Senior Level Research Articles

Interacting Constraints and Relative Age Effect in Elite Cross-Country Skiers and Freeskiers.

Different characteristics of sports disciplines potentially lead to skewness in birth month distribution (relative age effect, RAE). These characteristics can be considered from a constraint-based approach with interacting environmental, task, and individual constraints as a theoretical framework with which to examine variations in RAE. The main aim of the present study was to examine the theoretical predictions of the constraint-based framework by investigating the birth month distribution in cross-country skiers and freeskiers at elite junior and senior levels. The sample was comprised of top ranked Norwegian U15–U19/20 cross-country skiers and junior-level freeskiers. Birth months of top ranked international senior-level skiers in cross-country and freeskiing were also collected. Results indicated an over-representation of skiers born in the first half versus the second half of the year at all junior ages in cross-country skiing. There was no significant difference in the distribution of birth months in freeskiing or in senior cross-country skiers or freeskiers. Based upon the interacting constraint framework, the skewness towards more early-born athletes in junior cross-country skiing could be due to strict age-grouped and results-oriented developmental programs beginning at an early age (environmental constraints) as well as high-demand for physical capabilities (task constraints) that favour more physically mature athletes (individual constraints). For freeskiing, the interacting environmental (less structured and more individualistic-oriented development), task (high technical/motor skill demands), and individual (no advantage of advanced physical maturation) constraints potentially operate in the opposite direction compared to cross-country skiing.

HIV advocacy: knowledge translation and implementation at three diverse sites in sub-Saharan Africa

Purpose To explore how the gap in knowledge translation around HIV and rehabilitation could be addressed using advocacy. This article describes and reflects on lessons learned from incorporating content on HIV and advocacy into the curricula at three diverse physiotherapy (PT) programs in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods A realistic evaluation approach was followed. Three study sites were purposively chosen to reflect diverse settings with respect to pedagogical approach, university or college, degree or diploma programs, use of technology, and regional prevalence of HIV. A multi-faceted intervention was implemented that included three activities: (i) to develop three core components of a novel knowledge translation intervention designed to improve knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy in HIV and rehabilitation advocacy among PT students; (ii) to tailor and implement the knowledge translation intervention by local faculty according to the context and needs of their program and to implement this with a cohort of PT students at each of the three study sites; and (iii) to evaluate the adaptation and implementation of the intervention at each site. Results Differences exist between the three-country programmes, specifically in the length of time the degree takes, the extent of HIV inclusion in the curriculum and years of the study included in the project. Conclusions This research adds to the call to shift the focus of HIV care from just test-and-treat, or on just keeping people alive, towards a broader approach that centres the whole person, that focuses not only on surviving but on thriving, and which commits to the goal of optimising functioning and living full, whole lives with HIV. Advocacy across the continuum of care plays a pivotal role in translating research findings into practice. Implications for rehabilitation Results are relevant for policymakers in government and at senior levels within universities whose mandates include informing, reviewing, and driving educational programs and curricula. The result from this project illuminates the role for rehabilitation and allows for incorporating HIV into curriculum and practice for physiotherapists and other related stakeholders so that they can advocate for and with patients.

Congratulations! You Have Become a Senior Researcher. Now What?

It probably seems like yesterday that you were starting at your first post-PhD position, but with this latest promotion, whether it is tenure or promotion to a senior level at your company, you can no longer call yourself "junior". You are now stepping into the shoes of a senior researcher. Congratulations! This is a tremendous accomplishment, and you should celebrate. The road was long and often uphill. You finally made it.

Evaluation of Conflict Management Styles of Construction Companies in Abuja, Nigeria

Managing conflict during construction process should an essential skill to be possessed by managers as conflict is inevitable in evolving complexity nature of the industry. Hence, the study examined the level of adoption of the conflict management styles (CMSs), and identified and assessed the key factors influencing the choice of conflict management styles by employees of the construction companies in the study area. A cross-sectional quantitative research designed was adopted in this study. It involved the contracting firms that were registered with Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI). Only twenty-five (25) active members are currently registered with FOCI. Due to the small number, a total enumeration technique was adopted as the target population. Three (3) members of each contracting firm were purposely chosen. The purposely selected employees were lower-level managers (supervisors), middle level managers and senior level managers. This made the sample size of this study to equate seventy-five (75). Of the 75 questionnaires administered, only 55 were returned and used to collect data for this study. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, reliability analyses, RII and spearman’s correlation. For managing task-related conflict among the employees of the construction companies, the results revealed that the level of adoption of CMSs is above average (61%) and that compromising style was frequently used whereas dominating style was least used. It was also revealed that ‘personality trait’, ‘cultural diversity’, ‘leadership style’, ‘work experience’, and ‘power of contenders’ were the top essential factors influencing the choice of CMSs used in the surveyed construction companies. This study provides construction managers in the better understanding of CMSs and also highlight the important influential factors, especially when task-related conflicts arise.

Faculty Development for Christian Mission: The State of the Field

Scholars studying Christian higher education frequently suggest that faculty are the campus constituents with the most influence over the future of an institution’s Christian mission. Thus, both faculty hiring and development are important elements for maintaining and strengthening the Christian identity of a university over time. Despite this importance, we do not know of a study that has surveyed the missional faculty-development processes of Christian colleges and universities. We utilized a survey research design to determine how Christian institutions educate faculty to integrate their Christian mission into their teaching, scholarship, and institutional service. We found that institutions tended to offer introductory trainings and workshops early in the career of faculty. After these early programs, the most effective faculty development resources identified were the conversations facilitated through discipline-specific academic journals and professional organizations. Moving forward, the institutions from which we heard hoped for increased resources and institutional prioritization for these conversations, especially at the advanced and senior faculty level. In conclusion, we suggest four opportunities for practical innovation to ensure future growth and engagement of faculty development for Christian mission: include a proactive approach to hiring practices, place a renewed emphasis on Christ-animated scholarship, continue to expand the conversation beyond the humanities, and introduce programming and incentives aimed at engaging senior faculty.

Quantum Cryptography—A Simplified Undergraduate Experiment and Simulation

Quantum cryptography is a topic of considerable interest. A simple and robust experiment and theory for a senior level undergraduate investigation of quantum key distribution are described. In the proposed experiment, key principles from the BB84 protocol, used in quantum cryptography, are emulated using an optical apparatus and computational scripts independently.

Operations Strategies and Competitive Advantage of African Airlines: A Case of Kenya Airways

In today’s business environment, competitive advantage goes to those organizations most able to adopt effective operations strategies. It is believed that operations strategies are responsible for spurring competitive advantage in different organizations. As a result, many airlines have adopted diverse strategies to enable them obtain competitive advantage. However, it was still unclear whether these strategies actually contributed to the envisaged competitive advantage. This study was carried out to ascertain whether the operations strategies adopted had any significant influence on competitive advantage of Kenya Airways. The specific objectives of the study were to establish the influence of operational efficiency, product and service innovation, continuous process improvement and customer orientation on the competitive advantage of Kenya Airways. The study was guided by the rational choice theory, resource-based view theory, the neo-institutional theory and the Porter’s Five Forces Model. The study was anchored on the descriptive survey design and targeted senior and middle level operations managers at the Kenya Airways headquarters in Embakasi, Nairobi and the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport that serves as the operations hub to Kenya Airways. The study was a census comprising of 125 study participants. Data was collected using a questionnaire. A pilot study was carried out to guarantee the reliability of the instrument. Reliability was tested using Cronbach alpha and Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of 0.78 was obtained and deemed satisfactory. Descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics included means, frequencies, percentages and standard deviation while the inferential statistics included Pearson’s correlation and multiple regression analysis. Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) software was utilized to examine the data. The findings showed that the regression coefficient of operations efficiency was 0.309 (p-value=0.001), innovation of product and services was 0.321 (p-value=0.002), continuous improvement was 0.223 (p-value=0.002) and customer orientation was 0.137 (p-value=0.000). The results revealed that 30.9% of the variance observed in the competitive advantage of Kenya airways was influenced by operational efficiency while 32.1% was influenced by innovation of product and services. Also 22.1% of the variance in competitive advantage was contributed by continuous process improvement while 13.7% was influenced by customer orientation. The study concludes that for airlines to achieve competitive advantage they must focus on reducing flight delays and cost of operations, conform to operational charter and the overall corporate strategy, strive to offer superior products and services, explore new routes, introduce new aircrafts and offer attractive products and services, maintain a culture of continuous improvement and learning by availing the products and services that fulfill and satisfy the unique needs of the customers as well as their demands. The study recommends that the management of airlines should ensure that their operations are efficient and invest more in research to identify new products and services. The management of airlines should also ensure that they adopt products and services that meet customers’ needs and satisfaction.

An Exploratory Literature Study into Digital Transformation and Leadership: Toward Future-Proof Middle Managers

This study aimed to obtain insight into the influence digital transformation has on future leadership behaviors and management. Up to now, most literature solely focuses on the need for strong strategic leadership to build and lead the transformation. This study was directed at future leadership behaviors and skills needed during and after digital transformation of management below senior level. An exploratory approach to review literature on digital transformation and leadership was used, inspired by the PRISMA protocol. Our findings show that digital transformation is a disruptive process that impacts the whole organization and results in new forms of working. This calls for altro-centric leadership, an other-centered leadership style. Specifically, soft skills such as empathy, humility, integrity and compassion are becoming increasingly important, as is understanding the power of digital technology. The emergence of artificial intelligence offers interesting opportunities. It could be used to handle quantifiable managerial tasks and evaluate the quantifiable part of performance, while managers focus on the soft skills side of management such as coaching, motivating and empowering employees. This study demonstrates the necessity to redefine leadership requirements in an increasingly digitalized world.

Media Convergence Journalists Perspectives on Diversity News

The issue of diversity is a sensitive issue. if not handled wisely, it will become a problem that degrades national harmony. The mass media which have ideal functions as a medium of information, pay less attention to the issue of diversity. Though the role of mass media, especially convergent media is very influential on this matter. This research was conducted with the aim to get an overview of the views of journalists from the convergent media Liputan 6.com in seeing the issue of diversity. Journalists who become participants are from the senior level (deputy chief editor), middle (editor), and junior (reporter). The research method uses qualitative with a phenomenological approach. The theoretical basis used in this study is peaceful journalism and agenda setting. Data collection is done by in-depth interviews and observations. The results showed that the editorial policy of Liputan6.com was careful in reporting on the topic of diversity. The policy has been well understood by each level of journalist. In addition there is a personal awareness of each participant to prioritize caution in reporting the topic of diversity.

The Impact of Middle and Senior Leadership Styles on Employee Performance -- Evidence From Chinese Enterprises

The Impact of Middle and Senior Leadership Styles on Employee Performance -- Evidence From Chinese Enterprises

More than a third of NHS trusts have no ethnic minority pharmacists at senior levels

Data exclusively obtained by The Pharmaceutical Journal from NHS trusts and health boards across Great Britain suggest a lack of diversity in management positions in a third of pharmacy departments. Of the 87 NHS trusts and health boards that provided the latest available data (either for 2021 or 2020), more than a third (34.5%) said they did […]

Health-related behaviors, self-rated health, and predictors of stress and well-being in nursing students.

Nursing students are at increased risk for the consequences of stress on wellbeing. Little is known about nursing students' health promoting behaviors and how these relate to health, stress, and well-being. The purpose was to describe perceived stress and measures of well-being (self-compassion, happiness, and life satisfaction) along with self-reported health promoting behaviors and health status in order to identify factors that could affect stress and well-being in nursing students. A multi-site team employed cross-sectional research methods to explore well-being, stress, and potential physical and emotional health-relevant factors in undergraduate nursing students. Baccalaureate Nursing students from three nursing programs in North Texas participated in a web-based survey. Undergraduate students (n=417) reported being junior or senior level in a traditional (74.1%) or an alternative nursing training program (on-line, fast-track, or weekend nursing program; 24.9%) in the fall of 2019. Recruitment fliers went to a total of 2264 potential participants via university e-mail. Consenting students completed online surveys collecting demographic and health related factors as well as measures of well-being and stress. More than half (56.6%) of students reported worsening health since starting nursing school. Exercise and meditation were related to higher measures of well-being and lower stress, but this relationship diminished in the multivariate model when considering individual demographic and health related factors. Our multivariate model suggests that self-rated health status remains a main potential predictor of reduced stress and improved well-being. Self-reported health factors are related to wellbeing in nursing students. Targeted interventions to improve well-being among nursing students may be necessary and would fit with national recommendations for nursing education programs. Resiliency skills training with mindfulness practices may help nursing students reduce stress, improve overall well-being, and equip students to avoid burnout and stress-related illness once in the workforce.

Towards a carbon neutral economy: How government should respond to market failures and market absence

The transition towards a carbon-neutral economy is a fundamental change, it involves not only transforming the energy sector but also radical reforms across the whole economy. Managing fundamental and wholesale change across such a large economy is a massive coordination challenge requiring the simultaneous deployment of a collection of instruments and institutional change. This paper looks into the key challenges in building a carbon-neutral economy and discusses how governments and markets should work together in addressing these challenges. Due to significant failures in key markets relevant to tackling carbon emissions and to the absence of crucial markets, this paper argues that governments must play an active role in formulating and implementing effective environmental policies, regulations and design. This paper discusses major market failures and market absence, leading to suggestions on policy measures that governments should take to overcome these challenges, enabling markets to give better signals in directing resource allocation and guiding the low-carbon transition. Governments must act to facilitate a transition that enables equity in opportunities and outcomes across regions and individuals. Implementing these strategies and policies requires cohesive government structures, led from the most senior levels, to foster the necessary investment, innovation and change needed.

The effect of big data on decision quality: Evidence from telecommunication industry

The aim of the research is to test the impact of big data on the quality of decision making. The necessary data was collected from telecommunication companies operating in Jordan. Three companies provide telecommunications services in Jordan: Zain, Umniah, and Orange. Non-probability purposive sampling was used. Hence, the study instrument was distributed to managers at the senior and middle levels of these companies. The structured equation modeling (SEM) technique was employed to test the study hypotheses. The results confirmed that big data impacts decision quality. Besides, it was determined that the highest impact was on velocity. The researchers suggest that Jordanian telecom companies invest in information technology that allows them to provide data with accuracy, reliability, and high quality, as well as improve the qualifications of their employees.

The effect of green supply chain on sustainability: Evidence from the pharmaceutical industry

This study came with the aim of identifying the impact of the green supply chain on sustainability. This research targeted managers at the senior and middle levels of the Pharmaceutical Industry in Jordan, as they were formulating the company's strategies and determining its policies. A purposive sample consisting of 258 managers was selected. To gather the data needed for the analysis, a self-report questionnaire was used formulated electronically through Google Forms. AMOS software was used to examine the research hypotheses. The study concluded that there was an impact of the green supply chain with its dimensions (Eco-Design, Green Distribution, Green Purchasing, Green Manufacturing, and Green Reverse Logistics) on sustainability. Based on this result, the researcher recommends pharmaceutical companies in Jordan to take green initiatives and the trends towards implementing a green supply chain approach that reduces the consumption of non-renewable resources and waste, and to establish special laws and regulations in the company that oblige employees to apply the green approach in their practices within the work.

Effect of Corporate Governance Structures on Organizational Performance of State Corporations in Education Sector in Kenya

Corporate governance structures are the systems and regulations created within an organization, to help guide the decision-making processes. This help in determining the respective roles to be played by various stakeholders in the organization. Corporate governance has been shown to have an impact on the performance of state corporations. However, most of these studies concentrate on the board structures and how they affect the financial performance of the organization in respect to Return on Equity, Return on Assets and Tobin’s Q. This research 4.2 Corporations in the education sector in Kenya. This area is least studied especially being a service-oriented and largely non-commercial sector. The objectives of the study are to establish the influence of CEOs attributes on performance, examine the influence of board structure on performance and find out the impact of the audit committee on performance of state corporations in Kenya. The study targets 171 respondents across 27 sampled state corporations under the education sector in Kenya. The respondents are drawn from senior and middle level managers, finance and account officers and internal audit staff. The 27 state corporations were selected using a stratified random sampling technique from the target population of 45 state corporations. The data was collected for the three objectives with specific questions on Board diversity, attributes of the CEO, Independence of the Audit Committee. The data collection tool used a close-ended questionnaire, there were 134 questionnaires returned out of the targeted 162, through a drop and pick method. The data collected was cleaned, coded and posted to SPSS Ver 23 for analysis. A regression model was applied to analyze the existing relationship between the variables; independent variables: CEO Attributes, Board Diversity and Audit Committee effect on the organizational performance being the dependent variable. Diagnostic tests were conducted to check for normality and multicollinearity. The study found that CEOs attributes, Board of directors’ diversity and audit committee had significant effect at α = 0.05 and contribute 27.7% of variations of performance in state corporations in education sector in Kenya. The study therefore recommends that, for enhanced performance of state corporations in the education sector in Kenya, stakeholders should appoint CEOs with rich experience, boards with diversity including gender and audit committee members who have higher qualifications especially, professional qualifications.

Brands, sustainability and citizenship: Navigating a world demanding change

For company brands the lines between business function silos are not clearly drawn, and the formerly compliance-oriented domain of environmental, social and governance (ESG) has become part of the brand in many sectors, whether we like it or not. Whenever an organisation seeks to stand apart on the basis of its citizenship or reputation in any of its competitive realms — for customers, talent, influence or capital — its brand strategy must connect all communications functions to the business strategy in a simple, coherent way. While always desirable, enabling clarity across the organisation is especially critical in these turbulent times. As COVID-19 has accelerated the pace of change and shifted risk appetites, big decisions are being made about corporate futures. This is an opportunity for brand people to tackle some of the barriers to collaboration and influence across functions. This paper outlines the challenge of aligning business functions to define and deliver coherent company positioning and makes a case for taking on that challenge as a matter of urgency to support businesses adapting to rapid changes in social expectations. Engaging executive leadership teams and boards of directors in this exercise is critical, and this paper outlines two practical ways to do so. First, framework thinking, which can accommodate different functions and communications disciplines into a single narrative. Second, and arguably more importantly, board-friendly ways to achieve a project mandate and frame the need to collaborate effectively at the most senior level to align brand and business strategy.

United States Facility Management Industry Demographic Trends and Contemporary Workforce Challenges

ABSTRACT Purpose - The purpose of this research is to better understand the current state of the United States' FM profession by evaluating workforce demographic trends in identifying contemporary recruitment and hiring challenges facing the FM industry. Methodology - A survey was developed based upon available literature including past research and industry surveys. Demographic information was sought to understand respondents gender, race, ethnicity, age, retirement timeframes, and educational attainment. Input from a panel of FM subject matter experts was also secured prior to completion of the survey. The survey was sent electronically in February 2021 to more than 12,400 members of IFMA; a total of 3,557 survey responses were received by April 2021 for a 29 percent response rate. Only information from the 2,069 US respondents was used in this research. Findings - The US FM industry is getting younger, in part due to the growing number of FM college graduates. Nevertheless, a majority of facility managers will be retiring within the next decade and adoption of FM succession planning is sluggish. While recruitment of entry-level FM talent has become easier, recruiting senior level FM talent is a major challenge. Furthermore, there has been relatively no growth in the portion of females and minorities making up the FM workforce population over the past decade. Understanding challenges related to recruitment and succession of senior level FM profession, and a more inclusive workforce, is imperative for the FM industry to better attract and sustain a competent and diverse workforce. Originality/value - The results of this research are valuable in understanding current recruitment, retention, and hiring challenges within FM to help the industry address historical workforce attrition concerns.

ТИПОЛОГІЯ РИС ОСОБИСТІ ОФІЦЕРІВ, ЗАДІЯНИХ ДО ПІДГОТОВКИ КУРСАНТІВ У ВИЩИХ ВІЙСЬКОВИХ НАВЧАЛЬНИХ ЗАКЛАДАХ (ВИЩИХ НАВЧАЛЬНИХ ПІДРОЗДІЛАХ ЗАКЛАДІВ ВИЩОЇ ОСВІТИ ), ЯК СКЛАДОВА ФОРМУВАННЯ ЇХНЬОГО ІМІДЖУ

The purpose of the article is to highlight some part of the large-scale research on the formation of a positive image of officers involved in the training of cadets at higher military educational institutions (military educational units of higher educational institutions), namely: to present the results of empirical research which effect the determination of typology of their personality traits. In our research we understand typology of personal traits as a set of pronounced and stable psychological characteristics that determine the behavior of the officer during his service. The following categories were determined among the involved officers: officers of the senior level, officers-educators, and officers of the course level of higher military educational institutions (military educational units of higher educational institutions) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the results of empirical research were defined three most typical personality traits for the officers of senior level and officers-educators, and four of them for the officers of the course level. Personality types of the senior level officers: 1) balanced type (59.43 %); 2) effective (22.42 %); 3) executive or committed (18.15 %). The balanced and effective types encompass the necessary range of personal characteristics that contribute to the formation of a positive image. The executive type lacks management skills. Personality types of the officerseducators: 1) star type (50.14 %); 2) introverted (14.05 %); 3) almost exemplary (11.43 %). Each type of officers-educators has a number of aspects that hinder them from forming a positive image, such as lack of self-will, emotionality, and pedagogical skills, as well as a certain rigidity during classes. Personality types of the course level officers: 1) correct or moral and ethical type (59.39 %); 2) ambitious (14.01 %); 3) infantile (10.78 %); 4) dramatic (9.07 %). Among the identified types of personality traits of course officers, problems in image formation may arise within infantile type. One of the main reasons is the establishment of friendly relations with cadets that affects the service of the latter and does not contribute to the formation of necessary qualities of future officers. That is why this type of officers cannot be a role model for others.

THE USE OF PEDAGOGICAL TECHNOLOGY «PORTFOLIO» WHEN WORKING WITH UMK «SPOTLIGHT» FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIO-CULTURAL COMPETENCE OF STUDENTS

The article explores the possibility of using pedagogical technology «portfolio» during the working process with teaching materials ‘Spotlight’ for the development of socio-cultural competence of students. The efficiency of use of modern pedagogical technology «Portfolio» (a collection of certain works for a given period of time) in the lessons is proved by many researchers. Several types of portfolio exist. Portfolio contributes to the development of socio- cultural competence – the knowledge of socio-cultural features of speech behavior and the ability to communicate with native speakers. Teaching materials «Spotlight» include tasks with «Portfolio» mark for junior, middle and senior level students.