1.1 Aim This study unit introduces you to the proposition that our mental models change through learning, and
2.3.3 The matrix team In a matrix team, staff report to different managers for different aspects of their work. Matrix structures are often, but not exclusively, found in projects. Staff will be responsible to the project manager for their work on the project while their functional line manager will be responsible for other aspects of their work such as appraisal, training and career development, and ‘routine’ tasks. This matrix project structure is represented in Figure 2. 4.2 The use of systems analysis in public policy The application of mathematical techniques to military operations was pioneered in Britain during the Second World War (see Box 7) and became known by a variety of names (Hoos, 1972, p. 42). At the end of the war, the United States Air Force sponsored the application of those techniques and methods to problems of US national security. Funds to investigate the effects of new weapons systems and for the exploration of defence policy issues were allocated to defence contractors. From one of thes Stage 7: Implement changes Finally, the agreed changes are implemented. Like the hard systems approach, soft systems methodology is not seen as a ‘one pass’ procedure, but as a learning process. Iteration is a feature of the methodology's application. Learning is achieved in both approaches by the use of models, although soft systems has subsequently been enhanced to include a specific analysis of the culture and politics of the problem situation, as shown in Author(s): Stage 2: The situation analysed The first step is to develop a picture (called in soft systems terminology a rich picture) that encapsulates all the elements that people think are involved in the problem. Once the rich picture has been drawn, the analyst will attempt to extract ‘issues’ and key tasks. Issues are areas of contention within the problem situation. Key tasks are the essential jobs that must be undertaken within the problem situation. 2.4.3 Polarization mode distortion Because light is an electromagnetic wave, it has a ‘state of polarization’, which, for light in single-mode fibre, is at right angles to the path of the fibre. If you've not encountered electromagnetic waves before, all you need to appreciate is that as light travels down the fibre the electromagnetic field has an orientation across the fibre (Author(s): Activity answers
Study Note: As outlined in the text I have not provided answers to all Activities. This is for two reasons:
For some activities only you can devise the answer and any I gave would be distracting or unhelpful.
For others in-text answers are given. 7.3.5 Ion beam deposition PVD still has some limitations, however. It must operate in a gaseous atmosphere (to provide the plasma) so is not well suited to the long-throw, directional line-of-sight mode accessible to low-pressure evaporation. Also, if magnets behind the target are used to generate a magnetic field for magnetron sputtering the technique cannot be easily used to deposit magnetic metals such as nickel and cobalt, owing to the influence from the magnetic field on the deposition process. In an altern 6.1 Why is resonance important? This section aims to take you through some general ideas about vibrations, which will help you understand the principles behind the resonant behaviour of the AFM probe tip. Vibrations and oscillations crop up in many contexts. They can be modelled mathematically and form a general topic in mathematics about vibrations and oscillations in which the appropriate balances between forces and accelerations are formulated into differential equations. Students of physics and chemistry also get 3.3 Magnetic tape recorders Experiments showed that the use of paper tape coated with iron oxide particles significantly improved the signal-to-noise ratio and enabled a lower tape speed to be used. A plastic-based version of this magnetic tape, developed by the German company BASF, led to the development of a commercial tape recorder with audio characteristics that could nearly match those of the gramophone record, but not at an economical price. Secret work on tape recorders was undertaken by the Germans throug 5.13.2 Circular membrane When a membrane that is stretched over a circular frame is struck, energy is supplied, which again causes the membrane to vibrate in a number of modes simultaneously. The first six modes in which the circular membrane can vibrate are shown in Figure 20. The diagrams comprise circles that are concen 5.9 Vibrating air column: standing waves in a cylindrical tube closed at one end We'll now turn our attention to the setting up of standing waves in an air column contained within a cylindrical tube that is open at one end but closed at the other. Straight away we can say that the closed end must be a displacement node since the air molecules can't move at this boundary. That means it must be a pressure antinode. The open end, as we saw previously, will be a displacement antinode (that is, a pressure node). Now, you may recall that the distance between a node and a 3 Sound production in musical instruments Musical instruments come in all shapes and sizes and produce an enormous variety of different sounds. Yet, with the exception of certain electronic instruments, the basic physical principles by which sound is produced are the same for all instruments – including the human voice. In this section, I shall introduce some of these principles. These will then be expanded upon over the rest of the unit. Remember I told you that when a musician plays an instrument they cause it to vibrate. T 9.2 Dynamic range The quietest sound we can hear corresponds to a pressure wave with an amplitude of about 10 μPa, which is a very small pressure amplitude indeed. It is about 0.000 000 01 per cent of nominal atmospheric pressure, and the resultant displacement of the eardrum is less than a tenth of the diameter of a hydrogen molecule. At the upper end of the scale, a sound that is distressingly loud might typically correspond to a pressure wave with an amplitude of 0.01 per cent of nominal atmospheric 8.3 Summary A fundamental musical and acoustical relationship is the octave. Pitches that are one or more octaves apart are heard musically as different instances of the same sound. A one-octave increase in pitch corresponds to a doubling of frequency. For musical purposes, a pitch range of one octave is divided into discrete steps, known as scales, the individual pitches of which are given letter names (A, A 6.3 Root-mean-square amplitude One drawback of the amplitude as I have defined it is that although it allows the relative sizes of sine waves to be compared, it does not give a good idea of what a sine wave can deliver in absolute terms. For instance, a sine wave with an amplitude of 10 volts has twice the amplitude of one with an amplitude of 5 volts. But is a power source that delivers a sine wave with an amplitude of 10 volts as powerful as, say, a 10 volt battery? Could you use it to drive a bulb and get the same illum 6.6 Reviewing the juggler through the understandascope At the beginning of Part 3 I invited you to consider through the lens of the understandascope (Figure 19) an ideal model of a systems practitioner juggling the four balls of being, engaging, contextualising and managing. By introducing material based on the biology of cognition when 5.10 Contextualising any particular systems approach The capacity to put any systems approach into context is based on the ability of a practitioner to appreciate their own traditions of understanding and to make connections with the history of particular systems methods or methodologies, or to formulate their own. Above all, there is a need to learn from using them and to achieve outcomes that are agreed by those involved as worthwhile. This is a level of systems practice to which you can aspire. At the beginning of Part 3, Section 5 I p 5.4 Methodology, method, technique, and tools As you engage with systems thinking and practice you will become aware how different authors refer to systems methodologies, methods, techniques, and tools, as well as systems approaches. Having just spent some time explaining what I mean by a systems approach, I now want to distinguish between methodology, method, technique and tool. Several authors and practitioners have emphasised the significance of the term methodologies rather than methods in relation to Systems. A method i 18.2.5 Trialability It helps to be able to try innovations before buying. While this isn't common for most innovations it can reduce any uncertainty the buyer might have about committing to a purchase and can increase the speed of diffusion. Buying a car usually involves a test drive that, although it probably isn't a fair reflection of the range of conditions under which the product will eventually be used, is better than nothing.
