Employee Engagement and Its Role during Crisis Management: A Conceptual Model

The field of crisis management, business continuity and resilience is part of discussion in many important forums around the world. Is there any paper discussing the importance of people continuity and employee retention in the recent years? Yes many organizations are concerned about losing their talents and will have to do quite a lot in the coming years to improve their employee commitment and employee engagement. This paper is looking into the importance of building employee capabilities and employee engagement in organizations that can transform employees – the powerful resource of organizations into heroes and heroines during crisis scenarios. The paper builds a model based on employee engagement that can facilitate effective crisis management for organizations. The existing literature on employee commitment, employee engagement and employee crisis management capability building is discussed to develop a model and the model is validated using a case study of Taj Hotel Mumbai employee initiatives during the terrorist attack on the hotel. The article elaborates on how building of efficient staff becomes the building block that can save companies during crisis and the importance of investing on employees through learning and development , having right leaders, and team building to harness their powers for organization sustainability and growth. Key words: employee engagement, crisis situation, hospitality employees, bottom line, discretionary behavio

An analysis of attractiveness and ethics-related perception of banking advertisements among consumers in UAE

Objective: The objective of this study is to analyzefactors that influence the perception of banking newspaper advertisements and on the analysis of the content and the perception and attitudes of customers pointing to the process of cultural and ethical sense-making. The focus of the present study is on an enquiry into the different styles and appeal of the content of recent banking advertisement material coming in regional newspapers in UAE and its impact on the emotive and rational dimensions of perception among the United Arab Emirates nationals and expatriates in the UAE.Design and methodology: Quasi experimental design is used by collecting data from a small sample size of respondents by showing them 9 advertisements and asking them about their preferences and reasons for the same were used in the study. A qualitative method of analysis is used to identify the themes and categories of the content in the advertisements and perceptions of respondents.The first part of the study is done through an analysis of the content of advertisements published by a few large banks of the region in the last few months.Findings: Study found that there is preference for advertisements based on either emotive or rational cues of advertisement content. The categories that emerged were lifestyle, emotive, rational and inspirational. There are many research papers related to advertisement and its effect on intention to buy among consumers, but few are focused on banking or financial services and products. Contributions and implications of the study: Thus the study will be able to contribute to the field of marketing and advertisements knowledgerelated to banking advertisements which has not been covered much by earlier studies in United Arab Emirates.Limitations: Study is qualitative using a very small sample size.

Effect of Hydrocortisone on Mortality and Organ Support in Patients With Severe COVID-19: The REMAP-CAP COVID-19 Corticosteroid Domain Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Evidence regarding corticosteroid use for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited. Objective: To determine whether hydrocortisone improves outcome for patients with severe COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants: An ongoing adaptive platform trial testing multiple interventions within multiple therapeutic domains, for example, antiviral agents, corticosteroids, or immunoglobulin. Between March 9 and June 17, 2020, 614 adult patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled and randomized within at least 1 domain following admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) for respiratory or cardiovascular organ support at 121 sites in 8 countries. Of these, 403 were randomized to open-label interventions within the corticosteroid domain. The domain was halted after results from another trial were released. Follow-up ended August 12, 2020. Interventions: The corticosteroid domain randomized participants to a fixed 7-day course of intravenous hydrocortisone (50 mg or 100 mg every 6 hours) (n = 143), a shock-dependent course (50 mg every 6 hours when shock was clinically evident) (n = 152), or no hydrocortisone (n = 108). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was organ support-free days (days alive and free of ICU-based respiratory or cardiovascular support) within 21 days, where patients who died were assigned -1 day. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model that included all patients enrolled with severe COVID-19, adjusting for age, sex, site, region, time, assignment to interventions within other domains, and domain and intervention eligibility. Superiority was defined as the posterior probability of an odds ratio greater than 1 (threshold for trial conclusion of superiority >99%). Results: After excluding 19 participants who withdrew consent, there were 384 patients (mean age, 60 years; 29% female) randomized to the fixed-dose (n = 137), shock-dependent (n = 146), and no (n = 101) hydrocortisone groups; 379 (99%) completed the study and were included in the analysis. The mean age for the 3 groups ranged between 59.5 and 60.4 years; most patients were male (range, 70.6%-71.5%); mean body mass index ranged between 29.7 and 30.9; and patients receiving mechanical ventilation ranged between 50.0% and 63.5%. For the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively, the median organ support-free days were 0 (IQR, -1 to 15), 0 (IQR, -1 to 13), and 0 (-1 to 11) days (composed of 30%, 26%, and 33% mortality rates and 11.5, 9.5, and 6 median organ support-free days among survivors). The median adjusted odds ratio and bayesian probability of superiority were 1.43 (95% credible interval, 0.91-2.27) and 93% for fixed-dose hydrocortisone, respectively, and were 1.22 (95% credible interval, 0.76-1.94) and 80% for shock-dependent hydrocortisone compared with no hydrocortisone. Serious adverse events were reported in 4 (3%), 5 (3%), and 1 (1%) patients in the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with severe COVID-19, treatment with a 7-day fixed-dose course of hydrocortisone or shock-dependent dosing of hydrocortisone, compared with no hydrocortisone, resulted in 93% and 80% probabilities of superiority with regard to the odds of improvement in organ support-free days within 21 days. However, the trial was stopped early and no treatment strategy met prespecified criteria for statistical superiority, precluding definitive conclusions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02735707

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Inter relationship between the attributes of talent management process in information technology sector

Objective: The current research is an attempt to analyze the inter relationship between different attributes of talent management. Methodology: Questionnaires were used to collect data from IT sector employees about their perceptions related to talent management attributes like talent acquisition, development, talent engagement and retention. Descriptive analysis is used to analyze the relationship between the variables. Findings: Based on the findings of the study, it is found that information technology Companies have to need to focus more in strategizing their talent management process for enhanced business outcomes. There is relationship that is strong between the variables of talent management. Contribution: The study gives insights to HR and talent management experts in organizations to improve on their talent management strategies. Originality: The study on talent management attributes and relationship, adds value to the existing knowledge related to talent management in the domain of IT sector in India

Women in STEM/SET: gender gap research review of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – a meta-analysis

© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to conduct a meta-analysis of existing research on gender discrimination/gender gap and women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in the UAE, specifically, and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in general because of very limited number of articles published on the subject. It will give future researchers insights into the topics, methodologies and findings of such research from 1999–2019. Design/methodology/approach: This study conducts a meta-analysis of 72 articles using the Wildcard operator search method and the Boolean operator to perform an integrative literature search related to gender discrimination studies done in relationship to or specific to the UAE. Findings: In total, 88 papers related to the UAE and gender gap and women were identified. The articles were narrowed down to the ones published in high-ranked or Scopus journals (72). The findings suggest a decreasing trend in gender discrimination, but the issue still persists, requiring efforts from policy-makers, society and government to ensure gender parity is achieved. Academic research on women in STEM/SET workplace, specific to the UAE and the region, continue to slowly advance, with very few articles published in the same. Practical implications: The study provides insights into gender gap research done in the past ten years specific to the UAE national women and gender gap in general and their career choices and prospects in the STEM/SET domain. Social implications: There is a need to focus research on Emirati women in STEM careers to develop more insights into gender gap perceptions of Emirati women and identify challenges and methods to close the gender gap in STEM careers. Originality/value: This paper brings a holistic perspective to the meta-analysis of research on the gender gap and women in the UAE’s STEM domain

Alien species recorded in the United Arab Emirates: an initial list of terrestrial and freshwater species

Little is documented on the alien terrestrial and freshwater species in the United Arab Emirates. To address this, an assessment of terrestrial and freshwater alien species was conducted using various techniques such as a questionnaire, fieldwork data, networking with relevant people, and a detailed literature review. The results of the initial assessment show that there are 146 alien species recorded in the following seven major taxonomic groups: invertebrates 49 species, freshwater fish five species, amphibian one species, reptiles six species, birds 71 species, mammals six species and plants eight species. To inform decision makers a full list of the 146 species identified in this assessment is presented. </div

Analysis of amino acid and codon usage inParamecium bursaria

NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in FEBS Letters. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in FEBS Letters, doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2015.08.033autho