Readdressing the Redundancy Effect: A Cognitive Strategy for E-learning Design

This study challenges understandings on the ‘redundancy effect’ of cognitive load theory and visual/verbal classifications of dual-coding theory. Current understandings assert that a multimedia mix of narration and text displayed during e-learning leads to cognitive overload, thus, impeding learning[1,2]. Previous research suggests that for optimal learning to occur, the most effective multimedia mix for e-learning presentation is the use of graphics and narration[3-6].The current study was undertaken with 90 undergraduate students at a British University. Participants were allocated to one of three groups. Each group used a different multimedia mix of a music e-learning program. Participants received learning material electronically, which involved either a mix of narration and text, graphics and text, or graphics and narration. Learning was measured by differences in music knowledge scores obtained before and after receiving the learning material. Results indicate that the combination of text and narration is most effective for learning, compared to combinations of graphics and text and graphics and narration. These findings challenge the currently accepted stance on the redundancy effect in e-learning design

Disclosure of corporate risks and governance before, during and after the global financial crisis: case study in the UK construction industry in 2006–2009

The recent financial crisis highlighted the importance of risk disclosures for investors and the wider society. We examined changes in risk disclosures in three UK-based construction companies before, during and after the financial crisis. The findings suggest that a crisis motivates a rise in the volume and quality of information provided by companies, while during periods of stability, companies generally provide less information and the quality of information is generic and repetitive in nature. Based on our research, a crisis enhances the overall volume of disclosures and this level of disclosure is maintained after the crisis, while any improvements in the quality of risk information are temporary

Effectiveness of a workplace intervention to reduce workplace bullying and violence at work : study protocol for a two-wave quasi-experimental intervention study

Introduction Bullying and violence at work are relatively common in Finnish public sector workplaces. Previous research has demonstrated their association with increased risk of poor health and well-being, but only few intervention studies exist. The aim of this protocol paper is to describe the development and assessment of the effectiveness of a workplace intervention aimed at reducing these harmful phenomena. Methods and analysis This protocol describes a two-wave quasi-experimental intervention. Each of the three participating Finnish public sector organisations (cities) will select four work units (a total of 450-500 employees) to participate in an intervention including 2-3 workshops for the work unit, 2-3 consultative meetings with the supervisor of the work unit, a follow-up meeting for the entire work unit (a maximum of 6-month time lag) and online meetings with the supervisor to monitor achievements and discuss about difficult cases, if any. Three age-matched, sex-matched and occupation-matched controls for each participants of the intervention group will be randomly selected, a total 1350-1500 individuals in the control group. For intervention and control groups, premeasurement is based on responses to a survey that was conducted in 2020. Postintervention measurement will be based on survey responses in 2022. Data will be analysed using latent change score modelling or difference-in-difference analysis. Ethics and dissemination Ethics approvals are from the Ethics committees of the Helsinki and Uusimaa hospital district and the Finnish institute of Occupational Health. Results will be made available to participating organisations and their employees, the funder and other researchers via open access article in a peer-reviewed journal and subsequent reporting of the results via social media channels and press release to the public.Peer reviewe

Facilitating creative thinking in the classroom: investigating the effects of plants and the colour green on visual and verbal creativity

We report upon a study concerned with the effect of exposure to live plants, views to nature and the colour green upon visual and verbal creativity. The study reported in this paper was undertaken with 108 business students at a British University who were randomly allocated to one of the three conditions. The control group were placed in a classroom with no plants present and blinds drawn to block view to natural settings, the first experimental group were placed in a classroom with no plants present, blinds drawn to block views to nature but completed the creativity tasks on green paper. The second experimental group were placed in the same room as the other groups, but were surrounded by live plants and had views to nature through the large classroom windows. All participants completed two creativity tasks; a visual creativity task and a verbal creativity task. Visual creativity was assessed using a modified version of Amabile's Consensual Assessment Technique (Amabile, 1982). Verbal creative was assessed using a modified scoring method of Guilford's alternative uses task developed by Silvia (2008). Findings indicate that access to natural views, plants and the colour green increase visual creativity, but have no impact on verbal creativity in classroom settings. The results suggest that creativity is domain specific and any practical measures taken to enhance creativity need to be aligned with the target domain

Associations of functional alanine-glyoxylate aminotransferase 2 gene variants with atrial fibrillation and ischemic stroke

Asymmetric and symmetric dimethylarginines (ADMA and SDMA) impair nitric oxide bioavailability and have been implicated in the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF). Alanine-glyoxylate aminotransferase 2 (AGXT2) is the only enzyme capable of metabolizing both of the dimethylarginines. We hypothesized that two functional AGXT2 missense variants (rs37369, V140I; rs16899974, V498L) are associated with AF and its cardioembolic complications. Association analyses were conducted using 1,834 individulas with AF and 7,159 unaffected individuals from two coronary angiography cohorts and a cohort comprising patients undergoing clinical exercise testing. In coronary angiography patients without structural heart disease, the minor A allele of rs16899974 was associated with any AF (OR = 2.07, 95% CI 1.59-2.68), and with paroxysmal AF (OR = 1.98, 95% CI 1.44-2.74) and chronic AF (OR = 2.03, 95% CI 1.35-3.06) separately. We could not replicate the association with AF in the other two cohorts. However, the A allele of rs16899974 was nominally associated with ischemic stroke risk in the meta-analysis of WTCCC2 ischemic stroke cohorts (3,548 cases, 5,972 controls) and with earlier onset of first-ever ischemic stroke (360 cases) in the cohort of clinical exercise test patients. In conclusion, AGXT2 variations may be involved in the pathogenesis of AF and its age-related thromboembolic complications.Peer reviewe

Business and the International Human Rights Regime: A Comparison of UN Initiatives

business and human rights, corporate social responsibility, Global Compact, international human rights, regime theory, transnational corporations,

From silence to constructive engagement : a framework for corporate human rights strategies

This thesis sheds light on the range of strategies that companies can pursue in order to deal with human rights concerns in countries where the host government is responsible for systematic human rights violations. It does so by the comparative analysis of the policies and activities that four companies carried out in two countries: (i) Total and Premier Oil in Myanmar and (ii) Talisman and Lundin in Sudan. The analysis of the cases shows that human rights issues do not only involve material conditions that prevent people from enjoying human rights or constitute a direct violation of their rights, buy they may also pertain to the way in which stakeholders perceive or view a particular situation. The nature of the human rights issue is important because it affects the way in which the issue can be addressed. The analysis of the cases suggests that the activities carried out by the companies to address human rights issues can be separated into five different strategies: (1) direct strategies involving concrete action that companies take to influence the objective conditions that give rise to human rights issues, (2) indirect strategies pertaining to attempts to persuade other actors to take action over the conditions that give rise to issues, (3) information strategies involving attempts to affect stakeholder views through the provision of information, (4) leveraging strategies aimed at affecting stakeholder views through verification measures or appeals to authority, and (5) stakeholder engagement strategies concerned with attempts to affect stakeholder views by increasing mutual understanding between companies and their stakeholders through two-way communication. The present thesis makes two main contributions. First, it sheds light on the little researched area of corporate approaches to human rights. More specifically, it makes a theoretical and practical contribution by classifying activities that companies have carried out to address human rights issues into five types of human rights strategies and identifying factors that affect the choice between the different strategies. No previous research exists on the action that companies have taken in response to human rights issues. Second, the present research draws on and adds value to literature on issues management and stakeholder management by contributing to a better understanding of the ways in which companies address social issues and stakeholder demands. As Wood (1991) observed, there is a lack of research on the vehicles or methods of corporate response to society's changing conditions and expectations. Previous literature has focussed on the identification of issues and stakeholders rather than the behaviours that companies assume to deal with issues and stakeholder demands (e.g., Andriof & Waddock, 2002; Berman et al., 1999)

From silence to constructive engagement : a framework for corporate human rights strategies

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Dimensions of CSR Identity

Literature on social and organisational identity is reviewed to propose that a separate form of organizational identity exists, based on shared beliefs among organisational members. The analysis highlights the importance of organisational values and the need to study values as an integral part of the CSR concept. Moreover, the analysis suggests that the instrumentality of CSR as a marketing tool is now commonly acknowledged by organisational members affecting the ability of CSR identity to influence attitudes and behavior, even when an affective commitment exists

Business ethics and corporate social responsibility

A textbook covering all areas of ethics and responsibility in business. The book is international in focus, and covers not only managerial decision making in this area but also the over-arching structures and frameworks within which managers make choices relating to ethics