY Abstract Seeking to uncover a hidden side of Dubai, this article investigates the city's ,forgotten' urban spaces. I use a theoretical framework that responds to a shift in global city research, emphasizing the everyday as well as transnational connections in which the local and the global are closely intertwined. I argue that such processes can be observed in these ,forgotten' settings, which, as well as being major gathering points, are utilized by Dubai's low-income migrant community for the exchange of information. Through an analysis of users and their activities as well as of the morphology of these spaces, I situate them within the overall development of Dubai. A key construct developed in this study and used as a unit of analysis is the notion of transitory sites , viewed as a major element in understanding migrant cities. The architectural and urban character of these sites is identified. A key finding is that low-income migrants resist globalizing influences by claiming these settings and establishing linkages through them to their home countries. Résumé En tentant de révéler la face cachée de Dubaï, cet article étudie les espaces urbains ,oubliés' des grandes villes. Son cadre théorique tient compte d'une transformation dans la recherche sur les villes planétaires, en soulignant les rapports, à la fois quotidiens et transnationaux, dans lesquels le local et le mondial sont liés de manière inextricable. Ce genre de processus est observable dans ces environnements ,oubliés' qui, en plus d'être des points de rassemblement importants, servent à la communauté des migrants à faible revenu de Dubaï pour échanger des informations. En analysant les usagers et leurs activités, ainsi que la morphologie de ces espaces, on peut les positionner dans le cadre de l'aménagement global de Dubaï. Cette étude produit un concept essentiel qui est utilisé comme unité d'analyse : la notion de sites transitoires, considérée comme un élément majeur pour comprendre les villes de migration. Le caractère architectural et urbain de ces sites est identifié. L'un des principaux résultats est le fait que les migrants à faible revenu résistent aux influences mondialisatrices en revendiquant ces espaces et en instaurant, grâce à eux, des liens avec leurs pays d'origine. [source] Path analysis of efficacy expectations and exercise behaviour in older adultsJOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 6 2000Barbara Resnick PhD CRNP Path analysis of efficacy expectations and exercise behaviour in older adults The benefits of regular exercise for older adults are well documented and include improvements in physical, functional, as well as psychological, health. The purpose of this descriptive study was to test a theoretically and empirically based model describing the factors that influence exercise behaviour of older adults in the United States of America. The hypothesized model suggested that age, gender, and mental and physical health have an effect on self-efficacy and outcome expectations, and that all these variables influence exercise behaviour. Exercise behaviour was hypothesized to have a reciprocal relationship with self-efficacy expectations and mental and physical health. The convenience sample was 187 older adults living in a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in Baltimore, Maryland. A one-time health interview was conducted which included a measure of self-efficacy and outcome expectations related to exercise, a measure of health status (SF-12), and gathering of information from participants about their actual exercise behaviour. Of the 187, 71 (38%) reported participating in 20 minutes of continuous aerobic exercise at least three times per week over the previous 3 months. Six hypothesized paths were significant. The model fitted the data and accounted for 32% of the variance in exercise behaviour. Interventions that focus on strengthening self-efficacy and outcome expectations can improve exercise behaviour in older adults. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||