Ceridian (United States)

PurposeThe purpose of this case study is to outline the internal communication strategies, tools, techniques and messages that can help organizations to foster transparent, deliberate communication with employees.Design/methodology/approachThe author synthesizes three years of learnings and internal research, including regular focus groups and surveys with employees at all levels, to identify the specific steps organizations can take to achieve open and regular communication – and engage employees across the organization.FindingsThe case study explains key areas to connect and communicate with employees.Practical implicationsThe author believes that the lessons and tactics described in this case study can be applied in all organizations.Originality/valueThe case study provides a unique set of lessons and best practices the author has uncovered firsthand which organizations can use to shape their own internal communications strategies and boost employee engagement.

In STAP, an N-length digital filter or tapped-delay line with adjustable weights is placed behind each antenna element. With L antenna elements and N taps per element, the STAP-equipped array has LN-1 degrees of freedom available. Theoretically, up to LN-1 independent. radio frequency interference (RFI) sources can be nulled, providing a significant advantage over a conventional adaptive array which is limited to L-1 spatial degrees of freedom. However, this is only obtained for RFI with 0% bandwidth. Wideband interference is known to limit adaptive array performance. The degrees of freedom consumed in STAP are shown to be strongly dependent on the interference power and bandwidth. We demonstrate that a strong direct path wideband RFI can consume more than "N" degrees of freedom in a multi-tap STAP wherein "wideband" is defined as a bandwidth equal to the sample rate or inverse tap delay of the STAP processor. Thus, the effect of a strong wideband RFI direct-path source on STAP performance can be similar to that of a dispersive multipath environment.

We have demonstrated that coating bacterial spores with organic semiconductor (diazoluminomelanin) enhances killing of these spores by pulsed microwave energy in aqueous solutions. Here we present additional data showing that this can be done with dry agent in a pulsed corona plasma reactor. We also show that the reduction/oxidation reactions that mediate these effects can be generated on the immediate surface of the target spores by microwave pulses by linking the organic semiconductor specifically to the spore surface with a DNA capture element.

Over 500 isolates of anthrax bacillus from around the world represent one of the most genetically homogeneous microbes. There are three possibilities for this genetic stability: (1) anthrax has an extraordinarily high fidelity repair system, (2) genetic damage to anthrax is usually lethal, and/or (3) a highly demanding and selective process exists in its environment that is necessary for the completion of its life cycle. Using probes made from genes selected by growth of an Escherichia coli expression vector Bacillus anthracis library on hypertrophic high nitrate concentration medium, genes unique to B. anthracis were isolated. High nitration conditions generated stable chromosomal mutants that displayed altered morphology and life-cycle progression. Therefore, life-cycle progression connected to nitration, associated with host inflammatory response, selects for mutants that show life-cycle progression tightly coupled to progression of the inflammatory response to anthrax. Significant variation from this coupled progression leads to failure of anthrax to complete its life-cycle at the death of its host.

It is often advantageous to acquire pulse-echo ground-penetrating radar (GPR) measurements from antennas that are offset from the air-ground interface by a nonnegligible distance, either because the ground's surface is rough, or because measurements must be collected remotely. This paper describes the effects of incorrectly estimating the location of the air-ground interface on GPR images created with the plane-to-plane backpropagation (PPB) method. To compensate for a nonplanar air-ground interface, the wideband time-domain synthetic aperture method is reviewed and reformulated, using Snell's law of refraction, to account for measurements taken some distance above an undulating interface. A modification of the PPB algorithm that accounts for a nonplanar interface is also formulated, and examples of imaging with both methods are given to validate, the algorithms' performance for surface variations that are relatively smooth with respect to the radar waveform wavelengths. Additionally, a method for inferring the surface topography from the radar returns is described. Finally, the modified PPB is demonstrated by imaging buried targets sensed in field-acquired data.

High-power pulsed-microwave radiation damages anthrax spores by apparent sonoluminescence in aqueous solutions containing the organic semiconductor diazoluminomelanin (DALM). DALM biosynthesized by JM109 E. coli, containing the plasmid pIC2ORNR/sub 1.1/, had a higher affinity for spores of Sterne strain anthrax when compared to several other species of bacilli and enhanced the effect. Upon exposure to pulsed-microwave radiation, anthrax spores showed a maximum of 4 to 5 (i.e., 4.6) logs of kill. The light emitted was typical of plasma gas emissions and the spores, upon scanning electron-microscopic examination, showed enlargement and rupture typical of rapid expansion. Therefore, microwave-induced cavitations localized to the spore surfaces enhanced kill.

There is considerable evidence from Computer-Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) research that groupware applications can change the process of cooperative planning and can help teams plan more effectively. This research seeks to improve our understanding of the relationship between pre-mission planning and the subsequent performance of command and control (C2) teams. This may foster the development of theory-motivated interventions to support improved planning and validation of human-performance measurement methods in team settings. We studied the effects of planning medium (i.e., paper map versus shared electronic whiteboard) and team organizational structure (i.e., functional versus divisional) on the ability of C2 teams to develop effective pre-mission plans and on their resulting performance using a team-in-the-loop simulation. Findings suggested that the groupware condition fostered collaborative planning behaviors. The results also indicated that teams who used the electronic whiteboard for planning enjoyed a performance advantage over those teams who planned using a paper map and markers.