Good relationships at work: The effects of Leader–Member Exchange and Team–Member Exchange on psychological empowerment,emotional exhaustion,and depression

Emotional exhaustion and depression pose a threat to employees' psychological health. Social relationships at work are important potential buffers against these threats, but the corresponding psychological processes are still unclear. We propose that the subjective experience of high‐quality relationships with supervisors (i.e., Leader–Member Exchange [LMX]) is one of the protective factors against psychological health issues at work and that this effect is mediated by psychological empowerment. We tested these assumptions with two studies (one cross‐sectional and one time lagged) on diverse samples of employees from different organizations. The first study employed emotional exhaustion as the outcome measure; the second used depression. Results from both studies support the proposed process by showing that LMX positively affects empowerment, which negatively affects emotional exhaustion (Study 1) and depression (Study 2). Additionally, Study 2 also showed that Team–Member Exchange is as important as LMX for preventing psychological health issues among employees. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of community of practice to support quantitative risk assessment for synthetic biology products: contaminant bioremediation and invasive carp control as cases

Synthetic biology has the potential for a broad array of applications. However, realization of this potential is challenged by the paucity of relevant data for conventional risk assessment protocols, a limitation due to to the relative nascence of the field, as well as the poorly characterized and prioritized hazard, exposure, and dose–response considerations associated with the development and use of synthetic biology-derived organisms. Where quantitative risk assessment approaches are necessarily to fulfill regulatory requirements for review of products containing genetically modified organisms, this paper reviews one potential avenue for early-stage quantitative risk assessment for biosafety considerations of synthetic biology organism deployment into the environment. Building from discussion from a March 2018 US Army Engineer Research and Development Center workshop on developing such quantitative risk assessment for synthetic biology, this paper reviews the findings and discussion of workshop participants. This paper concludes that, while synthetic biology risk assessment and governance will continue to refine and develop in the coming years, a quantitative framework that builds from existing practice is one potentially beneficial option for risk assessors that must contend with the technology’s limited hazard characterization or exposure assessment considerations in the near term.     

探究性教学在大学语文课程中的运用——以讲授苏轼《水调歌头》一课为例

《大学语文》作为高职高专的一门公共基础课,因其丰富的人文内蕴、情感价值和审美趣味而承担了进一步提高大学生人文素质、增进文化修养的功能,从而培养大学生具有深厚人文精神的理想人格。在《大学语文》教学活动中开展探究性教学,既是教育改革全面实施素质教育的客观要求,也是大学生自我提升的内在需要。以讲授苏轼的《水调歌头·明月几时有》一课为例,阐述如何在高职高专《大学语文》课程的教学活动中引导和组织学生开展探究性教学。     

高职院校产学研结合模式及其发展对策

本文提出怎样理解产学研相结合的问题,并从产学研不同层面进行分析,提出以市场为目标、以制度为保证实现产学研有效结合的思路。     

The rains are disappointing us: dynamic vulnerability and adaptation to multiple stressors in the Afram Plains, Ghana

This paper builds on work on the dynamics of vulnerability and multiple stressors through a case study in the Afram Plains of the Eastern region in Ghana. A vulnerability framework is applied in the community of Mimkyemfre to identify and explain the multiple underlying political, socioeconomic and environmental forces that influence the ways in which people are exposed and sensitive to climate, and their capacities to adapt to changing conditions. The results of the study indicate that the community experiences a range of biophysical and socioeconomic conditions that contribute to its vulnerability. Vulnerability was found to change over time and in some cases was cyclical, in that certain actions taken for the purposes of adaptation were found to exacerbate existing vulnerabilities. Processes of vulnerability were also found to occur at several scales and were experienced unevenly at the community level. The findings of this assessment have important implications for the design and implementation of successful adaptation initiatives, both in Africa and elsewhere. In particular, they demonstrate the need to understand the social, economic and institutional challenges to development as a basis for any contemplation of adaptation to climate change.     

Inconsistent pathways of household waste

The aim of this study was to provide policy-makers and waste management planners with information about how recycling programs affect the quantities of specific materials recycled and disposed of. Two questions were addressed: which factors influence household waste generation and pathways? and how reliable are official waste data? Household waste flows were studied in 35 Swedish municipalities, and a wide variation in the amount of waste per capita was observed. When evaluating the effect of different waste collection policies, it was found to be important to identify site-specific factors influencing waste generation. Eleven municipal variables were investigated in an attempt to explain the variation. The amount of household waste per resident was higher in populous municipalities and when net commuting was positive. Property-close collection of dry recyclables led to increased delivery of sorted metal, plastic and paper packaging. No difference was seen in the amount of separated recyclables per capita when weight-based billing for the collection of residual waste was applied, but the amount of residual waste was lower. Sixteen sources of error in official waste statistics were identified and the results of the study emphasize the importance of reliable waste generation and composition data to underpin waste management policies.