Creative work environments and employee engagement: Exploring potential links and possibilities

Companies that perform well are often identified as either possessing creative work environments and (or) having high levels of employee engagement. Creative work environments are largely not well defined, although research alludes to contributing factors. On the other hand employee engagement is defined as the multiple emotional, rational and behavioural dimensions of an employee's consistent level of effort, commitment and connection to their job. Some authors including Saks (2006) and Shuck and Wollard (2010) call for more scholarly research to increase our understanding of the drivers of employee engagement and the actions that organisations can take to improve engagement. There are references made in the literature to the existence of a relationship between a creative work environment and engaged employees (Isaksen & Ekvall 2010), but there is a lack of empirical evidence providing support for the direct relationship between the two. This study aims to explore the relationship, addressing the question of how a creative work environment impacts on employee engagement. Exploratory research to investigate this relationship will use a qualitative methodology with semi-structured interviews, field observations and document analysis. Key themes will be analysed at both the individual and team level reflecting the multi-level nature of the constructs.

Patent law and biological inventions

In response to scientific breakthroughs in biotechnology, the development of new technologies, and the demands of a hungry capitalist marketplace, patent law has expanded to accommodate a range of biological inventions. There has been much academic and public debate as to whether gene patents have a positive impact upon research and development, health-care, and the protection of the environment. In a satire of prevailing patenting practices, the English poet and part-time casino waitress, Donna MacLean, sought a patent application - GB0000180.0 - in respect of herself. She explained that she had satisfied the usual patent criteria - in that she was novel, inventive, and useful: It has taken 30 years of hard labor for me to discover and invent myself, and now I wish to protect my invention from unauthorized exploitation, genetic or otherwise. I am new: I have led a private existence and I have not made the invention of myself public. I am not obvious (2000: 18). MacLean said she had many industrial applications. 'For example, my genes can be used in medical research to extremely profitable ends - I therefore wish to have sole control of my own genetic material' (2000: 18). She observed in an interview: 'There's a kind of unpleasant, grasping, greedy atmosphere at the moment around the mapping of the human genome ... I wanted to see if a human being could protect their own genes in law' (Meek, 2000). This special issue of Law in Context charts a new era in the long-standing debate over biological inventions. In the wake of the expansion of patentable subject matter, there has been great strain placed upon patent criteria - such as 'novelty', 'inventive step', and 'utility'. Furthermore, there has been a new focus upon legal doctrines which facilitate access to patented inventions - like the defence of experimental use, the 'Bolar' exception, patent pooling, and compulsory licensing. There has been a concerted effort to renew patent law with an infusion of ethical principles dealing with informed consent and benefit sharing. There has also been a backlash against the commercialisation of biological inventions, and a call by some activists for the abolition of patents on genetic inventions. This collection considers a wide range of biological inventions - ranging from micro-organisms, plants and flowers and transgenic animals to genes, express sequence tags, and research tools, as well as genetic diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical drugs. It is thus an important corrective to much policy work, which has been limited in its purview to merely gene patents and biomedical research. This collection compares and contrasts the various approaches of a number of jurisdictions to the legal problems in respect of biological inventions. In particular, it looks at the complexities of the 1998 European Union Directive on the Legal Protection of Biotechnological Inventions, as well as decisions of member states, such as the Netherlands, and peripheral states, like Iceland. The edition considers US jurisprudence on patent law and policy, as well as recent developments in Canada. It also focuses upon recent developments in Australia - especially in the wake of parallel policy inquiries into gene patents and access to genetic resources.

Media futures: A review essay on'The Future of Reputation','TV Futures', and'The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It'

In his 1987 book, The Media Lab: Inventing the Future at MIT, Stewart Brand provides an insight into the visions of the future of the media in the 1970s and 1980s. 1 He notes that Nicolas Negroponte made a compelling case for the foundation of a media laboratory at MIT with diagrams detailing the convergence of three sectors of the media—the broadcast and motion picture industry; the print and publishing industry; and the computer industry. Stewart Brand commented: ‘If Negroponte was right and communications technologies really are converging, you would look for signs that technological homogenisation was dissolving old boundaries out of existence, and you would expect an explosion of new media where those boundaries used to be’. Two decades later, technology developers, media analysts and lawyers have become excited about the latest phase of media convergence. In 2006, the faddish Time Magazine heralded the arrival of various Web 2.0 social networking services: You can learn more about how Americans live just by looking at the backgrounds of YouTube videos—those rumpled bedrooms and toy‐strewn basement rec rooms—than you could from 1,000 hours of network television. And we didn’t just watch, we also worked. Like crazy. We made Facebook profiles and Second Life avatars and reviewed books at Amazon and recorded podcasts. We blogged about our candidates losing and wrote songs about getting dumped. We camcordered bombing runs and built open‐source software. America loves its solitary geniuses—its Einsteins, its Edisons, its Jobses—but those lonely dreamers may have to learn to play with others. Car companies are running open design contests. Reuters is carrying blog postings alongside its regular news feed. Microsoft is working overtime to fend off user‐created Linux. We’re looking at an explosion of productivity and innovation, and it’s just getting started, as millions of minds that would otherwise have drowned in obscurity get backhauled into the global intellectual economy. The magazine announced that Time’s Person of the Year was ‘You’, the everyman and everywoman consumer ‘for seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game’. This review essay considers three recent books, which have explored the legal dimensions of new media. In contrast to the unbridled exuberance of Time Magazine, this series of legal works displays an anxious trepidation about the legal ramifications associated with the rise of social networking services. In his tour de force, The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet, Daniel Solove considers the implications of social networking services, such as Facebook and YouTube, for the legal protection of reputation under privacy law and defamation law. Andrew Kenyon’s edited collection, TV Futures: Digital Television Policy in Australia, explores the intersection between media law and copyright law in the regulation of digital television and Internet videos. In The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It, Jonathan Zittrain explores the impact of ‘generative’ technologies and ‘tethered applications’—considering everything from the Apple Mac and the iPhone to the One Laptop per Child programme.

Influence of interlayer properties on the blast performance of laminated glass panels

This paper investigates the influence of interlayer properties on the blast performance of laminated glass (LG) panels. A parametric study is carried out by varying the thickness and Young’s modulus (E) of the interlayer under two different blast loads. Results indicate the existence of a critical interlayer thickness (or E) that causes the onset of interlayer failure. This should be achieved in the design to enhance energy absorption, reduce support reactions and initiate a safer failure mode. Present findings provide information to achieve such design targets and enable safe and efficient performance of LGs under credible blast loads.

Genetic structure of the Korean black scraper Thamnaconus modestus inferred from microsatellite marker analysis

The Korean black scraper, Thamnaconus modestus, is one of the most economically important maricultural fish species in Korea. However, the annual catch of this fish has been continuously declining over the past several decades. In this study, the genetic diversity and relationships among four wild populations and two hatchery stocks of Korean black scraper were assessed based on 16 microsatellite (MS) markers. A total of 319 different alleles were detected over all loci with an average of 19.94 alleles per locus. The hatchery stocks [mean number of alleles (N A) = 12, allelic richness (A R) = 12, expected heterozygosity (He) = 0.834] showed a slight reduction (P > 0.05) in genetic variability in comparison with wild populations (mean N A = 13.86, A R = 12.35, He = 0.844), suggesting a sufficient level of genetic variation in the hatchery populations. Similarly low levels of inbreeding and significant Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium deviations were detected in both wild and hatchery populations. The genetic subdivision among all six populations was low but significant (overall F ST = 0.008, P < 0.01). Pairwise F ST, a phylogenetic tree, and multidimensional scaling analysis suggested the existence of three geographically structured populations based on different sea basin origins, although the isolation-by-distance model was rejected. This result was corroborated by an analysis of molecular variance. This genetic differentiation may result from the co-effects of various factors, such as historical dispersal, local environment and ocean currents. These three geographical groups can be considered as independent management units. Our results show that MS markers may be suitable not only for the genetic monitoring of hatchery stocks but also for revealing the population structure of Korean black scraper populations. These results will provide critical information for breeding programs, the management of cultured stocks and the conservation of this species.

Uncanny Intimacy

Summary: Uncanny Intimacy charts an artists’ journeys towards ecological understanding. Use the mysterious inorganic ‘telescope’, to peer deep within a contemporary 'cabinet of {research} curiosities’, witnessing diverse moments of insight and inspiration animated by the darkly compelling worlds of Australia’s iconic flying foxes. Exhibition Statement: Uncanny Intimacy charts an artists’ journeys towards ecological understanding. Use the mysterious inorganic ‘telescope’ to peer deep within a contemporary 'cabinet of {research} curiosities’, witnessing diverse moments of insight and inspiration, animated by the darkly compelling worlds of Australia’s iconic flying foxes. Uncanny Intimacy calls us to imagine a radical rethinking of ecological ethics. By understanding existence as innately coexistence, we are asked to contemplate how ecologies might be better understood, better conserved and made flourish.

Why do Queenslanders seek care in emergency departments? A population study

Objective This study aims to identify the main reasons for which first time and multiple users seek medical care through Queensland emergency departments (ED). Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted at eight public EDs among presenting patients (n = 911). The questions measured the socio-demographic characteristics of patients, their beliefs and attitudes towards EDs services, and perceptions of health status. Bivariate and binary logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the differences between first time and multiple users of EDs. Results First time and multiple users accounted for 55.5% and 44.5%, respectively. Multiple users themselves believed to be sicker, have poorer health status, and additional and/or chronic health conditions. Multiple users more strongly believed that their condition required treatment at an ED and perceived their condition as being very serious. Multiple users reported weekly household incomes below $600, and half of the multiple users were not working as compared to 35% first time users. Multivariate analysis showed that multiple use was significantly associated with the existence of additional health problems, having chronic condition, lower self-efficacy, and need for ED treatment. Conclusions Patients who sought care for multiple times at EDs more often than first time users suffered from additional and chronic conditions. Their opinion of an ED as the most suitable place to address their current health problem was stronger than first time users. Any proposed demand management strategies need to address these beliefs together with the reasoning of patients to provide effective and appropriate care outside or within ED services.

Phylogeographical relationships of Sicilian brown trout and the effects of genetic introgression on morphospace occupation

Genetic introgression of aquaculture stocks in local forms is well documented in many fish species but their evolutionary consequences for the local populations have not been thoroughly explored. Due to its wide geographical range, the existence of many locally adapted forms and the frequent occurrence of introgression of aquaculture stocks in local forms, brown trout represents the ideal system to study the effects of such introgressions. Here, we focus on a group of rivers and streams in Sicily (Italy), and, by using molecular tools, we show that autochthonous populations are probably derived from the Southern Atlantic clade, which is present in the Iberian peninsula and North Africa. Three out of the four studied rivers reveal signs of genetic introgression of domestic stocks. Finally, by using advanced geometric morphometric analyses, we show that genetic introgression produces a higher degree of morphological variability relative to that observed in non-introgressed populations.

Automated fit assessment of intramedullary nail designs during insertion

Modern intramedullary nails, which are utilised for the treatment of bone fractures, need to be designed to fit the anatomy of the patient population. Traditional and recent semi-automated approaches for quantifying the anatomical fit between bones and nail designs suffer from various drawbacks. This thesis proposed an automated comprehensive nail design validation method. The developed software tool was utilised to quantify the anatomical fit of four commercial nail designs. Furthermore, the thesis demonstrated the existence of a bone-nail specific nail entry point. The developed method is of great benefit for the implant manufacturing industry as a nail design validation tool.

Genetics and the pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis

Purpose of review The field of genetic research in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is advancing rapidly. The purpose of this review is to outline recent findings, particularly, in regard to genetic studies of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and the non-MHC genes IL23R, ERAP1, and killer cell immunologlobulin-like receptor (KIR) complex, in AS. Recent findings: Convincing evidence has been reported for the existence of further non-B27 MHC genes involved in AS. Strong, replicated association has been reported with IL23R and ERAP1 and AS. The IL23R finding strongly implicates the TH17 lymphocyte system in AS aetiopathogenesis. Suggestive evidence of a role for KIR gene polymorphism in AS exists, but definitive findings are awaited. Summary: The findings suggest that further genome-wide studies in large case-control cohorts are likely to be very productive in this disease. The IL23R findings and subsequent immunological investigations suggest that targeted intervention in the TH17 system is likely to have major therapeutic benefit, as it does in the genetically related diseases, inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis.

Psychological distress and pain reporting in Australian coal miners

BACKGROUND: Coal mining is of significant economic importance to the Australian economy. Despite this fact, the related workforce is subjected to a number of psychosocial risks and musculoskeletal injury, and various psychological disorders are common among this population group. Because only limited research has been conducted in this population group, we sought to examine the relationship between physical (pain) and psychological (distress) factors, as well as the effects of various demographic, lifestyle, and fatigue indicators on this relationship. METHODS: Coal miners (N = 231) participated in a survey of musculoskeletal pain and distress on-site during their work shifts. Participants also provided demographic information (job type, age, experience in the industry, and body mass index) and responded to questions about exercise and sleep quality (on- and off-shift) as well as physical and mental tiredness after work. RESULTS: A total of 177 workers (80.5%) reported experiencing pain in at least one region of their body. The majority of the sample population (61.9%) was classified as having low-level distress, 28.4% had scores indicating mild to moderate distress, and 9.6% had scores indicating high levels of distress. Both number of pain regions and job type (being an operator) significantly predicted distress. Higher distress score was also associated with greater absenteeism in workers who reported lower back pain. In addition, perceived sleep quality during work periods partially mediated the relationship between pain and distress. CONCLUSION: The study findings support the existence of widespread musculoskeletal pain among the coal-mining workforce, and this pain is associated with increased psychological distress. Operators (truck drivers) and workers reporting poor sleep quality during work periods are most likely to report increased distress, which highlights the importance of supporting the mining workforce for sustained productivity.

Fractal and multifractal properties of a family of fractal networks

In this work, we study the fractal and multifractal properties of a family of fractal networks introduced by Gallos et al (2007 Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 104 7746). In this fractal network model, there is a parameter e which is between 0 and 1, and allows for tuning the level of fractality in the network. Here we examine the multifractal behavior of these networks, the dependence relationship of the fractal dimension and the multifractal parameters on parameter e. First, we find that the empirical fractal dimensions of these networks obtained by our program coincide with the theoretical formula given by Song et al (2006 Nature Phys. 2 275). Then from the shape of the τ(q) and D(q) curves, we find the existence of multifractality in these networks. Last, we find that there exists a linear relationship between the average information dimension 〈D(1)〉 and the parameter e.

Hot spot detection and spatio-temporal dynamics of dengue in Queensland, Australia

Dengue has been a major public health concern in Australia since it re-emerged in Queensland in 1992-1993. This study explored spatio-temporal distribution and clustering of locally-acquired dengue cases in Queensland State, Australia and identified target areas for effective interventions. A computerised locally-acquired dengue case dataset was collected from Queensland Health for Queensland from 1993 to 2012. Descriptive spatial and temporal analyses were conducted using geographic information system tools and geostatistical techniques. Dengue hot spots were detected using SatScan method. Descriptive spatial analysis showed that a total of 2,398 locally-acquired dengue cases were recorded in central and northern regions of tropical Queensland. A seasonal pattern was observed with most of the cases occurring in autumn. Spatial and temporal variation of dengue cases was observed in the geographic areas affected by dengue over time. Tropical areas are potential high-risk areas for mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue. This study demonstrated that the locally-acquired dengue cases have exhibited a spatial and temporal variation over the past twenty years in tropical Queensland, Australia. There is a clear evidence for the existence of statistically significant clusters of dengue and these clusters varied over time. These findings enabled us to detect and target dengue clusters suggesting that the use of geospatial information can assist the health authority in planning dengue control activities and it would allow for better design and implementation of dengue management programs.

Measuring source credibility of social engineering attackers on Facebook

Past research has suggested that social networking sites are the most common source for social engineering-based attacks. Persuasion research shows that people are more likely to obey and accept a message when the source’s presentation appears to be credible. However, many factors can impact the perceived credibility of a source, depending on its type and the characteristics of the environment. Our previous research showed that there are four dimensions of source credibility in terms of social engineering on Facebook: perceived sincerity, perceived competence, perceived attraction, and perceived worthiness. Because the dimensionalities of source credibility as well as their measurement scales can fluctuate from one type of source to another and from one type of context to another, our aim in this study includes validating the existence of those four dimensions toward the credibility of social engineering attackers on Facebook and developing a valid measurement scale for every dimension of them.

Stochastic differential games with multiple modes

We have studied two person stochastic differential games with multiple modes. For the zero-sum game we have established the existence of optimal strategies for both players. For the nonzero-sum case we have proved the existence of a Nash equilibrium.