A grounded theory of the determinants of women's under-achievement in large construction companies

In response to impending skills shortages and changing employment patterns in recent years, the construction industry has made considerable efforts to attract more women to its professions. However, despite women's increasing representation, they exhibit high organisational and occupational mobility patterns in comparison to men. This threatens the success that women have had in addressing the gender imbalance within the industry. This research investigates the careers of men and women working for large contracting organisations, in order to establish the determinants of women's career progression, and to develop human resources management (HRM) strategies to improve their retention. A primarily qualitative methodology was employed for the research, in which career profiles were developed through interviews with 41 matched pairs of male and female employees. This allowed the gender specific determinants of careers to be established across a range of different organisations, and from informants from different vocational and life-cycle stages. The career profiles were supported by a range of other qualitative and quantitative data, which were analysed within a grounded theory framework. This led to the formulation of a set of eight interrelated theoretical models, from which a theory of women's career development was constructed. This approach provides insights into the interaction of structural, cultural and action-centred determinants, which combine to subordinate women's positions within construction organisations. The theory reflects that the construction workplace is a competitive and conflictual environment, where women are overtly and covertly discriminated against by men, who use structural systems to deliberately undermine their contribution. Women's actions in dealing with these barriers are shown to perpetuate existing work cultures. This leads to a self-fulfilling circle of women's continued under-achievement. The research provides insights into the compatibility and conflicts between personal actions and resolutions, and the HRM policy of large construction companies. It suggests that previous research efforts in attracting women to work in construction may have been misguided, as the industry's patriarchal culture must first be moderated if women are to have the opportunity to develop their careers in parity with men. "Soft" HRM initiatives are suggested as offering the potential to facilitate the cultural change necessar

Light during embryonic development modulates patterns of lateralization strongly and similarly in both zebrafish and chick

Some aspects of lateralization are widespread. This is clear for the association between left-eye (LE) use and readiness to respond intensely to releasing stimuli presented by others, which has been found in representatives of all major groups of tetrapods and in fishes. In the chick, this behavioural asymmetry is linked developmentally to greater ability to sustain response against distracting stimuli with right-eye (RE) use, in that both reverse with the reversal of the normal RE exposure to light. In the zebrafish, the same two asymmetries (normally) have similar associations with the LE and the RE, and both also reverse together (owing to epithalamic reversal). Here, we show that light exposure early in development is needed in zebrafish to generate both asymmetries. Dark development largely abolishes both the enhanced abilities, confirming their linkage. Resemblance to the chick is increased by the survival in the chick, after dark development, of higher ability to assess familiarity of complex stimuli when using the LE. A somewhat similar ability survives in dark-developed zebrafish. Here, LE use causes lesser reliance on a single recent experience than on longer term past experience in the assessment of novelty. Such resemblances between a fish and a bird suggest that we should look not only for resemblances between different groups of vertebrates in the most common overall pattern of lateralization, but also for possible resemblances in the nature of inter-individual variation and in the way in which it is generated during development

Screen-printed potentiometric Ag/AgCl chloride sensors: Lifetime performance and their use in soil salt measurements

Silver – silver chloride electrodes (Ag/AgCl) for the detection of chloride ions were fabricated using thick-film technology. Five different formulations were prepared and chloride responses were investigated over time. Almost identical and near Nernstian responses were observed over the first 162 days with an average chloride sensitivity for all formulations of -51.12 mV ± 0.45 mV per decade change in chloride concentration compared with a value of -50.59 mV ± 0.01 mV over 388 days for the best two formulations. After 6-months continuous immersion in tap water, pastes formulated with a glass binder began to exhibit a loss in sensitivity whilst those formulated from a commercial thick-film dielectric paste remained functional for the best part of a year. This difference in lifetime performance is attributed to the inclusion of proprietary additives in the commercial paste aiding adhesion and minimising AgCl leaching. The mechanical and chemical robustness of these electrodes has been demonstrated through their ability to detect changing levels of chloride when immersed in soil columns. This particular capacity will make them an invaluable tool in the fields of hydrology, agricultural science, soil science and environmental science

Screening for Atrial Fibrillation and the Role of Digital Health Technologies

Atrial fibrillation is the commonest clinical arrhythmia and a leading cause of hospital admission, morbidity and mortality. New digital health technologies are now allowing patients and the general population to identify heart rhythm abnormalities before any encounter with a medical professional. This chapter will include an overview of the prevalence of atrial fibrillation and explore the current recommendations on methods for arrhythmia screening. We discuss different risk factors as well as physiological and structural markers for atrial fibrillation onset. We explore in detail the application of novel digital health technologies such as wearables, watches and mobile devices which may have an impact on screening detection rates. The article concludes with a discussion about how to manage patients with screen detected atrial fibrillation

Excessive gas exchange impairment during exercise in a subject with a history of bronchopulmonary dysplasia and high altitude pulmonary edema

A 27-year-old male subject (V(O2 max)), 92% predicted) with a history of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and a clinically documented case of high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) was examined at rest and during exercise. Pulmonary function testing revealed a normal forced vital capacity (FVC, 98.1% predicted) and diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (D(L(CO)), 91.2% predicted), but significant airway obstruction at rest [forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV(1)), 66.5% predicted; forced expiratory flow at 50% of vital capacity (FEF(50)), 34.3% predicted; and FEV(1) /FVC 56.5%] that was not reversible with an inhaled bronchodilator. Gas exchange worsened from rest to exercise, with the alveolar to arterial P(O2) difference (AaD(O2)) increasing from 0 at rest to 41 mmHg at maximal normoxic exercise (VO(2) = 41.4 mL/kg/min) and from 11 to 31 mmHg at maximal hypoxic exercise (VO(2) = 21.9 mL/kg/min). Arterial P(O2) decreased to 67.8 and 29.9 mmHg at maximal normoxic and hypoxic exercise, respectively. These data indicate that our subject with a history of BPD is prone to a greater degree of exercise-induced arterial hypoxemia for a given VO(2) and F(I(O2)) than healthy age-matched controls, which may increase the subject's susceptibility to high altitude illness

Dynamics of empowerment in projects

Empowerment varies depending on the targeted population, the targeted setting and also fluctuates across time. These perspectives have rarely been examined simultaneously and no theoretical framework has as yet articulated such an integrative perspective in any specific setting. The complex and dynamic nature of the project environment and the project life cycle in particular have significant implications for understanding how empowerment manifests in projects. To better understand the implications of empowerment’s multifaceted nature in a complex setting such as the project environment, we invoke complexity paradigm as a theoretical lens that is well positioned to help capture the essence of empowerment. From this theoretical framework, the true nature of how empowerment can intertwine with the complex and uncertain project context can be captured and described from the perspective of the workforce or actors engaged in the creation, execution, and closure of the project. Three preeminent questions that can aid this line of enquiry emerge from this review; how can organisations empower employees at different levels simultaneously within the same project team and still achieve goal congruence?; how does the changing nature of the project life cycle impact on employee empowerment experiences?; and what does the multidimensional perspective on empowerment add to our knowledge of empowerment in organisations

Nanowires for Room-Temperature Mid-Infrared Emission

InAs-based nanowires hold a promise to offer transformational technologies for infrared photonic applications. Site-controlled InAs nanowire growth on low-cost Si substrates offers the practical integration advantages that silicon photonics benefits from. This includes the realisation of cheap photonic circuitries, light emitters and detectors that are otherwise expensive to realise with III/V material-based substrates. This chapter details the growth development of advanced faceted multi-quantum well structures within InAs nanowires using molecular beam epitaxy. We review the crystal structure for the faceted quantum wells along with an analysis of their optical emission characteristics which shows quantum confinement and localisation of the carriers on the quantum well nanostructure. This enables tuning of the emission wavelength and enhanced emission intensity up to the technologically important room-temperature operation point

Understanding the effect of transformation leadership behaviour of middle managers on innovation in project based organisations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of transformational leadership behaviour of middle managers on innovation. It followed a quantitative data collection and analysis to examine the relationship between transformational leadership on climate for innovation, innovation championing behaviour and project performance. In-depth interviews were held with 13 members of staff selected from different parts of the company. In addition a focus group discussion was held with Technical Directors in order to develop a deeper understanding of the processes by which middle managers influence innovation in project based professional services organisations. Findings from the study suggest that middle managers’ transformational leadership behaviour impacts project outcomes by helping to develop a climate for innovation and influencing the championing behaviour of their staff. Notwithstanding the fact that the study was based on a single UK based professional services firm, the findings adds to our understanding of the role of middle level leadership in project environment in facilitating innovation and answers the call for more qualitative approaches to understanding the impact of leaders in project based organisations. The findings also highlight the significant impact middle managers can have on innovation and ultimately project performance contrary to the previous publications that advanced a more negative view of the role of middle managers in organisations

A spatiotemporal perspective on empowerment

The complex and dynamic nature of project environments presents both opportunities and challenges for the empowerment of individuals and teams. Yet, empowerment is a complex concept in its own right, taking on multiple forms across people, is contextually embedded and shifts over time. As research on empowerment in projects continues to grow, pertinent questions are emerging aimed at promoting the growth of empowerment theory and its applicability in practice. For example, how do organizations empower employees at different levels and still be able to achieve goal congruence across the organization?; how does empowerment manifest itself across project phases?; and how does empowerment manifest across co-located or geographically/physically spaced individuals on the same or different projects/teams across the same organization? The multiplicity and dynamism of empowerment in projects across three aspects - space, time and levels, and their intersections are examined within the context of the complex, dynamic and uncertain operational realities of projects. It is argued that such a spatiotemporal agenda is better understood through the lens of chaos and complexity theory, a perspective that reveals the way in which empowerment is intertwined with other managerial interventions and business strategies for the successful delivery of projects