text:
\section{Introduction}

Individuals interact to form couples, families, teams, organizations and societies. Understanding the shift from individuals to groups requires recognizing how collective behaviors arise and their properties. Understanding collective behaviors in many contexts is difficult due to the problem of observation of the processes involved \cite{dcs}. However, human groups are arguably the easiest complex system to observe as we see them all around us in professional and personal contexts. The challenge in this case is, at least in part, knowing what to look for and how to interpret what is observed.

One of the exciting developments in understanding group collectivity and effectiveness has been the identification by Wegner \cite{wegner1987transactive} of the concept of transactive memory, a form of ``group mind" by which individuals who share experiences and know each other can recover memories more effectively than they can separately. Originally studied in couples, this concept has motivated wide ranging research on how it arises and its properties, including the use of transactive memory in professional teams \cite{hollingshead1998communication,hollingshead1998retrieval,brandon2004transactive,lewis2003measuring,lewis2004knowledge,alavi2002knowledge,moreland2006transactive,austin2003transactive,moreland2000exploring,reagans2005individual,mohammed2010metaphor,anand1998organizational,kanawattanachai2007impact}.

The recovery of memories is one of many group behaviors that might be identified. A wider ranging body of research has considered a variety of group qualities linked to team task performance \cite{levi2015group,stewart1999team,thompson2008making,levine1998small}. While it makes intuitive sense that some level of individual ability is linked to a group's ability to perform certain tasks, other attributes have also been considered, including individual attributes associated to social behavior such as self-esteem, social sensitivity, social loafing, social status, and gender, and group processes such as goal setting, cohesion, trust, conflict, and sharing of communication time \cite{latane1979many,tziner1985effects,levine1990progress,karau1993social,o1994review,mullen1994relation,klein1995two,dirks1999effects,devine1999teams,duffy2000performance,duffy2002social,locke2002building,beal2003cohesion,de2003task,hong2004groups,kerr2004group,morris2005bringing,ilgen2005teams,van2007work,horwitz2007effects,lepine2008meta,van2008group,kleingeld2011effect,chiaburu2008peers,woolley2010evidence,shaw2011contingency,de2012paradox,waring2012cooperation,duffy2012social,de2014team,bates2017smart}.

Another key group behavior that has been studied extensively is collective decision making. Two orthogonal mechanisms for group decisions are (1) assignment of decision making to an individual who makes decisions for the group as a whole, and (2) shared or collective decision making processes. The analysis of the former is through discussions of ``power" in many forms \cite{hobbesleviathan,john1959bases,galbraith1983anatomy,mann1984autonomous,french2001bases,keltner2003power,fiske2007social,michael1986sources,mann1993sources,mann2012sources3,michael2012sources4,baryam2018power}, while the latter has been extensively studied through analysis of voting systems (social choice theory) and negotiation.

Decisions by voting and negotiation are generally considered to arise from what each individual would decide alone if given the decision authority (individual preference). Social choice theory considers how voting systems aggregate individual preferences with sometimes counterintuitive results  \cite{de2014essai,arrow2012social,gibbard1973manipulation,satterthwaite1975strategy,elster1989foundations,siegenfeld2018negative}.
Negotiation, often defined as combining two or more divergent preferences into a joint agreement that must be unanimously accepted, originates in conflict in a zero-sum context  \cite{pruitt2013negotiation,lewicki2015negotiation,fisher2011getting}.
It is often considered similar to or even an example of game theory \cite{von2007theory,myerson2013game,luce2012games} in which the decisions autonomously adopted by each individual have consequences for others and therefore decisions by individuals are linked. Actions involve exchanging information about preferences, making promises or threats.
Negotiation may, however, also include integrative (mutual benefit) considerations due to non-conflicted positive sum aspects of agreement or benefits of long term relationships \cite{pruitt2013negotiation,lewicki2015negotiation,fisher2011getting}.

Another dimension of decision making in groups considers how one individual can influence another potentially resulting in fads and panics, and describing how common behavior and cultures arise \cite{bikhchandani1992theory,kindleberger2003manias,helbing2000simulating,harmon2015anticipating,Axelrod1997}. At the individual level, decision theory considers how individuals actually do or better should make decisions given individual values and uncertainty \cite{raiffa1974applied,slovic1977behavioral,einhorn1981behavioral,berger2013statistical,kahneman2013prospect,talebincerto}.

In this paper we are interested in how groups engage in decision making so as to benefit from combining individual capabilities beyond just their preference. For example, a group of individuals in a late afternoon meeting might decide to go out for dinner and where to go. While one person may have some of the information about what is a good decision, another may have additional information that modifies that decision. The best restaurant identified by one, might be closed due to renovation known to another. One knowledgeable individual may be reluctant to express their thoughts unless they are encouraged by another. The focus of this paper is on characterizing the sequence of communication among individuals that give rise to collective decision making in groups. Similar to transactive memory and group task performance as well as voting and negotiation we are not focused on the role of power itself, as in ``Who makes the decision," \cite{davis1976decision,solomon2014consumer} but on the way multiple individuals contribute to decision making. Recent discussions about debate in international relations point to several important distinctions in how people engage in collective decision making that are relevant \cite{risse2000let}.  In the first approach, rational actors with fixed preferences choose actions to optimize their utility in a social context, an essentially game theoretic approach. In the second, social interactions follow a set of rules and procedures embodying an assumption that mutual goals exist and are at least in part embodied by those social rules. Finally, actors also engage in meta communication about what assumptions are correct and what rules of social discourse apply in specific contexts. The latter opens the door to changes in individual opinions that affect the collective outcomes.

Thus, collective decision making is not in general specified by rigid voting frameworks, and need not be either zero sum or reflect fixed and rigid individual priorities. Members of a group engaged in decisions need not be assumed to disagree. They may learn from each other. They may have values that are not entirely selfish, and may not even be focused on the particular decision at hand, considering other issues as equally or more important. For example, they may care more about the group cohesion or its decision making process. In the meta-view of their engagement in decisions, they may even consider each other to play a constructive part in a collective process of decision making that is shared. It is useful to consider examples that are mutual, like where to go for dinner, whether they may involve conflict at some point or not. Our interest is in the way interpersonal interactions give rise to collective decisions in such a context. The dynamics of communication arise from a much more fluid set of interactions than considered in voting. Kantor's theory of interpersonal interactions\cite{kantor1975inside,kantor2012reading} provides a framework for characterizing the set of communications that occur in such contexts. We formalize this framework within a mathematical theory of social collective behaviors. Compared to voting options in social choice theory, Kantor's theory considers a larger set of possible actions that combine to form a dynamic decision making process.
However, the theory still identifies a limited number of categories of actions, providing a way to clarify the dynamics of  the large set of communications that can arise. The theory can be mapped onto real world decision making including both informal group discourse, and the more formal processes widely used, i.e. in Robert's rules of order \cite{robert1896pocket}. The complexity of the latter reflects the need to capture important details that are not embodied in social choice theory.

In voting the available actions in a preset voting system are votes choosing among a predetermined set of options based on preferences, or abstention. This does not include the action by which the set of options are determined, an essential part of the process of decision making. Thus it is natural to include four possible options: move (propose a new action), follow (vote in the affirmative), oppose (vote in the negative), and by-stand (abstain). (We note that as in social choice theory sequential comparison of collective preferences may give rise to cyclical behaviors that do not converge to decisions. In expanding the set of options we make no a-priori judgement about whether the dynamics of the system is functional.) Kantor's theory posits that these four actions constitute the essential categories of communications in a group. In addition to distinguishing these four actions, there are different domains in which such actions can take place that are directly or indirectly relevant to the action taken. Kantor's theory presents three: power, meaning and affect. Others may be added in the fundamental description of the theory. Each domain can have each of the four possible actions.

The basis of our contribution is to show that Kantor's theory is a universal characterization of the interactions within small groups of complex entities engaged in collective behavior with wide applicability to biological and social systems at all levels of organization. It is useful because it categorizes the many possible communications by individuals in a group to a small set that can be used to abstract communication patterns. The model is well suited to identifying when collective behaviors are functional or dysfunctional, for individuals or for collectives, in a context of environmental demands, individual and group needs.

More technically, the universal process of decision making we describe is subject to the assumptions that (1) there is a high dimensional space of possible decisions, and (2) there are sequential communications of individuals to the entire group. The relevance of communication by each individual to the entire group is given by the connection between high dimensional potential decisions requiring a lot of information and the relevance of the entire group to the ultimate decision. This model is complementary to other models of decision making in which (a) all individuals make a synchronous contribution to the decision making as is described in the case of many voting systems, but also in the case of collective dynamics that is found in neural networks where the input (sensory information) is a high dimensional state and output (decision or action) is either low dimensional (as in pattern recognition in feedforward networks, which combines sequential and parallel communications) or high dimensional (as in memory retrieval in attractor networks) \cite{dcs}, and/or (b) there is a binary or few options of action. The latter is also consistent with a determination of a reduced dimensional set of options that is extrinsic to the process of decision making (this case is in part modeled by voting theory in which voting options are pre-specified). We will see that cases that are previously discussed in social choice theory arise as special cases of the asynchronous sequential dynamic decision making that we discuss here. Because of its sequentiality and high dimensional decision making the process we will describe is more relevant to small group decision making and so we consider it a universal process of small group decision making. A large group decision making process may be linked to small group decision making through the relevance of asynchronous communication to the small group that leads to a decision that is subsequently adopted by decision of a larger group through a synchronous decision making process (e.g. a vote). Or a hierarchical embedding of small within large or large within small group decisions can lead to hybrid processes. Thus a small number of large groups can interact sequentially overall and synchronously within, or a large collection of small groups can interact sequentially within and synchronously overall. Examples can be found in the real world.

\section{Dynamic individuals and communications}

Individuals and groups have complex behaviors whose complete description would require high dimensional time histories. However, remarkably, if we restrict our attention to characterizing the relationships among actions of individuals, we can project the description to a few dimensions. The relationships among actions of individuals are precisely the dimensions that are the building blocks of the collective behaviors of the group. This reduced set of dimensions, as well as how individuals determine their actions within these dimensions, and the relationship of these actions to group behavior, is the core of the theory by Kantor.

An individual can be quite generally characterized in an abstract fashion as a dynamical vector of attributes, $\psi_i(t)$, where the index $i$ indicates which individual. It is helpful to distinguish between slowly varying aspects, i.e. aspects that do not change much on a selected time scale of interpersonal interactions, e.g. one hour, and those which typically do change on that time scale or faster. Each of these rapidly changing attributes is modified in response to external stimuli that include the environmental conditions, and the internal dynamics of the individual. The internal dynamics include the consumption of energy as well as the mutual influences of neurons giving rise to the physiological basis of thought. The environmental conditions include the sensory impressions that arise from attributes of other individuals.

\section{Collective movement: decision and follow-through}

We consider the role of interpersonal interactions to determine a direction of change of individuals relative to each other, and in particular to determine the pattern of collective action. Thus the nature of interactions is that they can point to, and the individuals can subsequently perform, movements that are coordinated. This enables individuals to act together as a group.

To illustrate the process of collective interactions we consider a group of individuals in a late afternoon meeting discussing where to go for dinner. Given a set of possible options about places to eat, these individuals perform a set of interactions that result in them going together to a certain place for dinner, or the interactions may alternatively result in individuals going to different places for dinner. Either way, the framework of understanding the role of these interactions is to be considered in relation to the determination of where to go for dinner. The movement to dinner can be represented as a displacement of the attribute coordinates of the group of individuals, $\{\psi_i (t)\}$, which include as one attribute the spatial position of an individual. A displacement of all individuals from one original location to one final location constitutes a collective coherent motion which is one common pattern of collective behavior.

Generalizing this specific example, we can consider how individual actions aggregate to form collective actions. Quite generally, we argue that collective behaviors are formed when a set of individuals perform a set of interactions over a certain period of time. These interactions then determine a set of actions that result in attribute displacements that occur over a subsequent period of time. The dynamics can be considered as mathematically corresponding to the method of motion of certain bacteria through a liquid medium \cite{berg1972chemotaxis}. These bacteria perform a tumbling motion, followed by a straight line motion. This movement pattern can achieve rapid displacement while having the ability to direct the movement toward improved conditions such as presence of nutrients or absence of toxins. Since available information is local, the ultimate objective of movements is not known at the beginning of a set of movements, and episodic reassessment of the direction of motion is necessary. However, a continuous reassessment of direction of motion would limit progress much more severely. Thus a balance between frequency of assessment of direction, and period of motion is necessary to optimize the rate of progress, given properties of the environment such as the steepness of gradients of nutrients. Similar considerations apply to the decision making of groups of individuals and subsequent collective behaviors.

There are distinct attributes of the actions of individuals during the time of decision making and during the time of follow through activity. During the decision making period, individuals located together in a single space typically perform actions in sequence, one person at a time. This is due to the exclusivity of collective channels of communication in a single space (as well as the internal requirements of the sequential response dynamics described in the theory). During the follow through activity, generally individuals perform actions in parallel, unless the pattern of activity agreed upon specifically precludes it. Thus, during the decision about where to go for dinner, each person speaks in turn. During the period of walking to dinner, all are walking in parallel. The reason for the difference can be understood from the process of achieving consensus during the initial period, followed by the possibility of independent actions that are coherent in the second period.

The requirements of the process of alternation of decision with action also implies a need to ensure that decision processes achieve closure through a time bounded process. This is essential even in the absence of perfect decision making or complete information.

The example of people choosing to go to dinner is similar to the bacteria moving through a liquid medium in that both refer to spatial displacement. This should not be taken as a limitation. The same concepts can be applied quite generally to displacements in the very general attribute space having to do with the wide ranging set of possible activities engaged in by groups.

\section{Discrete Communication Dynamics}

The attributes of multiple individuals over time affect each other during the period of decision making in a group. Actions by one individual that impact another individual are generally considered to be communications. While we can formulate the theory directly in terms of the general individual attributes, $\psi_i(t)$, it is helpful to start by simplifying the discussion by mapping these attributes onto communications, discrete units of activity that have shared meaning among individuals, given by an attribute vector $\xi_i(t) = M(\psi_i(t)).$ The purpose of this mapping is to enable us to consider two statements or gestures that may appear quite different, but share a common meaning, as having a similar description. Thus, if one person says ``Let's eat at  Sally's diner" and ``Let's go to the same place we had dinner at last night" map onto a similar meaning if Sally's was the place that dinner was eaten the previous night, even though the actual words spoken are different. Even if the words spoken are the same, their tonality, tempo and accent, varies among individuals, and for different instances by one individual. Similarly, it is possible that two statements have similar words but entirely different meanings, whether because of intonation (sarcasm) or that a single key word in the statement is different, i.e. insertion of the word ``not." Unlike $\psi_i(t)$, for $\xi_i(t)$ we can assume similarity in the attribute vector implies similarity of meaning in the domain of individual and group behavior. While specifics of the meaning map are interesting, and may play a role in our discussion, we bypass these details because it is tangential to the current purpose. Thus, for example, the issues that arise when meaning maps are not coincident among individuals are important but can be considered as an additional overlay to the theory we will develop.

In particular we are interested in how one communication is related to previous communications:
\begin{equation}
\xi_i(t) = H[\{\xi_j (t')\}]
\end{equation}
where $\xi_i(t)$ is the communication of individual $i$, and $\{\xi_j (t')\}$ are the set of communications by individuals at prior times, and $H$ is a function that specifies how the current behavior is related to previous communications.

Such generalized models of dynamical behaviors have been used to describe the changing firing patterns of neurons in the brain, the development of color patterns on animal skins, the dynamics of panic in an auditorium, and other specific measures of individual and collective social attributes.\cite{dcs}  The main difference in the human communication model is the possibility of complex high dimensional communications, which while present in other cases is frequently not described as behaviors are abstracted as represented by single bits at a specific time.

A specific statement may respond to only one of the previous communications. This would be written as:
\begin{equation}
\xi_i(t) = H(\xi_{j(t)} (t'(t)))
\end{equation}
The choice of which statement to respond to adds to the complexity of the communications. It is possible for an individual to respond to the immediately preceding statement, or to a specific statement that subsequently collects multiple responses until a different statement becomes the statement that is responded to.  The individual who is speaking may choose which previous statement to respond to as well as choose the response. Alternatively, there may be a separate mechanism by which the statement to be responded to is determined, for example by rules of the group about ``motions" \cite{robert1896pocket}. This gives rise to a first form of meta communications, identifying what is the topic of conversation. More generally, statements may be a response to a collection of previous statements. For a first order analysis we consider only the case where an individual chooses a response to a specific previous statement, without rules for its determination.

\section{Action categories: Move, Follow, Oppose, Bystand}

A key characteristic of a communication about a potential future action of the group (in brief, a conversational ``action") is its relationship to previous communications by others. We distinguish four categories of action relationships. A communicated action that is orthogonal to a previous action is labeled a ``Move", a parallel action is a ``Follow" an anti-parallel action is an ``Oppose" and a non-action is a ``Bystand". This is an exhaustive set of possible of high dimensional changes in a simple typology that is concerned with the process of individuals determining whether to move together and the direction to move in. In greater detail:

\begin{itemize}
\item A significant action that is not related in a specific way to previous actions is an initiation of a direction of possible future movement of the group. This is labeled a ``Move". We can visualize it as a step of an individual in a direction of a particular place to eat, or the verbal analog of such a step, ``Let's eat at Sally's diner".

Mathematically this corresponds to a vector that is orthogonal to previous moves, i.e. is in a new direction:
\begin{equation}
\begin{array}{ll}
\xi_i(t) \cdot \xi_j(t') &= 0 \\
| \xi_i(t) | &> 0
\end{array}
\end{equation}
The first equation specifies that there is no projection of the action on the directions of previous action by others. The second equation specifies that the action has significant magnitude.

\item A significant action that is in the same direction as a previous action is labelled a ``Follow". It corresponds to a step consistent with participating in a coherent collective action.

Mathematically this corresponds to a vector that is parallel to the previous move responded to:
\begin{equation}
\begin{array}{ll}
 \xi_i(t) \cdot  \xi_j(t') &> 0 \\
| \xi_i(t) | &> 0
\end{array}
\end{equation}

\item A significant action that is in the opposite direction of a previous action is labelled an ``Oppose". It corresponds to a step inconsistent with participating in a collective action in the original direction.

Mathematically this corresponds to a vector that is anti-parallel to the previous move responded to:
\begin{equation}
\begin{array}{ll}
 \xi_i(t) \cdot  \xi_j(t') &< 0 \\
|  \xi_i(t) | &> 0
\end{array}
\end{equation}

\item Finally, a nonsignificant action corresponding to staying in place, is labeled a ``Bystand".

Mathematically this corresponds to a vector of zero (small) magnitude:
\begin{equation}
\begin{array}{ll}
|  \xi_i(t) | &\approx 0
\end{array}
\end{equation}

\end{itemize}

We might further characterize the magnitudes of specific action overlaps, and a single action may have nonzero projections along multiple prior directions of action. These can be considered as additions to the basic typology given above. In the basic typology we are concerned with the ``sign" of the response by one individual to another, where sign in this case is a three valued function, taking the values $\pm 1$ as well as zero.

\section{Synchronous or asynchronous communications}

Communication among individuals who are part of a group are to varying degrees parallel/synchronous or serial/asynchronous. Where a communication medium is exclusive at a particular time, the communications are properly modeled as serial. Where they are not exclusive they may be in parallel. Typically spoken auditory communication is considered to be exclusive, though it is possible for multiple individuals to speak at once---the difficulty with multiple parallel communications arises in the limitations on cognitive processing of the individual that receives multiple communications. Therefore, social norms more or less strictly limit spoken communications to be serial. Applause is another channel of auditory communication, which is considered inherently synchronous. Visual communication, i.e. facial expression or posture, might be considered to be synchronous because each individual has a posture or expression at all times, and one person can see multiple individual in their field of view. Still, expressions are often held for a period of time and changed at discrete times, whereby the changes of expression attract attention, and an individual generally only pays attention to one other individual at any particular time. Thus we see that these modalities are only approximately serial or parallel, but might be treated in one or the other way to first approximation.

The differences in serial and parallel communication channels are also relevant to the types of communication that occur. Moves are generally limited to be serial. Each Move, being a high dimensional communication distinct from prior actions, must be communicated and separately processed by the individuals who receive it. Moreover, the responses to one Move must be separated from the responses to other actions, in order to be meaningfully related to group behavior.  On the other hand, Follows and Opposes can be highly parallel, as the amount of information communicated may be as simple as the fact of the follow or oppose, which can be communicated in a single bit of information. I.e., considering Follows and Opposes  together, the minimal communication in response to a Move is a binary response which is a vote of Follow or Oppose. Along with a Bystand, we have a single ``active" bit and a ``null" or abstain passive response. While this is the minimum amount of information in a response to a Move, this does not imply that every Follow or Oppose is restricted to this amount of information. Where such a reduced information is applicable, the aggregation of information can be done through a tally (a vote) considered as a representation of the group preference. From this we see that the conventional abstraction of group interactions into proposal and voting, is a simplified limit of the more complete group communication action model of Kantor. We also note that the result of a tally is itself a statement that is distinct from other statement types and can be responded to by individuals of the group.

Typical small group Follow or Oppose, and even Bystand, communications have larger amounts of information than a single vote. Thus, the limitation of attention and processing by each individual restricts the number of parallel communications that can be effectively transmitted between individuals, especially when they are communicated among an entire group.  Thus, it is reasonable to consider a serial model of communication and we will focus on such a model here. (We note that a fully parallel model could also be constructed. In such a model, each individual at each time would respond to the other individual's actions at a previous time, or multiple previous times.  Such a model of response of each individual to the set of prior actions of the whole group, would be similar to a dynamic models of a recursive neural network, or recursive dynamic model of pattern forming of pigment cells.\cite{dcs} However, as mentioned previously, in such models each communication by a cell is generally represented as a single bit and this simplifies the structure of the model in a different way.)

Asynchronous models have a key additional feature that must be considered---the order of response. In many abstract models of asynchronous communication, the next responder is chosen at random. However, in a social group context, individuals may have reasons or character traits that result in actions in a certain order. Some individuals may and generally do act more frequently than others. Identifying the dynamics of sequence must be considered part of the description of the group dynamics.

Thus, in an asynchronous model, parameters are needed to describe the degree to which an individual chooses to act, or not to act, i.e. their tendency toward inhibition. In the simplest model we will assume that there is a single parameter describing this tendency. Note that because a less reticent person will communicate before a more reticent person, and it is necessary at minimum to have two people to have a conversation, conversations may tend to be dominated by a few individuals, no matter how many people are present.

Moreover, since individuals are not required to act in most groups, it is generally not possible to know what is the response of an individual unless he or she chooses to voice it. This creates an additional dynamic of withheld or hidden information that is integral to group behavior and its very nature makes it difficult to characterize.
While there are other mechanisms that obscure communications, including their degree of truthfulness, we see that the existence of hidden information is part of group communications even in the presence of truthfulness.

Indeed, the sequentiality and non-determinism of order give rise to a need for meta-communications about human group interactions. These meta-communications are directed at revealing hidden information, which may be key to group decision making, especially where exposing the participation or non participation of individuals in group behaviors under consideration is relevant to the ultimate outcome, and thus the consequences for the group. Sequentiality and meta-communications also give rise to the formal and informal structuring of conversations by ``rules of order." This second topic of rules, where the structure of communications are formalized, are typically designed so that more individuals participate and the conversation is compelled to achieve closure. Methods, include polling of individuals, and social conventions about required participation in collective behaviors for certain poll results. Without such structures, it may be impossible to determine what the collective decision is, as only some of the individuals may choose to participate in the communications, and typically only a few will. Rules of order, structure the time for decision making, and compel the group to remain together despite dissent.

We see that social choice theory and the rules of order, can be considered founded on a more fundamental concept of group social interactions, which in a certain limit simplifies to those theories of group behavior. This suggests the underlying conceptual basis that we are developing can address important issues in group behavior.

\section{Association dynamics}

The dynamics of group decision making is also inherently linked to the dynamics of group association, which characterizes the inclusion or exclusion of individuals, and the association or dissociation of the group as a whole. Among the relevant questions for our consideration are the coupling of group decision making to the group association, and the coupling of the behavior of individuals during group decision making to their individual choice to participate, or group choice to include or exclude them. Simply put, whether an individual's preferences are aligned with group decisions affects both the group's and the individual's desire to be part of the group. For couples, this dynamics include whether to marry or divorce. For business this includes incorporation and disbanding of associations. Group association dynamics can be refined to include strength of association or level of group engagement.

A ``zeroth" model of group association would have any decision be itself a decision to associate or dissociate. Each individual would act according to his/her own statements, resulting in the final mover and followers going together, the opposers going in different directions, and bystanders staying in place. A first model of group association would have a single parameter characterizing group adhesiveness or ``surface tension," that tends to keep the group together. The strength of this force determines the degree to which opposers participate in the eventual group activity. Even a small amount of (positive) cohesiveness would imply bystanders participate.

Group decision making may also directly engage in determining group composition. This is the third type of meta communication we have identified. In the discussion below, we will see that specific personalities may dominate this domain of discourse due to preferential reactions to different individuals.

\section{Organizational structures}

The purpose of organizational structures is to habituate roles of individuals in social communications.

Quite generally, groups organized around functions have mechanisms for achieving collective actions. These mechanisms include the dynamics of social interaction. In order to streamline the process of decision making so that the resources it consumes are reduced, the organization structure can formalize roles of individuals. The ``leader" engages in Moves, and others are followers engaging in Follows. Bystanders may exist to fulfill particular functions when needed. Consistent with the dynamics of progressive refinement of group association, individuals who tend to Oppose do not continue to be part of a group.

We will discuss later the functional benefits to the group of the dynamics of different roles under different circumstances. This will include the potential constructive role of opposers. Still, organizations that strive to include opposers, would tend to limit their roles in scope and effect.

\section{Dynamic model}

A mathematical model of group decision dynamics constructs the type of actions that are taken in terms of types of actions that have been taken in the past. In the simplest form, this would depend only on the most recent move (i.e. a deterministic iterative map or a stochastic Markov chain). More generally, we can consider a dynamic model that depends on a certain number of previous messages, the messages within a time interval, the most recent message of each of the individuals in the team, the most recent message of a particular type, etc.

As a first approximation, it is conventional to consider a linear approximation of the dependency. We illustrate this for the case of a single communication depending on a single prior communication:
\begin{equation}
\begin{array}{ll}
\xi_i(t) = h_i(t) + J_{i,j} \xi_j(t-1)
\end{array}
\end{equation}
where $h_i(t)$ can be considered to be the intrinsic inclination of individual $i$, and $J_{i,j}$ is the (to first order fixed) linear response of individual $i$ to the comments of individual $j$. It is helpful to distinguish between three different cases for $J_{i,j}$. $J_{i,j}>0$ implies that $i$ tends to follow person $j$, $J_{i,j}<0$ implies that $i$ tends to oppose person $j$, and $J_{i,j} \approx 0$ implies $i$ tends to ignore person $j$.

Testing the projection of the current on the previous state identifies the type of communication at time $t$ in terms of the communication at time $t-1$.
\begin{equation}
\begin{array}{ll}
\xi_i(t) \cdot  \xi_j(t-1) &= h_i(t) \cdot  \xi_j(t-1) + J_{i,j} \xi_j(t-1) \xi_j(t-1) \\
&= h_i(t) \cdot  \xi_j(t-1) + J_{i,j} |\xi_j(t-1)|^2
\end{array}
\end{equation}
Considering only the sign $\pm,0$, i.e. the type of communication:
\begin{equation}
\begin{array}{ll}
\text{sign}(\xi_i(t) \cdot  \xi_j(t-1)) &=  \text{sign} (h_i(t) \cdot  \xi_j(t-1)) + J_{i,j}  |\xi_j(t-1)|^2)
\end{array}
\label{master}
\end{equation}
There are two different cases to consider:

The first case is if the comment by individual $j$ happens to have a projection, either positive or negative, along the direction of the intrinsic preference of individual $i$. In this case, we have a competition between the two terms. If the projection is positive and $i$ is inclined to follow $j$ the response will be a Follow. If the projection is negative, and $i$ is inclined to oppose $j$ the response will be an Oppose. If the projection is positive, and $i$ is inclined to oppose, or if the projection is negative, and $i$ is inclined to follow, the result will be determined by a balance between the amplitudes of each effect.

The second case is if the comment by individual $j$ does not have a significant projection along the direction of the intrinsic desire of individual $i$. We note that because of the high dimensional nature of the possible communications, this can be expected to be the default case, i.e. a random choice of communication by individual $j$ would not have a projection along the intrinsic desires of individual $i$. (The magnitude of an inner product of two random vectors is the result of a random walk with a number of steps given by the number of vector components. The magnitude is proportional to the square root of the number of steps, which, for large number of components is small compared to inner products that scale as the number of components. \cite{dcs})
Only when the space of possible comments is for some reason limited, is it likely that the first case, where there is an intrinsic preference by the individual, applies. A simplest model would therefore set the first term to zero, eliminating the role of the intrinsic preference of the individual. In this case, we have the result that:
\begin{equation}
\begin{array}{ll}
\text{sign}(\xi_i(t) \cdot  \xi_j(t-1)) &=  \text{sign}(J_{i,j})  (1 - \delta(\xi_j(t-1),0))
\end{array}
\label{master_response}
\end{equation}
Neither factor depends on the specific content of the message. This equation has the immediate interpretation that to first (linear) order the projection onto the previous message, i.e. the category of the move, is independent of the message content. The response of one individual to a comment by another is then dependent only on the persistent relationship between the individuals. The final factor on the right of Eq. (\ref{master}) implies that to linear order a null communication has a null response.

The analysis thus far focuses on the responses in terms of the prior communication that range from Follow to Oppose. A Move arises when the projection of $\xi_i(t)$ and $\xi_j(t-1)$ is small. This occurs for an individual for whom the influence of others is small ($J_{i,j} \approx 0$) or in a context in which the prior communication is itself of low magnitude $|\xi_j(t)|\approx0$.
In this case the communication will be in the direction of the intrinsic desire of the individual, $h_i(t)$, with no significant projections on prior communications,  i.e. a Move.

Finally, a Bystand occurs when an individual neither has a strong preference $h_i(t)$, nor a strong interaction $J_{i,j}$, or in case the two are balanced against each other. The case where both are small may also arise because of an inhibited response, which could be represented by an overall multiplicative factor that suppresses response. The inability, to first order, to observe the difference between inhibited responses and lack of preference is consistent with the actual challenge of understanding human response. The dynamics of sequentiality of acts must be considered carefully. People act or wait for a turn to act in the context of group interactions. Absence of a statement, maybe a wait state or may, under some conditions, constitute a Bystand --- i.e. does the person have an intended action and is waiting for their turn to speak, or are they choosing not to act.

The model we have developed focuses our attention on the role of the intrinsic preference of the individual and the role of the intrinsic tendency of one individual in response to each of the other individuals independent of the content of the messages.

\section{Power, Meaning, Affect}

When participants in a conversation make statements, their statements may be directed at moving the group to collective action directly, or may address aspects of cognitive, relational or other aspects of the system including meta-conversations about the subject, process of the dialog, or group dynamics. In general, a high dimensional attribute vector will have subdomains of attributes according to the modularity of the system. The nature of the modularity will vary among different kinds of systems. Here, some degree of non-universality enters into the discussion for application to different systems, though we expect that universality will still be significant. Statements can be categorized by what domain they are referring to. A different way to categorize the statements is by fundamental contributors of human response. For human social interactions, we identify three sub-domains of individual actions and their collective analogs. They are physical action oriented, cognitive meaning oriented, and affect oriented. From the point of view of the underlying vector of individual attributes, we can adopt conceptual or physiological languages to describe these different domains.

Conceptually, the action oriented domain is associated to group behavior that manifests in physical activity, that of cognitive meaning is associated to changes in the interpretation of external stimuli or human communication, that of affect is associated with how individuals in the group feel about each other. We note that affect can be involved in how someone feels about a particular course of action, but the distinguishing characteristic of affect is its role in group relationships: ``I feel we should go together to Sally's diner" is an affect statement, while ``I feel we should go to Sally's diner" may not be. In terms of neurophysiological function, the action domain characterizes motor activity of motor neurons and muscles, the meaning domain characterizes cognitive processing, the affect domain characterizes the coupling of neural and endocrine systems.

These three domains are identified by Kantor with the terms Power, Meaning and Affect. The use of the term ``Power" is suggested by the direct relevance of statements in this domain to action and when simply articulated are directives to action, though actual power over decisions may be shared due to statements made by others. The term ``Meaning" is suggested by the role of cognition in evaluating options for action. The term ``Affect" is linked to the distinct importance of emotional aspects of interactions to decision making by the group.

Since communications among individuals are input through sensory channels, each of these domains is a characterization of part of the neural processing associated with response to environmental input, and may have associated output in the form of verbal or other communications. They are distinct in that, physical action is ultimately realized by non-verbal physical behavior, meaning is generally communicated verbally, affect is manifest through impacts on patterns of response and behavior.

We will see from later analysis of the underlying mathematics of these interactions that the roles of these statements have implications for (a) directing action, (b) directing preferences about actions, (c) directing preferences about relationships among individuals. These essential distinctions suggest a degree of universality for these categories.

Each of the domains interacts with the other domains. For example, cognitive processing impacts on both actions of the motor system and the emotions associated to the endocrine system. The emotional state impacts on cognitive interpretation and actions. Actions taken impact emotional states and cognitive processing both through their external manifestations (including communications) and internal consequences.

There are other aspects of discourse that may also be separated. One is that of values. Value statements potentially include a role in changing the group priorities that can affect all aspects of discourse including actions, preferences about actions, and preferences about relationships among individuals. In this paper we focus on Power, Meaning and Affect.

Mathematically, it is possible to write the vector of attributes of an individual, or the vector of attributes of the meaning of communications, as approximately partitioned into the three sub-domains, $\psi_i(t) = \{\psi^p_i(t),\psi^c_i(t),\psi^e_i(t)\}$ and
$\xi_i(t) = \{\xi^p_i(t),\xi^c_i(t),\xi^e_i(t)\}$.

Specific models characterizing the ways each of these domains impacts on the other in terms of relevant mathematical equations can be constructed.

For this paper it is more central to note that while it is intuitive to consider collective behaviors as characteristic of physical action, it is possible for the group to collectively perform actions that are primarily cognitive or affective. Correspondingly, the types of acts described earlier: Move, Follow, Oppose, and Bystand, can occur separately in each of these domains. Thus it is possible to perform a Move in the emotional or meaning domain as well as in the physical action domain. The partition of the domains is useful for the analysis of patterns of social interaction. In particular, it enables classifying a wide range of communications whose roles would not be apparent if the only types of collective action considered would be that of physical action.

The interplay of Power, Meaning and Affect leads to a difficulty in disentangling them. By focusing on their primary roles, we can build a model that can be subsequently generalized to address other secondary roles that may be the most important under certain circumstances or for certain individuals. A first model of the dynamical roles of Power, Meaning and Affect is as follows:

Power characterizes behavior that has consequences measured directly in terms of goals of the system---typically in this society these include health, fame and fortune, among others, and may vary in other contexts. An example is ``Let's eat at  Sally's diner," which can be understood as aimed at achieving a goal oriented activity for the group aimed at health, assuming that it is dinner time and people are hungry, and the food at Sally's diner is good.

Meaning actions are designed to impact on the members of the group and only indirectly on actions to achieve the goals of the group. In particular, they change the intrinsic desires of members of the group, $h_i$. An example of a Move in meaning space is ``I saw a cockroach at Sally's diner." The purpose of such a communication is two fold. First, so that the intrinsic preferences of individuals are modified so that subsequent actions quite generally and not just a specific one under discussion, are more likely to achieve goals (i.e. health). Second, so that the intrinsic preferences of the individuals of the group are more aligned with each other. Since a Move generally is in the direction of the intrinsic desire of an individual, this changes the analysis of the model in that $h_i(t)$ is partly aligned with $h_j(t)$. The result of such a Move is that future communications by one individual are more likely to be aligned with those of other individuals, leading to increased probability of collective behavior.

Affect actions are designed to impact on the interpersonal relations within the group, and similar to meaning actions, they only indirectly impact on actions to achieve the goals of the group. In particular, they change the interaction matrix $J_{i,j}$. The central aspect of affect in this model is whether an individual wants to do something with another individual. The role of affect can be better understood when it is recognized that there are multiple satisfying patterns of social interaction that involve consistency among the actions taken. In particular, two individuals who both desire to be together, or both desire not to be together, can both be satisfied. On the other hand, two individuals are in a mutually incompatible situation if the first desires to be with the second, while the second does not desire to be with the first. Thus, desires of individuals can result in functional or dysfunctional states, depending on whether they are mutually consistent. Since the differences between these states are not inherently contained in objective conditions, they cannot be resolved by cognitive analysis. Affect enables individual actions to be selected based upon the self-consistency of relationships. Acts in affect promote a self-consistent pattern of mutual support or mutual antagonism, by adjusting the sign of $J_{i,j}$ to be equal to the sign of $J_{j,i}$. An example of a Move in affect space is ``I enjoy having dinner with you." The purpose is to communicate the positive sign of $J_{i,j}$ in order to prompt the second individual to recognize that mutuality is possible by a change in affect and therefore cause such a change in affect, i.e. a more positive $J_{j,i}$. Affect actions directly target mutuality and are inherently related to collectivity of a group, i.e. its tendency to act together or separately. Given that the high complexity of possible actions implies that most if not all Moves will be orthogonal to the intrinsic desires of others, as discussed before, the role of affect is critical in collective action.

In summary: Power actions are for achieving goals. Meaning is for aligning preferences with external / intrinsic consequences. Affect is for aligning desires of mutuality. We see that individual and collective movements can occur in these three domains, and can be analyzed in the same language. However, because each of these plays a different role in the individual, the significance of these individual and collective movements for the group are distinct.

\section{Model parameters and their dynamics}

We consider individual inclinations $h_i(t)$ to be time dependent in the sense that an individual may get hungry and want to go to eat dinner. Other aspects of the inclination of an individual may be more persistent, such as causes a person is devoted to. Also, as previously discussed, communications in Meaning can affect the individual inclinations.

We consider $J_{i,j}$ to be time dependent. A reasonable first model for such changes is that the presence of communications that are aligned (anti-aligned) of two individuals tends to make their $J_{i,j}$ more positive (more negative) respectively. This corresponds to mathematical models of Hebbian imprinting in neural learning where the individuals are analogs of neurons. This form of learning reinforces patterns of social interaction so that certain individuals tend to become more positive or negative relative to each other, causing those who tend to act in concert to be more likely to act in concert in the future, and similarly those who act in opposition will be more likely to act in opposition in the future., It also tends to make those who have compatible preferences tend also to have mutually reinforcing interpersonal relationships. Also, as previously discussed, communications in Affect can affect the individual inclinations.

\section{Classification of individuals}

Different individuals tend to adopt different types of actions, which leads to a means for classifying them.  The reason for these choices are embedded in persistent properties of individuals rather than dynamic properties, which are therefore to be identified as personality types. We can identify the types of actions preferred by individuals from the categories of ``Move, Follow, Oppose, Bystand."

In the mathematical model, an individual is identified by the parameters $h_i$ and $J_{i,j}$ for a particular value of $i$. These parameters generally vary for different values of the index, $j$, i.e. in relation to different people, and at different times. We identify personalities by postulating that for a particular individual these parameters have characteristic values that persist over time and satisfy identifiable patterns across people.

The identification of those who frequently perform just one of the types of actions can be readily identified:

A person with strong preferences $h_i$ and weak interactions $J_{i,j}$ is goal/content driven, and frequently Moves.

A person who has strong interpersonal interactions $J_{i,j}$ and weak preferences $h_i$ will respond to other moves. They Follow, if $J_{i,j}$ tends to be positive, or they Oppose, if $J_{i,j}$ tends to be negative.

A person with weak preferences and weak interactions tends to Bystand. As discussed previously, an additional overall amplitude parameter can be considered as describing an inhibition of response. Thus, a persistent bystander may have externally unexpressed preferences and interactions.

Among other insights, we see that the those who are frequent movers, often identified as ``leaders," have a tendency toward more limited social interactions compared to those who are followers and opposers.

Certain combinations of parameters also tend to generate more complex response patterns, specifically when the tendency is to adopt more than one type of action according to specifics of the circumstances. A person with strong preferences and strong interactions has a varied response. Such a person, in order to reduce conflicts between preferences and interactions may also tend to engage in Meaning acts, through whose adoption by the group, the conflict will be reduced. A person with weak preferences and strong interactions that vary significantly among individuals, i.e. with strong interpersonal preferences, will tend to follow some and oppose others. In order to reduce conflicts, between following and opposing individuals, such a person may engage in Affective acts to reduce conflict. Alternatively, in some sense equivalently, such an individual may act in the dynamics of selecting group membership.

\section{Summary}

The understanding of group interactions related to decision making may be advanced by considering a limited typography of communication acts. We have shown that it is possible from general mathematical considerations to identify four types of actions, $\{$Move, Follow, Oppose, Bystand$\}$, as universal, and using simple mathematical dynamic models to advance the understanding of group dynamics. We have explored some of the implications including identifying personality types and the relationship between types of actions taken and the types of personalities that are present as described by the model. The model we obtained follows closely the discussion and analysis of conversations in families and businesses by Kantor \cite{kantor1975inside,kantor2012reading}. The usefulness of this model in diagnosing functional and dysfunctional behaviors and interventions has already been demonstrated.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


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Built from the mid 1920s-early 1930s, the former Cony High School is referred to as a "flatiron" building due to its wedge-shaped (or "flatiron") shape.
In the decades to follow, some of the school's students would move on to become nationally and internationally-known personalities, including actor Richard Dysart and ballet dancer/instructor Alphonse Poulin.
The three-story building served as a school until 2006: after that time, the City of Augusta maintained the structure for use as a heated storage facility.
In 2013, Housing Initiatives of New England proposed a project transforming the facility into housing units for senior citizens, utilizing Maine State Housing Authority tax credits and several grants.
The building was named after its benefactor, Daniel Cony. Born in Stoughton, Massachusetts in 1752, Cony practiced medicine for many years before entering the public realm as a representative, senator and member of the executive council. He'd eventually go on to hold office as a Kennebec County judge and serve as a convention delegate for the Maine state constitution.
A strong advocate for education, Cony was said to have liberally funded an Augusta-based academy for female students, leading the local school officials to name the local high school in his honor well over a century after his death.


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We have been official Ducati Dealer since 1982, MV Agusta Dealer since 1998 and dealer of the italian Husqvarna subsidiary since 2012 and know these Italian gems to the last screw.
We are based in Holland but we decided to widen our commercial horizon for motorcycle OEM parts through our webshops. We offer a wide range of OEM parts through our Husqvarna webshop, Ducati webshop, MV Agusta webshop and, of course, our Nuda webshop. We made a separate Husqvarna Nuda webshop because we currently have the biggest stock of Nuda Parts in the world! You name it, we got it!


Photo gallery of HD petrol tanks in various designs and producer logos format.
See photos I have made during last year.
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Concept and development by Low Ride, Italy.
Custom motorbike built from Harley Davidson Softail Deuce 2001.
Motorbike rebuilt in 2012. Designed and completed in Harley Davidson Šalamounka, Prague.


text:
A blue story of recycling textiles in Japan
Jeannes This & That
By Jeanne Goutelle
Boro is a Japanese word meaning "tattered rags". It refers to the way people used to recycle small pieces of fabric to make bedcovers, futons and clothing for daily use in Japan. (image above: Mingei Arts Gallery & Gordon Reece) These complex yet beautiful blue textile pieces tell us stories about Japanese families, their rural way of life and the economic situation in the northern part of the country from the Edo period up to the early Showa period (17th – early 20th century). Each piece is an heirloom handed down from generation to generation. For decades, humble hands have worked on these pieces of fabric to increase their lifespan. All these traces of darning and quilting were added to repair the boro but they were also a way to make the piece stronger and warmer, little by little, generation after generation.
(c) Jeanne Goutelle
In the Northern part of Japan at this time, hemp, ramie and nettle were the main fibres used to weave cloth. Cotton was reserved for the wealthy merchant classes and came from the Southern part of the country, where the warmer climate ensured it was easier to grow. Requests from the Northern community for reasonably priced cotton pieces encouraged traders to transport the cloth from the south to the north along the coast. Small pieces of cloth cut from old clothing could then be purchased to reinforce the existing boros. The largest pieces of cotton used in the boros show the size of handlooms available in Japan during this period. Panels of 15 inches / 38 cm wide were standard. The entire width of these narrow fabrics was used in the making of kimono or other types of clothing. There was no waste.
149x159 cm (c) Jeanne Goutelle
The predominance of blue is due to the strict laws governing colour and dyestuffs at the time. Commoners were restricted to dressing in blue, black and brown. Other colours were the reserve of the aristocracy. Indigo was then the principle dyestuff in use, and to which people also attributed healing properties. Boro are dictionaries both of the indigo colour and all the weaving techniques in use at that time. On each piece you can see dozens of shades of blue and a variety of weaving techniques. The layers of fabric accumulate and enmesh to the extent that you can barely distinguish the front from the back. The layers of rectangular pieces form surprisingly thick and uneven surfaces; your eyes travel through holes worn by time.
(c) Mingei Arts Gallery & Gordon Reece
The small pieces of cloth are sewn together using sashiko, similar to our running stitch. On some of the pieces you can see that the thread used for sewing was taken from the warp or the weft of the woven cloth showing just how important the idea of recycling was. The thread often contrasts with the blue fabric perhaps because the boro were sewn at night with very little light from candles.
91,5x157,5 cm (c) Jeanne Goutelle
Despite the fact that they were made out of necessity I cannot resign myself to believing that they weren't influenced by the Japanese craft aesthetic. We all agree that every single little object from that period is a treasure. From ceramics to lacquer work, Japanese crafts are recognized as ancestral knowledge of the finest craftsmanship. Textile making is just one of these craft traditions the Japanese seem to hold in their blood.
The curators of the Boro exhibition at Somerset House in London display the pieces as artworks. Each Boro has been framed and hangs on the wall. On the one hand, they appear to lose all meaning for someone who might know them as items of daily life. But, on the other hand, it shows clearly the diversity of the work made. I have been captivated by the variety of composition as well as the many possible sewing techniques used to attach the pieces of cloth. From little stitches covering the entire surface in perfect straight lines to long running stitches outlining abstract shapes, no one piece is similar to another. Each piece reveals the personality of the person who made it.

As a textile designer I have been fascinated by the range of techniques displayed. I would recommend a visit to this exhibition more than any textile course on the subject! You would have difficulty finding a museum with such a collection. Each piece teaches you more than any book on weaving, quilting, dyeing, darning, sewing, and assembling...
I have found this exhibition hugely inspiring but it is also a great lesson about how people made beautiful things with so little. I've always kept my old pair of jeans and I might just think about what to do with them...
135,5x191 cm (c) Mingei Arts Gallery & Gordon Reece
Boro is a collection exhibited at Somerset House this April. The collection was presented by: Philippe Boudin & Maiko Takenobu, Gordon & Olivia Reece collection
Contact: Philippe Boudin & Maiko Takenobu, Mingei Arts Gallery - Paris, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Temperature Variations and colour change: The Season Carpet
Sophie Smallhorn: Colour, Chaos & Order
Last chance for a winters sleep
Last weekend of Miscellaneous at Walls Gallery
Laura Daza shares ancient color recipes
The Branded Spectrum: Yellow
The Branded Spectrum: Black
Bank logos and their nationalistic colours
See all columns...
Mimicking Painting: The Old and Dusty World
Valentin Dommanget makes me a dreamer
Studio Ensamble Casa Del Lector
See all articles...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Audit History: The scores or ratings of risk over time resulting from a detailed cyclical measurement of risk using auditing standards.
Chief Risk Officer (CRO): A senior manager with day-to-day oversight of enterprise risk management.
Failure Risk: The probability that an enterprise will experience a business interruption or cease to operate.
Impact: Effect or result of an activity or event. Impact can be positive or negative relative to the objectives of the enterprise, and there can be a range of possible impacts associated with any single activity or event.
Inherent Risk: The risk to the enterprise in the absence of any actions management might take to otherwise alter the likelihood the risk could result in a negative impact.
Internal Environment: Encompasses the culture of an enterprise and sets the basis for how risks are viewed and managed, including risk management philosophy, risk appetite, acceptance of risk controls, and the overall environment in which the enterprise operates.
Likelihood: Probability; possibility of a condition or event occurring.
Loss Control: The technique of minimizing the severity of loss once a condition arises or event occurs to cause a negative impact.
Maximum Profitability: The highest level of profitability achievable by an enterprise under ideal conditions.
Metrics: The means in which to measure the effectiveness and/or success of risk mitigation techniques.
Opportunity: The possibility that a condition will arise or event will occur that will have a positive impact on achievement of the enterprise's objectives.
Probability: Likelihood; possibility of a condition or event occurring.
Profitability: The ability of an enterprise to generate revenues in excess of the costs incurred to produce those revenues; often measured by a rate of profit or rate of return on investment.
Profitability Risk: The likelihood that an enterprise will not achieve its Maximum Profitability.
Residual Risk: The risk that remains after an enterprise has responded to risk by deploying risk controls.
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Risk Avoidance: Avoiding the practices giving rise to risk.
Risk Center: A division, department or group having clear boundaries and risk exposure.
Financial: Exposure to uncertainty regarding the management and control of the availability and cost of commodities and credit.
Hazard: Exposure to loss arising from bodily injury, damage to property or from tortious acts; typically includes the perils covered by insurance.
Operational: Exposure to uncertainty related to day-to-day business activities.
Strategic: Exposure to uncertainty related to long-term policy directions of the enterprise—the "big picture" risks.
Risk Controls: Systems, procedures, policies, practices and safeguards designed to minimize the frequency or severity of conditions or events that increase risk.
Risk Evaluation: Reviewing the results of a risk analysis, determining the significance of the risk exposures, and deciding whether to accept and manage them, transfer them by means such as insurance, a combination of the two, or eliminate the risks altogether.
Risk Factor: An action, condition or event that can cause loss or harm performance and profitability objectives, if encountered.
Risk Financing: The mechanisms for funding risk mitigation strategies and/or funding the financial consequences of risk; i.e., insurance or the financial consequences of uninsured or uninsurable risks.
Risk Identification: The qualitative determination of significant risks factors that can potentially impact an enterprise's achievement of its financial and/or strategic objectives. This is often done through in-depth structured review of the internal practices used in industry specific companies combined with interviews of key industry personnel, consultants and experts.
Risk Level: One of three risk levels: high, moderate, or low risk. Indicates the likelihood that an individual activity, condition or event will negatively impact the financial objectives of an enterprise. A rating of "high risk" reflects the criticality of instituting risk controls to mitigate the potential negative impact.
Risk Mapping: The visual representation of risks which have been identified through a risk assessment exercise in a way that easily allows priority ranking of them. This representation often takes the form of a two-dimensional grid with probability on one axis and impact on the other axis. The risks that fall in the high probability/high impact quadrant are given priority risk management attention.
Risk Mitigation: Actions which reduce a risk or its consequences (see Risk Strategies).
Risk Monitoring: Observing the effectiveness of installed risk controls and reporting the findings.
Risk Prioritization: The ranking of risks on an appropriate scale which identifies which risks are most important to manage based upon severity. (See Risk Mapping).
Risk Profiling: The use of a tool or system to rate and/or prioritize a series of risks.
Risk Recommendation: A suggested action that will reduce or transfer risk.
Risk Reporting: Distribution of information on risks to internal and/or external stakeholders.
Risk Response: Management's development of a set of actions to avoid, accept, reduce, share or transfer risk that align with the enterprise's risk appetite and tolerances.
Risk Sharing: Reducing the negative impact of risk by transferring some or otherwise sharing a portion of the risk.
Risk Silo: Divisions, departments, or other groups independently exposed to risk and acting in isolation from other risk centers.
Risk Strategies: Possible responses to risk situations such as avoidance, acceptance, reduction sharing, or transfer.
Risk Tolerance: The acceptable level of risk relative to the achievement of an objective.
Risk Transfer: Action taken to mitigate risk by moving responsibility for it to external parties outside the enterprise.
Risk Treatment: The process of selecting and implementing measures to modify the risk.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, commonly referred to as "SOX" or "SarBox," is an amendment to the Federal Securities Exchange Act of 1934. It is intended to prevent auditors from providing specific non-audit services, including actuarial services, to their SEC-regulated audit clients. There are five major components of the amendment that are of specific interest for higher education. They include sections on 1) transparency of financial reports, 2) corporate disclosure, 3) board independence, 4) accountability, and 5) development of ethical operating standards. Although the Act includes requirements that apply to publicly held companies only, some the components are essential good practices for all companies.
Traditional Risk Management: Original form of risk management, focusing primarily on insurable hazard risks.


text:
Murphy battles his way to World Open glory
SHAUN Murphy won his first major ranking title since 2011 after completing a 10-6 win over Mark Selby which crowned him as the new Haikou World Open champion. The former world champion was in impressive form and held his nerve during the latter stages of today's (Sunday) final to secure his first big title since winning the PTC Grand Finals three years ago.…
March 16, 2014 in World Open.


text:
José Luis López-Linares del Campo (Madrid, 11 de abril de 1955) es escritor, director y productor de cine español.

Biografía
José Luis López Linares se inició en la industria cinematográfica como director de fotografía de películas dirigidas entre otros por Víctor Erice, Carlos Saura, Fernando Trueba, Emilio Martínez Lázaro, Jaime Chávarri, Basilio Marín Patiño, o Alain Tanner, entre muchos otros, ganando en 2006 el Goya a Mejor Dirección de Fotografía por la película Iberia, además de haber sido nominado en otras cuatro ediciones en la misma categoría. Como director y guionista, ha destacado en el género documental, con títulos como Asaltar los cielos (Premio Ondas, 1997) o Un instante en la vida ajena (Premio Goya al Mejor Documental en 2004).

Filmografía

Como director
 Hispanoamérica (documental, en proyecto, 2023) https://hispanoamericalapelicula.com
 Goya, el ojo que escucha (documental, 2022)
 España, la primera globalización (documental, 2021)
 Formentor, el mar de las palabras (documental, 2020)
 Goya. Le sommeil de la raison (documental, 2019)
 Altamira. El origen del Arte (documental, 2018)
 El corazón del Teatro Real (documental, 2017)
 El Bosco. El jardín de los sueños (documental, 2016)
 El pollo, el pez y el cangrejo real (documental, 2008)
 Un instante en la vida ajena (documental, 2004)
 Extranjero de sí mismos (documental, 2001)
 A propósito de Buñuel (documental, 2000)
 Asaltar los cielos (documental, 1997)

Como director de fotografía
 Iberia (documental, 2005)
El embrujo de Shanghái (largometraje, 2002)
A propósito de Buñuel (documental, 2000)
Los peores años de nuestra vida (largometraje, 1994)
Madregilda (largometraje, 1993)
El sol del membrillo (largometraje, 1992)

Como guionista
Altamira (largometraje, 2016) coescrito junto a Olivia Hetreed.

Premios
El Bosco. El Jardín de los sueños, nominado al Premio Goya al Mejor Documental en 2016.
Iberia, ganador del Premio Goya al Mejor Dirección de Fotografía en 2006.
Un instante en la vida ajena, ganador delPremio Goya al Mejor Documental en 2004.
Hécuba, un sueño de pasión, nominado al Premio Goya al Mejor Documental en 2003.
Extranjeros de sí mismos, nominado al Premio Goya al Mejor Documental en 2001.
Asaltar los cielos, ganador del Premio Ondas en 1997.

Referencias

Enlaces externos
 Sitio web oficial

Directores de cine
Productores de cine de España

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Share cookies between react-native and swift I am in a bit of a pickle.
I have an app (old, ugly, not mine) that uses react-native (0.29[!])
and swift.
I am letting the user login into a site in the react-native part of the app, later on I want him to continue browse the site as the user he logged in.
Is there a way to let swift to use the same cookies and user data that the webview of react-native has?
Thanks in advance.

A: You have multiples possibilities to do that:

*

*You have to create your own native module to pass the cookie thought the bridge. You can get more information here

*You can also use a library to store this sensitive information on the Keychain and get it on the swift side with the keychain too
If you have some code example or more information, I can help you more

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Discussion in 'Food Plots for Wildlife' started by Prelude8626, Mar 23, 2019.
all. Quick questions regarding line help. My soil sample called for 800 pounds of ag lime for my 1/4 plots. If using pelletized lime how much should I use?
I read somewhere its 1:10. If thats right than 80lbs but that seems like nothing.
all. Quick questions regarding line help. My souls sample called for 800 pounds of ag lime for my 1/4 plots. If using pelletized lime how much should I use?
We beat this question to death over and over. The simple rule of thumb is, and I don't want to start a long discussion/argument, 800 lbs of ag lime is 800 lbs of pellitized lime. Pellets are just ag lime with some binder to hold the small particles together.
I agree it would be 800 pounds.
then that is the plan! With the pelletized will I need to redo it every year?
It will depend a lot on your soil composition, how quickly the lime moves through the soil.
No different than regular ag lime. Mine lasts about five years on my sandy loam.
That depends on the actual particulate size of the pelletized lime you apply, and the soil it is being applied to. On my beach sand properties in northern Michigan, I top-dress lime and know that it will move through the top 6" of "soil" very quickly, regardless of particulate size. On heavy clay soils, which are common in Georgia, it can take much longer for lime to get down to the level where roots benefit from it, unless you incorporate it properly.
All lime has been ground to a certain size, whether it is bulk ag lime or a form that is pelletized for convenience in spreading without heavy equipment. Most folks presume pelletized lime has been ground very fine, but that is not always the case. Some pelletized lime is no finer than most of the ag lime you can get. What's worse is that almost all ag lime is ground to a known particulate size, but a lot of the pelletized lime is not labeled sufficiently, so you just don't know.
Another very important thing to look at it is your current calcium to magnesium ratio in your soil. This will help you determine whether or not to apply a calcitic lime or a dolomitic lime. Both have more calcium than magnesium, but dolomitic lime has more Mg than calcitic lime, helping bring these two nutrients into balance. This will go a long way toward improving not just the pH in your soil, but the Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC), which is the true measure of how well your ground will grow stuff.
Big part of that will depend on what you do each year. I've held some white clover on target for 6 years with one lime application, and that is on a soil with a 7.5 CEC. It got a good dose of P, K, and lime when I planted it. Since then, it's only gotten an annual application of gypsum. I tested that soil last summer to see if my pH had fallen outta range, and it's still a 6.4.
For me, it's probably time to do a little lime maintenance just to bump that back up, but the house isn't on fire. Now, if you come in with annual shots of acidifying phosphorus and nitrogen, you will probably hasten your pH drop. That's not necessarily bad either if you're working on tightening up your soil.


text:
Trust the Process: College Applications
By Aila Durakovic, Social Media Editor
Senior year is expected to be easy going and chill, but due to personal experience, I am here to debunk that. Senior year is where it gets really serious. Big decisions are anticipated to be made from us, 17 & 18-year-old teenagers. College application season has begun, and the class of 2020 seems to be stressing, to say the least.
Senior Sheridan Witko started her applications through the Common App except for one, UIUC (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign). Although the process is highly stressful, Witko is glad she's moved on from her most challenging year yet, junior year.
"The process is stressful because there's a lot of pressure on it. If your goal is to get a degree in college, this is the foundation of it, and everyone around you constantly reiterated that" Witko said. "I'm doing my best to take advantage of every little moment and really enjoy my senior year because there's a lot of experiences you get during high school that you'll ever get once it's over."
Applying to multiple schools is a must because it's not guaranteed that you'll be accepted everywhere. Senior Majila Spahija has four schools in mind at the moment. Spahija is working hard on finishing applications as soon as she can to not worry about it as much.
"I've started applying to North Central, DePaul, Loyola, and ISU (Illinois State University)," Spahija said. "It's extremely stressful because I don't want to mess anything up. I feel that first semester is more stressful because that's when I am applying, but once I finish my applications and decide where I'm going, I can finally relax."
Many seniors have also been on top of the process. Senior Liliana Youkhana automatically completed all her applications when they first opened due to getting rid of the stress as fast as she could. Her senior year seems to be going much smoother than expected because after finishing her applications, she's just chilling till she gets replies.
"I've already applied to Illinois State University, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Indiana University, Bloomington, Drake, and Marquette," Youkhana said. "I'm mainly going to miss my friends and the bonds I've created throughout high school. It's bittersweet because we're moving on to bigger and better things, but it's so sad saying goodbye."
The process has been stressful for sure, and thinking about the future is not easy, but we all must face it. Class of 2020 is working hard on making sure they get where they want.
Liliana Youkhana
majila spahija
Sheridan Witko


This tour is a combination of a Great Barrier Reef Cruise & a visit to Cape Tribulation. It will certainly give you a gerat idea on why both of these amazing places are Heritage Listed. This tour is really all about why you travel to far North Queensland for your holiday!
Return Transfers can be arranged for an extra $16 p/p for Cairns City and $23 p/p for Northern Beaches.


Actually - I may be able to help. If you drop me a line via my Direct Contact page I might be able to give you a quote.
I occasionally get some Cheness swords in upon request and the next shipment should be in early November. So yes, please drop me a line and we can take it from there.
I'm looking to purchase the Bujinkan Oniyuri, this will be my first time purchasign a live blade and I'm not sure whether to buy it with the Bo-Hi or without please can you advise. Also I live in the UK I don't know what the laws are on shipping, can you ship to the UK or will Customs intervene.


TYLER, TX (KLTV) - Two federal lawsuits allege that the state and some East Texas counties discriminated against people of color and naturalized citizens by flagging some voters for a review of their citizenship.
The first case filed by the 'Move Texas Civic Fund' names Smith County Elections Administrator Karen Nelson and the Harrison County Elections Administrator. The Harrison County position is vacant right now after their administrator resigned last month.
The letters threatened that if the women didn't provide proof of citizenship within 30 days, they would be taken off the voter rolls.
Nelson told KLTV 7 last month that her staff was planning on sending letters to 297 people on that list of suspected non U.S. citizens. Smith County Spokeswoman Casey Murphy told KLTV on Wednesday, "Smith County does not comment on pending litigation." Wood County also told KLTV 7 they will not be commenting on the lawsuit.


text:
The stage is set for a thrilling Formula E season 5 finale in New York
Vergne could be the first ever Formula E driver to defend his title
By Olivier Ferret
The final two rounds of the 2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship will take place on the streets of Red Hook in Brooklyn this weekend (13-14 July). The most unpredictable, most competitive season so far will end with the crowning of the fifth FIA Formula E Champion.
The 2.32 km long circuit is set against the stunning backdrop of the Lower Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty. While the track, with its 14 turns winding through the heart of Brooklyn, has a formidable reputation thanks mainly to its unforgiving concrete surface.
Last time out
Similar to this year, New York also hosted a double header season finale in 2018. Sam Bird and Jean-Eric Vergne went into the weekend as rivals for the championship title. In a day of high drama on the challenging circuit in Brooklyn, Vergne went from last on the grid thanks to a technical infringement during qualifying to finishing Saturday's race in fifth place. Sam Bird was unable to capitalise on Vergne's qualifying position, so the result was enough to put Vergne out of reach of his rival. Vergne won the title with the second race still to run. To top it off the Frenchman managed to finish the 2017/18 season on a high by winning the final race on Sunday, but Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler wrapped up the teams' championship with second and third place for Lucas di Grassi and Daniel Abt respectively beating Vergne's TECHEETAH team by a narrow two point margin.
At the last outing of the current season, double points are again on offer as one race is held on Saturday and one on Sunday. Reigning champion Jean-Eric Vergne leads the way with his name at the top of the standings. He could be the first driver to defend his title and – for the first time in Formula E's history – win the crown in two consecutive seasons. While the Frenchman has a comfortable margin, there are seven other drivers mathematically still in contention for the drivers' championship title who will do everything in their power to beat the DS TECHEETAH driver. The team championship standings look equally as tight, four teams head into the season five finale still in with a chance of winning the title. DS TECHEETAH, who top the table travelling to New York will be doing their upmost to not lose out to Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler again this year.
While none of the drivers is American, there are two Formula E teams racing under an American flag: BMW i Andretti Motorsport and Geox Dragon. Neither of the two teams is in contention for the title anymore, but both will be eager to score the best possible results in front of their home crowd.
Gen2 debut season
The championship finale also marks the completion of a very successful debut season for the radical new Gen2 car, which was introduced at the start of season five. The futuristic looking FIA Formula E car has almost double the energy storage capacity in comparison to the first generation car and is able to go the whole race distance, making the mid-race car swaps of previous seasons a thing of the past! This leap forward in efficiency demonstrates the continuous progress made in the development of electric vehicle technologies and will benefit much more than world class racing drivers in the near future.
Boccolacci returns to F2 this weekend with Trident
add_circle Lotterer will be the second driver in the Porsche Formula E Team
add_circle Vergne defends FIA Formula E drivers' championship title
add_circle Formula E: Buemi wins eventful New York City E-Prix
add_circle First Formula E race in Bern won by reigning champion Vergne
add_circle Formula E returns to Switzerland
More on Formula E
add_circle Injury sidelines Evans from Finland
add_circle Silverstone, Race 2: Aitken secures home win in Silverstone
More Motorsport news
Video - 2019 FIA Racing news magazine n°18
Video - New York E-Prix highlights (Race 2)
Videos - Vila Real WTCR races highlights


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Rep. Ann Kuster [D-NH2]
All 2018 Report Cards
Rep. Ann Kuster's 2018 Report Card
Representative from New Hampshire's 2nd District
Serving Jan 3, 2013 – Jan 3, 2025
These statistics cover Kuster's record during the 115th Congress (Jan 3, 2017-Jan 3, 2019) and compare her to other representatives also serving at the end of the session. Last updated on Jan 20, 2019.
A higher or lower number below doesn't necessarily make this legislator any better or worse, or more or less effective, than other Members of Congress. We present these statistics for you to understand the quantitative aspects of Kuster's legislative career and make your own judgements based on what activities you think are important.
Keep in mind that there are many important aspects of being a legislator besides what can be measured, such as constituent services and performing oversight of the executive branch, which aren't reflected here.
Bills Out of Committee
Powerful Cosponsors
Committee Positions
Writing Bipartisan Bills
Joining Bipartisan Bills
Working with the Senate
Ideology Score
Leadership Score
Bills Cosponsored
Bills Introduced
Laws Enacted
Missed Votes
Got their bills out of committee the 11th most often compared to House Democrats (tied with 11 others)
Most bills and resolutions languish in committee without any action. Kuster introduced 5 bills in the 115th Congress that got past committee and to the floor for consideration.
Those bills were: H.R. 965: Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park Redesignation …; H.R. 1545: VA Prescription Data Accountability Act …; H.R. 3262: Grow Our Own Directive: Physician …; H.R. 3288: Northern Border Regional Commission Reauthorization …; H.R. 5580: STOP Fentanyl Deaths Act of …
Compare to all House Democrats (89th percentile); All Representatives (68th percentile).
Got bipartisan cosponsors on the 22nd most bills compared to House Democrats (tied with 3 others)
In this era of partisanship, it is important to see Members of Congress working across the aisle. 16 of Kuster's 26 bills and resolutions had a cosponsor from a different political party than the party Kuster caucused with in the 115th Congress.
Cosponsors who caucused with neither the Democratic nor Republican party do not count toward this statistic.
Joined bipartisan bills the 24th most often compared to All Representatives
In this era of partisanship, it is encouraging to see Members of Congress working across the aisle. Of the 502 bills that Kuster cosponsored, 40% were introduced by a legislator who was not a Democrat. View Cosponsored Bills »
Only Democratic and Republican Members of Congress who cosponsored more than 10 bills and resolutions are included in this statistic.
Ranked 25th most politically right compared to House Democrats
Our unique ideology analysis assigns a score to Members of Congress according to their legislative behavior by how similar the pattern of bills and resolutions they cosponsor are to other Members of Congress.
For more, see our methodology. Note that because on this page only legislative activity in the 115th Congress is considered, the ideology score here may differ from Kuster's score elsewhere on GovTrack.
Cosponsored the 56th most bills compared to All Representatives
Kuster cosponsored 502 bills and resolutions introduced by other Members of Congress. Cosponsorship shows a willingness to work with others to advance policy goals. View Cosponsored Bills »
Compare to all House Democrats (73rd percentile); All Representatives (87th percentile).
Introduced the 95th most bills compared to All Representatives (tied with 12 others)
Kuster introduced 26 bills and resolutions in the 115th Congress. View Bills »
Ranked the 111th bottom/follower compared to All Representatives
Our unique leadership analysis looks at who is cosponsoring whose bills. A higher score shows a greater ability to get cosponsors on bills.
For more, see our methodology. Note that because on this page only legislative activity in the 115th Congress is considered, the leadership score here may differ from Kuster's score elsewhere on GovTrack.
Kuster introduced 1 bill that became law, including via incorporation into other measures, in the 115th Congress. Keep in mind that it takes a law to repeal a law. Very few bills ever become law. View Enacted Bills »
Those bills were: H.R. 1545: VA Prescription Data Accountability Act …
The legislator must be the primary sponsor of the bill or joint resolution that was enacted or the primary sponsor of a bill or joint resolution for which at least about one third of its text was incorporated into another bill or joint resolution that was enacted as law, as determined by an automated analysis. While a legislator may lay claim to authoring other bills that became law, these cases are difficult for us to track quantitatively. We also exclude bills where the sponsor's original intent is not in the final bill.
4 of Kuster's bills and resolutions in the 115th Congress had a cosponsor who was a chair or ranking member of a committee that the bill was referred to. Getting support from committee leaders on relevant committees is a crucial step in moving legislation forward.
Those bills were: H.R. 1545: VA Prescription Data Accountability Act …; H.R. 4084: To repeal the amendments made …; H.R. 5580: STOP Fentanyl Deaths Act of …; H.R. 7079: Corrections Public Health and Community …
The House and Senate often work on the same issue simultaneously by introducing companion bills in each chamber. 4 of Kuster's bills and resolutions had a companion bill in the Senate. Working with a sponsor in the other chamber makes a bill more likely to be passed by both the House and Senate.
Those bills were: H.R. 965: Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park Redesignation …; H.R. 1163: Improving Access to Farm Conservation …; H.R. 4084: To repeal the amendments made …; H.R. 4893: Improve Data on Sexual Violence …
Companion bills are those that are identified as "identical" by Congress's Congressional Research Service.
Kuster held a leadership position on 0 committees and 1 subcommittee, as either a chair (majority party) or ranking member (minority party), at the end of the session. View Kuster's Profile »
Compare to all House Democrats (41st percentile); All Representatives (39th percentile).
Kuster's bills and resolutions had 161 cosponsors in the 115th Congress. Securing cosponsors is an important part of getting support for a bill, although having more cosponsors does not always mean a bill will get a vote. View Bills »
Kuster missed 3.4% of votes (41 of 1,210 votes) in the 115th Congress. View Kuster's Profile »
Compare to all All Representatives (60th percentile).
The Speaker of the House, per current House rules, is not required to vote in "ordinary legislative proceedings" and is never recorded as missing a vote, and may not be included in the comparison with other representatives if not voting. The delegates from the five island territories and the District of Columbia are not eligible to vote in most roll call votes and so may not appear here if not elligible for any vote during the time period of these statistics.
GovTrack looked at whether Kuster supported any of 32 government transparency, accountability, and effectiveness bills in the House that we identified in this session. We gave Kuster 3 points, based on one point for cosponsoring and three points for sponsoring any of these bills.
Kuster cosponsored H.Res. 604: CEASE Resolution; H.R. 4396: ME TOO Congress Act; H.Res. 630: Requiring each Member, officer, and …
Leadership/Ideology: The leadership and ideology scores are not displayed for Members of Congress who introduced fewer than 10 bills, or, for ideology, for Members of Congress that have a low leadership score, as there is usually not enough data in these cases to compute reliable leadership and ideology statistics.
Missing Bills: We exclude bills from some statistics where the sponsor's original intent is not in the final bill because the bill's text was replaced in whole with unrelated provisions (i.e. it became a vehicle for passage of unrelated provisions).
Ranking Members (RkMembs): The chair of a committee is always selected from the political party that holds the most seats in the chamber, called the "majority party". The "ranking member" (sometimes "RkMembs") is the title given to the senior-most member of the committee not in the majority party.
Freshmen/Sophomores: Freshmen and sophomores are Members of Congress whose first term (in the same chamber at the end of the 115th Congress) was the 115th Congress (freshmen) or 114th (sophomores). Members of Congress who took office within the last few months of a Congress are considered freshmen in the next Congress as well.