The role of pre-training interventions in learning: A meta-analysis and integrative review

Learning is one of the main goals of any training program. Much research has focused on how learning may be enhanced through effective training design. We compiled the extant literature exploring the efficacy of five common pre-training interventions in promoting learning. Meta-analytic results (k = 159; total N = 13,684) reveal consistent positive effects for the role of such interventions in learning. Attentional advice and goal orientation (as compared with meta-cognitive strategies, advance organizers and preparatory information) yielded the most consistent learning gains. Results suggest intervention format, implementation, and match to learning outcome are important considerations. Recommendations are provided for interventions which are useful in promoting cognitive, skill-based, and affective learning gains.     

When Employees Engage in Workplace Incivility: The Interactive Effect of Psychological Contract Violation and Organizational Justice

The primary objective of this research was to examine both procedural and interactional justice perceptions as moderators of the relationship between psychological contract violation and workplace incivility. Affect Infusion Model (AIM) was used as a theoretical basis for predicting an interaction in which there was, in general, a positive relationship between violation and incivility. However, a stronger relationship between contract violation and incivility was predicted under high-justice conditions, compared to low-justice conditions, due to the deeper, more elaborate information processing needed to reconcile a psychological contract violation occurring in an otherwise just organization. An online survey was administered to 975 U.S. respondents. The hypotheses were confirmed. Results indicated that the positive relationship between violation and instigated incivility was stronger among employees reporting a just work environment. Implications for applying AIM to organizational settings are discussed.     

Together or separately? Direct and synergistic effects of Effectuation and Causation on innovation in technology-based SMEs

Technology-based SMEs develop their activity in changing environments with strong competitive pressures. These conditions make them much more likely to innovate but also make the innovative process more challenging due to greater complexity of decisions about resources and establishment of actions to achieve favorable innovation results. Although prior studies have analyzed diverse factors that impact the innovative dynamics of this type of firm, little advance has been made in exploring the problem from the perspective of decision-making. This study seeks to close this research gap using Effectuation Theory, one of the most-cited theories emerging in the field of entrepreneurship. More specifically, we analyze the use of causal and effectual decision-making logics to evaluate their direct and ambidextrous effects on innovation in technology-based SMEs. Our results provide evidence that not just one path, but rather a pool of alternatives, supports product and process innovation development. More specifically, when technology SMEs pursue product innovation, both effectuation and causation can be used as predominant mechanisms to achieve positive innovation results. If firms also seek to develop process innovations, however, they may obtain better results with an ambidextrous approach.

     

Service sector SMEs and essential skill provision in the 16–25 year old labour market: Evidence from Northern Ireland

This paper uses an employer survey of Northern Ireland (NI) service sector small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) to assess the nature and extent of labour market shortages arising from a lack of basic skills among the 16–25 year old workforce. Relative to literacy and numeracy skills, employers were found to place a slightly heavier weight on the more generic skills of attitude, communication and motivation. The rate of skills related to unfilled vacancies among service sector SMEs was found to exceed that of high-tech/ high value-added sectors which have traditionally been the focus of policy makers; it was also found that in instances where such skill shortages were due to a lack of basic literacy/ numeracy skills they exerted a negative impact on productivity performance. While employers were found to be highly supportive of existing delivery frameworks they were also open to alternative methods of basic skill acquisition based around the interests of young people and delivered outside the traditional qualifications framework. Finally, the lack of awareness among employers of a number of basic skills accreditation schemes and awarding bodies raises serious questions with respect to the effectiveness of such programmes.     

A tale of two unions: divergent platforms and their constituencies

ABSTRACT

The median voter theorem has regularly been used in economics to represent the behaviour of teachers unions. Little empirical work, however, tests whether this framework is a good fit for teachers unions. We examine voting behaviour in union representative elections between the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers and find evidence of divergent constituencies. We investigate whether the median voter explains the outcomes of elections in 1977–1979. If both teachers unions select the platform desired by the median voter, there should be no systematic differences in voter preferences for unions. We find that these unions were fundamentally different and attracted distinct voting coalitions. The main implication of this study is that researchers should consider these two unions, and their effect on districts, as distinct.     

Domestic fire risk: a narrative review of social science literature and implications for further research

In this paper, we make the case for more social science research into fire incidents and fire-related risk behaviour. Unlike other vulnerabilities, such as crime, illness or risk-associated activities such as smoking, or accident avoidance, remarkably little research has focused on this area. This is perhaps surprising given the propensity for fire, its emotional, social and economic impacts, and evidence that fires and fire victims are not equally distributed across socio-demographic or geographical domains. In making our case, we outline: recent numbers and trends in incidents in the UK, focusing on domestic incidents and recent policy developments affecting fire and rescue services. Next, we review the social-science based literature on fire incidents, suggesting that while this offers useful insight, much more needs to be done to develop a rigorous evidence base. While we would not want to dismiss or downplay existing social science contributions, our contention is that a considerable number of opportunities exist for further work in this area. Consequently, we propose a number of ways in which popular ideas about risk theory can be applied to a domestic fire context and raise a number of questions that social scientists are well positioned to contribute to an interdisciplinary understanding of domestic fire incidents and associated risks.     

The relationship between asset growth and the cross-section of stock returns

There is a large body of literature examining the association between stock characteristics and the cross-section of stock returns in international markets. Recently, Cooper et al. (2008) reported a strong association between total asset growth and stock returns in the US. In this paper, we show that an asset-growth effect also exists in the Australian equity market. Of particular interest, it is present amongst the largest Australian stocks. Over the 1983-2007 period, an equally-weighted portfolio of low-growth Big stocks outperforms a portfolio of high-growth Big stocks by an average 1% per month, equating to nearly 13% per annum. At an individual stock level of analysis, the asset-growth effect remains even after controlling for other variables whose association with the cross-section of returns is well known. Finally, we explicitly test whether asset growth is a priced risk factor using the common two-stage cross-sectional regression methodology. We find no evidence to support a risk-based explanation, thereby lending credence to Cooper et al.’s (2008) suggestion that the asset-growth effect is attributable to mispricing.     

Accounting narratives and impression management on social media

In this paper, we examine the defensive and assertive impression management strategies and the impact of firm performance on accounting narratives by investigating the earnings disclosures of FTSE 100 companies on Twitter. Social media has become the prevailing venue for organisational self-presentation because it provides firms with more control over the image they intend to establish and maintain through the communication and content they deliver online. Our findings show that firms minimise the disclosures of negative information but employ various patterns and dissemination techniques to emphasise positive information. Specifically, improving performers are more willing to post and disseminate earnings-related tweets to achieve a higher degree of stakeholder engagement than declining performers. Based on these findings, we conclude that firms present themselves on social media opportunistically to construct a positive public image.     

安腾处理器处于十字路口

尽管存在产品路线图姗姗来迟、开发人员“变节”以及市场萎缩,但英特尔公司的安腾处理器在高性能计算领域的市场份额仍然在继续攀高。安腾最初是作为RISC芯片杀手而设计,但目前看来还是有些太嫩。     

Volunteer tourists’ perceptions of their impacts on marginalized communities

Abstract

Using a phenomenological approach, this study examines the experiences of volunteer tourists in host communities using social representations theory. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with volunteer tourists on perceived impacts on favela (slum) communities of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This study was developed to address a need for further research that critically looks at the social impacts of volunteer tourism in marginalized communities. It addresses the following question: How does volunteer tourism influence a marginalized community from the perspective of the volunteers? Notably, the majority of the volunteers in this study had difficulty describing how volunteer tourism has benefited the community beyond their own individual contributions, and it was difficult for them to see broader implications of volunteer tourism in general. Recommendations of management actions that will help to maintain and enhance the benefits and alleviate the negative consequences and obstacles that were perceived by volunteer tourists are given.