Transfusion-transmitted infections

Although the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections today is lower than ever, the supply of safe blood products remains subject to contamination with known and yet to be identified human pathogens. Only continuous improvement and implementation of donor selection, sensitive screening tests and effective inactivation procedures can ensure the elimination, or at least reduction, of the risk of acquiring transfusion transmitted infections. In addition, ongoing education and up-to-date information regarding infectious agents that are potentially transmitted via blood components is necessary to promote the reporting of adverse events, an important component of transfusion transmitted disease surveillance. Thus, the collaboration of all parties involved in transfusion medicine, including national haemovigilance systems, is crucial for protecting a secure blood product supply from known and emerging blood-borne pathogens

Contested terrain in careers: A psychological contract model

In this article we extend consideration of differences of interest in employment relationships to career issues. Two sets of interests – those of employing organizations and of individual workers – often make careers ‘contested terrain’ in which organizations pursue strategic advantages and individuals personal advantages. The contestation is contextualized by current trends to individualized employment relations and a focus on managerial, professional and technical work. The two interest sets mirror a disjuncture between two disciplinary bases, the ‘vocational’ base underpinned by psychology and the ‘strategic human resource management’ (SHRM) base, underpinned by economics. We develop a ‘psychological contract’ model, in which both individuals and organizations invest knowledge capital in the other with a view to obtaining long-term returns. We consider the implications of our analysis and model for career management by both individuals and organizations, for future research on careers, and for the interdisciplinary study of careers in an integrated ‘career studies’

The domains of intellectual capital: an integrative discourse across perspectives

This chapter explores the domains of intellectual capital (IC) more commonly known as human, organisation and social capital. This theoretical analysis draws together these three disciplinary domains through an integrative discourse in terms of leveraging accumulative resources, connecting complementary themes and distinguishing between interdependent cognitions and behaviours. It seeks to answer scholarly concerns that the IC construct is vague and misleading, resulting in erroneous and generalised relationships. The chapter adopts a theoretical lens and explores complementary discourses of the relationships between human capital (HC), human capital resources (HCR), organisational capital and social capital (SC). For HC and HCR, the discussions build on the resource-based view and the micro-foundations approaches in the strategy literature, where recent research has explored linkages between HCR and competitive advantage. The SC literature is outlined and the discourse between internal SC and external SC is spelled out. The discourses between the domains suggest that through a process of emergence, firms can develop dynamic capabilities that enable them to achieve competitive advantage in factor markets. In light of this, the chapter builds on and complements other recent research that has extended scholarly concerns about the lack of an integrative framework by which the IC linkages and variables can be developed and tested