Seventh Dimension Research Articles

Adaptation of the Work-Related Quality of Life-2 Scale (WRQoL-2) among Portuguese Workers

In the present study we aimed to fulfill two main goals. The first was to adapt the WRQoL-2 Scale among Portuguese workers and the second was to verify the associations between WRQoL-2 dimensions and perceived organizational performance dimensions (e.g., social and economic). To reach our research goals, we used a sample of 635 Portuguese workers. The WRQoL Scale has been widely used for academic and practical ends and comprises six dimensions: Job and Career Satisfaction, Control at Work, General Well-Being, Home–Work Interface, Stress at Work, and Working Conditions. Recently, the authors proposed a revised measure—WRQoL-2—in which they added a seventh dimension—Employee Engagement. As this second version had not yet been translated into the Portuguese language for Portugal, this was our first goal. By performing a set of statistical analyses such as EFA, CFA, reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, and invariant analysis, the results suggested a six-factor structure where the dimensions of Job and Career Satisfaction and Employee Engagement were united. The final structure suggested good reliability as well as convergent and discriminant validity as it showcased invariance according to gender and sector. Because there is a lack of studies focusing on the links between quality of work life and organizational performance, we then tested the interplay between WRQoL-2 and perceived organizational performance dimensions, and we verified that, although most are significantly associated, the results suggest a low intensity. This work also presents several theoretical and practical implications.

Managing Fraud in Food Supply Chains: The Case of Honey Laundering

Recent food fraud incidents have highlighted the need to manage fraud risks in food supply chains. However, there is little research on how to manage these risks. Our study helps to alleviate this issue by examining food fraud risk management in the Asia–Pacific honey supply chain. We conducted interviews about existing food fraud risk management practices. We then used the Gioia method to generate a framework of these management practices, which expanded the “Six Ts” framework by adding a seventh dimension of Tolerance to this extant framework. Next, we empirically examined this novel Seven Ts framework. We found that managers treat many of these risk management practice dimensions as substitutes rather than complements. Our findings and managerial guidance are practically relevant for food companies. Lastly, we believe that, by implementing some of these suggestions theoretically generated and empirically validated by our framework, food supply chains may become more sustainable.

A multi-dimensional reality: Carol Lally Shields.

A multi-dimensional reality: Carol Lally Shields.

Dodaci preduzetništva o Hofstedeovim dimenzijama nacionalne kulture

Hofstede's definition (2001) of national culture - that it is mental programming: a pattern of thoughts, feelings, and actions that each person acquires in childhood and then applies throughout life - arms us with an ability to explain the differences in attitudes towards work. In his model, which consists of six dimensions, Hofstede describes the society's culture effect on values. As national culture is deeply rooted in the society's norms and shapes the individual's behavior, it very strongly molds the entrepreneurial spirit in one country. Namely, a society that wants to promote entrepreneurship and the emergence of more entrepreneurs definitely needs culture that supports it. The paper introduces fear of failure as a seventh dimension and high status to entrepreneurs as an eighth dimension to Hofstede's six-dimensional model of national culture, and looks closely into countries' differences by analyzing the impact that the dimensions have on the determination of that country's population to start a business. By studying the secondary data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, eight economies have been desk-researched.

Factors affecting the corporate reputation of Bartın forestry organization

This study was carried out to identify and improve the corporate reputation of the forestry organization of the Bartın province (Bartın Forestry Enterprise Directorate, Ulus Forestry Enterprise Directorate, and Bartın Nature Conservation and National Parks Branch Directorate) in the eyes of external stakeholders. A survey form consisting of three parts was prepared. The survey forms were filled with 308 people from the external stakeholders of the forestry organization (sector enterprises, public institutions, NGOs, auction customers, city and village people) through face-to-face interviews and e-mails. The collected data were evaluated via descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, factor analysis, and the Kruskal-Wallis H test. The analysis of the answers of 55 statements/questions having a 5-point Likert scale and the evaluations performed indicated that the corporate reputation level of the Bartın forestry organization in the eyes of external stakeholders is at a "medium-high" level with a Likert score of 181.07. In addition to the six dimensions (emotional attraction, products and services, financial performance, vision and leadership, work environment, and social responsibility) developed by Fombrun (1996), “institutional relations” as a seventh dimension was used to measure corporate reputation. The factor analysis showed that the most important factors affecting the corporate reputation of the forestry organization, in order of importance are: 1) Institutional relations, 2) products and services, 3) vision and leadership, 4) financial performance, 5) social responsibility, 6) work environment and 7) emotional attraction. The results showed that 68.92% of the corporate reputation of the forestry organization of the Bartın province was explained by these seven factors. Besides, while the total corporate reputation differs significantly at the level of 99% according to the stakeholder group to which the participants belong, their activity area, relationship with the forestry organization, the number of employees, duty, and gender of the participant, it does not differ according to the age and education level of the participants. Finally, some improvement directions were identified to increase the corporate reputation of the forestry organization in the province of Bartın.

Monetised estimated quality-adjusted life year (QALY) losses for non-fatal injuries

BackgroundQuality-adjusted life years (QALYs) provide a means to compare injuries using a common measurement which allows quality of life and duration of life from an injury to be considered. A...

Artificial Intelligence in Human Resources Management: A Review and Research Agenda

Background: Researchers and practitioners both exhibit a growing interest in the application of Artificial Intelligence in Human Resources Management. However, research shows that there remains a substantial gap between the promise of AI and its practical application in organizations. Previous research has identified some of the challenges facing the application of Artificial Intelligence in Human Resources Management. Among these challenges is the varied nature of Human Resources functions. To address this, we adopt the Human Resource Life Cycle, which is composed of 6 dimensions that closely mirror the Human Resource functions that exist in many organizations: 1) Strategic Planning, 2) Recruitment and Deployment, 3) Training and Development, 4) Performance Management, 5) Compensation Management, and 6) Human Relations Management. Method: Through a scoping literature review, we have identified 85 articles on the topic and classified them based on the 6 dimensions of the Human Resource Life Cycle. Results: Our scoping review found that Artificial Intelligence has already been studied in relation to all 6 dimensions of the Human Resource Life Cycle. In addition, a seventh dimension was identified and integrated into the existing Human Resource Life Cycle framework: Legal and Ethical Issues. Based on the scoping review, a research agenda is presented to provide guidance for future research in the field of Artificial Intelligence in Human Resources Management. Conclusion: All 6 dimensions of the Human Resource Life Cycle, along with the seventh dimension – Legal and Ethical Issues – are already present in the literature. Future research could focus on the impact of AI on connections between dimensions, as well as the impact on HR-specific outcomes. Practitioners must recognize the limitations related to the application of AI in Human Resources Management, even though AI should still be viewed as a solution to many challenges facing Human Resources Management in organizations.

A Correspondence Analysis of Fifty-Five Japanese Historical First-to Fifth-Year English-as-a-Foreign-Language Textbooks

The present paper aims to quantitatively analyze the features of fifty-five Japanese historical English-as-a-Foreign-Language textbooks, Books 1-5, by using a correspondence analysis, focusing on their homogeneities / differences, and to compare the results with those of the correspondence analyses of the Book-1, Book-3 and Book-5 textbooks. The following were the obtained results. First, the correspondence analysis results proved capable of differentiating the features of the fifty-five historical textbooks. In particular, the bipolar map indicated that the two dimensions, difficult (+) vs. easy (-) (Dim 1) axis and artificial- (+) vs. natural-sounding (-) (Dim 2) axis contributed to differentiating their inter-relationships. Second, their inter-relationship was explained 80.4 percent by the seven dimensions, i.e., (1) difficult/easy texts (Dim 1), (2) artificial-/natural-sounding discourse (Dim 2), (3) dialogue-/passage-based textbooks (Dim 3), (4) t eacher-/non teacher-dominance (Dim 4), (5) strictly / loosely controlled (Dim 5), (6) redundant/concise (Dim 6) and (7) connected/disconnected (Dim-7). Third, the differences of the fifty-five Books-1-5 textbooks were explained by the same dimensions as those of the Book-3 and Book-1 results up to the seventh dimension. The results of the present correspondence analysis were graphically represented by two methods, coordinate (bipolar) representation and dendrogram. Concerning the theoretical implications and practical use of the present study, it was proved that CA is a powerful tool for the quantitative analysis and evaluation of EFL textbooks and that difficulty vs. easiness and artificial-sounding vs. natural-sounding are useful viewpoints for EFL teachers and educators in describing and grasping EFL textbooks. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.4.14

I-BIM for existing airport infrastructures

New methods and technologies are changing the sectors of engineering and constructions. International researchers introduce the acronym I-BIM (Infrastructure Building Information Modeling) to point out a management information system of digital processes for infrastructures. In this study is shown the 3D parametric solid model of Lamezia Terme International Civil Airport’s runway located in Southern Italy. The 3D parametric model, including horizontal/vertical profiles and cross sections, was carried out using Autodesk Civil 3D, while the territorial context was recreated in Autodesk Infraworks360. Grip numbers data, collected during surveys from 2004 to 2015, were implemented in the mentioned 3D model. This intelligent 3D model-based process can be used in optimal Airport Pavement Management System (APMS) for planning maintenance operations (BIM seventh dimension) in according to Civil Aviation regulation.

Worker safety perception analysis of South Korean construction sites

Purpose. The aim of this article was to measure the safety perception level of workers on a South Korean construction site and investigate safety problems using the Nordic occupational safety climate questionnaire (NOSACQ-50). Methods. The survey was carried out via the NOSACQ-50 with 175 workers from five South Korean construction companies to evaluate their perception level. The results were then compared with the NOSACQ-50 criteria. Results. The safety perception of this South Korean construction site is high when compared with the NOSACQ-50 criteria. This high level was especially pronounced for the seventh dimension of the efficacy of the safety system, which showed the highest level among all dimensions. In addition, we suggested improvements and interventions to sustain a safety climate amongst workgroups. Conclusions. This study confirms that the seventh dimension showed the highest safety perception amongst all dimensions in South Korea. In the future, these findings can be utilized to develop an evaluation tool for the safety climate of the construction industry in South Korea.

Partisanship and organisational change in Mauritius

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report on a study of change management practices in private sector organisations in the small island economy of Mauritius.Design/methodology/approachInterviews were conducted with key decision makers and individuals who had experienced the organisational change process in three private organisations from different sectors in Mauritius: a bank, a hotel and a privatised state-owned enterprise. A grounded theory approach was employed to establish the key dimensions of organisational change in this setting.FindingsOrganisational change is a multi-dimensional, multi-directional and evolutionary process strongly influenced by the contextual and historical aspects of the country. The emerging key elements of change identified in the data confirmed a range of dimensions evident in the extant literature, but also identified a largely unacknowledged factor, considered to be central to the change process in Mauritian organisations. This emerging factor was identified as partisanship.Originality/valueThis study served to confirm six dimensions evident in the extant literature on organisational change: organisational structure, organisational culture, leadership processes, individuals, knowledge management and resistance to change. A seventh dimension, and heretofore largely unacknowledged factor, considered to be central to the change process in Mauritian organisations was also identified: partisanship. The study identified this emerging key dimension as having a pervasive influence. History, culture and context have served to embed this dimension in Mauritian organisations. Evidence is presented to illustrate how the process of organisational change is undertaken in Mauritius, and identify the role of partisanship. This has the potential to be applied to other small island economies with similar historical, cultural or contextual features.

Revisiting Hofstede in the Indian context: understanding the influence of entrepreneurial culture on performance of micro, small and medium enterprises

The performance of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) has been closely linked to factors unique to the respective countries or regions, namely, macro environmental factors, firm specific factors and entrepreneurial factors. The influence of macro environmental and firm specific factors on Indian MSMEs has been well researched and documented. The nature and extent of the influence of culture on MSME performance has not yet been largely researched or documented. This paper attempts to see whether the cultural dimensions of entrepreneurs across different regions of India influence the performance of MSMEs. The six dimensional cultural framework identified by Hofstede and the seventh dimension brought out through the validation study done recently by Thampi et al. in the Indian context are used for this study. Quantitative analysis of the inputs on the cultural orientations of MSME entrepreneurs and the enterprise performance parameters established the influence of cultural determinants on enterprise performance.

Interest in science: a RIASEC-based analysis of students’ interests

ABSTRACTConsidering the reported lack of interest in the STEM-domain and the consequential difficulties in recruiting talented and interested young academics, the development of effective enrichment measures is indispensable. This requires a precise picture of students’ interests. The paper presents an approach to characterize interest profiles in explicitly science-related activities. Adapting Holland's RIASEC-model, an instrument was developed and tested which allows the description of interest in activities along Holland's dimensions (and a seventh dimension networking) within the confined science domain. The findings of a study with N = 247 students (age cohorts 12–19 years) uncovered interest differences for the environments school, enrichment, and (prospective) vocation. The mutual importance of the performed activity and the environment the activity is performed in is confirmed by a cross-classified model. Contrasting different subgroups revealed multiple results, e.g., girls showed more interest in artistic and social activities within the science domain. High achieving students showed more interest in science-related activities in all dimensions. In conclusion, using our adapted model, students’ interest structure can be described in a differentiated manner. This could lay the foundation for further analyses of students’ interest profiles and thereby contribute to future development of effective and congruent enrichment measures, thus enhancing interest in science.

Reconstructive Hermeneutics in African Christology

The article sets out to demonstrate African reconstructive Christology as the seventhChristological trend in African Christianity. Considering that African theology is kerygmatically universal, but theologically provincial, the study shows that Christology in our contemporary Africa can be best understood by retracing it from the early Christologicalcontroversies through to the present times. Certainly, African Christology in the 21st century is dominated by calls for contextualisation, indigenisation, rebirth, inculturation,renewal, rejuvenation, renaissance and reconstruction. To this end, the article endeavours todemonstrate that Christ, the ideal reconstructionist, the one who broke the cultural codes of his time in order to reconstruct the society, is the relevant model to our contemporary world.The article draws its theoretical framework from the works of Jesse Mugambi, Kä Mana,and Wachege, amongst other proponents of reconstructive motif in African theology. In its methodology, the article first attempts to identify some early Christological developments through to the contemporary trends. It subsequently attempts a survey of the six Christologicaltrends of the 20th century; that is a Christological trend that commits itself to interpreting and adapting Christology to modern mentality and situation; Christologies geared exclusively to thehistorical Jesus; Christology that tends to uphold the Trinitarian theology; Christologies based on the proclaimed Christ and the historical Jesus; Asian Christologies of inculturation and liberation;and African Christologies of inculturation and liberation. Afterwards, it analyses Christological trends of the 21st century where a seventh dimension, African reconstructive Christology, has become the norm. In so doing, the article builds on the premise that the primary task of African Christology today is restoration.

ICT Sector Performance Review for Pakistan

Pakistan crossed the 100 million mobile subscribers’ mark in July 2010 – a landmark achievement, rising from a mere 1.7 million in 2002. The country also surpassed the 1 million mark for the number of broadband subscribers in October 2010. With these motivating accomplishments, the total teledensity of the telecom industry of Pakistan increased to 64.08 percent at the end of FY 2010, recording a growth of 3.5 percent from the preceding financial year. The TRE survey measures informed stakeholders’ perceptions about the regulatory and policy environment with regard to the telecom sector in a given country. The current TRE survey (2010) is a third in the series. The first survey was conducted in July 2006 by LIRNEasia in five emerging Asian countries, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Thailand, and the Philippines using six dimensions: market entry; access to scarce resources; interconnection; tariff regulation; anti-competitive practices; and universal services, for the fixed and mobile sectors. In the second TRE survey in 2008, a seventh dimension dealing with the 'quality of service' was added, and the survey was conducted for the broadband sector in addition to fixed and mobile sectors, in 8 countries: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan, Thailand, and the Philippines.

Psychological ownership: A managerial construct for talent retention and organisational effectiveness

Many scholars, consultants and practitioners have recently focused their attention on ‘ownership’ as a psychological, rather than just a business phenomenon. Psychological ownership is defined as a state in which individuals feel as though the target of ownership or a piece of it is ‘theirs’ (that is ‘It is mine!’). It suggests that, the presence of psychological ownership among employees can have a positive effect on organisational effectiveness. The main aim of this paper is to introduce and describe a new kind of ownership, known as ‘psychological ownership’ that could be a valuable managerial construct for improving talent retention and organisational effectiveness within the South African work environment. The research methodology followed an extensive literature review in order to compile the construct for psychological ownership, which was then validated by a panel of nine scholarly subject-matter experts by applying Lawshe’s quantitative approach to content validity. The study resulted in a multidimensional construct for psychological ownership with high content validity, consisting of a promotion-orientated and prevention-orientated dimension. Promotion-orientated psychological ownership consists of six theory-driven components: Self-efficacy, sense of belonging, self-identity, accountability, autonomy and responsibility. Territoriality, the seventh dimension, was identified as a preventative form of psychological ownership. The particular relevance of this paper is the introduction of a positively oriented psychological ownership construct that can be utilised by managers and human resource professionals as a potential guideline to facilitating talent retention and productivity in the current work environment.

Sustainability: The seventh dimension of quality in health care

Hemodialysis InternationalVolume 16, Issue 1 p. 2-5 EDITORIAL Sustainability: The seventh dimension of quality in health care Andrew Connor MD, Andrew Connor MD Plymouth, UKSearch for more papers by this authorDonal O'Donoghue MBBS, Donal O'Donoghue MBBS London, UKSearch for more papers by this author Andrew Connor MD, Andrew Connor MD Plymouth, UKSearch for more papers by this authorDonal O'Donoghue MBBS, Donal O'Donoghue MBBS London, UKSearch for more papers by this author First published: 29 January 2012 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1542-4758.2011.00652.xCitations: 6Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume16, Issue1January 2012Pages 2-5 RelatedInformation

Spanish Validation of the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales

The Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales have been designed to provide a personality assessment tool based on six distinct affective systems. The six neural systems involved were labeled PLAY, SEEK, CARE, FEAR, ANGER and SADNESS. Spirituality has been integrated into the questionnaire as a seventh dimension because, in opinion of Panksepp and his colleagues is one of the most interesting human emotion. The aim of the present paper was introduce the validation of the Spanish version of Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales and their first psychometric results in a sample of 411 college students. Participants completed the Spanish version of ANPS, just as a personality scale of five factors (NEO-FFI-R), and the Scales of Positive and Negative Affect (PANAS). The factor structure obtained and psychometric properties of the scales indicate that the Spanish version of the scales provides an effective tool to measure the seven dimensions of personality proposal in the original questionnaire.

Telecom Regulatory and Policy Environment in the Philippines: Results and Analysis of the 2008 TRE Survey

The TRE survey was conducted from May 17 to July 7, 2008. Sixty-six (66) respondents comprised the three different stakeholder groups who participated in the study. Each group had at least 16 respondents who answered the survey. Compared with the TRE in 2006 there were mixed results across the same dimensions surveyed in 2008. There are some dimensions that improved, and some that declined. Those that increased were perceptions about Universal Service Obligations, Regulation of anti-competitive practices and TRE for interconnection in the mobile sector in particular. Among those perceptions that declined were the TREs for Market Entry and Access to Scarce Resources. There was no change in perceptions on tariff regulation, which may be due to perceptions that declining tariffs are attributable more to market forces due to competition in both mobile and fixed lines, rather than direct rate regulations imposed by the state. The broadband sector which was made part of the 2008 TRE had no comparative rating in 2006. However, on average, the scores obtained for broadband TRE was lower than the scores obtained for both mobiles and fixed line telephones. This suggests that informed stakeholders perceive that regulators have not been focusing on this sector as much as it has with voice services. CDMA phones, also known as ‘wireless fixed line’ are considered part of the fixed line telephones. A seventh dimension, involving quality of service was introduced in the 2008 TRE. It is in this dimension that the mobile sector scored the highest, which implies (given how competition in the mobile sector is most intense) that competition can help spur improvement in services.

Telecom Regulatory and Policy Environment in India: Results and Analysis of the 2008 TRE Survey

In India, like in many other developing countries, the abysmal performance of the state-owned telecommunications service provider and the increasing requirement to attract capital for the upgrading the sector were the major drivers for liberalization. At the macro level after enshrining policy in a closed centralized economic model based on import substitution for almost four decades, India made a structural shift to a market-oriented model in the early 1980s. This shift in policy and the associated institutional arrangements also had an impact on the telecommunications industry. India faced many difficult challenges in liberalizing its telecommunications industry from a monopoly to a decentralized competitive model. During monopoly era, telephone was not considered as a necessity, and, as a result, telephone penetration levels were very low and the quality of service was poor. However, long-waiting lists, technological advancement and pressure from various domestic and international stakeholders pushed the government to initiate reforms in middle of 1980's to spread telephone infrastructure.Telecom reforms in India allowed for private entry but did not entail privatization of the incumbent erstwhile monopoly service providers. Market liberalization accompanied with the introduction of new laws and regulations was the cornerstone of reform. Regulatory agencies and regulation have become integral components of the telecom reform process, in order to protect consumers, reassure investors and, in theory, help advance competition.The results of liberalization have been impressive. Teledensity has increased from merely 2 percent or so in 1999 to around 26.22 percent in 2008 and almost 6 million mobile subscribers are added every month. Wireless has been the principal engine for telecom growth in the country. The wireless subscriber base has grown from 0.88 million in1999 to 261.07 million in 2008. Given the importance of the Telecom Regulatory Environment (TRE) on the outcomes of reforms, LIRNEasia has developed a TRE index, which summarizes stakeholders’ perception on certain TRE dimensions. The index is created with the help of a survey of the key stakeholders. The first survey was conducted in July 2006 in five Asian countries, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Thailand, and the Philippines on six dimensions: i) market entry; ii) access to scarce resources; iii) interconnection; iv) tariff regulation; v) anti-competitive practices; and vi) universal services, for the fixed and mobile sectors. In the most recent survey carried out in July 2008, a seventh dimension dealing with the “quality of service” was added, and the survey was conducted for the broadband sector in addition to fixed and mobile sectors. The survey was carried out in eight countries, which are, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan, Thailand, and the Philippines.