Research Report on Phase 4 of Cornell University/Gevity Institute Study Human Resource Management Practices and Firm Performance in Small Businesses: A Look at the Effects of HR Practices on Financial Performance and Turnover

In this study, we found evidence that groups of HR practices that represent different strategies for managing employees were significantly related to the financial performance of small companies. In particular, we found that an employee selection strategy based on person-organization fit, employee management strategy based on self-management, and employee motivation and retention strategy based on creating a family-like environment were all significantly related to firm performance in terms of revenue and profit growth. In addition, we found that the relationships between these HR strategies and firm performance were stronger in firms that face greater competition, are pursuing growth strategies, and are larger in size

Entrepreneurial Human Resource Strategy

[Excerpt] Entrepreneurship is the process by which opportunities to create future goods and services are discovered, evaluated, and exploited (Shane and Venkataraman, 2000: 218). In other words, it is the process by which organizations and individuals convert new knowledge into new opportunities in the form of new products and services. Strategic human resource management (SHRM) has been defined as the system of organizational practices and policies used to manage employees in a manner that leads to higher organizational performance (Wright and McMahan, 1992). Further, one perspective suggests that sets of HR practices do not themselves create competitive advantage; instead, they foster the development of organizational capabilities which in turn create such advantages (Lado and Wilson, 1994; Wright, Dunford, and Snell, 2001). Specifically, this body of literature suggests that HR practices lead to firm performance when they are aligned to work together to create and support the employee-based capabilities that lead to competitive advantage (Wright and Snell, 2000; Wright, Dunford, and Snell, 2001). Thus, entrepreneurial human resource strategy is best defined as the set or sets of human resources practices that will increase the likelihood that new knowledge will be converted to new products or services

A Comparison of Treatment Options for Carpal Boss: A Critically Appraised Topic

Context: Carpal bossing is a bony growth or mass that typically occurs at the 2nd or 3rd carpometacarpal joint. Carpal bossing is often overlooked placing the patient at an increased risk for pain or injury, such as osteoarthritis or inflammatory joint disease if left untreated. Individuals such as combat sport athletes who experience repetitive trauma to this area are at a high risk to develop carpal bossing. The literature suggests conservative or surgical interventions to manage symptoms. The goal of this systematic review is to synthesize the current literature for clinical knowledge and intervention outcomes for carpal bossing. Methods: A systematic search of the literature was performed across 3 electronic databases (Science Direct, PubMed, and EBSCOhost) to identify articles that investigated the effects of surgical intervention or conservative management for carpal bossing. A combination of the keywords and Boolean operators (Carpal Bossing, Carpal Boss, Surgical Intervention, Wedge Resection, Excision, Conservative Treatment, and Intervention) related to the research question were used. The search was restricted to full text, human studies (including cadaveric studies) research, and manuscripts available in English. Articles were included if they examined the effect of either conservative or surgical interventions for the treatment of carpal bossing. Articles were excluded from the review if the study did not examine carpal bossing treatment options or did not include pain, range of motion, strength, or functional measures of the hand and wrist. Two independent reviewers used the Joanna Briggs Institute Checklist for Case Reports and the Checklist for Case Studies to appraise the quality of the articles. A score of 50% was used to remove low-quality studies. The Strength of Recommendation Taxonomy (SORT) method was used to grade the evidence for the articles included. Results: After the initial search, 10 articles met the inclusion criteria, while 3 were eliminated due to low quality appraisal scores. The average scores for case reports and case studies were 5.5/7 or 7.5/9 respectively. There was a total of 58 participants across the 7 studies. Generally speaking, conservative treatment reduced average daily pain and patients were able to return to full participation within 2 weeks. Conversely, patients undergoing surgical intervention experienced episodic pain, including over the surgical incision, typically averaging 2/10 on the visual analog scale. Findings from the surgical intervention showed inconsistent measurements for wrist/hand strength and range of motion. There is level C evidence on the treatment for carpal bossing. Conclusion: The limited evidence suggests conservative management may reduce pain and improve clinical outcomes. However, clinicians should consider the level C evidence with skepticism as the quality of evidence on this topic is low. Further investigations should be performed with more rigor

Species identification using ZooMS, with reference to the exploitation of animal resources in the medieval town of Odense

ZooMS (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry) is increasingly being used as a method for species identification of archaeological and historical remains. The method identifies species from the peptide mass fingerprint of extracted collagen – the principal protein of bone, ivory, dentine, leather, and parchment. ZooMS has the advantages that it is a fast and simple method, that requires only small sample sizes or even non-destructive sampling. The taxonomic resolution of the method varies, but ZooMS is diagnostic for most domesticated animals and for the relatively depauperate Scandinavian fauna, although some groups (seals, martens) cannot be resolved, and it cannot discriminate some domesticates (dog, cattle) from their wild counterparts. In this article, we overview the method and demonstrate the value of ZooMS and illustrate our points via a case study of 20 samples from 12th to 14th century layers in the Danish medieval town of Odense. Four artefacts were tested by a non-destructive eraser technique because of their uniqueness, but only one could be identified. The remaining 16 were identified following destructive analysis of the sample, one sample could not be identified. Through the identification of a gaming piece as walrus tusk the analysis demonstrated the long distance trade networks of Odense and the pursuit of some inhabitants for luxury products and high living standards. Conversely, the species identification of combs showed that the medieval comb maker would use the resources immediately available to him to create an affordable everyday object rather than rely on imported antler

Electrostatically Tunable Meta-Atoms Integrated With In Situ Fabricated MEMS Cantilever Beam Arrays

Two concentric split ring resonators (SRRs) or meta-atoms designed to have a resonant frequency of 14 GHz are integrated with microelectromechanical systems cantilever arrays to enable electrostatic tuning of the resonant frequency. The entire structure was fabricated monolithically to improve scalability and minimize losses from externally wire-bonded components. A cantilever array was fabricated in the gap of both the inner and outer SRRs and consisted of five evenly spaced beams with lengths ranging from 300 to 400 μm. The cantilevers pulled in between 15 and 24 V depending on the beam geometry. Each pulled-in beam increased the SRR gap capacitance resulting in an overall 1-GHz shift of the measured meta-atom resonant frequency

Modifying monolayer behaviour by incorporating subphase additives and improving Langmuir–Blodgett thin film deposition on optical fibres

Experiments showing the possibility of modifying the behaviour of calix[4]resorcinarene monolayers at the air–water interface and optimising the deposition of multilayer coatings onto optical fibres are presented. The nature of the subphase is fundamental to the behaviour of monolayers and their utility in coating and sensing applications. Here we show initial studies exploring the modification of the calix[4]resorcinarene monolayer–water interaction through the introduction of dipole altering alcohol additives to the aqueous subphase. We explored the effect of this modification for three small alcohols. The resulting isotherms of the materials showed a reduction in the surface pressure and area per molecule required in order for the monolayer to reach its point of collapse. Incorporation of alcohols shifted the point of collapse, leading to the application of ethanol being successful in improving the transfer of material via Langmuir–Blodgett coating onto optical fibres at lower pressures. This method may prove useful in allowing greater control over future sensor surface coatings

Hybrid photonic circuit for multiplexed heralded single photons

A key resource for quantum optics experiments is an on-demand source of single and multiple photon states at telecommunication wavelengths. This letter presents a heralded single photon source based on a hybrid technology approach, combining high efficiency periodically poled lithium niobate waveguides, low-loss laser inscribed circuits, and fast (>1 MHz) fibre coupled electro-optic switches. Hybrid interfacing different platforms is a promising route to exploiting the advantages of existing technology and has permitted the demonstration of the multiplexing of four identical sources of single photons to one output. Since this is an integrated technology, it provides scalability and can immediately leverage any improvements in transmission, detection and photon production efficiencies.Comment: 5 pages, double column, 3 figure

Physical Mechanisms of Tropical Climate Feedbacks Investigated Using Temperature and Moisture Trends

ArticleOpen access articleTropical climate feedback mechanisms are assessed using satellite-observed and model-simulated trends in tropical tropospheric temperature from the MSU/AMSU instruments and upper-tropospheric humidity from the HIRS instruments. Despite discrepancies in the rates of tropospheric warming between observations and models, both are consistent with constant relative humidity over the period 1979--2008. Because uncertainties in satellite-observed tropical-mean trends preclude a constraint on tropical-mean trends in models we also explore regional features of the feedbacks. The regional pattern of the lapse rate feedback is primarily determined by the regional pattern of surface temperature changes, as tropical atmospheric warming is relatively horizontally uniform. The regional pattern of the water vapor feedback is influenced by the regional pattern of precipitation changes, with variations of 1--2 W m-2 K-1 across the Tropics (compared to a tropical-mean feedback magnitude of 3.3--4 W m-2 K-1). Thus the geographical patterns of water vapor and lapse rate feedbacks are not correlated, but when the feedbacks are calculated in precipitation percentiles rather than in geographical space they are anti-correlated, with strong positive water vapor feedback associated with strong negative lapse rate feedback. The regional structure of the feedbacks is not related to the strength of the tropical-mean feedback in a subset of the climate models from the CMIP5 archive. Nevertheless the approach constitutes a useful process-based test of climate models and has the potential to be extended to constrain regional climate projections.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC

Hubble-COS Observations of Galactic High-Velocity Clouds: Four AGN Sight Lines through Complex C

We report ultraviolet spectra of Galactic high-velocity clouds (HVCs) in Complex C, taken by the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), together with new 21-cm spectra from the Green Bank Telescope. The wide spectral coverage and higher S/N, compared to previous HST spectra, provide better velocity definition of the HVC absorption, additional ionization species, and improved abundances in this halo gas. Complex C has a metallicity of 0.1-0.3 solar and a wide range of ions, suggesting dynamical and thermal interactions with hot gas in the Galactic halo. Spectra in the COS medium-resolution G130M (1133-1468 A) and G160M (1383-1796 A) gratings detect ultraviolet absorption lines from 8 elements in low ionization stages (O I, N I, C II, S II, Si II, Al II, Fe II, P II) and 3 elements in intermediate and high-ionization states (Si III, Si IV, C IV, N V). Our four AGN sight lines toward Mrk 817, Mrk 290, Mrk 876, and PG1259+593 have high-velocity H I and O VI column densities, log N_HI = 19.39-20.05 and log N_OVI = 13.58-14.10, with substantial amounts of kinematically associated photoionized gas. The high-ion abundance ratios are consistent with cooling interfaces between photoionized gas and collisionally ionized gas: N(C IV)/N(O VI) = 0.3-0.5, N(Si IV)/N(O VI) = 0.05-0.11, N(N V)/N(O VI) = 0.07-0.13, and N(Si IV)/N(Si III) = 0.2.Comment: 43 pages, 11 figures (appearing in ApJ, Sept 1, 2011