High Level Of Autonomy Research Articles

Who is a “knowledge worker” – clarifying the meaning of the term through comparison with synonymous and associated terms

The term “knowledge worker” has entered the language of management and economics, becoming popular or even fashionable. Consequently, its definitions are varied and often ambiguous or provisional – which makes it difficult to identify and research such employees. Deeper understanding of the term “knowledge workers” is required. One of the ways of defining a term is to define its semantic area through borders and overlaps with synonyms and “adjoining” terms. Such comparisons can help to deepen understanding of the central term and reveal its defining features. Therefore, two objectives were set in this study: 1) to compare “knowledge workers” and synonymous and associated terms specifying similarities, differences and areas of overlap, in order to find defining features of “knowledge workers”; and 2) to specify the synonymous and associated terms closest to knowledge workers and useful as proxies for research purposes. A group of 15 synonyms was selected, including historical and presently applied terms, proposed by various researchers or used in popular language. These terms were first characterized, and then compared to knowledge workers in terms of similarities, differences and areas of overlap. Comparison pointed to a number of features strongly related to knowledge work. Based on them, a sketch definition was proposed: Knowledge workers work mainly on symbols (representations), transforming them in cognitive processes, which is the main source of added value. To do that, they must command a large body of knowledge equivalent to university education, understood and internalised, grounded in experience and consequently updated. They perform complex tasks, focus on problem-solving, creating knowledge, distributing it and applying to achieve results. They broadly use documents and ICT, and require high level of autonomy. With respect to the second aim of the study, there are several terms closer in meaning to knowledge workers. Terms with most similarities and least differences include specialists and experts. Of these, specialists have most similarities, while experts are a narrower, more advanced type of specialists. In terms of overlap, categories closest to knowledge workers seem to be specialists/ professionals (wider) and professionals (narrower) – both are large sub-sets of knowledge workers, with specialists leaving fewer remainders. As far as identifiability is concerned, terms related to classifications of occupations are those better defined. Among them, “white-collars”, knowledge producers and distributors, and information workers were measured in older classifications, while specialists/ professionals and managers are categories measured today. Both are defined in detail in ISCO-08, making them identifiable also at the organisational level. Statistics of specialists and managers are gathered regularly in most countries belonging to ILO and are easily accessible. Concluding, specialists/ professionals (wider) are the best proxy group for researching knowledge workers: they possess almost the same key features, overlap closely, leaving smallest remainder, and are defined in detail in an international classification used worldwide to measure their national populations. Selecting a random member of the group, one is practically certain to find a knowledge worker.

Czech journalists in the 21st century: who are they?

Who are Czech journalists and what do they do? Based on data from 291 interviews with Czech journalists working in the news media at various levels between 2012 and 2014, for the Worlds of Journalism Study (www.worldsofjournalism.org), the paper introduces for the first time an overview of the most important results of the Czech part of the study. We present an analysis of the data on journalists’ working conditions, the most and least important perceived influences on their work, as well as their level of trust in various institutions, recent significant changes perceived in their profession and the professional roles they prefer. The basic demographic data of our sample is also given. The survey was done in two phases, between which significant media ownership changes took place, making the results highly up-to-date. We conclude that the position of journalists is changing. Journalists are required to write more stories than before, yet have less time to research them. Although they assert the importance of journalistic ethics, they have also perceived that ethical standards have somewhat weakened recently. Nevertheless, they express a high level of autonomy and freedom in their work.

Self-Determined to Write: Leveraging Interest, Collaboration, and Self-Direction Through a Journalistic Approach

Becoming a proficient writer is a core competency for effective communication and central to college and career readiness for learners. Despite broad adoption of more rigorous standards and a push to incorporate writing across the curriculum, the majority of U.S. students across different grade levels fall short of grade-level expectations in writing. This study applies self-determination theory in the design and developmental research of an approach that integrates journalistic interviews and writing practices into typical middle school student English language arts/social studies curricula. In this mixed-methods study, 53 sixth grade students in rural (omitted for review) participated in journalistic learning once per week. The 36-week program applied self-determination theory to build dynamic opportunities for individual interest, collaboration, and self-direction, catalyzing students’ self-determined motivation to write. Findings suggest students experienced regular opportunities to learn and apply skills in collaboration and self-direction and were prepared and satisfied learning those skills. On both quantitative and qualitative data, students reported positive perceptions and attitudes, high levels of individual interest and intrinsic motivation to engage and persist in journalistic research and writing, a flow experience in the writing process, high levels of autonomy to be self-directed, competency for critical thinking, and relational support from their teachers and peers as a result of their participation in journalistic learning. Comparing results from the early phase with results at the end, effects all trended in the positive direction with greater exposure and experience in the program.

Ловушка гибкой занятости: как нестандартный график работы влияет на баланс между работой и жизнью фрилансеров

Исследование проблематизирует роль гибких трудовых графиков в жизни самозанятых профессионалов (фрилансеров). Высокий уровень автономии в распоряжении собственным временем не только имеет очевидные преимущества, но и может приводить к самоэксплуатации. Опираясь на данные онлайн-опроса «Перепись фрилансеров» (2019) и RLMS-HSE (2017), мы демонстрируем, что на фоне среднероссийских показателей фрилансеры намного чаще трудятся в нестандартное время: поздними вечерами и ночью, а также в выходные и праздничные дни, когда другие люди отдыхают. Регрессионный анализ показывает, что работа в нестандартное время приводит к ухудшению баланса между работой и жизнью фрилансеров. В наиболее уязвимом положении оказываются женщины; люди, имеющие супруга (партнера); фрилансеры с несовершеннолетними детьми.
 Благодарность. В работе использованы результаты проекта «Перепись фрилансеров: мониторинг русскоязычного рынка удаленной работы (2009-2019)», выполненного в рамках Программы фундаментальных исследований НИУ ВШЭ в 2019 году.

The Power of Doing: How Job Crafting Transmits the Beneficial Impact of Autonomy Among Overqualified Employees

Overqualified individuals have more experience, KSAs (knowledge, skills, abilities), and/or education than what is needed in their job. Prior research has identified autonomy as a work characteristic that helps individuals deal with overqualification; yet, it remains unclear as to why this is the case. The goal of the present study was to identify the mechanism through which autonomy exerts its beneficial impact. Drawing on the literatures of person-environment fit and proactivity, we first hypothesized that, in addition to autonomy, job crafting likewise moderates the relationship between overqualification and both withdrawal and turnover intention as central outcomes. Job crafting denotes a proactive type of behavior whereby individuals change the boundaries of their jobs. Next, we hypothesized that job crafting is positively related to autonomy, and that job crafting represents the key mechanism through which autonomy moderates the overqualification-outcome relationship. In a multisource sample of 226 employee-supervisor dyads, we found that overqualified employees were significantly more likely to withdraw from their work and intend to exit if (a) their job provided little autonomy or (b) if they engaged in low levels of job crafting. When individuals experienced high levels of autonomy or engaged in high levels of job crafting, the overqualification-outcome relationship was reversed (or non-significant). Moreover, autonomy was positively related to job crafting. Finally, we found evidence for mediated moderation, such that the moderating effect of autonomy on the relationship between overqualification and both withdrawal and turnover intention was transmitted through job crafting. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.

An Efficient Wideband Spectrum Sensing Algorithm for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Communication Networks

With increasingly smaller size, more powerful sensing capabilities and higher level of autonomy, multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can form UAV networks to collaboratively complete missions more reliably, efficiently, and economically. While UAV networks are promising for many applications, there are many outstanding issues to be resolved before large scale UAV networks are practically used. In this paper we study the application of cognitive radio (CR) technology for UAV communication networks, to provide high capacity and reliable communication with opportunistic and timely spectrum access. Compressive sensing is applied in the CR to boost the performance of spectrum sensing. However, the performance of existing compressive spectrum sensing schemes is constrained with nonstrictly sparse spectrum. In addition, the reconstruction process applied in existing schemes has unnecessarily high computational complexity and low energy efficiency. We proposed a new compressive signal processing algorithm, called iterative compressive filtering, to improve the UAV network communication performance. The key idea is using orthogonal projection as a bandstop filter in compressive domain. The components of primary users in the recognized subchannels are adaptively eliminated in compressive domain, which can directly update the measurement for further detection of other active users. Experiment results showed increased efficiency of the proposed algorithm over existing compressive spectrum sensing algorithms. The proposed algorithm achieved higher detection probability in identifying the occupied subchannels under the condition of nonstrictly sparse spectrum with large computational complexity reduction, which can provide strong support of reliable and timely communication for UAV networks.

A Strong Independent (Video Game) Woman? Examining Red from Transistor (2014)

In the 21 st century, gender representation in video games has improved as a response to growing criticisms of stereotyped, denigrating portrayals of women. Despite this progress, some of these depictions persist in female characters who appear in the medium, even within the independent (indie) video game scene. Examining Red as the protagonist of the independent role-playing game Transistor (Supergiant Games, 2014) through a semiotic lens, this paper investigates whether her character is in accordance with the prevailing trend of gender representation, especially as it pertains to sexualization and objectification. This paper argues that rather than sexualizing Red, the narrative and visual aspects of Transistor characterize her as a complex, powerful heroine. Moreover, she initially expresses a high level of autonomy in the game, subverting the damsel-in-distress trope. However, she ultimately loses her agency and succumbs to her dependency towards her male lover. As such, Red embodies contradictory concepts of empowerment and helplessness. This indicates that despite originating from an independent studio, the portrayal of Transistor ’s protagonist is still in line with the broader paradigm of gender representation in video games. Specifically, it challenges certain harmful stereotypes of women while reaffirming some of them.

Searching for Autonomy in Digital News Entrepreneurism Projects

Digital entrepreneurism is often depicted as a positive disruption in the news ecosystem; it initiates new business models, fosters new ways of storytelling, and enables closer interaction with audiences. The extent to which entrepreneurial journalism entails a disruption of journalistic norms, roles, and procedures remains a matter of debate. Against this background, our study aims to explore how news entrepreneurism impacts journalistic autonomy on an organizational as well as an individual level. Conceptually, we define four dimensions of journalistic autonomy, namely organizational and procedural autonomy, as well as autonomy regarding professional norms and external influences such as funding and audiences. Empirically, we conducted interviews with founders of and journalists at 12 news startups in Germany. Our results indicate that both groups perceive a high level of autonomy in relation to professional norms and working procedures, and experience only little pressure from external influences. Still, the struggle for solid financing as well as the duality of economic and editorial duties limit both founders’ and journalists’ autonomy.

On the Minister’s Tight Leash? Media Appearance and Autonomy in Public Agencies

Public agencies have varying degrees of self-determination. In the existing literature this autonomy is often explained by sector and task. Although agencies are increasingly subject to media scrutiny and public attention, the literature on the autonomy of agencies has not focused much on the impact of the media. Visible agencies might be more able to resist the control of superior bodies. However, reputational threats and poor media management might tempt ministers to increase political control and decrease the autonomy of agencies, or in other words, tighten the leash. Drawing on a 2016 survey of civil servants in Norwegian agencies, this article investigates four aspects of agency autonomy, and relates this to media appearance and media management in the organisation. The results show that agencies frequently in the written press report lower levels of autonomy, while agencies with competent media management have higher levels of autonomy. This suggests that media appearance and media management should be seen as important factors when aiming to explain agency autonomy.

A Cognitive Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Architecture for Autonomous-Capable Electrified Vehicles

Autonomous vehicle industry is making rapid progress in the development of commercial vehicles with higher levels of autonomy. Although the general advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) architecture is widely discussed, limited details are available about the functionality of the modules and their interactions, backed up by scientific justification. This, in turn, limits the utilization of such architecture for pragmatic implementation. A cognitive ADAS architecture for level 4 autonomous-capable electrified vehicles (EVs) is proposed. Variations for levels 3 and 3.5, which are simply seen to be a combination of 3 and 4, with the primary fallback through a human driver and the secondary through an automated driving system, are also presented. A simulation framework is built for highway driving based on the proposed level 4 architecture for an enhanced Tesla Model S. It was concluded that the autonomous control provided a 23% energy economy increase, on average, compared to a human driver control. Through a detailed sensitivity analysis, the optimal mission/motion planning and energy management in addition to the positive impact on the EV battery, motor, and acceleration/deceleration profiles are considered to contribute to this significant increase in the energy economy of an autonomous-controlled EV.

Exploring the Perspectives of Telecommuting Nursing Faculty.

This study explored the needs of faculty telecommuters for a school of nursing, as well as other programs considering employing telecommuters in the future. This was a qualitative descriptive study using content analysis and quantitative demographics. After institutional review board approval was obtained, the study was conducted using a convenience sample of telecommuting nursing faculty from one university. The participants responded to open-ended survey questions describing their experience of telecommuting and provided demographic data. Social interaction was key, especially from faculty who initially were in full-time on-campus positions. How social contact is maintained determined overall success in this role. Factors helping included online meetings, online social interactions, positive reports of flexibility, and experienced high levels of autonomy. A Nursing Faculty Telecommuter Interactional Model for Success was created based on these themes. Technology appeared to be the driving force of productive work days. [J Nurs Educ. 2019;58(3):152-159.].

The impact of restricted decision-making autonomy on health care managers' health and work performance.

The aim of this study was to investigate how restricted decision-making autonomy and conflicting demands impact operational managers' work performance and health. Managers at operational level (first- and second-line managers') in health care organisations are commonly exposed to strain in their work situation with high demands and a challenging work context. Although they play an important role, the knowledge about the causal associations between stressful job demands and their consequences is limited. A prospective design with questionnaire data collected at two points in time, 1year apart, from a sample of operational managers (N=162) at five Swedish hospitals was used to conduct a structural equation model analysis with cross-lagged paths. Restricted decision-making autonomy was negatively associated with both the managers' health and their managerial work performance over time. Health care managers' work performance and health may be sustained by the top management allowing them a higher degree of autonomy in their decision-making. This study suggests that nursing leaders should create the circumstances for operational managers' to have higher levels of autonomy in their area of responsibility and the freedom to prioritize their managerial workload.

Patterned remittances enhance women's health-related autonomy.

The consequences for women “left behind” by virtue of temporary male migration are mixed. On the one hand, concomitant changes in fertility, participation in the labor force, and social norms are often associated with increased independence for women. On the other hand, women left behind can be vulnerable to increased dependency on members of their husbands' family or face limited access to social institutions. These shifts in women's capacity for decision making can have important implications for their health and well-being. Focusing on the state of Kerala in southern India, we examine the conditions under which the remittances that migrants send home have an impact on the health of women left behind. Specifically, we assess the extent to which the timing of remittance sending can support women's autonomy and improve their ability to make autonomous healthcare decisions. We use evidence from migrant households in Kerala, a region deeply engrained in the world labor migration system for more than five decades. Analysis is conducted with data from the 2016 wave of the Kerala Migration Survey (KMS), a representative household survey, and paired with in-depth qualitative interviews with women in Kerala whose husbands and other family members have migrated to the Gulf. We show that the positive effect of remittances on women's autonomy manifests primarily through the timing of remittance receipt, not the amount of money remitted. Regular remittances are associated with higher levels of autonomy than remittances received at irregular intervals, net of amount remitted. This finding challenges the usual emphasis on remittance volume as the driving factor of social and behavioral change in sending communities. Analytical efforts should be refocused on the social-interactional component of remittance sending and how these interactions can impact women's health and autonomy.

A resource-based perspective on work–family conflict: meta-analytical findings

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide an updated and theory-driven meta-analysis of work–family conflict (WFC). The authors quantitatively review the relationships between WFC and three pairs of antecedents and several consequences.Design/methodology/approachA meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the research model. Specifically, the authors adopt a resource-based perspective (i.e. conservation of resources (COR) theory) to investigate the relationships between three pairs of antecedents (demand/control, autonomy/hours spent at both work and family domains and role overload/flexibility) and WFC. While COR theory argues that resource loss perceptions would generate much more influential impact on individuals comparing to that of resource gain, both favourable and unfavourable antecedents, representing resource gain and resource loss, respectively, are incorporated in each pair of antecedents. This inclusion of contrary antecedents allows the authors to investigate the comparison of the relationships between the favourable antecedents – WFC relationships and the unfavourable factors – WFC relationships. In addition, the authors analyse how and to what extent WFC influences employees’ attitudes (i.e. commitment), behaviours (i.e. performance) towards both work and family, and their career consequences.FindingsThe meta-analytical findings generally support the hypotheses. Work and family demands are found positively related to WFC, while having a control at either work or family would be negatively related to WFC. Perceiving a high level of autonomy at work is negatively related to WFC, and hours spend at work has a positive relation with WFC. Role overload at both work and family are associated with WFC, while having flexibility from work schedule would be negatively related to WFC. In addition, WFC is negatively related to employee career development outcomes.Originality/valueFirst, the authors adopt a resource-based view to organise both favourable and unfavourable antecedents of WFC. Second, this paper aims at extending the investigation on WFC consequences to performance at both work and family, commitment to both work and family, and employee career outcomes, because all of them are critical consequences but not fully explored in previous meta-analyses. Third, this paper has incorporated newly explored correlates of WFC (e.g. employee career development-related outcomes) and quantitatively reviewed their relationships with WFC.

Landscapes of Freedom: Building a Postemancipation Society in the Rainforests of Western Colombia by Claudia Leal

Reviewed by: Landscapes of Freedom: Building a Postemancipation Society in the Rainforests of Western Colombia by Claudia Leal Ulrich Oslender Claudia Leal Landscapes of Freedom: Building a Postemancipation Society in the Rainforests of Western Colombia. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 2018. xiii + 336 pp. Figures, maps, graphs, tables, notes, bibliography, index. $55.00 cloth (ISBN: 978-0-816-53674-0); $55.00 electronic (ISBN: 978-0-816-53838-6). Let's start by saying this is a beautiful book! It looks beautiful, it feels beautiful, and it is beautifully written. It also stands out from a growing body of literature on race in Colombia, which mostly deals with the contemporary moment of race relations in the country, the political mobilization of a black social movement, or the unfolding tragedy of forced displacement in the Pacific lowlands. Writing about the same region, the author instead delves into the past, intent on critically examining the transition period from slavery to freedom in the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth century. She does so with an admirably clear vision and structure, deploying impressively detailed archival material to sustain her arguments. There is some serious scholarship at work here, which can be placed in the fields of environmental and social history, as well as geography and agrarian studies. The book is organized around two key concepts and parts – extractive economy and racialized landscapes. It makes sense to foreground both. The former signals the initial interest the region held for Spanish colonizers who began to exploit the auriferous deposits along the Pacific river basins: "gold [End Page 187] mining started a long-lasting dependence on the natural supply of resources for the functioning of a market economy" (p. 227-28). Yet while economic gain was initially produced through enforced labor during slavery times, gold mining also became the foundation for a free black society after emancipation in the mid-nineteenth century, when free blacks continued to mine for gold, but did so in conditions of relative autonomy. This is one of the central and fascinating claims in this book, which the author sustains with ample documentary and archival evidence. After emancipation other extractive resources came to play an important part of the experience of freedom. The extractive economy diversified and included the tapping of rubber and collection of vegetable ivory nuts (tagua). As Leal summarizes, "two very different political economies of extraction – one characterized by labor coercion, the other by autonomy – came to define the lowlands before and after the mid-nineteenth century" (p.228). What both periods had in common, though, was the dependence on nature as a means of production; it provided the raw materials that were to be extracted directly, unlike agriculture or industry, which display a more mediated dependence on nature. The second concept – racialized landscapes – is fascinating in that it offers a spatial sensibility to how the Pacific lowlands as we perceive them today have evolved over time as a result of the intimate relationship that the free black population built with it. The population patterns so ubiquitous in the Pacific river basins today – with wooden houses built on stilts along the river levees – are a direct result of the post-emancipation move when free blacks began to leave the gold mines and settle along the river banks, erecting first huts, then more elaborate housing, which over time turned into hamlets and villages. Leal stresses these accomplishments while pointing out the racialized undertones and outright racism that are found in literate men's accounts (sic – yes, these were always men) at the time. White travelers in the region regularly remarked on its oppressive heat and humidity, which they portrayed as a source of the cultural backwardness of its black inhabitants. One of the central claims in this book is that the history of the Pacific coast rainforest region in Colombia reveals an unusual postemancipation trajectory, in that the experience of freedom for the formerly enslaved black population was characterized by high levels of autonomy. This autonomy was linked to the particular geography of this large, remote and sparsely populated region, in which free blacks had plenty of space to settle along the banks of the many rivers that...

Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Control System Intellectualization

Among unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) control systems the most interest are the systems capable to provide object control the high level of autonomy due to the maximum use of information awareness based on external environment condition and internal UAV status. Firstly, it is the widest range of external influences, in many cases having character of purposeful impact on the ability of the control system to perform its assigned target function. Secondly, it is about the unforeseen internal situations: equipment element failure(s), information security violation, software failure, etc. Functioning process model of such perspective system can be represented by three components: information (provides information awareness with appropriate quality indicators), manager (decides which way to a target to choose) and executive (realizes the action corresponding to the chosen way of target achievement).Such perspective control systems are identified as a class of intellectual control systems with realization of function of information awareness. Сonsider the possible control system structure of an autonomous UAV (AUAV) on the terminal phase of his flight executing a complex of information and administrative tasks with information awareness function implementation while executing main function. The considered system consists of two parts: 1) Ground flight preparation system, making the AUAV flight task (using available and predicted information about external environment); 2) AUAV onboard system, using the current (a posteriori) information about the external environment conditions and a condition of the AUAV, comparison of aprioristic and a posteriori information, making relevant flight management. Basic structural and functional features, such as are inherent in the systems of this class: 1) An aprioristic standard situations set (SSS) preparation and problem subsituations set (PrSS) for each TS; 2) existence of the aprioristic knowledge base (AKB) as the light task (FT) main component; AKB includes base of the allocated interest objects reference descriptions, onboard decision-making algorithms and AUAV flight control for all problem subsituations, processes realization cyclograms of the specified algorithms; 3) Vision system onboard, carrying out algorithms of automatic receiving and processing of a posteriori information, classifying this information to the relevant SSS and PRS / C, priority interest objects automatic recognition, decision-making and AUAV flight control.The perspective control system of AUAV formation technique, realizing an information awareness function is considered on the solution example of interest objects recognition, which are a part of a multi-object stationary land scene; priorities definition and flight trajectory choice.

Bashkirs in Imperial Discourse of Peter The First

The purpose of this article is to consider the extent to which the policies of the government of Peter I in the Ufa province correspond to the modern ideas of imperial government. According to the concept of C. Tilly, the desire to unify legal statuses and eliminate the methods of indirect governance inevitably leads to the destruction of imperial structures. On the contrary, J. Burbank and F. Cooper note that such a policy corresponds to the Roman type of empires. In fact, the Russian authorities are switching to the Roman type of imperial government at the beginning of the 18th century. On the contrary, the pre-Petrine Russia was peculiar to the Eurasian imperial type, involving the differentiated control of different peoples. Bashkirs, who considered their citizenship to be contractual, i.e. privileged, had armed resistance to the egalitarian transformations of the beginning of the 18th century, which by 1711 led to the breakdown of subservient relations. The failure of the reforms in the Ufa province was due to the fact that they violated the principle of "protection-obedience", according to which the degree of loyalty of a given people is due to the level of its state protection. From the middle of the 16th century. up to the 40s 18th century. Bashkirs possessed a military organization of tribal militia, independent of the Russian authorities. The southeastern border was not part of the All-Russian border guard system, and the Russian authorities were forced to allow a relatively high level of autonomy for the Bashkir communities.

Culture of and experiments with sea urchin embryo primary mesenchyme cells.

Skeletogenesis in the sea urchin embryo gives rise to a pair of intricate endoskeletal spicules. Deposition of these skeletal elements in the early larva is the outcome of a morphogenetic program that begins with maternal inputs in the early zygote and results in the specification of the large micromere-primary mesenchyme cell (PMC) lineage. PMCs are of considerable interest as a model system, not only to dissect the mechanism of specific developmental processes, but also to investigate their evolution and the unrivaled level of control over the formation of a graded, mechanically robust, yet single crystalline biomineral. The ability to study gene regulatory circuits, cellular behavior, signaling pathways, and molecular players involved in biomineralization is significantly boosted by the high level of autonomy of PMCs. In fact, in the presence of horse serum, micromeres differentiate into PMCs and produce spicules in vitro, separated from the embryonic milieu. PMC culture eliminates indirect effects that can complicate the interpretation of experiments in vivo, offers superior spatiotemporal control, enables PMC-specific readouts, and is compatible with most imaging and characterization techniques. In this chapter, we provide an updated protocol, based on the pioneering work by Okazaki and Wilt, for the isolation of micromeres and subsequent culture of PMCs, as well as protocols for fixation and staining for fluorescent microscopy, preparation of cell cultures for electron microscopy, and the isolation of RNA.

Review of Airline-within-Airline strategy: Case studies of the Singapore Airlines Group and Qantas Group

The growth of the aviation industry has seen a rapid increase in low-cost carriers (LCCs) commencing operations, threatening the sustainability of a number of legacy airlines. The response to this challenge and threat has been for legacy airlines to create an airline-within-airline (AWA). This study reviews prior literature regarding the hotel industry and multi-brand strategy, and also uses case studies to examine the evolution of the AWA strategy at the Singapore Airlines Group and the Qantas Group between 2000 and 2016 in order to identify why these airlines operate AWAs successfully. High levels of autonomy, clear strategies, complimentary route networks, appropriate resources and minimal cannibalisation are identified as the primary attributes required for a successful AWA operation. Legacy airlines whose AWA strategy failed in the past often did not operate with all these essential attributes, which resulted in their AWAs undermining and competing directly with their own operations.

Análisis longitudinal del desempeño académico de estudiantes de educación superior en un curso autónomo en línea

E-learning implies the self-management of learning. When the virtual environment demands a high level of autonomy, it is possible to do without a teacher because the techno-educational resources are self-operated to promote learning conditions. Under these conditions, the absence of a teacher/classmates could create a perception of isolation and favour negative outcomes in the process of learning, thus, to evaluate the social presence in courses with a high level of autonomy is important to describe how and under what conditions it can affect the student’s performance. The main purpose of this study was to compare the grades of two groups enrolled in an autonomous online course; one of them got a «Minimal Social Presence» condition and the other group served as a control group. 137 college students participated, the sampling was not random and it was used a mixed factorial design 2 X 5. The factors of the research design were a) Social Presence and b) time; the dependent variable, the grades of the course were measured in five different times, to analyze the data, a mixed-factorial ANOVA design was calculated. The outcome shows that there is no interaction between time x Social Presence nor main effects of Social Presence over the grades; however, time was a significant factor to explain the variance in the evaluations. These results are discussed in terms of the scopes that autonomous courses may have and the roll of the Social Presence in learning conditions with a high level of self-management and autonomy.