Morale: definitions, dimensions and measurement

Morale is a commonly used term both in business and society but the concept of morale is relatively poorly defined and understood. In a recent paper Liefooghe et al. (2004) expressed surprise that ‘…when reviewing the literature, no strong theory to explain morale as such is in evidence, nor are there many empirical studies that offer solid ground to advise organisations…’(p 1). This thesis aims to provide these theories and this empirical evidence in order to produce a better understanding of morale. This research identifies a number of deficiencies in the current understanding of morale. These range from elision with other concepts to disagreement about whether it is an individual or group phenomenon. In this study, four principal domains are examined: (i) what morale is; (ii) how it differs from other concepts; (iii) the antecedents of morale and (iv) its consequences. A mixed methods approach was adopted combining idiographic and nomothetic research. The idiographic phase of the research adopted a Straussian (1998) grounded theory approach, involving data collection from seven different organisations. The data was accrued from a combination of site visits, informal contacts, external research, and 203 semi-structured interviews which were supplemented with psychometric instruments. The data were then coded and analysed. Morale could be readily differentiated from other concepts and emerged as a phenomenon with three dimensions: affective, future/goal and interpersonal. It was also viewed as a single phenomenon which was generalisable across situations and rooted in the individual although perceived members of the group exerted considerable influence. The antecedents of morale impacted on the three dimensions outlined above. Its consequences were the zeal with which tasks are undertaken, creativity and engagement. The nomothetic element of the research developed a number of measurement scales, grounded in the qualitative phase. These allowed morale to be differentiated from other phenomena and offered insights into individual and group perceptions of morale and the influence of personality variables. Further quantitative research confirmed the three dimensional structure of the concept. The results of these two phases were then integrated to provide a picture of the phenomenon of morale, differentiate it from other concepts and elucidate its antecedents and consequences. An appraisal of the limitations of the research is also made. Finally the implications of this research for both academic researchers and practitioners are discussed along with suggestions for future research

ChatGPT in a Contract Drafting Class

Our presentation will discuss the impact of ChatGPT on contract drafting pedagogy. Specifically, we will examine ChatGPT’s basis of knowledge and whether it has sufficient theoretical foundation to be used as a pedagogical tool; whether ChatGPT’s practical application supports proven methods of instructional delivery; and ChatGPT’s functionality as an assessment tool. 1. ChatGPT’s basis of knowledge and whether it has sufficient theoretical foundation to be used as a pedagogical tool Our presentation will compare the pretraining of ChatGPT and to the typical Contract Drafting pedagogy. We will start by showing the program on a screen and asking it how it was trained and what principles it follows to draft contracts. We will then compare this to the principles students are taught to apply in a typical contract drafting class. Our working hypotheses is that ChatGPT draws from internet resources and follows basic principles of clear writing. In contrast, transactional attorneys typically either draft from scratch following whatever conventions they were trained on, or they start with a form or sample document and then revise it for a specific transaction. 2. Whether ChatGPT’s practical application supports proven methods of instructional delivery We will then show an example of how ChatGPT works by giving it a prompt that would be typical in any contract drafting class and asking it to draft the applicable contract from scratch. It takes less than a minute for the program to draft the type of contract students typically draft in class. We will examine the sufficiency of ChatGPT’s output. The next step will be to highlight errors and other issues with the document ChatGPT drafts. We will ask the program if it can draft the contract following certain conventions (since drafting courses are typically taught according to conventions) and see whether it can actually do what it says it can do (it can’t). Ultimately, we will look at techniques that can be used to improve the quality and completeness of the documents ChatGPT produces so that it aligns more with the way contract drafting classes are typically taught. The program works better, for example, if you ask more specific questions and provide feedback on the output

Investigating Gender Differences under Time Pressure in Financial Risk Taking

There is a significant gender imbalance on financial trading floors. This motivated us to investigate gender differences in financial risk taking under pressure. We used a well-established approach from behavior economics to analyze a series of risky monetary choices by male and female participants with and without time pressure. We also used second to fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) and face width-to-height ratio (fWHR) as correlates of pre-natal exposure to testosterone. We constructed a structural model and estimated the participants’ risk attitudes and probability perceptions via maximum likelihood estimation under both expected utility (EU) and rank-dependent utility (RDU) models. In line with existing research, we found that male participants are less risk averse and that the gender gap in risk attitudes increases under moderate time pressure. We found that female participants with lower 2D:4D ratios and higher fWHR are less risk averse in RDU estimates. Males with lower 2D:4D ratios were less risk averse in EU estimations, but more risk averse using RDU estimates. We also observe that men whose ratios indicate a greater prenatal exposure to testosterone exhibit a greater optimism and overestimation of small probabilities of success

Area deprivation across the life course and physical capability in mid-life: findings from the 1946 British Birth Cohort

Physical capability in later life is influenced by factors occurring across the life course, yet exposures to area conditions have only been examined cross-sectionally. Data from the National Survey of Health and Development, a longitudinal study of a 1946 British birth cohort, were used to estimate associations of area deprivation (defined as percentage of employed people working in partly skilled or unskilled occupations) at ages 4, 26, and 53 years (residential addresses linked to census data in 1950, 1972, and 1999) with 3 measures of physical capability at age 53 years: grip strength, standing balance, and chair-rise time. Cross-classified multilevel models with individuals nested within areas at the 3 ages showed that models assessing a single time point underestimate total area contributions to physical capability. For balance and chair-rise performance, associations with area deprivation in midlife were robust to adjustment for individual socioeconomic position and prior area deprivation (mean change for a 1-standard-deviation increase: balance, −7.4% (95% confidence interval (CI): −12.8, −2.8); chair rise, 2.1% (95% CI: −0.1, 4.3)). In addition, area deprivation in childhood was related to balance after adjustment for childhood socioeconomic position (−5.1%, 95% CI: −8.7, −1.6). Interventions aimed at reducing midlife disparities in physical capability should target the socioeconomic environment of individuals—for standing balance, as early as childhood

PERANCANGAN APLIKASI MATERIAL REQUIREMENT PLANNING (MRP) DENGAN METODE LOT SIZING DINAMIK WAGNER-WITHIN UNTUK MERENCANAKAN KEBUTUHAN MATERIAL SOLAR HOME SYSTEM 50 WP (SHS) DI PT. LEN INDUSTRI

PT.LEN INDUSTRI yang bergerak dalam industri manufaktur dengan karakteristik pasar yang dinamis mengakibatkan seringnya terjadi perubahan rencana produksi dalam setiap periode pemesanan, disamping itu sistem produksi dengan urutan produksi yang cukup panjang dan saling berkaitan menyebabkan waktu dan jumlah kebutuhan setiap komponen berbeda-beda menurut ketergantungan jenis komponen yang satu dengan yang lainnya. Kondisi ini menyebabkan sulitnya merencanakan kebutuhan akan material yang optimal dan sistem pengadaan material juga masih dilakukan secara tradisional yang tidak selalu mampu mengatasi permasalahan yang ada, sehingga sering sekali terjadi penumpukan barang dan disisi lain terkadang sampai terjadi kekurangan bahan-baku (stockout). Oleh karena hal tersebut maka diperlukannya suatu sistem manajemen perencanaan material yang mampu memberikan informasi tentang harga, waktu serta jumlah lot pemesanan kebutuhan bahan baku yang optimal, untuk meminimasi biaya yang dikeluarkan. Hal yang dapat dilakukan oleh pihak perusahaan adalah dengan penerapan Material Requirements Planning (MRP). Sistem MRP ini melakukan perencanaan dan pengendalian persediaan dengan memperhatikan hubungan antara bagian meterial sehingga dapat meningkatkan efektifitas dalam menentukan kebutuhan tiap bahan baku. Sistem MRP terdiri dari empat tahapan yaitu netting, lotting, offsetting dan exploding. Pada perhitungan jumlah lot pemesanannya (lotting) menggunakan Algoritma Wagner-Whitin yang sesuai dengan karakteristik permintaan yang dinamis yang dapat digunakan untuk menentukan kebijakan pengendalian biaya minimum dalam seluruh rentang periode produksi, sehingga terbentuk suatu rencana kebutuhan material yang mampu mengatasi permasalahan berupa harga, waktu dan jumlah pemesanan yang tepat untuk menunjang kelancaran produksi. Seluruh tahapan tersebut menggunakan aplikasi perangkat lunak sebagai alat bantu untuk mempermudah proses perhitungan yang ada. Aplikasi yang ada memungkinkan perhitungan dengan cepat, dan mampu memberikan informasi output yang dihasilkan secara cepat untuk proses pengambilan keputusan perencanaan kebutuhan material. Dari hasil perhitungan, penggunaan MRP dengan lot sizing algoritma wagner-within dapat meminimasi jumlah kebutuhan bahan baku sebesar 10,4% untuk tingkat produksi assembly dan sub-assembly sedangkan untuk komponen dasar sebesar 10,1% dari kondisi existing, hal ini mengakibatkan peminimasian biaya yang dikeluarkan dalam proses pengadaan bahan baku dengan jumlah total sebesar Rp185,998,095.67 atau sebesar 23,32% dari perhitungan dengan perencanaan kebutuhan material existing perusahaan. Oleh karena itu, sistem Management Requirement Planning (MRP) dengan metode lot-sizing Wagner-Within dalam perencanaan kebutuhan material lebih baik dibandingkan dengan perencanaan kebutuhan material awal perusahaan, disamping itu penggunaan aplikasi terbukti memberikan banyak mamfaat dalam proses perhitungan dibandingkan perhitungan secara manual yang dilakukan oleh perusahaan. Namun untuk keputusan akhir diperlukan pertimbangan yang matang berdasarkan kebijakan pihak PT LEN INDUSTRI. Aplikasi MRP, Perencanaan kebutuhan material, MRP, Lot Sizing, Algoritma Wagner-Within

Mitigation of hydrodynamics related stress in bioreactors: a key for the scale-up of enzyme production by filamentous fungi

International audienceDifferent impellers and stirring conditions are compared at the bench scale in order to identify the relevant hydrodynamic stress parameter that correlates best with the process characteristics, morphology, broth rheology and growth rate as measured during the culture of the filamentous fungi, T. reesei, used for the production of cellulases. A modified Energy Dissipation Circulation Function (EDCF) was the most relevant stress parameter, and its use is validated to predict fairly accurately the same process characteristics in an industrial bioreactor, as well as enzyme production. The results are of great importance for the scale-up of cellulase production for bioethanol manufacture from lignocellulosic biomass

Parental influences on child physical activity and screen viewing time: a population based study

Background: Parents can influence their children’s physical activity participation and screen time.This study examined the relative significance of perceived parental barriers and self-efficacy in relation to children’s physical activity participation and screen time viewing. The associations between these factors and the behaviours were analysed. Methods: Cross-sectional population survey in New South Wales, Australia of parents of pre-school (N = 764), younger (Kindergarten, Grades 2 and 4; N = 1557) and older children (Grades 6, 8 and 10; N = 1665). Parents reported barriers and self-efficacy to influence their child’s physical activity and screen time behaviours in a range of circumstances. Differences were examined by child’s sex and age group, household income, maternal education and location of residence. The duration of physical activity and screen viewing was measured by parental report for pre-school and younger children and self-report for older children. Associations between parental factors and children’s organised, non-organised and total activity and screen time were analysed. Results: Cost, lack of opportunities for participation and transport problems were the barriers most often reported, particularly by low income parents and those in rural areas. The number of barriers was inversely related to children’s time spent in organised activity, but not their non-organised activity. Higher parental self-efficacy was positively associated with organised physical activity in the younger and older children’s groups and the non-organised activity of older children. School-age children (younger and older groups) were less likely to meet physical activity guidelines when parents reported ≥4 barriers (OR 3.76, 95% CI 1.25-11.34 and OR 3.72, 95% CI 1.71-8.11 respectively). Low parental self-efficacy was also associated with the likelihood of children exceeding screen time guidelines for each age group (pre-school OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.43-0.87; young children OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.39-0.80; and older children OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.43-0.74). Conclusion: Parental barriers are associated with the time that children spend in both active and sedentary pursuits. These findings highlight family, economic and environmental factors that should be addressed in programs to promote child physical activity and tackle sedentary behaviour