Language dominance in Urdu-English bilinguals : a comparison of subjective and objective measures

textThe purpose of this study is to investigate the ability of Urdu-English bilinguals to accurately identify their proficiency in both English and Urdu, extent of bilingualism, and dominance. In addition, this study explores how cumulative language exposure and current language use are associated with measures of proficiency and dominance. Forty-six young adults participated in this study and completed a language questionnaire, proficiency interview, adapted naming tests, and a standardized naming measure for English. Self-ratings of oral proficiency were compared to objective measures including examiner rated proficiency based on conversational fluency, performance on an examiner-designed naming test, and a standardized measure of English receptive vocabulary. Language dominance and bilingual index scores were calculated to evaluate degree of bilingualism and dominance. The results revealed that self-ratings were significantly correlated with examiner ratings and naming tests in each language as well as with dominance and bilingual index scores. Cumulative exposure measures were correlated with several proficiency measures but amount of current language use was not correlated with any proficiency measures. Findings suggest that Urdu-English bilinguals are able to identify their language proficiency in both languages, extent of bilingualism, and language dominance. This was consistent with findings from previous research on Mandarin-English (Sheng et. al., 2014) and Spanish-English bilinguals (Gollan et. al., 2012). In addition, the positive correlations between the examiner-designed naming test and subjective and objective measures of proficiency and between the naming test and cumulative exposure measures suggest that the naming test is a promising tool that can be further improved to address the needs of a prominent bilingual group.Communication Sciences and Disorder

Knowledge exchange partnership leads to digital transformation at Hydro-X Water Treatment, Ltd

To attract a generation of workers and consumers who have never known a world without Wi-Fi, smartphones, or social media, organizations increasingly have no choice but to incorporate digital technology into every aspect of their operations and processes. The leaders of Hydro-X, a privately owned British enterprise, met the challenge of digital transformation by forming a knowledge exchange partnership with a local university and applying two business models to assess the current state of digital maturity at the firm and map out a strategy to improve it. Their experiences reflect the HINGE project planning methodology: Horizon scanning to evaluate the competition, Internal auditing, New model creation, Gap analysis, and Evaluation of options to determine next steps. As a result of their efforts, Hydro-X fostered an intrapreneurial spirit among its staff and refined its e-commerce platform to digitally target key audiences in order to tap into a new source of revenue

Potential of Artificial Intelligence in Boosting Employee Retention in the Human Resource Industry

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform the human resource (HR) industry by automating routine tasks, improving decision-making, and enhancing employee engagement and retention. In this paper, we explore the use of machine learning and deep learning techniques to boost employee retention in the HR industry. We review the current state of the art in AI for HR, including the use of predictive analytics, natural language processing, and chatbots for talent management and employee development. We also discuss the challenges and ethical considerations of using AI in HR, including issues of bias and the need for transparent and explainable algorithms. Finally, we present case studies of successful AI-powered HR initiatives that have demonstrated improvements in employee retention and engagement. Our findings suggest that AI has the potential to significantly enhance employee retention in the HR industry, but its implementation requires careful planning and consideration of potential risks and ethical issues

The role of microtubule movement in bidirectional organelle transport

We study the role of microtubule movement in bidirectional organelle transport in Drosophila S2 cells and show that EGFP-tagged peroxisomes in cells serve as sensitive probes of motor induced, noisy cytoskeletal motions. Multiple peroxisomes move in unison over large time windows and show correlations with microtubule tip positions, indicating rapid microtubule fluctuations in the longitudinal direction. We report the first high-resolution measurement of longitudinal microtubule fluctuations performed by tracing such pairs of co-moving peroxisomes. The resulting picture shows that motor-dependent longitudinal microtubule oscillations contribute significantly to cargo movement along microtubules. Thus, contrary to the conventional view, organelle transport cannot be described solely in terms of cargo movement along stationary microtubule tracks, but instead includes a strong contribution from the movement of the tracks.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figure

Occupational Health in the Digital Age: Implications for Remote Work Environments

In this digital age, where working from home is becoming more common, the patterns of workplace health are changing in ways that require a thorough analysis of the effects on employee health. This study looks into the many parts of job health in places where people work from home, looking at how technology, human behavior, and company rules interact.The digital age has made work plans more flexible than ever before, letting workers do their jobs from anywhere. This paradigm shift has some benefits, like making things more flexible and easy to access, but it also brings a lot of problems that need to be carefully thought through. Long-term use of digital devices can be bad for your body, and being alone at work can be bad for your mental health. Remote work situations have their own health issues that need a unique approach.This study brings together different pieces of research on workplace health to highlight the new health risks that come with the digitalization of work. There is a close look at how technology can help or hurt employee health and a study of how companies can lower health risks in remote work settings.Additionally, the study looks into the possible long-term effects of long-term remote work on mental and physical health, as well as how well present workplace health systems can adapt to the changing nature of work. By critically evaluating the intersection of technology and health, this study provides valuable insights for policymakers, organizations, and individuals seeking to optimize the well-being of remote workers in the digital age