Key Factors Driving Personnel Downsizing in Multinational Military Organizations

Although downsizing has long been a topic of research in traditional organizations, there are very few studies of this phenomenon in military contexts. As a result, we have little understanding of the key factors that drive personnel downsizing in military setting. This study contributes to our understanding of key factors that drive personnel downsizing in military organizations and whether those factors may differ across NATO nations’ cultural clusters. The theoretical framework for this study was built from studies in non-military contexts and adapted to fit the military environment. This research relies on historical data from one of the largest multinational coalition forces worldwide. Time series cross-sectional dynamic panel data from 28 NATO countries over 23 years (1990-2012) were gathered. A series of analyses by using Arellano-Bond Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) one-step difference method with robust standard errors were conducted in two steps. For the first step, an inspection of the key factors that drive personnel downsizing was analyzed by using Stata ‘xtabond’ estimation. For the second step, an analysis of whether or not the key factors differ across NATO nations’ cultural clusters was conducted. The findings from this research contribute to the discipline of engineering management by providing a model to improve our understanding and ability to predict future personnel downsizing decisions and to increase our understanding of military governance not only NATO wide but also worldwide. Differences found across cultural clusters make this study more noteworthy

Modeling and Evaluating Role and Team Work Processes Using the Improved Performance Research and Integration Tool

The Human View architecture was designed to capture the human requirements of a system and to answer questions about the interactions between humans and systems. Data captured in the Human View can be used to populate a simulation model to evaluate the performance of the humans interacting in a work process. The work process model can be used to investigate different types of human system analyses, at both the role and team levels, and to identify the appropriate metrics to evaluate the results. This study examined individual role performance using the metrics readily available in the simulation tool, and then augmented these with calculated metrics in order to add additional insights to the simulation output. The second part of the study investigated the use of internal indicators to identify different aspects of team interactions. These indicators enable the work process model to be useful for evaluating team processes, and can aid in the understanding of the impact of the communication and coordination functions on crew performance

La movilidad laboral diaria: contrastes territoriales en el Eje Atlántico Gallego

Los procesos de aglomeración de la población y de las actividades en los nodos urbanos generan una serie de fuerzas centrífugas y centrípetas que, cada vez con más fuerza, ayudan a explicar gran parte de las actuales configuraciones territoriales. En las ciudades y sus inmediatas áreas de influencia surgen puestos de trabajo que atraen importantes movimientos de trabajadores desde unos focos a otros, dibujando estructuras territoriales de carácter axial por donde fluye un importante número de desplazamientos. Se presenta el caso de las dos provincias atlánticas gallegas, por ser un territorio que, a otras escalas de conjunto, muestra un mayor dinamismo.Commuting to work: territorial contrasts in Atlantic Galician Corridor.- The concentration of population and activities in urban nodes generate a set of centrifugal and centripetal forces helping to explain increasingly a great part of the current territorial configurations. In cities and their immediate areas of influence, jobs come up, attracting important movement of workers from several locations to another ones. Thus axial territorial structures emerge, channelling an important amount of flows. In this paper the case of both Atlantic provinces of Galicia is presented because the dynamism of this territory is clearly appreciated from another scales

Cambios recientes en la imagen turística de Galicia: un análisis de los principales factores explicativos

XII Coloquio de Geografía del Turismo, Ocio y Recreación de la Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles. Colmenarejo (Madrid), del 17 al 19 de junio de 2010

A Qualitative Inquiry Into the Role of Web-Based Collaboration Tools and Instructional Scaffolds in the Facilitation of Team Processes

Learning has expanded beyond take-home assignments and lectures. Team-based learning, for instance, supports the extended development of students by offering further education through collaborating with others. This type of learning develops teamwork skills that have become essential skills for students in today’s complex work environment. Furthermore, the use of online collaboration tools in virtual teams adds complexity to the collaboration process. This trend calls for valuable insights related to enhancing online team-based collaboration to ensure team success and learning. Scaffolds provide a promising approach because they support team processes online by providing guidance through the use of tools, activities and artifacts that enable virtual student teams to act as a team in a virtual environment. They effectively facilitate the achievement of goals for teams collaborating remotely. However, the extent and manner in which scaffolds actually support specific team processes such as planning, conflict management and coordination need more exploration. We conducted a qualitative study to explore how the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), activities and artifacts supported three types of team processes (transition, action, and interpersonal). In a semester long engineering project, student teams employed web-based collaboration tools and instructional scaffolds to support their collaborative processes. The scaffolds included training and access to a web-based application including a variety of collaboration tools (file repository, video conference, and discussion board) as well as guided collaborative activities (team profile, team building and team identity development, team charter, project plan and peer evaluation). Twenty five students participated voluntarily in one-on-one interview sessions. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed through a loose qualitative research design to allow emergent constructs to unfold that are related to the research questions. Other sources of data such as records of online team activities, team charters, class update presentations, individual reflection activities and e-mail exchanges with the professor were also used to triangulate the analysis. The results show that the scaffolds supported all types of team processes. However, emergent constructs related to individual, team and organizational characteristics prevented some of the teams from using some of the scaffolds to support their team processes. These characteristics include lack of initiative, lack of writing skills, task orientation, lack of access to the tool, team turnover, teamwork skills, technology familiarity, and perceived ease of use. These findings support existing theories such as the sociotechnical theory (STS) and adaptive structuration theory (AST). Based on the findings, we identified research and practical implications as well as proposed strategies in the implementation of ICTs and instructional scaffolds in virtual teams

The Technology Transfer Network Dynamic in the Information Technology Industry of Yucatan, Mexico

The present paper explores the technology transfer linkages among universities, research centers, and private companies in Yucatan, Mexico\u27s information technology industry. Social network analysis (SNA) was used as a method to identify the structural characteristics of the technology transfer collaborations, and the changes in the patterns of interactions among institutions over the years. Data were obtained from the National Council for Science and Technology repository (CONACYT). Associations formed to enhance technology advancement and innovation practices between 2010 and 2018 were analyzed in this study. Network transitivity, the patterns of triadic configurations, and heterophily were compared to uncover the evolution of the innovation and technology transfer network of Yucatan, Mexico. Results indicate that the number of transitive triads has increased significantly since 2012, suggesting that a greater number of firms are networking with more than one university or research center. The degree of homophily showed a decreasing trend, mainly as a result of the increment in the proportion of associations among universities and research centers. This study aims to provide insights into the technology transfer network dynamics over the past decade that can support future efforts to enhance innovation and technology development in technology-based industries in the region

Developing Critical Collaboration Skills in Engineering Students: Results From an Empirical Study

In highly technical organizations, work is becoming increasingly distributed; requiring practicing engineers to master virtual collaboration skills while acquiring expertise in a range of collaboration technologies. Although there has been great emphasis on developing collaboration competencies in the engineering curriculum, empirical evidence of successful strategies for distributed team settings is scarce. As an attempt to fill this gap this study investigates the impact of a scalable intervention in developing virtual collaboration skills. The intervention, based on instructional scaffolds embedded with collaboration technologies, is aimed at supporting specific processes including planning, goal setting, clarifying goals and expectations, communication, coordination and progress monitoring. A quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate the impact of the intervention on student teamwork skills. Data from 278 graduate and undergraduate engineering students participating in virtual team projects was used in the analysis. Results from the analysis are presented suggesting a statistically significant impact of the intervention on self-management skills when comparing randomly assigned teams with and without the intervention. The intervention is designed to be scalable so that it can be embedded into existing project-based courses. Our findings have important implications for the development of teamwork skills in engineering courses and provide evidence of a successful strategy that can be integrated into the existing engineering curriculum

Examining Teamwork Competencies and Team Performance in Experiential Entrepreneurship Education: Emergent Intragroup Conflict as a Learning Triggering Event

Purpose Although the importance of teamwork competencies and effective conflict management in entrepreneurship education is recognised, we have limited knowledge of how these factors interact to influence performance in entrepreneurial teams. This research explores teamwork competencies as a predictor of entrepreneurial team performance and the moderating effect of emerging cognitive and interpersonal team conflict as levers in entrepreneurship learning. Design/methodology/approach A time-lagged survey method was used to collect data from 49 teams (156 individuals) of undergraduate students in an experiential new venture creation course. A predictive model of entrepreneurial team performance through hierarchical regression analyses and moderated-moderation analyses was tested. Findings Results reveal that teamwork competencies have a significant and direct influence on entrepreneurial team performance and that intragroup conflict strengthens that relationship when high levels of cognitive conflict and low levels of interpersonal conflict emerge. Practical implications The findings have implications for the design of entrepreneurial training programs, which will benefit from interventions aimed at teamwork competency development that incorporate strategies promoting constructive cognitive conflict while preventing the emergence of interpersonal conflict. Originality/value This study is a step forward in entrepreneurship education research from the perspective of social and interpersonal processes by identifying the patterns of intra-team conflict that lead to more effective entrepreneurial teams and more productive use of teamwork competencies in a learning-by-doing entrepreneurial context

Influencia de prácticas de laboratorio en la competencia Indaga de ciencia y tecnología en estudiantes, colegio estatal de Magdalena 2023

Con el objetivo de establecer la influencia de las prácticas de laboratorio en la competencia indaga de Ciencia y Tecnología en estudiantes del Colegio Estatal de Magdalena, 2023, se esbozó el presente estudio desde un enfoque cuantitativo de diseño cuasiexperimental, la muestra la conformaron 54 estudiantes del 5to. secundario quienes conformaron el grupo experimental y de control. Para el recojo de información se aplicó una guía de laboratorio en dos momentos, antes y después de la implementación del estudio. El instrumento fue validado por expertos y sometido a una prueba piloto arrojando una validez interna ,866 de confiabilidad alfa de Cronbach. Teniendo en cuenta la estructura propia de las actividades en escenarios fuera del aula convencional como es un laboratorio, se diseñaron 12 guías de laboratorio trabajadas por el grupo experimental a fin de garantizar el objetivo de la investigación. En la contratación de la hipótesis general con la U de Mann Whitney, se aceptó la Hi con una significancia estadística de ρ = 0.00 < 0.05. Se arribó a la conclusión que las prácticas de laboratorio influyeron significativamente en la mejora de los aprendizajes de la competencia indaga en las estudiantes en estudiantes del Colegio Estatal de Magdalena, 2023