Character in the workplace : self directedness mediates harm avoidance in the prediction of job performance

The purpose of this study was to test a model of the relationship between temperament, character and job performance, in order to better understand the cause of stable individual differences in job performance. Personality was conceptualized in terms of Cloninger, Svrakic and Przybeck’s (1993) theoretical framework of personality. It was expected that Self Directedness (character) would mediate Harm Avoidance and Persistence (temperament) in the prediction of job performance. In order to test the hypotheses, a sample of 94 employee/supervisor pairs was recruited from several organizations across Australia. Participants completed a number of questionnaires online, regarding their personality traits (completed by employees) and Job Performance (completed by Supervisors). Consistent with the hypothesis, Self Directedness was found to be a moderate, direct predictor of job performance. Also consistent with the hypothesis, Self Directedness mediated Harm Avoidance in the prediction of job performance. Results show that character (Self Directedness) is important in the prediction of job performance, and also suggests that fearful, avoidant individuals are less likely to perform well in the workplace, based on their low level of character development.

Safety culture in supply chains : 'Customer is king'

Despite the presence of many regulations governing the operation of heavy vehicles and supply chains in Australia, the truck driving sector continues to have the highest incidence of fatal injuries compared to all other industries. The working environment has been the focus of attention by safety researchers during the past few decades, with particular consideration been given to the concept ‘safety culture’ and how to maintain, modify and advance responses to occupational risk. One important aspect of the heavy industry which sets it apart is the existence of cultural or sub-cultural influences at an industry wide and occupation-specific level rather than organisational level. This paper reports on the findings of stakeholder’s perceptions of the influences of power and control, and culture on industry safety. In-depth structured interviews were conducted during 2011 with Australian industry stakeholders (n=31). The questioning surrounded decision-making processes with regards to identifying risks, self-monitoring and reducing risky activities; as well as how power-affected relationships may influence the operational performance of supply chains and impacts on driver safety. One of the most significant findings from these interviews relates to the notion of power. The perception that the ‘Customer is King’ was widely viewed, with the majority of stakeholders believing that there exists a ‘master slave mentality’ in the industry. There appears to be great frustration in the industry as to the apparent immunity of customers (particularly retail supply chains) to their responsibilities. There was also a strong perception that the customer holds the balance of power by covertly employing remuneration-related incentives and pressures. Smaller trucking companies are perceived as being more vulnerable to the pressure of customer expectations.

Structure character in small-carbon-cluster deposition on diamond surface

Experimentally, hydrogen-free diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were assembled by means of pulsed laser deposition (PLD), where energetic small-carbon-clusters were deposited on the substrate. In this paper, the chemisorption of energetic C2 and C10 clusters on diamond (001)-( 2×1) surface was investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. The influence of cluster size and the impact energy on the structure character of the deposited clusters is mainly addressed. The impact energy was varied from a few tens eV to 100 eV. The chemisorption of C10 was found to occur only when its incident energy is above a threshold value ( E th). While, the C2 cluster was easily to adsorb on the surface even at much lower incident energy. With increasing the impact energy, the structures of the deposited C2 and C10 are different from the free clusters. Finally, the growth of films synthesized by energetic C2 and C10 clusters were simulated. The statistics indicate the C2 cluster has high probability of adsorption and films assembled of C2 present slightly higher SP3 fraction than that of C10-films, especially at higher impact energy and lower substrate temperature. Our result supports the experimental findings. Moreover, the simulation underlines the deposition mechanism at atomic scale.

An Analysis of the Character Animation in Disney’s Tangled

This paper offers an analysis of the character animation in Tangled to develop a deeper understanding of how Disney has approached the extension of their traditional aesthetic into the CG medium.

Screen Distribution and the New King Kongs of the Online World

Like music and the news media before it, the film and television business is now facing its time of digital disruption. Major changes are being brought about in global online distribution of film and television by new players, such as Google/YouTube, Apple, Amazon, Yahoo!, Facebook, Netflix and Hulu, some of whom massively outrank in size and growth the companies that run film and television today. Content, Hollywood has always asserted, is King. But the power and profitability in screen industries have always resided in distribution. Incumbents in the screen industries tried to control the emerging dynamics of online distribution, but failed. The new, born digital, globally focused, players are developing TV network-like strategies, including commissioning content that has widened the net of what counts as television. Content may be King, but these new players may become the King Kongs of the online world.

Calligraphy and causation : two obstetric management cases - Hirst v Sydney South West Area Health and King v Western Sydney local health network

Two recent decisions of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in the context of obstetric management have highlighted firstly, the importance of keeping legible, accurate and detailed medical records; and secondly, the challenges faced by those seeking to establish causation, particularly where epidemiological evidence is relied upon...

The inaccuracy of national character stereotypes

Consensual stereotypes of some groups are relatively accurate, whereas others are not. Previous work suggesting that national character stereotypes are inaccurate has been criticized on several grounds. In this article we (a) provide arguments for the validity of assessed national mean trait levels as criteria for evaluating stereotype accuracy and (b) report new data on national character in 26 cultures from descriptions (N= 3323) of the typical male or female adolescent, adult, or old person in each. The average ratings were internally consistent and converged with independent stereotypes of the typical culture member, but were weakly related to objective assessments of personality. We argue that this conclusion is consistent with the broader literature on the inaccuracy of national character stereotypes

The national railway of Sarah Island : Richard Flanagan's Gould's Book of Fish

In the latter half of the nineteenth century the railway became an emblem of technological advancement, stood for the improvement and progression of European life, and became a recognizable symbol for the achievements of governments and citizens. The implementation and use of the railway became closely linked with notions of national identity and character. The railway became an identifiable artefact in official history but at the same time it became a part of everyday life. Richard Flanagan’s Gould’s Book of Fish retells the life-story of a fictionalized convict sent to Sarah Island and who paints fish, eventually he metamorphoses into one. It could be thought that a novel set in convict times would have little to do with notions of national identity, technological advancement, and railway travel. However, Richard Flanagan, in this very complex, almost surreal, novel, has used the construction of a fictional national railway as one of the ways to explore Australia's complex relationship with history and space. The novel tells of the plans of a history-loving Commandant and his desire to build a national railway on Sarah Island. This paper explores how Sarah Island becomes a metonym for Australia as a whole and Flanagan's novel takes on a metaphysical dimension as he reveals the struggles that emerge when official history collides with non-official versions. The fabulations of the novel contribute to an historical reconstruction of the spatial/architectural history of the Tasmanian colonial project.

Identification of Mendel's white flower character

Background The genetic regulation of flower color has been widely studied, notably as a character used by Mendel and his predecessors in the study of inheritance in pea. Methodology/Principal Findings We used the genome sequence of model legumes, together with their known synteny to the pea genome to identify candidate genes for the A and A2 loci in pea. We then used a combination of genetic mapping, fast neutron mutant analysis, allelic diversity, transcript quantification and transient expression complementation studies to confirm the identity of the candidates. Conclusions/Significance We have identified the pea genes A and A2. A is the factor determining anthocyanin pigmentation in pea that was used by Gregor Mendel 150 years ago in his study of inheritance. The A gene encodes a bHLH transcription factor. The white flowered mutant allele most likely used by Mendel is a simple G to A transition in a splice donor site that leads to a mis-spliced mRNA with a premature stop codon, and we have identified a second rare mutant allele. The A2 gene encodes a WD40 protein that is part of an evolutionarily conserved regulatory complex.

Responses of Swietenia macrophylla (King) seedlings to different sizes of canopy openings in mixed mahogany plantations

A study was conducted during 1997-99 at 2 sites in Sri Lanka (Rambukkana and Kurunegala) to investigate the responses of Swietenia macrophylla seedlings to wide, moderate and narrow openings of high to low shade conditions in a mature mixed mahogany plantations. Survival, stem growth and shoot phenology of seedlings were recorded monthly. Seedling survival a year after planting showed high mortality under high shaded gap (3-8% photosynthetically active radiation (PAR)). At 51 weeks after planting, final stem height and root collar diameter were highly significant under low shaded gaps. Increased number of shoots and shoot lenghts were observed under low shade (50-78% PAR). Increased flushing was seen in all shade regimes during the rainy period. This study illustrates that low shaded gap openings favour seeding survival, stem and shoot growth, and number of shoots. On the contrary, high shaded gaps reduce the growth of seedlings and therefore may be less attractive to shoot borers.

Accelerating taxonomic discovery through automated character extraction

This paper discusses the following key messages. Taxonomy is (and taxonomists are) more important than ever in times of global change. Taxonomic endeavour is not occurring fast enough: in 250 years since the creation of the Linnean Systema Naturae, only about 20% of Earth's species have been named. We need fundamental changes to the taxonomic process and paradigm to increase taxonomic productivity by orders of magnitude. Currently, taxonomic productivity is limited principally by the rate at which we capture and manage morphological information to enable species discovery. Many recent (and welcomed) initiatives in managing and delivering biodiversity information and accelerating the taxonomic process do not address this bottleneck. Development of computational image analysis and feature extraction methods is a crucial missing capacity needed to enable taxonomists to overcome the taxonomic impediment in a meaningful time frame. Copyright © 2009 Magnolia Press.

Cultural relativity as exchange : J.W. Lindt’s bush character and Aboriginal from The Grafton Album (circa 1872)

J.W.Lindt’s Colonial man and Aborigine image from the GRAFTON ALBUM: “On chemistry and optics all does not depend, art must with these in triple union blend” (text from J.W. Lindt’s photographic backing card)...

Impaction of spray droplets on leaves: Influence of formulation and leaf character on shatter, bounce and adhesion

This paper combines experimental data with simple mathematical models to investigate the influence of spray formulation type and leaf character (wettability) on shatter, bounce and adhesion of droplets impacting with cotton, rice and wheat leaves. Impaction criteria that allow for different angles of the leaf surface and the droplet impact trajectory are presented; their predictions are based on whether combinations of droplet size and velocity lie above or below bounce and shatter boundaries. In the experimental component, real leaves are used, with all their inherent natural variability. Further, commercial agricultural spray nozzles are employed, resulting in a range of droplet characteristics. Given this natural variability, there is broad agreement between the data and predictions. As predicted, the shatter of droplets was found to increase as droplet size and velocity increased, and the surface became harder to wet. Bouncing of droplets occurred most frequently on hard to wet surfaces with high surface tension mixtures. On the other hand, a number of small droplets with low impact velocity were observed to bounce when predicted to lie well within the adhering regime. We believe this discrepancy between the predictions and experimental data could be due to air layer effects that were not taken into account in the current bounce equations. Other discrepancies between experiment and theory are thought to be due to the current assumption of a dry impact surface, whereas, in practice, the leaf surfaces became increasingly covered with fluid throughout the spray test runs.

The influence of Lord Robert Baden-Powell on the development of the Boy Scout Movement with observations on its operation in Queensland 1907-1937

The purpose of the Boy Scout Movement was to create boys who were honest, obedient to constituted authority and loyal to the King and the British Empire. This thesis examines the influence that Scouting's founder, Lord Robert Baden-Powell, had on the development of Scouting in Queensland in the period 1907 to 1937, and concludes that that influence was profound. Baden-Powell conceived the Boy Scout Movement, and its non-formal educative method as an answer to some of the social, economic, and political problems at the beginning of the twentieth century – a paradigm recognised and acknowledged by educators of the day.