313 research outputs found
Contested resources: unions, employers, and the adoption of new work practices in US and UK telecommunications
The pattern of adoption of high-performance work practices has been explained in terms of strategic contingency and in terms of union presence. We compare the post-deregulation/privatization changes in work practice at AT&T, Bell Atlantic and British Telecom. On the basis of these cases, we argue that the choice of new work practices should be understood as a consequence not only of the company's resources or changes in its environment, nor of a simple union presence, but also as a consequence of the practices' effects on union power, the nature of the union's engagement, and the union's strategic choices
Attitudes Toward Organizational Change among Public Middle Managers
Positive attitudes toward change (PATC) are an important current issue in public
organizations facing profound financial and managerial reforms. This study aims to
identify social and organizational antecedents of PATC. The investigated population
is composed of middle managers working in Swiss public hospitals (N = 720), which
are currently being confronted by major reforms. Partial mediation effects of
organizational commitment (OC) in the relationships between independent variables
and PATC are also controlled. The findings show that perceived social support (work
relationships with colleagues and supervisors) as well as perceived organizational
support (employee voice and participation, information and communication, work-life
balance) are positively and significantly related to PATC. Stress perception is shown
to have a negative impact on PATC. This article provides valuable contributions with
respect to antecedents of attitudes toward change in a population of public middle
managers
Poverty and trade liberalization: empirical evidence from 21 African countries
The study investigated the possible nexus between trade liberalization and poverty in 21 African countries covering the period 2005â2014. The study deployed the following econometric tests: descriptive statistics; the correlation matrix and variance inflator; the panel unit root test; the pooled OLS technique; and the panel co-integration test (Johansen co-integration test). In order to confirm the robustness and validity of the regression model result, Ramsey RESET, cross dependence, autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity tests were conducted. The findings reveal that foreign direct investment and inflation rate had a positive relationship with the human development index while exchange rates and trade openness were negatively related to poverty level at the 5 percent level. The study recommended urgent policy measures aimed at revamping the poverty alleviation programmes. The study recommended that in a bid to diversify export market, developing countries should target other developing countries in the spirit of SouthâSouth cooperation. Such countries should also consider the joining or strengthening of regional economic integration. Incentives for production and human capacity building in the export-oriented sector should be emplaced. Social and economic policies are required to protect any country against the adverse effects of lowered trade barriers
Single neuron transcriptomics identify SRSF/ SR protein B52 as a regulator of axon growth and Choline acetyltransferase splicing.
We removed single identified neurons from living Drosophila embryos to gain insight into the transcriptional control of developing neuronal networks. The microarray analysis of the transcriptome of two sibling neurons revealed seven differentially expressed transcripts between both neurons (threshold: log(2)1.4). One transcript encodes the RNA splicing factor B52. Loss of B52 increases growth of axon branches. B52 function is also required for Choline acetyltransferase (ChATâ) splicing. At the end of embryogenesis, loss of B52 function impedes splicing of ChAT, reduces acetylcholine synthesis, and extends the period of uncoordinated muscle twitches during larval hatching. ChAT regulation by SRSF proteins may be a conserved feature since changes in SRSF5 expression and increased acetylcholine levels in brains of bipolar disease patients have been reported recently
Who Benefits From Teams? Comparing Workers, Supervisors, and Managers
This paper offers a political explanation for the diffusion and sustainability of team-based work systems by examining the differential outcomes of team structures for 1200 workers, supervisors, and middle managers in a large unionized telecommunications company. Regression analyses show that participation in self-managed teams is associated with significantly higher levels of perceived discretion, employment security, and satisfaction for workers and the opposite for supervisors. Middle managers who initiate team innovations report higher employment security, but otherwise are not significantly different from their counterparts who are not involved in innovations. By contrast, there are no significant outcomes for employees associated with their participation in offline problem-solving teams
Negative Regulation of Active Zone Assembly by a Newly Identified SR Protein Kinase
A neuronal serine-arginine protein kinase that localizes to the presynaptic active zone is required for kinase-dependent repression of active zone assembly
Civil society leadership in the struggle for AIDS treatment in South Africa and Uganda
Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.This thesis is an attempt to theorise and operationalise empirically the notion of âcivil society leadershipâ in Sub-Saharan Africa. âAIDS leadership,â which is associated with the intergovernmental institutions charged with coordinating the global response to HIV/AIDS, is both under-theorised and highly context-specific. In this study I therefore opt for an inclusive framework that draws on a range of approaches, including the literature on âleadershipâ, institutions, social movements and the ânetworkâ perspective on civil society mobilisation. This framework is employed in rich and detailed empirical descriptions (âthick descriptionâ) of civil society mobilisation around AIDS, including contentious AIDS activism, in the key case studies of South Africa and Uganda. South Africa and Uganda are widely considered key examples of poor and good leadership (from national political leaders) respectively, while the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) are both seen as highly effective civil society movements. These descriptions emphasise âtransnational networks of influenceâ in which civil society leaders participated (and at times actively constructed) in order to mobilise both symbolic and material resources aimed at exerting influence at the transnational, national and local levels
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