Technology based supply chain training: its use and effectiveness

Employee training is a huge business in the United States with spending in the neighborhood of $51 billion dollars. Over the last five years a growing proportion of training dollars have been committed to technology based training involving distance learning and e-learning. This article reports on the use of these innovative training methods in supply chain management and their impact on organizations in terms of cost effectiveness, time efficiency, skill development, and return on investment

Influence of cortisol on the attachment and metamorphosis of larval Utterbackia imbecillis on bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus)

The larvae of unionid freshwater mussels (i.e., glochidia) undergo a parasitic stage requiring their attachment to the external epithelia of fish hosts, where they metamorphose into free-living juveniles. We describe the physiological effects in bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) of infection with glochidia from the paper pondshell (Utterbackia imbecillis). Glochidia accumulation on bluegill increased dramatically at concentrations of 2000 glochidia liter-1 and above, reaching a maximum attachment density of about 30 glochidia g-1 fish at 4000 glochidia liter-1. Plasma cortisol was the most sensitive indicator of biological effect to glochidial exposure, increasing significantly in hosts exposed to 2000 glochidia liter-1 or greater. Glochidia were 31% more likely to undergo successful juvenile metamorphosis when attached to bluegill with elevated plasma cortisol, largely due to the enhanced survivorship of these larvae during the first 48 h after infection. We tested the hypothesis that glochidial attachment and juvenile metamorphosis were stimulated directly by plasma cortisol in fish hosts. Bluegill were given an intraperitoneal injection of cortisol, then infected with 1000 glochidia liter-1 at 48 h after hormone supplementation. Cortisol-injected fish had a 42% increase in the number of attached glochidia g-1 fish and a 28% increase in larval metamorphosis compared to sham-injected and control fish. We provide evidence that cortisol enhances glochidial metamorphosis on hosts by improving the retention of attached glochidia. This study gives insights into the influence of host physiology on glochidial attachment and juvenile mussel transformation. © 2011 Marine Biological Laborat006Fry

A heuristic tool for indoor radio-wave propagation prediction

Faculty of Engineering, School of Electrical and Information Engineering, MSc DissertationFor the effective implementation of a wireless local area network (WLAN) within a building, a complete understanding of indoor signal propagation is required. This paper compares three empirical propagation prediction models with regards to efficiency and accuracy. To achieve this, a software prediction tool was developed using C++ which allows an end user to quickly draw a building floor plan using user specified drawing materials. It also has the ability to calculate the required empirical parameters from entered measurements but this was found to produce results similar to that when theoretical empirical parameters were used. The accuracy of the prediction tool was gauged by comparing its outputs, using the different empirical models, to measurements. In doing so it was determined that two of the models produced functional levels of accuracy in which 93% and 82% of the simulated results were within 15 and 10 dB of the measured results respectively for the most accurate of the models used. All three empirical models were found to have computational times low enough, less than 5 minutes for an average building, as to allow for interactive WLAN design

The Development And Validation Of A New Machiavellianism Scale

A new measure of Machiavellianism, the Machiavellian Personality Scale (MPS), was developed and validated over two studies. Machiavellianism is conceptualized as one’s propensity to distrust others, engage in amoral manipulation, seek control over others, and seek status for oneself. Study 1 developed and tested the factor structure of the scale, whereas Study 2 provided evidence for the convergent, divergent, and criterion-related validity of the MPS. The results of these studies supported the a priori factor structure of the MPS and indicated that it is a valid predictor of such outcomes as job satisfaction, task performance, and counterproductive work behaviors

The Antecedents Of Moral Imagination In The Workplace: A Social Cognitive Theory Perspective

As corporate scandals proliferate, organizational researchers and practitioners have made calls for research providing guidance for those wishing to influence positive moral decision-making and behavior in the workplace. This study incorporates social cognitive theory and a vignette-based cognitive measure for moral imagination to examine (a) moral attentiveness and employee creativity as important antecedents of moral imagination and (b) creativity as a moderator of the positive relation- ship between moral attentiveness and moral imagination. Based on the results from supervisor–subordinate dyadicdat

Assessing The Measurement Invariance Of Latent Job Satisfaction Ratings Across Survey Administration Modes For Respondent Subgroups: A MIMIC Modeling Approach

To date, many studies have assessed the measurement invariance of a wide variety of measures across Internet and paper-and-pencil conditions; however a relative dearth exists in the literature investigating measurement invariance across administration modes for differing subgroups of respondents. Using MIMIC modeling, this study assessed whether gender and age of the respondent systematically influenced responding according to administration mode above and beyond measurement invariance. Consistent with past research, this study demonstrated that job satisfaction ratings were indeed measurement invariant across Internet and paper-and-pencil conditions, however, older respondents tend to differentially rate job satisfaction according to administration mode. Implications are discussed

Linking Feedback Quality And Goal Orientation To Feedback Seeking And Job Performance

Contemporary feedback researchers have adopted theoretical perspectives in which personal characteristics interact with aspects of the feedback environment to influence feedback-related perceptions, feedback seeking, and job performance. To test these assertions, this study incorpo-rates implicit person theory, uncertainty reduction theory, and Korman’s theory of work motivation (2001) to develop a model that links a critical aspect of the feedback environment (feedback quality) and goal orientation to perceptions of feedback utility, feedback seeking, role clarity, and task performance and organizational citizenship behaviors. Results from supervisor–subordinate dyadic data (N = 202) obtained from employed students largely support the hypothesized model. Implications are discussed

Discharge Policy Information In The Job Offer Letter: Its Impact On Recruit Perceptions Of Psychological Contract Formation And Organizational Attraction

Using a 2×2 design, this study incorporates psychological contract theory andthe “good cause norm” to investigate discharge policy information and implied promises of job security on reactions to the job offer letter. Results indicate that while embeddedimplied promises significantly increase perceptions of organizational attraction relative to a control, they demonstrate no discernable effects on recruit perceptions of organizational psychological contract obligations. Furthermore, embedded at-will disclaimers, alone or in combination with implied promises, significantly reduce perceptions of organizational attractiveness and organizational psychological contract obligations. Implications are discusse