Portrait of Friedrich Brandes; Employee of Mendelssohn Bank, Berlin Portraits Men

"25.7.1891 Friedrich Brandes geb. 11.4.1867 pens. 31.12.1927"

Portrait of Moritz Romberg; Employee of Mendelssohn Bank, Berlin Portraits Men

"1.10.1891 Moritz Romberg geb. 4.6.1870"

Portrait of August Rothschild; Employee of Mendelssohn Bank, Berlin Portraits Men

"1.10.1891 August Rothschild geb. 14.11.1870"

Portrait of Otto Pieper; Employee of Mendelssohn Bank, Berlin Portraits Men

"1.10.1893 Otto Pieper geb. 11.2.1868"

Portrait of Heinrich Ruhrmann; Employee of Mendelssohn Bank, Berlin Portraits Men

"15.11.1893 Heinrich Ruhrmann geb. 1.1.1863 pens. 31.12.1927"

Portrait of Richard Mueller; Employee of Mendelssohn Bank, Berlin Portraits Men

"2.12.1895 Richard Mueller geb. 1.3.1853 pens. 31.12.1927"

Portrait of Franz Koch; Employee of Mendelssohn Bank, Berlin Portraits Men

"15.8.1896 Franz Koch geb. 14.9.1860 gest. 21.10.1927"

Portrait of Max Fonrobert; Employee of Mendelssohn Bank, Berlin Portraits Men

"1.6.1897 Max Fonrobert geb. 5.12.1866"

Portrait of Otto Pfeiffer; Employee of Mendelssohn Bank, Berlin Portraits Men

"1.12.1897 Otto Pfeiffer geb. 23.10.1873"

Soil seed bank dynamics in response to an extreme flood event in a riparian habitat

A significantly increased water regime can lead to inundation of rivers, creeks and surrounding floodplains- and thus impact on the temporal dynamics of both the extant vegetation and the dormant, but viable soil-seed bank of riparian corridors. The study documented changes in the soil seed-bank along riparian corridors before and after a major flood event in January 2011 in southeast Queensland, Australia. The study site was a major river (the Mooleyember creek) near Roma, Central Queensland impacted by the extreme flood event and where baseline ecological data on riparian seed-bank populations have previously been collected in 2007, 2008 and 2009. After the major flood event, we collected further soil samples from the same locations in spring/summer (November–December 2011) and in early autumn (March 2012). Thereafter, the soils were exposed to adequate warmth and moisture under glasshouse conditions, and emerged seedlings identified taxonomically. Flooding increased seed-bank abundance but decreased its species richness and diversity. However, flood impact was less than that of yearly effect but greater than that of seasonal variation. Seeds of trees and shrubs were few in the soil, and were negatively affected by the flood; those of herbaceous and graminoids were numerous and proliferate after the flood. Seed-banks of weedy and/or exotic species were no more affected by the flood than those of native and/or non-invasive species. Overall, the studied riparian zone showed evidence of a quick recovery of its seed-bank over time, and can be considered to be resilient to an extreme flood event.

Evaluation of restoration of vegetation infested with cat's claw creeper vine (Dolichandra unguis-cati): soil seed bank response to herbicide and physical removal

Cat’s claw creeper vine, Dolichandra unguis-cati (L.) L.G.Lohmann (formerly known as Macfadyena unguis-cati (L.) A.H.Gentry), a Weed of National Significance (WoNS), is a structural woody parasite that is highly invasive along sensitive riparian corridors and native forests of coastal and inland eastern Australia. As part of evaluation of the impact of herbicide and mechanical/physical control techniques on the long-term reduction of biomass of the weed and expected return of native flora, we have set-up permanent vegetation plots in: (a) infested and now chemically/physically treated, (b) infested but untreated and (c) un-infested patches. The treatments were set up in both riparian and non-riparian habitats to document changes that occur in seed bank flora over a two-year post-treatment period. Response to treatment varied spatially and temporally. However, following chemical and physical removal treatments, treated patches exhibited lower seed bank abundance and diversity than infested and patches lacking the weed, but differences were not statistically significant. Thus it will be safe to say that spraying herbicides using the recommended rate does not undermine restoration efforts.

Seed bank longevity and age to reproductive maturity of Calotropis procera (Aiton) W.T. Aiton in the dry tropics of northern Queensland

Understanding the reproductive biology of Calotropis procera (Aiton) W.T. Aiton, an invasive weed of northern Australia, is critical for development of effective management strategies. Two experiments are reported on. In Experiment 1 seed longevity of C. procera seeds, exposed to different soil type (clay and river loam), pasture cover (present and absent) and burial depth (0, 2.5, 10 and 20 cm) treatments were examined. In Experiment 2 time to reach reproductive maturity was studied. The latter experiment included its sister species, C. gigantea (L.) W.T. Aiton, for comparison and two separate seed lots were tested in 2009 and 2012 to determine if exposure to different environmental conditions would influence persistence. Both seed lots demonstrated a rapid decline in viability over the first 3 months and declined to zero between 15 and 24 months after burial. In Experiment 1, longevity appeared to be most influenced by rainfall patterns and associated soil moisture, burial depth and soil type, but not the level of pasture cover. Experiment 2 showed that both C. procera and C. gigantea plants could flower once they had reached an average height of 85 cm. However, they differed significantly in terms of basal diameter at first flowering with C. gigantea significantly smaller (31 mm) than C. procera (45 mm). On average, C. gigantea flowered earlier (125 days vs 190 days) and set seed earlier (359 days vs 412 days) than C. procera. These results suggest that, under similar conditions to those that prevailed in the present studies, land managers could potentially achieve effective control of patches of C. procera in 2 years if they are able to kill all original plants and treat seedling regrowth frequently enough to prevent it reaching reproductive maturity. This suggested control strategy is based on the proviso that replenishment of the seed bank is not occurring from external sources (e.g. wind and water dispersal).

Ambidextrous leadership and employees' self-reported innovative performance: The role of exploration and exploitation behaviors

The ambidexterity theory of leadership for innovation proposes that leaders' opening and closing behaviors positively predict employees' exploration and exploitation behaviors, respectively. The interaction of exploration and exploitation behaviors, in turn, is assumed to influence employee innovative performance, such that innovative performance is highest when both exploration and exploitation behaviors are high. The goal of this study was to provide the first empirical test of these hypotheses at the individual employee level. Results based on self-report data provided by 388 employees were consistent with ambidexterity theory, even after controlling for employee reports of their leaders' transformational and transactional leadership behaviors as well as employees' openness to experience, conscientiousness, and positive affect. The findings extend previous research on ambidexterity at the team and organizational levels and suggest a possible way for leaders to enhance employee self-reported innovative performance.

Seed bank persistence and germination of chinee apple (Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.)

Chinee apple (Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.) is a thorny tree that is invading tropical woodlands of northern Australia. The present study reports three experiments related to the seed dynamics of chinee apple. Experiment 1 and 2 investigated persistence of seed lots under different soil types (clay and river loam), levels of pasture cover (present or absent) and burial depths (0, 2.5, 10 and 20 cm). Experiment 3 determined the germination response of chinee apple seeds to a range of alternating day/night temperatures (11/6°C up to 52/40°C). In the longevity experiments (Expts 1 and 2), burial depth, soil type and burial duration significantly affected viability. Burial depth had the greatest influence, with surface located seeds generally persisting for longer than those buried below ground. Even so, no viable seeds remained after 18 and 24 months in the first and second experiment, respectively. In Expt 3 seeds of chinee apple germinated under a wide range of alternating day/night temperatures ranging from 16/12°C to 47 /36°C. Optimal germination (77%) occurred at 33/27°C and no seeds germinated at either of the lowest (11/6°C) or highest (52/40°C) temperature regimes tested. These findings indicated that chinee apple has the potential to expand its current distribution to cooler areas of Australia. Control practices need to be undertaken for at least two years to exhaust the seed bank.

An engineering or behavioural approach? A study into employee’s perceptions regarding the effectiveness of occupational road safety initiatives

Background and Aims Considerable variation has been documented with fleet safety interventions’ abilities to create lasting behavioural change, and research has neglected to consider employees’ perceptions regarding the effectiveness of fleet interventions. This is a critical oversight as employees’ beliefs and acceptance levels (as well as the perceived organisational commitment to safety) can ultimately influence levels of effectiveness, and this study aimed to examine such perceptions in Australian fleet settings. Method 679 employees sourced from four Australian organisations completed a safety climate questionnaire as well as provided perspectives about the effectiveness of 35 different safety initiatives. Results Countermeasures that were perceived as most effective were a mix of human and engineering-based approaches: - (a) purchasing safer vehicles; - (b) investigating serious vehicle incidents, and; - (c) practical driver skills training. In contrast, least effective countermeasures were considered to be: - (a) signing a promise card; - (b) advertising a company’s phone number on the back of cars for complaints and compliments, and; - (c) communicating cost benefits of road safety to employees. No significant differences in employee perceptions were identified based on age, gender, employees’ self-reported crash involvement or employees’ self-reported traffic infringement history. Perceptions of safety climate were identified to be “moderate” but were not linked to self-reported crash or traffic infringement history. However, higher levels of safety climate were positively correlated with perceived effectiveness of some interventions. Conclusion Taken together, employees believed occupational road safety risks could best be managed by the employer by implementing a combination of engineering and human resource initiatives to enhance road safety. This paper will further outline the key findings in regards to practice as well as provide direction for future research.