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Monitoring remote employees: Implications for HR
No full textPurpose: More and more organizations have resorted to the employment of monitoring software to keep track of employees’ everyday performance and task completion. The current article outlines the capabilities, pros, and cons of monitoring for employees. Several recommendations for HR professionals are outlined to inform best practice. Approach: The article summarizes recent literature and trends on electronic monitoring aimed at remote workers, focusing specifically on trends observed in the UK and the USA. Findings: The number of pros and cons, as well as the resulting recommendations for HR professionals, outline how technology may aid – but also undermine – performance. Originality: The summary of capabilities, pros and cons represents a snapshot of current monitoring practices. The recommendations will give readers an overview of all the aspects and factors that ought to be considered when monitoring software and related tools are selected
Electrodeposited thin-film micro-thermoelectric coolers with extreme heat flux handling and microsecond time response
No full textThin-film thermoelectric coolers are emerging as a viable option for the on-chip temperature management of electronic and photonic integrated circuits. In this work, we demonstrate the record heat flux handling capability of electrodeposited Bi2Te3 films of 720(±60) W cm–2 at room temperature, achieved by careful control of the contact interfaces to reduce contact resistance. The characteristic parameters of a single leg thin-film devices were measured in situ, giving a Seebeck coefficient of S = −121(±6) μV K–1, thermal conductivity of κ = 0.85(±0.08) W m–1 K–1, electrical conductivity of σ = 5.2(±0.32) × 104 S m–1, and electrical contact resistivity of ∼10–11 Ω m2. These thermoelectric parameters lead to a material ZT = 0.26(±0.04), which, for our device structure, allowed a net cooling of ΔTmax = 4.4(±0.12) K. A response time of τ = 20 μs was measured experimentally. This work shows that with the correct treatment of contact interfaces, electrodeposited thin-film thermoelectrics can compete with more complicated and expensive technologies such as metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) multilayers
A SWOT framework to investigate the integration between building management systems and fault detection and diagnosis tools
No full textThis paper presents a research work carried out under the umbrella of the CASCADE project, which is a European FP7 research project which is developing facility-specific measurement-based energy action plans for the airport energy managers that are underpinned by Fault Detection Diagnosis (FDD). The paper first describes the context of the project then it focuses on Building Management Systems describing the current status of the technology and presenting an outlook on their future development. Then a Strengths Weakness Opportunity and Treads (SWOT) framework is defined with the aim of verifying the suitability of an installed BMS system to incorporate Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD) toolsThis research was funded by the European Community\u27s
Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under
grant agreement No. 284920
Stylistic pluralism and the experiences of classically trained teachers of singing in the Republic of Ireland.
No full textThroughout much of the 20th century, the Western classical vocal aesthetic dominated tertiary singing training in the Republic of Ireland. At the turn of the 21st century, and reflecting similar movements internationally, Irish institutions, examining boards and private teaching studios diversified to include musical theatre and popular styles of singing in degree programmes and syllabi. The purpose of this study was to further understand voice teacher perceptions of these shifts in pedagogical culture. This research questioned how classically trained teachers of singing negotiate teaching across styles in popular music genres, and also questioned if implicit, embodied cultural ideas about classical singing defined their educative approaches to popular music vocals. Data were collected through in-depth qualitative interviews with classically trained teachers of singing in the Republic of Ireland. Analysis of interview data revealed a number of themes which are discussed within a theoretical framework drawn from the work of Bourdieu, revealing that the participant teachers are involved in processes of negotiation and re-negotiation of personal and institutional habitus
Taking stock of Dublin\u27s vacant sites and properties: A review of existing policies and measures
No full textMobilising the language of emergency: Human security and climate action discourse
No full textThis paper considers the UN\u27s 1994 concept of human security as indispensable in progressively framing climate security discourse. It argues for a human security agenda that encapsulates a broad and integrated security strategy in which climate change is addressed in a holistic manner along with related human-environmental precarities. The paper reflects on how we might productively conceptualise and enact a human security vision of climate action, how such a vision requires us to think differently and cooperatively about security, and ultimately how this compels us to prioritise a security discourse of shared precarity and collective responsibility
Validation of a Front-Tracking Model of the Columnar to Equiaxed Transition using Solidification Results from the Maxus 7 Microgravity Platform
No full textTo study the columnar-to-equiaxed transition (CET) in alloy castings, three aluminum-silicon samples were solidified onboard the MAXUS 7 sounding rocket. Temperature measurements were made during the flight and the samples were retrieved and analyzed for their solidified macrostructure. Two of the samples produced a CET while the third sample produced a mixed structure with grains nucleating on the crucible walls. A novel front tracking model of solidification and a model of the MACE test apparatus are presented. Validation of the solidification code is carried out. Cooling curves from the experiments are predicted. A simulation of the solidified macrostructure is also given for each experiment. The CET positions are predicted in agreement with the experimental results
Post Occupancy Analysis of nZEB implementation via the PH standard
No full textThe 34th International Passive and Low Energy Architecture (PLEA 2018), The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 10-12 December 2018Building regulations are currently under development across Europe in advance of the implementation of the nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) standard at national member state level. However, when revising the national building regulations to improve energy efficiency, few examples exist of the monitored performance of such dwellings, making informed decision-making difficult. This paper reports on the monitored performance of nZEB compliant dwellings which were built to the Passive House (PH) Standard. It finds that the PH bedroom CO2 concentrations are significantly better than in houses built to the current building regulations which use natural ventilation.Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI
Equity and the financial costs of informal caregiving in palliative care: a critical debate
No full textBackground: Informal caregivers represent the foundation of the palliative care workforce and are the main providers of end of life care. Financial pressures are among the most serious concerns for many carers and the financial burden of end of life caregiving can be substantial. Methods: The aim of this critical debate paper was to review and critique some of the key evidence on the financial costs of informal caregiving and describe how these costs represent an equity issue in palliative care. Results: The financial costs of informal caregiving at the end of life can be significant and include carer time costs, out of pocket costs and employment related costs. Financial burden is associated with a range of negative outcomes for both patient and carer. Evidence suggests that the financial costs of caring are not distributed equitably. Sources of inequity are reflective of those influencing access to specialist palliative care and include diagnosis (cancer vs non-cancer), socio-economic status, gender, cultural and ethnic identity, and employment status. Effects of intersectionality and the cumulative effect of multiple risk factors are also a consideration. Conclusions: Various groups of informal end of life carers are systematically disadvantaged financially. Addressing these, and other, determinants of end of life care is central to a public health approach to palliative care that fully recognises the value of carers. Further research exploring these areas of inequity in more depth and gaining a more detailed understanding of what influences financial burden is required to take the next steps towards meeting this aspiration. We will address the conclusions and recommendations we have made in this paper through the work of our recently established European Association of Palliative Care (EAPC) Taskforce on the financial costs of family caregiving.World Universities Network (WUN