The relationship between employer‐provided training and the retention of older workers: Evidence from Germany

A substantial portion of Germany's workforce will soon retire, making it difficult for businesses to meet their human capital needs; training older workers may help to manage this demographic transition. The authors therefore examine the relationships between employer‐provided training programmes, wages and retirement among older workers. They find that when establishments offer special training programmes targeted at these workers, women – especially low‐paid women – are less likely to retire, possibly because of consequent wage growth. Their results suggest that such targeted training can indeed play an important role in retaining low‐wage older women and advancing their careers.     

The Role and Function of the Faculty Field Liaison

This article examines the purposes, defines the role, and analyzes the functions of a faculty field liaison. It reflects the experience of faculty members who have carried this assignment as a major responsibility. In recognition of the impact of this role on the educational process and the need for it to be clearly understood, the authors have attempted to distill its essence and to clarify the requirements for its effective practice.     

Educating Effective Social Workers for a Changing Society: Social Policy

The author examines how social policy analysis can be taught so that it is change-related rather than past-oriented. This is done by utilizing a scheme including the concepts of adequacy, effectiveness, and efficiency, which can be applied to both existing and new programs. Subconcepts are utilized to incorporate current concerns, including racial-ethnic aspects, and the analytical framework is linked to the decision-making process.     

Facilitating the Transition from Student to Social Worker: Challenges of the Younger Student

Abstract

The transition from student to social worker is a process which social work educators cannot control but can facilitate. Through classroom and field instruction faculty assumer responsibility of preparing students' professional knowledge, skills, and values; however, our responsibilities should extend beyond curriculum delivery. Drawing on Schlossberg's (1984) model of transitions, this article discusses two primary factors which affect the younger student in transition—developmental needs and the external environment—and strategies for assisting in the transition through intervention in academic advising and teaching roles.     

Leader political support: Reconsidering leader political behavior

Historically, organizational politics and political leader behavior have been framed and characterized negatively, as self-serving and counter-productive. However, scholars have noted that political acts can achieve positive ends, and have called for further discussions of positive forms of political leadership. Continuing in this recent stream of research on positive perspectives on organizational politics, a framework of leader political support is proposed, suggesting that the positive features of leader political behavior, and testable propositions are developed. The leader political support construct is defined and its antecedents are explicated utilizing a social capital perspective. Additionally, social exchange theory is used to explain the consequences of leader political support. Contributions to both leadership and organizational politics literatures and directions for future research are discussed.     

Charisma and organizational change: A multilevel study of perceived charisma,commitment to change,and team performance

What makes people perceive a leader as charismatic, and how do team leaders obtain performance outcomes from their followers? We examine leaders in times of organizational change and investigate the mechanisms through which leaders' change-promoting behaviors are associated with team performance. In a multilevel mediation model, we propose that the indirect relationship between change-promoting behaviors and team performance is sequentially transmitted through followers' perceptions of charisma and followers' commitment to change. A study of 33 leaders and 142 followers provides empirical support for the model, using multilevel structural equation modeling to analyze top-down relationships between leaders and followers and bottom-up relationships between followers and team outcomes. Results suggest that team leaders are perceived as more charismatic when they engage in change-promoting behaviors. These behaviors facilitate team performance through individual followers' perceived charisma and commitment to change.     

Nutrient intake in day workers and shift workers

Abstract

The 24-h dietary intake, nutritional status parameters and psychosomatic factors of two-shift, three-shift and day workers were compared. Estimations of the dietary intake (across a work cycle) were made by use of a nutrient database. No significant differences were found between the groups for a large number of nutritional variables: intake of energy; intake and percentage of energy from protein, fat, total carbohydrates and sucrose; intake of coffee; and intake and density of vitamins and minerals. Only minor differences were found between the groups with regard to the quantitative intake of alcohol and calcium, and with regard to the quality of the diet (percentage of energy from alcohol, density of calcium). The groups differed significantly with respect to attitude towards work hours (three-shift workers being most negative in their attitude) and sleep disturbances (shift workers being most negative). The three-shift workers were more evening-oriented and they had higher concentrations of glucose in their blood. It was concluded that work hours not related to nutritional intake—at least not when total amounts across time are considered. It was also concluded that work hours were not related to Body Mass Index or blood lipids: triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol and HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol.     

Considerations for optimal nonparametric regression under a generalizederror structure

Nonparametric smoothing, such as kernel or spline estimation, has been examined extensively under the assumption of uncorrelated errors. This paper addresses the effects of potential correlation on consistency and other asymptotic properties in a repeated-measures model, using directly optimized linear smoothers of the replicate means. Unrestricted optimal weights, with respect to squared error loss, are used to confirm a lack of consistency for all linear estimators in an autocorrelated errors model. The results indicate kernel methods that work well for an uncorrelated errors model may not have the ability to perform satisfactorily when correlation is introduced, due to an asymmetry in the optimal weights, which disappears for an uncorrelated errors model. These would include data-driven bandwidth selection methods, adjustments of the bandwidth to accommodate correlation, higher-order kernels, and related bias reduction techniques. The analytic results suggest alternative approaches, not considered here in detail, which have shown merit.     

Chain ratio type estimator for ratio of two population m3ans using auxiliary characters

In this paper we have proposed chain ratio type estimators for ratio of two population means using two auxiliary characters. The expressions for bias and mean square error of these estimators have been derived. A comparison of the proposed estimator with that of double sampling estimator has been made in terms of mean square error. An emperical study has also been made.     

On the total sojourn time of particles in semi-markov compartmental system with branching particles

We consider a semi-Markov compartroental system with branching particles, Me study the total sojourn time of all the particles and obtain the asymptotic behaviour of its mean. We also discuss some special systems.