Development and cross-national investigation of a model explaining participation in WHO-recommended and placebo behaviours to prevent COVID-19 infection

To protect themselves from COVID-19, people follow the recommendations of the authorities, but they also resort to placebos. To stop the virus, it is important to understand the factors underlying both types of preventive behaviour. This study examined whether our model (developed based on the Health Belief Model and the Transactional Model of Stress) can explain participation in WHO-recommended and placebo actions during the pandemic. Model was tested on a sample of 3346 participants from Italy, Japan, Poland, Korea, Sweden, and the US. It was broadly supported: objective risk and cues to action showed both direct and indirect (through perceived threat) associations with preventive behaviours. Moreover, locus of control, decision balance, health anxiety and preventive coping moderated these relationships. Numerous differences were also found between countries. We conclude that beliefs about control over health and perceived benefits of actions are critical to the development of interventions to improve adherence to recommendations

An appropriate tool for entrepreneurial learning in SMEs? The case of the 20Twenty Leadership Programme

The 20Twenty Leadership Programme was developed by Cardiff Metropolitan University as an executive education programme to be delivered within South Wales to small businesses. It is funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and administered by the Welsh European Funding Office and has the key aim of developing SME’s growth potential via a range of leadership and management skills, including a focus on ‘soft’ skills. The focus of this paper is to place the 20Twenty Leadership Programme within the wider context of entrepreneurship policy and SME training initiatives in particular, and then to examine the rationale and delivery methods of the Programme in relation to these. It also reflects on the Programme’s success (or otherwise) to date where possible. Finally, the paper seeks to suggest fruitful areas of further research both in terms of the 20Twenty Leadership Programme itself, but also with regard to evaluation in relation to other parallel programmes, and to SME training initiatives more generally

Regional R&D efficiency in Korea from static and dynamic perspectives

Regional R&D efficiency in Korea from static and dynamic perspectives, Regional Studies. Research and development (R&D) efficiency has gained great attention in regional innovation research. This study examines the R&D efficiency patterns of 15 Korean regions for 2005–09. It employs data envelopment analysis to identify the regions' R&D performances relative to the best practices from the static perspective, and the Malmquist productivity index to evaluate their changes in performance within a given timeframe, providing a dynamic perspective. The results classify the Korean regions into deteriorating, lagging and improving groups, and indicate that most regions suffer from declining R&D productivity over time because of their inability to catch up with the best practices

The Triple Helix in the context of global change: dynamics and challenges

Understanding how economies change through interactions with science and government as different spheres of activity requires both new conceptual tools and methodologies. In this paper, the evolution of the metaphor of a Triple Helix of university–industry–government relations is elaborated into an evolutionary model, and positioned within the context of global economic changes. We highlight how Triple Helix relations are both continuing and mutating, and the conditions under which a Triple Helix might be seen to be unraveling in the face of pressures on each of the three helices – university, industry, and government. The reciprocal dynamics of innovation both in the Triple Helix thesis and in the global economy are empirically explored: we find that footlooseness of high technology manufacturing and knowledge-intensive services counteract the embeddedness prevailing in medium technology manufacturing. The geographical level at which synergy in Triple Helix relations can be expected and sustained varies among nations and regions

Wandel der Arbeitsregulation

The federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg may be an example to survey the effects of an economic structural change and internal organisational reforms in companies on the system of industrial relations. The results show that the model of work regulation dominating until now is becoming more and more insignificant because of the structural change and internal company restructuring, yet the practice of work regulation is becoming more and more diverse. Unions and employers' associations alike were until now reluctant to react on the different developments as the participants still largely disagree on how to deal with the change of requirements. (orig.)SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: RR 5071(118) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

'Lasertechnik - Sicherheitsstrategien und Nutzungskontexte'. Untersuchung von anwenderbezogenen Sicherheitsstrategien gegenueber (potentiellen) Sekundaergefaehrdungen bei der industriellen Anwendung der Lasertechnik und Erarbeitung von Handlungsempfehlungen fuer die Verbesserung der Sicherheit Endbericht

Results of an empirical investigation on safety in the industrial applications of lasers with special regard to emissions are reported, and a conception of safety strategy has been developed specifying Perrow's formulation of a socio-technical system for laser application. A typology of industrial application contextes includes six types: mass production in motor vehicle industry, serial production at subcontractors, flexible small serial production in machine construction, high-tech in craftman's establishments, highly flexible jobshops and special users. It is concluded that the endangerment by emissions in the laser application generally is only insufficiently recognized. The required active gathering of information corresponding to the defined type of safety strategy 'reflexive expertise' is carried out only by a minority of enterprises. Recommendations are compiled for users, for producers of laser techniques, for standardization institutions, for industrial supervisions and trade cooperative associations. (WEN)SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: F96B1883+a / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekBundesministerium fuer Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie, Bonn (Germany); European Union (Euro), Brussels (Belgium)DEGerman