Adaptability and stability of white oat cultivars in relation to chemical composition of the caryopsis

The objective of this work was to characterize the chemical properties of white oat (Avena sativa) caryopsis and to determine the adaptability and stability of cultivars recommended for cultivation in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The trials were carried out in the 2007, 2008 and 2009 crop seasons, in three municipalities: Augusto Pestana, Capão do Leão, and Passo Fundo. Fifteen cultivars were evaluated in a randomized block design, with four replicates. The contents of protein, lipid, and nitrogen-free extract were evaluated in the caryopsis. Cultivar performances for the measured characters varied according to location and year of cultivation. The cultivar URS Guapa showed high content of nitrogen-free extract and low contents of protein and lipid in the caryopsis. 'FAPA Louise' showed high content of lipid, whereas 'Albasul', 'UPF 15', and 'UPF 18' showed high content of protein and low content of nitrogen-free extract. There is no evidence of an ideal biotype for the evaluated characters, which could simultaneously show high average performance, adaptability to favorable and unfavorable environments, and stability.

Repeatability of adaptability and stability parameters of common bean in unpredictable environments

The objective of this work was to estimate the repeatability of adaptability and stability parameters of common bean between years, within each biennium from 2003 to 2012, in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Grain yield data from trials of value for cultivation and use common bean were analyzed. Grain yield, ecovalence, regression coefficient, and coefficient of determination were estimated considering location and sowing season per year, within each biennium. Subsequently, a analysis of variance these estimates was carried out, and repeatability was estimated in the biennia. Repeatability estimate for grain yield in most of the biennia was relatively high, but for ecovalence and regression coefficient it was null or of small magnitude, which indicates that confidence on identification of common bean lines for recommendation is greater when using means of yield, instead of stability parameters.

Genetic parameters and simultaneous selection for root yield, adaptability and stability of cassava genotypes

The objective of this work was to estimate genetic parameters and to evaluate simultaneous selection for root yield and for adaptability and stability of cassava genotypes. The effects of genotypes were assumed as fixed and random, and the mixed model methodology (REML/Blup) was used to estimate genetic parameters and the harmonic mean of the relative performance of genotypic values (HMRPGV), for simultaneous selection purposes. Ten genotypes were analyzed in a complete randomized block design, with four replicates. The experiment was carried out in the municipalities of Altamira, Santarém, and Santa Luzia do Pará in the state of Pará, Brazil, in the growing seasons of 2009/2010, 2010/2011, and 2011/2012. Roots were harvested 12 months after planting, in all tested locations. Root yield had low coefficients of genotypic variation (4.25%) and broad-sense heritability of individual plots (0.0424), which resulted in low genetic gain. Due to the low genotypic correlation (0.15), genotype classification as to root yield varied according to the environment. Genotypes CPATU 060, CPATU 229, and CPATU 404 stood out as to their yield, adaptability, and stability.

Coordination pattern adaptability: energy cost of degenerate behaviors.

This study investigated behavioral adaptability, which could be defined as a blend between stability and flexibility of the limbs movement and their inter-limb coordination, when individuals received informational constraints. Seven expert breaststroke swimmers performed three 200-m in breaststroke at constant submaximal intensity. Each trial was performed randomly in a different coordination pattern: 'freely-chosen', 'maximal glide' and 'minimal glide'. Two underwater and four aerial cameras enabled 3D movement analysis in order to assess elbow and knee angles, elbow-knee pair coordination, intra-cyclic velocity variations of the center of mass, stroke rate and stroke length and inter-limb coordination. The energy cost of locomotion was calculated from gas exchanges and blood lactate concentration. The results showed significantly higher glide, intra-cyclic velocity variations and energy cost under 'maximal glide' compared to 'freely-chosen' instructional conditions, as well as higher reorganization of limb movement and inter-limb coordination (p<0.05). In the 'minimal glide' condition, the swimmers did not show significantly shorter glide and lower energy cost, but they exhibited significantly lower deceleration of the center of mass, as well as modified limb movement and inter-limb coordination (p<0.05). These results highlight that a variety of structural adaptations can functionally satisfy the task-goal.

The psychometric properties of the WAI in a career counseling setting: Comparison with a personal counseling sample

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Working Alliance Inventory-Client version (WAI-C) and Working Alliance Inventory-Short and revised (WAI-SR) in a career counseling setting. Moreover, it compared the impact of career versus personal counseling settings based on results obtained using the WAI-SR. Subjects were 188 French-speaking career counseling clients and 95 French-speaking personal counseling clients, mainly students. For the career counseling sample, total reliability was .87 for the WAI-C and .76 for the WAI-SR. The shape of the distribution was normal but the variance was significantly lower for the career counseling sample. Exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) confirmed the presence of an overall working alliance factor but indicated a clearer hierarchical structure for the WAI- SR than for the WAI-C. The psychometric properties seemed only slightly affected by the counseling setting, suggesting that this inventory is also relevant for career counseling, especially the WAI-SR, which has a more robust factorial structure.

Career engagement : Investigating intraindividual predictors of weekly fluctuations in proactive career behaviors

The present study applies a micro-level perspective on how within-individual differences in motivational and social-cognitive factors affect the weekly fluctuations of engagement in proactive career behaviors among a group of 67 German university students. Career self-efficacy beliefs, perceived career barriers, experienced social career support, positive and negative emotions, and career engagement were assessed weekly for 13 consecutive weeks. Hierarchical linear regression analyses showed that above-average levels of career engagement within individuals were predicted by higher than average perceived social support and positive emotions during a given week. Conversely, within-individual differences in self-efficacy, barriers, and negative emotions had no effect. The results suggest that career interventions should provide boosts in social support and positive emotions.

How to identify and recruit nurses to a survey 14 and 24 years after graduation in a context of scarce data : lessons learnt from the 2012 nurses at work pilot study on nurses' career paths

Nursing workforce data are scarce in Switzerland, with no active national registry of nurses. The worldwide nursing shortage is also affecting Switzerland, so that evidence-based results of the nurses at work project on career paths and retention are needed as part of the health care system stewardship; nurses at work is a retrospective cohort study of nurses who graduated in Swiss nursing schools in the last 30 years. Results of the pilot study are presented here (process and feasibility). The objectives are (1) to determine the size and structure of the potential target population by approaching two test-cohorts of nursing graduates (1988 and 1998); (2) to test methods of identifying and reaching them 14 and 24 years after graduation; (3) to compute participation rates, and identify recruitment and participation biases.

The career engagement scale : Development and validation of a measure of proactive career behaviors

Careers today increasingly require engagement in proactive career behaviors; however, there is a lack of validated measures assessing the general degree to which somebody is engaged in such career behaviors. We describe the results of six studies with six independent samples of German university students (total N = 2,854), working professionals (total N = 561), and university graduates (N = 141) that report the development and validation of the Career Engagement Scale - a measure of the degree to which somebody is proactively developing her or his career as expressed by diverse career behaviors. The studies provide support for measurement invariance across gender and time. In support of convergent and discriminant validity, we find that career engagement is more prevalent among working professionals than among university students and that this scale has incremental validity above several specific career behaviors regarding its relation to vocational identity clarity and career self-efficacy beliefs among students and to job and career satisfaction among employees. In support of incremental predictive validity, beyond the effects of several more specific career behaviors, career engagement while at university predicts higher job and career satisfaction several months later after beginning work.

Career decision making, stability and actualization of career intentions : the case of entrepreneurial intentions

Career counselors are often concerned with stability and likelihood of implementation of clients' career intentions. It is often assumed that the status in career decision making (CDM) is one likely indicator; yet, empirical support for this assumption is sparse. The present study focused on entrepreneurial career intentions (EI) and showed that German university students (N = 1,221), with high EI can be found in very different empirically derived CDM statuses that range from preconcern to mature decidedness. Longitudinal analyses (n = 561) showed that career choice foreclosure (high decidedness/low exploration) related to more EI stability and that mature decidedness (high decidedness/high exploration) amplified effects of EI on opportunity identification, a form of EI actualization. The results imply that CDM statuses are useful to estimate stability and actualization of career intentions.