The Turnover and Retention of it Managers in Rapidly Changing Organizations

The explosion of information technology (IT) during the 1990s created tremendous opportunities and challenges for IT professionals. As organizations expanded and integrated their information technology into their business functions and made greater use of the Internet as a business tool and marketing channel, the demand for IT managers to guide these efforts created unprecedented career opportunities. Industry sources suggest that even amid the peaks and valleys of turbulent IT business cycles, there is a chronic shortage of top-quality IT managers in North America and that this situation will persist well into the foreseeable future. These supply-and-demand dynamics make it imperative for organizations to know why IT managers leave their positions and, using this knowledge, formulate effective retention strategies.     

POSSIBLE USE OF SUSPENDED ROOFS AND WALLS IN GLASS FURNACES*

Construction advantages and limitations of the sprung-type tank crown are discussed, and some modern heating chamber applications are shown in which the roof or crown has been changed in contour to secure better and more efficient heating. Developments have been made which indicate that a roof or crown may be used for more than just a top inclosure over a heating chamber. An explanation is given of how the present roof construction has been changed to secure these improved contour lines across and lengthwise of the heating chamber. Any of these features may be more generally applied to improved glass tank construction.     

Antioxidant losses during the induction period of fat oxidation

Summary GALLIC ACID and ascorbic acid tested alone or in combination as antioxidants for cottonseed oil, disappeared gradually during the induction period under conditions of accelerated autoxidation. By the end of the induction period no gallic acid could be determined in the oxidizing fat substrate. However, ascorbic acid never completely disappeared under the same conditions. When the two substances were used together, no synergistic effect was noted with respect to an increased length of the induction period but the rate of disappearance of the individual compounds was altered somewhat, each substance acting apparently to delay the destruction of the other. The rate of disappearance of gallic acid alone was found to be independent of its initial concentration in the oil substrate. A study of the possible oxidation products of ascorbic acid undergoing oxidation in an autoxidizing oil showed the formation of dehydroascorbic acid but no formation of oxalic acid. The work described in this paper was done under a contract, recommended by the Committee on Medical Research, between the Office of Scientific Research and Development and the University of Pittsburgh. Contribution No. 532 from the Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.     

The fatty acids and glycerides of babassu oil

Summary The fatty acids of babassu oil were determined quantitatively by the ester fractionation procedure. The values found in molar percentages were: caproic 0.3, caprylic 7.1, capric 8.3, lauric 47.3, myristic 14.5, palmitic 7.1, stearic 2.0, arachidic 0.1, oleic 12.2, and linoleic acid 1.1. Confirmatory evidence for the presence of linoleic acid was obtained by the isolation of one of its characteristic derivatives, tetrabromostearic acid, m.p. 115°C. A similarity in fatty acid composition was shown between babassu oil and seed fats of other members of the Palmae family. The molar proportion of trisaturated glycerides found in babassu oil (67.3%) was close to the proportion calculated (65.2%) on the assumption that all of the acids in babassu oil were distributed at random. Likewise, the determined fatty acid analysis of the trisaturated glycerides was a first approximation of the analysis calculated on the basis of complete random distribution of the component acids of the whole fat. This work was accomplished as part of a research program supported by a grant from the Buhl Foundation. A sample of babassu oil was furnished by the National Products Company, Harrison, New Jersey, through the courtesy of Mr. Roland Kapp.     

Survival Skills for The is Professional

IS professionals can only dream of the days when technical brilliance alone was enough to ensure a successful career. Now business acumen and a strong understanding of customer expectations are vital to long-term career survival. Based on their study of 75 experienced IS professionals, the authors present guidelines for fostering the development of customer-oriented IS professionals.     

Survival Skills for The is Professional

IS professionals can only dream of the days when technical brilliance alone was enough to ensure a successful career. Now business acumen and a strong understanding of customer expectations are vital to long-term career survival. Based on their study of 75 experienced IS professionals, the authors present guidelines for fostering the development of customer-oriented IS professionals.     

Laser-generated spark morphology and temperature records from emission and Rayleigh scattering studies

Using both Rayleigh scattering and time-resolved emission spectroscopy, we have recorded the spatial and temporal evolution of laser-generated sparks in argon from changes during the first ten of nano-seconds to complete dissipation, which occurs in a time span of approximately 5 ms. Maps of either emission intensity or argon density spanning the entire region affected by the energy deposited by the laser show the dissipation of the spark in detail. Immediately after ignition, the argon plasma occupies an ellipsoidal volume of roughly 3-mm vertical (axial) length. After approximately 20-40 micros, the spark region has transformed into a toroidal shape in a plane perpendicular to the vertical axis, with a radius of approximately 1.5 mm. The torus rises slowly up and expands noticeably in the radial direction. A record of peak temperatures of the spark ranging from approximately 10,000 K at 60-micros delay time to approximately 450 K at 4-ms delay time indicate cooling rates from approximately 100 to 1 K/micros at these times.     

Perceptual recognition as a function of anxiety, motivation, and the testing situation.

The hypothesis was made that degree of anxiety and motivation would influence S's performance on tasks measuring skill in discovering objects embedded in a stimulus field, particularly as the situation was structured to be stressful or not. Ss low in anxiety and high in motivation performed significantly better than Ss high in anxiety but with low motivation. In the nonstressful situation, Ss low in anxiety and motivation performed significantly poorer than their counterparts. It is recommended, therefore, that situational task variables be considered as crucial factors in analysing behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causes and Consequences of Stress in the it Profession

Working long hours, rushing to meet unrealistic deadlines, struggling to keep up with ever-advancing technology and ever-changing user demands - these are just some of the conditions that make a career in IT stressful. Fortunately for IT professionals, work-related stress can be effectively managed and thereby mitigated. Identifying the sources of stress on the job is a major step in its management and reduction.