bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Environmental management system (EMS)
Authors: Kasim Azilah
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The paper aims to discuss the link or relationship between environmental management system (EMS) adoptions with organization learning (OL). It postulates that EMS adoption has the potential to catalyze organizational learning in hotels to make them more dynamic and competitive.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper reviewed the literature to link the purpose and steps involved in an EMS adoption with the benefit of managing organizational knowledge and OL. It also uses the literature to identify phases of learning in EMS adoption and the level of employees exposed to the learning.

Findings

– There are two reasons why more hotels should not be hesitant to adopt EMS: flexibility – EMS does not dictate the level of environmental performance a firm should achieve, thus giving hotel firms the flexibility to determine the level of sophistication of their environmental management; and the building of company’s dynamism – EMS facilitates organizational learning, leading to enhanced organizational performance.

Research limitations/implications

– The proposed link between EMS implementation with OL in this paper can only be proven by means of empirical studies.

Practical implications

– Understanding the OL value of EMS adoption may persuade more hotel practitioners to adopt it.

Originality/value

– This paper proposes a link between a systematic approach to managing environmental responsibility with knowledge management in hotels.
Consequences of “greenwashing”
Authors: Rahman Imran , Park Jeongdoo , Chi Christina Geng-qing
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This quasi-experimental study aimed to investigate, drawing upon influential discounting behavior theory and cognition – affect – behavior (C-A-B) paradigm, consumers’ reactions to the phenomenon of “greenwashing” in the lodging industry. More specifically, this paper proposed and tested a theoretical model that examined whether recognizing the ulterior motive caused consumer skepticism about hotels’ environmental claims, which in turn influenced consumers’ intention to participate in linen reuse program and intention to revisit the hotel. Additionally, the moderating effects of ecological concern on the relationship between skepticism and intention to participate and between skepticism and intention to revisit were examined.

Design/methodology/approach

– A quasi-experimental design was used with two conditions (control vs ulterior motive) employing staff members of a US public university as study participants. In total, 638 useful responses were received.

Findings

– The results of this study revealed that an ulterior motive of hotels’ environmental claims evoked consumer skepticism, which, in turn, negatively influenced consumers’ intention to participate in the linen reuse program and intention to revisit the hotel. Skepticism was found to partially mediate the relationships between ulterior motive and intention to participate and between ulterior motive and intention to revisit. Consumers’ ecological concern was not found to moderate the relationship between skepticism and intention to participate in the linen reuse program and skepticism and intention to revisit the hotel. In addition, a significant positive direct effect between ecological concern and intention to participate and a non-significant effect between ecological concern and revisit intention were revealed.

Research limitations/implications

– Focus on consumers’ response to the ulterior motive of environmental claims advances an understanding of consumers’ attitudes and perceptions about hotels’ green practices.

Practical implications

– Findings suggest that hotels need to be watchful so that consumers do not become skeptical. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that managers do everything possible to give customers no room for doubt. Hoteliers need to spend more effort in installing comprehensive green programs and make true green claims by keeping the potential consequences of greenwashing in mind. Hoteliers also need to seek out third-party certifications that require the hotel to meet certain standards, which will help ensure credibility in the eyes of consumers.

Originality/value

– Hospitality literature has seldom explored this gray area of green marketing, and, in this regard, this study serves as a guide to hoteliers and researchers alike. The authors thereby anticipate that this study would encourage more research in this often overlooked but highly important area.
Intellectual capital in Serbia’s hotel industry
Authors: Bontis Nick , Janošević Stevo , Dženopoljac Vladimir
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to determine whether intellectual capital (IC) creates value in the Serbian hotel industry. Specifically, this paper examines to what degree IC and its key components affect the financial performance of hotels compared to physical and financial capital.

Design/methodology/approach

– The sample included all of the hotels that operated as independent entities in Serbia during 2009–2012. value-added intellectual coefficient was used to measure the level of IC contribution to value creation, which was linked to various measures of financial performance, including operating profit, return on equity, return on assets, profitability and employee productivity.

Findings

– Results indicate that after controlling for firm size and leverage, employee productivity and, to some extent, profitability were affected by human and structural capital. The research confirms that the financial performance of hotels in Serbia remains predominantly influenced by efficient use of physical capital.

Research limitations/implications

– The study’s generalizability is limited to the hotel sector within Serbia.

Practical implications

– Senior managers in the hotel industry must recognize the importance of managing both the physical aspects of their hotels and the intangible resources embedded in their employees and processes.

Originality/value

– The findings will aid recognition of the importance of investing in IC in hotel industry as a crucial element of achieving competitive advantage in the information age. Moreover, the findings suggest that long-term growth should not rely solely on physical and financial assets.
Modelling the effect of energy performance certificate rating on property value in the Belfast housing market
Authors: Davis Peadar T , McCord John A , McCord Michael , Haran Martin
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This study aims to investigate the relationship between energy performance and property sale price in the Belfast housing market. How energy efficiency is contributes to sale price and thus appraisal value is of growing concern. The obligatory measurement of energy efficiency in private dwellings seeks to encourage improvements in energy performance. This may be capitalised into property value and may stimulate demand for energy-efficient buildings. However, the relationship between energy performance and property value remains nebulous, complex and under-researched – in part due to data limitations.

Design/methodology/approach

– Using a hedonic pricing specification, this paper measures the effect of energy performance certificates (EPCs) on residential property value. It examines the relationship between 3,797 residential sales transactions across the Belfast housing market, showing the percentage effect on property value with respect to energy performance.

Findings

– The results indicate a small but positive relationship between better energy performance and higher selling prices. Nonetheless, the findings point towards strong preference, demand tastes and a complex intra-relationship between EPCs and their capitalisation into property value. Pertinently, the findings point towards any energy-efficient-related price effect affect to be marginal alongside more “quality”-based market behaviours.

Research limitations/implications

– Analogous with other studies, data deficiencies and a lack of incorporating price determining variables (missing determinants) such as heating type and glazing type introduces omitted variable bias and endogeneity problems within the model structure.

Originality/value

– This paper contributes to emerging literature and policy debate surrounding the measurement and implementation of energy-efficiency certification through a greater understanding of energy performance characteristics in determining property value.
Role of reality TV as a consumer-socialization agent of teenagers in a developing country
Authors: Haq Md Ridhwanul , Rahman Syed H
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify how reality television (RTV) influences the socialization of teenage consumers in a developing country. While the influence of television on consumer behaviour has been researched extensively in developed countries, the effect of RTV on consumer socialization has not, particularly in the context of developing countries.

Design/methodology/approach

– A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods was used to develop the theoretical model, constructs and measurement variables. The data were then analysed, and the hypotheses tested and confirmed using structural equation modelling.

Findings

– RTV has a positive influence on the socialization of teenage consumers in a developing country. Teenagers’ consumption-related cognition, attitude and values are strongly affected by RTV. Furthermore, their consumption-related attitude is affected by consumption-related cognition and values. Social structural variables (parental control, peer-group influences, gender differences and social class differences) have an effect on teenagers’ RTV involvement and consumer-socialization process.

Originality/value

– Current consumer-socialization literature identifies the role of TV in consumer socialization. However, there is very little extant literature about the role of RTV in consumer socialization, particularly from a developing-country perspective. Furthermore, in the present literature, consumption-related cognition, attitudes and values are considered outcomes of consumer socialization; however, this has not been empirically tested regarding teenagers’ involvement in RTV and its consumer-socialization outcomes. This research considers the involvement of teenagers with RTV, and the influences of various social structural variables from a developing-country perspective.
Testing the weak-form efficiency of stock markets
Authors: Nwachukwu Jacinta Chikaodi , Shitta Omowunmi
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to focus on the weak-form efficiency of 24 emerging and nine industrial stock market indices around the world. It tests for the predictability and the presence of seasonal patterns in rates of return from January 2000 to December 2010.

Design/methodology/approach

– It reports on the descriptive statistics for estimated monthly percentage returns. This is complemented by the use of both parametric and non-parametric techniques to test for abnormal return behaviour in stock markets.

Findings

– The results show that: first, emerging economies which persisted with market-oriented reforms had higher returns relative to risk, indicating their attractiveness for risk diversification; second, successive changes in stock prices were interrelated with each other and therefore contained information for predicting future prices in two-thirds of the emerging markets compared to one-third of industrial economies; and third, the turn-of-the calendar year effect was present for half of the emerging markets vis-à-vis one-quarter of the developed countries. The authors found limited support for the tax-loss selling hypothesis for both the emerging and industrial economies.

Research limitations/implications

– The paper fails to specifically analyse the implications for security returns of changes in technology, institutions, volume of trading and regulations in the different stock markets.

Practical implications

– The results should be particularly informative for foreign investors with regard to the risk diversification benefits of the various emerging and industrialised stock markets and the expected risk-return trade-offs.

Originality/value

– The paper provides a more powerful explanation for the role of institutional arrangements, infrastructure, culture and other country-specific risk factors in asset pricing compared to disparate case studies.
Dual Adjacency Matrix: Exploring Link Groups in Dense Networks
Authors: Dinkla K. , Riche N. Henry , Westenberg M.A.
Published: July 2015

Node grouping is a common way of adding structure and information to networks that aids their interpretation. However, certain networks benefit from the grouping of links instead of nodes. Link communities, for example, are a form of link groups that describe high‐quality overlapping node communities. There is a conceptual gap between node groups and link groups that poses an interesting visualization challenge. We introduce the Dual Adjacency Matrix to bridge this gap. This matrix combines node and link group techniques via a generalization that also enables it to be coordinated with a node‐link‐contour diagram. These methods have been implemented in a prototype that we evaluated with an information scientist and neuroscientist via interviews and prototype walk‐throughs. We demonstrate this prototype with the analysis of a trade network and an fMRI correlation network.
Evaluating 2D Flow Visualization Using Eye Tracking
Authors: Ho Hsin‐Yang , Yeh I‐Cheng , Lai Yu‐Chi , Lin Wen‐Chieh , Cherng Fu‐Yin
Published: July 2015

Flow visualization is recognized as an essential tool for many scientific research fields and different visualization approaches are proposed. Several studies are also conducted to evaluate their effectiveness but these studies rarely examine the performance from the perspective of visual perception. In this paper, we aim at exploring how users’ visual perception is influenced by different 2D flow visualization methods. An eye tracker is used to analyze users’ visual behaviors when they perform the free viewing, advection prediction, flow feature detection, and flow feature identification tasks on the flow field images generated by different visualizations methods. We evaluate the illustration capability of five representative visualization algorithms. Our results show that the eye‐tracking‐based evaluation provides more insights to quantitatively analyze the effectiveness of these visualization methods.
Effects of acute postexercise chocolate milk consumption during intensive judo training on the recovery of salivary hormones, salivary SIgA, mood state, muscle soreness, and judo-related performance
Authors: Papacosta Elena , Nassis George P. , Gleeson Michael
Published: July 2015

This study examined the effects of postexercise chocolate milk (CM) or water (W) consumption during 5 days of intensive judo training with concomitant weight loss on salivary cortisol and testosterone, salivary secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA), delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and judo-related performance. Twelve trained male judo athletes engaged in 5 days of intensive judo training followed by a simulated judo competition, on 2 separate training weeks 14 days apart. The athletes consumed 1000 mL of W (week 1) or CM (week 2) immediately post-training. During both weeks, athletes were instructed to “make weight” for the upcoming competition. Performance in timed push-ups and the Special Judo Fitness Test improved by 14.6% and 6.8%, respectively, at the end of the training week with CM consumption (both p < 0.001). Decreased salivary cortisol (p < 0.01) and a trend for an increased salivary testosterone/cortisol ratio (p = 0.07) were also observed midweek in the CM condition. Saliva flow rate was higher during the week with CM intake compared with W intake (p < 0.001). DOMS (p < 0.001) and mood disturbance (p < 0.0001) increased after the first day of training in the W condition but not in the CM condition. Salivary testosterone and SIgA responses were similar between treatments (p > 0.05). Body mass decreased by 1.9% in the W condition and by 1.1% in the CM condition, with no significant difference between treatments. This study indicates that postexercise CM consumption during short-term intensive judo training enhances aspects of recovery without affecting intentional weight loss.
Identification of MMP-9 as a biomarker for detecting progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: Abd El-Fatah Marwa F. , Ghazy Mohamed A. , Mostafa Mohamed S. , El-Attar May M. , Osman Ahmed
Published: July 2015

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a complex immunological disease with multiple pathological features that is primarily induced by smoking together with additional genetic risk factors. COPD is frequently underdiagnosed; forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) is considered to be the main diagnostic measure for COPD, yet it is insufficiently sensitive to monitor disease progression. Biomarkers capable of monitoring COPD progression and severity are needed. In this report, we evaluated matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) as an early marker for the detection and staging of COPD, by assessing the mRNA levels of MMP-9 in peripheral blood samples collected from 22 COPD patients, 6 asymptomatic smokers, and 5 healthy controls. Our results demonstrate that the mRNA levels of MMP-9 increased more than two-fold in severe COPD relative to non-COPD smokers or moderate COPD groups. Moreover, in the very severe COPD group, MMP-9 mRNA levels showed a 4-fold increase relative to the non-COPD smokers or the moderate COPD groups, while there was a mild increase (∼40%) when compared to the severe COPD group. Taken together, our results suggest that MMP-9 serves as a biomarker for the grade and severity of COPD.
Relative derived categories with respect to subcategories
Authors: Di Zhenxing , Zhang Xiaoxiang , Ren Wei , Chen Jianlong
Published: July 2015

The notion of relative derived category with respect to a subcategory is introduced. A triangle-equivalence, which extends a theorem of Gao and Zhang [Gorenstein derived categories, J. Algebra 323 (2010) 2041–2057] to the bounded below case, is obtained. Moreover, we interpret the relative derived functor [Formula: see text] as the morphisms in such derived category and give two applications.
Probabilistic Network Approach to Decision-Making
Authors: Nicolis Grégoire , Nicolis Stamatios C.
Published: July 2015

A probabilistic approach to decision-making is developed in which the states of the underlying stochastic process, assumed to be of the Markov type, represent the competing options. The principal parameters determining the dominance of a particular option versus the others are identified and the transduction of information associated to the transitions between states is quantified using a set of entropy-like quantities.
B10 Cells Ameliorate the Progression of Lupus Nephritis by Attenuating Glomerular Endothelial Cell Injury
Authors: Yu Miao , Song You , Zhu Ming-Xin , Liang Wei , Long Qi , Ding Pei-Wu , Xie Yu , Liao Yu-Hua , Yuan Jing
Published: July 2015

Background/Aim: B10 cells are generally considered to inhibit the kidney injury in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) mouse models, but recently this function of B10 cells was denied by the lineage-specific deletion of IL-10 from B cells. Thus, this study aimed to determine whether and how B10 cells play a protective role in lupus nephritis (LN). Methods: LN and non-LN SLE patients without receiving any treatments were recruited, and the percentages of circulating B10 cell were determined. Furthermore, the purified B10 cells were transferred into MRL/lpr SLE mice, and the exact effects of B10 cells on LN progression were investigated. Results: The percentage of circulating B10 cells was significantly higher in patient than in healthy controls, while they were fewer in LN patients than non-LN SLE patients. Moreover, B10 cells rather than plasma IL-10 levels were negatively correlated with disease severity especially with kidney injury in LN patients. In animal experiments, the glomerular injuries including the proteinuria and pathological scores were significantly attenuated in SLE mice transferred with B10 cells, accompanied by the decreased glomerular endothelial cell CD54/CD106 expression, and glomerular p38 phosphorylation as well as increased SOCS3 expression. At the same time, the serum anti-dsDNA autoantibody, TNF-α and IFN-γ levels were also reduced, while there were no changes in serum IL-10 and IL-17 levels in B10 cell transferred mice. Conclusion: These findings suggest that B10 cells could - independent from IL-10 - ameliorate glomerular injury in LN through protection of glomerular endothelial cells.
Explicitly Simulated Electrification and Lightning within a Tropical Cyclone Based on the Environment of Hurricane Isaac (2012)
Authors: Fierro Alexandre O. , Mansell Edward R. , Ziegler Conrad L. , MacGorman Donald R.
Published: July 2015

This work analyzes a high-resolution 350-m simulation of the electrification processes within a hurricane in conjunction with available total lightning observations to augment the general understanding of some of the key cloud-scale electrification processes within these systems. The general environment and trends of Hurricane Isaac (2012), whose lightning activity was observed by the Earth Networks Total Lightning Network, were utilized to produce a reasonable tropical cyclone simulation. The numerical model in this work employs explicit electrification and lightning parameterizations within the Weather Research and Forecasting Model.

Overall, simulated storm-total flash origin density rates remain comparable to the observations. Because simulated reflectivities were larger and echo tops were higher in the eyewall than observed, the model consistently overestimated lightning rates there. The gross vertical charge structure in the eyewall resembled a normal tripole or a positive dipole, depending on the location. The negative charge at middle levels and positive at upper levels arose primarily from noninductive charging between graupel and ice crystals/snow. As some graupel melted into rain, the main midlevel negative charge region extended down to the surface in some places. The large volume of positively charged snow aloft caused a radially extensive negative screening layer to form on the lighter ice crystals above it.

Akin to continental storms and tropical convection, lightning activity in the eyewall was well correlated with the ice water path (r > 0.7) followed by the graupel + hail path (r ≈ 0.7) and composite reflectivity at temperatures less than −10°C and the snow + ice path (r ≈ 0.5). Relative maxima in updraft volume, graupel volume, and total lightning rates in the eyewall all were coincident with the end of an intensification phase.
Principal Component Analysis Approach to Evaluate Instrument Performances in Developing a Cost-Effective Reliable Instrument Network for Atmospheric Measurements
Authors: Lolli Simone , Di Girolamo Paolo
Published: July 2015

Developing a reliable cost-effective instrument network for data measurement is a challenging task for agency decisionmakers. A simple way to fully characterize the performances of an instrument that also considers economical and operational factors—price, maintenance cost, lifetime, etc.—currently does not exist. Through principal component analysis, a method is developed to build a composite index that assigns a single score to each instrument, taking into account all the scientific, economic, and operational aspects. This index will then represent solid help in building and optimizing a cost-effective network, bridging the gap between two very different worlds: the scientific need for precision and economic constraints.
Diversity by the Numbers
Authors: McCabe Barbara Coyle , Stream Christopher
Published: July 2015

The tools used to diversify workforces in state and local governments have come under attack and, in at least one state, have been rescinded by voter initiative. The current backlash against these policies begs the question of whether diversification has occurred, and, if so, how the workforce has changed. In this study, we examine demographic changes in the composition of state and local bureaucracies from 1980 to 1995, looking specifically at the share of representation of both women and men as well as of African Americans and whites. We find significant gains have been made by a combination of white and, especially, black women. Overall, as we enter the next decade, we find a state and local government workforce that is moving towards a more equal gender split.
Using the Balanced Scorecard to Measure the Performance of Your HR Information System
Authors: Hagood Wesley O. , Friedman Lee
Published: July 2015

One of the most significant challenges faced by public personnel executives today is measuring the performance of their human resources information system (HRIS) in order to justify the value-added contribution of the HRIS to accomplishing the organization's mission. Over the last year, the CIA developed and implemented a balanced scorecard-based performance measurement system for its HRIS to justify cost and highlight the effectiveness of the system. The HRIS Program Director, Patricia Minard, used the Kaplan-Norton balanced scorecard framework to identify and align the organization's goals, objectives, and measures; to gather baseline data to measure against established measurement targets; and to measure and demonstrate the value-added contribution of the HRIS.
Employee Perceptions of Leadership and Performance Management in the Botswana Public Service
Authors: Hope Kempe Ronald
Published: July 2015

Public servants in Botswana play an important role as partners in the management of the public sector and national affairs; and, during the past three decades, the country has acquired a reputation for sound development management and good governance. That reputation has been derived primarily from the behavior and performance of the country's public servants who have been motivated to fulfill their duties honestly and effectively. However, in recent years, a culture of indifference and outright laziness has crept into the public service leading to serious bottlenecks in service delivery. This article discusses and analyzes employee perceptions of leadership and performance management in the Botswana public service in light of the country's reputation with respect to the nature and functioning of its public servants.
Diversity in Religious Practice: Implications of Islamic Values in the Public Workplace
Authors: Ball Carolyn , Haque Akhlaque
Published: July 2015

Muslims are a growing segment of the American workforce, both in the public and private sectors. With the World Trade Center disaster, public employers are now more aware of the presence of Muslims and, perhaps, concerned about how they will be integrated into their workforce. This article provides a description of Islamic religious practices. It then reviews the role of the First Amendment, state religious freedom acts and civil rights laws as protections afforded to religious persons in the public sector. Through a review of court cases from 1994 to 2001, it describes the status of court protections for Muslim religious practice in the public workforce.
How Much Should Federal Employees Be Paid?
Authors: Risher Howard
Published: July 2015

The General Schedule (GS) salary system is broken. It cannot be repaired. It's no longer meeting the needs of government. No elements of the system are consistent with best practice thinking in salary management. It was designed more than 50 years ago for a very different world of work. At this stage it has no defenders.

The Departments of Defense (DOD) and Homeland Security (DHS) have the authorization to develop their own salary systems. They join a growing list of agencies with similar authority—the Federal Aviation Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, and the General Accountability Office. Each of these agencies has argued that the GS system is an impediment to their efforts to accomplish their mission and achieve their strategic goals. The list will continue to grow.

The new model for salary management that has been adopted or proposed in these agencies is based on the broadband concept. Within the bands, pay for performance is the basis for managing salaries. That policy change has been the focus of heated debates. While it is effectively a universal practice for white-collar employees in non-government sectors, it represents a radical and difficult change for public agencies.

The new model also makes it necessary to rethink the strategy for aligning salaries with prevailing market pay levels. The locality pay concept adopted under the Federal Employee Pay Comparability Act (FEPCA) was never allowed to operate as planned, and probably has lost too much credibility to be resuscitated. It also suffers from a change in the way the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) conducts its salary surveys. The issues and problems associated with linking federal pay to market rates are the focus of this article.
Two Years Later: Hurricane Katrina Still Poses Significant Human Resource Problems for Local Governments
Authors: French P. Edward , Goodman Doug , Stanley Rodney E.
Published: July 2015

This study explores the impact of Hurricane Katrina on local government HR management for several cities along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The authors interviewed mayors, city managers, chief administrative officers, and HR directors regarding a range of topics, including the recruitment and retention of employees in the post-Katrina environment. Analysis of the interviews shows that the smaller cities and towns on the Gulf Coast continue to struggle with hiring and retaining qualified employees. While some local governments have faired better than others during the recovery period, discussions with city officials have shown that retaining employees has proven difficult and daunting following the catastrophe.
Psychological Testing in Personnel Selection, Part III: The Resurgence of Personality Testing
Authors: Scroggins Wesley A. , Thomas Steven L. , Morris Jerry A.
Published: July 2015

This article is the third in a three-part series examining the development of selection testing. Part I focused on the historical development of personnel selection testing from the late 19th century to the present, with particular attention given to personality testing. Attention was given to the efforts of early industrial psychologists that shaped and defined the role of testing in the scientific selection of employees. Part II examined the development of methods and standards in employment testing, with particular emphasis on selection validity and utility. We also explored the issues of selection fairness and discrimination in selection as they relate to psychological testing. Part III explores the development and application of personality testing with a particular emphasis on the development of the Big Five personality model and the utility of adding personality testing to the menu of choices for personnel selection methods. The transient nature of models of personality is noted, and current paradigms and the utility and fairness of personality testing for modern organizations is discussed.
Personnel Reform in Consolidated Metropolitan Governments: Executive Responsibility and Neutral Competence
Authors: Johnson Victoria E. , Sink David
Published: July 2015

Metropolitan governmental mergers and consolidations are distinctly structural reforms which suggest administrative reforms of similar disposition. For the personnel function, reform has meant some blending of the neutral competence and executive responsibility models in order to maximize local governmental responsiveness and accountability, while protecting employees from partisan political abuses. Resultant personnel systems in seven consolidated governments are surveyed to determine the degree of complementarity between the two models. By measuring these metropolitan government personnel systems against ten criteria concerning coverage and hiring-firing-promotion practices, each may be characterized as “safe, good government” reform or “strong executive leadership” reform.
Employee Education and Job Performance: Does Education Matter?
Authors: Ariss Sonny S. , Timmins Sherman A.
Published: July 2015

This study examines the relationship between the type of college degree, level of college degree, and superiors' perceptions of managers' attributes and their work performance in some management areas. No significant relationship has been found between the managers' college education and their performance at work. The implications of these findings for practicing managers are addressed.
Predicting and Managing Turnover in Human Service Agencies: A Case Study of an Organization in Crisis
Authors: Balfour Danny L. , Neff Donna M.
Published: July 2015

This study uses logistical regression to identify employee and organizational attributes contributing to the probability of voluntary turnover among child protective service caseworkers in a large children's services bureau. Variables which indicate the employee's stake in the organization (length of service, overtime hours), commitment to the profession (previous experience or internship with a human services agency), and level of education, were determinants of those who chose to remain or leave during times of high turnover and intense outside criticism and questioning of agency effectiveness. The agency's primary response to the problem, a special training program, did not significantly reduce the probability of turnover.
Implications of the ADA for State and Local Government: Judicial Activism Reincarnated
Authors: Cozzetto Don A.
Published: July 2015

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) extends additional rights to 43 million disabled Americans. Ultimately the interpretation and enforcement of the ADA will fall under the jurisdiction of the courts. History has shown that in other areas of personnel such as affirmative action and pre-enployment testing, the courts have played a proactive, and oftentimes confusing role in providing guidance to line and staff managers. This paper discusses judicial intervention and provides guidance to state and local government managers who will be required to comply with the provisions of the ADA.
Organization-Based Self-Esteem among Mental Health Workers: A Replication and Extension
Authors: Tang Thomas Li-Ping , Gilbert Pamela Rae
Published: July 2015

One hundred fifty five employees from the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation in the State of Tennessee completed a survey which measured the Organization-Based Self-Esteem (OBSE, Pierce, Gardner, Cummings, & Dunham, 1989), as well as their demographic, personality, and organizational variables. The results of a step-wise multiple regression showed that OBSE was related to subjects' global self-esteem, n Ach, organizational citizenship, organizational commitment, motivating potential score (MPS), and education. Several results were replicated and new findings were discussed. It appears that OBSE is related to many variables that are intrinsic to the employees' subjective feelings in an organization.
Employee Suggestion Programs in the Health Care Field the Rewards of Involvement
Authors: Mishra Jitendra M.
Published: July 2015

This paper examines employee suggestion programs in the health care field. Employee suggestion programs (ESP) work best to elicit new ideas, save money in this inflationary field, and yield substantial rewards to the employee who contributes valid suggestions. Employees' ideas and efforts can make hospital programs thrive and help hospitals retain their “distinctive competence”. Encouraging/rewarding suggestions can give hospitals their “cutting edge”.
Learning from Japanese Transplants and American Corporations
Authors: Rhody Jim D. , Tang Thomas Li-Ping
Published: July 2015

In the past ten years, many Japanese manufacturers, especially automobile manufacturers, have opened plants in the United States. The Japanese have, in that time, increased their market share from one in five to nearly one in three cars that Americans drive. There are clear differences in Japanese and American business practices in the areas of organizational culture, leadership style, selection, training, employee attitudes, job satisfaction, and quality. American businesses must understand these differences and realize the most effective and efficient approach to produce goods and services that will fit in with our culture. The lessons we have learned from Japanese transplants and American corporations may have important implications to managers in public personnel management.
Public Sector Performance Appraisal Effectiveness: A Case Study
Authors: Longenecker Clinton O. , Nykodym Nick
Published: July 2015

Performance appraisal usage is expanding in public sector organizations across the U.S. Organizations employ the formal appraisal process with the belief that it provides them with a host of potential human resource benefits. In this study, 254 members of a large public sector organization were surveyed to assess the degree to which the organization's formal performance appraisal system was perceived as being effective in serving functions typically associated with the appraisal process. In addition, differences in manager/subordinate perceptions were analyzed and suggestions for improving the appraisal process were solicited. This research demonstrates that a properly developed appraisal process can serve both managers and subordinates in a number of important areas. At the same time, several critical functions of the appraisal process were found to be less than effective. A discussion of the implications of these findings to both academics and practitioners is included.
Transition—Ready or Not: The Aging of America's Work Force
Authors: Crampton Suzanne , Hodge John , Mishra Jitendra
Published: July 2015

One of the most amazing phenomenons in human resource management in the last decade is the aging of America's labor force. The maturing of baby boomers, increasing longevity, and a declining birth rate have contributed to a shortage of younger workers and an increase in the number of Americans in the older age brackets. With the aging of the work force, organizations are going to have to accommodate the transitions needed. These aging baby boomers heralded in the age of child-care issues. Now, with the nation's elderly being the fastest growing segment of the population, elder-care issues are also of major concern for the aging baby oomers and for American management. Corporate America needs to utilize its unbelievable resource of available talent—the reliable, trained, and educated older work force. We must try examine the question of how to maximize the positives of the situation and modify or reduce any negatives.
Issues and Lessons of Chinese Civil Service Reform
Authors: Liou Koutsai Tom
Published: July 2015

This study examines the experience of China's civil service reform during its economic development years. The study focuses on major issues that are related to the reform, including: the reform background and motives, the reform process, reform characteristics and major challenges. Based on the analysis of the Chinese reform experience, the study further discusses some lessons that may contribute to the knowledge of civil service reform.
Managers and Mental Health: Mental Illness and the Workplace
Authors: Schott Richard L.
Published: July 2015

Mental illness is prevalent in modern society and in our organizations. Though our knowledge of mental disorders has greatly increased over the past few decades, managers' understanding and acceptance of the pervasiveness, treatment, and impact on organizational life has lagged behind. Partly because modern psychiatry and clinical psychology are relatively new fields of practice (just a century ago the seriously mentally ill were being locked away in insane asylums), mental illness still carries a stigma. We rarely disclose our depressed moods, our feelings of anxiety, or other mental symptoms to our work colleagues; yet our organizational chit chat is full of discussions of allergies, broken bones, influenza, even cancer—“legitimate” subjects because they are “medical.” At the same time, the self-help sections of bookstores are full of titles on a range of mental illness. For example, Listening to Prozac, a discussion of a new class of drugs for depression, and The Road Less Traveled, practical advice from psychiatrist Scott Peck, are national best-sellers. In this article, I hope to introduce the reader to the symptoms and treatment of the most common mental disorders found in the workplace and suggest to managers how they may facilitate mental health.
Are Public Employers Ready for a “New Pay” Program?
Authors: Risher Howard
Published: July 2015

Wage and salary management is at a cross-road. After following the same path for almost half a century, a growing number of corporations are moving in a new direction. They have largely abandoned the traditional program concepts and are building new programs around ideas that are still being refined. There is a high level of interest among public employers in moving in the same direction. But at least in the public sector those new concepts are not wholly compatible with the values and beliefs that have served as the foundation for public pay programs. That makes program planners hesitant to take the new path.

The hesitancy is not surprising. Public employers feel the pressure to change but, thus far, very few have implemented and lived with the new program model. Charlotte, NC seems to be the only example of a comprehensive “new pay” program in government. There may be few defenders of the traditional program model, but managers and employees alike are comfortable with that model. The transition from that model to the new one is not going to be easy.

As the leader of the IPMA/AC A workshop on broad banding, I have now had the opportunity to discuss the new pay model with human resource managers from all levels of government. The discussions evidence considerable interest in new ideas in the abstract, but there is also a realization that their organizations may not be ready for the new pay model. This article looks at some of the issues that go into that decision.
The Evolution of Affirmative Action
Authors: Lee R.A.
Published: July 2015

1964: “Contrary to the allegations of some opponents of this title, there is nothing in it that will give any power to the (Equal Employment Opportunity) Commission or to any court to require hiring, firing, or promotion of employees in order to meet a racial ‘quota’ or to achieve a certain racial balance. In fact, the very opposite is true. Title VII prohibits discrimination. In effect, it says that race, religion, and national origin are not to be used as the basis for hiring and firing. Title VII is designed to encourage hiring on the basis of ability and qualifications, not race or religion.” — Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey, D-MN1

1996: “…I am disheartened by the introduction of legislation [H.R. 2128] which would roll back the clock on civil rights in this country. Under the guise of returning to the ‘original intent’ of civil rights laws, this legislation would forbid the use of race and gender in governmental decision making and curtail proven and widely accepted remedies for present and past discrimination.” — Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, (D-TX)2

These two quotes represent the evolution of a public policy over the span of 32 years. Senator Humphrey, in the process of defending the legislation that was to become the Civil Rights Act of 1964, vehemently denied conservative charges that it would lead inevitably to a forced racial balancing act. Representative Jackson was speaking in opposition to a proposal that would undermine the policy of racial balance that had grown up around the Civil Rights Act of 1964. How did it happen that a threatened social change thoroughly denounced by Senator Humphrey became an established policy to be defended by Representative Jackson? This paper is a study of the implementation process of the policy of “affirmative action” and how it evolved from the first quote to the second. It is not a review of the merits or demerits of the policy itself, but simply an attempt to follow the evolution of an idea from its first expression to the current challenge, with particular emphasis in the area of federal employment law.
A multilevel framework for recruiting and supporting graduate students from culturally diverse backgrounds in school psychology programs
Authors: Grapin Sally L. , Lee Erica T. , Jaafar Dounia
Published: July 2015

The lack of cultural diversity among practitioners and trainers in the field of school psychology has been recognized as a longstanding problem. In particular, individuals from racial, ethnic, and linguistic minority and international backgrounds often encounter a range of barriers to pursuing graduate study in school psychology. Given the urgent need to increase diversity among school psychologists, faculty and institutions must take proactive measures to deconstruct these barriers and to support the success of all students. This article outlines a multilevel framework for recruiting and supporting graduate students from culturally diverse backgrounds in school psychology programs. Within this framework, research-based strategies are presented at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of support. Moreover, considerations for assessing program and student outcomes are discussed, and applications to school psychology programs internationally are considered.
Performing Tasks With Wi-Fi Signals in Taipei
Authors: Perng Sung-Yueh
Published: July 2015

This article examines the process of constructing, repairing, and improvising “human–signal assemblages” by drawing on in-depth interviews and virtual ethnography regarding the engineering of Wi-Fi connectivity in Taipei, Taiwan. It is demonstrated that spatial, temporal, infrastructural, and embodied orchestrations of Wi-Fi signals both reinforce and challenge prescribed ways of conducting daily tasks. Continuity and change, enacted by attempts to incorporate Wi-Fi signals into daily urban life, are explored by discussing a wide range of practices performed by government entities, local companies and initiatives, and users themselves. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which machines, the city landscape, discourses, maps, and signs grow and multiply, as well as intersect and intervene with each other at various levels, locales, and stages of establishing Wi-Fi connections. The article thus argues for the importance of “machine juggling” as a skillful performance that mends, maintains, and improvises Wi-Fi-enabled urban everyday rhythms.
Facile Fabrication of Micro-Nano Structured Triboelectric Nanogenerator with High Electric Output
Authors: Zhang Feifei , Li Baozhang , Zheng Jianming , Xu Chunye
Published: July 2015

In this article, a new method is used to fabricate a high-performance triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), which is convenient and cost-effective. A polyformaldehyde (POM) film with novel structures is prepared through electrospinning and is combined with a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film to assemble micro-nano structured TENG. The short-circuit current (I
s) and open-circuit voltage (V
o) of the TENG are up to 0.4343 mA and 236.8 V, respectively, and no significant change is observed by applying different frequencies of external impact forces from 1 to 10 Hz. Finally, we successfully drive an electrochromic device (ECD) directly using TENG within just 2 min for the first time.