Alcohol and drug abuse in the workplace is creating increasingconcern in German public and private companies. There is also anincreasing agreement that the workplace is an…
Abstract
Alcohol and drug abuse in the workplace is creating increasing concern in German public and private companies. There is also an increasing agreement that the workplace is an appropriate place to intervene in the process of misuse of and addiction to psychoactive substances. Overall, men and women between the ages of 30 and 50 are the largest demographic group to consume alcoholic beverages. The majority of drivers on our roads come from their ranks: they are supervisors and breadwinners, and they pass their behaviour on as role models. World Health Organization research has shown that some 70 per cent of the male population are slipping through the cracks of our health‐care system and only rarely see a doctor between the ages of 20 and 50. But this age group – which also has the highest incidence of alcohol and drug abuse – can best be reached through the workplace.
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Outlines German experience of dealing with workplace alcoholism bya preventive approach. Programmes are usually companybased, have definedaims relating to public relations…
Abstract
Outlines German experience of dealing with workplace alcoholism by a preventive approach. Programmes are usually companybased, have defined aims relating to public relations, motivation of staff and development and implementation of assistance to employees with dependence problems. Programming may involve individuals or groups (sometimes study groups). Opposition by superiors and a company culture with a positive attitude to alcohol are the major problems. Programmes must be long‐term and ways of developing them in response to change are outlined.
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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been studied as a neurodevelopmental disorder since Leo Kanner's early observations of abnormal head circumference in autistic children. In the…
Abstract
Purpose
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been studied as a neurodevelopmental disorder since Leo Kanner's early observations of abnormal head circumference in autistic children. In the past few years, there has been much progress made in elucidating the anatomical and functional abnormalities in ASD. This paper aims to summarise the extant research.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper provides a summary of relevant research findings in the neuroimaging of autism for the past 12 month period. Papers were identified using the Medline search terms: autism; ASD (functional); magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); neuroimaging; diffusion tensor imaging (DTI); and endophenotype.
Findings
Relatively recent techniques such as functional MRI and DTI have furthered the initial work derived from early histological and structural imaging studies. Even newer techniques, such as DTI tractography and support vector machine analysis, and other computer‐based learning methods have allowed us to move beyond regional variations in grey and white matter volume and study ASD as a disorder of connectivity, and of regional cerebral function and neural circuitry. Brain regions and neural circuits that are implicated in the core symptoms of ASD (deficits in social reciprocity, language and communication, and restricted and stereotyped interests) have been repeatedly shown to be abnormal in those individuals.
Originality/value
This paper aims to provide a background for clinicians to the current research and focuses on developments in the field of neuroimaging of ASD from the past year, which have generated further insights into the neurobiology of ASD.
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In this chapter, I will outline the labels of giftedness and underachievement and present the theoretical debates surrounding these labels. A historicist examination of these…
Abstract
In this chapter, I will outline the labels of giftedness and underachievement and present the theoretical debates surrounding these labels. A historicist examination of these labels follows, highlighting how the gifted underachievement (GUA) label emerges through the negation of “giftedness.” Subsequently, I explore the concept of GUA and its negative connotations, stemming from the positive valuation inherent in the term “giftedness” and its implications for what is considered “normal.” This chapter also reviews perspectives on shifting the focus away from the individual within the current paradigm of labeling giftedness and explores insights from systemic thinking and symbolic interactionism (SI). The conclusion underscores the necessity of a symbolic interactionist perspective to address the gaps in research on the labeling of giftedness and underachievement. Finally, I propose a generic definition that can be used in GUA research in the light of SI.
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Ruth S. Ziegler and Roy A. Ziegler
Tracks the cost of 22 standard reference sources from 1987 to 1993 to reveal that prices have increased far beyond the rate of inflation. With new technological innovations in the…
Abstract
Tracks the cost of 22 standard reference sources from 1987 to 1993 to reveal that prices have increased far beyond the rate of inflation. With new technological innovations in the publishing industry and the general passivity of the library profession, reference book publishers are able to obtain unreasonably high profit margins with little risk of lost sales. Recommends that standing orders for this material be reviewed periodically to determine if the library is receiving fair value.
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Marianne Thejls Ziegler and Christoph Lütge
This study aims to analyse the differences between professional interaction mediated by video conferencing and direct professional interaction. The research identifies diverging…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to analyse the differences between professional interaction mediated by video conferencing and direct professional interaction. The research identifies diverging interests of office workers for the purpose of addressing work ethical and business ethical issues of professional collaboration, competition, and power in future hybrid work models.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on 28 qualitative interviews conducted between November 2020 and June 2021, and through the theoretical lens of phenomenology, the study develops explanatory hypotheses conceptualising four basic intentions of professional interaction and their corresponding preferences for video conferences and working on site.
Findings
The four intentions developed on the basis of the interviews are: the need for physical proximity; the challenge of collective creativity; the will to influence; and control of communication. This conceptual framework qualifies a moral ambivalence of professional interaction. The authors identify a connectivity paradox of professional interaction where the personal dimension remains unarticulated for the purpose of maintaining professionality. This tacit human connectivity is intertwined with latent power relations. This plasticity of both connectivity and power in direct interaction can be diminished by transferring the interaction to video conferencing.
Originality/value
The application of phenomenology to a collection of qualitative interviews has enabled the identification of underlying intention structures and the system in which they affect each other. This research identifies conflicts of interests between workers relative to their different self-perceived abilities to persevere in competitive professional interaction. It is therefore able to address consequences of future hybrid work models at an existential and societal level.
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Mostafa Jafari, Peyman Akhavan and Mohadeseh Nikookar
– This paper aims to study the relationship between personal knowledge management (PKM) and organization's competencies in a service organization.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study the relationship between personal knowledge management (PKM) and organization's competencies in a service organization.
Design/methodology/approach
A research model was developed based on a critical review of PKM and the organization's competencies literature. The results and conclusions were made based on the quantitative analysis approach.
Findings
The results indicate that in the studied organization, there is a significant and positive relationship between PKM and organization's competencies; the role of PKM for organization's competencies is positively correlated to external information awareness, internal knowledge dissemination, effective decision architecture and organizational focus, and not correlated to continuous innovation.
Practical implications
The paper discusses how PKM may improve organization's competencies in a practical setting and how an organization will benefit from PKM.
Originality/value
The discussion of this case is valuable in that it illustrates how the PKM can be used to improve organization's competencies and enhance understanding about the influence of PKM skills on the improvement of organization's competencies.
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Ricky K.F. Cheong and Eric Tsui
This paper aims to describe the roles and values of personal knowledge management (PKM). It seeks to investigate the roles of PKM in the KM process cycle and assess the values for…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe the roles and values of personal knowledge management (PKM). It seeks to investigate the roles of PKM in the KM process cycle and assess the values for improving the competences of both individuals and organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
A research model was developed based on a critical review of KM and the PKM literature, followed by a survey of the KM participants in KM associations/interest groups/societies. The results and conclusions were made based on the quantitative analysis approach.
Findings
The results indicate that PKM is playing important roles in the KM process and both individuals and organizations are benefitting by PKM in improving their competences. The roles of PKM are positively correlated to the values of PKM for individuals and organizations. It is also found that the values of PKM for individuals are correlated to the values of PKM for the organization.
Research limitations/implications
This study is intended as a starting point for exploring the roles and values of PKM. It aims to provide a generalized model of PKM, with further research required for specific contexts.
Originality/value
The conceptual model of PKM 2.0 was developed based on the research findings which provide a better understanding in the area of PKM. This model also sets the foundation for future research and draws the attention of both academics and business executives in this under‐explored area. Up to now, there is no PKM framework or model that leverages on the Web 2.0 concepts. This paper provides the first examination of such aspects.
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Focuses on the dilemma for health care professionals of providing customer satisfaction without being significantly influenced by the advertising claims of pharmaceutical…
Abstract
Focuses on the dilemma for health care professionals of providing customer satisfaction without being significantly influenced by the advertising claims of pharmaceutical manufacturers and other commercial concerns. Notes that marketing could be a tool for encouraging patients to be more involved in their own health care, resulting in a possible doctor‐patient therapeutic alliance of joint decision making toward a goal of long‐term improved health. Also notes that there are limits to the benefits of seeing medicine as a business in the strictest sense of the word. Warns that, in health care, the customer does not always know best.