182 research outputs found
Retention Strategies for Call Center Representatives in the U.S. Airline Industry
Voluntary turnover of call center employees threatens productivity, service levels, the customer experience, and the financial stability of businesses. Airline business call center leaders should be concerned about the time, stress, and cost of hiring and training new employees and the negative impact on business outcomes. Grounded in Mitchell’s job embeddedness theory, the purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to explore strategies airline business call center leaders use to reduce voluntary turnover among customer service representatives. The participants were five leaders in an airline business call center located in Houston, Texas. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and a review of organization documents. Through thematic, analysis, five themes emerged: (a) optimal employee-organizational job fit, (b) opportunities for upward and lateral mobility, (c) leadership support for employee engagement, (d) individualized personal and professional communication, and (e) flexibility to accommodate work-life balance. A key recommendation is for airline call center business leaders to pay more attention to the health and well-being of employees. The implications for positive social change include the potential for successful change initiatives that impact employee satisfaction and economic health for the airline industry and its’ customers
Retention Strategies for Call Center Representatives in the U.S. Airline Industry
Voluntary turnover of call center employees threatens productivity, service levels, the customer experience, and the financial stability of businesses. Airline business call center leaders should be concerned about the time, stress, and cost of hiring and training new employees and the negative impact on business outcomes. Grounded in Mitchell’s job embeddedness theory, the purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to explore strategies airline business call center leaders use to reduce voluntary turnover among customer service representatives. The participants were five leaders in an airline business call center located in Houston, Texas. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and a review of organization documents. Through thematic, analysis, five themes emerged: (a) optimal employee-organizational job fit, (b) opportunities for upward and lateral mobility, (c) leadership support for employee engagement, (d) individualized personal and professional communication, and (e) flexibility to accommodate work-life balance. A key recommendation is for airline call center business leaders to pay more attention to the health and well-being of employees. The implications for positive social change include the potential for successful change initiatives that impact employee satisfaction and economic health for the airline industry and its’ customers
Formation of nitrous oxide over Pt-Pd oxidation catalysts: Secondary emissions by interaction of hydrocarbons and nitric oxide
The interaction of hydrocarbons (HC) and nitric oxide (NO) over noble metal catalysts for exhaust gas after-treatment of lean-operated combustion engines can lead to secondary emissions, namely the formation of nitrous oxide (NO), which is a strong greenhouse gas calling for NO reduction concepts. By means of a series of light-off tests over state-of-the-art Pt-Pd oxidation catalysts, this study identifies the most critical catalyst operation regimes that should be avoided in order to minimize NO levels. Especially unsaturated HCs react with NO to form significant amounts of NO between 150 °C and 350 °C; an increasing HC/NOx ratio generally promotes NO formation, whereas the NO oxidation reaction is increasingly inhibited. Since low space velocities and fast catalyst heating allow for minimizing NO levels, active heating of catalytic converters during cold start and phases of low exhaust gas temperatures may efficiently reduce the formation of NO in real-world applications
Cognitive and Behavioral Domains That Reliably Differentiate Normal Aging and Dementia in Down Syndrome
Primary care integration of Down syndrome (DS)-specific dementia screening is strongly advised. The current study employed principal components analysis (PCA) and classification and regression tree (CART) analyses to identify an abbreviated battery for dementia classification. Scale- and subscale-level scores from 141 participants (no dementia n = 68; probable Alzheimer’s disease n = 73), for the Severe Impairment Battery (SIB), Dementia Scale for People with Learning Disabilities (DLD), and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales—Second Edition (Vineland-II) were analyzed. Two principle components (PC1, PC2) were identified with the odds of a probable dementia diagnosis increasing 2.54 times per PC1 unit increase and by 3.73 times per PC2 unit increase. CART analysis identified that the DLD sum of cognitive scores (SCS \u3c 35 raw) and Vineland-II community subdomain (\u3c 36 raw) scores best classified dementia. No significant difference in the PCA versus CART area under the curve (AUC) was noted (D(65.196) = −0.57683; p = 0.57; PCA AUC = 0.87; CART AUC = 0.91). The PCA sensitivity was 80% and specificity was 70%; CART was 100% and specificity was 81%. These results support an abbreviated dementia screening battery to identify at-risk individuals with DS in primary care settings to guide specialized diagnostic referral
Exile Vol. XLI
39th Year
Cover Art by Elisa Gargarelle \u2795 (quote from J.D. Salinger\u27s Catcher in the Rye)
untitled by Aileen Jones \u2797 i
Girl by Colin Bossen \u2798 1
sun by Alex Blazer \u2796 2
Shifting by Alex Blazer \u2796 2
The Fish by Sarah Ramsey \u2795 3
New Woman by Lisa Stillman \u2795 4
Why by Lelei Jennings \u2795 5
Camel Cafe by Jeremy Aufrance \u2795 5
Jenny by Lizzy Loud \u2795 6
Beautiful Dreamer by Melissa Bostrom \u2796 7
Rising by Lizzy Loud \u2795 12
Pinsetter by Jeremy Aufrance \u2795 13
A Greater Distance by Jeff Boon \u2795 14
Shiho by Jeff Boon \u2795 15
Sub-stance by Alex Blazer \u2796 15
Sisters by Gretchen Hambley \u2796 16
Anne Sexton by Allison Lemieux \u2796 17
The Holy Grail... by Ed Shim \u2795 17
untitled by Liz Bolyard \u2796 18
23 by Keith Chapman \u2795 18
Bang, Zoom! by Victoria Lyall \u2796 19
Gabe and Me by Heather Trabert \u2797 20
Tornado Summer by Liz Bolyard \u2796 21
Nude by Elise Gargarella \u2795 21
Why I can\u27t tell short stories by Colin Bossen \u2798 22
america by Lynn Tramonte \u2798 24
Upon Being Asked... by Matt Makman \u2796 24
Being Azra by Lynn Tramonte \u2798 25
Mystic Truths by Adrienne Binni \u2795 27
King\u27s Court by Elisha Gargarella \u2795 27
Incense by Erin Lott \u2796 28
Sunday Morning... by Lisa Stillman \u2795 33
untitled by Elisa Gargarella \u2795 33
Quien no ha visto... by Adrienne Binni \u2795 34
The Space Between Us by Allison Lemieux \u2795 35
searching for the Bermuda... by Victoria Lyall \u2796 35
untitled by Man Chhoa \u2796 36
The Hunted by J. Murdoch Matheson \u2796 37
Editorial decisions are shared equally among the editorial board. -4
Cannabis-induced hypodopaminergic anhedonia and cognitive decline in humans: Embracing putative induction of dopamine homeostasis
Over years, the regular use of cannabis has substantially increased among young adults, as indicated by the rise in cannabis use disorder (CUD), with an estimated prevalence of 8. 3% in the United States. Research shows that exposure to cannabis is associated with hypodopaminergic anhedonia (depression), cognitive decline, poor memory, inattention, impaired learning performance, reduced dopamine brain response-associated emotionality, and increased addiction severity in young adults. The addiction medicine community is increasing concern because of the high content of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) currently found in oral and vaping cannabis products, the cognitive effects of cannabis may become more pronounced in young adults who use these cannabis products. Preliminary research suggests that it is possible to induce \u27dopamine homeostasis,\u27 that is, restore dopamine function with dopamine upregulation with the proposed compound and normalize behavior in chronic cannabis users with cannabis-induced hypodopaminergic anhedonia (depression) and cognitive decline. This psychological, neurobiological, anatomical, genetic, and epigenetic research also could provide evidence to use for the development of an appropriate policy regarding the decriminalization of cannabis for recreational use
Exile Vol. XL No. 2
38th Year
Title Page by Carrie Horner \u2797 i
Epigraph by Ezra Pound ii
Table of Contents iii-iv
Remembering Sundays by Allison Lemieux \u2795 1
Untitled by James Oliver \u2794 2
\u2778 Beige Chevy Malibu by Craig J. McDonough \u2794 3-4
Brushtown Road by Lelei Jennings \u2795 5
In Memoriam: River Phoenix, 1970-93 by Kirstin Rogers \u2794 6
Untitled by Kira Pollack \u2794 7
Checkmate by Kevin Nix \u2794 8
Anywhere in Ohio by Jen Hanysh \u2795 9
Untitled by Nicky Taylor \u2794 10
Under Your Influence by Katherine Anne Campo \u2794 11
Tulips by Tricia B. Swearingen \u2794 12
Untitled by Keith Chapman \u2795 12
December Storm by Erin Lott \u2796 13-19
On Meeting Phil Levine After a Reading at Denison University April 6, 1993 by Christopher Harnish \u2794 20
The 422 Bypass by Joel Husenits \u2795 21
Untitled by Ken Tyburski \u2794 22
Shakespeare\u27s Foreskin by Carey Christie \u2795 23
The Thaw by Chris Iven \u2794 24
The Rockbridge County Fair by Morgan Roper \u2794 25
Let it Drop Through by Carey Christie \u2795 26-27
Aladdin\u27s by Paul Rinkes \u2794 28-29
Untitled by Aileen Jones \u2794 30
The Tango by Hope Layne Morgan \u2794 31
Icarus by Carey Christine \u2795 32-33
fad by Jeremy Aufrance \u2795 34
Untitled by James Oliver \u2794 35
Desert Villanelle by Christopher Harnish \u2794 36
The Skull by Nicky Taylor \u2794 37
Rodeo Bar by Carl Jeffrey Boon \u2796 38
I, Mordred by Carey Christie \u2795 39-43
Between Centuries by Leslie Dana Wells \u2794 44-45
Untitled by Carrie Horner \u2797 45
Untitled by Alex Emmons \u2796 46
Coleridge\u27s Curse by Allison Lemieux \u2795 47
Untitled by Jenny Baker \u2794 48
five by Jeremy Aufrance \u2795 49
Untitled by James Oliver \u2794 50
Lobster Boy by Kirstin Rogers \u2794 51
Fire on the Mountain by Christopher Harnish \u2794 52-53
Yosemite by Morgan Roper \u2794 54
Untitled by Carrie Horner \u2797 54
Untitled by Ken Tyburski \u2794 55
Sleepless Nights Fades to Credits by Allison Lemieux \u2794 56
Dancing Days by Julie McDonald \u2794 57
Immobile by Adrienne Fair \u2796 58-59
Untitled by Kira Pollack \u2794 60
Dorm Fire by Lisa Marie Antonille \u2795
Untitled by Carrie Horner \u2797 61
The Book by Matt Wanat \u2795 62-63
Distance by Carl Jeffrey Boon \u2796 64
Untitled by Jenny Baker \u2794 65
Cover by Ken Tyburski \u2794
Editorial decision is shared equally among the Editorial Board. -6
Evaluation and Validation of a Real-Time PCR Assay for Detection and Quantitation of Human Adenovirus 14 from Clinical Samples
In 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that Human adenovirus type 14 (HAdV-14) infected 106 military personnel and was responsible for the death of one U.S. soldier at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. Identification of the responsible adenovirus, which had not previously been seen in North America and for which rapid diagnostic tools were unavailable, required retrospective analysis at reference laboratories. Initial quarantine measures were also reliant on relatively slow traditional PCR analysis at other locations. To address this problem, we developed a real-time PCR assay that detects a 225 base pair sequence in the HAdV-14a hexon gene. Fifty-one oropharyngeal swab specimens from the Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA and Advanced Diagnostic Laboratory, Lackland AFB, TX were used to validate the new assay. The described assay detected eight of eight and 19 of 19 confirmed HAdV-14a clinical isolates in two separate cohorts from respiratory disease outbreaks. The real-time PCR assay had a wide dynamic range, detecting from 102 to 107 copies of genomic DNA per reaction. The assay did not cross-react with other adenoviruses, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, or common respiratory tract bacteria. The described assay is easy to use, sensitive and specific for HAdV-14a in clinical throat swab specimens, and very rapid since turnaround time is less than four hours to obtain an answer
- …