Self-Regulation of Slippery Deadlines: The Role of Procrastination in Work Performance

We investigated the causes and impact of procrastination on “slippery deadlines,” where the due date is ill-defined and can be autonomously extended, using the unique applied setting of grievance arbitration across two studies. In Study One, using 3 years of observed performance data derived from Canadian arbitration cases and a survey of leading arbitrators, we examined the effect of individual differences, self-regulatory skills, workloads and task characteristics on time delay. Observed delay here is a critical criterion, where justice is emphasized to be swift and sure. Multilevel Modeling established trait procrastination as a substantive predictor of observed delay, equivalent to the environmental contributors of expediting the arbitration procedure or grievance complexity. Also, despite substantive negative consequence of delay for both arbitrators and their clients, arbitrators who scored one standard deviation above the mean in procrastination took approximately 83 days to write their decisions compared to the 26 days for arbitrators one standard deviation below the mean. In Study Two, we conducted a replication and extension survey with a much larger group of American arbitrators. Consistent with Temporal Motivation Theory (TMT), trait procrastination was largely explained by expectancy, value, and sensitivity to time related traits and skills, which together accounted for majority of the variance in trait procrastination, leaving little left for other explanations. For example, perfectionism connection to procrastination appears to be distal, being largely mediated by each of TMT’s core variables. Finally, procrastination was largely synonymous with a deadline pacing style, indicating that observed delay can be used as a proxy for procrastination as long as little or no prior work was done (e.g., a u-shaped pacing style is not synonymous). In all, our results indicate that procrastination is rampant in the workplace and has seriously detrimental effects.

Existential Symbolism and Theological Anthropology

This chapter focuses on The Theological-Anthropological Method and the work of its principal architect Paul Tillich. It examines features of Tillich’s thinking that have had appeal in religious studies by elaborating on two frameworks in his thought and six Tillichian tenets about religion. It then exposes a striking paradox in Tillich’s theology. In his view, religions typically fail to apply the Protestant Principle, by which he means a self-critical criterion that is based on the belief that no human symbol is adequate to the task of representing the unconditioned. Tillich would thus have one judge many religions—those that lack, or fail to apply, that self-critical principle—as sources of idolatry and existential despair. It is argued that the potential of the Theological-Anthropological Method to provide motivating reasons to study religion is weakened by this fact.

Determination of Critical Criterion of Tensile-shear Failure in Brazilian Disc Based on Theoretical Analysis and Meso-macro Numerical Simulation

To define the critical criterion between tensile failure and shear failure of Brazilian disc is crucial for determination of tensile strength under combination of tensile and compressive stresses. Although Griffith's tensile failure criterion is consistent with theoretical solution of radial splitting disc, there are still some shortcomings in which the compression-tension ratio is regarded as a constant and the critical criterion only depend on single parameter of tensile strength. Therefore a critical criterion for tensile-shear failure including tensile truncation was proposed firstly based on Mohr-Coulomb criterion. Then, a new calculation method of shear strength parameters was deduced based on the critical state stress circle. Finally, effective diameter and range of compression-tension ratio of Brazilian disc under tensile failure are proposed, and failure process of Brazilian disc from meso to macro is carried out based on numerical simulation. The results show that the modified Mohr-Coulomb criterion can be determined by two indexes of compressive strength and tensile strength. The deduced compression-tension ratio is in good agreement with experiment results. The accuracy of tensile strength test results is closely related to this ratio. When the ratio is greater than 6, failure of rock can be regarded as ideal tensile failure. If the ratio is less than 6, wedge-shape failure in loading area is the main failure type. On this condition, even if radial crack occurs, it is still not considered to be caused by pure tension.

Modelling and Numerical Analysis for High Frequency Characteristics of Laminated Galfenol Based on Eddy-Current

Galfenol, a novel magnetostrictive and ferromagnetic material, has been employed in various applications because of the material’s outstanding mechanical properties. For high frequency applications, the energy loss of eddy-current is a critical criterion because this loss not only reduces the power efficiency for Galfenol material, but also rapidly generates large amounts of heat that can destabilize the system. While laminating ferromagnetic material has been proved to be an effective way that minimises eddy-current, the objective of this research is to investigate the laminated Galfenol material’s plausibility in high frequency applications. For the prescribed geometry, an accurate model for the generated eddy-current is derived based on the Maxwell equations. Combining a built magnetic coupled dynamic model, the relationship between the strain response and the applied magnetic field is derived under high frequency conditions. The simulative results of the laminated Galfenol rods are compared to those rods without laminations. The comparison shows that the laminated Galfenol rod exhibits a milder hysteresis than the non-laminated Galfenol rod. Furthermore, the laminated Galfenol rod is able to maintain a high strain output with a broader frequency range compared to the non-laminated Galfenol rod. This work proves that laminating Galfenol rods are capable of restricting the generation of eddy-current and improving high frequency characteristics significantly.

Application of the Head-Tail Method to Determine Irrigation Coefficient in Hongguang Irrigation District

Irrigation coefficient is not only a critical criterion of the efficiency of agricultural water use, but also an important basis for the evaluation of regional water-saving scheme. According to the Head-tail method (measured net irrigation water use and gross irrigation water use), the irrigation coefficient of Hongguang irrigation district was determined in this paper. The results showed that this method well fitted the real situation of Hongguang irrigation district, and had several advantages including conceptually clear, convenient to use by local staffs. Practical application of this method in irrigation district provides good reference for the future routine evaluation of irrigation efficiency in irrigation.

Alternative Criterion for Investigation of Pitchfork Bifurcations of Limit Cycle in Relay Feedback Systems

Relay feedback systems are strongly nonlinear due to their switching properties. Some nonlinear properties of relay feedback systems have been verified to be preferable to modern control engineering, whereas others might drive the system to be more complex or even unpredictable. An alternative criterion is proposed to investigate the pitchfork bifurcations of the limit cycle of relay feedback systems in this paper. The proposed critical criterion is explicitly formulated by the coefficients of the characteristic polynomial equation instead of the eigenvalues of the Jacobian matrix. It is more convenient and efficient for detecting the existence of this type of bifurcation than the classical critical criterion. Numerical simulations show the pitchfork bifurcation behaviors in relay feedback systems and demonstrate that the proposed criterion is a general and exact analytic method for determining pitchfork bifurcations in maps.