Hearing voice and silence during stressful economic times

Purpose - It is ironic that in stressful economic times, when new ideas and positive behaviors could be most valuable, employees may not speak up, leading to reduced employee participation, less organizational learning, less innovation and less receptiveness to change. The supervisor is the organization’s first line of defense against a culture of silence and towards a culture of openness. This research asks what helps supervisors to hear prosocial voice and notice defensive silence. Design/methodology/approach - We conducted a cross-sectional field study of 142 supervisors. Findings - Our results indicate that prosocial voice is increased by supervisor tension and trust in employees, while defensive silence is increased by supervisor tension but reduced by unionization of employees and trust in employees. This indicates that, as hypothesized by others, voice and silence are orthogonal and not opposites of the same construct. Research limitations/implications - The data is measured at one point in time, and further longitudinal study would be helpful to further understand the phenomena. Practical implications - This research highlights the potential for supervisors in stressful situations to selectively hear voice and silence from employees. Originality/value - This study adds to our knowledge of prosocial voice and defensive silence by testing supervisors’ perceptions of these constructs during difficult times. It provides valuable empirical insights to a literature dominated by conceptual non-empirical papers. Limited research on silence might reflect how difficult it is to study such an ambiguous and passive construct as silence (often simply viewed as a lack of speech). also contribute to trust literature by identifying its role in increasing supervisor’s perceptions of prosocial voice and reducing perceptions of defensive silence.

Were regulatory changes in reporting "abnormal items" justified? : evidence of intra-period classificatory earnings management practices in Australia

Purpose Managers generally have discretion in determining how components of earnings are presented in financial statements in distinguishing between ‘normal’ earnings and items classified as unusual, special, significant, exceptional or abnormal. Prior research has found that such intra-period classificatory choice is used as a form of earnings management. Prior to 2001, Australian accounting standards mandated that unusually large items of revenue and expense be classified as ‘abnormal items’ for financial reporting, but this classification was removed from accounting standards from 2001. This move by the regulators was partly in response to concerns that the abnormal classification was being used opportunistically to manage reported pre-abnormal earnings. This study extends the earnings management literature by examining the reporting of abnormal items for evidence of intra-period classificatory earnings management in the unique Australian setting. Design/methodology/approach This study investigates associations between reporting of abnormal items and incentives in the form of analyst following and the earnings benchmarks of analysts’ forecasts, earnings levels, and earnings changes, for a sample of Australian top-500 firms for the seven-year period from 1994 to 2000. Findings The findings suggest there are systematic differences between firms reporting abnormal items and those with no abnormal items. Results show evidence that, on average, firms shifted expense items from pre-abnormal earnings to bottom line net income through reclassification as abnormal losses. Originality/value These findings suggest that the standard setters were justified in removing the ‘abnormal’ classification from the accounting standard. However, it cannot be assumed that all firms acted opportunistically in the classification of items as abnormal. With the removal of the standardised classification of items outside normal operations as ‘abnormal’, firms lost the opportunity to use such disclosures as a signalling device, with the consequential effect of limiting the scope of effectively communicating information about the nature of items presented in financial reports.

A view from the edge of the forest : recent progress in understanding the relationships of the insect orders

Research over the last two decades has significantly increased our understanding of the evolutionary position of the insects among other arthropods, and the relationships among the insect Orders. Many of these insights have been established through increasingly sophisticated analyses of DNA sequence data from a limited number of genes. Recent results have established the relationships of the Holometabola, but relationships among the hemimetabolous orders have been more difficult to elucidate. A strong consensus on the relationships among the Palaeoptera (Ephemeroptera and Odonata) and their relationship to the Neoptera has not emerged with all three possible resolutions supported by different data sets. While polyneopteran relationships generally have resisted significant resolution, it is now clear that termites, Isoptera, are nested within the cockroaches, Blattodea. The newly discovered order Mantophasmatodea is difficult to place with the balance of studies favouring Grylloblattodea as sister-group. While some studies have found the paraneopteran orders (Hemiptera, Thysanoptera, Phthiraptera and Psocoptera) monophyletic, evidence suggests that parasitic lice (Phthiraptera) have evolved from groups within the book and bark lice (Psocoptera), and may represent parallel evolutions of parasitism within two major louse groups. Within Holometabola, it is now clear that Hymenoptera are the sister to the other orders, that, in turn are divided into two clades, the Neuropteroidea (Coleoptera, Neuroptera and relatives) and the Mecopterida (Trichoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera and their relatives). The enigmatic order Strepsiptera, the twisted wing insects, have now been placed firmly near Coleoptera, rejecting their close relationship to Diptera that was proposed some 15years ago primarily based on ribosomal DNA data. Phylogenomic-scale analyses are just beginning to be focused on the relationships of the insect orders, and this is where we expect to see resolution of palaeopteran and polyneopteran relationships. Future research will benefit from greater coordination between intra and inter-ordinal analyses. This will maximise the opportunities for appropriate outgroup choice at the intraordinal level and provide the background knowledge for the interordinal analyses to span the maximum phylogenetic scope within groups.

Group dynamics and software engineering

This paper reports on an experiment that was conducted to determine the extent to which group dynamics impacts on the effectiveness of software development teams. The experiment was conducted on software engineering project students at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT).

Non-destructive evaluation of articular cartilage defects using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy in osteoarthritic rat models and its direct relation to Mankin Score

Objective The aim of this study was to demonstrate the potential of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for categorizing cartilage degeneration induced in animal models. Method Three models of osteoarthritic degeneration were induced in laboratory rats via one of the following methods: (i) menisectomy (MSX); (ii) anterior cruciate ligament transaction (ACLT); and (iii) intra-articular injection of mono-ido-acetete (1 mg) (MIA), in the right knee joint, with 12 rats per model group. After 8 weeks, the animals were sacrificed and tibial knee joints were collected. A custom-made nearinfrared (NIR) probe of diameter 5 mm was placed on the cartilage surface and spectral data were acquired from each specimen in the wavenumber range 4 000 – 12 500 cm−1. Following spectral data acquisition, the specimens were fixed and Safranin–O staining was performed to assess disease severity based on the Mankin scoring system. Using multivariate statistical analysis based on principal component analysis and partial least squares regression, the spectral data were then related to the Mankinscores of the samples tested. Results Mild to severe degenerative cartilage changes were observed in the subject animals. The ACLT models showed mild cartilage degeneration, MSX models moderate, and MIA severe cartilage degenerative changes both morphologically and histologically. Our result demonstrate that NIR spectroscopic information is capable of separating the cartilage samples into different groups relative to the severity of degeneration, with NIR correlating significantly with their Mankinscore (R2 = 88.85%). Conclusion We conclude that NIR is a viable tool for evaluating articularcartilage health and physical properties such as change in thickness with degeneration.

Thinking Critically About Rural Gender Relations: Toward a Rural Masculinity/Male Peer Support Model of Separation/Divorce Sexual Assault

After decades of neglect, a growing number of scholars have turned their attention to issues of crime and criminal justice in the rural context. Despite this improvement, rural crime research is underdeveloped theoretically, and is little informed by critical criminological perspectives. In this article, we introduce the broad tenets of a multi-level theory that links social and economic change to the reinforcement of rural patriarchy and male peer support, and in turn, how they are linked to separation/divorce sexual assault. We begin by addressing a series of misconceptions about what is rural, rural homogeneity and commonly held presumptions about the relationship of rurality, collective efficacy (and related concepts) and crime. We conclude by recommending more focused research, both qualitative and quantitative, to uncover specific link between the rural transformation and violence against women.

The influence of service quality and trade show effectiveness on post-show purchase intention

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop and test an integrative services framework to investigate the role of perceived trade show effectiveness on overall trade show service outcome, conceptualised as the intention to purchase a related product after, rather than during, a show. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the services marketing and trade show literature, the authors test a model of trade show effectiveness with data collected from 592 attendees at a major automotive trade show in a large metropolitan centre. Findings Results show that improving trade show visitors' perceived service quality positively affects visitor perceptions of trade show effectiveness. Furthermore, both trade show effectiveness and service quality directly influence future purchase intention. Research limitations/implications Employing a services theoretical framework to evaluate trade show visitor experiences provides an alternative to the traditional marketing communications approach. By viewing such visits as service encounters, managers must inevitably consider the effects of service quality and service outcomes in determining the likely success of their shows. The study primarily focuses on one large consumer show and therefore does not constitute a complete, nor necessarily representative, sample of the trade show industry. Originality/value The original contribution of the paper stems from the paucity of research conceptualising trade shows as services and the comparative lack of emphasis placed on visitors rather than exhibitors in the literature. The research not only has utility for trade show organisers but also provides necessary theory-based research in the trade show domain.

An exploration of affine group laws for elliptic curves

Several forms of elliptic curves are suggested for an efficient implementation of Elliptic Curve Cryptography. However, a complete description of the group law has not appeared in the literature for most popular forms. This paper presents group law in affine coordinates for three forms of elliptic curves. With the existence of the proposed affine group laws, stating the projective group law for each form becomes trivial. This work also describes an automated framework for studying elliptic curve group law, which is applied internally when preparing this work.

Persistence of multiple genetic lineages within intra-host populations of Ross River virus

We examined the structure and extent of genetic diversity in intrahost populations of Ross River virus (RRV) in samples from six human patients, focusing on the nonstructural (nsP3) and structural (E2) protein genes. Strikingly, although the samples were collected from contrasting ecological settings 3,000 kilometers apart in Australia, we observed multiple viral lineages in four of the six individuals, which is indicative of widespread mixed infections. In addition, a comparison with previously published RRV sequences revealed that these distinct lineages have been in circulation for at least 5 years, and we were able to document their long-term persistence over extensive geographical distances

Front page schools, back page schools : a case study of factors perceived to affect academic performance in five Papua New Guinea secondary schools

Papua New Guinea has reformed its colonial established education system and made huge investments with the help of donors to achieve equal access and quality education for all its citizens. Despite this national aspiration and these policy reforms and investments, secondary schools that enrol grade 9 students who are relatively equal in education ability show huge disparities in their grade 10 academic performances. This study examined perceptions of students, teachers and principals regarding factors affecting the disparity in academic performance in the context of a developing country. The central question for the study is: What are the perceptions of students and teachers of the factors that affect disparities in secondary schools' academic performance? This qualitative case study involved two high and three low academic performing secondary schools in Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. Primary data were collected through focus groups and semi-structured interviews involving 112 participants. Students and teachers are key participants in this study, as it intends to find out the realities of schools, yet they are an under-researched group. A postcolonial and sense of community conceptual framework was developed for the analysis of the participants. perceptions. In addition, scholarship on school effectiveness and equity in education informed the interpretation of the findings. Three themes were evident in participants. views. First, participants expressed their view that differences in academic performance were related to the adequacy and equitability of resources. The inequities in resource inputs led some of them to coin the metaphor of .back page and front page. schools. Second, many expressed the view that deficiencies in implementing bilingual education, given the difficulty of catering for 800 vernacular languages, contribute to poor English proficiency and subsequent poor academic performance. Finally, participants believed that, in order to have a positive school culture, it is necessary for educators to recognise and respect contemporary students. identities, communal/tribal membership and needs. This study has implications for national education policy on resource allocation to address equality and equity, bilingual education and teacher education. Moreover, as the study found that high academic performance in this context is also influenced by intra-school social relationships, these relationships need to be nurtured. When appropriately nurtured, they become an important factor in sustaining quality education for all secondary school students. This thesis has laid the foundations for further research and invites further investigations into policy and implementation of school reforms aimed at improving academic achievement.