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Supporting remote workers through technology: A review of support systems and implications to leaders
No full textTechnology is integral for remote working, a work arrangement where workers locate outside a centralised workplace. The rapid rise in remote working experienced globally during the COVID-19 pandemic increased technology prevalence, transforming use from a privilege to the norm. Remote work options are now an expectation for employees. Unsurprisingly, a surge of literature on remote working has recently appeared, though consensus on best practices for remote work is yet to be reached. Further, the full impact of technology on remote workers requires investigation on likely impacts accruing to future remote workforces. A key question here concerns how business leaders support adaptation of human workforces to technology-enhanced work environments. Hence, the study aim was to investigate support systems in remote work environments regarding social and technology support and employee work-related outcomes. A scoping literature review comprising 42 academic publications found that technology supports (e.g. access to equipment, software, training) and social supports (e.g. technology-enabled social interactions, psychological support, supervisor support) provided to remote workers influenced organisational (e.g. productivity, business continuity) and employee (e.g. wellbeing, work-life balance) outcomes. The findings suggest that leadership of remote workers in the future, will require workers skilled and competent in adapting to emerging technologies, complemented by agile leaders capable of responding to both the remote worker’s social and technology needs. Both elements will foster efficient and effective technology-enhanced remote working environments
Canine Support Program: Student perceptions and preferences at a regional university and implications for health, well-being, and student support enhancements
Get PDFIssue Addressed: Canine Support Programs (CSPs) are a potential solution to growing university student support demands. While current studies focus on the impacts of CSPs, there is limited understanding of the views and expectations of tertiary students about CSPs. This study explored the perceptions and preferences of students in an Australian regional university about CSPs.
Methods: A questionnaire with multiple choice and open-ended questions surveyed residential students' perspectives about CSP. Data were analysed using descriptive statistical tests and thematic analysis for open responses.
Results: Majority (98%) of participants (sample n = 48) would support a CSP on campus. Frequent, small-group interactions of ≥15 min involving physical contact were preferred. Dog disposition, welfare-trained handlers, and veterinary certification were important aspects of program safety. Participants strongly agreed a CSP would improve mental health and well-being, relieve stress, reduce feelings of homesickness, provide support, comfort, and enable social interactions.
Conclusion: There is strong support among the study population for CSP to be established on campus. This study supports earlier research that CSP has benefit potential for new, stressed, and/or students who love dogs. The preferences of students should inform program design to enhance utility and impact. This aligns with Health Promoting Universities and College's Okanagan Charter principle of ‘engaging student voices’. More institutional awareness and support for CSPs will be necessary for integration.
So What?: This study reveals the need for tailored and creative student support beyond traditional offerings including those that focus on student well-being and social initiatives. CSPs can be utilised as an advocate, enabler, and medium for mental health promotion action and well-being support for tertiary students; thereby, contributing to the ‘Health Promoting University’ agenda in Australia. It also reinforces the need for a Health in All Policies approach to be incorporated into our tertiary education sector. Future actions should focus on improving institutional awareness, support, and sector implementation
The correlation of force-velocity-power relationship of a whole-body movement with 20 m and 60 m sprint performance
Get PDFSprinting ability is important for successful performance in sports. The aim of this study was to examine the correlation between force-velocity-power relationship of a whole-body movement and sprint performance. Twelve male participants performed maximal squat jumps with additional loads ranging from 0% to 100% body weight to obtain force-velocity profiles. The mean force and velocity were calculated during the push-off phase for each jump, which resulted in a force-velocity curve. The theoretical maximal force (F0), theoretical maximal velocity (V0) and theoretical maximum power (P0) were computed via extrapolation of the force and velocity data. In the second session, participants performed two 60 m sprints and the time to cover 20 m (t20), time to cover 60 m (t60), and maximum sprint velocity (Vmax) were calculated from the best 60 m trial. Correlation analyses revealed strong and significant correlations between V0 and t20 (r = −0.60), V0 and t60 (r = −0.60), P0 and t20 (r = −0.75) and P0 and t60 (r = −0.78). Multiple linear regression indicated that P0 explained 56%, 61% and 60% of the variability in t20, t60 and Vmax, respectively. Our results emphasise the importance of developing power production capabilities to improve sprint performance
STARA fight or flight: a two-wave time-lagged study of challenge and hindrance appraisal of STARA awareness on basic psychological needs and individual competitiveness productivity among hospitality employees
Get PDFThe introduction of smart technologies, artificial intelligence, robotics, and algorithms (STARA) has changed the workforce significantly, with many concerns about its impact on employees. This study elucidates how one’s appraisal of this situation would influence basic psychological needs and individual competitiveness productivity. Using a two-wave time-lagged study, data collected from 224 hospitality employees was examined using the partial least squares method structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Results suggested that individual appraisal towards STARA awareness has differential outcomes towards satisfying basic psychological needs. Among the three basic psychological needs, the needs for relatedness and competency were positively related to individual competitive productivity (ICP). We extend extant studies by incorporating challenge-hindrance framework and self-determination theory (SDT) in the context of the future of work involving STARA. It advances the body of knowledge in understanding a more fundamental issue of how STARA can bring out the best in employees, how STARA shapes employees’ opinions and perspectives of the work they are doing, and what they should do to work alongside STARA
Translating Organizing and Organizational Metaphors: From the Universal to the Particular
No full textThe authors present and discuss various positions on the question of whether metaphors can be translated with fidelity to other settings (i.e., other languages and/or other cultures) than where they originated, consider the inputs from structural, linguistic and anthropological disciplinary perspectives, and conclude that whilst the meaning of any particular metaphor by itself is likely not universal (there are no or hardly no metaphor few, if any, metaphors whose meaning and use can be found in every human language), the act of metaphorizing, in fact, is. Thus, the prospects for translating metaphors are nevertheless good – since the process of metaphorizing should be familiar to anyone – but relevant and good metaphor translation demands a high translation competence among the translators and, not least, that they have an open attitude towards others’ and their own metaphorizing
Detection of GPT-4 Generated Text in Higher Education: Combining Academic Judgement and Software to Identify Generative AI Tool Misuse
No full textThis study explores the capability of academic staff assisted by the Turnitin Artificial Intelligence (AI) detection tool to identify the use of AI-generated content in university assessments. 22 different experimental submissions were produced using Open AI’s ChatGPT tool, with prompting techniques used to reduce the likelihood of AI detectors identifying AI-generated content. These submissions were marked by 15 academic staff members alongside genuine student submissions. Although the AI detection tool identified 91% of the experimental submissions as containing AI-generated content, only 54.8% of the content was identified as AI-generated, underscoring the challenges of detecting AI content when advanced prompting techniques are used. When academic staff members marked the experimental submissions, only 54.5% were reported to the academic misconduct process, emphasising the need for greater awareness of how the results of AI detectors may be interpreted. Similar performance in grades was obtained between student submissions and AI-generated content (AI mean grade: 52.3, Student mean grade: 54.4), showing the capabilities of AI tools in producing human-like responses in real-life assessment situations. Recommendations include adjusting the overall strategies for assessing university students in light of the availability of new Generative AI tools. This may include reducing the overall reliance on assessments where AI tools may be used to mimic human writing, or by using AI-inclusive assessments. Comprehensive training must be provided for both academic staff and students so that academic integrity may be preserved
Could the compound effects of drought and fire have caused an increase of COVID-19 cases in the Pantanal wetland?
No full textIn 2020, wildfires in the Pantanal, the world’s largest continuous tropical wetland, destroyed almost one-third of this biome. In addition to this catastrophic situation, the world faced an even more serious threat due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we discussed the impact of the 2020 fires and the COVID-19 pandemic in the public health, mainly in populations living in a situation of vulnerability such as indigenous and riverine peoples. It is necessary to develop region-specific policies to ensure the effectiveness of disaster risk management
How do lead auditor instructions influence component auditors' evidence collection decisions? The joint influence of construal interpretations and responsibility
Get PDFRegulators have raised concerns about the quality of component auditors' work. Of particular concern is that component auditors often do not adequately perform procedures and gather enough quality evidence. This failure is likely caused by component auditors' different interpretations of lead auditor instructions and by their lack of responsibility. Our interview findings suggest that component auditors tend to interpret lead auditor instructions concretely because they often receive detailed instructions from lead auditors. We propose that a responsibility prompt reminding component auditors to be aware of their obligations to the group audit engagement can improve their evidence collection. In two experiments, we find that our proposed responsibility prompt can effectively improve component auditors' evidence collection decisions and that this finding holds across different cultural settings. Our third experiment provides evidence that a responsibility prompt improves component auditors' evidence collection when provided to auditors who receive instructions that prime low-level (but not high-level) construals. Overall, our findings suggest that prompting component auditors to internalize the responsibility of a group audit engagement is a viable way to improve the quality of group audits
Recent Progress in Marine Antifouling Technology Based on Graphene and Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite Materials
No full textSea vessels and artificial sea-based structures are severely affected by biofouling, i.e., the formation of deposits of living and dead marine organisms that belong to different species and range in size from unicellular bacteria to multicellular seaweed and mussels. This is a significant engineering problem since they essentially alter the geometry of the hull, increasing friction and reducing the speed of vessels, thus increasing the cost and environmental footprint of transportation. Given the scale of global transportation reaches several billion tons per year, the socioeconomic consequences of the reduction in transit speed and increased consumption of fuel continue to drive researchers and engineers to develop strategies to combat the processes of marine biofouling. Many types of antifouling paints, coatings, and materials that have been designed and tested, and in some instances used commercially, suffer from shortcomings ranging from environmental toxicity to limited efficiency and durability. In this review article, a brief overview of the traditional antifouling materials is presented and recent achievements in the design of advanced antifouling materials based on such nanomaterials as graphene, nanotubes, nanoparticles, and more complex nanostructures are discussed. These materials exhibit excellent antifouling properties and candrive a breakthrough in how marine biofouling is tackled
Mental health impacts of climate change and extreme weather events on mothers / Los impactos del cambio climático y los fenómenos meteorológicos extremos en la salud mental de las madres
Get PDFBackground: The perinatal period is a time of increased vulnerability for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs). Emotional trauma is a risk factor for PMAD development and is common among survivors of extreme weather events (EWEs), which are becoming more frequent and intense as the climate crisis progresses. EWE-related stress and anxiety have not been extensively studied in the perinatal population. However, the limited available data suggest a negative impact of EWE exposure on perinatal mental health, warranting further investigation and investment.
Objective: To address this knowledge gap, we interviewed new Australian mothers to understand how EWEs affect the mental health of the perinatal population.
Method: Australian mothers (18 years of age or older) with a baby under 12 months of age were recruited to participate in a single virtual focus group session (seven group sessions were run in total) and complete an anonymous survey. Participants were asked questions regarding their concerns about extreme weather and its impact, as well as their general maternal functioning. Maternal functioning, depression, and climate distress were measured via the survey.
Results: The study sample comprised 31 Australian mothers (Mage = 31.74, SD = 4.86), predominantly located in Queensland. Findings from the focus groups suggested six key themes; however, of focus to this study are three themes related to maternal mental health: health and well-being, helplessness and avoidant coping, and resilience and adaptation. Predominant subthemes focused on trauma resulting from EWE exposure, economic and heat concerns, social isolation, hopelessness about the future, and feelings of resilience.
Conclusions: The evidence linking adverse perinatal mental health outcomes with climate change and EWEs highlights the urgent need for interventions in this context to protect perinatal mental health and well-being. By acknowledging the traumatic impact of these experiences on mothers, this study supports advocacy for policies that specifically address this issue