Work Opportunities Research Articles

Multimodal creativity and identity in digital discourse: meme practices in China

Abstract This paper studies how internet memes in the context of China are the result of complex semiotic remixing practices and how these multimodal practices offer opportunities for identity work. It offers a situated perspective on the processes that underlie the creation of Chinese memes (Biaoqingbao), the ways in which these memes mediate the digital practices of members in a student community, and how these students find opportunities for identity work. This study takes a social semiotic (Kress, Gunther R. 2010. Multimodality: a social semiotic approach to contemporary communication. Taylor & Francis) and Mediated Discourse Analysis approach (Scollon, Ron. 2001. Mediated discourse: The Nexus of practice. Routledge; Scollon and Scollon 2004; Norris, Sigrid & Rodney H. Jones. 2005. Discourse in action: introducing mediated discourse analysis. London: Routledge) to analyze biaoqingbao as the mediate the social interaction within a light community. The data was collected using a form of digital ethnography. The memes studied in the current paper are unique in two ways. First, they combine both local and global people, places, objects and discourses deploying both Chinese and English texts and effectively create semiotic trajectories between highly localized digital meme practices and more global mainstream meme practices. Second, the practices of producing, sharing and remixing these memes are exclusively situated in a distinct light community and offer important opportunities for multimodal identity performance.

Urban scaling theory: Answers to frequent questions

Since its start about 15 years ago, urban scaling research has become a vibrant component of the emerging field of urban science. Initially, this work focused on the identification of nonlinear relationships in urban quantities relative to population size, but more recently it has expanded to include efforts to explain observed scaling relationships in terms of new theory. We find that some misunderstandings have arisen in the literature concerning the nature and purpose of this work. Here, we address several persistent questions that have been raised with respect to urban scaling theory, clarify what we perceive to be its achievements and distinctiveness, and highlight questions and areas of opportunity for future work.

THE ROLE OF SOCIAL WORK IN PALLIATIVE CARE: HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND CHALLENGES

The article explores the challenges and opportunities in social work within palliative care, emphasizing its role in addressing the complex needs of patients with life-threatening illnesses and their families. The primary aim is to analyze the emotional, ethical, organizational, and cultural dimensions of social work in this field and identify strategies for improving care delivery. The findings highlight significant challenges, such as the emotional burden on social workers, resource limitations, and ethical dilemmas related to balancing patient autonomy with cultural and religious differences. Nevertheless, the conclusions demonstrate the pivotal role of social workers in providing psychosocial support, coordinating care within multidisciplinary teams, and advocating for culturally sensitive practices. The conclusions emphasize the need for targeted interventions to enhance the effectiveness of social work in palliative care. These include specialized training, increased resource allocation, and the development of comprehensive policies and standards. The recommendations focus on deeper integration of social work into multidisciplinary teams, promoting cultural competence, and ensuring the sustainability of professionals through improved support systems. These measures are essential for delivering compassionate, patient-centered care that meets the diverse needs of patients and families during the end-of-life journey.

A Genetic Polymorphism Underlying Alternative Reproductive Tactics in Eurycea Salamanders.

Alternative reproductive tactics are discrete, intrasexual differences in reproductive behaviour within a population. In some cases, these complex phenotypes are determined by autosomal supergenes or sex chromosomes-both of which exhibit reduced recombination and thus enable the linked inheritance of co-adapted alleles from multiple loci. Most alternative reproductive tactics in amphibians are plastic (and reversible), environmentally determined and lacking morphological differentiation, but a striking exception is found in the two-lined salamander (Eurycea bislineata) species complex. In some populations, two distinct male phenotypes coexist: 'searching' males have mental glands, protruding premaxillary teeth and elongate cirri used in terrestrial courtship, while 'guarding' males lack these traits and instead have hypertrophied jaw musculature used in mate guarding at aquatic nesting sites. These tactics differ in many morphological and behavioural phenotypes, but their proximate cause has not yet been described. Here, we generated genome-wide SNP data from > 130 Eurycea cf. wilderae collected from Highlands Biological Station. We provide evidence for an XY sex determination and for a Y-linked polymorphism underlying alternative reproductive tactics in this population. We then develop and validate a PCR-based genotyping assay and apply it to characterise the sex ratio and relative frequency of male tactics from a sample of larvae. Our results add to the growing body of literature exploring the importance of supergenes and sex chromosomes in complex intraspecific polymorphisms, and we highlight opportunities for future work to continue exploring the genomic architecture of these traits.

Grieving Bodily Loss in Celebrity Illness Memoir

The relationship between public and private is central to celebrity memoir, even more so in connection to chronic illness that slowly progresses. This article examines the process of grieving publicly a life and body that are changing in Michael J. Fox's No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality (2020), and Selma Blair's Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up (2022). Fox addresses the slow deterioration brought on by Parkinson's disease and other conditions, whereas Blair focuses on her childhood and increasing symptoms of multiple sclerosis, as well as alcohol abuse. The article draws on autobiographical perspectives on the aesthetics and purposes of illness narratives, examining the limits of public personal narratives when faced with progressing disease. The selected texts indicate that celebrity status provides opportunities for advocacy work as well as access to treatment, while also emphasizing bodily loss when illness manifests itself publicly.

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Future of Work and Employment

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing how we work and live. It’s everywhere, from helping doctors diagnose illnesses to powering algorithms that decide what we see online. This paper dives into how AI is shaping the job market—both the good and the challenging sides. On one hand, AI brings incredible benefits. It boosts productivity, sparks innovation, and opens new career opportunities in fields like healthcare, finance, education, and manufacturing. These advancements can lead to economic growth and better ways of doing things. However, there’s concern about AI replacing jobs traditionally done by people. Tasks that were once done by humans, especially routine and manual work, are now being automated by AI. This shift raises questions about job security and the skills workers need to thrive in a tech-driven world. This paper looks closely at how AI is transforming jobs across different industries. It examines real-world examples and studies to understand how many jobs might be lost versus how many new jobs AI could create. It also explores the wider impacts on society, like potential income gaps between skilled and unskilled workers. To tackle these challenges, the paper suggests strategies. These include investing in education and training programs to equip workers with the skills they need for AI-powered jobs. It also calls for thoughtful policies that balance the benefits of AI with the need to protect workers and ensure fairness in the job market. By bringing together current research and insights, this paper aims to give a clear picture of how AI is changing employment globally. It seeks to guide discussions among policymakers, businesses, and educators on how to best integrate AI into our future job landscape, ensuring it benefits everyone. In conclusion, while AI offers exciting possibilities for innovation and efficiency, its impact on jobs requires careful consideration and proactive planning. By working together, we can harness AI’s potential to create a future where technology enhances human lives and work opportunities

Perkembangan Sastra Indonesia dari Budaya Lisan Ke Karya Tulis Modern

This article discusses the role and transformation of oral culture in Indonesia, which has existed since prehistoric times, as a means of conveying values, knowledge, and community identity. Along with the development of the times and technological advances, oral traditions face various challenges, especially due to the influence of foreign cultures and the dominance of digital media. However, oral culture still has high relevance and has the potential to be preserved through digital media, which opens up opportunities for traditional literary works to be adapted into more modern forms of writing. Through a qualitative approach and literature studies, this article explores the importance of oral tradition in people's lives and its contribution to the development of Indonesian literature, as well as how the internet era and digital technology changed the way it was preserved and spread.

Strategy and Tactics for Introducing Generative Artificial Intelligence into the Instrumental Distance Learning System DL.GSU.BY

This paper provides the strategy and tactics for introducing generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into the instrumental distance learning system DL.GSU.BY. The strategy consists of sequential implementation of the following stages of development: creating opportunities for convenient work with GenAI in the DL system; launching electronic GenAI students to automatically complete training courses in the DL system and comparative analysis of the achievements of various GenAI among themselves and with real students; accumulation and dissemination of studentsʼ experience working with GenAI; improving the quality of training using GenAI by developing a system of preprompts for tasks and subjects; further personalization of training through the implementation of advanced techniques for using GenAI (active GenAI, Learning by Teaching). GenAI implementation tactics consistently and in details describe practical steps to implement the strategy.

Flourishing and job satisfaction in employees working in UK clinical trial units: a national cross-sectional survey

BackgroundTo evaluate healthcare interventions in clinical trials, it is crucial to attract and retain a skilled workforce. The job demands associated with developing and running clinical trials have been linked with difficulties in recruiting and retaining skilled Clinical Trial Unit (CTU) staff. Flourishing conceptualises positive aspects of wellbeing which may help staff to thrive within a demanding job role. This study explored the association between flourishing and job satisfaction among staff based in UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC)-registered CTUs.MethodsA national online survey of UKCRC-registered CTUs was conducted which combined psychometric measures of flourishing (eudaimonic workplace wellbeing scale) and job satisfaction (including measures of turnover intention and workplace engagement), alongside free-text questions.ResultsFour hundred and eighty-four staff from 52 UKCRC CTUs completed the survey. Overall, participants reported 'average’ levels of job satisfaction and work engagement, but there was evidence that CTU staff reported slightly lower levels of flourishing and moderate levels of turnover intention. Salary, role, and flexible working arrangements were associated with levels of flourishing. When these factors were controlled for, higher levels of flourishing were still predictive of job satisfaction and turnover, but not work engagement. Qualitative analysis of free text responses revealed that elements of the working environment, such as supportive relationships, flexible working, and development opportunities, can act as resources to help employees flourish in their jobs.ConclusionsThrough exploring flourishing in CTU staff we identified factors which may help CTU employees thrive in their role, and in turn increase job satisfaction and commitment to their place of work. CTUs should consider the importance of developing a working environment which supports staff to feel valued, experience autonomy and supportive working relationships, as well as opportunities to develop and engage in meaningful work. Efforts to understand and protect the wellbeing of CTU staff are vital to attract and retain staff to design and conduct clinical trials. The learning from this may be applicable to other healthcare workforces facing a recruitment and retention crisis.

An Analysis of Internal Business Management and Ethical Issues of Uber in the UK—Based on Utilitarianism, Deontology and Corporate Social Responsibility

This paper delves into the ethical issues surrounding Uber Technologies Inc., a multinational transportation services company, with a particular focus on its private car hire business in the United Kingdom. The analysis is grounded in three ethical frameworks: utilitarianism, deontology, and corporate social responsibility. The paper begins by acknowledging the widespread adoption of Uber's services in the UK, highlighting its rapid growth and the controversies that have accompanied it.The paper first identifies the primary ethical issue arising from Uber's dominance in the ground transportation market. From a utilitarian perspective, Uber's expansion is deemed ethical as it enhances the overall happiness of the community by providing flexible work opportunities for millions and safer transportation services to passengers. However, this expansion has come at the cost of taxi drivers, who have lost business and face an unfair competitive landscape.The analysis then shifts to a deontological perspective, which emphasizes the importance of fair competition and adherence to categorical imperatives. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the third ethical framework employed in this analysis. The paper underscores Uber's responsibility to maintain the social structure and ensure the well-being of all stakeholders. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the ethical issues associated with Uber's private car hire business in the UK, drawing on utilitarianism, deontology, and corporate social responsibility. It highlights the challenges faced by the company in balancing its growth with ethical considerations and offers recommendations for future action.

The fundraising turnover epidemic: An evaluative holistic model

Demand for fundraising professionals across the advancement sector globally is increasing, leading to a war for talent. This is fuelled by the great resignation, where people are reassessing their priorities (work—life balance), and post-pandemic reflection (current job alignment with long-term goals and values). In addition, opportunities for career development, remote working and location flexibility are increasing. Burnout, stress and cultural and generational influences also impact the need to reassess the attraction and retention of fundraising professionals. It is widely known that the turnover rate in the sector is high, with the average tenure of a fundraiser being between 18 and 24 months. Other research suggests even less at 16 months, citing that ‘fundraising turnover is an epidemic’.1 This paper shares research findings from a survey conducted globally with 52 fundraising/advancement professionals, seeking to answer two questions:• What are the key motivational factors that both attract and retain fundraisers?• Do these motivational factors change through the career life cycle?The paper was inspired following a session at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, European Annual Conference in August 2023, where the co-authors presented on the topic ‘Unleashing the power of your people: attracting, retaining and maximising the potential of your diverse talent pool’. This paper also shares reflections from two of the other panellists from the conference, both fundraising professionals, on their experiences in retaining fundraisers in their teams: Liz Reilly, former Director of Philanthropy & Donor Relations, University of Edinburgh, and Juan-Pablo Garrido, Director of Development, UIC Barcelona. The paper includes supporting insights from research undertaken by the co-authors on motivational theories and their application to the survey results. The paper provides insights on taking a different approach to retention, presenting a framework model that can be applied and one that seeks to be more transformational for the individual and organisation. Although this research is specifically focused on one of the advancement professions — fundraising — it could be applied to talent management within broader advancement and further tested to see if the hypothesis in the model has a broader application.

Does Motility-Restricting Fibrosis Influence Dispersal? An Experiment in Nature With Threespine Stickleback.

Dispersal can affect individual-level fitness and population-level ecological and evolutionary processes. Factors that affect dispersal could therefore have important eco-evolutionary implications. Here, we investigated the extent to which an inflammation and tissue repair response-peritoneal fibrosis-which is known to restrict movement, could influence dispersal by conducting a mark-recapture experiment in a lake in Alaska with threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculatus). A subset of captured stickleback were injected with aluminium phosphate to experimentally induce fibrosis ('treatment group'), and another subset were injected with saline or received no injection-both of which do not induce fibrosis ('control group'). We released all fish at one introduction point and re-sampled stickleback throughout the lake for 8 days. We recaptured 123 individuals (n = 47 fibrosis treatment; n = 76 control) and dissected them to determine fibrosis levels. Overall, fibrosis did not affect dispersal. Some compelling (but not statistically significant) trends suggest that early-stage inflammation may affect dispersal, providing opportunities for future work. By showing that effects on dispersal are not important side effects of fibrosis, these findings improve our understanding of the ecological implications of immune responses.

O TRABALHO ANÁLOGO À ESCRAVIDÃO NO BRASIL CONTEMPORÂNEO

The study addresses the persistence of slave-like labor in Brazil, despite strict legislation and monitoring efforts. The research seeks to understand the reasons for the continuation of this practice, analyzing the socioeconomic conditions of the victims, the regions and sectors most impacted, the effectiveness of public policies, and the role of companies in prevention. The phenomenon is directly related to issues such as poverty, low education levels, and lack of opportunities, mainly affecting vulnerable groups in rural and urban areas. Sectors such as agriculture, livestock, construction, and the textile industry are the main employers of this exploited workforce. The analysis highlights the limitations of public policies, often hampered by the lack of resources for monitoring, employer impunity, and the complexity of production chains. It is essential that public policies integrate not only repression, but also prevention and social protection, offering decent employment alternatives and access to essential services such as education and health. The promotion of decent work opportunities and sustainable development are seen as pillars for reducing the vulnerability of workers.

The Effect of Formal Shopping Centers in Townships on Street Vending in South African Townships

Most governments discourage informal trading, labeling it as contradictory to development. In this regard, informal trading is considered one of the leading causes of street congestion, crime, dirt, and threatening public order. Residents in low-income and informal settlements use street vending as a livelihood method due to scarce work opportunities in the formal sector of South Africa’s economy. This paper examines the effect of formal shopping centers in townships on street vending in South African townships. The study used a qualitative approach and collected data from secondary sources and a questionnaire. The study concluded that shopping centers have a positive impact on street vending. Street vendors and shopping centers complement each other.

From fishing village to atomic town and present: A grounded theory study.

Thurso/Caithness in the United Kingdom has gone through a lot of changes and transitions in the last decades. The decision to build a nuclear reactor test facility in the 1950's in Dounreay/Caithness UK, as well as the current phase of decommissioning impacted not only the technology development but also the social fabric of the community and individuals within it. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of people impacted by the nuclear project at Dounreay. The results will form the basis for the discussion about locating future experimental or development facilities, possibly at historic sites. This study employed an exploratory qualitative research approach based on the constructivist grounded theory methodology. Constructivist grounded theory applies a systematic, inductive, iterative, and comparative approach to investigate the meanings behind people's experiences. It was chosen as the method to explore an under-researched area: the host community for nuclear research in Thurso/Caithness. Purposeful snowball sampling from March 2023 till November 2023 through gatekeepers, media and social media was used. 19 participants including 10 women and 9 men in the age range 36-71 took part. The semi-structured interviews were conducted via phone or online platforms. Participants fondly recalled the hey-day when the Dounreay site was built and the population increased rapidly. They shared memories of how the town of Thurso/Caithness was thriving then which had a huge impact on individuals' opportunities to receive a very good education, earn a good salary, indirect benefits beyond the nuclear project, and a cosmopolitan sense of community. However, the changes over time and the process of decommissioning had more complex implications for individuals as well as for the community. The work opportunities are still favourable. However, this study also highlights new challenges such as decaying infrastructure, a lack of hope of prosperity, and a feeling of being forgotten. This unique study highlights how a politically driven project impacts a community fundamentally. We identified two themes: mostly positive nostalgic views and Changes and Challenges for the community.

Heterogeneity in pediatric resting EEG data processing and analysis: A state of the field.

Developmental, resting electroencephalography (EEG) is gaining rapid popularity with implementation in large-scale studies as well as a recent WHO report naming resting EEG as a gold standard measure of brain health. With an increased interest in resting EEG as a potential biomarker for neurocognition, it is paramount that resting EEG findings are reliable and reproducible. One of the major threats to replicability and reproducibility stems from variations in preprocessing and analysis. One of the primary challenges facing the field of developmental EEG is that it can be challenging to acquire data from infants and children, which commonly makes data cleaning and analysis difficult and unstandardized. The goal of the present manuscript is to take a state of the field of the methods experts in resting EEG report they would use to clean and analyze a hypothetical data set. Here we report on the responses of 66 self-identified experts in developmental psychophysiology, none of which submitted identical preregistrations. As expected, there were areas of more and less consensus, but ultimately, we believe our findings highlight opportunities for core methodological work and field-level efforts to establish consensus.

Inclusionary housing policy and practice in South African cities: planning as a spatial transformation tool

AbstractGlobally, housing forms an integral part of accessing the wide range opportunities that cities offer, however, inequality can be exacerbated when significant segments of the inhabitants are excluded from the real estate market or through inaction by the state. The need for affordable housing in cities with hyper-property markets is of global concern for public sector authorities that are pursuing goals of socially just and economically inclusive cities. In the global south, inclusionary housing policies and associated practices have emerged as important tools to increase access for those excluded from the opportunities available in towns and cities. In South Africa, the post-1994 democratic state has continued with the apartheid era practice of providing subsidised housing for the majority urban residents on the outskirts of towns and cities, thereby further entrenching poverty traps and racially based separate developments. Contrary to practice, the state’s well-documented policy position is to reverse the legacy of apartheid through spatial transformation so that cities and towns become economically more inclusive and socially just. It is argued that this requires prioritising the provision of affordable housing in urban centres of towns and cities that offer meaningful working, residing, shopping, recreational and other social opportunities. Although inclusionary housing policy has emerged internationally as an important mechanism to spatially transform urban areas, this forms only one component of a wider range of other possible public interventions. These framework mechanisms could include broader housing development policies, legislation and programmes as well as the urban development policies, spatial planning and land use management practices and incentives. Other incentives that can be used as leverage include the use of publicly owned property (land and buildings), capital infrastructure and development incentives. The public sector can offer both direct and indirect financial assistance and tax incentives to support an inclusionary housing policy. Critically, this should be contingent on the public sector understanding the feasibility, risk and benefits associated with housing projects pursued by private sector real estate developers.

Frost durability of cementitious materials: What’s next?

Frost durability, a critical parameter for concrete, especially in harsh exposure regions, has been extensively researched, with almost four thousand papers published since the 1970s. However, a systematic mapping of this research is yet to be explored. This paper presents a novel approach based on Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning to semi-automatically analyze the existing literature on frost durability of cementitious materials. The aim is to identify research gaps and provide insights for future work, offering a comprehensive understanding of the freeze and thaw (FT) research area. Data sets containing academic abstracts on FT tests have been created, and the identified articles are topically structured using a latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modeling approach. The publication volume associated with each topic over time has been quantified, providing an overview of the research landscape. The results show that NLP and t-SNE effectively review large volumes of technical text data, identifying 12 dominant themes in FT research, such as mechanical properties and material composition. Over recent decades, there has been a shift from focusing on structural performance to emerging topics like cracking and Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs). Additionally, t-SNE and K-means clustering revealed four main clusters, suggesting future research should focus on the FT durability of eco-friendly materials, accelerated testing, and enhanced FT durability materials. These findings not only facilitate the identification of gaps and opportunities for future work but also have practical implications for developing more durable and sustainable concrete.

Reconstructing Civil Service Recruitment Policies in Indonesia: Ensuring Justice and Equity in Regional ASN Procurement Aligned with SDG 8 And SDG 10

Objectives: This study aims to analyze the limitations of Law Number 20 of 2023 on State Civil Apparatus (ASN Law) in accommodating the principle of justice in ASN procurement, especially in regional areas. Theoretical Framework: The study employs theories of fair governance and distributive justice, focusing on equitable access to public resources and services. The analysis also incorporates principles from SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), which advocates for decent work opportunities across regions, and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequality), which underscores the need to reduce disparities in resource distribution across areas. Method: This research uses a normative approach, reviewing legal literature and regulations related to the governance of ASN procurement. Results and Discussion: The findings indicate that the centralistic nature of the ASN Law limits regional autonomy in managing ASN procurement, leading to challenges in adequately staffing local governments according to their unique needs. Issues such as the PNS moratorium and low ASN recruitment absorption rates exacerbate these challenges, creating gaps in human resources within local government ranks. The study proposes regulatory reconstruction, including a balanced division of authority between central and regional governments, enhanced coordination, and oversight from the central government, and regional ASN competency development. Research Implications: The proposed regulatory reconstruction has implications for strengthening regional capacity to address staffing needs and for promoting fair governance in ASN management. Originality/Value: This research offers unique insights into the limitations of Indonesia's current ASN Law and the need for a governance model that supports regional needs.

Nurse-surgeons in the Australian public health system: A descriptive quantitative survey

BackgroundWith over five billion people worldwide lacking access to surgery, innovative solutions are vital to address the global surgical crisis. Nurse-surgeons present a promising innovation. Considering their contribution worldwide and impact on surgical care in Australia, an exploration of these advanced practice nurses is timely. ObjectiveTo investigate the roles, training, education, and perceptions of career prospects and support received by practicing nurse-surgeons in the Australian public health system. DesignNon-experimental descriptive national survey MethodsThe target population was nurse-surgeons practicing within the Australian public health system. The survey questionnaire comprised of four sections containing questions on nurse-surgeon demographics, roles, training, and perceptions of career prospects and support received. Data collection was conducted through emailing of public hospitals, crowdsourcing, and snowballing. Descriptive analysis was used to report the findings. ResultsTwenty-eight nurse-surgeons participated in the study, 22 females and six males. Most commonly, participants (n = 10) held master's degrees and trained to become nurse-surgeons for an average of 2·27 years (95 % CI [1·47,3·07]). Training programs varied but were all surgical specialty-specific, and usually included a practical component, theoretical component, and competency assessment prior to independent practice. Participants rated employment prospects for nurse-surgeons as poor to average due to limited work opportunities, politics, and strong pushbacks from Australian medical societies. The support received from nurses, surgeons and management was rated by participants as good providing reasons such as supportiveness, value recognition, jealousy, and resentment. The participants were very likely (95 % CI [7.436 – 9.364] to continue practicing due to positive job satisfaction but recommended the standardising of training and practice to ensure role futureproofing. ConclusionsNurse-surgeons have been practicing in Australia for decades, yet no standard training and credentialing pathway exist for them. This study identified the various roles, non-standard training, and perceptions of nurse-surgeons in the Australian public health system. The findings of this study will have an impact on policymakers and stakeholders to develop standard national credentialing pathway for nurse-surgeons in Australia to enhance clinical practices and ensure a consistent framework for recognition and development of these advanced practice nurses.