Part of the Earth Sciences CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska -Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Papers in the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska -Lincoln. AbstractSequence stratigraphy emphasizes facies relationships and stratal architecture within a chronological framework. Despite its wide use, sequence stratigraphy has yet to be included in any stratigraphic code or guide. This lack of standardization reflects the existence of competing approaches (or models) and confusing or even conflicting terminology. Standardization of sequence stratigraphy requires the definition of the fundamental model-independent concepts, units, bounding surfaces and workflow that outline the foundation of the method. A standardized scheme needs to be sufficiently broad to encompass all possible choices of approach, rather than being limited to a single approach or model.A sequence stratigraphic framework includes genetic units that result from the interplay of accommodation and sedimentation (i.e., forced regressive, lowstand and highstand normal regressive, and transgressive), which are bounded by "sequence stratigraphic" surfaces. Each genetic unit is defined by specific stratal stacking patterns and bounding surfaces, and consists of a tract of correlatable depositional systems (i.e., a "systems tract"). The mappability of systems tracts and sequence stratigraphic surfaces depends on depositional setting and the types of data available for analysis. It is this high degree of variability in the precise expression of sequence stratigraphic units and bounding surfaces that requires the adoption of a methodology that is sufficiently flexible that it can accommodate the range of likely expressions. The integration of outcrop, core, well-log and seismic data affords the optimal approach to the application of sequence stratigraphy. Missing insights from one set of data or another may limit the "resolution" of the sequence stratigraphic interpretation. 1 2 c a t u n e a n u e t a l . i n e a r t h -science r e v i e w s 92 (2009)

In this paper we discuss key aspects of empowering leadership as a basis for conceptualizing and operationalizing the construct. The conceptualization resulted in eight behavioral manifestations arranged within three influence processes, which were investigated in a sample of 317 subordinates in Study 1. The results supported the validity and reliability of a two-dimensional, 18-item instrument, labeled the Empowering Leadership Scale (ELS).In Study 2 (N = 215) and Study 3 (N = 831) the factor structure of ELS was cross-validated in two independent samples from different work settings. Preliminary concurrent validation in Study 1 and 2 found that ELS had a positive relationship to several subordinate variables, among others self-leadership and psychological empowerment. In Study 3 ELS was compared with scales measuring leader-member exchange (LMX) and transformational leadership. Discriminant validity was supported, and moreover, ELS showed incremental validity beyond LMX and transformational leadership when predicting psychological empowerment. The notion of empowerment was introduced in the field of management in the 1980s, and seems based on a need for an organizational concept that could promote employee productivity (Bartunek & Spreitzer, 2006) relative to fundamental technological and commercial changes that took place both in businesses and the public sector (Fernandez & Moldogaziev, 2011;Hill & Huq, 2004). These changes led to, among others, increased customer/client orientation, more flexible, flattened, and decentralized organization designs, and improvements in quality and efficiency for most organizations. The nature of work has also changed substantially in the last decades by becoming more complex and cognitively demanding (Humphrey, Nahrgang, & Morgeson, 2007), and highly skilled and educated "knowledge workers" have become the core of a rapidly growing segment of the workforce (Parker, Wall, & Cordery, 2001). KeywordsIn this changing "landscape" empowering leadership (EL) has emerged as a particular form of leadership, distinct from other approaches such as directive, transactional, and transformational leadership (Pearce et al., 2003). At its core, employee empowerment involves enhanced individual motivation at work through the delegation of responsibility and authority to the lowest organizational level where a competent decision can be made (Conger & Kanungo, 1988;Thomas & Velthouse, 1990). As such, EL may generally be defined as (2000) noted that there is little theory focusing on the role of effective empowering leader behavior, which seems equally valid today. We therefore aimed to fill some of this lack and additionally identify key mediators of EL. Accordingly, the main purpose of the present paper is, at the individual level of analysis, (1) to theoretically underpin and define EL as guideline for (2) conceptualization and operationalization of the construct, (3) to identify central mediators, and (4) to build, refine, and validate a new instrument to measure the construct. We in...

The study of source‐to‐sink systems relates long‐term variations in sediment flux to morphogenic evolution of erosional–depositional systems. These variations are caused by an intricate combination of autogenic and allogenic forcing mechanisms that operate on multiple time scales – from individual transport events to large‐scale filling of basins. In order to achieve a better understanding of how these mechanisms influence morphological characteristics on different scales, 29 submodern source‐to‐sink systems have been investigated. The study is based on measurements of morphological parameters from catchments, shelves and slopes derived from a ∼1 km global digital elevation model dataset, in combination with data on basin floor fans, sediment supply, water discharge and deposition rates derived from published literature. By comparing various morphological and sedimentological parameters within and between individual systems, a number of relationships governing system evolution and behaviour are identified. The results suggest that the amount of low‐gradient floodplain area and river channel gradient are good indicators for catchment storage potential. Catchment area and river channel length is also related to shelf area and shelf width, respectively. Similarly to the floodplain area, these parameters are important for long‐term storage of sediment on the shelf platform. Additionally, the basin floor fan area is correlative to the long‐term deposition rate and the slope length. The slope length thus proves to be a useful parameter linking proximal and distal segments in source‐to‐sink systems. The relationships observed in this study provide insight into segment scale development of source‐to‐sink systems, and an understanding of these relationships in modern systems may result in improved knowledge on internal and external development of source‐to‐sink systems over geological time scales. They also allow for the development of a set of semi‐quantitative guidelines that can be used to predict similar relationships in other systems where data from individual system segments are missing or lacking.

Over the past three decades, empowerment interventions and practices have emerged as important approaches to promoting constructive attitudes and behaviors among employees. Work designs that flow from such approaches are characterized by autonomy, self-leadership, and delegation of responsibility and decision-making authority. This movement represents a fundamental shift of power down the hierarchy to subordinates with high levels of appropriate knowledge and skills, and the terms knowledge work and knowledge workers are expressions that have emerged to characterize this change (e.g., Pyöriä, 2005). Despite attempts to dismiss empowerment as a passing fad (e.g., Abrahamson, 1996), research findings and experiences from practical implementation (e.g., Birdi et al., 2008) have demonstrated promising results that support the relevance of empowerment as it contributes to positive outcomes for both organizations and individuals (Seibert, Silver, & Randolph, 2004). This was recently underscored by Seibert, Wang, and Courtright (2011) in their review of psychological and team empowerment in organizations, in which they concluded that "empowerment is an effective approach for improving employee attitudes and work behaviors in a broad range of contexts (i.e., industries, occupations, and geographic regions)" (p. 995).In the academic management literature, there has gradually emerged two main approaches to empowerment at work (Spreitzer, 2008). The first of these is a sociostructural perspective that involves interventions and practices by the organization, leaders, and managers that aim to empower employees (e.g., Bennis & Nanus, 1985;Lawler, 1986). The second is a psychological perspective based on employees' perceptions of their work role, conceptualized as a motivational construct called psychological empowerment manifested in four cognitions: meaning, competence, selfdetermination, and impact (Spreitzer, 1995;Thomas & Velthouse, 1990). These two approaches are related, since psychological empowerment can be viewed as intrinsic task motivation shaped on an ongoing basis by, among other things, one's work environment (Thomas & Velthouse, 1990). This relationship was also underscored by Laschinger, Finegan, Shamian, and Wilk (2004), who stated that "psychological empowerment represents a reaction of employees to structural empowerment conditions" (p. 528).Leaders are proposed to have a central role in the empowerment process of employees (Druskat & Wheeler, 2003;Randolph & Kemery, 2011), but this role is somewhat 565819J LOXXX10.

The Western Irish Namurian Basin developed in Early Carboniferous times as a result of extension across the Shannon Lineament which probably coincides with the lapetus Suture. During the late Dinantian, axial areas of the NE‐SW elongate trough became deep, whilst shallow‐water limestones were deposited on the flanks. This bathymetry persisted into the Namurian when carbonate deposition ceased. In axial areas, a relatively thick mudstone succession spans earliest Namurian to Chokierian whilst on the northwestern marginal shelf, a thin, condensed Namurian mudstone sequence, in which pre‐Chokierian sediments are apparently absent, rests unconformably on the Dinantian. From late Chokierian to early Kinderscoutian, the basin was filled by sand‐dominated clastic sediments. Sand deposition began in the axial area with deposition of a thick turbidite sequence, the Ross Formation, which is largely equivalent to the condensed mudstone succession on the flanks. Turbidity currents flowed mainly axially towards the north‐east and deposited a sequence lacking well‐defined patterns of vertical bed‐thickness change. Channels and slide sheets occur towards the top of the formation. The turbidite system seems to have lacked well‐defined lobes and stable distributary channels. Overlying the Ross Formation, the Gull Island Formation shows a decreasing incidence of turbidite sandstones at the expense of increasing siltstones. This formation is characterized by major slides and slumps interbedded with undisturbed strata. In the flanking areas of the basin, the formation is thinner, has only a few turbidites in the sequence above the condensed mudstones and contains only one slide sheet. Overall the formation is interpreted as the deposit of a major prograding slope, the lower part representing a ramp upon which turbidites were deposited, the upper part a highly unstable muddy slope lacking any conspicuous feeder channels through which sand might have been transferred to deeper water. Progradation of the slope appears to have been increasingly from the northwestern flank of the trough which is similar to the direction deduced for the overlying deltaic Tullig cyclothem which completes the initial basin fill. Whilst several features of the succession can be explained by envisaging the whole sequence as the product of one linked depositional system, the shifting directions of palaeocurrents and palaeoslope raise problems. The switch from axial to lateral supply casts doubt on the strict application of Walther's Law to the total sequence and seems to demand large avulsive shifts of the delta system on the shelf area to the west.