The dark and the light side of the expatriate's cross-cultural adjustment: A novel framework including perceived organizational support, work related stress and innovation

The new context of the Psychology of Sustainability and Sustainable Development has reached the attention of the scientific community in recent years, due to its comprehensive approach aimed at enhancing the sustainability of interpersonal and intrapersonal talent, as well as of groups and communities. In this scenario, research on employee cross-cultural adjustment (CCA) is considered a key theme in human resource management. It is known that psychological support in the host country may alleviate distress and facilitate the integration of the expatriate workers. However, there is a lack of research investigating expatriate adjustment as an antecedent of the perceived organizational support. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship among cross-cultural adjustment (CCA), perception of organizational support (POS), work-related stress (WRS), and innovation, considering these factors as a part of a unique innovative framework. A cross sectional study was performed using a sample of 234 expatriate workers of a multinational organization. Data were collected through a monitoring survey for the assessment of work-related stress risk factors of their expatriate staff. The results showed a positive correlation between CCA, POS, and innovation. On the other hand, a negative correlational effect of CCA and WRS, CCA and POS on WRS, and POS and WRS was found. Finally, POS was found to be a significant antecedent of CCA. These findings have implications for both international human resource management researchers and practitioners

The dark and the light side of the expatriate's cross-cultural adjustment: A novel framework including perceived organizational support, work related stress and innovation

The new context of the Psychology of Sustainability and Sustainable Development has reached the attention of the scientific community in recent years, due to its comprehensive approach aimed at enhancing the sustainability of interpersonal and intrapersonal talent, as well as of groups and communities. In this scenario, research on employee cross-cultural adjustment (CCA) is considered a key theme in human resource management. It is known that psychological support in the host country may alleviate distress and facilitate the integration of the expatriate workers. However, there is a lack of research investigating expatriate adjustment as an antecedent of the perceived organizational support. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship among cross-cultural adjustment (CCA), perception of organizational support (POS), work-related stress (WRS), and innovation, considering these factors as a part of a unique innovative framework. A cross sectional study was performed using a sample of 234 expatriate workers of a multinational organization. Data were collected through a monitoring survey for the assessment of work-related stress risk factors of their expatriate staff. The results showed a positive correlation between CCA, POS, and innovation. On the other hand, a negative correlational effect of CCA and WRS, CCA and POS on WRS, and POS and WRS was found. Finally, POS was found to be a significant antecedent of CCA. These findings have implications for both international human resource management researchers and practitioners

Structural and electrical transport properties of superconducting Au{0.7}In{0.3} films: A random array of superconductor-normal metal-superconductor (SNS) Josephson junctions

The structural and superconducting properties of Au{0.7}In{0.3} films, grown by interdiffusion of alternating Au and In layers, have been studied. The films were found to consist of a uniform solid solution of Au{0.9}In{0.1}, with excess In precipitated in the form of In-rich grains of various Au-In phases (with distinct atomic compositions), including intermetallic compounds. As the temperature was lowered, these individual grains became superconducting at a particular transition temperature (Tc), determined primarily by the atomic composition of the grain, before a fully superconducting state of zero resistance was established. From the observed onset Tc, it was inferred that up to three different superconducting phases could have formed in these Au{0.7}In{0.3} films, all of which were embedded in a uniform Au{0.9}In{0.1} matrix. Among these phases, the Tc of a particular one, 0.8 K, is higher than any previously reported for the Au-In system. The electrical transport properties were studied down to low temperatures. The transport results were found to be well correlated with those of the structural studies. The present work suggests that Au{0.7}In{0.3} can be modeled as a random array of superconductor-normal metal-superconductor (SNS) Josephson junctions. The effect of disorder and the nature of the superconducting transition in these Au{0.7}In{0.3} films are discussed.Comment: 8 text pages, 10 figures in one separate PDF file, submitted to PR

Impact of parasites on salmon recruitment in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean

Parasites may have large effects on host population dynamics, marine fisheries and conservation, but a clear elucidation of their impact is limited by a lack of ecosystem-scale experimental data. We conducted a meta-analysis of replicated manipulative field experiments concerning the influence of parasitism by crustaceans on the marine survival of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). The data include 24 trials in which tagged smolts (totalling 283 347 fish; 1996-2008) were released as paired control and parasiticide-treated groups into 10 areas of Ireland and Norway. All experimental fish were infectionfree when released into freshwater, and a proportion of each group was recovered as adult recruits returning to coastal waters 1 or more years later. Treatment had a significant positive effect on survival to recruitment, with an overall effect size (odds ratio) of 1.29 that corresponds to an estimated loss of 39 per cent (95% CI: 18-55%) of adult salmon recruitment. The parasitic crustaceans were probably acquired during early marine migration in areas that host large aquaculture populations of domesticated salmon, which elevate local abundances of ectoparasitic copepods-particularly Lepeophtheirus salmonis. These results provide experimental evidence from a large marine ecosystem that parasites can have large impacts on fish recruitment, fisheries and conservation

The echinoderm innate humoral immune response

Abstract: Multicellular organisms have an immune system, which is essential for the survival of living beings. Interest in the immune system has been expanded since common characteristics of innate immunity between Drosophila melanogaster (Meigen, 1830) and mammals were discovered in the 1980. Since then, immunology has mainly focused on the adaptive immune system that seems to be restricted to vertebrates. Unlike the innate immunity, the adaptive one is acquired after exposure to a specific antigen (Ag) and includes: antigen-presenting cells such as macrophages, proliferation of B and T lymphocytes, Ag-specific antibody/cytokine production and immunological memory. Innate immunity is instead a process of cellular defense at low specificity, which is designed to prevent and combat infectious agents that penetrate at the tissue level, and may be the only form of immunity present in invertebrates such as sea urchins. The immune system of invertebrates acts through (i) cellular components (cell-mediated immunity) in which the effectors of defense reactions are represented by immune cells; (ii) soluble factors (humoral immunity), secreted by the immune cells, such as lectins, agglutinins, lysins, antimicrobial peptides and the prophenoloxidase (proPO) activating system, which act in parallel with the immune cells to fight pathogens and other foreign substances. Here we aim to deepen the study on humoral immunity of invertebrates, especially referring to the phylum Echinodermata because of its features shared with protostomes and other deuterostomes, and suggesting a key step during evolution

Vurdering av kunnskapsgrunnlaget for å implementere lakselus på sjøørret som en bærekraftsindikator i «produksjonsområdeforskriften»

Nærings- og fiskeridepartementet har bedt “Ekspertgruppen” oppsummere det man vet om hvilke konsekvenser lakselus produsert i oppdrett har for sjøørretbestandene. Ekspertgruppen skal videre vurdere om den kan gjøre tilsvarende arbeid for sjøørret som den til nå har gjort for laks, og hvilke kunnskapshull som må tettes for å inkludere sjøørreten i en slik påvirkningsanalyse på sikt. Beregningene ønskes brukt som en miljøindikator i det såkalte trafikklyssystemet. Trafikklyssystemet benytter dødelighet som følge av lakselus som miljøindikator på villaks i dag, der under 10 % lakselusindusert dødelighet kategoriseres som lav, mellom 10 % og 30 % som middels og over 30 % som høy. Sjøørret anses særlig sårbar for lakselus fordi den oppholder seg nær kysten under hele sjøoppholdet og kan overvintre i fjordområdene, ofte i samme områder som oppdrettsanleggene er lokalisert. Både tidligere og nyere rapporter indikerer at sjøørret som utsettes for smitte kan motvirke dødelighet ved å oppsøke ferskvann for avlusing (prematur tilbakevandring). Slik prematur tilbakevandring kan gå på bekostning av næringsopptak, og vil derfor også ha effekter på individene ved tapt tilvekst og redusert reproduksjon. En modell som estimerer prosentvis lakselusindusert dødelighet på like linje med laksesmolt vil kreve en langt mer komplisert modell på grunn av sjøørretens adaptive atferd. Foreløpig har vi for lite kunnskap til å implementere en slik dødelighetsmodell. Ekspertgruppa foreslår en tilnærming som bruker smittepress til å vurdere når sjøørret ikke lenger kan oppholde seg i et område uten å få på seg dødelige mengder lakselus. En konsekvens av potensielt dødelige smittepress er at sjøørreten helt eller delvis forlater det marine miljø, og vi omtaler dette som tapt marint leveområde. Modellene som benyttes på laks i dag beregner smittepress målt som tetthet av planktoniske lakselus i tid og rom. For å beregne sammenhengen mellom smittepress og antall lus per fisk, benyttes påslag på laksesmolt i bur, eller på trålfanget postsmolt laks. Om det akkumulerte smittepresset i løpet av et gitt tidsrom overstiger definerte grenser i et område anses dette som tapt leveområde. Et slikt mål vil være gjennomsiktig og målbart med de metodene som benyttes i dagens overvåking (eksempelvis bur eller sjøørretfangst). Parallelt med dette arbeidet må flere kunnskapshull tettes. I hovedsak dreier det seg om (1) å øke overvåkingen i flere produksjonsområder, (2) økt kunnskap om utbredelse og livshistorier, (3) økt kunnskap om bestandsstatus hos ørret, (4) økt kunnskap om vandringsatferd og vandringsruter både i relasjon til lakselus og generelt, (5) økt kunnskap om produksjonspotensialet i de ulike vassdragene, (6) justering av grenseverdier for dødelighet av lus på sjøørret samt (7) generell kunnskap om bestandseffekter av lakselus på sjøørret. Disse punktene er ikke en prioriteringsrekkefølge her men en oppsummering av punktene vi ønsker å belyse som kunnskapshull

First narrow-band search for continuous gravitational waves from known pulsars in advanced detector data

Spinning neutron stars asymmetric with respect to their rotation axis are potential sources of continuous gravitational waves for ground-based interferometric detectors. In the case of known pulsars a fully coherent search, based on matched filtering, which uses the position and rotational parameters obtained from electromagnetic observations, can be carried out. Matched filtering maximizes the signalto- noise (SNR) ratio, but a large sensitivity loss is expected in case of even a very small mismatch between the assumed and the true signal parameters. For this reason, narrow-band analysis methods have been developed, allowing a fully coherent search for gravitational waves from known pulsars over a fraction of a hertz and several spin-down values. In this paper we describe a narrow-band search of 11 pulsars using data from Advanced LIGO’s first observing run. Although we have found several initial outliers, further studies show no significant evidence for the presence of a gravitational wave signal. Finally, we have placed upper limits on the signal strain amplitude lower than the spin-down limit for 5 of the 11 targets over the bands searched; in the case of J1813-1749 the spin-down limit has been beaten for the first time. For an additional 3 targets, the median upper limit across the search bands is below the spin-down limit. This is the most sensitive narrow-band search for continuous gravitational waves carried out so far