Is age just a number? The impact of age-diversity practices and workers' age on health and well-being

Workforces across the world are ageing. Research has been focusing on how Human Resources Management (HRM) can develop and promote sustainable careers for workers of all ages (e.g. Kooij et al., 2013; Schalk et al., 2010; Truxillo, Cadiz, & Hammer, 2015). This study tests two moderation hypotheses: age moderates the effect of perceived age-diversity practices (1) on perceived health and (2) on well-being. Human Resources (HR) practices that consider the needs, goals and preferences of workers of all ages – age-diversity practices – can be a strategy to ensure workers’ well-being and health. Perceived age-diversity practices refer to the degree to which individuals perceive that workers of all ages receive non-discriminatory treatment in terms of organisational practices, policies and procedures (Boehm, Kunze, & Bruch, 2014; Kunze, Boehm, & Bruch, 2013). Organisations can implement these practices to support workers’ health and well-being over time, by adjusting the physical work environment (e.g., ergonomic aspects) and fostering knowledge and skills. Age can have an important role in the impact of perceived age-diversity practices on health and well-being. The assumption is that these practices are especially important for older workers as they are more likely to experience health limitations due to the ageing process (Hansson, DeKoekkoek, Neece, & Patterson, 1997), and they are frequently the target of age discrimination in the workplace (e.g., Finkelstein, Burke, & Raju, 1995; Posthuma & Campion, 2009). A sample of 410 participants aged between 19 and 67 years old (M = 37.74, SD = 12.93) answered to a questionnaire with an on-line and a paper version. The moderation hypotheses were tested by Multiple Linear Regression using PROCESS macro for SPSS (Hayes, 2012). Findings supported the first hypothesis, suggesting that as increases age, also increases the effect of perceived age-diversity practices on perceived health, which means that as age increased, this relationship became more important. The second hypothesis was not supported, because the moderator effect of age was not significant. However, perceived age-diversity practices had a significant main effect on well-being, emphasising the importance of these practices to retain all workers, regardless of their age. These findings suggest that organisations should develop age-diversity practices to improve the well-being of workers of all ages, and that they could be particularly relevant for older workers’ health.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

‘What could make me stay at work’: Retirement transition profiles

Aging populations pose a persistent challenge to the sustainability of public pension systems. To tackle these financial pressures, many countries strengthen the incentives to work by increasing the statutory retirement age and reducing early retirement benefits. These policy reforms make retirement a topic of utmost importance for individuals, organizations, and societies. Although retirement predictors are already a widely studied topic in the literature, there is still much to investigate about why people decide to retire when they do. In particular, the role of work-related variables in the retirement decision-making process is still not fully understood. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine how individual and work factors influence retirement timing (early, on-time, and later retirement). Forty-one interviews were conducted, and data were subjected to content analysis. The inter-relationship between the multiple categories was analyzed by a Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) combined with Cluster Analysis. Results revealed three distinct profiles, which allowed us to group the participants into three clusters. The stay factors profile (e.g., high positive experiences at work, having no dependents, the spouse/partner not being retired) was associated with later retirement. These results can be important for organizations that want and need to retain the best senior talents, by acknowledging that positive experiences at work are associated with older workers’ desire of postponing retirement.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Age-diversity practices and retirement preferences among older workers: a moderated mediation model of work engagement and work ability

To meet the demographic changes, organizations are challenged to develop practices that retain older workers and encourage them to postpone retirement. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of human resources (HR) practices in retirement preferences of older workers. Drawing on theories on lifespan development and social exchange, we suggest that organizations can facilitate longer working lives by implementing bundles of HR practices that are sensitive to age-related changes in workers’ skills, preferences, and goals – i.e., age-diversity practices. We posit that age-diversity practices are positively related to work engagement that, in turn, relates to the preference for retiring later. We further suggest that work ability moderates the relationship between age-diversity practices and work engagement. Finally, we propose a moderated mediation model in which the mediated relationship is moderated by work ability. A sample of 232 older Portuguese workers completed a questionnaire. Hypotheses were tested by using structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings show that work engagement completely mediates the relationship between age-diversity practices and the preference for early or late retirement. Moreover, this mediating relationship is more important for those workers who experience low work ability. Results further demonstrate that the effect of age-diversity practices on the preference for retiring later via work engagement is stronger for lower levels of work ability. This study highlights the organizational role in promoting longer and healthier working lives through the implementation of age-supportive HR practices.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Retaining an age-diverse workforce through HRM: the mediation of work engagement and affective commitment

An aging population and an increasingly age-diverse workforce exemplify the complex challenge that age represents for most managers today. For that reason, research has shown the importance of designing and implementing human resources (HR) practices that meet age-related differences in workers’ motives and needs. Drawing on signaling and social exchange theories, the current study investigated a first stage moderated parallel multiple mediation model. We examined the mediating roles of work engagement and affective commitment in the relationship between age-diversity practices and turnover intention, as well as the moderating role of work centrality in these mediated relationships. Using a sample of 802 Portuguese workers, the study supported the parallel multiple mediation hypotheses. Further, the findings revealed that work centrality moderated the relationship between age-diversity practices and turnover intention via work engagement, but not via affective commitment. Age-diversity practices may motivate those workers who place less importance on work to be more engaged, which, in turn, reduces their intentions to leave the organization. Moreover, all workers, regardless of the importance that work plays in their life, are more emotionally attached to the organization and more willing to stay when there are age-diversity practices. Thus, to retain a healthy and productive age-diverse workforce, organizations should implement age-diversity practices. Empirical and practical implications are discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

A New Empirical Model for the Structural Analysis of Early-type Galaxies and a Critical Review of the Nuker Model

The Nuker law was designed to match the inner few (~3-10) arcseconds of predominantly nearby (< 30 Mpc) early-type galaxy light-profiles; it was never intended to describe an entire profile. The Sersic model, on the other hand, was developed to fit the entire profile; however, due to the presence of partially depleted galaxy cores, the Sersic model cannot always describe the very inner region. We have therefore developed a new empirical model consisting of an inner power-law, a transition region, and an outer Sersic model to connect the inner and outer structure of elliptical galaxies. Moreover, the stability of the Nuker model parameters are investigated. Surprisingly, none are found to be stable quantities; all are shown to vary systematically with a profile's fitted radial extent, and often by more than 100%. Considering elliptical galaxies spanning a range of 7.5 magnitudes, the central stellar density of the underlying host galaxy is observed to increase with galaxy luminosity until the onset of core formation, detected only in the brightest elliptical galaxies. We suggest that the so-called ``power-law'' galaxies may actually be described by the Sersic model over their entire radial range

Mapping contacts between regulatory domains of skeletal muscle TnC and Tnl by analyses of a single-chain chimeras.

The troponin (Tn) complex is formed by TnC, TnI and TnT and is responsible for the calcium-dependent inhibition of muscle contraction. TnC and TnI interact in an antiparallel fashion in which the N domain of TnC binds in a calcium-dependent manner to the C domain of TnI, releasing the inhibitory effect of the latter on the actomyosin interaction. While the crystal structure of the core cardiac muscle troponin complex has been determined, very little high resolution information is available regarding the skeletal muscle TnITnC complex. With the aim of obtaining structural information regarding specific contacts between skeletal muscle TnC and TnI regulatory domains, we have constructed two recombinant chimeric proteins composed of the residues 191 of TnC linked to residues 98182 or 98147 of TnI. The polypeptides were capable of binding to the thin filament in a calcium-dependent manner and to regulate the ATPase reaction of actomyosin. Small angle X-ray scattering results showed that these chimeras fold into compact structures in which the inhibitory plus the C domain of TnI, with the exception of residues 148182, were in close contact with the N-terminal domain of TnC. CD and fluorescence analysis were consistent with the view that the last residues of TnI (148182) are not well folded in the complex. MS analysis of fragments produced by limited trypsinolysis showed that the whole TnC N domain was resistant to proteolysis, both in the presence and in the absence of calcium. On the other hand the TnI inhibitory and C-terminal domains were completely digested by trypsin in the absence of calcium while the addition of calcium results in the protection of only residues 114137

Self-consistent treatment of the self-energy in nuclear matter

The influence of hole-hole propagation in addition to the conventional particle-particle propagation, on the energy per nucleon and the momentum distribution is investigated. The results are compared to the Brueckner-Hartree-Fock (BHF) calculations with a continuous choice and conventional choice for the single-particle spectrum. The Bethe-Goldstone equation has been solved using realistic $NN$ interactions. Also, the structure of nucleon self-energy in nuclear matter is evaluated. All the self-energies are calculated self-consistently. Starting from the BHF approximation without the usual angle-average approximation, the effects of hole-hole contributions and a self-consistent treatment within the framework of the Green function approach are investigated. Using the self-consistent self-energy, the hole and particle self-consistent spectral functions including the particle-particle and hole-hole ladder contributions in nuclear matter are calculated using realistic $NN$ interactions. We found that, the difference in binding energy between both results, i.e. BHF and self-consistent Green function, is not large. This explains why is the BHF ignored the 2h1p contribution.Comment: Preprint 20 pages including 15 figures and one tabl

Impacto socioambiental da inserção da cultura do girassol nas atividades produtivas de um estabelecimento rural.

Resumo: Os impactos sócio-ambientais resultantes da inserção da cultura do girassol em um estabelecimento rural foram avaliados em um empreendimento da região sul de Minas Gerais, incentivada pelo uso na produção de biodiesel. Nesta avaliação foi utilizado o Sistema de Avaliação Ponderada do Impacto Ambiental do Novo Rural (APOIA-NovoRural), que integra 62 indicadores de desempenho sócio-ambiental. Observaram-se impactos positivos sobre a água, a atmosfera e sobre o sistema produtivo, entretanto, os efeitos sobre o solo não foram satisfatórios. Com relação ao aspecto econômico, houve incremento de renda e de investimentos, mas sob o ponto de vista social não foram observadas alterações significativas. Assim, conclui-se que a inserção da cultura do girassol no estabelecimento rural apresenta importante contribuição para o desenvolvimento econômico e ambiental do empreendimento, confirmada pelo índice de sustentabilidade de 0,77, que está acima da linha de base preconizada pelo Sistema APOIA-NovoRural. Entretanto, ainda não se identifica impacto significativo desta atividade sobre o aspecto social no estabelecimento rural, conforme preconizado pelo Programa Nacional de Produção e Uso de Biosdiesel. Abstract: The social and environmental impacts of sunflower insertion at rural establishment activities were evaluated in one representative farm located at the south region of Minas Gerais state. This insertion was encouraged by biodiesel production. In this study was used a sustainability toll named Environmental impact assessment of rural activities system (APOIA- NovoRural), which integrates sixty-two objective indicators of social and environmental assessment. The evaluation showed positive impacts of this insertion at water and atmosfhere quality; however soil impacts were not satisfactory. About economic issues, there was an increase of generation of income and investments, on the other hand, social issues were not changed with sunflower activity. Consequently, it is concluded that sunflower insertion at rural establishment activities contributes for the economic and environmental development of the farm, and this is confirmed by the high index sustainability (0,77) obtained in APOIA-NovoRural evaluation. However, it is still impossible to identify social impacts of this insertion, which is recommended by Brazilian Biodiesel Production and Use Program

Envelhecimento e trabalho: o papel das práticas de diversidade etária na retenção dos trabalhadores

O envelhecimento da população, caracterizado pelo aumento do número de idosos e pela diminuição da taxa de natalidade, reflete-se na composição etária da força de trabalho. A diminuição da população em idade ativa e uma transição mais tardia da escola para o mercado de trabalho contribuem para uma força de trabalho mais envelhecida e diversa em termos de idade, o que representa um desafio para a sustentabilidade das organizações. Se por um lado é necessário motivar os indivíduos para trabalharem até à idade legal da reforma, ou até para lá disso, por outro lado é necessário assegurar que os trabalhadores se sentem capazes de o fazer. Neste sentido, as organizações desempenham um papel especialmente importante na promoção de carreiras mais longas e saudáveis, criando condições para que os trabalhadores de todas as idades realizem o seu potencial. Práticas organizacionais flexíveis e inclusivas poderão ajudar os indivíduos a adaptarem-se melhor às mudanças que o envelhecimento acarreta. Usando uma amostra de 755 trabalhadores, este estudo explora o papel das organizações na retenção de uma força de trabalho diversa em termos de idade, examinando a influência das práticas de diversidade etária na idade de reforma desejada. Propõe-se que esta relação é mediada pela capacidade para o trabalho percebida. Os resultados suportam esta hipótese, o que sugere que a implementação de práticas de diversidade etária contribui para uma perceção de maior capacidade para o trabalho, levando os indivíduos a desejarem reformar-se mais tarde. Assim, estas práticas poderão assegurar a saúde e o bem-estar dos indivíduos a longo-prazo, permitindo-lhes continuar a contribuir para o sucesso da organização.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Brownian Motion and Polymer Statistics on Certain Curved Manifolds

We have calculated the probability distribution function G(R,L|R',0) of the end-to-end vector R-R' and the mean-square end-to-end distance (R-R')^2 of a Gaussian polymer chain embedded on a sphere S^(D-1) in D dimensions and on a cylinder, a cone and a curved torus in 3-D. We showed that: surface curvature induces a geometrical localization area; at short length the polymer is locally "flat" and (R-R')^2 = L l in all cases; at large scales, (R-R')^2 is constant for the sphere, it is linear in L for the cylinder and reaches different constant values for the torus. The cone vertex induces (function of opening angle and R') contraction of the chain for all lengths. Explicit crossover formulas are derived.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, RevTex, uses amssymb.sty and multicol.sty, to appear in Phys. Rev