Testing microscopically derived descriptions of nuclear collectivity : Coulomb excitation of 22Mg

Many-body nuclear theory utilizing microscopic or chiral potentials has developed to the point that collectivity might be studied within a microscopic or ab initio framework without the use of effective charges; for example with the proper evolution of the E2 operator, or alternatively, through the use of an appropriate and manageable subset of particle–hole excitations. We present a precise determination of E2 strength in 22Mg and its mirror 22Ne by Coulomb excitation, allowing for rigorous comparisons with theory. No-core symplectic shell-model calculations were performed and agree with the new B(E2) values while in-medium similarity-renormalization-group calculations consistently underpredict the absolute strength, with the missing strength found to have both isoscalar and isovector components. The discrepancy between two microscopic models demonstrates the sensitivity of E2 strength to the choice of many-body approximation employed

The effect of autonomy, training opportunities, age and salaries on job satisfaction in the South East Asian retail petroleum industry

South East Asian petroleum retailers are under considerable pressure to improve service quality by reducing turnover. An empirical methodology from this industry determined the extent to which job characteristics, training opportunities, age and salary influenced the level of job satisfaction, an indicator of turnover. Responses are reported on a random sample of 165 site employees (a 68% response rate) of a Singaporean retail petroleum firm. A restricted multivariate regression model of autonomy and training opportunities explained the majority (35.4%) of the variability of job satisfaction. Age did not moderate these relationships, except for employees >21 years of age, who reported enhanced job satisfaction with additional salary. Human Capital theory, Life Cycle theory and Job Enrichment theory are invoked and explored in the context of these findings in the South East Asian retail petroleum industry. In the South East Asian retail petroleum industry, jobs providing employees with the opportunity to undertake a variety of tasks that enhanced the experienced meaningfulness of work are likely to promote job satisfaction, reduce turnover and increase the quality of service

Computer-supported work in partially distributed and co-located teams: the influence of mood feedback

This article examines the influence of mood feedback on different outcomes of teamwork in two different collaborative work environments. Employing a 2 x 2 between-subjects design, mood feedback (present vs. not present) and communication mode (face-to-face vs. video conferencing) were manipulated experimentally. We used a newly developed collaborative communication environment, called EmotiBoard, which is a large vertical interactive screen, with which team members can interact in a face-to-face discussion or as a spatially distributed team. To support teamwork, this tool provides visual feedback of each team member’s emotional state. Thirty-five teams comprising 3 persons each (with a confederate in each team) completed three different tasks, measuring mood, performance, subjective workload, and team satisfaction. Results indicated that the evaluation of the other team members’ emotional state was more accurate when the mood feedback was presented. In addition, mood feedback influenced team performance positively in the video conference condition and negatively in the face-to-face condition. Furthermore, participants in the video conference condition were more satisfied after task completion than participants in the face-to-face condition. Findings indicate that the mood feedback toolis helpful for teams to gain a more accurate understanding of team members’ emotional states in different work situations

The Impact of Gender and Department Climate on Job Satisfaction and Intentions to Quit for Faculty in Science and Engineering Fields

This study investigates whether gender and the perceptions of department climate affects faculty job satisfaction and intentions to quit (work outcomes) with surveys responses from 308 faculty members in science and engineering fields. The study finds that both gender and department climate are related to work outcomes and that two facets of department climate (affective and instrumental) mediate the relationship between gender and both job satisfaction and intention to quit. This finding suggests that universities can benefit from improving department climate, which then may improve the retention of both male and female faculty, but may have an even greater impact on improving job satisfaction and reducing intentions to quit of female faculty. Copyright Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. 2006gender, climate, work outcomes, regression and/or mediation analysis, faculty, D23, M14, I20, C42,