Survey vs Scraped Data: Comparing Time Series Properties of Web and Survey Vacancy Data

This paper studies the relationship between a vacancy population obtained from web crawling and vacancies in the economy inferred by a National Statistics Office (NSO) using a traditional method. We compare the time series properties of samples obtained between 2007 and 2014 by Statistics Netherlands and by a web scraping company. We find that the web and NSO vacancy data present similar time series properties, suggesting that both time series are generated by the same underlying phenomenon: the real number of new vacancies in the economy. We conclude that, in our case study, web-sourced data are able to capture aggregate economic activity in the labor market

AIRM: a new AI Recruiting Model for the Saudi Arabian labour market

One of the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 is to keep the unemployment rate at the lowest level to empower the economy. Prior research has shown that an increase in unemployment has a negative effect on a country’s Gross Domestic Product. This research aims to utilise cutting-edge technology such as Data Lake (DL), Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to assist the Saudi labour market bymatching job seekers with vacant positions. Currently, human experts carry out this process; however, this is time consuming and labour intensive. Moreover, in the Saudi labour market, this process does not use a cohesive data centre to monitor, integrate, or analyse labour market data, resulting in inefficiencies, such as bias and latency. These inefficiencies arise from a lack of technologies and, more importantly, from having an open labour market without a national labour market data centre. This research proposes a new AI Recruiting Model (AIRM) architecture that exploits DLs, ML and AI to rapidly and efficiently match job seekers to vacant positions in the Saudi labour market. A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is employed to test the proposed AIRM architecture using a labour market dataset simulation corpus for training purposes; the architecture is further evaluated against three research-collaborative Human Resources (HR) professionals. As this research is data-driven in nature, it requires collaboration from domain experts. The first layer of the AIRM architecture uses balanced iterative reducing and clustering using hierarchies (BIRCH) as a clustering algorithm for the initial screening layer. The mapping layer uses sentence transformers with a robustly optimised BERTt pre-training approach (RoBERTa) as the base model, and ranking is carried out using the Facebook AI Similarity Search (FAISS). Finally, the preferences layer takes the user’s preferences as a list and sorts the results using the pre-trained cross-encoders model, considering the weight of the more important words. This new AIRM has yielded favourable outcomes: This research considered accepting an AIRM selection ratified by at least one HR expert to account for the subjective character of the selection process when exclusively handled by human HR experts. The research evaluated the AIRM using two metrics: accuracy and time. The AIRM had an overall matching accuracy of 84%, with at least one expert agreeing with the system’s output. Furthermore, it completed the task in 2.4 minutes, whereas human experts took more than six days on average. Overall, the AIRM outperforms humans in task execution, making it useful in pre-selecting a group of applicants and positions. The AIRM is not limited to government services. It can also help any commercial business that uses Big Data

Analyzing Granger causality in climate data with time series classification methods

Attribution studies in climate science aim for scientifically ascertaining the influence of climatic variations on natural or anthropogenic factors. Many of those studies adopt the concept of Granger causality to infer statistical cause-effect relationships, while utilizing traditional autoregressive models. In this article, we investigate the potential of state-of-the-art time series classification techniques to enhance causal inference in climate science. We conduct a comparative experimental study of different types of algorithms on a large test suite that comprises a unique collection of datasets from the area of climate-vegetation dynamics. The results indicate that specialized time series classification methods are able to improve existing inference procedures. Substantial differences are observed among the methods that were tested

Sewing threads: Intercultural strategies in an international fashion company to transfer corporate culture and knowledg

This internship report analyzes the intercultural activities carried out at a French fashion company from March to August 2020 in the scope of the internship of the Master’s in Intercultural Studies for Business. The purpose of this internship report is to describe the specific intercultural needs of the Learning & Development Department of MNC France and propose the most suitable communication strategies for the team. The phenomenon studied is the communication challenges faced by the L&D Department in the French headquarters to keep appropriate knowledge transfer with subsidiary partners. The main internship activities focused on translation, including the design of a translation project. Secondary assignments also included remote interpretation at international meetings and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) support for the department. The analysis and data collection were based in participant observation, as we could access to information and daily activities of the company. The intercultural strategies proposed can be stated as plans to reach effective corporate communication and knowledge transfer. Keywords: interculturality, project management, corporate culture, communication, language, translation, training, human resources, CAT tools, ESP, interpretingEste relatório de estágio analisa as actividades interculturais realizadas numa empresa de moda francesa de Março a Agosto de 2020 no âmbito do estágio do Mestrado em Estudos Interculturais para Negócios. O objectivo deste relatório de estágio é descrever as necessidades interculturais específicas do Departamento de Learning & Development do MNC France e propor as estratégias de comunicação mais adequadas para a equipa. O fenómeno estudado são os desafios de comunicação enfrentados pelo Departamento de L&D na sede francesa para manter uma adequada transferência de conhecimentos com parceiros subsidiários. As principais actividades de estágio centraram-se na tradução, incluindo a concepção de um projecto de tradução. As tarefas secundárias incluíram também a interpretação à distância em reuniões internacionais e o apoio ao departamento de Inglês para Fins Específicos (ESP). A análise e a recolha de dados basearam-se na observação dos participantes, uma vez que pudemos aceder à informação e às actividades diárias da empresa. As estratégias interculturais propostas podem ser declaradas como planos para alcançar uma comunicação empresarial eficaz e a transferência de conhecimentos. Palavras-chave: interculturalidade, gestão de projetos, cultura corporativa, comunicação, língua, tradução, formação, recursos humanos, ferramentas de tradução, ESP, interpretaçãoCe rapport de stage analyse les activités interculturelles menées dans une entreprise de mode française de mars à août 2020 dans le cadre du stage inscrit au Master Intercultural Studies for Business. L'objectif de ce rapport de stage est de décrire les besoins interculturels spécifiques du département Learning & Development de MNC France et de proposer les stratégies de communication les plus adaptées à l'équipe. Le phénomène étudié est le défi de communication auquel est confronté le département L&D de la maison-mère française pour maintenir un transfert de connaissances approprié avec les partenaires des filiales. Les principales activités du stage se sont concentrées sur la traduction, y compris la conception d'un projet de traduction. Les missions secondaires comprenaient également l'interprétation à distance lors de réunions internationales et le soutien de l'anglais à des fins spécifiques (ESP) pour le département. L'analyse et la collecte de données ont été basées sur l'observation des participants, car nous avons pu accéder aux informations et aux activités quotidiennes de l'entreprise. Les stratégies interculturelles proposées peuvent être énoncées comme des plans pour parvenir à une communication d'entreprise et à un transfert de connaissances efficaces Mots clés : interculturalité, gestion de projets, culture d'entreprise, communication, langue, traduction, formation, ressources humaines, outils de traduction, ESP, interprétatio

Closing in on Closure: Occupational Closure and Temporary Employment in Germany

There is now ample evidence of a rise in 'non-standard work arrangements' in many industrialised economies, yet only rarely does theoretical and empirical work probe the question of why the risk of temporary employment varies. Focusing on temporary employment, the author extends the scope of closure theory to an entirely new domain. He develops new and highly sophisticated measures with which to document occupational closure by measuring the scarcity of credentials for particular types of occupations and how effectively these credentials signal quality to potential employers. Similarly, by measuring the degree of task specialisation and the uniqueness of the occupations’ tasks, this work exceeds previous studies in breadth and precision. These new measures allow the author to demonstrate how professions protect their employees from temporary employment contracts.Bei der Analyse der Gründe, warum befristete Beschäftigungsformen in den industrialisierten Volkswirtschaften inzwischen so weit verbreitet sind, werden Berufe und ihre mögliche Schutzfunktion bislang nicht berücksichtigt. Der Autor schließt diese Lücke, indem er Berufe und ihren Einfluss auf individuelle Befristungsrisiken untersucht. Er erweitert auf diese Weise die Schließungstheorie um das wichtige Feld der befristeten Beschäftigungsformen und entwickelt neue und höchste innovative Maße zur Erfassung der Schließung von beruflichen Arbeitsmärkten. Mit diesen Maßen kann erstmals die Knappheit bestimmter beruflicher Ausbildungszertifikate oder die Einzigartigkeit der ausgeübten beruflichen Tätigkeiten erfasst werden. Diese und weitere Maße erlauben es dem Autor zu zeigen, wie bestimmte Berufe die Beschäftigten davor schützen, befristete Verträge zu erhalten

‘Working Through’: An Inquiry into Work and Madness

This interdisciplinary doctoral thesis represents the weaving together of several partially independent strands of research conducted by the author between 2008 and 2011 in the field of madness, work and recovery. The purpose of the thesis is, to borrow from Freud, to ‘work through’ some of the rich and diverse links between work and mental health as they appear throughout time and space, and in particular in a climate where getting people with mental health problems back to work is a central political priority. The first stream of the thesis is dedicated largely to an historical and philosophical analysis of the relation between work and madness, and especially the therapeutics of work. Next, voices from contemporary mental health service-users—drawn both from ethnographic work in spaces of ‘sheltered’ employment and narrative research with individuals in mainstream paid employment—are introduced to offer a series of disruptions to common understandings of what it means to be mad at work. Finally, the thesis turns to policy and to an examination of the ‘what works’ agenda in getting people with mental health difficulties back into paid employment. Rather than add further to this evidence base, the thesis seeks instead to describe what may be lost when ‘what works’ becomes the only way of thinking about recovery. Recurring themes in the thesis include the tensions between therapeutic work and damaging work; between curing madness and embracing it; between the complex relations between work, employment and activity and their role in recovery; and between the competing epistemological positions of service-user centred perspectives and critical hermeneutics in understanding the relation between work and mental distress. At their simplest, conclusions point to the need for a rich and plural theoretical landscape of work and mental health and to the need to resist overarching and inflexible policy interventions

Human capital and entrepreneurial intention in deprived areas: a case study of Nottingham, UK

In light of the relatively poor outcomes from the policies enacted to facilitate entrepreneurship in deprived areas that are not consistent with policymakers’ expectations, this research study constitutes the importance of human capital to investigate its influence on entrepreneurial intention in deprived areas. Due to the given barriers and difficulties objectively existing in such areas, this research study points out the inapplicability of those prevalently applied theories and models that emphasize general relationships. Meanwhile, it argues that the superficiality of policymakers’ preconceptions of a vicious circle has led to various barriers identified in such areas. Therefore, this research study draws upon existing literature to create a new entrepreneurial intention model with a particular relevance to deprived areas. By combining both secondary and primary data sources, quantitative data (i.e. a largescale secondary dataset and primary data collected through a survey) has been utilized to examine the existence of relationships in the new model, whilst qualitative data has been utilized to explore deeper possibilities behind them and reveal unexpected phenomena to further enrich comprehension of the relationships relating to entrepreneurship and human capital in deprived areas. This research study takes the first step in updating knowledge about the relationship between human capital and entrepreneurial intention in deprived areas, which can be regarded as a base for future researchers to further explore this specific field and rigorously test the new model. Moreover, a variety of bidirectional relationships between different neighbourhood mechanisms and different types of human capital found in this research study have revealed hidden factors to explain in more depth lower levels of human capital and entrepreneurship in deprived areas. In a disadvantaged environment, most importantly, this research study found local residents’ psychological barriers play a more severe and lasting role in hampering their personal, human capital and entrepreneurial development compared to the simple deficiencies in each per se. These findings provide a deeper perspective about underlying local residents’ specific demands for the government to consider adjustments to policy

Security Enhanced Applications for Information Systems

Every day, more users access services and electronically transmit information which is usually disseminated over insecure networks and processed by websites and databases, which lack proper security protection mechanisms and tools. This may have an impact on both the users’ trust as well as the reputation of the system’s stakeholders. Designing and implementing security enhanced systems is of vital importance. Therefore, this book aims to present a number of innovative security enhanced applications. It is titled “Security Enhanced Applications for Information Systems” and includes 11 chapters. This book is a quality guide for teaching purposes as well as for young researchers since it presents leading innovative contributions on security enhanced applications on various Information Systems. It involves cases based on the standalone, network and Cloud environments

A Study of teacher stress exploring practitioner research and teacher collaboration as a way forward.

There is widespread concern over the high levels of reported work-related stress, job dissatisfaction and psychological distress associated with teaching and the effects of stress on teacher's sense of well-being and their willingness to stay in the profession (Borg, 1990; MSLAT, 1996; Troman, 1998; Schonfeld, 1990; Wilson, 2002). Much of the traditional research on teacher stress has been carried out by external 'experts' using quantitative survey type approaches to analyze occupational stress levels resulting in restrictive data analysis unrepresentative of the true picture of stress in the teaching profession. Researchers have advocated a more holistic approach incorporating mixed methods combining both qualitative and quantitative methods in order to gain subjective teacher reports of stress and coping mechanisms resulting in a fuller picture on teacher stress with future recommendations grounded in research. Recently, the reflective practice movement in healthcare (eg:-Boswell, 2007) has suggested using a more integrative approach to advance practitioner knowledge and empower them to improve practice through reflection to create an understanding ofthe issues within a local context. My research was particularly interested in the issues relating to teacher stress including the way teacher stress was being measured and the effectiveness of qualitative over quantitative methods, the inclusion and exclusion practices of disruptive students and the use of practitioner research to encourage teacher collaboration as a way of dealing with teacher stress. Practitioner-Research methodology has been successfully adopted in Nursing and Health-Care and has recently been used in Education with mixed findings some successfully advocating p-r while other research was hampered by bureaucracy and top-down managerial agendas. In relation to this a single UK Secondary school was researched as a case study by the investigator who taught Sixth formers A'level Psychology at the school. The research was conducted in phases using a qualitative multimethod approach incorporating triangulation to include staff, students and researcher reflections about practice in order to encourage staff collaboration, empowerment and meta-cognition. A reflexive stance was thus adopted to underpin the research methodology. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted on 20 teachers (varying levels, ages and mixed gender) to assess the proposed research objectives. Classroom observations and student interviews were carried out for a year 10 class to complete the data collection. The findings revealed how students felt caught up in a selffulfilling prophecy with teachers seeing them negatively, leading to a spiral of failure and lack of motivation and the teacher interviews with both newly qualified and experienced teachers, uncovered how different coping strategies were used to deal with disruption, classroom and task management in general. The most important findings came from middle managers who claimed there was poor communication between senior tiers and lower teaching tiers with a strong sense of bureaucracy ruling their decisions. In order to bridge this gap, the practice development phase of the research tried to establish collaborative meetings in order to encourage teachers from all levels to self-reflect, deal with problematic issues and action research solutions of teaching practices. The Senior Management Team (SMT, including the Head) did not encourage staff or the researcher to proceed further with the final phase and the research was abruptly halted. Despite this, I believe that practitioner-research is a viable methodology in education research as it gives 'ownership of knowledge' to the practitioner using a self-reflexive stance to increasing their evidence-based practice resulting in a growth in meta-cognition to make improvements in practice. I feel, we need to increase insider research and use Action Research spirals and collegial collaboration as a wayforward