An exploratory study of mechanisms to transfer and embed a value-based culture : A thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Business Studies in Management at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand

This exploratory study seeks to build on the work of theorists who have proposed concepts to enhance organisational culture through a better alignment of values. The study seeks to gain additional support for the exploration of mechanisms to embed value-based cultures. This is achieved by better understanding the origins of goal-orientated values and the types of culture that manifest in small to medium enterprises. As a result of this study a model was developed, which could be implemented in future longitudinal research on the influence of embedding a value-based culture through the use of applied mechanisms. What distinguishes this study from others is the development of a comprehensive model to define, embed, and measure a value-based culture. To gain a deeper understanding of the concepts a multi-method qualitatively driven methodology was implemented to identify core mechanisms to embed value-based cultures. Additional quantitative data was used to enable a deeper, more robust, understanding of the influence the identified mechanisms have on goal-orientated values and the types of culture, which manifest in a small to medium enterprise. The study suggests that founders of small to medium enterprises can define a value-based culture and through the use of six mechanisms, embed a value-based culture that aligns with the organisation’s objectives. Gaining a better understanding of the concepts and mechanisms to embed a value-based culture enabled the development of a pragmatic process and model, which encompasses each of the key mechanisms identified in the literature. The study adds support to the work of theorists who have argued for value-based cultures and the concept of conflicting core values occurring in organisational cultures. The study builds on the work of others by proposing an applied model that draws the key concepts together into a single comprehensive model

Signatures of fast and slow magnetohydrodynamic shocks in turbulent molecular clouds

The character of star formation is intimately related to the supersonic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulent dynamics of the molecular clouds in which stars form. A significant amount of the turbulent energy dissipates in low velocity shocks. Fast and slow MHD shocks differ in how they compress and heat the molecular gas, and so their radiative signatures reveal distinct physical conditions. We use a two-fluid model to compare one-dimensional fast and slow MHD shocks propagating at low speeds (a few km/s). Fast shocks are magnetically driven, forcing ion species to stream through the neutral gas ahead of the shock front. This magnetic precursor heats the gas sufficiently to create a large, warm transition zone where all the fluid variables smoothly change in the shock front. In contrast, slow shocks are driven by gas pressure, and neutral species collide with ion species in a thin hot slab that closely resembles an ordinary gas dynamic shock. We consider shocks at velocities $v_s = 2$-$4$ km/s and preshock Hydrogen nuclei densities $n_\mathrm{H} = 10^2$-$10^4$ cm$^{-3}$. We include a simple oxygen chemistry and cooling by CO, H$_2$ and H$_2$O. CO rotational lines above $J = 6\to 5$ are more strongly excited in slow shocks. These slow shock signatures may have already been observed in infrared dark clouds in the Milky Way.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, Accepted to MNRA

The Gelaton Scenario: Equilateral non-Gaussianity from multi-field dynamics

The distinctive features of single field inflationary models with non-minimal kinetic terms, like Dirac-Born-Infeld and k-inflation, can be captured by more familiar multiple field inflationary systems of the type that typically arise in low energy supergravity models. At least one heavy field, which we call the gelaton, has an effective potential which depends on the kinetic energy of the inflaton. Integrating out the gelaton gives rise to an effectively single field system for which the speed of sound for the adiabatic fluctuations is reduced, generating potentially observable equilateral non-Gaussianity, while causing negligible isocurvature fluctuations. This mechanism is only active if there is a relatively tight coupling between the gelaton and the inflaton, and this puts an upper limit on the mass of the gelaton for which the inflaton-gelaton system remains weakly coupled. This approach gives a UV-completable framework for describing large classes of k-inflationary behavior.Comment: v3: 5 pages, very minor changes, matches version published in PR

An enterprise-level naval shipbuilding plan

Overview: This paper reviews the past performance of Australian naval shipbuilding, describes the pros and cons of a rolling production model, and unpicks the issues that the government will have to take into account. It concludes that we’re likely to see a bigger surface navy—potentially a much bigger one—as well as the sell-off of at least part of the currently government-owned ASC Pty Ltd. The paper also looks at strategies to manage the risks in the likely course of action and recommends mitigation strategies

Adjoint affine fusion and tadpoles

We study affine fusion with the adjoint representation. For simple Lie algebras, elementary and universal formulas determine the decomposition of a tensor product of an integrable highest-weight representation with the adjoint representation. Using the (refined) affine depth rule, we prove that equally striking results apply to adjoint affine fusion. For diagonal fusion, a coefficient equals the number of nonzero Dynkin labels of the relevant affine highest weight, minus 1. A nice lattice-polytope interpretation follows, and allows the straightforward calculation of the genus-1 1-point adjoint Verlinde dimension, the adjoint affine fusion tadpole. Explicit formulas, (piecewise) polynomial in the level, are written for the adjoint tadpoles of all classical Lie algebras. We show that off-diagonal adjoint affine fusion is obtained from the corresponding tensor product by simply dropping non-dominant representations.Comment: 20 pages, 4 table

The UK moves from March to December Budgets

Barring any very unexpected developments, next month’s Budget Speech by the Chancellor of the Exchequer will be the last such speech to occur in March for the foreseeable future (and perhaps for ever) in the UK. As part of last year’s budget package, the Government published a White Paper on budgetary reform (HMSO, 1992) which announced that in future, Budget Speeches would be made in December of each year rather than in March as at present. However, the tax year will continue to begin in April, so that the lead time between the announcement of tax proposals in the Budget and the coming into force of most of them will be extended from about three weeks to about 16.

Water Vapor and Cloud Formation in the TTL: Simulation Results vs. Satellite Observations

Driven by analyzed winds and temperature, domain-filling forward trajectory calculations are used to reproduce water vapor and cloud formations in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). As with most Lagrangian models of this type, excess water vapor is instantaneously removed from the parcel to keep the relative humidity with respect to ice from exceeding a specified (super) saturation level. The dehydration occurrences serve as an indication of where and when cloud forms. Convective moistening through ice lofting and gravity waves are also included in our simulations as mechanisms that could affect water vapor abundances and cloud formations in the TTL. Our simulations produce water vapor mixing ratios close to that observed by the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and are consistent with the reanalysis tropical tropopause temperature biases, which proves the importance of the cold-point temperature to the water vapor abundances in the stratosphere. The simulation of cloud formation agrees with the patterns of cirrus distribution from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO). It proves that the trajectory calculations fed by the analyzed wind and temperature could produce reasonable simulations of water vapor and cloud formation in the TTL

Effect of Carboxymethyl Cellulose Added at the Dosage Stage on the Foamability of a Bottle-Fermented Sparkling Wine

Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is used in winemaking to prevent potassium bitartrate or potassium hydrogen tartrate deposits from forming. These deposits are particularly detrimental when occurring in bottle-fermented sparkling wine ahead of disgorging or in the finished product as they can cause gushing of the wine when bottles are opened. Despite CMC being used by several sparkling winemaking producers both on the base wine and after disgorging, its effect on the behavior of foam, a key indicator of sparkling wine quality, has not been systematically tested. In this work the effect on wine composition and foam attributes of CMC additions to an English sparkling wine at the dosage stage was assessed. Results showed that CMC did not cause major changes on wine parameters, with the exception of wine viscosity, and did not result in major modification of the foamability of a wine, especially when analyzed in real serving conditions. These results suggest that, at least for the wine analyzed in this work, CMC could be added at the dosage stage without compromising its foam quality attributes