Managing the Global knowledge-creation Network: A Sense Making Perspective

We have entered the era of the knowledge economy, a period when knowledge has replaced natural resources and capital as the most important economic resource. Increasingly, corporations are reaching out globally to secure the best talent available at the most reasonable cost to serve world-wide markets

Universities and community-based research in developing countries: community voice and educational provision in rural Tanzania

The main focus of recent research on the community engagement role of universities has been in developed countries, generally in towns and cities and usually conducted from the perspectives of universities rather than the communities with which they engage. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the community engagement role of universities in the rural areas of developing countries, and its potential for strengthening the voice of rural communities. The particular focus is on the provision of primary and secondary education. The paper is based on the assumption that in order for community members to have both the capacity and the confidence to engage in political discourse for improving educational capacity and quality, they need the opportunity to become involved and well-versed in the options available, beyond their own experience. Particular attention is given in the paper to community-based research (CBR). CBR is explored from the perspectives of community members and local leaders in the government-community partnerships which have responsibility for the provision of primary and secondary education in rural Tanzania. The historical and policy background of the partnerships, together with findings from two case studies, provide the context for the paper

HRM practices used to promote pro-environmental behavior: a UK survey

To date, the extent to which UK organizations use human resource management (HRM) practices to promote pro-environmental behavior through workplace HRM policies and initiatives is under-researched within the literature. Therefore, this paper presents results of a survey investigating current HRM practices used to promote pro-environmental behavior in a sample of 214 UK organizations representing different sizes and industry sectors. Overall, findings indicated that HRM practices are not used to a great extent to encourage employees to become more pro-environmental. The most prevalent practices used within organizations incorporated elements of management involvement supporting the idea that managers are the gatekeepers to environmental performance. Although organizations indicated that some HRM practices were more effective than others at encouraging pro-environmental behavior in their staff, only a very small percentage of organizations actually conducted any form of evaluation; organizations consequently lack clear evidence as to whether their HRM practices actually result in employee behavior change. Practical implications and future research directions are discussed

TQM implementation: An empirical examination and proposed generic model

Total quality management (TQM) is considered by many as an important quality and business performance improvement tool. The popularity of the concept has led to an explosion of TQM related literature. A careful review of the literature suggests that most publications recount the experiences or perceptions of the authors or deal with single case organisations. Furthermore, there is a dearth of empirical research and literature dealing with TQM's implementation process. This paper reports the findings of a research project that empirically examined the process of TQM implementation in a sample of organisations widely regarded as leading exponents of TQM. The paper presents a non-prescriptive model of the TQM implementation process derived from the findings and proposes an "outcome driven" approach as an alternative to the more commonplace TQM implementation strategies

A mathematical model for breath gas analysis of volatile organic compounds with special emphasis on acetone

Recommended standardized procedures for determining exhaled lower respiratory nitric oxide and nasal nitric oxide have been developed by task forces of the European Respiratory Society and the American Thoracic Society. These recommendations have paved the way for the measurement of nitric oxide to become a diagnostic tool for specific clinical applications. It would be desirable to develop similar guidelines for the sampling of other trace gases in exhaled breath, especially volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which reflect ongoing metabolism. The concentrations of water-soluble, blood-borne substances in exhaled breath are influenced by: (i) breathing patterns affecting gas exchange in the conducting airways; (ii) the concentrations in the tracheo-bronchial lining fluid; (iii) the alveolar and systemic concentrations of the compound. The classical Farhi equation takes only the alveolar concentrations into account. Real-time measurements of acetone in end-tidal breath under an ergometer challenge show characteristics which cannot be explained within the Farhi setting. Here we develop a compartment model that reliably captures these profiles and is capable of relating breath to the systemic concentrations of acetone. By comparison with experimental data it is inferred that the major part of variability in breath acetone concentrations (e.g., in response to moderate exercise or altered breathing patterns) can be attributed to airway gas exchange, with minimal changes of the underlying blood and tissue concentrations. Moreover, it is deduced that measured end-tidal breath concentrations of acetone determined during resting conditions and free breathing will be rather poor indicators for endogenous levels. Particularly, the current formulation includes the classical Farhi and the Scheid series inhomogeneity model as special limiting cases.Comment: 38 page

IT controls in the public cloud : success factors for allocation of roles and responsibilities

The rapid adoption of cloud computing by organizations has resulted in the transformation of the roles and responsibilities of staff in managing the information technology (IT) resources (via IT governance controls) that have migrated to the cloud. Hence, the objective of this research is to provide a set of success factors that can assist IT managers to allocate the roles and responsibilities of IT controls appropriately to staff to manage the migrated IT resources. Accordingly, we generated a set of success factors from behavioral and information systems (IS) literature. These success factors were verified using in-depth interviews of executives from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The empirical intervention suggests that the role allocation is driven predominantly by people’s skills, competencies, organizational strategy, structures, and policies. In addition, the research made clear that the most significant competency and skill for a person allocated to IT controls is to be able to evaluate and manage a cloud service provider, especially in terms of risks, compliance, and security issues related to public cloud technology. The findings of this study not only offer new insights for scholars and practitioners involved in assigning responsibilities but also provide extensions for IT governance framework authorities to align their guidelines to the emerging cloud technology

The dangers of resource myopia in work and organisational psychology: a plea for broadening and integration broadening

In this essay the limitations of the traditional quantitative approach in work and organisational psychology are put forward. It is argued that an extension of the methods, a broadening of the type of problems to be addressed, and a stronger integration with associated disciplines as well as with the application and implementation of the research findings are needed to ensure the usefulness and application of future W&O psychology. It is not suggested that micro-level problems should not be investigated, but it is postulated that W&O psychology should not be deprived of the opportunity to tackle other, and often more relevant, meso-and macro-level issues because we lack appropriate tools for attacking them

Do Small, Patchy, Constructed Intertidal Oyster Reefs Reduce Salt Marsh Erosion As Well As Natural Reefs?

One ecological service that oyster reefs provide is stabilization of shorelines through reduced wave energy and erosion from boat traffic, storms, and predominant wind direction. Additionally, increasing sedimentation can enhance the growth of emergent marsh vegetation which further stabilizes unconsolidated sediments. A 21 mo study of constructed (with only 30-35% coverage) and natural oyster reefs in 3 bayous in the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) suggested constructed reefs benefit this retrograding deltaic ecosystem. The marsh edge adjacent to all constructed reefs was less eroded (mean = 0.043 m) than edges adjacent to natural reefs (mean = 0.728 m), although all natural and constructed sites, regardless of bayou, illustrated large variations in marsh edge growth. The marsh edge in constructed sites in one bayou retreated more than in the other bayous, most likely due to its coarser sediments, greater boat traffic, and its apparent higher energy location within the landscape. By the end of this study, the ecological function of constructed oyster reefs in all bayous, as measured by marsh edge erosion reduction, was equivalent or exceeded the function in nearby natural oyster reefs. The physical structure of the reef further served to reduce erosion and marsh loss and this approach may be useful for management of a retrograding deltaic estuarine ecosystem like the Grand Bay NERR

Team Players and Collective Performance: How Agreeableness Affects Team Performance Over Time

Previous research on teams has found that agreeableness is one of the strongest personality predictors of team performance, yet one of the weakest personality predictors of individual-level job performance. In this study, we examined why teams with more agreeable members perform better. Data were collected across 4 months at 5 points in time from 107 project teams. We found that agreeableness affects performance through communication and cohesion and that communication precedes cohesion in time. Furthermore, we found that virtualness moderated the relationships between agreeableness and communication, as well as between agreeableness and team performance, such that teams only benefitted from high levels of agreeableness when interacting face-to-face.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline