Exploring training and development in Queensland SME training and development innovators

There has been considerable international and national interest in recent years in the role of training and development (T&D) in Small and Medium size Enterprises (SMEs). This growth in interest is primarily owing to the recognition of the importance of SMEs to economic regeneration, the contribution of T&D to productivity and efficiency, and the role T&D could play in bridging skill shortage gaps and skill development in organisations. Furthermore, T&D practices are crucial in the growth of SMEs. Despite the importance of SMEs to national economies, the academic and professional discipline of HRM, while well-established, remains embryonic when translated to SMEs in contemporary dynamic environments. Specifically, studies on training and development have predominantly focused on larger organisations and have been limited in SMEs. This research is the first of its type in Queensland and in Australia to examine the T&D practices of SME innovators that have either received awards or have been publically recognised for their T&D support. The overall research objective of this study is to examine the T&D processes and practices within Queensland SME training and development innovators SMEs. This is done in order to identify good practice regarding training and development in the Queensland SME sector. Four research questions were developed to inform this research objective, including: RQ1: What are the drivers (internal and external) of training and development in innovative SMEs?, RQ2: What are the characteristics of a training and development climate in innovative SMEs?, RQ3: What are the characteristics of training and development processes and practices in innovative SMEs?, and finally RQ4: What is the perceived role of T&D practices in organisation performance. Eleven sub research questions were also developed. This study employs a qualitative methodology since the field of T&D does not have a single, rigid methodology, and the use of interpretive methods are welcomed. This approach facilitates a more in-depth understanding of the complex nature of training and development. The research adopted a phenomenological approach, building up ideas and accumulating material from multiple interviews with SME managers or their designated representative. The overall approach followed was a multiple-case research design where each mini-case case was considered as an independent experiment in generating the necessary information for the purposes of analysis. An in-depth semi-structured interview program was conducted with 30 SME owners/managing directors or their representatives responsible for T&D in the firm. The thirty SME mini-case studies formed the context of analysis for T&D in these organisations. The following criteria were applied in selecting interviewees: SMEs that have been publicly recognised for their T&D practices; organisational size ranging from 10 - 200 employees; SMEs within the State of Queensland; and any ABS industry categories excluding agriculture. Content analysis was performed on the interview data and secondary data using NVivo qualitative analysis software. Data strips were identified as themes and sub-themes from the interview transcripts were entered as direct quotes into a matrix representing the categories. The results indicated that the T&D in Queensland SME innovators have some similarities and differences from the general SME population. It was found that presence of a HR manager and government requirements were the predominant internal drivers and external drivers of T&D respectively. In exploring the attitudes of SME managers in innovative T&D SMEs, the results showed that all the study participants possess a passion for T&D. This overall passion seems to be a major determinant of the T&D culture in their firms. Managers who possessed diploma levels and higher seem to display a more positive attitude towards T&D and valued formal T&D or a combination of formal and informal T&D approaches more, than interviewees with lower levels of qualification. Within the context of the T&D process, there was very little demonstration of objectives established for work behaviour, skills, attitudes, specific knowledge and learning outcomes that they needed to achieve at the conclusion of their T&D activities. As with T&D objectives, less than half of the participating SMEs claimed to have a written T&D policy. The finding that participating T&D SMEs generally did not engage in TNA and those who did, did so in an informal manner, paint a less than positive picture for the effective T&D in participating SMEs. Since TNA is an important input into other aspects of the T&D process, a lack of attention to this aspect could have a negative flow-on effect on the other aspects of the T&D process such as T&D design and implementing appropriate T&D practices. Ultimately this could result in ineffective T&D. Regarding the issue of T&D design, the majority of SME participants designed their T&D both internal to the firm and by employing an external T&D expert such as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO). Internally designed T&D seems to be most valued by interviewees and has been identified as a strength by the majority of SMEs. SME participants did not see the value of engaging an expert to capture important information feeding into the T&D designing process. Regarding the characteristics of the T&D practices in innovative T&D SMEs, all participating SMEs indicated that they use both internal and external trainers. Those that utilised internal trainers described this practice as a cheaper option and internal trainers understand the SME requirements better. Those that utilised external training providers did so because they saw the external trainer as the expert in training. All participating SMEs used formal off-the job training and all but one SME used informal and formal on-the-job training. This was closely followed by mentoring, temporary assignments, and job rotation. The use of both informal and formal T&D practices paint a positive picture for participating SMEs since their importance in achieving sustainable competitive advantage is stressed by several authors. Participating SMEs did not utilise evaluation and feedback for strategic purposes. This lack of systematic evaluation may impede a clear understanding of the effectiveness of T&D in participating SMEs. Despite a mixed reaction to the role of training and development in organisational performance, the majority of interviewees expressed the view that T&D activities helped their firm to be more competitive and it assisted in enhancing their competitive advantage in a globalised world

A Comparison of Muscle Recruitment Across Three Straight-Legged, Hinge-Pattern Resistance Training Exercises

International Journal of Exercise Science 16(4): 12-22, 2023. Hinge exercises are critical to building a balanced resistance training program in concert with ‘knee-dominant’ (e.g., squat, lunge) exercises. Biomechanical differences between various straight-legged hinge (SLH) exercises may alter muscle activation. For example, a Romanian deadlift (RDL) is a closed-chain SLH, while a reverse hyperextension (RH) is open-chain. Likewise, the RDL offers resistance via gravity while the cable pull-through (CP) offers redirected-resistance through a pulley. A deeper understanding of the potential impact of these biomechanical differences between these exercises may improve their application to specific goals. Participants completed repetition-maximum (RM) testing on the RDL, RH, and CP. On a follow-up visit, surface electromyography of the longissimus, multifidus, gluteus maximus, semitendinosus, and biceps femoris, muscles that contribute to lumbar/hip extension, was recorded. After a warm-up, participants completed maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVICs) in each muscle. They then completed five repetitions of the RDL, RH, and CP at 50% of estimated one RM. Testing order was randomized. A one-way, repeated-measures ANOVA test was used in each muscle to compare activation (%MVIC) across the three exercises. Shifting from a gravity- (RDL) to a redirected-resistance (CP) SLH significantly decreased activation in the longissimus (-11.0%), multifidus (-14.1%), biceps femoris (-13.1%), and semitendinosus (-6.8%). Alternately, changing from a closed- (RDL) to an open-chain (RH) SLH significantly increased activation in the gluteus maximus (+19.5%), biceps femoris (+27.9%), and semitendinosus (+18.2). Alterations in the execution of a SLH can change muscle activation in lumbar/hip extensors

Differential susceptibility of PCR reactions to inhibitors: an important and unrecognised phenomenon

PCR inhibition by nucleic acid extracts is a well known yet poorly described phenomenon. Inhibition assessment generally depends on the assumption that inhibitors affect all PCR reactions to the same extent; i.e. that the reaction of interest and the control reaction are equally susceptible to inhibition. To test this assumption we performed inhibition assessment on DNA extracts from human urine samples, fresh urine and EDTA using different PCR reactions

The evolution of the cosmic molecular gas density

One of the last missing pieces in the puzzle of galaxy formation and evolution through cosmic history is a detailed picture of the role of the cold gas supply in the star-formation process. Cold gas is the fuel for star formation, and thus regulates the buildup of stellar mass, both through the amount of material present through a galaxy's gas mass fraction, and through the efficiency at which it is converted to stars. Over the last decade, important progress has been made in understanding the relative importance of these two factors along with the role of feedback, and the first measurements of the volume density of cold gas out to redshift 4, (the "cold gas history of the Universe") has been obtained. To match the precision of measurements of the star formation and black-hole accretion histories over the coming decades, a two orders of magnitude improvement in molecular line survey speeds is required compared to what is possible with current facilities. Possible pathways towards such large gains include significant upgrades to current facilities like ALMA by 2030 (and beyond), and eventually the construction of a new generation of radio-to-millimeter wavelength facilities, such as the next generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) concept.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, Science White paper submitted to Astro2020 Decadal Surve

What drives interaction strengths in complex food webs? A test with feeding rates of a generalist stream predator

Describing the mechanisms that drive variation in species interaction strengths is central to understanding, predicting, and managing community dynamics. Multiple factors have been linked to trophic interaction strength variation, including species densities, species traits, and abiotic factors. Yet most empirical tests of the relative roles of multiple mechanisms that drive variation have been limited to simplified experiments that may diverge from the dynamics of natural food webs. Here, we used a field-based observational approach to quantify the roles of prey density, predator density, predator-prey body-mass ratios, prey identity, and abiotic factors in driving variation in feeding rates of reticulate sculpin (Cottus perplexus). We combined data on over 6,000 predator-prey observations with prey identification time functions to estimate 289 prey-specific feeding rates at nine stream sites in Oregon. Feeding rates on 57 prey types showed an approximately log-normal distribution, with few strong and many weak interactions. Model selection indicated that prey density, followed by prey identity, were the two most important predictors of prey-specific sculpin feeding rates. Feeding rates showed a positive relationship with prey taxon densities that was inconsistent with predator saturation predicted by current functional response models. Feeding rates also exhibited four orders-of-magnitude in variation across prey taxonomic orders, with the lowest feeding rates observed on prey with significant anti-predator defenses. Body-mass ratios were the third most important predictor variable, showing a hump-shaped relationship with the highest feeding rates at intermediate ratios. Sculpin density was negatively correlated with feeding rates, consistent with the presence of intraspecific predator interference. Our results highlight how multiple co-occurring drivers shape trophic interactions in nature and underscore ways in which simplified experiments or reliance on scaling laws alone may lead to biased inferences about the structure and dynamics of species-rich food webs

Survey of Period Variations of Superhumps in SU UMa-Type Dwarf Novae. II: The Second Year (2009-2010)

As an extension of the project in Kato et al. (2009, arXiv:0905.1757), we collected times of superhump maxima for 61 SU UMa-type dwarf novae mainly observed during the 2009-2010 season. The newly obtained data confirmed the basic findings reported in Kato et al. (2009): the presence of stages A-C, as well as the predominance of positive period derivatives during stage B in systems with superhump periods shorter than 0.07 d. There was a systematic difference in period derivatives for systems with superhump periods longer than 0.075 d between this study and Kato et al. (2009). We suggest that this difference is possibly caused by the relative lack of frequently outbursting SU UMa-type dwarf novae in this period regime in the present study. We recorded a strong beat phenomenon during the 2009 superoutburst of IY UMa. The close correlation between the beat period and superhump period suggests that the changing angular velocity of the apsidal motion of the elliptical disk is responsible for the variation of superhump periods. We also described three new WZ Sge-type objects with established early superhumps and one with likely early superhumps. We also suggest that two systems, VX For and EL UMa, are WZ Sge-type dwarf novae with multiple rebrightenings. The O-C variation in OT J213806.6+261957 suggests that the frequent absence of rebrightenings in very short-Porb objects can be a result of sustained superoutburst plateau at the epoch when usual SU UMa-type dwarf novae return to quiescence preceding a rebrightening. We also present a formulation for a variety of Bayesian extension to traditional period analyses.Comment: 63 pages, 77 figures, 1 appendix, Accepted for publication in PASJ, data correctio

Transcriptomic profiles of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome phenotypes in pediatric critical influenza

BackgroundInfluenza virus is responsible for a large global burden of disease, especially in children. Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome (MODS) is a life-threatening and fatal complication of severe influenza infection.MethodsWe measured RNA expression of 469 biologically plausible candidate genes in children admitted to North American pediatric intensive care units with severe influenza virus infection with and without MODS. Whole blood samples from 191 influenza-infected children (median age 6.4 years, IQR: 2.2, 11) were collected a median of 27 hours following admission; for 45 children a second blood sample was collected approximately seven days later. Extracted RNA was hybridized to NanoString mRNA probes, counts normalized, and analyzed using linear models controlling for age and bacterial co-infections (FDR q<0.05).ResultsComparing pediatric samples collected near admission, children with Prolonged MODS for ≥7 days (n=38; 9 deaths) had significant upregulation of nine mRNA transcripts associated with neutrophil degranulation (RETN, TCN1, OLFM4, MMP8, LCN2, BPI, LTF, S100A12, GUSB) compared to those who recovered more rapidly from MODS (n=27). These neutrophil transcripts present in early samples predicted Prolonged MODS or death when compared to patients who recovered, however in paired longitudinal samples, they were not differentially expressed over time. Instead, five genes involved in protein metabolism and/or adaptive immunity signaling pathways (RPL3, MRPL3, HLA-DMB, EEF1G, CD8A) were associated with MODS recovery within a week.ConclusionThus, early increased expression of neutrophil degranulation genes indicated worse clinical outcomes in children with influenza infection, consistent with reports in adult cohorts with influenza, sepsis, and acute respiratory distress syndrome