Complex Dynamics

Purpose – The primary purpose is to present empirical measures of variables relating to practices engaged in by site-based teams, and then to use these variables to test a model predicting significant outcomes of site-based decision making. The practice variables of site-based management (SBM) teams are essential in promoting research within a distributed leadership framework. Design/methodology/approach – A path model is computed to test the relationships between factors relating to the support received by site-based teams; site team communication and decision-making practice, and perceived outcomes of SBM. Measures are based on survey data collected from 367 team members in 50 schools from fifteen school districts in a northeastern state in the US. Findings – Results show that different factors relating to the support provided to site-based teams and practices employed by these teams emerge as statistically significant predictors of various outcomes. Results suggest that the resources provided to support site teams, e.g. the devolution of decision-making power, results in enhanced stakeholder influence, but whether this influence results in better decisions or improvement in teaching and learning depends on the communication and decision-making practices site teams employ within a distributed leadership framework. Originality/value – This study sought to identify site team decision making and communication processes that reflect how site teams conduct their work, defining how members of site teams perceive the “rules of the game.” In doing so, it offers a new and different perspective on how such processes impact outcomes associated with shared decision-making processes, and thus a better understanding of the complex dynamics of school-site decision making and the distribution of leadership in schools.

The vegetation of the Wet Tropics bioregion of Far North Queensland is a complex system whose components (mainly tropical rainforests and fire-prone forests and woodlands) have mostly been studied independently from each other. We suggest that many characteristics of the vegetation are consistent with those of a complex, dynamic, spatially heterogeneous system which exhibits alternative stable states. We propose these states are driven and maintained by the interaction of vegetation-specific positive feedback loops with the regions’ environmental parameters (such as topography, steep humidity gradients and seasonality) and result in the rainforest/fire-prone vegetation mosaic that characterises the area. Given the regions’ magnitude, biodiversity and complexity, we propose the Wet Tropics as an important new example and a good testing ground for alternative stable state and resilience theories in large heterogeneous natural systems. At the same time, thinking in terms of alternative stable states and resilience creates a new context for understanding the regions’ biological dynamics.

Background The isolation of green fluorescent protein (GFP) and the development of spectral variants over the past decade have begun to reveal the dynamic nature of protein trafficking and organelle motility. In planta analyses of this dynamic process have typically been limited to only two organelles or proteins at a time in only a few cell types. Results We generated a transgenic Arabidopsis plant that contains four spectrally different fluorescent proteins. Nuclei, plastids, mitochondria and plasma membranes were genetically tagged with cyan, red, yellow and green fluorescent proteins, respectively. In addition, methods to track nuclei, mitochondria and chloroplasts and quantify the interaction between these organelles at a submicron resolution were developed. These analyzes revealed that N-ethylmaleimide disrupts nuclear-mitochondrial but not nuclear-plastids interactions in root epidermal cells of live Arabidopsis seedlings. Conclusion We developed a tool and associated methods for analyzing the complex dynamic of organelle-organelle interactions in real time in planta. Homozygous transgenic Arabidopsis (Kaleidocell) is available through Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center.

We analyze a second-order, nonlinear delay-differential equation with negative feedback. The characteristic equation for the linear stability of the equilibrium is completely solved, as a function of two parameters describing the strength of the feedback and the damping in the autonomous system. The bifurcations occurring as the linear stability is lost are investigated by the construction of a center manifold:

Background: Motivation is central to successful performance. In the case of sports coaches, drive is a prerequisite to sustained successful engagement in a complex, dynamic, and turbulent work environment. What fuels these coaches’ drive to pursue this vocational activity? Coach motivation has been underrepresented in previous research which has typically focused on the crucial impact coach behavior has on athlete motivation and subsequent sport participation. However, the motivation of coaches influences their coaching practices and behaviors.Purpose: The purpose of the current study was to examine the motivation of Australian sports coaches.Participants and setting: 13 coaches (nine men, four women) from a range of sports and levels of competition (i.e. participation, development, high performance) were selected to take part.Data collection: Participants were involved in one semi-structured interview lasting 50–90 minutes that was digitally recorded and transcribed by a profession...

... Graham, PM 2003. Building Ecology. ... Callenbach, E. 1975. Ecotopia , New York, NY: Bantam. View all references) to be delivered by the sustainable city at scales from buildings upwards. ... In Europe, a parallel movement of 'green urbanism' (Beatley, 20048. Beatley, T. 2004. ...

East Punjab is a Sikh majority state. After its re-organisation in 1966, (when the Hindi speaking areas were separated to constitute the new state of Haryana and some of the hill areas were transferred to Himachal Pradesh), the religious composition of the state was radically altered. The Sikhs constituted 63 per cent of the state’s population at present. Their share in the rural population is higher; about 72 per cent. The Dalits or the Scheduled Castes have a high proportion of population in the state, 28.3 percent in 1991 which is projected to have increased to over 30 percent in 2001, the highest among the states in India. Over 80 per cent of them lived in the rural areas. Punjab’s villages are, therefore, predominantly Sikh and Dalit. An understanding of the status of the Scheduled Castes in the Sikh community in particular, and the impact of Sikhism on dalits in Punjab in general, should help us in appreciation of the regional specificity of the status and conditions of life o...