Effective Employee Incentive Plans: Features and Implementation Processes

[Excerpt] This paper will evaluate the effectiveness of broad-based employee incentives, identifying the features of effective plans. For our purposes, “broad-based” is used to signal that more than 50 percent of employees are eligible for this variable pay plan. In addition, the terms “variable pay plan” and “pay for performance” are used interchangeably as they appeared in the original sources

Wading in the gene pool: Female preference for long mating calls in gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor) [abstract]

Abstract only availableFemale gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor) exhibit a clear preference for long mating calls. Moreover, the expression of this preference varies. The "good genes" model of sexual selection suggests that this is because females with extreme preferences mate with males with the most exaggerated traits, so their offspring will carry the genes for the extreme values of both trait and preference. Another possible explanation for variation in preference is that females in good physical condition will be better able to travel longer distances to find a longer calling male, resulting in a stronger call preference. We assessed the preference strength of lab-reared female frogs that are the offspring of short and long-calling fathers. We manipulated the condition of these females by placing them on a high and low feeding treatment. Frogs were tested in an anechoic chamber to determine preference strength, which was measured by using unequal playback levels of synthetic mating calls. We defined preference strength as the amount that the intensity of a long call can be reduced relative to the short call before the female prefers the shorter call. We found that preference strength was not significantly affected by father's call length, family, food treatment, or weight. Additionally, the response time for testing showed no relationship with either preference strength or weight. While there were no trends in the data, our sample size was small. Further testing with a larger sample size will give us a better idea of whether or not preference strength is affected by male call length or condition. Alternatively, female preference might be linked to variables we did not measure, such as age or past experience

Personality predictors of levels of forgiveness two and a half years after the transgression

The aim of the present study was to explore whether the domains and facets of the five-factor model of personality predicted motivational states for avoidance and revenge following a transgression at a second temporal point distant from the original transgression. A sample of 438 university students, who reported experiencing a serious transgression against them, completed measures of avoidance and revenge motivations around the transgression and five-factor personality domains and facets at time 1, and measures of avoidance and revenge motivations two and a half years later. The findings suggest that neuroticism, and specifically anger hostility, predicts revenge and avoidance motivation

Migrating Software Products to the Cloud

Cloud computing, as a disruptive innovation, has the potential to adversely affect companies. The effects can be particularly extreme for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Subsequently, considerations of organisational resilience should be made when integrating with disruptive innovations like cloud computing. This paper reports of a longitudinal study investigating how a set of SME high-value software vendors are migrating their software products to the cloud. Adaptive socio-technical systems (ASTSs) concepts are used to provide a framework for understanding the adoption process. This study draws out a set of macro and micro themes relating to key phases of strategy development, the migration process and the impact on customer perceptions. From the findings, more systemic and holistic approaches are identified to address key tensions through the adoption life cycle while considering organisational resilience

Socioeconomic factors that affect artisanal fishers’ readiness to exit a declining fishery

The emerging world crisis created by declining fish stocks poses a challenge to resource users and managers. The problem is particularly acute in poor nations, such as those in East Africa, where fishing is an important subsistence activity but high fishing intensity and use of destructive gear have resulted in declining catches. In this context developing effective management strategies requires an understanding of how fishers may respond to declines in catch. We examined the readiness of 141 Kenyan fishers to stop fishing under hypothetical scenarios of declines in catch and how socioeconomic conditions influenced their decisions. As expected, the proportion of fishers that would exit the fishery increased with magnitude of decline in catch. Fishers were more likely to say they would stop fishing if they were from households that had a higher material style of life and a greater number of occupations. Variables such as capital investment in the fishery and the proportion of catch sold had weak, nonsignificant relationships. Our finding that fishers from poorer households would be less likely to exit a severely declining fishery is consistent with the literature on poverty traps, which suggests the poor are unable to mobilize the necessary resources to overcome either shocks or chronic low-income situations and consequently may remain in poverty. This finding supports the proposition \ud that wealth generation and employment opportunities directed at the poorest fishers may help reduce fishing effort on overexploited fisheries, but successful interventions such as these will require an understanding of the socioeconomic context in which fishers operate. \u

The Effect of Basal Diet on Lactate-Producing Bacteria and the Susceptibility of Sheep to Lactic Acidosis

The influence of a diet of either pasture or hay on the development of lactic acidosis in sheep was investigated using a grain challenge approach. Twenty-four Merino wethers with a mean live weight of 36.7 (s.e. 3.6) kg were used; 12 were adapted to grass pasture and 12 to hay (lucerne and oaten hay, 60 : 40) for 4 weeks before being given 1 kg of crushed barley via stomach tube. Six sheep in each group were also given virginiamycin (VM; 50 mg/kg barley) with the grain to test the efficacy of this antibiotic in controlling the bacteria responsible for the development of acidosis. Changes in volatile fatty acid (VFA), pH, lactate and bacterial count in the rumen and faecal pH and dry matter (DM) were measured for a 24-h period following administration of the barley. Daily intakes of hay were measured for a 10-day period following grain engorgement. Total ruminal VFA increased (P < 0.01) over time and tended (P = 0.08) to be higher in sheep adapted to hay than in those adapted to pasture (67.5 v. 59.8 mmol/l). The molar proportions of VFA changed (P< 0.01) over time in favour of propionate in both groups. Ruminal pH was higher (P< 0.001) in pasture-adapted sheep, but declined (P< 0.001) in both groups over time following the introduction of barley. This decline in pH was associated with increases in ruminal concentration of VFA in pasture-adapted sheep and VFA and lactate in hay-adapted sheep. The addition of VM resulted in a higher (P < 0.001) proportion of propionate and a trend towards higher (P = 0.24) faecal pH and DM content. Faecal pH and DM content declined (P < 0.001) over time and was lower for the pasture-adapted sheep. The introduction of either barley alone or barley with VM from both hay and pasture diets increased (P < 0.05) the viable counts of total bacteria, Streptococcus bovis and lactic acid bacteria. Bacterial isolates were purified and identified by complete sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to determine the predominant bacteria during the overfeeding of grain. Isolates from medium selective for S. bovis were all identified as this species when VM was not given. VM had no effect on counts of viable bacteria, but inhibited the growth of S. bovis

The Impact of Anti-Opioid Print Messages on High-Sensation-Seeking Personalities and Behaviors: A Comparative Study of Public Service Announcements and Research

The rate of opioid overdose deaths has dramatically increased over the past several years. Efforts to reach users to describe the negative consequences of use appear to have little effect on users. This research seeks to understand how mass media messages, specifically printed public service announcements (PSAs), can reverse the upward trend of opioid use by targeting the attitudes and motivations of high-sensation-seekers. The hypothesis suggests a positive correlation between some advertisements and expressed intention to avoid trying or using opioids. Samples included students at Eastern Kentucky University in the Nursing, Psychology, and Sociology departments in addition to accredited, professional psychologists. Both groups were given a survey asking about the media effects of two public service announcement on opioid use Research data analyzed, limitations, and future research are presented

AGN Populations in Large Volume X-ray Surveys: Photometric Redshifts and Population Types found in the Stripe 82X Survey

Multi-wavelength surveys covering large sky volumes are necessary to obtain an accurate census of rare objects such as high luminosity and/or high redshift active galactic nuclei (AGN). Stripe 82X is a 31.3 deg$^2$ X-ray survey with $Chandra$ and $XMM$-Newton observations overlapping the legacy Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Stripe 82 field, which has a rich investment of multi-wavelength coverage from the ultraviolet to the radio. The wide-area nature of this survey presents new challenges for photometric redshifts for AGN compared to previous work on narrow-deep fields because it probes different populations of objects that need to be identified and represented in the library of templates. Here we present an updated X-ray plus multi-wavelength matched catalog, including $Spitzer$ counterparts, and estimated photometric redshifts for 5961 (96% of a total of 6181) X-ray sources, which have a normalized median absolute deviation, $\sigma_{\rm nmad}$ = 0.06 and an outlier fraction, $\eta$ = 13.7%. The populations found in this survey, and the template libraries used for photometric redshifts, provide important guiding principles for upcoming large-area surveys such as $eROSITA$ and 3$XMM$ (in X-ray) and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST; optical).Comment: Accepted for publication by The Astrophysical Journal (33 pages, 20 figures, 13 tables). Final catalog of counterparts and photo-z supplementing the paper available here: http://stripe82x.com/docs/stripe82x-photometric-redshifts-and-multiwavelength-data-catalog