The paper aims at examining wage developments among Eastern European immigrants vs UK natives before and after the 2004 enlargement by measuring the extent to which inter-group…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims at examining wage developments among Eastern European immigrants vs UK natives before and after the 2004 enlargement by measuring the extent to which inter-group wage differentials are explainable by these groups' changing attributes or by differences in returns to these characteristics. The enlargement has been a defining moment in British recent history and may have contributed to the unfolding of the events that have culminated in Brexit.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a quantitative analysis of the immigrant–native wage gap across the entire distribution by applying the methodology known as the unconditional quantile regression. The analysis is performed before and after the 2004 European Union enlargement to Eastern countries. The data used is the British Labour Force Survey (UK LFS) from 1998 to 2008.
Findings
At all distribution points, a major role is played by occupational downgrading, which increases over time. The results further suggest that the decreased wage levels at the top of the distribution stem mainly from low transferability of skills acquired in the source country.
Research limitations/implications
The UK LFS does not allow to follow individuals for a long period of time. For this reason, the main limitation of the study is the impossibility to measure for individual-level trajectories in their labour market integration and to account for return migration.
Originality/value
The analysis provides a detailed picture of the wage differences between Eastern European immigrants and natives along the whole wage distribution. The paper also identifies possible causes of the wage gap decrease for EU8 immigrant workers after 2008.
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Anna Tiso, Maria Crema and Chiara Verbano
The paper aims at enriching the knowledge of the application of lean management (LM) in emergency department (ED), structuring the methodology for implementing LM projects and…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims at enriching the knowledge of the application of lean management (LM) in emergency department (ED), structuring the methodology for implementing LM projects and summarizing the relevant dimensions of LM adoption in ED.
Design/methodology/approach
In accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, a systematic literature review has been performed, extracting a database of 34 papers. To answer the research purpose, a descriptive and content analyses have been carried out.
Findings
The descriptive analysis demonstrates that the dealt topic is worldwide emerging and multidisciplinary as it arouses interest by medical and engineering communities. Despite the heterogeneity in the adopted methodology, a framework can be grasped from the literature review. It points out the phases and activities, the tools and techniques and the enablers to be considered for guiding the developing of LM project in ED.
Originality/value
This paper provides a comprehensive overview on how to adopt LM in ED, contributing to fill in the gap emerged in the literature. From a practical perspective, this paper provides healthcare managers with a synthesis of the best managerial practices and guidelines in developing a LM project in ED.
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Åsa Vidman and Annika Strömberg
Employees in elderly care have a high rate of sick leave. One explanation is that employees that experience a low level of meaning of work are at a higher risk for long-term sick…
Abstract
Purpose
Employees in elderly care have a high rate of sick leave. One explanation is that employees that experience a low level of meaning of work are at a higher risk for long-term sick leave. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative interview study aims to examine what employees in residential care facilities experience as the meaningful aspects of their work tasks. Interviews with 14 persons employed in residential care facilities were conducted.
Findings
The findings show that meaningful work tasks are about organizing the work to make use of the creativity and knowledge of the staff in order to support relations with older people.
Originality/value
The knowledge about what constitutes a healthy work environment is not as comprehensive as it is about what constitutes health risks. Furthermore, these issues have been considered by only a few qualitative studies about social care in the field of sick leave. Therefore, this qualitative interview study examines what employees in residential care facilities experience as meaningful aspects of their work tasks.
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Federico Dell'Anna, Marta Bottero, Cristina Becchio, Stefano Paolo Corgnati and Giulio Mondini
The cost-optimal analysis is not able to address the multi-dimensionality of the decision according to the new European objectives and International sustainable development goals…
Abstract
Purpose
The cost-optimal analysis is not able to address the multi-dimensionality of the decision according to the new European objectives and International sustainable development goals in the field of the nearly-zero energy building (NZEB) design. The purpose of this paper is to study the role of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) for guiding energy investment decisions.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper explores the Preference ranking organization method for enrichment of evaluations II (PROMETHEE II) application to support the project of transforming a rural building into a NZEB. The evaluation provides an estimate of the effects of alternative energy efficiency measures, involving energy consumption, life cycle costs, carbon emissions, property value and indoor comfort criteria. The study performs a multi-actors analysis in order to understand how different consumers' point of views can influence the final choice of the best investment. Furthermore, a multi-site analysis explores the spatial variation of NZEB building appreciation in the real estate market.
Findings
The PROMETHEE II-based model ranks 16 alternative solutions for the NZEB according to energy, economic and extra-economic criteria. The multi-actors analysis highlights the configuration of the NZEB building that best meets the needs of different end-users, respecting the European directives and national standards. The multi-site analysis concludes that location does not change users' appreciation and not influence the output for the best solution.
Originality/value
The MCDA occurs as a support tool that helps to optimize the preliminary design phase of NZEB through the exploration of the optimal solution considering crucial criteria in the energy and environmental and real estate market rules.
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Rajalakshmi Subramaniam, Senthilkumar Nakkeeran and Sanjay Mohapatra
Patricia Arend and Katherine Comeau
This chapter studies the social reproduction of the traditional heterosexual engagement ritual in which men propose marriage to women, even as many women now occupy positions of…
Abstract
This chapter studies the social reproduction of the traditional heterosexual engagement ritual in which men propose marriage to women, even as many women now occupy positions of power, surpass men in educational attainment, and provide their own incomes. We draw from 37 semi-structured interviews with middle-class, heterosexual women in which they discussed their marriage proposals. We argue that three related types of socioeconomic incentives encourage women to participate in traditional proposals: (1) the social status of being chosen to marry, (2) the value of gifts, especially an engagement ring, which also reflects the fiancé’s implied taste, and (3) the proposal story itself as scrip for inclusion in heterosexual women’s social groups. By considering social factors that mediate relationships among women, we show that economic and status incentives are important explanations for the perpetuation of the traditional engagement ritual. Specifically, the middle-class, heterosexual women in our study exchange socioeconomic status in their female-centered reference groups for their participation in gender-normative relations with their male partners.
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Sabre Cherkowski and Keith Walker
The purpose of this paper is to identify and elaborate on the construct of flourishing in schools as understood through the stories and explanations provided by a small group of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify and elaborate on the construct of flourishing in schools as understood through the stories and explanations provided by a small group of public school principals. Framed within a positive organizational perspective, the specific objectives of this study are: to identify how school leaders understand and experience flourishing in their roles and in their schools; to explore the conditions, catalysts and/or galvanizing forces of flourishing in schools.
Design/methodology/approach
The researchers used an electronic Delphi survey to gain a qualitative description of the understandings and impressions of the construct of flourishing from the perspective of practicing school administrators in one school district in central British Columbia. Delphi responses were aggregated after each round and thematically analysed to determine patterns and trends for further examination through progressive iterations of the survey administered via e-mail. The final set of data were then analysed for patterns, trends and themes that were compared and contrasted against research findings in the literature underpinning the theoretical framework for this study.
Findings
While there was no single definition of what it means to flourish in the work of school leadership, shared descriptions from these principals indicated that they feel a sense of flourishing when they are working together with teachers from a sense of purpose and passion and in a spirit of play to cultivate learning climates that reflect a shared ownership for improving educational experiences for students. These initial findings provoke thinking about the potentials and benefits of shifting the focus of research and practice in educational leadership towards more positive, strengths-based perspectives.
Research limitations/implications
The sample size was small, and so generalizing findings beyond this study is unreasonable. Further, because the researchers separated participant information from responses in order to safeguard anonymity and to aggregate the responses to provide these back to participants for their further elaboration and reflections, they were unable to determine whether particular responses were connected to context (elementary or secondary, size of school, years of experience as an administrator), gender or other demographic factors. However, the use of the electronic Delphi instrument provided insights on engaging school principals in thoughtful inquiry as participants, while respecting the busy workload and time constraints associated with the work of school principals.
Practical implications
Attending to well-being in the work of leading schools is an under-researched area of educational leadership. This study is an example of how researching educational leadership from a positive, strengths-based, human development perspective may provide useful insights for supporting principals and other educators to notice, nurture and sustain a sense of flourishing in their work and across the school. While further research is needed to examine the construct of flourishing across a diverse range of school organizations, the findings from this study provoke thinking about the benefits of studying what goes well, what brings vitality and a more full sense of humanity in the work of leading school organizations.
Originality/value
The researchers use a new perspective for examining and explaining the phenomenon of flourishing in schools, a positive organizational research orientation. The use of this strengths-based, positive, human development approach to examining the construct of flourishing from the perspective of school principals can offer new insights and strategies for attending to well-being as an integral part of the work of leading schools.
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Tamara Bilbija and Jack Stout Rendall
The purpose of this paper is to provide new evidence on the different dimensions of well-being that can occur in work integration social enterprises (WISEs). This study aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide new evidence on the different dimensions of well-being that can occur in work integration social enterprises (WISEs). This study aims to call for a future discussion on the role of meaningful work (MW) and its impact upon well-being beyond satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
Explorative interviews were undertaken with professional workers and beneficiaries within a Spanish WISE. These interviews aimed to uncover similarities and differences across aspects of what makes work meaningful to them as workers. Both eudaimonic and hedonic dimensions of well-being were used to analyse the data.
Findings
Different groups of employees show that professional employees (those working in the WISE, not because of their disadvantages in the labour market) create their narratives based on MW experiences (eudaimonic well-being), whereas beneficiaries (those working in the WISE because of their disadvantages in the labour market) often describe how satisfied they are at work (hedonic).
Originality/value
The concept of MW within WISEs to achieve well-being for both beneficiaries and professional workers could be enhanced through discussion of the different types of well-being that are being realised in such settings. Engaging with the concept of “eudaimonia” helps the authors to achieve this aim.
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Nataís Fleck, Voltaire Sant’Anna, Wemerson de Castro Oliveira, Adriano Brandelli and Flávio Fonseca Veras
This study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the aqueous extract from jaboticaba skin against important foodborne bacteria and fungi and its stability.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the aqueous extract from jaboticaba skin against important foodborne bacteria and fungi and its stability.
Design/methodology/approach
Jaboticaba skin aqueous extract (at ratio of 10 g L-1) was tested against Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli. Stability of the anti-staphylococcal activity, total phenolics, monomeric anthocyanins, tannins, phenolic acid content were measured and statistically correlated.
Findings
The residue extract inhibited L.monocytogenes, S.aureus, B.cereus and E.coli growth but was not effective against fungi and was stable to the thermal treatments, remaining with its inhibitory activity against S.aureus. When stored for 14 days at 25 °C with an incidence of light, there was a reduction in the antibacterial activity and in the phenolic compounds. The change in pH slightly changed polyphenolic content profile, and the exposure to papain and bromelain did not affect the antimicrobial activity. Results showed strong correlation between anti-staphylococcal activity, the presence of polyphenols and anthocyanins, meanwhile moderate correlation with phenolic acids content in the extract.
Originality/value
Biopreservatives are a great trend in food microbiology. The present work shows deeper information about the utilization of jaboticaba skin as antimicrobial agent and its stability, which is not found in the current literature.
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M. Isabel Sánchez-Hernández, Rafael Robina-Ramirez and Živilė Stankevičiūtė
The purpose of the paper is to delve into innovation and happiness management linked to the definition of transcendence at work. The paper analyses in the context of innovation…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to delve into innovation and happiness management linked to the definition of transcendence at work. The paper analyses in the context of innovation and happiness management the relation of the three dimensions taken from Khari and Sinha (2020: Sense of we-ness, self-connectedness and work as a service. The paper also proposed indicators to applied transcendence and moral competencies to the banking sector guiding behaviour toward successful experiences at work as an antecedent of both, transcendence and employees´ performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The article starts with a VOSviewer-based bibliometric analysis to examine the recent development of happiness management as an emergent topic of research. A co-word analysis served to identify that the main research theme related to the topic is transcendence at work. The theoretical framework serves for developing a conceptual model that is analysed by taking structural equations modelling (SEM) as the method and partial least squares (PLS) as the technique. To test the hypotheses, the authors employed a sample of 354 employees from the main banks in Spain in 2021 (Santander, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), CaixaBank, Bankia and Sabadell).
Findings
The results confirm that Innovation and happiness management is related to moral competencies, which refer to the set of knowledge, skills and abilities that facilitate ethical behaviour in the banking sector. Innovation and happiness management include individual attributes for good performance in each job; this research is in line with the prominent call in the literature to consider moral competencies in human resources management.
Originality/value
Originality lies on the answer of the question: what is the role of employee transcendence in the turbulent banking sector today? This paper seeks to approach and measure the relation of innovation, happiness and transcendence at work, Transcendence at work often arises when individuals connect their work to a higher purpose or mission, that connection is based on the idea that any effort to improve any of these three attributes provides successful solutions for the complex banking sector's performance.