111 research outputs found
Impact of work from home on work-life balance: Mediating effects of work-family conflict and work motivation
In the aftermath of the recent pandemic, organizations around the world had the opportunity to assess the benefits and drawbacks of allowing the bulk of their employees to work from home (WFH). As a result, many organizations realize that by using technology, it is possible to shift a significant percentage of their workforce to permanently function from any location without being physically present at a designated workplace. Although the economic benefits for organizations that allow WFH seem to be clear, how factors related to perceptions of employees such as their work motivation (WM) and their work-life balance (WLB) caused by blurred boundaries between work and family at home are not clearly understood. Therefore, the primary goal of this study is to determine how WFH impacts WLB through the possible mediating effects of work-family conflict (WFC) and WM. A cross-sectional survey instrument was developed using Likert type measurement scales that were adopted from top-tier journals. The data was collected through convenient sampling from 249 managerial and non-managerial employees in Omani business organizations. The relationships were tested through structural equation modeling. The results indicate that WFH increases WFC and WM, while the relationship between WFH and WLB is mediated by WFC, but not by WM. The findings of this study have implications for both theory and practice
Epidemiology of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) of Oman since 1983 to 2018: a secondary data analysis study
No abstract available
First record of Gymnocranius griseus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) (family Lethrinidae) from southern Oman, Western Indian Ocean
Primer registre de Gymnocranius griseus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) (famĂlia Lethrinidae) del sud d’Oman, oest de l’oceĂ ĂŤndic
Es va recol·lectar un Ăşnic espècimen (285 mm longitud estĂ ndard) de Gymnocranius griseus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) a la ciutat de Salalah (Oman), a la costa del mar d’ArĂ bia. És el primer registre d’aquesta espècie a les aigĂĽes d’Oman. Presenta caracterĂstiques especĂfiques: cos alt (2,17 vegades la longitud estĂ ndard); els perfils dorsal i ventral del cap sĂłn uniformement convexos; el perfil de la part ventral del cos Ă©s recte; la vora inferior de l’ull se situa lleugerament per sota de la lĂnia que uneix la part anterior de la boca amb el centre de l’aleta caudal lobulada; l’ull Ă©s relativament ample, de diĂ metre prĂ cticament igual o lleugerament superior a les distĂ ncies preorbitĂ ria i interorbitĂ ria; la boca Ă©s relativament petita i la part posterior dels maxil·lars arriba prĂ cticament al nivell dels orificis nasals anteriors; presenta tres parells de fines canines a la part anterior del maxil·lar superior i un parell a la part anterior de l’inferior, com tambĂ© altres dents vil·liformes que adquireixen forma cònica a les parts laterals. L’espècimen va ser identificat com un G. griseus atès que les seves caracterĂstiques corresponen a la descripciĂł diagnòstica de Carpenter & Allen (1989).
Palabras clave: Gymnocranius griseus, Salalah, Mar de Arabia, Primer registro.A single specimen (285 mm SL) of Gymnocranius
griseus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) was collected from Salalah, Arabian Sea coast of Oman.
It is the first record of this species from the Omani waters. It shows specific characters:
deep body (2.17 times SL); evenly convex dorsal and ventral profile of head; ventral part
of body profile straight; lower edge of eye slightly above a line from tip of snout to middle
of caudal fin fork; eye relatively large, its diameter about equal to or slightly larger than
preorbital and interorbital widths; mouth relatively small, posterior part of jaws reaching to
about level of anterior nostrils; three pair and one pair of slender canines at front of upper
and lower jaw, respectively, other teeth villiform, becoming conical on lateral sections. The
specimen was identified as G. griseus as these characters fit the diagnostic description of
Carpenter & Allen (1989).
Key words: Gymnocranius griseus, Salalah, Arabian Sea, First record.Primer registre de Gymnocranius griseus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) (famĂlia Lethrinidae) del sud d’Oman, oest de l’oceĂ ĂŤndic
Es va recol·lectar un Ăşnic espècimen (285 mm longitud estĂ ndard) de Gymnocranius griseus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1843) a la ciutat de Salalah (Oman), a la costa del mar d’ArĂ bia. És el primer registre d’aquesta espècie a les aigĂĽes d’Oman. Presenta caracterĂstiques especĂfiques: cos alt (2,17 vegades la longitud estĂ ndard); els perfils dorsal i ventral del cap sĂłn uniformement convexos; el perfil de la part ventral del cos Ă©s recte; la vora inferior de l’ull se situa lleugerament per sota de la lĂnia que uneix la part anterior de la boca amb el centre de l’aleta caudal lobulada; l’ull Ă©s relativament ample, de diĂ metre prĂ cticament igual o lleugerament superior a les distĂ ncies preorbitĂ ria i interorbitĂ ria; la boca Ă©s relativament petita i la part posterior dels maxil·lars arriba prĂ cticament al nivell dels orificis nasals anteriors; presenta tres parells de fines canines a la part anterior del maxil·lar superior i un parell a la part anterior de l’inferior, com tambĂ© altres dents vil·liformes que adquireixen forma cònica a les parts laterals. L’espècimen va ser identificat com un G. griseus atès que les seves caracterĂstiques corresponen a la descripciĂł diagnòstica de Carpenter & Allen (1989).
Palabras clave: Gymnocranius griseus, Salalah, Mar de Arabia, Primer registro
Synthesis, optical spectroscopy, structural, and DFT studies on dimeric iodo-bridged Copper(I)complexes
Extended use of grey water for irrigating home gardens in an arid environment
The use of treated grey water (GW) for home gardens, peri-urban agriculture and landscaping is becoming popular in many water stressed countries such as Oman. This study aims to investigate the treatment efficacy, health and chemical concerns, cost-benefits and maintenance protocol of a GW treatment system as well as the effect of irrigation with GW on crop yield. Therefore, a decentralized homemade GW treatment system was installed in a newly constructed house in Muscat, Oman and studied over a 2-year period. The treated GW was found to be suitable for irrigation as per Omani standards. GW when mixed with kitchen effluent substituted the use of nutrient supplements for plants and did not show any harmful chemical or biological contamination. The capital cost of the system was around US 78 with annual income and savings from the system being around US $572 indicating a payback period of nearly 2 years. It was found that the system required simple but regular maintenance particularly cleaning of the top layer of the filter. It can be concluded from this study that such a GW system should be technically, economically and environmentally feasible in Oman. Also, wider acceptance by the general public to the idea of GW reuse will help in mitigating the water shortage problem of the country to some extent
Synthesis, characterization, and optoelectronic properties of phenothiazine-based organic co-poly-ynes
Health risk assessment of instant noodles commonly consumed in Port Harcourt, Nigeria
The current study investigated the levels of some heavy metals [Lead (Pb), Arsenic (As), Nickel (Ni), Mercury (Hg), Copper (Cu), Cadmium (Cd), Aluminium (Al) and Chromium (Cr)] and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in six brands of instant noodles (CFN, GFC, NGP, GAA, CUN and FCS) commonly consumed in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Risks of consumption of contaminated noodles were also assessed. Heavy metals content and PAHs were determined using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) and Gas Chromatography (GC), respectively. Concentration of heavy metals as Pb, Ni, Cu, Al and Cr were detected while As, Hg and Cd were not detected in noodles. High average concentration (mean ± SD mg/kg) of Pb were observed in brands CFN (3.163 ± 0.21) and GFC (1.022 ± 0.08) which were significantly higher (P≤0.05) than in NGP (0.043 ± 0.15) and GAA (0.276 ± 0.18), although all were above WHO permissible limits (0.025 mg/kg). Target Hazard Quotient and Hazard Index for Pb were >1 in brands CFN and GFC indicating unacceptable risk. Results of PAHs showed brands had total PAHs (mg/kg) in the order: CFN >CUN >GAA >NGP >FCS > GFC. Although Carcinogenic Risks associated with these noodles are within permissible range, consumption of CFN and GFC could pose greater health risk to consumers. Long term consumption of brands CUN, CFN and GAA may have higher probability of carcinogenesis among consumers. We therefore recommend more diligent regulatory policies and monitoring by relevant Government agencies (WHO, NAFDAC, CPC and SON) to ensure wholesome noodles get to consumers
“So what if ChatGPT wrote it?” Multidisciplinary perspectives on opportunities, challenges and implications of generative conversational AI for research, practice and policy
Transformative artificially intelligent tools, such as ChatGPT, designed to generate sophisticated text indistinguishable from that produced by a human, are applicable across a wide range of contexts. The technology presents opportunities as well as, often ethical and legal, challenges, and has the potential for both positive and negative impacts for organisations, society, and individuals. Offering multi-disciplinary insight into some of these, this article brings together 43 contributions from experts in fields such as computer science, marketing, information systems, education, policy, hospitality and tourism, management, publishing, and nursing. The contributors acknowledge ChatGPT's capabilities to enhance productivity and suggest that it is likely to offer significant gains in the banking, hospitality and tourism, and information technology industries, and enhance business activities, such as management and marketing. Nevertheless, they also consider its limitations, disruptions to practices, threats to privacy and security, and consequences of biases, misuse, and misinformation. However, opinion is split on whether ChatGPT's use should be restricted or legislated. Drawing on these contributions, the article identifies questions requiring further research across three thematic areas: knowledge, transparency, and ethics; digital transformation of organisations and societies; and teaching, learning, and scholarly research. The avenues for further research include: identifying skills, resources, and capabilities needed to handle generative AI; examining biases of generative AI attributable to training datasets and processes; exploring business and societal contexts best suited for generative AI implementation; determining optimal combinations of human and generative AI for various tasks; identifying ways to assess accuracy of text produced by generative AI; and uncovering the ethical and legal issues in using generative AI across different contexts
An assessment of the levels of phthalate esters and metals in the Muledane open dump, Thohoyandou, Limpopo Province, South Africa
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This work reports the determination of the levels of phthalate esters (dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), diethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP)) and metals (lead, cadmium, manganese, zinc, iron, calcium) in composite soil samples. The soil samples were collected randomly within the Muledane open dump, Thohoyandou, Limpopo province, South Africa. Control samples were collected about 200 m away from the open dump. The phthalate esters were separated and determined by capillary gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector, whilst the metals were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Open dump values for the phthalate esters and metals to be generally higher in comparison to control samples for DMP, DEP, DBP and DEHP – the mean values calculated were 0.31 ± 0.12, 0.21 ± 0.05, 0.30 ± 0.07, and 0.03 ± 0.01 mg/kg, respectively, for the open dump soil samples. Nonetheless, the mean open dump values for lead, cadmium, manganese, zinc, iron and calcium were 0.07 ± 0.04, 0.003 ± 0.001, 5.02 ± 1.92, 0.31 ± 0.02, 11.62 ± 9.48 and 0.12 ± 0.13 mg/kg, respectively. The results were compared statistically.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results revealed that the discarding of wastes into the open dump is a potential source of soil contamination in the immediate vicinity and beyond, <it>via </it>dispersal. Increased levels of phthalate esters and metals in the soil pose a risk to public health, plants and animals. Sustained monitoring of these contaminants is recommended, in addition to upgrading the facility to a landfill.</p
The influence of maternal psychosocial circumstances and physical environment on the risk of severe wasting in rural Gambian infants: a mixed methods approach
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