Determinants of plant performance dynamics : empirical analysis of the manufacturing sector in Indonesia, 1990-2000

We identify determinants of plant dynamics and find their differences before, during, and after the Asian financial crisis. The results show that the distinction of the crisis is important and the effects of the crisis do not seem to persist after 1998. Furthermore, we reject Gibrat's law as the right functional form to describe plant growth. We are not able to support empirically the theoretical results that smaller and efficient plants tend to grow faster than larger and inefficient plants with the exception of the crisis period. The results reflect that there was a trickle down effect of economic development.

Sentencing and public confidence in Australia: The dynamics and foci of small group deliberations

This study is the first of its kind in Australia to use the deliberative small group methodology to explore participants’ deeper, nuanced thoughts on specific criminal justice issues in order to gain insight into the underlying beliefs that influence people’s opinions on sentencing. The use of small group discussions allows an analysis of the dynamics of people’s interactions and the potential of these to elicit deeper, more thoughtful deliberation. Participants’ comments around two policy areas – mandatory sentencing and the use of alternatives to imprisonment – were founded on concerns about the need for judges to tailor the sentence to fit the specific circumstances of each case. The methodology itself has shown that people may change their initial opinions on complex issues when given the opportunity to discuss and reflect on their beliefs.

The dynamics of expertise acquisition in sport : the role of affective learning design

Objectives The aim of this position paper is to discuss the role of affect in designing learning experiences to enhance expertise acquisition in sport. The design of learning environments and athlete development programmes are predicated on the successful sampling and simulation of competitive performance conditions during practice. This premise is captured by the concept of representative learning design, founded on an ecological dynamics approach to developing skill in sport, and based on the individual-environment relationship. In this paper we discuss how the effective development of expertise in sport could be enhanced by the consideration of affective constraints in the representative design of learning experiences. Conclusions Based on previous theoretical modelling and practical examples we delineate two key principles of Affective Learning Design: (i) the design of emotion-laden learning experiences that effectively simulate the constraints of performance environments in sport; (ii) recognising individualised emotional and coordination tendencies that are associated with different periods of learning. Considering the role of affect in learning environments has clear implications for how sport psychologists, athletes and coaches might collaborate to enhance the acquisition of expertise in sport.

The dynamics of cellular automata on 2-manifolds is affected by topology

In this paper, we demonstrate that the distribution of Wolfram classes within a cellular automata rule space in the triangular tessellation is not consistent across different topological general. Using a statistical mechanics approach, cellular automata dynamical classes were approximated for cellular automata defined on genus-0, genus-1 and genus-2 2-manifolds. A distribution-free equality test for empirical distributions was applied to identify cases in which Wolfram classes were distributed differently across topologies. This result implies that global structure and local dynamics contribute to the long term evolution of cellular automata.

Interpreting scratch assays using pair density dynamics and approximate Bayesian computation

Quantifying the impact of biochemical compounds on collective cell spreading is an essential element of drug design, with various applications including developing treatments for chronic wounds and cancer. Scratch assays are a technically simple and inexpensive method used to study collective cell spreading; however, most previous interpretations of scratch assays are qualitative and do not provide estimates of the cell diffusivity, D, or the cell proliferation rate,l. Estimating D and l is important for investigating the efficacy of a potential treatment and provides insight into the mechanism through which the potential treatment acts. While a few methods for estimating D and l have been proposed, these previous methods lead to point estimates of D and l, and provide no insight into the uncertainty in these estimates. Here, we compare various types of information that can be extracted from images of a scratch assay, and quantify D and l using discrete computational simulations and approximate Bayesian computation. We show that it is possible to robustly recover estimates of D and l from synthetic data, as well as a new set of experimental data. For the first time, our approach also provides a method to estimate the uncertainty in our estimates of D and l. We anticipate that our approach can be generalized to deal with more realistic experimental scenarios in which we are interested in estimating D and l, as well as additional relevant parameters such as the strength of cell-to-cell adhesion or the strength of cell-to-substrate adhesion.

An observational analysis of the impact of board dynamics and directors’ participation on perceived board effectiveness

This study addresses calls for closer examination of board dynamics by offering an inside view of director interactions. Video-observations of three board meetings at each of two Australian corporations matched with director interviews and secondary data reveal distinct patterns of director interactions, their sources of variation and impact on perceived board effectiveness. Our data reveal that director interactions are multi-dimensional and dynamic: while group interactions across agenda items are similar, with a few directors leading the discussion, the contributing directors change across items. Moreover, directors’ inclusiveness and evenness of participation are associated with higher perceptions of board effectiveness. Last, we find that director interactions change with the nature of the items, board climate and board meeting arrangements. The study contributes to the literature by moving beyond the individual-level analysis of directors’ skills or independence, and offering a detailed view of how the joint group and individual dimensions of board dynamics affect board functioning.

eARTh : the dynamics of ontological representation

This Australian Indigenous creactive work and its Treatise promote ways of thinking about practice and research that extend well beyond the current discourse. It invites re-thinking on how research can be practice-led in new ways, and what that might mean for future students. When discussing the challenges of today, this work signifies how "Western Style" thinking and theory is wanting in so many ways. It engages a new dynamic and innovative way of theorising, encouraging future students to apply their full capacity of energy and wisdom. (Extract from examiners' reports.)

A review of pedestrian group dynamics and methodologies in modelling pedestrian group behaviours

Observations conducted by researchers revealed that the group interaction within crowds is a common phenomenon and has great influence on pedestrian behaviour. However, most research currently undertaken by various researchers failed to consider the group dynamics when developing pedestrian flow models. This paper presented a critical review of pedestrian models that incorporates group behaviour. Models reviewed in this paper are mainly created by microscopic modelling approaches such as social force, cellular automata, and agent-based method. The purpose of this literature review is to improve the understanding of group dynamics among pedestrians and highlight the need for considering group dynamics when developing pedestrian simulation models.