What do we mean by the term "talent" in talent management?

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to consider the ways the notion of “talent” has developed over many years, both historically and linguistically, in a number of European and non-European languages and in use in organisations, and its use in talent management. Design/methodology/approach – The information was gained from a literature review of key reports on talent management and a major review of ten organisations across sectors and by interviewing over 100 individuals involved in talent management programmes in the UK and abroad. Holden and Tansley also conducted a philological analysis of the word “talent” from both an historical and a linguistic-comparative perspective analysing publications by consultancies and articles in the management press considering both literal (denotative) definitions and metaphoric (connotative) associations of the term talent in English, noting contrasting usages of the word in other languages

Hiring in the age of social media: new rules, new game

Companies are beginning to bypass traditional agency channels with new in-house recruitment practices, new executive search entities are challenging existing models, and individuals are using novel pathways to reach out to prospective employers. This is one of the areas of interest for a team of researchers and industry partners in the University of Sydney’s Digital Disruption Research Group (DDRG), which is looking at fundamental changes that are occurring in business as a result of digital technologies. In this study, we worked alongside a large, global professional services firm to understand the impact of social media on corporate recruitment, and to identify ways in which the recruitment processes can be effectively managed for better quality outcomes

The Multimedia Thesaurus: Adding A Semantic Layer to Multimedia Information

The digital computer has greatly increased our capacity for storing and accessing information. The internet, and particularly the World Wide Web, have vastly increased the amount of information available to us. Information retrieval and hypermedia research has greatly reduced the time and effort required to fulfill a searcher's information need; however, problems still remain. To access multimedia information, text metadata must usually be assigned to the multimedia objects, requiring an (often prohibitively) large amount of time and effort. Alternatively, some systems use low-level features of the media to allow a searcher to find objects similar to a query object. Such features cannot always identify two media objects depicting or representing the same real-world concept; in the case of images, different camera angles and lighting conditions mean that semantically similar images are visually very different. Additionally, semantic relationships between objects may not be expressed. This thesis presents a way of addressing these problems by drawing on the field of semiology, in which a symbolic object has two parts: That which is being represented (in the plane of content), and the symbolic object doing the representing (in the plane of expression). A semantic layer is introduced holding real-world concepts, and connections to the multimedia objects that represent them. Knowledge about these concepts can be introduced by connecting them with semantic relationships. A prototype multimedia information system incorporating a semantic layer feature, the multimedia thesaurus, is introduced. The construction and use of a museum application is described, and used to evaluate the semantic layer technique. Finally, some reflections on these findings and some suggested future directions for the work are presented

To Speak or Not to Speak: An Encounter with J. M. Coetzee's Foe

For critics and authors, there has always been a tension between silence and voicing experience. My concern, as both author and critic is: What does it mean to speak or to be, not remain, silent; what are the consequences of voicing experience or choosing, rather than being forced, to be quiet? Through J. M. Coetzee’s Foe (1988), I hope to interrogate the tension between silence and voice and discover why, sometimes, silence is appealing

The Infrared Jet In 3C66B

We present images of infrared emission from the radio jet in 3C66B. Data at three wavelengths (4.5, 6.75 and 14.5 microns) were obtained using the Infrared Space Observatory. The 6.75 micron image clearly shows an extension aligned with the radio structure. The jet was also detected in the 14.5 micron image, but not at 4.5 micron. The radio-infrared-optical spectrum of the jet can be interpreted as synchrotron emission from a population of electrons with a high-energy break of 4e11 eV. We place upper limits on the IR flux from the radio counter-jet. A symmetrical, relativistically beamed twin-jet structure is consistent with our results if the jets consist of multiple components.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

A knowledge-based system approach to helping engineers understand codes of practice

Civil engineers are increasingly called upon to design according to codes of practice which are foreign, or otherwise unfamiliar to the engineer. Some form of 'tool' to aid such engineers in the safe and effective use of unfamiliar codes, is therefore highly desirable. The argument presented in this thesis, is that a specialised 'knowledge-based system' (KBS) can be successfully constructed in order to provide various sons of insights into the design methods used in certain codes of practice. Three key ideas were used in the implementation produced during the research: the development of a novel set of complementary 'facilities' for examining the design methods used in codes; the support of comparison between the examination of two different codes; and ensuring the system's representation of codes and their examination, could be made readily comprehensible to engineers by using familiar human language phrases. Seven different facilities were developed in the research, including: the ability to view the codes installed in the system in a form close to a human language (such as English or French); the ability to perform parts of a code-based design procedure to various levels of detail; and the ability to inspect the interdependences of design parameters within codes. Use of these symbolic and numerical methods could provide the engineer with the information required to understand how and why an unfamiliar code would specify surprising, or otherwise unusual design parameters in some particular situation. They could also be used in a more exploratory fashion, with t1ie same broad aim of greater understanding of an unfamiliar code. A KBS is a sophisticated computer program that uses the idea of processiilg knowledge information. A characteristic feature of KBSs is that one of their primary components is a 'knowledge base' - a store of human expertise. The KBS built in this research, 'COPES' used an existing abbreviated form of the reinforced concrete (RC) beam design codes as its knowledge base. In particular, it contained 'procedural knowledge'. COPES was implemented using conventional computer systems and progranuning languages (pascal and FORTRAN on a Sun workstation). This is in contrast to most contemporary KBSs, which are often built using a 'shell', or an unconventional declarative programming language such as Prolog. One reason for this choice was that COPES used parts of previous computing work done with RC beam design codes, that had also used conventional computing techniques. However, our research did cover an investigation into the prospects for an alternative approach using a modem expert system shell. (It was confirmed that such an approach was generally less suitable in this particular application.) The COPES system proved to be a useful prototype 'toolbox' of various procedural knowledge extraction operations, which could help an engineer's understanding of an unfamiliar code of practice. To provide a practical system, the various explanatory methods developed could potentially be incorporated into an overall CAD (Computer-Aided Design) environment, or alternatively, wrapped up in a more sophisticated interactive program

A micro gas turbines for UK domestic combined heat and power

Various micro-radial compressor configurations were investigated using one-dimensional meanline and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques for use in a micro gas turbine (MGT) domestic combined heat and power (DCHP) application. Blade backsweep, shaft speed, and blade height were varied at a constant pressure ratio. Shaft speeds were limited to 220 000 r/min, to enable the use of a turbocharger bearing platform. Off-design compressor performance was established and used to determine the MGT performance envelope; this in turn was used to assess potential cost and environmental savings in a heat-led DCHP operating scenario within the target market of a detached family home. A low target-stage pressure ratio provided an opportunity to reduce diffusion within the impeller. Critically for DCHP, this produced very regular flow, which improved impeller performance for a wider operating envelope. The best performing impeller was a low-speed, 170 000 r/min, low-backsweep, 15° configuration producing 71.76 per cent stage efficiency at a pressure ratio of 2.20. This produced an MGT design point system efficiency of 14.85 per cent at 993 W, matching prime movers in the latest commercial DCHP units. Cost and CO2 savings were 10.7 per cent and 6.3 per cent, respectively, for annual power demands of 17.4 MWht and 6.1 MWhe compared to a standard condensing boiler (with grid) installation. The maximum cost saving (on design point) was 14.2 per cent for annual power demands of 22.62 MWht and 6.1 MWhe corresponding to an 8.1 per cent CO2 saving. When sizing, maximum savings were found with larger heat demands. When sized, maximum savings could be made by encouraging more electricity export either by reducing household electricity consumption or by increasing machine efficiency

Tipping the scales: ambidexterity practices on e-HRM projects

Purpose: We examine and conceptualise the ways in which a balance can be achieved between optimising the efficiency and effectiveness of electronic HRM (e-HRM) systems for human resource management (HRM) and enabling innovation to occur during the system implementation. Design/methodology/approach: An intepretive case study of a UK local authority e-HRM system implementation is examined using the notion of ambidexterity as an analytical device. Ambidexterity relates to how an organisation develops the ability to operate efficiently in the now, while at the same time being able to adapt to environmental changes around and ahead of them in order to grow into the future. Findings: As an intra-organisational capability, ambidexterity is found to derive from the simultaneous interplay and balancing of dual capabilities: exploitation and exploration.. E-HRM exploitation concerned the capability to generate new knowledge with innovatory effects, created through the everyday practices performed by practitioners at all levels in the organisation. E-HRM exploration, rather than being a purposeful act, was found to be an accidental consequence of engaging in exploitation to maintain the status quo. Originality/value: There is a lack of detailed investigation of how organisations actually achieve ambidexterity, particularly in three under-researched areas: ambidexterity in the public sector, at HR functional level and e-HRM systems implementation. Bundling these three areas into an integrated examination allows us to both identify how exploitation and exploration play out in the ambidextrous practices of an e-HRM project and also to identify the dimensions of ambidexterity in balancing e-HRM work