What factors influence training opportunities for older workers? Three factorial surveys exploring the attitudes of HR professionals

The core research questions addressed in this paper are: what factors influence HR professionals in deciding whether to approve training proposals for older workers? What kind of training are they more likely to recommend for older employees and in which organizational contexts? We administered three factorial surveys to 66 HR professionals in Italy. Participants made specific training decisions based on profiles of hypothetical older workers. Multilevel analyses indicated that access to training decreases strongly with age, while highly-skilled older employees with low absenteeism rates are more likely to enjoy training opportunities. In addition, older workers displaying positive performance are more likely to receive training than older workers who perform poorly, suggesting that training late in working life may serve as a reward for good performance rather than as a means of enhancing productivity. The older the HR professional evaluating training proposals, the higher the probability that older workers will be recommended for training. keywords: training; older workers; HR professionals; factorial survey; multilevel model

Effects of heat-treated Moringa oleifera leaf-meal on the growth performance of Oreochromis niloticus fry

The high cost as well as the uncertain availability of fish-meal have led to the need to identify alternative plant protein sources for feeding Oreochromis niloticus.  Moringa oleifera is a promising protein source for inclusion in fish diets.  The study was conducted to determine the suitability of heat-treated M. oleifera leaves as an alternative protein source for Oreochromis niloticus fry.   Four experimental diets were formulated to contain heat-treated moringa leaf-meal at levels of 5% and 10% of the total dietary protein.  Diet A contained 5% boiled moringa and 95% fry-meal: Diet B contained 10% boiled moringa and 90% fry meal : Diet C contained 5% steamed moringa and 95% fry-meal and Diet D contained 10% steamed moringa and 90% fry-meal.  Diet E was the control diet containing fish-meal as the protein source.  A standard 24-day fry feeding trial was carried out in 10 fry tanks that were randomly allocated to the five dietary treatments.  Each tank was stocked with 15 000 fry, the standard stocking  at Lake Harvest.  No feed-related mortality was observed during the whole experimental period.  The growth rate, feed conversion ration (FCR) and protein efficiency ratio of fry fed the five diets were similar.  The daily body weight gain ranged from 0.012 to 0.014 grams for fry fed boiled moringa and the control diets.  Fry fed diet C, D and E had higher FCR values of 1.1, 1.1 and 1.0 respectively, compared to those on diets A and B, which had values of 1.2 and 1.3 respectively.  In general, fry fed steamed moringa diets had better growth performance than those on boiled moringa diets although the differences were not significant.  The results suggest that steam-heated moringa leaf-meal can be used to substitute 10% of dietary protein in Nile tilapia fry without significant reduction in growth performance

Differences in graft orientation using the transtibial and anteromedial portal technique in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a magnetic resonance imaging study

The purpose of this study was to evaluate differences in graft orientation between transtibial (TT) and anteromedial (AM) portal technique using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Fifty-six patients who were undergoing ACL reconstruction underwent MRI of their healthy and reconstructed knee. Thirty patients had ACL reconstruction using the TT (group A), while in the remaining 26 the AM (group B) was used. In the femoral part graft orientation was evaluated in the coronal plane using the femoral graft angle (FGA). The FGA was defined as the angle between the axis of the femoral tunnel and the joint line. In the tibial part graft orientation was evaluated in the sagittal plane using the tibial graft angle (TGA). The TGA was defined as the angle between the axis of the tibial tunnel and a line perpendicular to the long axis of the tibia. The ACL angle of the normal knee in the sagittal view was also calculated. The mean FGA for group A was 72A degrees, while for the group B was 53A degrees and this was statistically significant (P < 0.001). The mean TGA for group A was 64A degrees, while for the group B was 63A degrees (P = 0.256). The mean intact ACL angle for group A was 52A degrees, while for the group B was 51A degrees. The difference between TGA and intact ACL angle was statistically significant (P < 0.001) for both groups. Using the AM portal technique, the ACL graft is placed in a more oblique direction in comparison with the TT technique in the femoral part. However, there are no differences between the two techniques in graft orientation in the tibial part. Normal sagittal obliquity is not restored with both techniques

Effizienzgewinne durch Kooperation bei der Optimierung von Stoffstroemen in der Region Hamburg. Regionale Ansaetze nachhaltigen Wirtschaftens am Beispiel der Metall- und Metallnebenstoffstroeme. Nachhaltige Metallwirtschaft Hamburg Zwischenergebnisse und Perspektiven

Available from TIB Hannover: RN 4106(305) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEDEGerman