bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of individual characteristics on expatriates' adjustment and job performance
Authors: Awais Bhatti Muhammad , Kaur Sharan , Mohamed Battour Mohamed 
Published: July 2013

PurposeResearchers have been focusing on the predictors of expatriates' adjustment and job performance at different levels (individual level, organizational level and societal level), but still some of the predictors have been ignored or unclear in the expatriate literature. The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive framework in order to better understand the role of individual factors in expatriate adjustment and job performance.Design/methodology/approachThe review of past research is used to develop a conceptual framework.FindingsThis conceptual paper provides theoretical ground for individual factors which include Big Five, self‐efficacy, previous international experience, cultural sensitivity and social network and proposes that expatriate adjustment (work, general and interaction adjustment) mediates the relationship between individual factors (personality traits (Big Five), self‐efficacy, previous international experience, cultural sensitivity and social network) and expatriate job performance (rated by peer and supervisor).Practical implicationsThis paper also provides practical implications for the managers and professionals involved in expatriates' selection, training and performance management. This paper suggests that managers involved in selection of candidates for international assignment should consider personality traits, level of self‐efficacy, previous international experience, social network and cultural sensitivity at the time of selection of candidates for international assignment. Furthermore, managers should design pre‐departure training programs in a way that enhances candidates' self‐efficacy level, overcomes cultural sensitivity, and motivates them to expand social network. Finally, managers should explain to the candidates how they can use their personal skills and knowledge to gain work, general and interactions adjustment in order to achieve job tasks.Originality/valueThe proposed framework is developed based on the past theoretical review in order to cover the gap and contribute to the body of knowledge in expatriate literature. Based on the proposed framework, this paper invites researchers to empirically test the suggested propositions in order to further strengthen and develop understanding about individual factors including Big Five and other expatriates' adjustment and job performance predictors.
Employee motivation for personal development plan effectiveness
Authors: Eisele Lisa , Grohnert Therese , Beausaert Simon , Segers Mien 
Published: July 2013

PurposeThis article aims to understand conditions under which personal development plans (PDPs) can effectively be implemented for professional learning. Both the organization's manner of supporting the PDP practice as well as the individual employee's motivation is taken into account.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was distributed among employees of a Dutch governmental office, measuring perceived effectiveness of the tool (undertaking learning activities and performance), perceptions of PDP practices in the organization, and individual motivation. Regression analysis revealed that learning and reflection practices in the organization are positively related to number of learning activities undertaken by employees and to perceived performance.FindingsA significant moderating effect of motivation was found, supporting the idea that the tool's perceived effectiveness depends both on the organization's efforts as well as the individual's motivation.Research limitations/implicationsIn this study, the authors were limited by a low response rate, a single setting, as well as a lack of causal evidence due to the cross‐sectional set‐up. They therefore encourage the validation of their hypotheses in different settings, and in an experimental/longitudinal manner.Practical implicationsImplications for practice include the importance for organizations to implement PDPs in an on‐going cycle of learning, combined with opportunities for formal and informal learning, while supervisors carry great responsibility for providing feedback and encouragement based on the employee's motivation for learning.Originality/valueThis combination of company practices with individual supporting conditions such as employees' motivation to understand when PDPs work best is a novel approach to understanding PDP effectiveness and hopes to add to both theoretical and practical understanding.
Workers view Shanghai Hanye as a member of the family
Authors: Le Jia‐ang , Zhang Jing‐jing , Han Yong 
Published: July 2013

PurposeThis paper aims to explore employee empowerment at the Shanghai Hanye Information Technology Company.Design/methodology/approachThe paper describes the various forms that employee empowerment takes at the company, its limitations and the advantages it has brought.FindingsIt reports that empowerment is serving to encourage: honest, open, co‐operative and harmonious communications and relationships in the workplace; loyalty to the company; greater participation in the cultural life of the organization and its decision‐making processes; and a more unified enterprise spirit.Practical implicationsThe paper explains that employees are expected to: contribute ideas that could help to overcome organizational difficulties; sacrifice self‐interest in favor of the interests of the organization; work on regardless if misunderstandings or conflicts occur; and serve as intermediary for building relationships with other organizations.Social implicationsThe paper reveals that this type of “spiritual” HR is part of the prevailing ethos in the People's Republic of China.Originality/valueThis study provides interesting detail, from an insider perspective, on employee empowerment in a Chinese context.
Where companies take risks on the road to greater safety
Authors: Crothers Ruth 
Published: July 2013

PurposeThis paper aims to highlight the importance of the introduction of the driver certificate of professional competence (CPC) regulations and training staff to ensure that they are driving safely during work hours and are fully trained in the event of an emergency.Design/methodology/approachIt explains where current legislation and practice fall short in the area of road safety and considers what can be done about it.FindingsThe paper argues that, with a high volume of road accidents occurring during work hours where the responsibility falls with employers, there is more that they can do to minimize risk through training employees.Practical implicationsIt advises that, with the introduction of the compulsory CPC course looming, employers should be acting now to train staff to prevent accidents and protect employees.Social implicationsIt suggests a way in which the toll of death and injury on the roads can be reduced.Originality/valueThe paper puts forward the view that, from improving driver training to reallocating drivers to closer depots and implementing routine health checks, it is the organizations that take an active approach to traffic management that will not only reduce costs but also help to cut road accidents.
How social workers spend their time in frontline children's social care in England
Authors: Holmes Lisa , McDermid Samantha 
Published: July 2013

PurposeIn England in recent years, concerns have been raised about the proportion of time social workers and other frontline children's social care practitioners spend carrying out desk‐based, administrative activities. This article aims to report time use activity data from front line workers on the amount of time spent on different activities to support children in need (as defined by the 1989 Children Act).Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected from a range of sources including focus groups, event records (diaries completed by practitioners) and online surveys.FindingsThe proportion of time spent on direct and indirect activities varies according to the types of process. Those associated with ongoing support have the highest proportion of direct activity, whereas those associated with decision making, especially if a one‐off activity, have the highest proportion of administrative activities. The greater the needs of the child, the more direct and indirect support was given, but there was some variation across social work teams. But the activities of social workers are interconnected, making it difficult to provide conclusive evidence, but the concern about the imbalance between direct work and administrative tasks seems justified.Research implications/limitationsThe findings highlight the complexity of exploring how social workers spend their time and how the proportion of time spent on direct and indirect activities is determined by the needs and circumstances of children and their families.Practical implicationsWider contextual practice issues are also explored including the recent increases in referrals to children's social care and the use of electronic recording systems.Originality/valueThe breakdown of the activities using the approach outlined in the article increases transparency in understanding how social workers spend their time.
Impact of business diversification on South African construction companies' corporate performance
Authors: Oyekunle Oyewobi Luqman , Olukemi Windapo Abimbola , Cattell Keith S. 
Published: July 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate and examine whether there is any significant relationship between the extent of business diversification and the performance of construction firms in South Africa. The rationale for the examination stems from the view that the relationship between diversification and the performance of construction firms raises important issues in strategic management and cross‐border business. In contractors' growth however, there is a dearth of empirical research and theoretical arguments regarding the effects of business diversification on construction company performance in South Africa.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed the use of a case study and archival approaches using semi‐structured interviews to elicit primary qualitative and quantitative data over a period of five years for large construction companies listed in Grade 7‐9 on the Construction Industry Development Board (cidb) contractor register. The scope of services and geographic diversification are computed from the sourced data. Dependent variables are the measure of performance using Return on Total Asset (ROTA), Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) and Profit Margin (PM); independent variables used are service/Product Diversification (PD) and Geographic Diversification (GD); while control variables used are size, age, technical capability and capital structure of the construction firms.FindingsIt emerged that established construction companies on the cidb contractor registers perform and diversify more in their service/product better than the newly upgraded contractors and this was evident in their performance with respect to profit margin. The results also indicated that there are no statistically significant differences in the performance of diversified and undiversified firms, although diversification was found to have a positive impact on the corporate performance of construction companies.Originality/valueThe outcomes of the research are useful to decision makers and managers of construction companies, as they will help in making viable corporate strategic diversification decisions. The study also engenders a better understanding of the effect of both product and geographic diversification on the performance of contractors.
Exploring the requirements of regional knowledge‐based management
Authors: Salonius Henna , Käpylä Jonna 
Published: July 2013

PurposeThe aim of the paper is to explore the requirements of knowledge‐based management in the regional development network of the Tampere region in Finland.Design/methodology/approachThe requirements of knowledge‐based management are analysed on the basis of the perceptions of the regional developers interviewed (n=13) and by using the extended SECI model and intellectual capital framework as analytical tools.FindingsDifferent regions benefit from different knowledge‐based management activities according to their performance in the cycle of the extended SECI model and the intellectual capital available among the regional developers. When the knowledge‐based management requirements of a regional development network are identified by applying these two frameworks, more appropriate investments (e.g. for ICT infrastructure) and development activities can be made.Research limitations/implicationsThe perspectives of knowledge creation (i.e. the extended SECI model) and intellectual capital provide one approach for evaluating the call for knowledge‐based management of regional development. Other perspectives are also expected to be valuable as the understanding of regional knowledge‐based management in different contexts is enhanced.Originality/valueThe study contributes by proposing and applying a method for evaluating the requirements of regional knowledge‐based management.
RFID in libraries: a case study on implementation
Authors: Bahri Shamshul , Ibrahim Amir 
Published: July 2013

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a process model of an implementation of an emerging information technology in a library. The study was motivated by a lack of process model that can guide existing and future library managers in implementing such technology.Design/methodology/approachThe model was developed using the qualitative research method. Specifically, the case study research approach was employed to investigate how the first public library in the UK implemented the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. Interviews were conducted with the people who were involved in the implementation of the technology.FindingsA process model of emerging IT implementation in a library was developed. The model is divided into three phases: before, during and after the installation. It consists of ten activities, starting from soliciting requirements until enhancing the RFID system.Research limitations/implicationsThe model developed in this study overcomes the lack of a model on emerging IT implementation process. However, it was based on the implementation of RFID technology. Future research can enhance the model by using it on future library technologies.Practical implicationsLibrary managers may use the model to guide them in the implementation of emerging IT generally, and RFID specifically.Originality/valueThe contribution of this study lies in the new model of emerging IT implementation process.
A genomic update on clostridial phylogeny: Gram‐negative spore formers and other misplaced clostridia
Authors: Yutin Natalya , Galperin Michael Y. 
Published: July 2013

SummaryThe class Clostridia in the phylum Firmicutes (formerly low‐G+C Gram‐positive bacteria) includes diverse bacteria of medical, environmental and biotechnological importance. The Selenomonas‐Megasphaera‐Sporomusa branch, which unifies members of the Firmicutes with Gram‐negative‐type cell envelopes, was recently moved from Clostridia to a separate class Negativicutes. However, draft genome sequences of the spore‐forming members of the Negativicutes revealed typically clostridial sets of sporulation genes. To address this and other questions in clostridial phylogeny, we have compared a phylogenetic tree for a concatenated set of 50 widespread ribosomal proteins with the trees for beta subunits of the RNA polymerase (RpoB) and DNA gyrase (GyrB) and with the 16S rRNA‐based phylogeny. The results obtained by these methods showed remarkable consistency, suggesting that they reflect the true evolutionary history of these bacteria. These data put the Selenomonas‐Megasphaera‐Sporomusa group back within the Clostridia. They also support placement of Clostridium difficile and its close relatives within the family Peptostreptococcaceae; we suggest resolving the long‐standing naming conundrum by renaming it Peptoclostridium difficile. These data also indicate the existence of a group of cellulolytic clostridia that belong to the family Ruminococcaceae. As a tentative solution to resolve the current taxonomical problems, we propose assigning 78 validly described Clostridium species that clearly fall outside the family Clostridiaceae to six new genera: Peptoclostridium, Lachnoclostridium, Ruminiclostridium, Erysipelatoclostridium, Gottschalkia and Tyzzerella. This work reaffirms that 16S rRNA and ribosomal protein sequences are better indicators of evolutionary proximity than phenotypic traits, even such key ones as the structure of the cell envelope and Gram‐staining pattern.
How Did Finance Capital Infiltrate the World of the Urban Poor? Homeownership and Social Fragmentation in a Spanish Neighborhood
Authors: Palomera Jaime 
Published: July 2013

AbstractWhen working‐class localities in developed countries are in question, social fragmentation is often analyzed along ethnic lines. Instead, this article claims that it is more critically fruitful to explore fragmentation in terms of people's relations with the state and different forms of capital. It does this by considering housing in Spain as a key resource that connects state policies both with the forms of reproduction and (dis)organization of the disadvantaged, and with the development of real estate and finance capital. First, it unfolds the historical formation of the Spanish ‘homeownership culture’ and the construction–finance complex. Second, starting from an in‐depth ethnography of a peripheral neighborhood in Barcelona, it emphasizes the embeddedness of recent financialization in the livelihood strategies of poor households. Finally, it shows how the process led to a commodification and erosion of those social relations on which it partially depended, thereby exposing problems for class reproduction and fracture lines among the urban poor.
Maternal 25‐hydroxyvitamin D and its association with childhood atopic outcomes and lung function
Authors: Wills A. K. , Shaheen S. O. , Granell R. , Henderson A. J. , Fraser W. D. , Lawlor D. A. 
Published: July 2013

SummaryBackgroundIt has been suggested that maternal vitamin D status in pregnancy influences the risk of asthma and atopy in the offspring. The epidemiological evidence to support these claims is conflicting and may reflect chance findings and differences in how vitamin D was assessed.ObjectiveTo examine the association between blood total maternal 25‐hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations in pregnancy and offspring asthma, atopy and lung function in the largest birth cohort study to date.MethodsParticipants were largely of white European origin and resident in the South West of England. We examined the associations of maternal 25(OH)D concentrations in pregnancy with the following outcomes in the offspring: wheeze, asthma, atopy, eczema, hayfever, at mean age 7.5 years (n = 3652–4696 depending on outcome), IgE at 7 years (n = 2915) and lung function and bronchial responsiveness at mean age 8.7 years (n = 3728–3784).ResultsSixty‐eight per cent of mothers had sufficient (> 50 nmol/L) concentrations of 25(OH)D, 27% were insufficient (27.5–49.99 nmol/L) and 5% were deficient (< 27.5 nmol/L). There was no evidence to suggest that maternal 25(OH)D concentration in pregnancy was associated with any respiratory or atopic outcome in the offspring. These findings remained after adjustment for season of measurement and for potential confounders. There was also no evidence that these relationships followed a non‐linear form and no evidence that either deficient or high concentrations of maternal 25(OH)D were associated with atopic or respiratory outcomes.ConclusionsWe found no evidence that maternal blood 25(OH)D concentration in pregnancy is associated with childhood atopic or respiratory outcomes.
Teaching as Theater
Authors: Schmenner Roger W. 
Published: July 2013

ABSTRACTAs new media proliferate, professors need to be particularly attentive to the ways by which students learn—in and out of the classroom—and how scarce classroom time can be organized. This article argues that professors' comparative advantage lies as an exemplar of discipline‐based thinking. Effective training in how to think about problems (the essence of any discipline) demands that professors embrace the classroom as theater, where business drama and the story it tells can capture the hearts and minds of the student participants. The article talks through a case as theater.
Collaborative Teaching and Learning through Multi‐Institutional Integrated Group Projects
Authors: Long Suzanna K. , Carlo Héctor J. 
Published: July 2013

ABSTRACTThis teaching brief describes an innovative multi‐institutional initiative through which integrated student groups from different courses collaborate on a common course project. In this integrated group project, students are asked to design a decentralized manufacturing organization for a company that will manufacture industrial Proton‐Exchange Membrane fuel cells. The groups include students from supply chain management, production planning and scheduling, and facility layout and design courses. Empirical results from the implementation suggest that students responded positively to the integrated experience. Lastly, the article presents implementation strategies for multi‐institutional group projects based on the experiences gained through the collaborative experience.
Pharmacokinetics of recombinant factor XIII in young children with congenital FXIII deficiency and comparison with older patients
Authors: Williams M. , Will A. , Stenmo C. , Rosholm A. , Tehranchi R. 
Published: July 2013

SummaryCongenital factor XIII (FXIII) deficiency is a rare bleeding disorder, which in its severe form is associated with a significant bleeding phenotype, requiring regular prophylactic therapy. A recently developed recombinant FXIII (rFXIII) has demonstrated safety and efficacy in children aged ≥6 years and adults (mentor™1 trial). This article describes the mentor™4 trial, which has assessed the pharmacokinetics (PK) and safety of rFXIII in younger children (1 to <6 years) with congenital FXIII deficiency, and compares extrapolated PK parameters with the mentor™1 trial. Six children with congenital FXIII A‐subunit deficiency received a single, 35 IU kg−1 rFXIII dose. PK properties were similar in all the children, with a mean area under the concentration vs. 30‐day time curve of 248.6 IU h−1 mL−1, maximal FXIII activity (30 min) of 0.67 IU mL−1, and mean 30‐day trough of 0.21 IU mL−1. All patients maintained FXIII activity above the lower target level (0.1 IU mL−1). rFXIII half‐life was 15.1 days (range, 10–25). No safety findings of clinical concern were observed. PK properties of rFXIII were similar in patients from both trials. The study demonstrated that a single dose of 35 IU kg−1 rFXIII maintained plasma FXIII levels above 0.1 IU mL−1 over a 30‐day period in young children with congenital FXIII deficiency, and is, therefore, likely to provide adequate prophylaxis in this age group. The study extends the previous findings of the mentor™1 trial and confirms that no dose adjustment is required for different age groups with congenital FXIII deficiency.