Training Transfer: the Case for ‘Implementation Intentions'

As organizations adopt a more inclusive or pluralistic approach to talent management, there is an emphasis on the engagement of a broader segment of the workforce to deliver both strategic and operational objectives. Accompanying this is investment in learning, training and development activity which is intended to enhance the achievement of the objectives based on the assumption of the effective transfer of training to improve performance or behavioural outcomes. Ensuring that training investment is converted to measurable outcomes is therefore a priority for many organizations and Return on Investment in Training (ROIT) is increasingly sought in the same way as for any other corporate investment. This article synthesizes developments in goal setting theory and highlights a limitation with regards to the theory being applied to the contemporary workplace. It proposes that implementation intentions and the associated ‘if/then’ plans offer the chance to mediate this. Key to these plans being successful is for them to be embedded at the learning design stage creating a clear link between the need for the learning/training and agreed objectives. A large part of the success of implementation intentions is that control of behaviour is given to situational cues in the workplace and these can be reinforced by supportive line managers and peers. But it is essential that they are also aware of the implementation intention plan in order to offer informed support. A holistic learning environment is key to the success of any intervention but given the importance of situational cues when considering implementation intentions it is vital that both learners and those who support them in the workplace are aware of the specific roles they play and the impact they have

Preparation of Carbon Aerogels from Polymer-Cross-Linked Xerogel Powders Without Supercritical Fluid Drying and their Application in Highly Selective CO2Adsorption

Carbon aerogels are well-known materials for their high porosity and high surface areas. They are typically made from pyrolysis of carbonizable polymeric aerogels. Here, we report an alternative route to monolithic carbon aerogels starting from xerogel powders. Use of powders speeds up solvent exchanges along sol-gel processing, and xerogelling bypasses the supercritical fluid drying step that is needed for making polymeric aerogels. Overall, this alternative route results in time, energy, and materials efficiency in the fabrication of carbon aerogels. Specifically, polymer-cross-linked silica xerogel powders were prepared via free-radical surface-initiated polymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) on a suspension of silica particles derived from tetramethylorthosilicate (TMOS) surface modified with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES)-derived initiator. Alternatively, cross-linked silica xerogel powders were prepared with a carbonizable polyurea (PUA) derived from the reaction of an aromatic triisocyanate (tris(4-isocyanatophenyl)methane) with -OH, -NH2, and adsorbed water on the surface of a TMOS/APTES-derived silica suspension. Wet-gel powders by either method were dried under vacuum at 50 °C to xerogel powders, which were compressed into discs. In turn, these discs were carbonized and then they were treated with HF to remove silica and with CO2 to create microporosity. The resulting monolithic carbon aerogels had porosities up to 83% v/v, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface areas up to 1934 m2 g-1, and could uptake up to 9.15 mmol g-1 of CO2 at 273 K, with high selectivity over H2, N2, and CH4

Automated tracking and analysis of centrosomes in early Caenorhabditis elegans embryos

Motivation: The centrosome is a dynamic structure in animal cells that serves as a microtubule organizing center during mitosis and also regulates cell-cycle progression and sets polarity cues. Automated and reliable tracking of centrosomes is essential for genetic screens that study the process of centrosome assembly and maturation in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Biomarkers Associated with Organ-Specific Involvement in Juvenile Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (JSLE) is characterised by onset before 18 years of age and more severe disease phenotype, increased morbidity and mortality compared to adult-onset SLE. Management strategies in JSLE rely heavily on evidence derived from adult-onset SLE studies; therefore, identifying biomarkers associated with the disease pathogenesis and reflecting particularities of JSLE clinical phenotype holds promise for better patient management and improved outcomes. This narrative review summarises the evidence related to various traditional and novel biomarkers that have shown a promising role in identifying and predicting specific organ involvement in JSLE and appraises the evidence regarding their clinical utility, focusing in particular on renal biomarkers, while also emphasising the research into cardiovascular, haematological, neurological, skin and joint disease-related JSLE biomarkers, as well as genetic biomarkers with potential clinical applications

Axial light emission and Ar metastable densities in a parallel plate dc micro discharge in steady state and transient regimes

Axial emission profiles in a parallel plate dc micro discharge (feedgas: argon; discharge gap d=1mm; pressure p=10Torr) were studied by means of time resolved imaging with a fast ICCD camera. Additionally, volt-ampere (V-A) characteristics were recorded and Ar* metastable densities were measured by tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS). Axial emission profiles in the steady state regime are similar to corresponding profiles in standard size discharges (d=1cm, p=1Torr). For some discharge conditions relaxation oscillations are present when the micro discharge switches periodically between low current Townsend-like mode and normal glow. At the same time the axial emission profile shows transient behavior, starting with peak distribution at the anode, which gradually moves towards the cathode during the normal glow. The development of argon metastable densities highly correlates with the oscillating discharge current. Gas temperatures in the low current Townsend-like mode (T= 320-400K) and the high current glow mode (T=469-526K) were determined by the broadening of the recorded spectral profiles as a function of the discharge current.Comment: submitted to Plasma Sources Sci. Techno

Iron Supply and Demand in Antarctic Shelf Ecosystem

The Ross Sea sustains a rich ecosystem and is the most productive sector of the Southern Ocean. Most of this production occurs within a polynya during the November-February period, when the availability of dissolved iron (dFe) is thought to exert the major control on phytoplankton growth. Here we combine new data on the distribution of dFe, high-resolution model simulations of ice melt and regional circulation, and satellite-based estimates of primary production to quantify iron supply and demand over the Ross Sea continental shelf. Our analysis suggests that the largest sources of dFe to the euphotic zone are wintertime mixing and melting sea ice, with a lesser input from intrusions of Circumpolar Deep Water and a small amount from melting glacial ice. Together these sources are in approximate balance with the annual biological dFe demand inferred from satellite-based productivity algorithms, although both the supply and demand estimates have large uncertainties

The Role of γ-Tubulin in Centrosomal Microtubule Organization

As part of a multi-subunit ring complex, γ-tubulin has been shown to promote microtubule nucleation both in vitro and in vivo, and the structural properties of the complex suggest that it also seals the minus ends of the polymers with a conical cap. Cells depleted of γ-tubulin, however, still display many microtubules that participate in mitotic spindle assembly, suggesting that γ-tubulin is not absolutely required for microtubule nucleation in vivo, and raising questions about the function of the minus end cap. Here, we assessed the role of γ-tubulin in centrosomal microtubule organisation using three-dimensional reconstructions of γ-tubulin-depleted C. elegans embryos. We found that microtubule minus-end capping and the PCM component SPD-5 are both essential for the proper placement of microtubules in the centrosome. Our results further suggest that γ-tubulin and SPD-5 limit microtubule polymerization within the centrosome core, and we propose a model for how abnormal microtubule organization at the centrosome could indirectly affect centriole structure and daughter centriole replication

New technologies and firm organization : the case of electronic traceability systems in French agribusiness

This paper considers the relationship between the adoption of electronic traceability systems (ETSs) and the organization of firms. More precisely, it analyzes the respective roles of a firm's organizational structure, and organizational changes, in the process of ETS adoption in agribusiness. We use data from the French "Organizational Changes and Computerization" survey from 2006. We test a probit model to demonstrate the organizational structure and organizational changes underlying the firm's ETS adoption choice. Results show that ETS adoption is strongly favored by organizations with heavy hierarchical structures, standardized managerial practices and contractual mechanisms with external partners. This adoption process seems to coevolve with the organization: firms that implemented an ETS during the observed period (2003-2006) have experienced the most important organizational changes in terms of managerial practices, information systems and contractual relations, as well as the strengthening of the intermediate levels in the hierarchy

Age and skill bias of trade liberalisation? : heterogeneous employment effects of EU Eastern Enlargement

This study analyses the 2004 Eastern Enlargement to the European Union to obtain evidence on the employment effects of an increase in trade liberalisation. The Enlargement is thought to generate a trade-induced demand shock with no (or only limited) supply effects. Besides the variation over time induced by the Enlargement, identification of the effects is based on a Melitz (2003) type productivity term to differentiate firms by the extent of exposure to the demand shock. The idea is that the effects of the demand shock should be driven by differences in firm-level productivity from the period before the new member countries actually entered the EU. German linked employer-employee data allow to observe the relation of initial establishment productivity with employment changes over a long panel from 1995 to 2009. The estimates show that the Enlargement had a negative effect on establishment-level employment growth, which is driven by increased worker separations and increased job destruction. Besides the overall employment effect, the study focuses on effect heterogeneity across age and skill groups of the workforce. These estimates point to a skill bias in the effect of the Enlargement that disadvantages low- and medium-skilled workers in terms of higher worker separation and job destruction. In addition, lowskilled workers suffer fewer accessions by firms, where against medium-skilled workers enjoy increased accessions and creation of new jobs. Besides this indication for a skill bias, there are no clear indications that point to an age bias in the employment effect of the Eastern Enlargement