HR practices, commitment, job performance and early retirement among older employees with an on average low occupational status

This study examined the influence of the perception of the quality of HR practices on job performance, commitment and a preference for early retirement among older employees, with an average low occupational status in the creative industry in the Netherlands, This study has adopted a mixed-methods approach, using both surveys and semi-structured interviews. Using the principles underlying social exchange theory, it was expected that perceived quality of HR practices would have a positive relationship with job performance and affective organizational commitment and a negative relationship with a preference for early retirement. Perceived quality of certain HR practices seemed to have a positive relationship with job performance and affective organizational commitment. However, in contradiction with the social exchange theory, perceived quality of HR practices was found to be unrelated to a preference for early retirement. An explanation of this lmexpected finding arose from the qualitative study: older employees perceive the provision of HR practices for older employees as a stamp that they now belong to this devalued social group, which can be explained by the social identity theory. It was found that for older employees with an average low occupational status personal factors like finances and health strongly influenced the retirement decision. On the organizational level, flexibility, communication and a mentality change towards older employees seemed important in this decision. The qualitative study could explain the unexpected findings of the quantitative study, showing the contribution of a mixed-methods, approach. Theoretically, this raises the question whether social exchange theory applies to older employees with an average low occupational status and shows that the social identity theory better explains the relationship between perceived quality of HR practices and a preference for early retirement

Sexual harassment in the creative industries

Women often have to consider it 'part of the job' and tolerate it if they want to get ahead professionally, write Sophie Hennekam and Dawn Bennet

Creative industries work across multiple contexts: common themes and challenges

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the precarious nature of creative industries (CIs) work in Australia, Canada and the Netherlands, with a focus on job security, initial and on-going training and education, and access to benefits and protection. Design/methodology/approach: The paper reports from a largely qualitative study featuring an in-depth survey answered by 752 creative workers in the three locations. Findings: Survey data identified common themes including an increase in non-standard forms of employment and the persistence of precarious work across the career lifespan; criticism of initial education and training with particular reference to business skills; the need for and challenges of life-long professional learning; and lack of awareness about and access to benefits and protection. Respondents also reported multiple roles across and beyond the CIs. Practical implications: The presence of common themes suggests avenues for future, targeted creative workforce research and signals the need for change and action by CIs educators, policy makers and representative organizations such as trade unions. Originality/value: While precarious labour is common across the CIs and has attracted the attention of researchers worldwide, a lack of comparative studies has made it difficult to identify themes or issues that are common across multiple locations. © 2017, © Emerald Publishing Limited

Breadwinner vs caretaker: the pandemic’s potential gender implications for families

COVID may intensify gender roles for some, but over time some men and women may be forced to reinvent their roles, write Sophie Hennekam and Yuliya Shymk

Body Integrity Identity Disorder

Introduction: Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID) is a rare, infrequently studied and highly secretive condition in which there is a mismatch between the mental body image and the physical body. Subjects suffering from BIID have an intense desire to amputate a major limb or severe the spinal cord in order to become paralyzed. Aim of the study is to broaden the knowledge of BIID amongst medical professionals, by describing all who deal with BIID. Methods: Somatic, psychiatric and BIID characteristic data were collected from 54 BIID individuals using a detaile

Paediatric biobanking: Dutch experts reflecting on appropriate legal standards for practice

Large sets of data and human specimens, such as blood, tumour tissue and DNA, are deposited in biobanks for research purposes, preferably for long periods of time and with broadly defined research aims. Our research focuses on the retention of data and biological materials obtained from children. However important such paediatric biobanks may be, the privacy interests of the children involved and the related risks may not be ignored. The privacy issues arising from paediatric biobanks are the central focus of this article. We first review the international regulations that apply to biobanks and then summarise viewpoints expressed by experts in a round-table discussion. We confine ourselves here to two normative questions: (1) How much control should children's parents or legal representatives, and later the children themselves, have over the stored materials and data? (2) What should be done if research findings emerge that have serious implications for a child's health? On the basis of international legal standards and the views of experts, involved in paediatric biobanking, we argue that biological material of children may only be stored in a biobank for scientific purposes if parents provide their explicit consent, the child is re-contacted at 16 or 18 years of age to reconsider storage and use of its material, and the biobank maintains a limited policy in disclosure of individual research findings to the child's parents. What is Known: • Increasingly, biological material of children is stored in biobanks for research purposes. • Clear standards on the conditions under which children's cells or tissues may be stored and used are lacking. What is New: • According to experts, storage and use of children's materials should only be allowed if performed in accordance with appropriate consent procedures and feedback policie

Feeding biomechanics reveals niche differentiation related to insular gigantism

Insular gigantism is an evolutionary phenomenon whereby small animals become bigger on islands compared to their mainland relatives. The abundance of insular giant taxa in the fossil record suggests the presence of a universal “giant niche” present on islands, with resource limitation as a potential driver for this process. However, insular habitats are ecologically diverse, suggesting that island taxa adopt different survival strategies, including adaptations for foraging behaviours. Here we used finite element analysis to evaluate insular feeding niche adaptations in some of the most extreme examples of insular gigantism: Mediterranean giant dormice. We calculated stress, strain and mechanical advantage during incisor and molar biting for three extinct insular giant species (Leithia melitensis, Hypnomys morpheus, H. onicensis), an extant giant (Eliomys quercinus ophiusae), and their extant non-giant mainland relative, the generalist-feeder Eliomys quercinus. Our results show that dietary adaptations vary between giant taxa on different islands, and can occur relatively rapidly. Furthermore, the functional mandibular morphology in some insular taxa indicate adaptations moving away from a generalist feeding strategy towards greater trophic specialization. We show that the “insular giant niche” varies between islands and across time periods, arguing against a universal ecological driver for insular gigantism in small mammals

Morphological and functional variation between isolated populations of British red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris)

Isolation due to habitat fragmentation can lead to morphological and functional variation between populations, with the effect being well documented in rodents. Here, we investigated whether such morphological variation could be identified between British populations of the Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris). This species was once widespread across Great Britain, but suffered a severe population decline across the 20th century, leaving a highly fragmented distribution. The aim was to test for morphological and biomechanical variation of the mandible between the remaining British red squirrel populations, and between British and continental European red squirrels. Linear and geometric morphometric methods were used to analyse shape in a sample of over 250 red squirrel hemi-mandibles from across Britain plus a sample from Germany representing the central European subspecies. Procrustes ANOVA identified significant shape variation between populations, with particularly distinct differences being noted between red squirrels from Germany and several British red squirrel populations, which may reflect their evolutionary history. Linear biomechanical measurements showed that the red squirrels from Formby and Jersey had a significantly lower mechanical advantage of the temporalis muscle than other British populations, suggesting they were less efficient at gnawing. This functional difference may be related to many factors, such as founder effect, potential inbreeding and/or past supplemental feeding with less mechanically resistant food items

High-resolution study of planktic foraminifera from the eastern Mediterranean over the last 13 cal ka BP

A unique high-resolution record from the Nile prodelta has been investigated in order to study past hydrological and climatic changes in the southeastern Levantine region over the last 13 cal ka BP. To this end, we used planktic foraminifera (accumulation rates, diversity, assemblages and size properties) as bioindicators of the ecological characteristics of the water column (temperature, salinity, primary production and hydrology). These characteristics were mainly connected to Nile discharges and thermohaline circulation which in turn were controlled by various global and regional climatic forcing factors (e.g., orbital forcing, African and Indian Monsoon, North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)). Our data showed seven main climatic periods: 1) from 13.0 to 11.5 cal ka BP encompassing the Younger Dryas and characterized by rather cold productive and mixed waters; 2) from 11.5 to 10.1 cal ka BP matching the start of the Holocene and the onset of the African Humid Period (AHP). This period was defined by surface water warming and increasing stratification due to increased river outflow; 3) from 10.1 to 6.4 cal ka BP encompassing the Sapropel deposit (S1) and matching the maximum of the AHP with drastic ecological conditions and maximum water stratification. During this period, the dominant warm taxon Globigerinoides ruber increased significantly in size and accumulation rate marking an opportunistic behavior and a total adaptation to the less saline and stratified waters. After 8.8 cal ka BP, the increase in diversity marked a progressive return to normal conditions; 4) from 6.4 to 2.9 cal ka BP, a progressive aridification period was recorded and the planktic ecosystem returned progressively to equilibrium conditions due to the recovery of thermohaline circulation after S1 and the decrease in Nile runoff; 5) from 2.9 to 1.1 cal ka BP, particular dry conditions were recorded leading to a severe drop in planktic diversity. These conditions seemed to be connected to a negative state of the NAO marking the Roman Humid Period in the western Mediterranean and being anti-phased with the southeastern Mediterranean; 6) from 1.1 to 0.54 cal ka BP, a humid period was recorded matching the Medieval Warm Anomaly and this time connected to a positive NAO. The highest foraminiferal diversity was recorded and the increase in proportions of deep dwellers and eutrophic taxa marked highly productive and mixed waters; 7) from 0.54 cal ka BP to modern time encompassing the Little Ice Age and recorded in our data by a general aridity and surface water warming