Working Futures 2017-2027 : Long-run labour market and skills projections headline report

This report provides a concise overview of Working Futures 2017-2027 results for the UK. It presents historical trends and future prospects by sector for the UK and its constituent nations and the English regions. The prime focus of Working Futures is on the demand for skills as measured by employment by occupation and qualification, although the supply side is also considered. Its prime objective is to provide useful labour market information that can help to inform policy development and strategy around skills, careers and employment, for both policy makers and a much wider audience. The results are intended to provide a sound statistical foundation for reflection and debate among all those with an interest in the demand for and supply of skills. It is aimed at the general reader and focuses on the key messages from this very detailed study. It complements the more detailed outputs and results from the project available from the gov.uk website2 and cover sectors, occupations, geography and qualifications

The Dawn of Open Access to Phylogenetic Data

The scientific enterprise depends critically on the preservation of and open access to published data. This basic tenet applies acutely to phylogenies (estimates of evolutionary relationships among species). Increasingly, phylogenies are estimated from increasingly large, genome-scale datasets using increasingly complex statistical methods that require increasing levels of expertise and computational investment. Moreover, the resulting phylogenetic data provide an explicit historical perspective that critically informs research in a vast and growing number of scientific disciplines. One such use is the study of changes in rates of lineage diversification (speciation - extinction) through time. As part of a meta-analysis in this area, we sought to collect phylogenetic data (comprising nucleotide sequence alignment and tree files) from 217 studies published in 46 journals over a 13-year period. We document our attempts to procure those data (from online archives and by direct request to corresponding authors), and report results of analyses (using Bayesian logistic regression) to assess the impact of various factors on the success of our efforts. Overall, complete phylogenetic data for ~60% of these studies are effectively lost to science. Our study indicates that phylogenetic data are more likely to be deposited in online archives and/or shared upon request when: (1) the publishing journal has a strong data-sharing policy; (2) the publishing journal has a higher impact factor, and; (3) the data are requested from faculty rather than students. Although the situation appears dire, our analyses suggest that it is far from hopeless: recent initiatives by the scientific community -- including policy changes by journals and funding agencies -- are improving the state of affairs

Decomposing market orientation and its relationship to innovativeness of SMEs in Malaysia: the moderating effects of market turbulence

This study aims to investigate the relationship between market orientation and innovativeness, and the moderating effects of market turbulence in the context of Malaysian SMEs. Market orientation comprises three dimensional constructs, the customer orientation, competitor orientation, and interfuncional coordination. Data was gathered through self-administered questionnaires and a total of 180 respondents comprising owners and managers of small and medium sized enterprises participated in this study. Smart PLS 2.0 (M3) was employed to assess the proposed model through path modelling and bootstrapping technique. The results showed that customer orientation, competitor orientation and interfunctional coordination are positively related to innovativeness. Also, market turbulence was found to have moderated the relationship between customer orientation and innovativeness. Interestingly, the findings revealed that market turbulence negatively moderated the relationship between interfunctional coordination and innovativeness. Implications of the findings, limitations of the study and directions for future research are further discussed

Monolithic Photoelectrochemical Device for Direct Water Splitting with 19% Efficiency

Recent rapid progress in efficiencies for solar water splitting by photoelectrochemical devices has enhanced its prospects to enable storable renewable energy. Efficient solar fuel generators all use tandem photoelectrode structures, and advanced integrated devices incorporate corrosion protection layers as well as heterogeneous catalysts. Realization of near thermodynamic limiting performance requires tailoring the energy band structure of the photoelectrode and also the optical and electronic properties of the surface layers exposed to the electrolyte. Here, we report a monolithic device architecture that exhibits reduced surface reflectivity in conjunction with metallic Rh nanoparticle catalyst layers that minimize parasitic light absorption. Additionally, the anatase TiO2 protection layer on the photocathode creates a favorable internal band alignment for hydrogen evolution. An initial solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 19.3 % is obtained in acidic electrolyte and an efficiency of 18.5 % is achieved at neutral pH condition (under simulated sunlight)

Relationship between Knowledge Management and Organizational Performance: A Test on SMEs in Malaysia

Generally, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in supporting the nation’s economy. Nevertheless, Malaysian SMEs have not developed their full potential. Therefore, it is essential for the entrepreneurs to search for and shift towards better strategies to become more successful. In the present turbulent environments, knowledge has been viewed as a major strategic competitive resource. Given the importance of knowledge, entrepreneurs are encouraged to develop their capabilities to manage knowledge which will move them to become more competitive and innovative. Extensive research is available in the knowledge management literature investigating the process of knowledge management as a composite construct; nonetheless little research has been done to examine the independent effects of the individual dimensions of knowledge management process. In particular, little empirical evidence has been found to determine the implementation of knowledge management practices in the context of developing countries and small business. This study aimed to fill the perceived gaps by investigating the relationship between knowledge management process capabilities and organizational performance in the context of Malaysian SMEs. Knowledge management process capabilities were conceptualized as four dimensional constructs: knowledge acquisition, knowledge conversion, knowledge application, and knowledge protection while organizational performance were divided into two dimensions namely, non-financial performance and financial performance. This paper anticipates that the four knowledge management process capabilities are important antecedents of organizational performance, which have in turn a positive relationship with both non-financial performance and financial performance of SMEs. The findings of this study will provide insights to entrepreneurs and help them to identify and develop effective strategies towards enhancing their overall performance