GLBT workplace experience : the impact of social practices, oranisational context and personal factors on turnover decisions

‘Gay Rights’ have recently become a major issue in many Australian employers with the enactment of new legislation. Thus, research on employment issues for GLBT (gay/ lesbian/ bisexual/ transgendered) members of the work has attracted considerable attention from academic and researchers in recent years. However, there is still little research relating to sexual orientation in the management literature. This paper develops a model exploring the impact of potential personal and contextual factors (legal system, industry and organisational) on turnover decisions of GLBT members of the workforce. This paper also suggests a number of potential topics and methodological issues for future research.

Exploring turnover intention of construction managers in China

Employee turnover has been identified as one of the principal causes of poor performance, low competitiveness and high technology loss in the construction industry. Construction managers normally acquire knowledge and skills in construction methods and management techniques on the basis of long-term practice, and their turnover can significantly impact on a construction organisation's survival and development. Therefore, there has been an increasing need to understand the major critical variables affecting the turnover of construction managers. The aims of this research were to determine these variables and use them to develop a quantitative turnover prediction model. A system framework was first developed to categorise all turnover variables into job satisfaction, organisation commitment and demographic variables and the turnover intention was measured in diverse directions. Based on an empirical study in Hubei province in China, the statistical results indicate that seven job satisfaction and organisational commitment variables dominate the turnover intentions of construction managers.

Do repatriate support practices influence repatriate experience, organisational commitment, turnover intentions and perceptions of career success?

The focus of this paper is the development of a model for the effective management of repatriation in multinational enterprises (MNEs). It reviews the literature associated with the relationships between repatriate support practices in relation to repatriation experiences, organisational commitment, turnover intentions, and perceptions of career success. A model has been developed where it is hypothesized that the perception of the provision of important and higher quality practices will result in positive repatriation experiences A positive experience will be positively related to organisational commitment, and perceptions of career success, and negatively related to turnover intentions. These relationships are based on the concepts of social support, uncertainty reduction theory, and psychological contract theory.

Impact of in vivo fatty acid oxidation blockade on glucose turnover and muscle glucose metabolism during low-dose AICAR infusion

AMPK plays a central role in influencing fuel usage and selection. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of low-dose AMP analog 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-ß-D-ribosyl monophosphate (ZMP) on whole body glucose turnover and skeletal muscle (SkM) glucose metabolism. Dogs were restudied after prior 48-h fatty acid oxidation (FAOX) blockade by methylpalmoxirate (MP; 5 x 12 hourly 10 mg/kg doses). During the basal equilibrium period (0–150 min), fasting dogs (n = 8) were infused with [3-³H]glucose followed by either 2-h saline or AICAR (1.5–2.0 mg·kg^–1·min^–1) infusions. SkM was biopsied at completion of each study. On a separate day, the same protocol was undertaken after 48-h in vivo FAOX blockade. The AICAR and AICAR + MP studies were repeated in three chronic alloxan-diabetic dogs. AICAR produced a transient fall in plasma glucose and increase in insulin and a small decline in free fatty acid (FFA). Parallel increases in hepatic glucose production (HGP), glucose disappearance (Rd tissue), and glycolytic flux (GF) occurred, whereas metabolic clearance rate of glucose (MCR_g) did not change significantly. Intracellular SkM glucose, glucose 6-phosphate, and glycogen were unchanged. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC~pSer²²¹) increased by 50%. In the AICAR + MP studies, the metabolic responses were modified: the glucose was lower over 120 min, only minor changes occurred with insulin and FFA, and HGP and Rd tissue responses were markedly attenuated, but MCR_g and GF increased significantly. SkM substrates were unchanged, but ACC~pSer²²¹ rose by 80%. Thus low-dose AICAR leads to increases in HGP and SkM glucose uptake, which are modified by prior FA_ox blockade.

Gender differences in organizational justice predicting the key employee outcomes of organizational commitment, job satisfaction and turnover intention

All four types of organizational justice – distributive, procedural, interpersonal and informational – were included in this study of gender differences. Both male and female respondents perceived the distributive-procedural justice and interpersonal-informational justice pairings similarly and weakly. Females consistently discriminated more clearly across the pairings, however. The effect of the four justices was also found to be gender-dependent. Males’ perception of distributive justice directly predicted their turnover intentions and commitment to the organization, while females’ perception of distributive justice predicted only job satisfaction. Males’ perceptions of procedural and information justice both predicted job satisfaction. Females’ informational justice perceptions predicted job satisfaction and commitment to the organization. The paper contributes to the literature by presenting results from all four justice types and the simultaneous use of the three outcomes of job satisfaction, organizational commitment and intention to quit. Overall, the males had a diffuse set of relationships between the justice types and the outcomes, whereas the relationships between the justice types and
the outcomes for females tended more to follow a limited number of pathways. The study was validated with data collected on two separate occasions.

Regrettable turnover

The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework to identify antecedent variables that impact on the quit/stay decisions of high value workers. In this framework, the unfolding model of voluntary turnover is enhanced by consideration of job embeddedness, and affect-driven approaches. The concept of regrettable turnover is introduced to describe acute forms of dysfunction caused when key employees quit. The regret is experienced by managers, and heavily influenced by the criteria used to judge the value of such individuals. Therefore another key aim of this paper is to build on the literature of turnover functionality to propose a more detailed set of criteria reflecting the increasingly uncertain and dynamic environments in which organisations must operate.

Effect of vitamin D supplementation on vitamin D status and bone turnover markers in young adults

Objective: To assess the vitamin D status of healthy young people living in Northern Ireland and the effect of vitamin D supplementation on vitamin D status and bone turnover.

Design: Double-blinded randomised controlled intervention study.

Setting: University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland.

Subjects: In total, 30 apparently healthy students (15 male and 15 female subjects), aged 18–27 years, were recruited from the university, with 27 completing the intervention.

Interventions: Subjects were randomly assigned, to receive either 15 mug (600 IU) vitamin D3 and 1500 mg calcium/day (vitamin D group), or 1500 mg calcium/day (control group) for 8 weeks between January and March. Vitamin D status, bone turnover markers, serum calcium and parathyroid hormone concentrations were measured at baseline and post intervention.

Results: At baseline, vitamin D status was low in both the vitamin D group (47.9 (s.d. 16.0)) and the control group (55.5 (s.d. 18.6) nmol/l 25(OH)D). Post intervention vitamin D status was significantly higher in the vitamin D-treated group (86.5 (s.d. 24.5)) compared to the control group (48.3 (s.d. 16.8) nmol/l) (P<0.0001). There was no significant effect of supplementation on bone turnover markers or PTH concentrations.

Conclusions: This study suggests that young adults in Northern Ireland do not consume an adequate daily dietary intake of vitamin D to maintain plasma vitamin D concentrations in the wintertime. A daily supplement of 15 mug vitamin D3 significantly increased vitamin D status in these individuals to levels of sufficiency. Achievement of an optimum vitamin D status among young adults may have future positive health implications.

Field metabolic rate and body water turnover of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in Australia

We measured the daily energy expenditure of free-living red foxes Vulpes vulpes occupying a temperate region of New South Wales, Australia. Field metabolic rate (FMR) and body water turnover were estimated using doubly labelled water. In autumn, male body mass ranged from 5 to 6.1 kg (mean 5.6 kg) and their FMRs averaged 2328 kJ/day. Female body mass in autumn ranged from 4.9 to 6.6 kg (mean 5.4 kg) and their FMRs averaged 1681 kJ/day. Body water influx for males and females was 314 and 251 mL/day, respectively. Body composition of each fox was analysed after the field measurements and revealed a significant correlation between body water content, as estimated from tritiated water space, and body lipids (r² = 0.72). This supports the use of body water determination as a potentially non-destructive method to gauge body condition.

Use of calcium, folate and vitamin D3-fortified milk for 6 months improves nutritional status but not bone mass or turnover, in a group of Australia aged care

In residential care, inadequate calcium and folate intakes and low serum vitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations are common. We assessed whether daily provision of calcium, folate, and vitamin D3-fortified milk for 6 months improved nutritional status (serum micronutrients), bone quality (heel ultrasound), bone turnover markers (parathyroid hormone, C-terminal collagen I telopeptide, terminal propeptide of type I procollagen), and/or muscle strength and mobility in a group of Australian aged care residents. One hundred and seven residents completed the study (mean (SD) age: 79.9 (10.1) years; body weight: 68.4 (15.4) kg). The median (inter-quartile range) volume of fortified milk consumed was 160 (149) ml/day. At the end of the study, the median daily vitamin D intake increased to 10.4 (8.7) μg (P < .001), which is 70% of the adequate intake (15 μg); and calcium density (mg/MJ) was higher over the study period compared with baseline (161 ± 5 mg/MJ vs. 142 ± 4 mg/MJ, P < .001). Serum 25(OH)D concentrations increased by 23 ± 2 nmol/L (83 (107)%, P < .001), yet remained in the insufficient range (mean 45 ± 2 nmol/L). Consumption of greater than the median intake of milk (160 ml/day) (n = 54, 50%) increased serum 25(OH)D levels into the adequate range (53 ± 2 nmol/L) and reduced serum parathyroid hormone by 24% (P = .045). There was no effect on bone quality, bone turnover markers, muscle strength, or mobility. Consumption of fortified milk increased dietary vitamin D intake and raised serum 25(OH)D concentrations, but not to the level thought to reduce fracture risk. If calcium-fortified milk also was used in cooking and milk drinks, this approach could allow residents to achieve a dietary calcium intake close to recommended levels. A vitamin D supplement would be recommended to ensure adequate vitamin D status for all residents.

Analysis of employee turnover amongst construction managers in Hubei Province

This study determined the most important factors affecting turnover intention and developed a prediction model of construction manager turnover in Hubei Province, China. This prediction model can help human resource managers take appropriate actions to reduce the rate of construction manager turnover and keep good construction managers.