Lump-Sum Bonus Satisfaction: Testing the Construct Validity of a New Pay Satisfaction Dimension

There are both practical and theoretical reasons to measure lump-sum bonus satisfaction. The practical need for such a measure stems from its increased use as a component in modern compensation practices. Based on the means of administering and allocating lump-sum bonuses, a theoretical case can be built suggesting that lump-sum bonus satisfaction constitutes a separate component of pay satisfaction fitting into the Pay Satisfaction Questionaire\u27s (PSQ) theoretical framework. We develop 4 questions that complement the PSQ, and use a series of techniques to test the convergent and discriminant validity of the measure. Empirical evidence shows that bonus-related items are more related to the lump-sum bonus satisfaction measure than other PSQ dimensions. We also demonstrate that the dimension of lump-sum bonus satisfaction has a substantive relationship with attitudinal variables beyond that provided by pay level variables and the PSQ. The development of this measure should foster greater accuracy when assessing pay satisfaction levels and the effects of lump-sum bonus pay policies

The Impact of in ovo Injection of Silver Nanoparticles, Thyme and Savory Extracts in Broiler Breeder eggs on Growth Performance, Lymphoid-Organ Weights, and Blood and Immune Parameters of Broiler Chicks

This study was conducted to evaluate the long-term effects of in ovo injection of nano-silver, thyme and savory extracts in broiler breeder eggs on growth performance, lymphoid organ weights, immune and blood parameters and bone mineral concentration of broiler chicks. A total of 560 fertilized broiler breeder eggs were divided into 7 groups. On d 5 of incubation, eggs were treated with the following groups. Group 1 (control, no injection); group 2 (placebo, 1 mL of 0.9% NaCl); group 3 and 4 (placebo + 30 and 45 mg of nano-silver, respectively); group 5 and 6 (placebo + 75 and 100 mg of thyme, respectively) and group 7 (placebo + 75 mg of savory). After hatch, chickens were fed a corn-soybean meal diet under the controlled conditions and slaughtered at 14 and 21 d of age for sample collection and analysis. The lymphoid-organ weights and growth rate were not affected by dietary treatments at 14 and 21 d of age. The results also showed that nano-silver injected into broiler breeder eggs during incubation improved the bone mineral concentration and cell-mediated immunity at 14 and 21 d of age, respectively. Humoral immunity was improved by thyme and savory extracts (P < 0.05). Overall, the effect of in ovo injection of nano-silver, thyme and savory extracts during embryonic development is a potential means to improve immune activities of broiler chickens, while does not have any detrimental effect on embryo hatchability

ALIMET® (liquid methionine hydroxy analogue) in broiler chicken diets: immunity system, microflora population, and performance

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding increasing levels of ALIMET ® (liquid methionine hydroxy analogue) in broiler chicken diets on serum antibodies, microflora population, and growth performance. The trial was designed as completely ran- domized design. A total of 300 unsexed 1-d-old broiler chicken (Ross 308) was randomly allocated to 4 treatments with 3 replicate of 25 chickens in each. Treatments were including of control and three graded levels of ALIMET ® supplementation (i.e. 1.150, 1.437 and 1.725 g/kg in the starter and 0.450, 0.562, and 0.675 g/kg in the grower diets, respectively). As a result of this study, the weight gain increased linearly with increasing levels of ALIMET ® in diets during 22 to 42 (p≤0.001) and 1 to 42 (p≤0.017) periods. There were no significant differences in the pH of the diets, ileum content, and excreta on days 21 and 42. A linear decrease (p= 0.001) in total number of bacteria was observed with increasing ALIMET ® supplementation levels in the diets on 21 days of age. The antibodies titer of Newcastle Di- sease, Avian Influenza, and Infectious Bronchitis increased linearly with increasing ALIMET ® supplementation levels in the diets on 21 days of age. Similar trend was found in antibody titer of Infectious Bronchitis on 42 days of age (p= 0.006). It concluded that the inclusion of ALIMET in broiler chicken diets have a beneficial effect on immunity and weight gain. However, effect of ALIMET ® on diminution of harmful bacteria is not likely associated with pH reduction and is open to debate.Este experimento se realizó para investigar el efecto de niveles crecientes de ALIMET ® (hidroxi análogo líquido de la metionina) en la dieta de broilers sobre los anticuerpos séricos, población microbiana y crecimiento. Se utilizó un diseño completamente al azar. Trescientos pollos Ross 308, no sexados fueron aleatoriamente asignados a 4 tratamientos con tres repeticiones de 25 pollos cada una. Los tratamientos incluían un control y tres niveles de suplementación de ALIMET ® (1,150, 1,437 y 1,725 g/kg en las dietas de iniciación y de 0,450; 0,562, y 0,675 g/kg en las dietas de crecimiento, respectivamente). Como resultado, la ganancia de peso aumentó linealmente con el incremento de la proporción de ALIMET ® en los periodos de 22 a 42 días (p<0,001) y 1 a 42 días (p≤0,017). No hubo diferencias significativas en el pH de las dietas, contenido ileal y excretas a los 21 o 42 días. Se observó un descenso lineal (p= 0,001) en el número total de bacterias al aumentar los ni- veles de ALIMET ® en las dietas de 21 días de edad. El título de anticuerpos para enfermedad de Newcastle, gripe aviar y bronquitis infecciosa aumentó linealmente con el incremento de ALIMET ® en las dietas de 21 días. Una respuesta similar se apreció para los anticuerpos de bronquitis infecciosa a los 42 días (p<0,006). Se concluye que la inclusión de ALIMET ® en las dietas de broilers tiene un efecto beneficioso sobre la inmunidad y ganancia de peso. No obstante el efecto de ALIMET ® sobre la disminución de bacterias patógenas probablemente no está asociado al descenso del pH y queda sujeto al debate