Strategy, Core Competence and HR Involvement as Determinants of HR Effectiveness and Refinery Performance

This study examined the impact strategy, core competence, and involvement of HR executives in strategic decision making on the refinery managers\u27 evaluation of the effectiveness of HR and refinery performance among 86 U.S. petro-chemical refineries. Survey results indicated that higher involvement of HR in organizational strategy was strongly related to perceptions of HR effectiveness, and that the relationship was strongest to the extent that refineries pursued a product innovation strategy and viewed skilled employees as their core competence. HR involvement was unrelated to refinery performance, but was actually negatively related to the extent that refineries emphasized efficient production as their core competence

The Role of Human Resource Practices in Petro-Chemical Refinery Performance

This study examined the impact of Human Resource (HR) practices (selection, training, compensation, and appraisal) and participation on the financial performance of U.S. petrochemical refineries. Survey results from HR and Operations respondents indicated that appraisal and training were significantly related to workforce skills and that training and compensation were marginally related to workforce motivation. In addition, only training was significantly related to refinery performance, although the relationship was negative. However, selection, compensation, and appraisal interacted with participation in determining refinery financial performance such that each of these practices were strongly positively related to financial performance only under highly participative systems. Implications are discussed

Confirmatory factor analysis of the Child Feeding Questionnaire among low-income African American families of preschool children

This study examined the factor structure for three of the Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) subscales, a widely used measure of parental feeding practices, among 296 low-income parents of African American preschool children. Confirmatory factor analysis showed an overall poor fit among CFQ subscales; Restriction, Pressure to Eat, and Concern about Child Weight, (χ2, (df = 87 = 300.249, CFI = 1.00, NNFI = 1.07, RMSEA = .091). Additionally, Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients for 2 of the three subscales were below acceptable recommendations (Restriction = 0.69; Pressure to Eat = 0.58). These results suggest further psychometric clarification is needed to understand commonly reported feeding practice constructs among low-income African American mothers of preschool aged children

Confirmatory factor analysis of the Child Feeding Questionnaire among low-income African American families of preschool children

This study examined the factor structure for three of the Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) subscales, a widely used measure of parental feeding practices, among 296 low-income parents of African American preschool children. Confirmatory factor analysis showed an overall poor fit among CFQ subscales; Restriction, Pressure to Eat, and Concern about Child Weight, (χ2, (df = 87 = 300.249, CFI = 1.00, NNFI = 1.07, RMSEA = .091). Additionally, Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients for 2 of the three subscales were below acceptable recommendations (Restriction = 0.69; Pressure to Eat = 0.58). These results suggest further psychometric clarification is needed to understand commonly reported feeding practice constructs among low-income African American mothers of preschool aged children

Police Criminal Charging Decisions: An Examination of Post-Arrest Decision-Making

Scholars have encouraged studies of police decision-making to move beyond the arrest decision into research that broadens the understanding of police behavior. The criminal charge placed by officers against offenders is largely an untouched area of study. Examining criminal charging decisions goes beyond simple dichotomous decisions, such as arrest, but instead explores the area of police leniency or punitiveness. Randomly constructed vignettes describing a domestic violence incident were given to officers from four agencies. Officers indicated the criminal charges they would likely list against an offender if they were to make an arrest. Serious criminal charges were often supported by additional, but less serious, charges. Victim injury and an uncooperative offender were related to the decision to charge a misdemeanor offense. There was a significant negative relationship between the number of charges listed and more experienced officers and officers working in smaller agencies. The implications of this study and directions for future research are discussed

Serum Chemistry Values in Wild Black Vultures in Mississippi, USA

Vultures (Cathartidae and Accipitridae) play an important role in ecosystem balance by rapidly disposing animal carcasses and thus preventing the potential spread of pathogens. Blood chemistry values provide a means of assessing the health of wildlife and wild animal populations; however, there are significant differences in chemistries among species and when comparing captive and free-living New and Old World vultures. In 2007, we collected blood serum from 30 female and 14 male wild, healthy black vultures (Coragyps atratus) live-trapped by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services from a power substation in Lowndes County, Mississippi, USA. We analyzed the blood serum to provide serum chemistry base values for use in clinical pathology. The chemical analytes we measured included sodium, chloride, potassium, carbon dioxide, anion gap, glucose, creatinine, calcium, phosphorus, total protein, albumin, globulin, and aspartate aminotransferase. In general, blood chemistry values of black vultures were similar to those found in New and Old World vultures and raptor species. Average chemistry values for males were lower than females for sodium, chloride, creatinine, calcium, total protein, albumin, and globulin. The serum chemistry values we describe in this paper can be important indicators of avian health by gender for the black vulture. Our study provided important blood chemistry values from a large sample size, which is rarely available in free-ranging black vultures. These values could be used by scientists, veterinary pathologists, wildlife rehabilitation centers, and other researchers for baseline data for wild and free-ranging birds. Furthermore, the use of such parameters in assessing population health may enable conservationists to further research environmental conditions affecting species reproduction and survival

Fish Assemblages, Connectivity, and Habitat Rehabilitation in a Diked Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Complex

Fish and plant assemblages in the highly modified Crane Creek coastal wetland complex of Lake Erie were sampled to characterize their spatial and seasonal patterns and to examine the implications of the hydrologic connection of diked wetland units to Lake Erie. Fyke netting captured 52 species and an abundance of fish in the Lake Erie–connected wetlands, but fewer than half of those species and much lower numbers and total masses of fish were captured in diked wetland units. Although all wetland units were immediately adjacent to Lake Erie, there were also pronounced differences in water quality and wetland vegetation between the hydrologically isolated and lake‐connected wetlands. Large seasonal variations in fish assemblage composition and biomass were observed in connected wetland units but not in disconnected units. Reestablishment of hydrologic connectivity in diked wetland units would allow coastal Lake Erie fish to use these vegetated habitats seasonally, although connectivity does appear to pose some risks, such as the expansion of invasive plants and localized reductions in water quality. Periodic isolation and drawdown of the diked units could still be used to mimic intermediate levels of disturbance and manage invasive wetland vegetation.Received October 1, 2013; accepted March 5, 2014Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141054/1/tafs1130-sup-0001.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141054/2/tafs1130.pd

Corporate Security Responsibility: Towards a Conceptual Framework for a Comparative Research Agenda

The political debate about the role of business in armed conflicts has increasingly raised expectations as to governance contributions by private corporations in the fields of conflict prevention, peace-keeping and postconflict peace-building. This political agenda seems far ahead of the research agenda, in which the negative image of business in conflicts, seen as fuelling, prolonging and taking commercial advantage of violent conflicts,still prevails. So far the scientific community has been reluctant to extend the scope of research on ‘corporate social responsibility’ to the area of security in general and to intra-state armed conflicts in particular. As a consequence, there is no basis from which systematic knowledge can be generated about the conditions and the extent to which private corporations can fulfil the role expected of them in the political discourse. The research on positive contributions of private corporations to security amounts to unconnected in-depth case studies of specific corporations in specific conflict settings. Given this state of research, we develop a framework for a comparative research agenda to address the question: Under which circumstances and to what extent can private corporations be expected to contribute to public security

Incidence and Severity of Drug Interactions Before and After Switching Antiretroviral Therapy to Bictegravir/Emtricitabine/Tenofovir Alafenamide in Treatment-Experienced Patients.

Background: Switching antiretroviral therapy (ART) in people with HIV (PWH) can influence their risk for drug-drug interactions (DDIs). The purpose of this study was to assess changes in the incidence and severity of DDIs among PWH who switched their ART to bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide (BIC/FTC/TAF). Methods: This was a multicenter retrospective cohort study of PWH on ART and at least 1 concomitant medication (CM) who switched to BIC/FTC/TAF between 3/2018 and 6/2019. Using the University of Liverpool\u27s HIV Drug Interaction Database, 2 DDI analyses were performed for each patient. The first assessed patients\u27 preswitch ART regimens with their CM list. The second assessed the same CM list with BIC/FTC/TAF. Each ART-CM combination was given a score of 0 (no or potential weak interaction), 1 (potential interaction), or 2 (contraindicated interaction). A paired Results: Among 411 patients, 236 (57%) had at least 1 DDI present at baseline. On average, baseline DDI scores (SD) were 1.4 (1.8) and decreased by 1 point (95% CI, -1.1 to -0.8) after patients switched to BIC/FTC/TAF ( Conclusions: Treatment-experienced PWH eligible to switch their ART may experience significant declines in number and severity of DDIs if switched to BIC/FTC/TAF