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We propose a new work design model, SMART work design, that identifies five higher order categories of work characteristics, including stimulating work characteristics (task variety, skill variety, information processing requirements, and problem‐solving requirements), mastery work characteristics (job feedback, feedback from others, and role clarity), autonomous work characteristics (decision‐making autonomy, timing autonomy, and method autonomy), relational work characteristics (social support, task significance, and beneficiary contact), and tolerable work characteristics (low levels of: role overload, work–home conflict, and role conflict). Higher order confirmatory factor analysis of working participants provided initial evidence of this structure (Study 1, N = 1107), which was replicated in an additional dataset (Study 2, time 1, N = 709). To provide further evidence, we examined Study 2 data across three waves (N = 573) to show that each higher order factor at time 1 predicted time 3 job satisfaction either directly or via the theorized time 2 mediators (challenge appraisals, work meaningfulness, fulfillment of relatedness needs, and activated negative affect). In Study 3 (N = 108), employees' scores on specific higher order variables correlated with leader ratings of performance in the expected ways. The SMART work design model provides a unique integrating and multidimensional theory of work design that extends beyond existing models. The model can be used to facilitate the synthesis of research knowledge and guide scholars and practitioners to diagnose and address contemporary work design challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can artificial intelligence (AI) assist human employees in increasing employee creativity? Drawing on research on AI–human collaboration, job design, and employee creativity, we examine AI assistance in the form of a sequential division of labor within organizations: in a task, AI handles the initial portion, which is well-codified and repetitive, and employees focus on the subsequent portion, involving higher-level problem-solving. First, we provide causal evidence from a field experiment conducted at a telemarketing company. We find that AI assistance in generating sales leads, on average, increases employees' creativity in answering customers' questions during subsequent sales persuasion. Enhanced creativity leads to increased sales. However, this effect is much more pronounced for higher-skilled employees. Next, we conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with the employees. We found that AI assistance changes job design by intensifying employees' interactions with more serious customers. This change enables higher-skilled employees to generate innovative scripts and develop positive emotions at work, which are conducive to creativity. By contrast, with AI assistance, lower-skilled employees make limited improvements to scripts and experience negative emotions at work. We conclude that employees can achieve AI-augmented creativity, but this desirable outcome is skill-biased by favoring experts with greater job skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In modern manufacturing systems, operators' role is evolving continuously in relation to the main production paradigms affecting how companies approach their manufacturing and logistics operations. If the introduction of Lean Manufacturing principles has affected workers' well-being directly, the adoption of digital technologies is modifying how factory work is organised and performed. As a result, digitalised and Lean Manufacturing contexts require operators to enhance their skills increasingly to perform several tasks and functions. This paper examines the evolution of operators' role in production by recalling two main work design paradigms that originated in the 1960s: Job Enlargement and Job Enrichment. Indeed, through a literature review and development of a causal loop diagram (CLD), this research points out how the main features of Industry 4.0 and Lean Manufacturing jointly affect the Job Enlargement and Job Enrichment concepts. The study significantly helps reshape work design in next-generation production systems, shedding light on the implications and relationships of the most widespread manufacturing paradigm, i.e. Lean Manufacturing and Industry 4.0, using Job Enrichment and Job Enlargement strategies. A CLD also can be a helpful tool for practitioners to understand what factors to leverage to increase efficiency and worker satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An electrochemical–thermal tandem reaction system was designed in this work and enabled the highly efficient synthesis of propylene oxide (PO) at 1 atm without the use of H2O2. The electrochemical part produced OOH− through a 2e− oxygen reduction reaction, which migrated and distributed in the full space of a chamber filled with a mixture of solid electrolyte particles and modified TS-1 (m-TS-1) catalysts. Mediated by the relay of OOH− and protic solvent methanol, full space tandem reactions were achieved with a high PO selectivity of 95.2% and a productivity of 319.75 mmol gecat−1 h−1. A mechanistic study revealed that the m-TS-1 catalysts accepted the migrated OOH− and formed a Ti-OOH intermediate, which played a key role in relaying the tandem reactions for an efficient propylene epoxidation reaction. Techno-economic analysis and life-cycle assessment revealed favorable figures for the proposed process compared to the conventional process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the safety and costs of current lithium-ion batteries are nonideal, engineering a new energy-storage systems is needed. Mag-nesium/lithium hybrid-ion batteries (MLHBs) combining fast kinetics of Li ions and a dendrite-free Mg anode are promising. Here, we describe our development of an MLHB using lamellar SnSe2/SnSe/SnO2 as cathode material and an all-phenyl complex (APC)-based electrolyte. The multi-layered cathode material generated from a hierarchical precursor is conducive to diffusion of Li+ and Mg2+ ions, and buffers volumetric changes efficiently. After 2000 cycles at 1.0 A g-1 the battery shows a specific capacity of 233 mA h g-1 and a Coulombic efficiency of 100%. It also shows excellent rate performances. These findings suggest that the cathode design working with optimized electrolyte will find many applications for high-performance energy-storage systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the low‐loss and temperature‐stable Na2O–Ln2O3–MoO3–TiO2 (Ln = Nd, La and Ce) system, synthesized via a solid‐state process at low‐sintering temperatures ranging from 840°C to 900°C The structure, microstructure and microwave properties of the Na0.5Ln0.5MoO4–TiO2 (Ln = Nd, La and Ce) ceramics as a function of the sintering temperature were studied. The results of XRD patterns and microstructure characterization showed that the main phase in compositions belong to tetragonal scheelite and tetragonal structure. The ceramic composition Na0.5Ln0.5MoO4–TiO2 (Ln = Nd, La and Ce), sintered at 840°C–900°C for 2 hours, demonstrated excellent microwave dielectric properties, exhibiting relative dielectric constant (εr) of 13.9–14.4, Q × f value of about 31 100 (at 9.66 GHz) – 48 600 GHz (at 9.33 GHz), and temperature coefficient of –8.1 to –1 ppm/°C. Our work designs temperature‐stable microwave dielectric ceramics with low‐sintering temperature for LTCC technology applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work was designed to investigate the influence of arsenic dosage, variety on the mechanical properties, hydration, and solidification from the perspective of Portland cement (PC) performance evolution. The results demonstrate that using PC could solidify the arsenic wastes effectively, with arsenic leaching concentrations consistently below 5 mg/L. Arsenic wastes retard cement hydration, leading to a slower rate of hydrates formation, disrupting the calcium silicate hydrate (C–S–H) stacking structure, and thus detrimental to strength development especially at early age. The adverse effect is highly dependent on the arsenic variety. The insoluble calcium arsenate exhibits the least impact, while the arsenates show the largest challenging to immobilization due to the instability of hydrates. Molecular dynamic simulation indicates that arsenic can be chemically immobilized with Ca2+, and be physically adsorbed onto the positively charged C–S–H by forming As‐O···Ca···Si‐O units, accompanied by a significant reduction in adsorption energy by 46.5%. The arsenic solidification behavior provides a basis for the resource utilization of arsenic wastes in cementitious materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rigid‐flexible coupled composite polymer electrolytes (CPEs, e.g., polyethylene oxide/Li6.4La3Zr1.4Ta0.6O12, PEO/LLZTO) hold the promise of integrating the respective merits of organic polymer electrolyte and inorganic ceramic fillers to achieve better all‐solid‐state batteries (ASSBs), but commonly suffer from poor synergistic effect owing to the ionically/electronically resistive layer on the ceramic surface. Representatively, the Li2CO3 passivation layer‐isolated LLZTO not only contributes minimally to the Li+ conduction in PEO/LLZTO CPE, but also narrows the available electrochemical window. Herein, an interfacial reconstruction strategy is disclosed based on mild liquid‐phase chemical reaction and subsequent self‐assembly, allowing the detrimental Li2CO3 to fully react with succinic anhydride (SA), and simultaneously constructing a robust ultra‐thin lithium succinate (SALi) ionic conductor shell to eradicate its regeneration. Accordingly, the obtained PEO/LLZTO@SALi (PLS) CPE shows a high room‐temperature ionic conductivity (1.2 × 10−4 S cm−1), a wide electrochemical window (4.8 V), a notable Li+ transference number (0.37), as well as nonflammability and exceptional compatibility with Li metal in Li/Li symmetric cells (2000 h at 0.2 mA cm−2). More encouragingly, the Li/PLS CPE/LiFePO4 full ASSB maintains an ultrahigh capacity retention of 84.3% after 1400 cycles at room temperature. This work propels the design of high‐performance CPEs through the interfacial modulation of inorganic ceramic fillers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multifunctional absorbing foam (CIPs‐COP/CNTs/PDMS) is fabricated via a simple template casting method, employing mesoporous carbonyl iron (CIPs) and carbonized orange peel (COP) as absorbing agents, along with flexible PDMS modified by CNTs serving as the matrix material. An elaborate design in the work is that a nano‐micron hierarchical rough structure is constructed via coating CNTs on foam surface, aiming to harvest synergistic effect of hydrophobicity and absorbing performance, where the contact angle is 136.2° and reflection loss (RLmin) reaches −48.2 dB. The absorbing stability and resistance sensitivity are investigated. The results manifest that CIPs‐COP/CNTs/PDMS foam exhibits highly sensitive resistance responses to force, including strength and direction. The foam's RLmin values remain nearly unchanged at ‐46.0 dB after 365 days of exposure to atmosphere, indicating a steady absorption properties. Significantly, to broaden the absorption bandwidth, tri‐layer square pedestal foam is assembled, the integrated structure feature is similar to ancient architecture, achieving RLmin of −52.0 dB and broadband of 12.5 GHz, covering full of Ku and X bands, and part of C band. The CIPs‐COP/CNTs/PDMS foam is expected to become a multi‐function material for outdoor application due to its hydrophobicity, machine‐electricity sensitivity, and stable absorbing properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automatic first‐break picking is a basic step in seismic data processing, so much so that the quality of the picking largely determines the effect of subsequent processing. To a certain extent, artificial intelligence technology has solved the shortcomings of traditional first‐break picking algorithms, such as poor applicability and low efficiency. However, some problems still remain for seismic data, with a low signal‐to‐noise ratio and large first‐break change leading to inaccurate picking and poor generalization of the network. In order to improve the accuracy of the automatic first‐break picking results of the above seismic data, we propose a multi‐view automatic first‐break picking method driven by multi‐network. First, we analysed the single‐trace boundary characteristics and the two‐dimensional boundary characteristics of the first break. Based on these two characteristics of the first break, we used the Long Short‐Term Memory and the ResNet attention gate UNet (resudual attention gate UNet) networks to extract the characteristics of the first arrival and its location from the seismic data, respectively. Then, we introduced the idea of multi‐network learning in the first‐break picking work and designed a feature fusion network. Finally, the multi‐view first‐break features extracted by the Long Short‐Term Memory and resudual attention gate UNet networks are fused, which effectively improves the picking accuracy. The results obtained after applying the method to field seismic data show that the accuracy of the first break detected by a feature fusion network is higher than that given by the above two networks alone and has good applicability and resistance to noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In current studies, non-integer order (NIO) plants with dead time have gained the significant attention of many researchers in the area of control theory. However, the design methods for fractional order controller tuning suffer from a lack of direct systematic tuning strategies due to a higher number of tuneable parameters. Most of the works on such design are optimisation-based whereas the analytical solutions are achieved with assumptions and approximations leading to compromised closed-loop robustness. This paper proposes a simple analytical design of a fractional-order tilt-integral-derivative (FOTID) controller for time-delayed NIO processes with a single tuneable parameter. Explicit tuning rules in terms of plant parameters are derived with user-defined stability margins. To prove the efficiency of the proposed control law, simulation comparisons with recently developed tuning rules are included. Lastly, the proposed control law is tested through experiments in a two-tank level loop for real-time validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by the benefits that recent finite-time continuous control approaches have proven to give rise, this work aims to design a proportional–integral–derivative (PID) type control scheme for the global regulation of constrained-input mechanical systems that incorporates design features characteristic of such finite-time continuous algorithms. This is proven to be achieved through a more general PID type control structure that incorporates exponential weights on the P and D type terms, through which such control actions are permitted to loose Lipschitz-continuity at the desired equilibrium values. This entails an important challenge consisting on the introduction of an appropriate analytical framework and the development of a suitable closed-loop analysis through which the resulting design is properly supported. The study is complemented by experimental tests which show that appropriate (less-than-unity) values on the incorporated exponential weights indeed give rise to closed-loop improvements characteristic of finite-time continuous control approaches, such as reduction of overshoot on the position error responses and of the control effort, alleviating such a performance adjustment task. • PID control with non-Lipschitz control actions improve the closed-loop performance. • Exponential weights on the control actions potentiate performance adjustment. • PID control innovated by involving continuous finite-time control design techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research studying employment before, during, and after spells of entrepreneurship is growing in both popularity and importance for understanding the antecedents and consequences of entrepreneurship. However, methodological challenges (e.g., retrospective bias, limitations of archival data sources) hinder further development and refinement. The Occupational Information Network, better known as O*Net, is a database of occupational characteristics that is scarcely used in entrepreneurship research, yet can help scholars overcome these challenges. In this article, I provide a brief primer on O*Net, illustrate how it can be used to advance entrepreneurship research, and offer summaries of best practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workplace design elements influence work commitment; however, previous studies broadly categorized these elements, lacking specific practical design information. This study aims to classify workplace design elements that influence work commitment into structural and decorative elements, then further categorize them into top-level factors and sub-items. Using two surveys with employees, this study derived evaluation criteria, resulting in 6 factors and 19 sub-items for structural elements, and 6 factors and 27 sub-items for decorative elements. Subsequently, an additional survey was conducted with employees to prioritize the derived workplace design elements for work commitment. The results indicated that workplaces designed for work commitment should be as follows: first, structural elements should be prioritized over decorative elements. Second, structural elements should be considered in the order of outdoor space perception, scale, functionality, circulation impact, visual impact and aesthetic characteristics. Third, decorative elements should be considered in the order of furniture, colour, material, interior landscaping, personal lighting devices and graphics. This study establishes criteria for workplace design to enhance work commitment and provides valuable insights for improving work commitment through design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing work environment design methods has become increasingly important due to pandemic-induced changes in the ways and locations of work. This research addresses work environment design through a theory-informed workplace design framework to study the co-design process, the impact of spatial atmosphere on workplace experience and satisfaction, and infrequently studied spaces, i.e. meeting rooms and breakout areas. This case study is based on co-design methods, a workplace design intervention study and its evaluation. Comprehensive design is addressed through analytical dimensions of design, i.e. instrumental, symbolic, aesthetic and perceived dimensions of atmosphere and affordances. Furthermore, the spatial experience is explored through need-supply fit theory and workplace satisfaction. The pre-design results showed that employees have distinct design preferences based on perceived and analytical dimensions for technical, hybrid and creative meetings and individual work and recovery events. The workspace interventions were designed using the design information gathered from the co-design process; the changes implemented in intervention spaces increased employee satisfaction towards them. The study's methodology contributes to establishing a theory-informed workplace design framework supporting user-centred workplace design and evaluation and indicates a role for spatial atmosphere in need-supply fit formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an interview with Matt Beane, an academic researching robotics and AI in the workplace, he discusses how new technology can enhance productivity but may hinder skill development. Beane emphasizes the importance of challenge, complexity, and connection in skill development and advocates for designing technology that preserves skill development. He highlights the need for technology developers to consider the trade-off between productivity and skill development, suggesting that prioritizing both can lead to better outcomes. Beane's insights shed light on the impact of automation on skill development and the potential for technology to enhance learning experiences in various professions. [Extracted from the article]

BACKGROUND: Chromatographic capture is a critical step in the manufacture of protein‐based therapeutics and often dominates the overall downstream processing cost. Multicolumn systems as well as systems where the load flow rate varies over time can be employed to improve productivity and reduce the consumption of buffers and other process chemicals by enhancing utilization of the binding capacity. This work addresses the design of such systems under mass transfer control conditions using a mechanistic model. RESULTS: Generalized, dimensionless charts and interpolating functions developed based on a mechanistic model are provided to predict the operating conditions and performance attributes of periodic countercurrent, dual‐flow, and Capture SMB systems for continuous capture with adsorption columns. The underlying model is based on the Langmuir isotherm and on the assumption that mass transfer is controlling. The results cover the ranges typically encountered in the capture of biopharmaceuticals with selective adsorbent particles and can be conveniently used for practical estimations without having to resort to the numerical solution of the model equations. Illustrative examples are provided and compare favorably with previously published results. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this work provide the means to rapidly design periodic countercurrent, dual‐flow capture systems, and capture SMB units and to assess their relative advantages under varying operating conditions circumventing the need to perform computationally intensive simulations. © 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry (SCI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implementing sustainability is a complex and challenging process that requires the collaboration and commitment of multiple stakeholders within supply chains. Existing research has largely overlooked the role of individual employees who can act as change agents and proactively initiate and facilitate sustainability initiatives. In this paper, we propose a proactive job design perspective to understand how these sustainability champions can balance the demands and resources related to sustainability in and across organizations. We suggest that they can use a combination of self- and partner-focused sustainability regulation strategies to influence the sustainability resources of their supply chain partners and create inter-organizational Job Demands-Resources dynamics that can enhance or hinder sustainability implementation. We develop a set of propositions that can guide future research on this topic and offer practical implications for organizations that want to foster employee proactivity and sustainability in their supply chains. Plain Language Summary Title: Sustainability Champions: How Employees can Redesign their Work Environment to Implement Sustainability in Supply Chains. Plain Language Summary: Although most people agree that sustainability is a critical issue, it appears to be rather difficult to integrate sustainability in supply chains because multiple players have to change their behaviors, it is generally costly, and people lack the resources that are needed to make a difference. In the current paper, we focus on the role of individual employees in this process and describe what they can do to work more sustainably. We propose that employees who operate at the borders of organizations where important sourcing decisions are made may function as sustainability champions that can drive sustainable development from the bottom up. When these actors are motivated to contribute to supply chain sustainability, they can proactively regulate the sustainability demands, such as additional costs or know-how, and the sustainability resources, such as managerial support or autonomy, in and outside their organization. In doing so, they can enable themselves to work more sustainably and stimulate their supply chain partners to do the same. This proactive behavior may eventually trigger a sustainability movement throughout the supply chain in which individuals are simultaneously challenged and supported to generate and share more sustainability resources. Our paper can inspire researchers to conduct research on the role of proactive employee behavior in complex inter-organizational collaborations and support organizations toward the successful implementation of supply chain sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis work designed a continuous-flow tubular reactor for rapidly and scalably harvesting the metal-organic framework (MOF) of UiO-66(Zr)-NH2. The experimental conditions, including temperature (110–140 °C), holding time (10–30 min), and CH3COOH/H2N-BDC molar ratio (100–250), were carried out to survey their impacts on the product yield and quality. The highest yield and production rate of ∼72% and ∼1.55 g h−1 were obtained at 130 °C, 20 min, and CH3COOH/H2N-BDC ratio 200. The temperature and modulator content significantly influenced MOFs’ crystal morphology, crystallinity, and porosity. Besides, the adopted method also successfully produced UiO-66 and UiO-67 MOFs with high production rates. The adsorptive denitrogenation (ADN) performances were carried out using liquid fuel models containing quinoline (QU) and 2-methyl pyrrole (MP). In batch mode adsorption, the UiO-66-NH2-130-200 sample showed the highest adsorbing quantities of ∼199 and ∼163 mg g−1 for QU and MP, respectively. Furthermore, the prepared MOFs efficiently removed NCCs from liquid fuel under a continuous fixed-bed column process. These demonstrate that modulator-assisted continuous-flow synthesis can be a potential strategy for the scalable harvest of Zr-MOFs with good qualities and high performance in getting rid of NCCs from liquid fuel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies employing polymeric micelles and molecular imaging for in vivo nanosystem characterization have led to the development of radionanoprobes (RNPs) designed for diagnosing and monitoring therapeutic interventions in preclinical oncology research, specifically within breast and colon cancer models. These models exhibit high GLUT1 expression on tumor cells and VEGFR expression on the tumor vasculature. We aimed to enhance the tumor-targeting specificity of these RNPs by functionalizing micelles with glucose and bevacizumab. The choice of 99mTc to label the nanoprobes is based on its availability and that direct labeling method is a widespread strategy to prepare radiopharmaceuticals using cold reagents and a 99Mo/99mTc generator. Soluplus® is an attractive polymer for synthesizing micelles that also allows their functionalization. With all the above, the objective of this work was to design, develop and characterize nanoprobes based on polymeric micelles and radiolabeled with 99mTc for the characterization of biological processes associated to the diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of animal models of breast and colon cancer in preclinical research using molecular images. Results: Four RNPs ([99mTc]Tc-Soluplus®, [99mTc]Tc-Soluplus®+TPGS, [99mTc]Tc-Soluplus®+glucose and [99mTc]Tc-Soluplus®+bevacizumab) were produced with high radiochemical purity (> 95% in all cases) and stability in murine serum for up to 3 h. The RNPs maintained the 100 nm size of the Soluplus® polymeric micelles even when they were functionalized and labeled with 99mTc. The image acquisition protocol enabled the visualization of tumor uptake in two cancer experimental models using the assigned RNPs. In vivo biological characterization showed signal-to-background ratios of 1.7 ± 0.03 for [99mTc]Tc-Soluplus®+TPGS, 1.8 ± 0.02 for [99mTc]Tc-Soluplus®, and 2.3 ± 0.02 for [99mTc]Tc-Soluplus®+glucose in the breast cancer model, and 1.8 ± 0.04 for [99mTc]Tc-Soluplus® and 3.7 ± 0.07 for [99mTc]Tc-Soluplus®+bevacizumab in the colon cancer model. Ex vivo biodistribution, showed that the uptake of the tumors, regardless of the model, is < 2% IA/g while the blood activity concentration is higher, suggesting that the enhanced permeability and retention effect (EPR) would be one of the mechanisms involved in imaging tumors in addition to the active targeting of RNPs. Conclusions: Soluplus®-based polymeric micelles provide a promising nanotechnological platform for the development of RNPs. The functionalization with glucose and bevacizumab enhances tumor specificity enabling effective imaging and monitoring of cancer in animal models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the effects of the nurse–manager dualistic intervention (NMDI) program on work engagement and job crafting of ICU burnout nurses. Background: Work engagement is crucial for nurses' job performance and quality of clinical care. Personal and work resources are important antecedents of work engagement. However, few intervention studies focused on improving nurses' personal and work resources to promote work engagement and job crafting of burnout nurses. Methods: This was a quasi‐experimental study. One hundred and two ICU nurses from two tertiary hospitals in Shandong Province were recruited. Forty‐two ICU nurses from one hospital were set as the intervention group and underwent NMDI. Sixty ICU nurses from the other hospital constituted the control group, which received routine occupational health guidance from the hospital. Demographic characteristics, burnout, work engagement, and job crafting were collected at baseline (T0), postintervention (T1), and 3‐month postintervention (T2). Results: Compared to baseline, both work engagement and job crafting scores increased in the intervention group at postintervention (T1). At postintervention (T1), work engagement and job crafting were significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group (βworkengagement = 3.894, p = 0.016 and βjobcrafting = 6.104, p = 0.010), but the difference between the two groups was not significant at the 3‐month follow‐up (βworkengagement = 3.618, p = 0.066 and βjobcrafting = 3.554, p = 0.15). Conclusion: The NMDI program can significantly improve ICU burnout nurses' work engagement and job crafting. Nevertheless, the sustainability of these effects over time has been found to be limited, indicating that future research needs to explore and implement strategies to bolster the long‐term efficacy of this intervention. Implications for Nursing Management: Nurse managers are suggested to integrate the NMDI program into routine nursing management. Managers ought to prioritize appreciative and constructive dialog between themselves and nurses in order to support nurses in inquiring personal and work resources and encourage nurses to develop work plans to utilize resources. This will help to increase nurses' engagement and job crafting. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: ChiCTR2100047974 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that qualitative and quantitative job insecurity represent two types of stressors with potentially different outcomes, this study builds upon the conservation of resources theory and the desperation principle to investigate how these distinct aspects of job insecurity contribute to different forms of interpersonal-oriented counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs). This contribution primarily occurs through the erosion of employees' organization-based self-esteem (OBSE). Crucially, work redesign strategies may assist employees in alleviating workplace bottlenecks. We further highlight the buffering roles of job crafting strategies (promotion- and prevention-oriented job crafting) in the indirect relationships of job insecurity - OBSE - interpersonal-oriented CWBs. Using a time-lagged design, a sample of 316 full-time employees from various occupations in Taiwan completed three waves of questionnaire survey. The results emphasize a significant risk for employees experiencing job insecurity in the workplace, as the associated work stress could deplete their OBSE, potentially leading to interpersonal-oriented CWBs. Furthermore, we shed light on how employees can reduce this risk by leveraging job crafting strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as a versatile class of materials. Understanding the structural and chemical properties of MOFs is essential for tailoring their performance to suit specific applications. In recent years, Raman spectroscopy, a non‐destructive vibrational spectroscopic technique, has evolved into a powerful tool for characterizing MOFs. Beyond spontaneous Raman scattering, numerous advanced Raman techniques have been developed to amplify the inherently weak Raman signal. These innovations have significantly enhanced the spatial resolution, frame rate, and sensitivity of Raman imaging, thereby opening up new possibilities for applications, such as label‐free sensing. This tutorial work is designed to demystify the fundamental theory and instrumentation of Raman spectroscopy, elucidating the differences between commonly used Raman techniques. Particular emphasis is placed on their advantages and limitations when applied to MOF materials. Furthermore, this work showcases how Raman techniques are employed in studying MOF systems to address societal needs and explore future directions. Ultimately, this review emphasizes the crucial role of Raman spectroscopy and the development of novel Raman‐based in situ techniques to conquer the field of MOFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPP) structure is applied to the design of radio frequency (RF) power amplifiers (PAs) in this work. Both standard SSPP and the proposed SSPP structures are used as input and output matching networks of a multioctave PA design. An analysis and discussion of the electromagnetic characteristics of the proposed SSPP structures is presented. Further optimization of PA performance is achieved by utilizing the gradient algorithm of the Advanced Design System tool. According to the test results, the newly developed SSPP‐based PA achieves output power ranging from 40.5 to 42.6 dBm, while the power additional efficiency varies between 60% and 66.55%, with a total layout size of 59.8 mm × 14.6 mm in the frequency band of 0.8–3.2 GHz. In comparison with recent published work, the PA designed in this work expands the bandwidth while maintaining high output power and efficiency while being smaller in size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Notch filters usually involve high costs, great difficulties in processing, and very limited tunability. By coating a nematic liquid crystal (LC) layer onto a well‐designed quasi‐bound states in the continuum (quasi‐BICs) metasurface, this work designs and demonstrates a high‐Q tunable filtering system with precise tunability in the near‐infrared spectral range. Optimal structural parameters and the filtering performance are first determined by numerical simulations and then confirmed in experiments. The precise tunability is enabled by modifying the LC molecules’ principal axes with an applied voltage, where the least distinguishable central wavelength interval is smaller than 0.3 nm, and the largest Q factor extracted from experiments can be ≈256.1. Compared to most of the commercial notch filters that work in the visible region and have no tunability, this work achieves an ultra‐narrowband filtering system that features low manufacture difficulty and cost, and great control of light propagation. The proposed design also opens new avenues for developing BIC‐based high‐Q devices with enhanced signal‐to‐noise ratio and multifunctional properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To describe the results of a program developed to manage institutional postacute care (IPAC) (postacute skilled nursing, inpatient rehabilitation facility, and long-term acute care) in a CMS Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) project for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. STUDY DESIGN: We compared pre- and postutilization patterns during a 3-year period by evaluating risk-adjusted national, state, and other BPCI participant comparisons using a difference-in-differences (DID) analysis in a large urban community tertiary center with a CABG surgery program. Included in the analysis were all Medicare patients receiving CABG surgery at the institution (n = 504), across the nation (n = 213,423), and at other BPCI institutions (n = 4939). METHODS: The intervention included (1) use of a standardized tool for evaluation and prognostication of patient placement, (2) programmatic changes to manage patient functional recovery, and (3) patient and family engagement in postacute placement and functional recovery plan. RESULTS: Physical therapist/occupational therapist time with patients who had undergone CABG surgery increased by more than 179% between the pre- and postintervention periods. This was associated with a 41.2% and 51.6% decline in IPAC use at the institution on an observed basis and adjusted basis, respectively. DID comparison demonstrated a 14.40% (95% CI, -19.30% to -9.60%) greater reduction at the target hospital than at other participating BPCI hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: A strong association exists between a focused patient functional recovery program and IPAC use reduction after CABG surgery. Using a structured approach to clinical analytics and hypothesis testing of redesign efforts when managing postacute care populations removes waste from care delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enhance the design and research work on dynamic characteristics of high-rise laminated timber buildings, this paper carried out a modal analysis study on one of the largest laminated timber buildings in China. The finite element calculating modal analysis was carried out using SAP2000 software, and the experimental modal analysis of the building was carried out via environmental excitation. The calculating modal results and the experimental modal results showed good agreement. The calculating modal frequency values were generally lower than the experimental modal frequency values. The natural frequencies obtained by the two methods appeared in the Y-direction first-order bending mode and had values of 2.03 and 2.5 Hz, respectively. The corresponding frequencies of the first-order torsional mode were 2.82 and 3.25 Hz, respectively. The distribution of the CLT core tube along the length direction of the building has an impact on the vibration mode. The six-story part shows the second-order bending form, while the four-story section only shows the first-order bending form. The above work provides a case study and reference for the simulation and modal analysis of high-rise laminated timber buildings, demonstrating the critical role of the core tube structure in such wooden buildings. This insight contributes to a better understanding of structural performance and design considerations in similar projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work aims to design an ultra-wideband Quad-port MIMO antenna structure with good gain and isolation for the THz spectrum to cover 6G communication applications. The size of the presented design is 130 × 130 × 1.6 µm3. The structure is designed using a polyamide material. The analysis of structure was carried out over the 0.1THz to 150THz. The optimum shape of the radiating structure is designed based on four iterations. The fractal property of the structure is provided by engraving a patch with four circles. The result is optimized by varying the fractal's radius and the ground region's length. The bandwidth enhancement and impedance improvement is achieved due to the partial ground approach. The uncomplicated form of the radiating patch facilitates the process of manufacturing. The use of the partial ground technique is effective in mitigating mutual coupling. The suggested design offers an extensive range of frequencies, spanning 96 THz (49THz to 145THz), and achieves a reflection coefficientof − 53.56 decibels. The design yields a substantial gain of 19.60 dB and achieves consistent isolation of over 30 dB. The performance of further analyses, such as radiation pattern, E-field, H-field, and diversity performance indicators, is evaluated and found to be within the allowable range. The proposed design is very appropriate for 6G communication, high-resolution medical imaging, and industrial automation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aims to design a simple and powerful optimal observer for electric vehicles (EV) propelled by permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) using synergetic theory. The development of suggested synergetic observer (SynO) based on the selected two manifolds of the back-EMF method which are the special merit of SynO is insensible of parametric and nonparametric deviations. The system is modeled by using small signal method with 99.35% accuracy. Moreover, to optimize the coefficients of observers, the bat algorithm optimization is executed in this work. The proposed SynO are compared with SMO by experimental tests on 0.4 kW, 3-phase PMSM using a TI F28335 digital signal processor board considering various dynamic operating conditions. The experimental results reveal that the performance of optimal SynO for accurate speed estimation of EV are better than the SMO, as well as good robustness against measurement noise, and reduced the chattering phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Career crafting offers a new approach for individuals to cope with changing career situations. However, few studies have focused on personality-related antecedents that stably predict career proactivity. Additionally, as individuals' careers are embedded in various social relationships, career crafting involves significant social interaction. Our study focuses on gratitude, which is related to social interaction, suggesting that gratitude fosters an appreciation for interpersonal relationships, providing a beneficial impetus for career crafting. A quantitative approach was adopted with a three-wave survey with 825 responses, and SPSS 26 and Mplus 8.3 were used as the analytical software for confirmatory factor analysis, hierarchical regression analysis, and path analysis. We conducted an empirical examination employing a moderated mediation model grounded in the framework of proactive motivation. The results revealed a positive correlation between gratitude and career crafting, with prosocial motivation mediating this relationship. Simultaneously, intrinsic motivation moderated the relationship between prosocial motivation and career crafting. Our study emphasizes gratitude's role in career crafting and explores how it, along with prosocial motivations, drives proactive behaviors, responding to calls for relational work redesign and examining interactions between intrinsic and prosocial motivations in careers. It has important practical implications for individuals, organizations, and career counselors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how gig work challenges influence job withdrawal, mediated by stressors and perceived job insecurity, while considering the moderating effects of playful work design and a caring organizational ethical climate. Drawing on Cognitive–Emotional Systems Theory and the job demands–resources model, data were gathered from 516 Chinese gig workers. Results show that gig work challenges positively impact job withdrawal by triggering stressors and job insecurity. Notably, playful work design moderates this relationship, mitigating the impact of gig work challenges as hedonic job crafting levels increase. However, the caring ethical climate does not significantly influence the relationship between stressors and perceived job insecurity in the gig work context. The findings suggest that promoting playful work design can be an effective strategy to alleviate the negative effects of gig work challenges, thereby enhancing job satisfaction and retention in the gig economy. This study also provides a new perspective on understanding the mechanisms behind gig workers' workplace withdrawal behaviors, deepening the application of the Cognitive–Emotional Systems Theory and the Job Demands–Resources Model in the gig economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, the realization of minimizing the scattering of the Ku band is investigated by designing a two-dimensional gradient-index metasurface to control the propagation of the incident waves. Through the gradient phase design, the maximum RCS reduction was observed at 14 GHz, the x-polarized plane wave exhibits an RCS reduction of 15.43 dB, while the y-polarized plane wave shows an RCS reduction of 13.13 dB compared to the same size of PEC. The proposed metasurface with low backward RCS shows the capability to scatter the incident plane wave in different directions at both normal and oblique incidence. According to equation 2, by calculating the variable phase distribution of large-scale arrays at different frequencies, the maximum reduction of RCS can be obtained at any frequencies. Therefore, this work effectively designs and suggests the research of low RCS metasurface at different frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the nineteenth century female Irish religious orders established missions across the Irish diaspora which were designed with flexibility and adaptation in mind. The Sisters of Mercy's personal letter networks allowed these women, who were often very young, to continue their religious and technical "apprenticeship" while abroad. These letters enabled women in the diaspora to maintain a sense of consistency and belonging across the oceans: with their sisters in Ireland and elsewhere in the world on an ethnic and institutional level. Engaging with these letters as both intimate conversations and professional reflections presents opportunities for investigating how long-distance institutional memory was developed and a continuing connection to Ireland and Irishness maintained. This article moves the focus of ethnic culture brokers from the priest and bishop to the formal and informal networks of women religious who worked within a system designed for men. In doing so, it demonstrates that these letters provided an important extra layer to public global Irish networks, a layer which acted as both a whisper network and an opportunity for reflection on efficient methods for varied work in large, fluctuating, and cross-class ethnic communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various working fluids are applied during geothermal reservoir development, and geothermal reservoir damage induced by contacts between working fluids and reservoir formations are inevitable. Reservoir damage mechanisms, including solid and colloidal plugging, fluid sensitivity, stress sensitivity, and water locking, provide guidance for designing reservoir protection working fluids. In this paper, based on the design principles of reservoir protection working fluids applied in oil–gas reservoirs, four design principles of reservoir protection working fluids are proposed to eliminate potential geothermal reservoir damage for geothermal reservoirs, containing solid-free, facilitated flowback, temporary plugging, and inhibition. Solid-free is achieved by replacing solids with polymers in working fluids. Surfactant and materials with low affinity towards rock surfaces are applied for the facilitated flowback of working fluids from reservoir formations. Temporary plugging is achieved by using temporary plugging materials, some of which are polymers that also apply to solid-free working fluids. Besides, some of the temporary plugging materials, such as surfactant, are applicable for both the facilitated flowback and inhibition of working fluids. The inhibition of working fluids include the inhibition of clay minerals, which can be attributed to clay mineral inhibitors or activity regulators in working fluids, as well as the inhibition of mineral precipitations. This review aims to provide insights for geothermal reservoir protection working fluids, contributing to achieving an efficient development of geothermal resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distributed generation (DG) scheme has become significant and advanced energy generation corridor for present power distribution system. This advanced DG scheme offers several merits such as flexible active power transfer, low transmission losses, maximize power efficiency, reduce transmission cost, expanding grid capacity, so on. It is motivated that, integration of such DG system in to multi-parallel feeder distribution system with enhanced power-quality features is considered as major problem statement. The proposed multi-functional unified power-quality conditioner (MFUPQC) device has robust design, reliable performance; specifically for addressing the voltage-current affecting PQ issues, regulation of activepower in multi-parallel distribution system. The fundamental goal of the MFUPQC device has been to operate as both a PQ improvement device and a DG integration device by implementing a new universal fundamental vector reference (UFVR) control algorithm. The suggested innovative control algorithm extracts the fundamental voltage and current reference signals with low computational response delay, simple mathematical formulations and without additional transformations which are also major problems identified in classical control schemes. This work focuses on design, operation and performance of MFUPQC device has been evaluated in both PQ and DG operations in a multi-parallel feeder distribution system through MATLAB/Simulink computing platform. The simulation results are illustrated with possible interpretation and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sudden shift to remote work offered a unique opportunity to investigate the effect of meeting modality on team decisions. We present data on classroom teams solving a classic team decision task type, the hidden profile, where members each have unique information that must be combined to arrive at the correct solution. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, we collected data on teams solving hidden profiles in-person, over Zoom, and then in-person while wearing face masks. We first demonstrate the efficacy of the decision task, a space-themed hidden profile where team members bring to bear data on exoplanets to choose which of three planets can best support human colonization. Once validated, the task was implemented as part of a team effectiveness course over four years: two years before the COVID-19 pandemic (2018–2020), one year of remote work (2020–2021), and one year of masked in-person work (2021–2022). Students were randomly assigned to teams and roles within each course and deliberated for 30 minutes to choose the best option. Examining the quality of team decisions shows marked differences based on the modality of team deliberations. Teams deliberating in-person had the greatest chance of solving the hidden profile, followed by teams meeting in-person with face masks; teams deliberating over Zoom were least likely to solve the hidden profile. Practical implications of team decision modalities for hybrid work design are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it is of great significance to master the height of the water-conducting fracture zone (WCFZ) to prevent coal mine disasters and ensure safe production, the most important thing is to predict the height and range of the WCFZ ahead of the working face design before coal mining. Therefore, the 150313 fully mechanized top-coal caving working face of the Yinying coal mine was taken as the engineering background. The development laws of WCFZ were studied using comprehensive research methods, including similar simulation experiments, key strata theory, the experience formula, the numerical simulation, etc. The results show that the WCFZ evolution stage is "goaf–caving zone–fracture zone" and the developing pattern is in a non-isosceles trapezoid gradually developing upward and forward. The height of the WCFZ in the 150313 working face is 89.36 m, and the fracture/mining ratio is 12.46, which is consistent with the actual production. Apparently, the set of indoor research methods in this paper is feasible to predict the height and scope of the WCFZ. The research results can provide a scientific reference for safe mining of the 15# coal seam in Shanxi Province and the prevention and control of roof water hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: This work contributes to different industrial sectors through a computer tool that optimizes the layout of a robotic cell, which allows reducing both production times and energy consumption, mainly. The design of the work area of a robotic cell is currently an iterative process of trial and improvement, where, in the best cases, the user places the workstations and robotic manipulators in a 3D virtual environment to then semi-automatically verify variables such as the robot's reach, cycle time, geometric interferences, and collisions. This article suggests using an evolutionary computation algorithm (genetic algorithm) as a tool to solve this optimization problem. Using information about the work areas and the robot's reach, the algorithm generates an equipment configuration that minimizes the cell area without interference between the stations and, therefore, reduces the distances the robotic manipulator must travel. The objective is to obtain an optimized layout of the workstations and to validate this optimization by comparing the transfer times between stations with the actual times of an existing screwdriving cell. As a result, the transfer time was reduced by 9%. It is concluded that the algorithm can optimize the layout of a robotic cell, which can lead to significant improvements in efficiency, quality, and flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Despite an extensive body of research on job crafting, our understanding of how bottom‐up job crafting behaviors interact with top‐down job design in influencing employee effectiveness remains limited. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, we developed and tested a theoretical framework to examine the implications of daily promotion‐ versus prevention‐oriented relational job crafting on employees' energy and subsequent task performance, in the context of relational job design (i.e., task interdependence). To test our theorizing, we conducted two experience‐sampling studies over 10 workdays with full‐time employees across various organizations (Study 1: Nday‐level = 845, Nperson‐level = 126; Study 2: Nday‐level = 793, Nperson‐level = 108). Multilevel path modeling indicated promotion‐oriented relational job crafting was positively associated with subsequent task performance by increasing energy levels (Study 2), particularly when task interdependence was low (Study 1). In contrast, prevention‐oriented relational job crafting was energy depleting in low‐task‐interdependent contexts (Study 2) but increased employees' energy in high‐task‐interdependent contexts (Study 1). Our findings suggest different forms of day‐to‐day relational job crafting behaviors are relevant for employees' energy and performance, but their effectiveness may depend on the relational job‐design context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current employment environment is becoming increasingly complex, with many job seekers competing with each other in more concentrated and narrower fields, worsening the job market as well as inhibiting the career potential of job seekers. There is a need to provide better employment guidance and employment quality assessment for slash youth. This study attempts to design a job recommendation model for slash youths by combining an improved collaborative filtering algorithm and a dynamic bilateral matching algorithm (BMA). The test results show that the precision rate of the BMA is always the largest with the increase of the number of clusters, with the highest value reaching 90.04%; the average ranking inverse curve of bilateral matching has the fastest growth rate, with the maximum value of 62.04%, which is 34.26% and 10.06% higher than the other two maximum values, and the optimal number of clusters is set to 24. The highest precision rate of the algorithm is 82.17% when the number of recommendations is 10. The algorithm also performed better in terms of recommendation diversity, with a maximum value of around 0.28. The recommendation success rate and satisfaction value reached 87.72% and 47.86%, respectively. The recommendation precision of the model designed in this study is high. It is conducive to solving problems such as difficulty in recruiting and finding jobs, and promotes the healthy development of the recruitment market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Job design is a favourable antecedent of discretionary innovative work behaviours (IWB). Although multiple job characteristics (i.e., job demands and job resources) define the work environment, only a few are supposed to be of dominant and critical importance for employee creativity and innovation. By complementing the common sufficient causality with necessity theorizing, we explored the creativity-enabling and innovation-enabling nature of the Job Demands – Control – Support (JDCS) model components. A multi-method approach (i.e., multiple regression, relative importance analysis, and necessary condition analysis) was applied in a comparative contextualized research design (i.e., a three-study field survey research) involving 358 employees and 86 supervisors from an EU member country. The converging results showed that without experiencing vitally important support from a supervisor, enhancing other job characteristics will not lead to high levels of subordinate's IWB. The present research also recognized work autonomy as an additional task-related critical success factor, which was only necessary when considering employee innovation as a frequently occurring time-lagged outcome. Contrary to our theory-derived assumptions, job complexity as a representative type of job demand was not necessary for IWB. Practitioners may benefit from the findings because they can better understand the prerequisites and priorities for enabling employees' IWB via job design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Online Journal of Art & Design is the property of Online Journal of Art & Design and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of GeSec: Revista de Gestao e Secretariado is the property of Sindicato das Secretarias e Secretarios do Estado de Sao Paulo (SINSESP) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Designing high-speed and energy-efficient blocks for image and digital signal processing (DSP) architecture is an evolving research field. This work designs a high-speed and energy-efficient multiply-accumulate (MAC) unit to augment the performance of field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based accelerators and softcore processors. In this work, three discrete 32-bit fixed-point signed MAC architectures were designed in Verilog and synthesized for the Zynq 7000 ZedBoard to obtain efficient MAC architecture. The ultimate goal of this work is to design a fast and energy-efficient MAC unit that can achieve speed up to the DSP48 block to reduce the latency of IoT edge computing. Energy efficiency was achieved in PPG and partial product addition (PPA) for the proposed Booth radix-4 Dadda (BR4D)-based MAC. At PPG, the width of the partial product (PP) terms was optimized with Bewick's signed extension to reduce the power consumption. At PPA, the number of PP rows reduces the critical path delay (CPD) with Dadda-based PPA. The proposed BR4D MAC unit offers a reduction in dynamic power, CPD, power-delay product (PDP) and energy-delay product (EDP) by 22%, 9%, 29% and 36%, respectively, compared to standard Booth radix-4 Wallace tree (BR4WT) based MAC. Furthermore, hybrid MACs (BR4WT and BR4D) were compared with the current state-of-the-art (SoA) designs, and it was found that the proposed BR4D MAC is 47% faster compared to the same design in SoA. The proposed BR4D was tested for frequency scaling technique by reducing the frequency in steps of 10 MHz from a maximum usable frequency (MUF) of 64 MHz to 10 MHz to evaluate the performance for low-power applications. Reducing clock frequency by 84% will reduce the power consumption at the same proportion and speed by 38%. Additionally, the proposed design helps to improve the battery life of IoT end nodes with a reduction in energy consumption and EDP by 76% and 61%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constructing highly efficient electrocatalysts is vital to enhance oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance at industrially relevant current densities. Herein, three-phase coupled Ni3S2/r-NiS/h-NiS composites are grown in situ on Ni foam (NNSN/NF) via a one-step solvothermal approach. The as-prepared composites need overpotentials of only 377 mV, 451 mV and 476 mV at 1000 mA cm−2 for the OER in alkaline freshwater, simulated seawater and seawater, respectively. In addition, the optimized catalyst exhibited long-term durability at 300 mA cm−2. Our work clarifies designing and preparing cost-effective Ni-based sulfide electrocatalysts for the OER in alkaline freshwater/simulated seawater/seawater under industrially relevant current densities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metastable‐phase intermetallic compounds (IMCs) provide great flexibility to modify the electronic structure and surface coordination environment of metallic catalysts for various reactions. However, the synthesis of metastable‐phase IMCs with high catalytic performance remains a great challenge due to their thermodynamically unstable nature. Here, a wet‐chemical epitaxial growth strategy to synthesize metastable‐phase Pd‐Bi intermetallic nanocrystals (NCs) is reported. β‐Pd3Bi and γ‐Pd5Bi3 intermetallic NCs are epitaxially grown on the templates of face‐centered cubic Pd3Pb nanocubes and hexagonal close‐packed PtBi nanoplates, achieving Pd3Pb@Pd3Bi and PtBi@Pd5Bi3 core–shell NCs, respectively. The obtained Pd3Pb@Pd3Bi NCs possess a mass activity and specific activity of 8.52 A mg−1Pd and 11.59 mA cm−2 for ethanol oxidation reaction, which is 7.5 and 3.6 times as high as those of commercial Pd/C, respectively. Meanwhile, Pd3Pb@Pd3Bi NCs possess superior stability than commercial Pd/C. This work advances the design and synthesis of high‐performance metastable‐phase IMCs, opening an avenue for electrocatalytic ethanol oxidation and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe performance of academic librarians is essential to the success of universities, yet limited research has explored the impact of work design on their performance, particularly in developing countries like Pakistan. This study addresses this gap by examining the relationship between work design elements—task significance, task autonomy, task variety, and task identity—and work performance among academic librarians in Pakistan. The research objective was to assess librarians’ perceptions of their work design and performance and to explore how these perceptions influence both task and contextual performance. A quantitative approach was used, with data collected through a structured survey of academic librarians from various Pakistani universities. Statistical analysis was conducted to test the hypotheses and evaluate the relationships between work design and performance outcomes. The findings reveal a strong positive relationship between all four work design elements and both task and contextual performance. This suggests that when librarians perceive their work as meaningful, varied, and autonomous, and when they feel connected to their tasks, their performance improves. These results align with previous studies in different contexts, underscoring the importance of effective job design in enhancing employee performance. The study provides valuable insights for university administrators, library managers, and policymakers, emphasizing the need for well-structured jobs to boost librarian performance and contribute to institutional success. It also adds to the theoretical understanding of job design by applying these concepts to the academic library context in a developing country setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]