title: Putting leadership in its place: Transferability of leadership ability across contexts

authors: Dick, Jonathan William

subjects: leadership

abstract: Abstract
The aim of this study was to contribute to the growing body of research involving the
subject of leadership, while looking at a facet of this phenomenon on which there
appears to be very little data available. In the fast moving environment of the twenty
first century, there is more and more pressure on leaders from every area of industry,
commerce, community and public service to be capable of not only performing their
basic tasks in the immediate scope of their area of responsibility, but also a growing
expectation that they must be capable of exporting this ability into any environment or
context that the organisation rapidly finds itself. There is little time to recruit, train and
deploy new leaders when a novel situation presents itself. This research employs a
qualitative approach utilising an interpretive multiple case study method to investigate
what followers look for and expect in their leaders in the form of traits, values or
characteristics. The investigation then looks to see what style of leader employs these
values to best effect, suggesting that this type of style, based on this set of values, are
the most likely to be durable across any context. The study is conducted looking at the
wider culture of the individual participant in terms of age and era, gender, education,
and the added dynamic of punishment as a leadership tool. While initial findings
suggest that females may have this ability to transfer their leadership style at face value,
the study acknowledges the variables involved and recommends the way forward for
future research in this area.

text: Putting leadership in its place: Transferability of leadership ability across contexts Abstract
The aim of this study was to contribute to the growing body of research involving the
subject of leadership, while looking at a facet of this phenomenon on which there
appears to be very little data available. In the fast moving environment of the twenty
first century, there is more and more pressure on leaders from every area of industry,
commerce, community and public service to be capable of not only performing their
basic tasks in the immediate scope of their area of responsibility, but also a growing
expectation that they must be capable of exporting this ability into any environment or
context that the organisation rapidly finds itself. There is little time to recruit, train and
deploy new leaders when a novel situation presents itself. This research employs a
qualitative approach utilising an interpretive multiple case study method to investigate
what followers look for and expect in their leaders in the form of traits, values or
characteristics. The investigation then looks to see what style of leader employs these
values to best effect, suggesting that this type of style, based on this set of values, are
the most likely to be durable across any context. The study is conducted looking at the
wider culture of the individual participant in terms of age and era, gender, education,
and the added dynamic of punishment as a leadership tool. While initial findings
suggest that females may have this ability to transfer their leadership style at face value,
the study acknowledges the variables involved and recommends the way forward for
future research in this area.

year: 2009

title: Seedlings of temperate rainforest conifer and angiosperm trees differ in leaf area display

authors: Lusk, Christopher H.

subjects: Biomass distribution

abstract: Background and Aims The contemporary relegation of conifers mainly to cold or infertile sites has been ascribed to low competitive ability, as a result of the hydraulic inefficiency of tracheids and their seedlings initial dependence on small foliage areas. Here it is hypothesized that, in temperate rainforests, the larger leaves of angiosperms also reduce self-shading and thus enable display of larger effective foliage areas than the numerous small leaves of conifers. Methods This hypothesis was tested using 3-D modelling of plant architecture and structural equation modelling to compare self-shading and light interception potential of seedlings of six conifers and 12 angiosperm trees from temperate rainforests. The ratio of displayed leaf area to plant mass (LARd) was used to indicate plant light interception potential: LARd is the product of specific leaf area, leaf mass fraction, self-shading and leaf angle.ResultsAngiosperm seedlings self-shaded less than conifers, mainly because of differences in leaf number (more than leaf size), and on average their LARd was about twice that of conifers. Although specific leaf area was the most pervasive influence on LARd, differences in self-shading also significantly influenced LARd of large seedlings. Conclusions The ability to deploy foliage in relatively few, large leaves is advantageous in minimizing self-shading and enhancing seedling light interception potential per unit of plant biomass. This study adds significantly to evidence that vegetative traits may be at least as important as reproductive innovations in explaining the success of angiosperms in productive environments where vegetation is structured by light competition.

text: Seedlings of temperate rainforest conifer and angiosperm trees differ in leaf area display Background and Aims The contemporary relegation of conifers mainly to cold or infertile sites has been ascribed to low competitive ability, as a result of the hydraulic inefficiency of tracheids and their seedlings initial dependence on small foliage areas. Here it is hypothesized that, in temperate rainforests, the larger leaves of angiosperms also reduce self-shading and thus enable display of larger effective foliage areas than the numerous small leaves of conifers. Methods This hypothesis was tested using 3-D modelling of plant architecture and structural equation modelling to compare self-shading and light interception potential of seedlings of six conifers and 12 angiosperm trees from temperate rainforests. The ratio of displayed leaf area to plant mass (LARd) was used to indicate plant light interception potential: LARd is the product of specific leaf area, leaf mass fraction, self-shading and leaf angle.ResultsAngiosperm seedlings self-shaded less than conifers, mainly because of differences in leaf number (more than leaf size), and on average their LARd was about twice that of conifers. Although specific leaf area was the most pervasive influence on LARd, differences in self-shading also significantly influenced LARd of large seedlings. Conclusions The ability to deploy foliage in relatively few, large leaves is advantageous in minimizing self-shading and enhancing seedling light interception potential per unit of plant biomass. This study adds significantly to evidence that vegetative traits may be at least as important as reproductive innovations in explaining the success of angiosperms in productive environments where vegetation is structured by light competition.

year: 2012

title: An AR memory app based on Māori mnemonic aids

authors: Taia, Ivy

subjects: computer science

abstract: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a world-wide “silent epidemic” causing a variety of memory issues for those affected. Although several software approaches aim to aid memory recollection, they are inadequate for many TBI survivors and none address aspects of cultural awareness in New Zealand. We explored design concepts of traditional Māori cultural tools / techniques and how they helped Māori people recall past information. This paper describes our research and development of Maumahara Papahou, a mobile app that uses Augmented Reality features to create a digital memory treasure box based on the concepts of Māori mnemonic aids.

text: An AR memory app based on Māori mnemonic aids Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a world-wide “silent epidemic” causing a variety of memory issues for those affected. Although several software approaches aim to aid memory recollection, they are inadequate for many TBI survivors and none address aspects of cultural awareness in New Zealand. We explored design concepts of traditional Māori cultural tools / techniques and how they helped Māori people recall past information. This paper describes our research and development of Maumahara Papahou, a mobile app that uses Augmented Reality features to create a digital memory treasure box based on the concepts of Māori mnemonic aids.

year: 2018