Situation awareness in sea kayaking: towards a practical checklist

Ever-changing weather and sea conditions constitute environmental hazards that sea kayakers must pay attention to and act upon to stay safe. The aim of this study was to propose a tool to aid sea kayakers’ situation awareness (SA). We developed a checklist guided by theory on the concept of SA and expert problem detection, judgement and decision-making, along with knowledge concerning previous incidents and important risk factors in sea kayaking. The checklist consists of two parts: a guide to how paddlers can improve their SA and decision-making skills, and an overview of what critical factors should be evaluated before and during a sea kayak trip. We argue that the checklist may improve risk assessment and management among sea kayakers, help to prevent distress and future incidents, and ultimately potentially save lives. Finally, we wish to stimulate debate concerning risk management in sea kayaking and outdoor education.     

Leveraging global markets: Lessons from Alcoa Alumina

Globalization has contributed to the dismantling of national boundaries, which have enabled firms to compete and conduct business on a wider scale [Held, D., McGrew, A., Goldblatt, D., & Perraton, J. (1999). Global transformations. Politics, economics and culture. Cambridge: Polity Press]. Firms can move freely between different markets using Internet-based technology. While access to such markets can provide firms with greater choice of suppliers and cost efficiencies, they need to be aware of challenges that can influence their business performance. With this in mind, we examine how these factors influenced Alcoa Alumina's drive to a global procurement platform through a global marketplace. The staged adoption process experienced at Alcoa Alumina offers a learning opportunity for other firms considering the transition to global marketplace.     

Shareholder returns and the exploration-exploitation dilemma: R&D announcements by biotechnology firms

We explore a financial returns dimension of the exploration-exploitation dilemma. Using 1277 R&D announcements by 178 listed bio-pharmaceutical firms, we examine whether investors are myopic along the continuum of exploration (patenting and preclinical trials) to exploitation (human clinical trials and NDA). We find that investors respond positively at every stage, but there are differences between small and large firms. For small firms exploration is favored, provided it is focused. For large firms, there is value in both exploration and exploitation. Projects which are part of an alliance are no more likely to generate abnormal returns. Policy implications are discussed.     

A probabilistic approach to polycrystalline plasticity part II: applications

Using our constitutive theory for polycrystalline plasticity, we have calculated characteristic yield conditions for several sample materials in which the dependence of the dislocation velocity on stress is given by an empirical power function. The shape of the yield surfaces for these materials varies resembling that of von Mises when the stress exponent is small and that of Tresca when the exponent is large. Additional examples illustrate the ability of the proposed theory to model such phenomena as the development of anisotropy during plastic deformation, material hardening and softening, the occurrence of upper and lower yield points, and a Bauschinger effect.     

Dynamics of the atmosphere of Jupiter

Atmospheric jets and vortices on Jupiter persist for decades in the presence of vigorous turbulence which might be expected to destroy organized flows. The penetration depth of the jets into the planet has been a major question, and new data from the NASA Galileo entry probe suggest that they are not shallow atmospheric phenomena. Numerical simulations and Galileo orbiter data promise further progress in the near future.