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Global and local processing is part of human perceptual organisation, where global processing helps extract the “gist” of the visual information and local processing helps perceive the details. Individual differences in these two types of visual processing have been found in autism and ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Virtual reality (VR) has become a more available method of research in the last few decades. No previous research has investigated perceptual differences using this technology.

The objective of the research is to threefold: (1) identify if there is association between ADHD and autistic traits and the performance on the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure (ROCF) task, (2) investigate practical effects of using VR drawing tools for research on perceptual experiences and (3) explore any perceptual differences brought out by the three-dimensional nature of the VR. The standard ROCF test was used as a baseline task to investigate the practical utility of using VR as an experimental platform. A total of 94 participants were tested.

Attention-to-detail, attention switching and imagination subscales of autism quotient (AQ) questionnaire were found to be predictors of organisational ROCF scores, whereas only the attention-to-detail subscale was predictive of perceptual ROCF scores.

The current study is an example of how classic psychological paradigms can be transferred into the virtual world. Further investigation of the distinct individual preferences in drawing tasks in VR could lead to a better understanding of individual differences in the processing of visuospatial information.

Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990 precipitated an ecological tragedy in the Arabian Gulf region. During the course of the invasion Kuwait suffered severe losses to both its oil industry and its ecological system. The scale of damage was enormous, ranging from destruction as a result of oil fires and spills to the economic deterioration of Kuwait's oil industry. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the lessons learned from Kuwait's oil well catastrophe in the hope of preventing or at least minimizing future such man‐made disasters.

The paper reviews and analyzes Kuwait's oil well tragedy in terms of its scope, logistical services provided to cope with the disaster, the techniques used in firefighting operations and related political issues. The paper also discusses the need to review existing environmental laws and the concept of environmental crime in light of this catastrophe.

There are many important lessons that can be drawn from Kuwait's catastrophic disaster, the most important of which is to ensure that dictators in the future never believe they can destroy the environment without severe repercussions from the international community.

The conflagrations in Kuwait demonstrate the dangerous consequences of large‐scale modern combat in an environmentally fragile area. Not just Kuwait but all oil‐producing nations, especially the Gulf countries, are vulnerable to this type of environmental and economic disaster.

Kuwait's tragedy highlights the need for immediate consideration of possible similar disasters in the future and how the global community will deal with them. The high cost of environmental degradation only gets more expensive when left unattended. The price is paid not only in hard currency for firefighting but in damage to the public's health and in other environmental problems. This paper shows that sustainable development is impossible in the presence of wars and terrorist activities.

Frank G. Manning, a 15‐year veteran of Lear Siegler Inc, has been appointed president of Piper Aircraft Corp. The announcement was made by Robert J. Wyma, vice president of Lear Siegler's Aircraft Group.

Neil Mackin, has been appointed managing director of Matra Data‐vision (UK) Ltd, Coventry, a subsidiary of the French CAD/‐CAM/CAE system vendor whose ‘EUCLID‐IS’ software runs on Digital, Sun, and Silicone Graphics computer hardware.

The reliance on teams in today’s work environment underscores the importance of understanding how teams function. To better understand teams, one must be able to measure team dynamics or interaction. The purpose of this chapter is to outline an unobtrusive approach to measuring team dynamics from verbal communications.

The basic premise of this approach is that the words we use provide insight into how we feel and think at any given time. The methodology described in this chapter employs a lexical analytic approach to examining team dynamics. To best accomplish this, we first identify the principal features or dimensions of teamwork and then we propose lexical measures that may map to these processes.

This approach can be employed to track team functioning over time “at a distance” without interrupting task performance.

This chapter describes an approach to measuring relevant teamwork dimensions through verbal content. This approach has the potential to give us direct, unobtrusive insight into the emotional and cognitive states of teams. It is original in its examination of how team dynamics can be indexed in speech.

Organization development is focused on implementing a planned process of positive humanistic change in organizations through the use of social science theory, action research, and data-based feedback methods. The role of personality in that change process, however, has historically been ignored or relegated to a limited set of interventions. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a conceptual overview of the linkages between personality and OD, discuss the current state of personality in the field including key trends in talent management, and offer a new multi-level framework for conceptualizing applications of personality for different types of OD efforts. The chapter concludes with implications for research and practice.

A £370,000 expansion programme has been announced by McAlpine Helicopters Ltd following record spring sales of £3.2m.

This chapter identifies, defines and explores four news media roles of conduit, facilitator, mediator and political actor through which the media participate with corporate, social and political actors in agenda-building processes. The framework of the media’s four agenda-building roles sheds light on how the news media perform their various roles as well as how other actors, such as organizations and media audiences, are able to mobilize the media performing these roles. This framework helps explain how and why media roles affect the way actors are able to influence the media agenda with the intention of shaping the public agenda.

Swindon Skillcentre's Non Destructive Testing (NDT) school is pleased to announce that it is back in business after a closure of almost a year. The school has a new instructor who brings a wide range of skills and abilities with him.

This chapter is based on a study of 60 migrant women in Washington State, USA, and their communication with their families in and across borders through information and communication technologies (ICTs). Four themes were identified in the research concerning the uneasy ways family members used the ICTs to: (1) predicate migration decision-making through word-of-mouth and social media; (2) facilitate the movement of members across borders through stepwise migration; (3) affect the transition to a transnational family through establishing a sense of co-presence; and (4) mediate care through communication chains. The significance of the study demonstrates the need for relational thinking about transnational family communication and the mobilities of families. Transnational family members develop sophisticated ways of communicating through ICTs, albeit with difficulty, and which are embedded in interdependent systems of migration and mobilities.