Exploring the Relationship between Human Resource Management Practices and Organizational Commitment: Empirical Evidence from the Banking Sector in China

The purpose of this paper is to measure the impact of human resource management practices individually and as a system on organizational commitment. Data were collected from 304 respondents from banking sector of China. A questionnaire survey for this purpose was conducted in different cities of China. Correlations and multiple regression statistics analysis were used to explore the relationship between the variables involved in the study. The findings of the study provide support for the variables (selection, training, performance appraisal, promotion, performance based rewards, information sharing, job security and human resource management system) and are confirmed by the results of the previous studies. The findings of the current study support the notion that the HR practices relates to organizational commitment, individually and as a system as well. These findings provide important avenues for the banking sector of China and for the debate regarding convergence of the human resource management practices regionally as well as internationally

Cognitive Dissonance Creation By Cultural And Psychological Factors And Its Effects On Consumer Decision Making Process

Customer Satisfaction has always been a matter of great attention for researchers and organizations. Different researches have been conducted at different levels to understand the importance of customer satisfaction and to relate it with other theories to improve the performance of a company or a product. This paper emphasizes on the affect of different behavioral, social and structural factors on human decision making while purchasing a product. The cognitive dissonance created during the decision making process will be linked with these social, behavioral and structural factors in order to see its relationship with customer decision making initially and customer propensity to trust a brand eventually. This paper provides an integrated theoretical framework for a pre-purchase cognitive dissonance created by different factors formulated by a model. The implementation will be beneficial for ongoing research conducted in a scenario of making stronger relationship between pre-purchase dissonance, consumer purchase behavior and its ability to create brand trust. Keywords: Customer Satisfaction, Pre-Purchase Dissonance, Customer Purchase Behavior, Brand Trus

Does the Specific Matrix of Cultural Values and Ethnic- Religious Diversity Hinder Economic Development in African Region?

Abstract This study empirically probes the role of culture in fostering or hindering economic performance in Africa. Our results show that cultural values appear to some extant have statistically significant and operationally meaningful economic effects. We also test the effect of ethnic and religious diversity which discourage economic growth. Using the OLS method, we appraised the baseline endogenous economic growth model to incorporate cultural variables. Cultural attitudes toward trust and self-determination were found to affect economic development significantly. However, respect was associated with unexpected signs of an inverse relationship with economic growth. Further, the cultural motivational index (CMI) was also negatively associated with growth. This implies that the traditional values of African culture do not lend support to economic growth. While the ethnic and religious fractionalization may not be harmful to development, ethnic and religious polarization affects the development more adversely

Usefulness of Clinical Prediction Rules, D-dimer, and Arterial Blood Gas Analysis to Predict Pulmonary Embolism in Cancer Patients

Objectives: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is seven times more common in cancer patients than non-cancer patients. Since the existing clinical prediction rules (CPRs) were validated predominantly in a non-cancer population, we decided to look at the utility of arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis and D-dimer in predicting PE in cancer patients. Methods: Electronic medical records were reviewed between December 2005 and November 2010. A total of 177 computed tomography pulmonary angiograms (CTPAs) were performed. We selected 104 individuals based on completeness of laboratory and clinical data. Patients were divided into two groups, CTPA positive (patients with PE) and CTPA negative (PE excluded). Wells score, Geneva score, and modified Geneva score were calculated for each patient. Primary outcomes of interest were the sensitivities, specificities, positive, and negative predictive values for all three CPRs. Results: Of the total of 104 individuals who had CTPAs, 33 (31.7%) were positive for PE and 71 (68.3%) were negative. There was no difference in basic demographics between the two groups. Laboratory parameters were compared and partial pressure of oxygen was significantly lower in patients with PE (68.1 mmHg vs. 71 mmHg, p = 0.030). Clinical prediction rules showed good sensitivities (88−100%) and negative predictive values (93−100%). An alveolar-arterial (A-a) gradient > 20 had 100% sensitivity and negative predictive values. Conclusions: CPRs and a low A-a gradient were useful in excluding PE in cancer patients. There is a need for prospective trials to validate these results

Effect of Students Attitude Towards Mathematics on their Mathematical Achievement at Secondary School Level

The effect of student’s attitude on mathematical achievement has gathered tremendous attention from various researchers. However, there is a degree of inconsistency in the findings regarding these effects. The aim of the study was to find out the effect of students’ attitude towards Mathematics on their mathematical achievement at secondary schools in AJ&K. The objectives of the study were; to analyze students’ attitude in Mathematics at secondary level, to compare students’ attitude and academic achievement in Mathematics (gender wise) in AJ&K and to find out the effect of students’ attitude on Mathematical achievement at secondary level in AJ&K. The research was descriptive and quantitative in nature  and cross-sectional survey was used to collect the data. All the students of 10th class of Govt. Secondary Schools in District Bagh AJ&K were the population of the study. There were 1076 students (458 boys and 618 girls) studying in 10th class in Government Secondary Schools of District Bagh. Sample was taken using Stratified random sampling technique. The researcher selected 444 students (192 male and 252 female) using proportionate stratified random sampling technique. The researcher developed five-point Likert scale questionnaire to collect the data. It was concluded that attitude had an impact on the mathematical achievements of the students. Parents’ education, qualification and social status had positive effect on academic achievements of students. It is recommended that students may be encouraged to achieve mathematical goals

Binder-Free Electrode Based on ZnO Nanorods Directly Grown on Aluminum Substrate for High Performance Supercapacitors

Herein, for the first time, the growth of ZnO nanorods directly on aluminum (Al) substrate via a low temperature (80 °C) wet chemical method, and used as binder-free electrode for supercapacitors were reported. XRD pattern and HRTEM images showed that high crystalline nanorods grown on Al substrate with c-axis orientation. Morphological studies revealed that the nanorods possessed well defined hexagon phase with length and diameter of ~2 µm and 100–180 nm, respectively. Raman spectrum of ZnO nanorods showed that the characteristic E2H mode corresponds to the vibration associated with the oxygen atoms of ZnO. The optical properties of ZnO nanorods studied using Room-temperature PL spectra revealed a near-band-edge (NBE) peak at ~388 nm emission and deep level (DLE) at ~507 nm. Electrochemical measurements showed that ZnO nanorods on Al substrate exhibited remarkably enhanced performance as electrode for supercapacitors with a value of specific capacitance of 394 F g−1 measured with scan rate of 20 mV s−1. This unique nanorods structures also exhibited excellent stability of >98% capacitance retention for 1000 cycles that were measured at 1A g−1. The presented easy and cost-effective method might open up the possibility for the mass production of binder-free electrodes for efficient electrochemical energy storage devices