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Building strategic human capital resources : The effects of strategic entrepreneurship on employee recruitment and retention
No full textAlthough strategic entrepreneurship (SE) and strategic human capital are both crucial for competitive advantage, there is limited knowledge of how SE affects human capital levels within a firm. This study examines the relationship between SE and both employee recruitment and employee retention by drawing on an integrated framework of strategic human capital and incorporating a uniquely created direct construct for measuring SE’s complete domain. Results from survey data of 576 UK-based small- and medium-sized firms indicate that SE is positively related to both employee retention and recruitment. We document the moderating effects of corporate reputation and competitive intensity on those relations
Coaching Into Well-being : A realist synthesis of a cognitive behavioural coaching intervention in an Egyptian technology organisation
Get PDFCognitive Behavioural Coaching (CBC) is “an integrative approach which combines the use of cognitive, behavioural, imaginal, and problem-solving techniques and strategies within a cognitive behavioural framework to enable clients to achieve their realistic goals” (Palmer & Szymanska, 2008, p. 86). Although CBC has been the most cited approach towards evidence-based coaching, its utility in conventional, more purely outcome-driven reviews has not been universally supported (Minzlaff, 2019). This PhD proposes further research using a form of evidence synthesis from a different theoretical and methodological perspective to address some evidence shortcomings and thus better inform practice. The proposed methodology, referred to as realist methodology, aims to uncover more about the context and mechanisms by which an intervention generates intended and, at times, unintended outcomes. This study adopts a realist methodology to evaluate an organisational ‘CBC trial run’ to gather evidence about the programme’s mechanisms and effectiveness in generating employee well-being related outcomes (Graf & Dionne, 2021). The research question investigated is: Regarding workplace CBC interventions, what works, or does not work? For whom? In what context and how? The research is operationalised in two phases. First is a realist review phase, which is a form of literature review that aims to understand deep generative mechanisms (Pawson et al., 2005). In accordance with realist methodology, the review method, and findings (Chapter 3) are presented in terms of initial programme theories, i.e. hypothesised ideas on how, when, and why the programme works or does not work. The second is a realist synthesis phase. The realist synthesis attempts to test out these provisional theories regarding the CBC programme and understand “what works for whom in what circumstances” empirically, through collecting and analysing primary data (Greenhalgh et al., 2017b, p. 1). This empirical part of the methodology proceeded with evaluating and refining initial programme theories (produced by the literature review) via realist interviews. Eight stakeholders were interviewed including one coach, one HR representative and six coachees. Data from the review were analysed using NVivo, while interview data were examined through NVivo's coding structure from the review, alongside a theory refinement template, adopted from Gilmore et al. (2019). Seven programme theories regarding CBC effectiveness were initially identified through the realist review, with substantial theory refinements made through the realist synthesis. Four novel theories regarding the programme implementation process were added during the synthesis. This study is the first realist synthesis to explore CBC well-being interventions in organisational contexts. Thus, it contributes to organisational intervention research as well as coaching theory. It also includes other practical recommendations for policymakers, coaches and coachees
The role of leadership in residential care services for young people
Get PDFThe systematic literature review aimed to explore the attitudes of care staff towards Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) in residential care services for young people. Following a literature search of four electronic databases, eight studies were selected for inclusion in the review. Participants discussed how TIC enabled them to develop a greater understanding of the trauma needs of young people, and facilitated improvements in relationships on a systemic level. Barriers to implementation were shared, such as inconsistent interpretations of models creating confusion amongst the team. Clinical implications were also suggested, specifically the need for organisational support with implementation, and the need for continual training to provide greater clarity and understanding on the models of TIC. The empirical paper aimed to develop a greater understanding of the role of managers in residential care services for young people, specifically considering the challenges they face as part of their role and how they are supported in managing these. The findings highlighted the crucial role managers take in providing direct care and support to the staff team and young people, as well as balancing the organisational expectations. Reflections were offered on how the role has impacted their lives, and the types of support they are able to access for the homes, and for themselves as part of their role. Clinical implications were suggested, specifically how Psychology provision could be beneficial in providing support and containment to managers with their role. Finally, the critical appraisal identified the crossover between the two papers, and considered issues of cultural inclusivity within the field. Reflections on the research process were offered
Applying the updated MRC framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions with integrated implementation conceptual knowledge: an example using NeuroRehabilitation OnLine
No full textBackground: The updated 2021 UK Medical Research Council (MRC) Framework offers a valuable guide for implementation scientists to navigate the challenges of the development and evaluation of complex interventions. However, despite extensive citations, there is limited evidence of how the MRC Framework has been used in its entirety and limited integration with relevant implementation conceptual knowledge. To address this, we demonstrate the application of the updated MRC Framework incorporating implementation science frameworks, strategies, and outcomes. This example uses a telerehabilitation intervention, NeuroRehabilitation OnLine (NROL), implemented within an existing healthcare system. Methods: Within a clinical-academic partnership, we completed the MRC Framework checklist, and the context was described using the updated Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). We used a deliberative process to operationalise the MRC phases: adaptation of NROL based on the ADAPT guidance and establishing the feasibility of NROL through concurrent implementation and evaluation. Phases are described in two iterations: within a single service and then when scaled up as a regional innovation. Stakeholders were involved throughout. Implementation strategies were identified using the CFIR-Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (CFIR-ERIC) matching tool. Proctor's implementation outcomes were selected for the evaluation. Results: The MRC Framework provided a useful structure when applied iteratively to address key uncertainties for implementation. Stakeholder co-production was integral to all phases, in both iterations. An additional sustainment phase was added to the framework, reflecting that the value proposition discussions with decision-makers inevitably culminated in decision points. This guided decision-making for NROL to be scaled up. Logic Models were co-produced and iterated to depict programme theory and formalise the integration of implementation conceptual knowledge. Conclusion: Synergistic in nature, the MRC Framework benefitted the conceptualisation of implementation through the use of its phases, and implementation science knowledge was useful in enacting the core elements within the MRC Framework. This example of application will be directly relevant to the field of rehabilitation and build transferable knowledge to enrich implementation research and practice
Highly Efficient Removal of Cadmium from Wastewater Using Eco-Friendly and Cost-Effective Amorphous Silicoaluminophosphates as Adsorbent Particles
No full textThis article presents a study on the development of amorphous aluminophosphate (Am-AlP) and silico-aluminophosphate (Am-SiAlP) materials for the removal of cadmium (Cd) from wastewater. Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal that poses significant environmental and health risks, and its removal from water sources is crucial. This study explores the synthesis of these materials, focusing on the impact of silicon content on their adsorption properties. The materials were characterized using various techniques, including FTIR, XRD, TGA, and BET analysis, which revealed that the incorporation of silicon increased the surface area and porosity of the adsorbents, enhancing their cadmium removal efficiency. The Am-SiAlP (7.5) sample, with a 7.5 mol% Si content, showed the highest adsorption capacity (52.63 mg g−1) and removal efficiency (93%). Kinetic studies revealed that over 90% of cadmium was removed within the first 30 min, indicating rapid adsorption capabilities. The adsorption process was found to follow a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, indicating chemisorption as the rate-limiting step. The Langmuir isotherm model best described the adsorption, suggesting monolayer adsorption of cadmium on the adsorbent surface. This study also investigated the effect of interfering ions, showing that while the presence of other ions slightly reduced the adsorption efficiency, the Am-SiAlP (7.5) material still performed well. This research concludes that Am-SiAlP materials, particularly Am-SiAlP (7.5), are promising adsorbents for cadmium removal due to their high efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and environmental friendliness
Euclid: Early Release Observations – Programme overview and pipeline for compact- and diffuse-emission photometry
No full textThe Euclid Early Release Observations (ERO) showcase Euclid’s capabilities in advance of its main mission by targeting 17 astronomical objects, including galaxy clusters, nearby galaxies, globular clusters, and star-forming regions. A total of 24 hours of observing time was allocated in the early months of operation, and the scientific community was engaged through an early public data release. We describe the development of the ERO pipeline to create visually compelling images while simultaneously meeting the scientific demands within months of launch by leveraging a pragmatic data-driven development strategy. The pipeline’s key requirements are to preserve the image quality and to provide flux calibration and photometry for compact and extended sources. The pipeline’s five pillars are removal of instrumental signatures, astrometric calibration, photometric calibration, image stacking, and the production of science-ready catalogues for both the VIS and NISP instruments. We report a point spread function (PSF) with a full width at half maximum of 0ʺ.16 in the optical IE-band and 0ʺ.49 in the near-infrared (NIR) bands YE, JE, and HE. Our VIS mean absolute flux calibration is accurate to about 1%, and the accuracy is 10% for NISP due to a limited calibration set; both instruments have considerable colour terms for individual sources. The median depth is 25.3 and 23.2 AB mag with a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of ten for galaxies, while it is 27.1 and 24.5 AB mag at an S/N of five for point sources for VIS and NISP, respectively. Euclid’s ability to observe diffuse emission is exceptional due to its extended PSF nearly matching a pure diffraction halo, the best ever achieved by a wide-field high-resolution imaging telescope. Euclid offers unparalleled capabilities for exploring the low-surface brightness (LSB) Universe across all scales, providing high precision within a wide field of view (FoV), and opening a new observational window in the NIR. Median surface-brightness levels of 29.5 and 27.9, AB mag arcsec−2 are achieved for VIS and NISP, respectively, for detecting a 10ʺ × 10ʺ extended feature at the 1 σ level
Young people as heroes or villains in sustainable fashion : interrogating TikTok
Get PDFYoung people have been portrayed in two contradicting ways in relation to the wicked problem of sustainability within the fashion industry. One of these depictions describes young people as heroes, the innovators for the sustainable fashion industry; however, they are also described as the villains, partaking in a hedonistic lifestyle, halting the movement towards sustainability within the fashion industry. This research aimed to explore these contradicting portrayals, investigating their effectiveness in describing the reality of young people. TikTok, a 2018 launched application with a majority demographic of young people, was used, due to the observed large cultural impact on both consumer behaviour and political activism of young people. The use of TikTok will provide a new lens and insight into the sustainability discussion. The TikTok research material depicted a large community of fast fashion consumers, who participated in competitive consumption, over-consumption, and behavioural traits of addiction. These trends were shown to not be specific to TikTok nor young people, highlighting a wider societal theme of the normalisation of over-consumption and thus consumption-based society. Additionally, a smaller yet active community of digital activists advocating for sustainability were also identified on TikTok, alike to the exclusive group of activists observed in offline society. The observed activism was identified to be routed in emotion, such as humour and frustration, differing from the ‘traditional’ understanding of activism. Responses of the wider TikTok community to this content differed greatly dependent on the style of activism. Comedic and socio-economically sympathetic activism produced the most productive discussions on sustainability. In conclusion, I identified that the binary contradicting portrayals did not effectively describe the behaviour of young people as they neglected the complex navigation young people partake in to feel the fundamental desires of belonging and superiority in society
Search for hadronic decays of feebly-interacting particles at NA62
No full textThe NA62 experiment at CERN has the capability to collect data in a beam-dump mode, where 400 GeV protons are dumped on an absorber. In this configuration, New Physics particles, including dark photons, dark scalars, and axion-like particles, may be produced in the absorber and decay in the instrumented volume beginning approximately 80 m downstream of the dump. A search for these particles decaying in flight to hadronic final states is reported, based on an analysis of a sample of 1.4×1017 protons on dump collected in 2021. No evidence of a New Physics signal is observed, excluding new regions of parameter spaces of multiple models
The Human Factor : Addressing Computing Risks for Critical National Infrastructure towards 2040
Get PDFThe authors conducted a UK-based future study employing the Delphi method to explore the impact of emerging computing technologies on Critical National Infrastructure (CNI). The study engaged 22 domain experts specializing in software, cybersecurity, and CNI, whose roles all include forecasting technological trends and challenges. The findings propose making Internet Services a CNI sector, and suggested the weightiest concern to be human-centric challenges around the recovery from software disasters and cyberattacks. Other major concerns also related to human factors, such as attacks via operators, and errors stemming from poorly designed human-computer interfaces. The suggested mitigation strategies therefore concentrate on human-centred approaches. Key recommendations include promoting human-focused cyber resilience, and using legislation, regulation and standards to help establish it in CNI organizations
Experts Unite, Kids Delight : Co-Designing an Inclusive AI Literacy Educational Tool for Children
No full textThe increasing adoption of generative AI raises concerns regarding its potential to reinforce gender stereotypes, especially in content aimed at children. AI-generated images that reflect traditional gender roles can inadvertently influence children’s perceptions, embedding unconscious biases. Through co-design sessions with domain experts, we developed a child-friendly generative AI web application designed with dual purpose: (1) analysing children’s choices to determine potential underlying bias and whether children’s own gender identity influences these choices, and (2) investigating if specific non-aesthetic traits prompt the AI to produce characters with stereotypical presentations