Human resource development in construction organisations: an example of a 'chaordic' learning organisation?

Purpose/ Methodology/Approach The concept of the Learning Organisation (LO) is associated with an advanced approach to Human Resource Development (HRD) characterised by an ethos of self-responsibility and self-development. The learning climate that this engenders is supported by temporary organisational structures responsive to environmental change. This paper presents case study research of the HRD strategy, policy and practice of a large UK-based construction contractor in relation to the concept of LO. Findings The analysis suggests that the organisational project-based structure and informal culture combine to form a ‘chaordic LO’. A ‘Chaordic enterprise’ comprises a complex organisation that operates in a non-linear dynamic environment. However, it appears that this approach has evolved unintentionally rather than as a result of targeted Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) policies, which in turn reflects a genuine commitment to advanced HRD. Originality/value of paper The findings render previous assertions that the industry fails to invest in its employees highly questionable. They suggest a need for further research to reveal how such approaches can be captured in replicate in the future

Resolving the UK construction skills crisis : a critical perspective on the research and policy agenda

The ongoing skills crisis in the UK construction industry has constrained the productive capacity of the industry. Past research and skills policies have largely failed to develop an understanding of the realities of the skills crisis at the grassroots level. Solutions offered by researchers and policy makers have previously had little demonstrable impact in addressing skills concerns. Much of these policies seems disconnected from the realities experienced by employers and by those working in the industry. A critical perspective on resolving the skills crisis is offered. A set of mutually reinforcing research and policy initiatives are proposed, including the need for researchers and policy makers to move away from the conventionally national approach in addressing the skills problem and to engage in genuine, joined-up thinking that meets the needs of local regions. Furthermore, employers and employees are called to be reflective practitioners in their participation of the skills development agenda. Adopting these recommendations could overcome many shortcomings in research and policy that have hitherto done little to combat the construction skills crisis.Skills shortages, critical perspective, bottom-up approach, labour market, research,

Psychological contract expectations of construction project managers

The past 20 years have seen a period of fundamental change for many construction businesses as they have restructured, downsized, de-layered, merged and de-merged to survive turbulent markets and rapidly changing demand cycles. Such change places significant new pressures, challenges and constraints on the employer/employee relationship. This paper argues that these changes are likely to have reconstituted employee expectations of the less formal aspects of the employment relationship, known collectively as the psychological contract. Explores this inductive research which examines the psychological contract of 30 construction project managers

Current barriers and possible solutions to effective project team formation and deployment within a large construction organisation

The characteristics of the construction industry present an extremely challenging context for effective human resource management (HRM). The dynamic project-based nature of the industry results in extreme fluctuations in organisations’ workloads and requires teams to form, develop and disband relatively quickly. Thus, the importance of efficient management of employee resourcing activities cannot be understated. This paper reports on the findings of research which explored employee resourcing practices within large UK construction firms. The results suggest that managers currently attempt to carry out some strategic planning with regards to employee resourcing, but that this does not necessarily translate into effective operational practice which simultaneously takes account of organisational, project and individual employee needs. A new approach for more effective employee resourcing decision-making, based on encouraging the involvement of the employees in the deployment process, is put forward as a management tool which informs effective team formation and deployment. However, this will require the acceptance of both decision-support technology and of employee input into what is currently a tacit, management-oriented decision process

Ion and water transport in cells and tissues, chiefly of plants

CONTENTS Dainty, J.and Krnjević, K. (1955). The Rate of Exchange of ²⁴Na in Cat Nerves. J. Physiol. 128, 489. || MacRobbie, E.A.C. and Dainty, J. (1958). Sodium and Potassium Distribution and Transport in the seaweed Rhodymenia palmata (L.) Grey. Physiologia Plantarum 11, 782. || MacRobbie, E.A.C. and Dainty, J. (1958). Ion Transport in Nitellopsis obtusa. J. Gen. Physiol. Ag, 335. || Dainty, J. and Hope, A.B. (1959) . The Water Permeability of Cells of Chara Australis. Aust. J. Biol. Sci. (in press). || Dainty, J. and Hope, A.B. (1959). Ionic Relations of Cells of Chara australis. I. Ion Exchange in the Cell Wall. Aust. J. Biol. Sci. (in press). || Dainty, J. (1959). Notes on Water Permeability. (unpublished). || Dainty, J. (1959). Notes on Free Space (chiefly Donnan Free Space) in Plant Tissues. (unpublished). || Verma, R.D., Dainty, J. and Simpson, K. (1959). Studies on the Uptake of Phosphorus from 32P- labelled Superphosphate by Crops. I. Oats. J. Sci. Food and Agriculture 10, 100. || Verna, R.U., Dainty, J. and Simpson, K. (1959). Studies on the Uptake of Phosphorus from 32p- labelled Superphosphate by Crops. II. Potatoes. J. Sci. Food and Agriculture 10, 108. || Simpson, K., Verma, R.D. and Dainty, J. (1959). The Effect of Rate of Application of Superphosphate on the Growth and Yield of Potatoes. J. Sci. Food and Agriculture 20 (in press)

Inhalasi Lemon Mengurangi Mual Muntah Pada Ibu Hamil Trimester Satu

Mual dan muntah pada kehamilan umumnya disebut morning sickness, dialami oleh sekitar 70-80% wanita hamil dan merupakan fenomena yang sering terjadi pada umur kehamilan 5-12 minggu. Lemon minyak esensial (Citrus Lemon) adalah salah satu minyak herbal yang dianggap sebagai obat yang aman pada kehamilan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh inhalasi aromaterapi lemon terhadap morning sickness pada ibu hamil di BPS Lia Maria SST Sukarame Bandar Lampung Tahun 2017. Jenis penelitian ini adalah penelitian kuantitatif dengan pendekatan Pre-Experimental Design dengan bentuk One Group Pre-test and Post-test. Populasi dalam penelitian ini adalah ibu hamil Trimester I yang mengalami morning sickness. Teknik Sampel dengan purposive sampling. Analisa bivariat menggunakan uji t Dependen. Dari hasil penelitian didapatkan frekuensi mual muntah sebelum diberikan inhalasi aromaterapi lemon diperoleh nilai rata-rata 24.67 dan frekuensi mual muntah sesudah diberikan inhalasi aromaterapi lemon diperoleh rata-rata 17.87 Ada pengaruh pemberian inhalasi aromaterapi lemon terhadap morning sickness pada ibu hamil dengan P-value = 0.000. Oleh karena itu disarankan bagi ibu hamil yang mengalami mual muntah dapat menerapkan pengobatan aromaterapi lemon  untuk mengurangi mual muntah sehingga dapat mengurangi penggunaan obat farmakologi yang ada efek sampingnya

Investigation of low back and shoulder demand during cardiopulmonary resuscitation: the effect of different compression-ventilation ratios

Background: The current American Heart Association (AHA) standard cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is performed with a compression-ventilation ratio of 30:2 (standard CPR), meaning 30 compressions are applied to the chest followed by the administration of two breaths to the victim. Some evidence has shown that performing continuous chest compressions rather than standard CPR with breaks in chest compressions for administering breaths, may increase survival rates after cardiac arrest. Cont-CPR has been shown to be very fatiguing in nature, with a significant drop in chest compression force within the first two minutes of CPR. The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the biomechanical demand of individuals performing cont-CPR and standard CPR under timing conditions that are representative of a three-person rescue team. Methodology: Fifteen individuals (ten emergency responders, five civilians) performed two sets of CPR trials; one set was performed using standard CPR (30:2) and the other set using cont-CPR. The order in which these CPR types were presented to each participant was randomized. The first set of trials comprised of three two-minute periods of CPR administration, during which the chest compressions were performed on a force transducer that was placed over the sternum of a CPR mannequin. In between each two-minute trial, the participants were given four minutes of rest (to simulate a three-person rescue team). After the third CPR trial, the participants were given 30 minutes of rest before repeating the complete procedure performing the second type of CPR. Immediately prior to, and immediately after, completing each set of CPR trials (standard and cont-CPR), participants were instructed to fill out ratings of perceived exertion and discomfort scales (RPE and RPD, respectively) as well as perform a static back extensor test to evaluate low back muscular fatigue. During the CPR trials, the following measures were collected: 1) Electromyography (EMG) data collected from four trunk muscles and two upper extremity muscles; 2) low back flexion using electromagnetic motion sensors; and, 3) chest compression force using a force transducer placed on the sternum of a CPR mannequin. Results and Discussion: Chest compression force decreased significantly over the two minute standard and cont-CPR trials evident by a significant main effect of time (p\u3c0.0001). There was also a significant interaction between CPR type and time (p=0.011) with regards to chest compression force. During the cont-CPR trials, chest compression force began to decrease immediately, whereas during the standard CPR trials, chest compression force was maintained relatively constant for the first 40 seconds, and subsequently began to decrease at a similar rate to the cont-CPR condition. Therefore, the overall drop in chest compression force was larger for the cont-CPR trials compared to the standard CPR trials. The amount of chest compression force varied greatly between the emergency responders and the civilians such that the majority of emergency responders were able to perform effective chest compressions (i.e. reach a level of chest compression force shown to be high enough to create blood flow) and many exceeded the maximum recommended chest compression force, regardless of CPR type. Contrary, most civilians were not able to sustain enough chest compression force throughout the two minute trials to maintain effective chest compressions. This has implications in both groups of individuals (emergency responders and civilians) as too much chest compression force may cause emergency responders to fatigue quickly and not be able to perform effective compressions, while too low of chest compression force may not effectively circulate blood in the victim’s body. Significant increases in left and right lumbar erector spinae (LES) muscle activation over the two minutes of CPR, regardless of the type of CPR, were also observed in the current study (p=.025 and p=.040, respectively). These increases may be due to increased demand to maintain a flexed posture during the performance of CPR. It is not likely that the increased amplitude of activation in the erector spinae muscles was due to fatigue as a decrease in the median power frequency was not observed following the CPR trials for either left or right LES (p=.412 and p=.549, respectively). In the upper extremity, a shift in muscle activation was observed from the triceps brachii (TB) to the pectoralis major (PM). Specifically, a decrease in activation of the left TB (p=.022) was observed over time with a subsequent increase in activation of the left PM (p=.002). This finding suggests that the PM may have compensated for decreased force output from the TB likely as a result of fatigue. No differences in lumbar spine flexion were observed over time (p=.685) or between CPR conditions (p=.477). Last, a significant increase in all the RPD variables and RPE scores was observed regardless of CPR type, which emphasized the exhausting nature of performing CPR. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated that the performance of CPR over two minute bouts is fatiguing, regardless of CPR type. However, performing cont-CPR displayed an immediate and greater drop in chest compression force compared to standard CPR. This result may indicate a psychophysical aspect of performing cont-CPR compared to standard CPR. The very high chest compression force production from the emergency responders, along with the low chest compression force from the civilians, both pose their own problems that need to be addressed. If the AHA CPR guidelines are amended to perform cont-CPR rather than the current standard CPR, it is suggested that during a multi-person rescue, the duration of CPR administration should be shortened to less than two minutes; ideally one or one and a half minutes for each rescuer rotation to help prevent fatigue

Biology and ecology of four catshark species in the southwestern Cape, South Africa

Bibliography : leaves 98-109.This is the first biological study of four endemic catshark species, Haploblepharus edwardsii, H. pictus, Poroderma africanum and P. pantherinum, from the southwestern Cape. Diets of two hundred and forty-one specimens were examined via stomach contents. Prey were sorted and identified to the lowest possible taxon. An Index of Relative Importance (IRI = %F(%N + % V) was used to determine the importance of prey items in the catsharks' diets