Are you growing systems thinking managers? Use a systems model to teach and practice organizational analysis and planning,management policy,and organizational development

This paper discusses the use of the Kast and Rosenzweig systems and contingency model for teaching and practice in organizational analysis and planning, management policy, and organizational development. The need for an organizational model for graduate students and field-based managers and executives is identified. The model is presented beginning with the Kast and Rosenzweig work, with integration of research by Daft, Schein, Trist, Deal and Kennedy, Ackoff, Delbecq, and Mintzberg. The teaching and practice uses of the model in four areas are presented, including organizational analysis and planning, management policy making, and organizational development. In each area case examples of the use of the model in teaching and practice are presented. Needs for future research and implications for the use of the model are discussed.     

DETERMINATION OF KRAFT LIGNIN CONCENTRATIONS BY FTIR

A fast and accurate method based on FTIR is developed for determining the lignin content and its characteristic bands in alkali solutions. The work consisted of two main parts: 1) establishing a predictive model and 2) determination of the accuracy of the model. The model was derived by applying the partial least squares algorithm for multivariate analyses to a set of spectrum data obtained from selected IR absorption regions in the range of 1600 - 900 cm-1. The model was tested with spent liquors obtained from commercial pulp mills.The accuracy of the predictive model is extremely high suitable for commercial applications,particularly for monitoring the dynamic response of modern kraft pulping processes.     

Algorithmic compression of empirical data: reply to Twardy, Gardner, and Dowe

This discussion note responds to objections by Twardy, Gardner, and Dowe to my earlier claim that empirical data sets are algorithmically incompressible. Twardy, Gardner, and Dowe hold that many empirical data sets are compressible by Minimum Message Length technique and offer this as evidence that these data sets are algorithmically compressible. I reply that the compression achieved by Minimum Message Length technique is different from algorithmic compression. I conclude that Twardy, Gardner, and Dowe fail to establish that empirical data sets are algorithmically compressible.     

Studies on muscle fibre splitting in skeletal muscle

Summary Autoradiographic, stereological and histological studies have been carried out to determine the origin of muscle fibre splitting which supposedly occurs during muscle hypertrophy. The results obtained clearly indicate that the supposedly split fibres are a transient response probably derived from satellite cells and are not derived from pre-existing fibres by true splitting. Similarly, increases in muscle fibre size are not achieved by recruitment of satellite structures as indicated by lack of myonuclear recruitment.Acknowledgment. This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from the Medical Research Council of Great Britain. The authors are grateful for the excellent technical assistance of Miss H. Caulton, M.J. Wild and M. Fenner.     

Structure,biosynthesis and functions of glycoprotein glycans

Since the pioneering work on structure and function of heteroglycans compiled in the classical books edited by A. Gottschalk in 1972¹, there have been several promising developments in glycoconjugate research, as reviewed in this article.In Part 1, contributed by A. Kobata, current knowledge on heteroglycan structures is presented and representative examples taken from higher organisms are given. Part 2, written by J. F. G. Vliegenthart and J. P. Kamerling, covers the most important achievements in methodology: procedures to obtain pure glycans and to analyze their structures. Part 3, contributed by J. Paulson, is devoted to biosynthesis of glycans now describable as pathways since several of the glycosyltransferases have been isolated and analyzed for specificity. In Part 4, contributed by E. Buddecke, current knowledge on functional roles of glycans is presented. It will become apparent that the prerequisite for valid work either in biosynthetic or functional context depends on solid structural information. This is particularly true whenever glycosyltransferase reaction products are being analyzed, or glycans involved in biological functions are investigated. Although in past years, a great deal of important knowledge has been gathered by use of crude glycosidase or glycosyltransferase activities (a notable example is found in reference 2), one may now postulate that glycans implicated in biological reactions should be thoroughly analyzed.This review may familiarize newcomers with the field of glycoconjugate research with special emphasis on glycoprotein glycans. Glycolipids are not included in this article as they have recently been reviewed by S. I. Hakomori³. The reader is also referred to several excellent monographs^4,5 and the Proceedings of the Glycoconjugate Symposia held biannually^6–8.     

半群Q(k)的极大正则子半带

设T(X)和O(X)分别是X上的全变换半群和保序全变换半群,Y是X的非空子集,令F(X,Y)={α∈T(X):Xα?Yα?Y},OF(X,Y)=O(X)∩F(X,Y).当Y=n≥4时,对任意的2≤k≤n-2,考虑半群Q(k)={α∈OF(X,Y):Im(α)≤k}的极大正则子半带的结构,利用Miller-Clifford定理,证明了半群Q(k)的极大正则子半带有且仅有两类:A(α)=Q(k-1)∪(J(k)\L_α),α∈J(k);B(β)=Q(k-1)∪(J(k)\R_β),β∈N(k).     

Systemic Indicators for Rural Communities in Developing Economies: Bringing the Shared Vision into Being

Community indicators have been a frequent focus of the scholarly literature. There has been little exploration, however, in relation to rural communities, especially in developing countries. This reflects the special challenges associated with the complexity of rural systems, and the difficulties involved in developing appropriate and systemic indicators for rural communities. Identifying indicators that help the community to monitor progress towards sustainable outcomes requires a framework that is both practical and holistic. This paper introduces a participatory systemic framework for identifying community indicators, which respects the principles of complexity and honours the sense of ownership present in the communities. This framework is an iterative, sharing, co-learning engagement process that extends from creating a shared vision and extracting its core messages, to identifying indicators of progress and determining what actions to try. Importantly, this framework enables us to rank the indicators identified by communities with reference to ‘leverage points’, the best places to intervene in the social-environmental system for transformational change. This framework provides a potential pathway for sustainable rural development and perhaps also for organisations and urban communities.     

Flow and heat transfer behaviour of nanofluids in microchannels

Flow and heat transfer of aqueous based silica and alumina nanofluids in microchannels were experimentally investigated. The measured friction factors were higher than conventional model predictions at low Reynolds numbers particularly with high nanoparticle concentrations. A decrease in the friction factor was observed with increasing Reynolds number, possibly due to the augmentation of nanoparticle aggregate shape arising from fluid shear and alteration of local nanoparticle concentration and nanofluid viscosity. Augmentation of the silica nanoparticle morphology by fluid shear may also have affected the friction factor due to possible formation of a core/shell structure of the particles. Measured thermal conductivities of the silica nanofluids were in approximate agreement with the Maxwell-Crosser model, whereas the alumina nanofluids only showed slight enhancements. Enhanced convective heat transfer was observed for both nanofluids, relative to their base fluids (water), at low particle concentrations. Heat transfer enhancement increased with increasing Reynolds number and microchannel hydraulic diameter. However, the majority of experiments showed a larger increase in pumping power requirements relative to heat transfer enhancements, which may hinder the industrial uptake of the nanofluids, particularly in confined environments, such as Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS).