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The determination of feasible self-stress modes and grouping of elements for tensegrities with predefined geometry and multiple self-stress modes is very important, though difficult, in the design of these structures. The purpose of this paper is to present a novel approach to the automated element grouping and self-stress identification of tensegrities.

A set of feasible solutions conforming to the unilateral behaviour of elements is obtained through an optimisation process, which is solved using a genetic algorithm. Each chromosome in the population having a negative fitness is a distinctive feasible solution with its own grouping characteristic, which is automatically determined throughout the evolution process.

The self-stress identification is formulated through an unconstrained minimisation problem. The objective function of this minimisation problem is defined in such a way that takes into account both the feasibility of a solution and grouping of elements. The method generates a set of feasible self-stress modes rather than a single one and automatically and simultaneously suggests a grouping of elements for every feasible self-stress mode. A self-stress mode with a minimal/subminimal grouping of elements is also obtained.

The method can efficiently generate sets of feasible solutions rather than a single one. The authors also address one of the challenging issues related to this identification, i.e., automated grouping of elements. These features makes the method very efficient since most of the state-of-the-art methods address the self-stress identification of tensegrities based on predefined groupings of elements whilst providing only a single corresponding solution.

The Dodd‐Frank Act of 2010 is the keystone policy response directed at reforming US financial system activities and oversight in the wake of the 2007‐2009 financial crisis. The USA also has financial system reform policy commitments in the international arena, including in particular by virtue of its membership in the G20. The purpose of this paper is to consider US policy initiatives related to a core dimension of financial system reform: risks posed by systemically important financial institutions (“SIFIs”).

The paper provides a deta‘iled comparison of SIFI policy initiatives and timetables under both the Dodd‐Frank Act and the G20 agenda, as reflected in the ongoing work plan of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), and poses the question “Are US domestic and international financial system reform commitments in sync?”

The study finds that, fundamentally, the answer is “yes.” However, the comparison yields two caveats with potential policy implications. First, the two agendas differ in their relative emphasis on the coverage of both banks and nonbanks. The G20/FSB focus, at least over the near‐term, is bank‐centric compared with the Dodd‐Frank Act, which consistently addresses both bank and nonbank financial firms. Second, implementation of Dodd‐Frank Act provisions is subject to long‐established US law mandating that there be sufficient opportunity for public input into the rulemaking process, whereas the G20/FSB process has been less systematic and transparent on public consultation and feedback.

These observations may be relevant to the current debate over the speed and scope of Dodd‐Frank Act implementation measures, and to the discussion about the future international competitiveness of US banks and nonbank financial firms.

This study is the first to present a detailed, comprehensive comparison of financial system reform initiatives and provisions in the Dodd‐Frank Act and the G20 agenda.

This article presents a typology of the medicated self, as developed through in-depth interviews with twenty-two social work students and practitioners. Utilizing an interactionist perspective, the experience of taking psychiatric medication is examined in both samples, using a comparative analysis. Emphasis is placed on the impact of taking psychiatric medication on the sense of self. The data suggest that the development of a medicated self is complex and varied, and includes a small number of those who feel that medication led to an improved self, and the majority who felt damaged by their experience with medication, and expressed varying degrees of ambivalence about its use. Despite this ambivalence, most of our respondents seemed to develop an altruistic, empathetic self geared toward helping others. This self emerged in spite of respondents saying that their self was damaged. Implications are presented, and conclusions and suggestions for further work on the impact of psychiatric medication use on the self are presented.

The notion of “spirituality in the workplace” continues to receive growing attention in practitioner as well as academic circles. Realizing that a spiritual workplace is not just a more harmonious workplace but a more profitable workplace as well, companies are looking at means and methods to fulfill spiritual needs of their workforce. This paper makes a case for using the enneagram as a tool for enhancing spirituality in the workplace.

The paper is a study of Clarice McNamara, née Irwin (1901–1990), an educator who advocated for reform in the interwar period in Australia. Clarice is known for her role within the New Education Fellowship in Australia, 1940s–1960s; however, the purpose of this paper is to investigate her activism in an earlier period, including contributions made to the journal Education from 1925 to 1938 to ask how she addressed conditions of schooling, curriculum reform, and a range of other educational, social, political and economic issues, and to what effect.

Primary source material includes the previously ignored contributions to Education and a substantial unpublished autobiography. Used in conjunction, the sources allow a biographical, rhetorical and contextual study to stress a dynamic relationship between writing, attitudes, and the formation and activity of organisations.

McNamara was an unconventional thinker whose writing urged the case for radical change. She kept visions of reformed education alive for educators and brought transnational progressive literature to the attention of Australian educators in an overall reactionary period. Her writing was part of a wider activism that embraced schooling, leftist ideologies, and feminist issues.

There has been little scholarly attention to the life and work of McNamara, particularly in the 1920s–1930s. The paper indicates her relevance for histories of progressive education in Australia and its transnational networks, the Teachers Federation and feminist activism between the wars.

The size of the aircraft tooling structure is huge, and the ambient temperature is difficult to maintain a constant state. Aiming at the influence of current temperature, this paper aims to propose a compensation method for registration error of large-scale measurement fields based on multi-temperature sensors.

In this method, an enhanced reference points (ERS)–temperature regression model is constructed from ERS and temperature data. The ERS offsets compensation model is established by solving the offset through the regression model, and the ERS offset compensation analysis is carried out.

The experimental results show that the proposed registration error compensation algorithm has obvious advantages over traditional methods in reducing the influence of ambient temperature and improving the measurement accuracy by reducing the registration error.

This method reduces registration error caused by the influence of ambient temperature and is used for aircraft measurements in different temperature environments.

To contribute to the identification of the parameters influencing the behavior of textile-reinforced concrete (TRC), the purpose of this paper is to investigate the flexural behavior of TRC-based plates under four-point bending notably designed in the context of sustainable development and the substitution of mortar components with natural and abundant materials.

An extensive experimental campaign was focused about two main parameters. The first one emphases the textile reinforcements, such as the number of layers, the nature and the textile mesh size. In the second step, the composition of the mortar matrix was explored through the use of dune sand as a substitute of the river one.

Test results in terms of load-displacement response and failure patterns were highlighted, discussed and confronted to literature ones. As key findings, an increase of the load-bearing capacity and ductility, comparable to the use of an industrially produced second textile layer was recorded with the use of dune sand in the mortar mix design. The designed ecofriendly samples with economic concerns denote the significance of obtained outcomes in this research study.

The novelty of the present work was to valorize the use of natural dune sand to design new TRC samples to respond to the environmental and economical requirements. The obtained values provide an improved textiles–matrix interface performance compared to classical TRC samples issued from the literature.

This paper seeks to present an efficient algorithm for the formation of null basis for finite element model discretized as rectangular bending elements. The bases obtained by this algorithm correspond to highly sparse and narrowly banded flexibility matrices and such bases can be considered as an efficient tool for optimal analysis of structures.

In the present method, two graphs are associated with finite element mesh consisting of an “interface graph” and an “associate digraph”. The underlying subgraphs of the self‐equilibrating systems (SESs) (null vectors) are obtained by graph theoretical approaches forming a null basis. Application of unit loads (moments) at the end of the generator of each subgraph results in the corresponding null vector.

In the present hybrid method, graph theory is used for the formation of null vectors as far as it is possible and then algebraic method is utilized to find the complementary part of the null basis.

This hybrid approach makes the use of pure force method in the finite element analysis feasible. Here, a simplified version of the algorithm is also presented where the SESs for weighted graphs are obtained using an analytical approach. Thus, the formation of null bases is achieved using the least amount of algebraic operations, resulting in substantial saving in computational time and storage.

The aim of this study was two-fold: first, to examine the noxious effects of presenteeism on employees' work well-being in a cross-cultural context involving Chinese and British employees; second, to explore the role of supervisory support as a pan-cultural stress buffer in the presenteeism process.

Using structured questionnaires, the authors compared data collected from samples of 245 Chinese and 128 British employees working in various organizations and industries.

Cross-cultural comparison revealed that the act of presenteeism was more prevalent among Chinese and they reported higher levels of strains than their British counterparts. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that presenteeism had noxious effects on exhaustion for both Chinese and British employees. Moreover, supervisory support buffered the negative impact of presenteeism on exhaustion for both Chinese and British employees. Specifically, the negative relation between presenteeism and exhaustion was stronger for those with more supervisory support.

Presenteeism may be used as a career-protecting or career-promoting tactic. However, the negative effects of this behavior on employees' work well-being across the culture divide should alert us to re-think its pros and cons as a career behavior. Employees in certain cultures (e.g. the hardworking Chinese) may exhibit more presenteeism behaviour, thus are in greater risk of ill-health.

This is the first cross-cultural study demonstrating the universality of the act of presenteeism and its damaging effects on employees' well-being. The authors' findings of the buffering role of supervisory support across cultural contexts highlight the necessity to incorporate resources in mitigating the harmful impact of presenteeism.

This case will help students to understand the following: Develop a basic understanding of competency building processes. Learn about the mentoring process and its application in leadership development. Develop awareness about the methodology for assessment of the effectiveness of training.

Dr A. R. K. Pillai founded the Indian Leprosy Foundation in 1970 in response to the national call by late Mrs Indira Gandhi, prime minister of India, to the public-spirited people to take up leprosy eradication. It collaborated with international agencies to reduce leprosy drastically in India from four million, in 1982 to around a hundred thousand cases in 2006. In 2006, the Indian Leprosy Foundation was renamed as Indian Development Foundation (IDF) as the trustees decided to expand the work of IDF in the areas of health, children’s education and women’s empowerment. Dr Narayan Iyer, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IDF initiated a leadership development intervention called the Students’ leadership programme (SLP) for children in the age group of 12 to 14, from the urban poor households in 2014. It was a structured mentoring programme spanning over three months in collaboration with the schools. It aimed at incubating skills in the areas of leadership, teamwork, personality, behavioural traits and provided career guidance. It had a humble beginning in 2014 with a coverage of 50 students. Initially, IDF welcomed executives from the corporate sector as mentors. As there was a need to rapidly expand the scope of SLP to the other cities of India, IDF tied up with the graduate colleges and invited the students to be the mentors. The other objective behind this move was to create social awareness among the students from more affluent strata of society. IDF was able to dramatically increase the participation of the students through SLP by approximately up to 100,000 by 2020. However, rapid progress threw up multiple challenges. The teachers complained about the non-availability of the students for regular classes to teach the syllabus as the students were busy with SLP. The schools forced IDF to shorten the duration of SLP to two months. Also, many undergraduate mentors were unable to coach the participants due to lack of maturity and found wanting to strike a rapport with them. There was a shortage of corporate executives who volunteered for the mentoring, due to work pressures. Dr Narayan, CEO & National Coordinator and Ms Mallika Ramchandran, the project head of SLP at IDF, were worried about the desired impact of SLP on the participants and its sustainability due to these challenges. So, with the support of Dr Narayan, she initiated a detailed survey to assess the ground-level impact of SLP. The objective was to get clarity about what was working for SLP and what aspects needed to improve, to make the programme more effective. Overall feedback from the survey was very positive. The mothers had seen very positive changes in the participants’ behaviour post-SLP. The teachers had specific concerns about the effectiveness of undergraduate mentors. The need for a refresher course to inculcate ethical behaviour and the inadequacy of the two-month duration of the SLP to reinforce values were highlighted. Respondents also voiced the requirement to build responsible citizenship behaviours among the participants. Mallika was all for preparing a model to further enhance the effectiveness of SLP. Dr Narayan and Mallika embraced the challenge and they were raring to go to develop SLP as a cutting-edge leadership programme and to take it to new heights.

This case can be used in courses on human resource management in postgraduate and graduate management programmes. It can also be used in the general and development management courses and during executive education programmes to teach methodologies for evaluating the effectiveness of the training interventions, with emphasis on the voluntary sector.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 6: Human Resource Management.