Successful Employment Research Articles

The value of employment support services for adults on the autism spectrum and/or with intellectual disabilities: Employee, employer, and job coach perspectives

BACKGROUND: Employment rates among individuals on the autism spectrum or with intellectual disabilities (ID) remain extremely low. Although job coaching services have contributed to successful employment for these individuals, few studies have examined the importance of such support, and even fewer have explored which services are valued most by stakeholders. OBJECTIVE: We examined the importance of employment support services through employee, employer, and job coach perspectives, and employee and employer satisfaction of job coach support. METHODS: A multiple-case study was designed with a community organization providing employment support to individuals on the autism spectrum or with ID, and their employers. Nine employee-employer-job coach triads evaluated the importance of specific services and rated their satisfaction with the job coach support. RESULTS: Services were rated as important, however, some discrepancies were observed between the groups in their ratings of services (e.g., soliciting regular feedback about the employee’s performance). Satisfaction was high for employees and employers; both groups indicated that they would recommend these services. CONCLUSIONS: Job coach support was highly valued by all groups, underscoring the need for these services to be widely available, and suggesting that this support may serve as a critical factor in improving employment outcomes among this population.

The Effect of Employer Brand on Talent Management

The main purpose of the study is to explore the need of building a successful employer brand and its effect on attracting and retaining talent in the organization in a context of high turnover and skill shortage. Critical analysis of the theoretical concepts and a historical review is made. The article gives examples how big companies build their employer brand (L’Oréal, Netflix, Salesforce). Examples are given for the Bulgarian market with companies which operate here like Southerland, SAP Labs, etc. A comparison of good practices with a well-established employer brand is made and guidelines are given for organizations in Bulgaria in which no such practices have been observed. The methods which used for gaining the information are Internet secondary data and direct observation in companies. This article will serve to the readers and employers to understand why the topic is so important these days and eventually to prevent some loses if they implement some of the good practices described in the research.

Refugees at Work: The Preventative Role of Psychosocial Safety Climate against Workplace Harassment, Discrimination and Psychological Distress.

It is widely recognised that employment is vital in assisting young refugees’ integration into a new society. Drawing on psychosocial safety climate (PSC) theory, this research investigated the effect of organisational climate on young refugee workers’ mental health (psychological distress) through stressful social relational aspects of work (e.g., harassment, discrimination). Drawing on data from 635 young refugees aged between 15 and 26 in South Australia, 116 refugees with paid work were compared with 519 refugee students without work, and a sample of young workers from Australian Workplace Barometer (AWB) data (n = 290). The results indicated that refugees with paid work had significantly lower psychological distress compared with refugees with no paid work, but more distress than other young Australian workers. With respect to workplace harassment and abuse, young refugee workers reported significantly more harassment due to their ongoing interaction and engagement with mainstream Australian workers compared with unemployed refugees. Harassment played a vital role in affecting psychological health in refugees (particularly) and other young workers. While refugee youth experienced harassment at work, overall, their experiences suggest that their younger age upon arrival enabled them to seek and find positive employment outcomes. Although PSC did not differ significantly between the employed groups, we found that it likely negatively influenced psychological distress through the mediating effects of harassment and abuse. Hence, fostering pathways to successful employment and creating safe work based on high PSC and less harassment are strongly recommended to improve refugees’ mental health and adaptation.

Closed-loop auditory stimulation method to modulate sleep slow waves and motor learning performance in rats.

Slow waves and cognitive output have been modulated in humans by phase-targeted auditory stimulation. However, to advance its technical development and further our understanding, implementation of the method in animal models is indispensable. Here, we report the successful employment of slow waves' phase-targeted closed-loop auditory stimulation (CLAS) in rats. To validate this new tool both conceptually and functionally, we tested the effects of up- and down-phase CLAS on proportions and spectral characteristics of sleep, and on learning performance in the single-pellet reaching task, respectively. Without affecting 24 hr sleep-wake behavior, CLAS specifically altered delta (slow waves) and sigma (sleep spindles) power persistently over chronic periods of stimulation. While up-phase CLAS does not elicit a significant change in behavioral performance, down-phase CLAS exerted a detrimental effect on overall engagement and success rate in the behavioral test. Overall CLAS-dependent spectral changes were positively correlated with learning performance. Altogether, our results provide proof-of-principle evidence that phase-targeted CLAS of slow waves in rodents is efficient, safe, and stable over chronic experimental periods, enabling the use of this high-specificity tool for basic and preclinical translational sleep research.

Policy-Based Blockchain Selection

As the number of blockchain (BC) platforms providing specific features increases, selecting a platform that fits all requirements needed for a specific case becomes a cumbersome task. For example, not only are BCs' technical details relevant, but also their intrinsic characteristics (e.g., cryptocurrency price) must be considered in selecting a BC for a given case. Hence, the management of data stored in multiple BCs and the selection process are not straightforward due to the myriad platforms and both technical and economic details (e.g., BC throughput and the underlying price fluctuation). This article defines a novel refinement flow (based on the policy continuum) of high-level BC selection policies to low-level BC transactions. Experiments with the BC selection framework developed applying policy-based management (PBM) in the BC context do show that such synergy simplifies data management in multiple BCs driven by user requirements (e.g., based on costs or performance policies). The performance analysis of the framework demonstrates the successful employment of PBM for BC selections with minimal overhead.

Employment or Development in a Semi-Peripheral Region: The Roadrunner Paradigm

This study observes the relationship between employment policies and the evolution of the productive system, applying the theoretical framework of local development to an average-sized town in a semi-peripheral area of the European Union, during the period from 1975 to 2015. To do so, a case analysis was made of the outcomes of employment policies via their effects on the variables impacting on the productive fabric. The following data sources were used: grey literature related to public policies; published statistics on demographic variables and economic activity; and local press reports. The following results were obtained: (a) the responses of economic agents owe more to the changes in the international scenario than to employment policies; (b) it is essential to analyse the evolution of demographic factors to properly interpret the relationship between labour supply and demand. We conclude that (a) corporate culture significantly influences the success or otherwise of employment policies, and (b) in the semi-peripheral area discussed, unemployment is an endemic problem that successive cohesion and employment policies have failed to resolve. Therefore, the use of innovation-oriented theoretical and practical approaches should be reconsidered.

Self-Perceived Independent Living Skills and Self-Determination as a Method of Evaluating a Residential Program in Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Prior research shows that employment programs for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) fail to address ASD as a heterogeneous disorder and focus on specific ASD traits associated with difficulty in obtaining and maintaining employment. This study provides descriptive evidence that self-perceptions of self-determination improve in young adults with ASD who participate in a residential program that promotes Wehmeyer and Schalock’s essential characteristics of self-determined behavior: behavioral autonomy, self-regulated behavior, acting in a psychologically empowered manner, and self-realization. Qualitative surveys were administered to 60 participants (17-28 years old) on perceptions of self-determination, confidence in independent living skills, and program effectiveness regarding case management and sustainable employment. One-sided t-tests using pre- and post-program responses were assessed. Post- versus pre-program means were significantly higher in participants feeling confident to live alone (p = 0.0059). Findings suggest that programs adopting self-determined behavior may be more effective in increasing self-confidence for individuals with ASD. However, these findings warrant long-term analysis to assess the continuity of program success and sustained employment.

The youth’s perceptions of the labor market in Russia, China and Germany: A comparative analysis

The study of the specifics of professional choice and of the factors that determine labor orientations of the youth is one of the urgent sociological tasks for researchers all over the world. The universal, supranational nature of this task under globalization explains the need to compare labor orientations of the Russian youth with their foreign peers. The article aims at assessing the basic ideas about the labor market of the youth in Russia, Germany and China. The empirical part of the article is presented by the survey and interviews of the Russian, German and Chinese youth. The author considers typical problems that the young professionals face when searching for a job, their opinions on the most important work qualities, similarities and differences in the perception of the ideal worker. Young people in Russia, Germany and China name different aspects of working life as the most important: Russian respondents value wages and the stability of organization more than the Chinese and especially German. On the other hand, German and Chinese students prefer activities that reveal personal creativity and leave space for personal life. Considering social capital, unlike their peers from Germany and China, Russian respondents do not associate the fact of having a university diploma with potential success in the labor market. More often than the Chinese and Germans respondents, the Russian youth mention nepotism and corruption as an obstacle to successful employment. Among the similar social perceptions of the respondents from three countries, one can name the difficulties associated with the lack of work experience. The interaction of educational institutions and employers can help in overcoming the difficulties that the young Russians face when searching for a job.

A snapshot of a pandemic: The interplay between social isolation and COVID-19 dynamics in Brazil

SummaryIn response to the coronavirus pandemic, governments implemented social distancing, attempting to block the virus spread within territories. While it is well accepted that social isolation plays a role in epidemic control, the precise connections between mobility data indicators and epidemic dynamics are still a challenge. In this work, we investigate the dependency between a social isolation index and epidemiological metrics for several Brazilian cities. Classic statistical methods are employed to support the findings. As a first, initially surprising, result, we illustrate how there seems to be no apparent functional relationship between social isolation data and later effects on disease incidence. However, further investigations identified two regimes of successful employment of social isolation: as a preventive measure or as a remedy, albeit remedy measures require greater social isolation and bring higher burden to health systems. Additionally, we exhibit cases of successful strategies involving lockdowns and an indicator-based mobility restriction plan.

Transport engineering for improving the production and secretion of valuable alkaloids in Escherichia coli

Microorganisms can be metabolically engineered to produce specialized plant metabolites. However, these methods are limited by low productivity and intracellular accumulation of metabolites. We sought to use transport engineering for producing reticuline, an important intermediate in the alkaloid biosynthetic pathway. In this study, we established a reticuline-producing Escherichia coli strain into which the multidrug and toxic compound extrusion transporter Arabidopsis AtDTX1 was introduced. AtDTX1 was selected due to its suitable expression in E. coli and its reticuline-transport activity. Expression of AtDTX1 enhanced reticuline production by 11-fold, and the produced reticuline was secreted into the medium. AtDTX1 expression also conferred high plasmid stability and resulted in upregulation or downregulation of several genes associated with biological processes, including metabolic pathways for reticuline biosynthesis, leading to the production and secretion of high levels of reticuline. The successful employment of a transporter for alkaloid production suggests that the proposed transport engineering approach may improve the biosynthesis of specialized metabolites via metabolic engineering.

A novel Penicilliumsumatraense isolate reveals an arsenal of degrading enzymes exploitable in algal bio-refinery processes

BackgroundMicroalgae are coming to the spotlight due to their potential applications in a wide number of fields ranging from the biofuel to the pharmaceutical sector. However, several factors such as low productivity, expensive harvesting procedures and difficult metabolite extractability limit their full utilization at industrial scale. Similarly to the successful employment of enzymatic arsenals from lignocellulolytic fungi to convert lignocellulose into fermentable sugars for bioethanol production, specific algalytic formulations could be used to improve the extractability of lipids from microalgae to produce biodiesel. Currently, the research areas related to algivorous organisms, algal saprophytes and the enzymes responsible for the hydrolysis of algal cell wall are still little explored.ResultsHere, an algal trap method for capturing actively growing microorganisms was successfully used to isolate a filamentous fungus, that was identified by whole-genome sequencing, assembly and annotation as a novel Penicilliumsumatraense isolate. The fungus, classified as P.sumatraense AQ67100, was able to assimilate heat-killed Chlorellavulgaris cells by an enzymatic arsenal composed of proteases such as dipeptidyl- and amino-peptidases, β-1,3-glucanases and glycosidases including α- and β-glucosidases, β-glucuronidase, α-mannosidases and β-galactosidases. The treatment of C.vulgaris with the filtrate from P.sumatraense AQ67100 increased the release of chlorophylls and lipids from the algal cells by 42.6 and 48.9%, respectively.ConclusionsThe improved lipid extractability from C.vulgaris biomass treated with the fungal filtrate highlighted the potential of algal saprophytes in the bioprocessing of microalgae, posing the basis for the sustainable transformation of algal metabolites into biofuel-related compounds.

Learning business through digital simulation: An analysis of student reflections


 
 
 The use of digital simulations is becoming more prominent in higher education to provide students with authentic learning environments in which they can apply their knowledge as well as develop enterprise skills. These enterprise skills are those qualities necessary for successful employment after graduation. This paper investigated ten years of data gathered through student reflective assessments that identified their perceived learning from the completion of a course which contained an embedded digital simulation. Student reflections were analysed to determine the themes which defined their key learning from the course. Content analysis was undertaken using nVivo to determine the themes from the students’ individual reflection assessment. Outcomes of the study revealed that students self- reported successful achievement of three of the four course learning outcomes. In addition, students identified improvement in their enterprise skills and better understanding of business practices for their future careers.
 
 

“Can I Work Here?”: Employment Barriers for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities in Greece

Research evidence has shown that employment is crucial and purposeful for people with intellectual disabilities, promoting positive effects associated with independent living and social inclusion. Notwithstanding, people with intellectual disabilities find it particularly difficult to accomplish successful employment. They face discrimination, and they are considered to lack work capacity. The extremely marginal position of people with intellectual disabilities in the labor market appears to prevail across national settings. Over the last 35 years, there has been an improvement in the vocational inclusion of individuals with intellectual disabilities in Greece, with the legislation embracing the human rights-based approach to disability. Nevertheless, the challenge of accomplishing full participation and equality in employment for people with intellectual disabilities still remains huge in Greece. Their participation rates in the Greek labour market are significantly lower than in the rest of the European Union. This article illustrates the employment provisions for individuals with intellectual disabilities in Greece. Additionally, it presents the current implemented models of their occupational inclusion while critically discussing the convention's pursuance on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the Greek context.

Urban Demolition: Application of Blight Elimination Programs and Flood Buyout Programs to the Italian Case

In recent years, there has been a growing awareness that not all decommissioned and obsolete real-estate assets can be recovered and reused. After the paradigm of urban growth, and following the paradigm of regeneration, a new paradigm seems to be looming on the horizon: the paradigm of shrinkage. Due to this change in perspective, discussions on the potential of demolition policies as an alternative to regeneration and reuse are gaining support in the debate about urban growth. In the United States, there are two on-going programs using demolition as their main tool for urban planning: the blight elimination programs and the flood buyout programs. The former foresees the demolition of abandoned and decayed real-estate assets, while the latter envisions the demolition and relocation of buildings within areas under flooding risks. Given their successful employment in the U.S., this paper evaluates the applicability of these programs to an Italian case, which is characterized by a different building heritage and different territorial conditions. Simulations of the programs’ application are made using two case studies: Lecce nei Marsi (Abruzzo) and Moncalieri (Piemonte). The results demonstrate the substantial feasibility of the blight elimination programs’ usage in Italy, while the flood buyout programs instead demonstrates major obstacles that may hinder its successful application.

Reconceptualising ‘reasonable adjustments’ for the successful employment of autistic women

Many more autistic women than men do not receive diagnosis in childhood. In addition, they are often socialised from an early age to conceal or ‘camouflage’ their differences in order to fit in. Gendered prejudices often dictate workplace roles which serve to further disadvantage women. Employers are often unaware of how to ensure their workplaces are accommodating for autistic women, and it may seem inconvenient or unnecessary to make adjustments. This article seeks to highlight some issues related to promoting the meaningful recruitment and inclusion of autistic women in the workplace. It draws on qualitative research data to highlight the intersectional dimensions of being an autistic woman at work. The emerging themes are discussed with a view to improving knowledge about how to improve workplace environments and practices thereby support autistic women to succeed. Points of interest Autistic women ‘camouflage’ or ‘mask’ aspects of their autism in order to conceal or compensate for their differences. This may mean they appear to cope and consequently, their needs for support or adjustments at work are overlooked. The research methods use the narratives of autistic women to illuminate the difficulties and advantages of being both autistic and a woman in the workplace. This research suggests that sexist expectations of women to interact as non-autistic person would at work, particularly in relation to emotions, impacts upon their opportunities to progress in their chosen careers. The research discusses barriers and support at work. It contributes to improving awareness of the diverse and complex challenges faced by autistic women.

New Ba2YAlO5:Dy3+ nanomaterials for WLEDs: Propellant combustion synthesis and photometric features for enhanced emission of cool-white light under NUV excitation

A new-variety of cool-white-emitting Ba2YAlO5:Dy3+ nanomaterials has been prepared via a cost-effective, energy-saving and ecofriendly propellant-combustion-synthesis, to boost the performance of single–phase wLEDs (white-light-emitting diodes). X-ray-diffraction-profiles substantiate distortion-free Dy3+-diffusion into monoclinic Ba2YAlO5-prototype. Photoluminescence-spectra exhibits two-emission-bands in visible-domain centered at 486 (bluish) and 579 nm (golden), to impart white-color to powders. Additionally, decay-time, non-radiative rates, radiative-lifetime and quantum-efficiency are examined by Auzel’s model. White-light parameters (color-coordinates (0.2702, 0.3308), color-purity (24.89 × 10−2) & color-temperature (9132 K)) emulate the standard-NTSC and LED-white-coordinates. Henceforth, aforementioned outcomes suggest their successful employment for advanced lasers, white-LEDs, security-labels, bio-imaging, latent-fingerprinting and photovoltaic-applications.

Организационные особенности инклюзивного процесса обучения студентов с инвалидностью по адаптированным основным профессиональным образовательным программам в университете

Researched is the problem of developing inclusive Higher education with an emphasis on the success of its completion and subsequent effective employment of graduates is very urgent. Today the number of students with disabilities requiring such training is estimated in the thousands. The accumulated experience of inclusive education confirms that vocational education, including higher education, provides the best vocational rehabilitation and subsequent successful employment of people with disabilities in the labor market. A key contribution to solving this problem is made by universities that create adapted educational programs for this category of students. The article summarizes the experience of the Bauman University on the creation of adapted basic professional educational programs for students with disabilities. The features of the organization of the inclusive educational process of learning, the features of the development and implementation of its methodological support: curricula, calendar educational schedules, competency matrices, work programs of disciplines and practices, assessment and other teaching materials are analyzed. The development and institutionalization of adoptive basic professional educational programs allows the university to pursue a targeted policy of attracting students with disabilities to higher education and ensures the success of mastering professional higher education programs approaching 90%, with 100% successful subsequent employment of graduates.

Unexpectedly Pursuing Employment in a New Country: How Refugees Overcome Vocational Barriers

Our goal in the current symposium is to build on this base of knowledge regarding the barriers faced by refugees, and to present research that unpacks the processes and factors that enable refugees to overcome tremendous challenges in pursuing successful employment from multiple perspectives. In doing so, we provide deeper insight into the problems and challenges that refugees face, provide preliminary solutions, and make theoretical contributions in the field. Finding solutions to the barriers that refugees face is necessary, as research has found that the single most important factor for successful refugee resettlement is securing employment (Porter & Haslam, 2003). From a theoretical standpoint, researchers have started to criticize current career theories for failing to describe the careers of underprivileged people, such as refugees, as underprivileged people often lack agency and choice in their careers (Duffy, Blustein, Diemer, & Autin, 2016). Thus, the scholarship presented here aligns with the 2021 conference theme Bringing the Manager Back in Management, as managers increasingly face the challenge of shaping how organizations are perceived by society. Our symposium addresses critical questions pertaining to the successful management of organizations, such as factors that can enable refugee career adaptability, how managers successfully and ethically integrate refugees into their workplace and identifying potential barriers refugees may face during their job search process. We focus on the two major career choices refugees face: traditional employment and entrepreneurship. Uncovering the Relationship Between Openness to Experience and Career Adaptability in Refugees Presenter: Alexander Newman; Deakin U. Presenter: Karen Dunwoodie; Deakin U. Presenter: Zhou Jiang; Flinders U. Presenter: Ingrid Nielsen; Monash U., Australia Gender Similarities and Differences in Experiences in Refugee Entrepreneurs Presenter: Hans Van Dijk; Tilburg U. Presenter: Sophie Alkhaled; Lancaster U. Management School Presenter: Lena Knappert; Vrije U. Amsterdam Presenter: Silke Van Herk; Tilburg U. Fostering Refugees' Labor Market Integration: The Roles of Businesses and Host Country Agencies Presenter: Katja Wehrle; Justus-Liebig U. Giessen Presenter: Ute-Christine Klehe; Justus-Liebig U. Giessen Presenter: Mari Kira; U. of Michigan Organizational Socialization Practices, Refugees’ Experiences, and Polyrhythmic Socialization Presenter: Elena Glauninger; U. of Graz Presenter: Renate Ortlieb; U. of Graz Presenter: Silvana Weiss; U. of Graz Development of the Refugee Job Search Stressor Scale Presenter: Matthew Hanson; SUNY, Albany Presenter: Lisa E. Baranik; U. at Albany, State U. of New York Presenter: Rachel Williamson Smith; Louisiana State U. Presenter: Liyue Fan; U. of North Carolina, Charlotte

DEVELOPING INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMPETENCE VIA TEAM LEARNING IN POST-PANDEMIC ERA

To become successfully competitive in the globalised post-COVID 19 virtual business world, the engineering students, besides learning the English language for Specific Purposes as stipulated by the existing Syllabi, require purposed efforts for the formation of intercultural business communication competencies. This research, conducted successively in the USA and Ukraine combining observational and experimental methodology, aimed at studying the influence of team learning on the development of intercultural business competencies and skills highly desired and valued by employers, such as team building and teamwork, critical thinking, decision making, conflict prevention, and resolution, etc. The results were processed by combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Spanning in time from 2013 to 2020, the study proved the effectiveness of project work in learning teams for the development of intercultural competence and business communication skills. Team learning in virtual teams based on andragogical principles and methodology adapted by the authors to the needs of Ukrainian engineering students resulted in developing team building, teamwork, leadership, goal setting, planning, decision making, time management, creative and critical thinking, problem solving, conflict prevention and resolution, interpersonal and group communication and collaboration skills and competences, necessary for successful integration into the global workforce marketplace. Besides significant enhancement of intercultural business communication competencies, team learning resulted in raising Ukrainian undergraduate engineering students’ motivation towards learning ESP, engagement in group and classwork, persistence towards successful graduation and gainful employment, and overall positive learning experiences.

South African specific complexities in aligning graduate attributes to employability

South African higher education (HE) cannot be compared to any other country’s HE systems due to the unique political landscape and structural narrative that it has undergone. Subsequent to the reorganisation of HEIs in 2004, a number of complexities arose. These included accessibility to education across race and the alignment of the South African HEIs to global pedagogic benchmarks. With the changing political landscape, transformations within higher education, socio economic inequities and changes in the workplace, researchers failed to cognize the impact of these factors on graduate employability. Changing graduate attributes to align with a decolonised curriculum and Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) workspaces were transiently underway when COVID-19 set a new narrative for the future of employability. This paper seeks to identify the impact of workplace changes and its direct influence on successful graduate employment and integration into the HE curriculum. The work environment has cursorily moved from 4IR to an advanced stage of the 4IR, where there is a full emphasis on digitisation, non-localised workspaces and is an ostensible playground for digital natives (Generation Z). This paper provides a systematic review of literature in the South African HE contexts that pertains to graduate attributes for employability within the workplace. The adoption of malleable secondary data will allow for an understanding of the relationship between changing workplace environments and expectations from graduates. This correlation is directly linked to graduate attributes which students need to comply with from year one. The paper will provide context to changes which are required for the future success of graduates, and whether graduate attributes are adequate preparation for employability. A clinical model is recommended with an intervention to manage the risk factors of decolonisation of curriculum, the 4IR and multi-generational workplace and responses to COVID-19.