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We examine the relation between within-firm office changes and audit quality in the United States. Our primary analysis documents a reduction in audit quality, measured using abnormal discretionary accruals and restatements, when the client is transferred to a smaller within-firm office (downsize effect). We are unable to find evidence that clients experience significant improvement in audit quality among transfers to a larger within-firm office (upsize effect). We then condition our sample on the change in the number of public clients of the receiving office to better understand the source of the underlying association. We find that our downsize effect is driven by offices experiencing a decrease in the number of public clients, suggesting that our main association is not entirely the result of resource constraints for the receiving office. We posit that this finding is consistent with audit quality deterioration among within-firm office changes to smaller offices driven, in part, by the receiving office's inability to adequately overcome the knowledge transfer frictions that accompany a move to a new office. Our findings offer empirical evidence on consequences of within-firm office changes and are particularly relevant to regulators and preparers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association 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 Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association 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.)

Selling is often associated with competitiveness, which has led many scholars to examine trait competitiveness as a driver of salesperson performance. However, it is also suggested that competitiveness contributes to less cohesive work environments which can have adverse effects on firms and their stakeholders. The authors explore this dichotomy by first conducting a field study utilizing multilevel, multisource data acquired from 358 salespeople working at 86 offices of a large company. Using Mplus, the authors employ a 1-2-1 multilevel model to test the effects of trait competitiveness on work group cohesion, along with subsequent effects on sales performance and turnover. Findings reveal a surprising positive relationship between trait competitiveness and work group cohesion, with the latter reducing turnover likelihood. Thus, trait competitiveness has indirect effects, through work group cohesion, in reducing turnover, while having direct and positive effects on sales performance. Results of a follow-up qualitative study reveal that the positive relationship between trait competitiveness and work group cohesion can be attributed to the competitive focus (i.e. interpersonal, intergroup, or intrapersonal) of the individuals within the sales organization. Overall, this work shows that organizations can have both competitive salespeople and cohesive work environments, contributing beneficially toward sales output and turnover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low morale studies verify the low-morale experience as one caused by repeated, long-term exposure to workplace abuse and neglect, and that the experience has negative and long-term mental health and physical health outcomes for impacted individuals. This qualitative study centers the low-morale experiences of leaders working in libraries of all types. Data confirm the development and outcomes of low morale, validate impact factors that perpetuate workplace abuse and neglect, and reveal impact factors that manifest in low-morale experiences faced by library employees with formal (organizationally conferred) administrative, managerial, or supervisory duties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Romanian National Program of Systematic Land Registration is going very slow with only 4% of administrative units completed in almost ten years. The work is done by the private sector and is verified by local cadastral offices (OCPI). This research purpose is to find what is the quality of work and the areas where the private sector needs to improve the quality of the land registration service, in the opinion of 26 OCPI directors. The results show that, in spite of the delays in the project, the work provided by the private sector is seen as qualitative or mostly qualitative by the majority of OCPI directors interviewed. However, from the eight quality dimensions considered for this research, three of them registered percentages that require attention from the private sector, in order to be improved: credibility, reliability of the service or the level of competency of the human resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted peoples' health-related behaviors, especially those of older adults, who have restricted their activities in order to avoid contact with others. Moreover, the pandemic has caused concerns in long-term care insurance (LTCI) providers regarding management and financial issues. This study aimed to examine the changes in revenues among LTCI service providers in Japan during the pandemic and analyze its impact on different types of services. Methods: In this study, we used anonymized data from "Kaipoke," a management support platform for older adult care operators provided by SMS Co., Ltd. Kaipoke provides management support services to more than 27,400 care service offices nationwide and has been introduced in many home-care support offices. The data used in this study were extracted from care plans created by care managers on the Kaipoke platform. To examine the impact of the pandemic, an interrupted time-series analysis was conducted in which the date of the beginning of the pandemic was set as the prior independent variable. Results: The participating providers were care management providers (n = 5,767), home-visit care providers (n = 3,506), home-visit nursing providers (n = 971), and adult day care providers (n = 4,650). The results revealed that LTCI revenues decreased significantly for care management providers, home-visit nursing providers, and adult day care providers after the COVID-19 pandemic began. The largest decrease was an average base of USD − 1668.8 in adult day care. Conclusion: The decrease in revenue among adult day care providers was particularly concerning in terms of the sustainability of their business. This decrease in revenue may have made it difficult to retain personnel, and staff may have needed to be laid off as a result. Although this study has limitations, it may provide useful suggestions for countermeasures in such scenarios, in addition to support conducted measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How universities, respected for their position at the apex of learning, employ competency frameworks in order to increase learning impacts is acknowledged by the authors as a researchable problem. The respective natures of universities and professional work, the latter, which is often intensely integral to universities, means that universities have to take on board managerial as well philosophical means of learning. This article explores how staff at six universities employ a Professional Competency Framework for Research Management and Administration (PCF-RMA) to bring about organizational learning. Participants provide qualitative data which are condensed into six narrated cases to show how a PCF-RMA, created through action research, enters into the university systems and translates into individual and organizational systems thinking towards applied outcomes. Using the theoretical lenses of Senge's five disciplines and core competencies for competitive advantage, we argue that systems thinking is not essentially about the system as an abstracted entity, but about sensitized individuals who actively 'think through' using the PCF-RMA to improve their own work and career prospects, while also improving the work of the research support offices for university research purposes. In short, systems and funding impacts. As such, the PCF-RMA, while initially carried through individuals, has a systems opportunity to change not only individuals but also set up a trajectory for generative holistic changes as articulated within organizational learning theories. The study recommends future research to employ a diverse and broadened scope in the domains of theory, context, and methodology. Aside from prompting ongoing research, this study offers an opportunity to demonstrate increased research impact, an area which stakeholders of research, including the funders, increasingly emphasize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The task of assigning internationally accepted commodity codes (aka HS codes) to traded goods is a critical function of customs offices. Like court decisions made by judges, this task follows the doctrine of precedent and can be nontrivial even for experienced officers. Together with the Korea Customs Service (KCS), we propose a first-ever explainable decision supporting model that suggests the most likely subheadings (i.e., the first six digits) of the HS code. The model also provides reasoning for its suggestion in the form of a document that is interpretable by customs officers. We evaluated the model using 5,000 cases that recently received a classification request. The results showed that the top-3 suggestions made by our model had an accuracy of 93.9% when classifying 925 challenging subheadings. A user study with 32 customs experts further confirmed that our algorithmic suggestions accompanied by explainable reasonings, can substantially reduce the time and effort taken by customs officers for classification reviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we argue that the entourage of ministerial advisers available to prime ministers and other ministers is an institutional power resource that can serve as a useful indicator to measure the changing nature of the political executive. Two novel contributions are made utilising four new datasets on ministerial advisers coupled with a comparative analysis of 21 governments in Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand, in varying dates between 1997 and 2020. First, by using ministerial advisers as a proxy indicator, we chart how the offices of executive politicians can either expand, remain stable or contract. As a corrective to the general long-term narrative that ministers' offices continually expand, our evidence shows this expansion has in some cases been interrupted and more generally manifests in different patterns from one government to the next. Second, we interrogate these patterns against the background of four typical assumptions from the party family, government tenure, parliamentary control and leadership stability literature. The new datasets, typology and analysis provide fresh comparative insights to advance our understanding about the evolving nature of the political executive in the four classic Westminster family countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using individual‐level panel data from India, we show that income inequality between high‐skilled and low‐skilled workers increased following COVID‐19 lockdown. Integrating a susceptible, infected, recovered, dead epidemiological model into a general equilibrium framework with high‐skilled and low‐skilled workers, working either from their offices (onsite) or from their homes (remote), we can explain between 24 and 59 percent of the observed increase in inequality. We also find that disease incidence is higher among low‐skilled workers as they choose to work more onsite compared to their high‐skilled counterparts. Direct transfers for low‐skilled workers reverses this increase in inequality and improves the effectiveness of containment policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines the implementation of e-government through the Digital Application of the Indonesian National Police Traffic Corps (Korlantas POLRI) in South Jakarta in an effort to improve the quality of public services, particularly in the processing of driving license (Surat Izin Mengemudi or SIM) renewals. This application aims to facilitate the public in renewing SIM cards online without having to visit the SATPAS office. The implementation of this application has provided positive impacts in terms of service efficiency and effectiveness, ease of access, and increased public satisfaction. However, there are challenges such as digital divide and concerns about the security of personal data. Factors influencing the success of implementation include effective communication, smooth and efficient implementation activities, and the disposition or attitude of policy implementers. There are inputs and criticisms from the public regarding the payment system, the length of the renewal process at some SATPAS offices, lack of clear information, and requests to move or cancel applications. Improvement efforts are needed in terms of the payment and online registration systems, increasing the capacity of SATPAS offices, information transparency, and flexibility for users in choosing SATPAS offices. The implementation of this application provides benefits in improving the quality of public services, but there are still challenges that need to be overcome to optimize success and increase public satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interreligious engagement (IE) has been experienced and theorized mainly as the pursuit of a shared respectful awareness of the beliefs, practices, and social experiences of multiple religious communities. In rare instances, it has been possible to create architecture specifically to foster IE, as in the "tri-faith" Abrahamic campus in Omaha and the Berlin House of One. The theme is: Here we are, accepting that we share the world. Another form of IE that deserves to attract more interest is multireligious collaboration in civic work (addressing homelessness, urban blight, illiteracy, etc.). Some adherents of the intrinsically cosmopolitan "world" religions are actively cosmopolitan to the extent of seeking this engagement. The theme is: Let us share the work of the world, including sharing our religiously inflected processing of what the practical issues facing us are. There is a new initiative of this sort in my city, Jackson, Mississippi, named (from M. L. King) the "Beloved Community". An architectural thought experiment may prove helpful in articulating the ideals for such an endeavor. What would be the physical desiderata for its headquarters? Let us imagine a new downtown building, The Meeting, dedicated to housing meetings where mixed religious groups learn about civic issues and coordinate efforts to address them. Full interreligious sharing of a space seems to require a neutral design lacking any definite religious inspiration. But there are nonsectarian ways to create an appreciably special, non-ordinary space, as in courtrooms and classrooms. Could a civic IE headquarters be special, expressive of practical optimism, and contain a sufficient religious allusion to qualify as a "next-to-sacred space" in which religious actors felt supported in the civic extension of their religious lives? I offer suggestions for discussion, including (1) a pavilion-style building suggestive of being set up for a special purpose—not soaringly grandiose but with a vertical feature such as a central roof lantern; (2) at least one major porch, with benches and tables; (3) an outside water fountain with public water supply (a historical allusion to the Islamic sabil); (4) inside, right-sized meeting rooms around the glass-walled periphery; (5) a big "living room" lounge in the center, usable for larger meetings, with access to a kitchen, and with a big project board for tracking work completed and work in hand next to a large map of the city; (6) a moderate descent of several steps into each meeting room so that there is a feeling of commitment in attending a meeting and a sense of challenge in going forth from one; (7) otherwise a main floor levelness and openness facilitating movement in and out, as in a train station; and (8) upstairs small offices for religious and other qualifying organizations. Answering the aesthetic and practical questions these suggestions raise takes us into imagining civic IE more concretely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public organisations have rarely been the subjects of neo-institutional research. Intra-organisational behaviour has also been under-researched. This study examined how four distinct groups of Bilateral Development Cooperation Agency's staff perceive institutional environment pressures from home and host countries. One-hundred thirty-one valid responses obtained through an online survey were analysed. Staff in both the headquarters and overseas offices felt a powerful home country accountability pressure. This tendency is prominent for management staff. The test results, as seen through the lens of a neo-institutional perspective, suggest that overseas office staff prioritise accountability to home country stakeholders over that to host country stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of an insulated area with a subtropical climate, such as La Réunion island, it is crucial to reduce the energy consumption of buildings and develop local renewable energy sources to achieve energy autonomy. Direct current (DC) nanogrids could facilitate this by reducing the energy conversion steps, especially for solar energy. This article presents the deployment and efficiency evaluation of a 48 VDC low-voltage direct current (LVDC) nanogrid, from conception to real-world installation within a company. The nanogrid consists of a photovoltaic power plant, a lithium–iron–phosphate (LFP) battery, and DC end-use equipment, such as LED lighting and DC fans, for two individual offices. For identical test conditions, which are at an equivalent cabling distance and with the same final power demand, the total power consumed by the installation is measured for several stages from 50 to 400 W, according to a 100% DC configuration or a conventional DC/AC/DC PV configuration incorporating an inverter and AC/DC converter. The methodology used enables a critical view to be taken of the installation, assessing both its efficiency and its limitations. Energy savings of between 23% and 40% are measured in DC for a power limit identified at 150 W for a distance of 25 m. These results show that it is possible to supply 48 VDC in an innovative way to terminal equipment consuming no more than 100 W, such as lighting and air fans, using the IEEE 802.3 bt power over ethernet (PoE) protocol, while at the same time saving energy. The nanogrid hardware and software infrastructure, the methodology employed for efficiency quantification, and the measurement results are described in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crises often reveal a mismatch between organizational and problem structures, demanding interorganizational coordination or new organizational solutions. Much is known about functions and roles of such organizational solutions, but less about the processes underlying them. This study investigates the processes behind the emergence and institutionalization of organizational solutions to meet new coordination needs in crises, using the Swedish County Administrative Boards' coordination offices for Covid-19 and Ukraine as a case. Based on 94 interviews across politicaladministrative levels, this study reveals that the coordination office emerged as an interorganizational coordination structure during Covid-19 but is now institutionalized and central to the crisis management system. The institutionalization began during the 2018 wildfires, demonstrating the importance of a decisive event in initiating and shaping organizational adaptation to crises. Thereafter, practices were institutionalized through increasing returns connected to incentives, commitments to norms and identities and objectification of shared ideas and routines. The findings motivate consideration of criteria for evaluating new coordination structures that may become permanent. Contingently evolving practices, often taken for granted and embedded in professional norms and identities, calls for explicit consideration of alternative practices. Last, this study illustrates the importance of appreciating the past when understanding present and future coordination structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association 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.)

The current cases and studies show that the aerosol propagation of COVID-19 is possible in the office buildings. The paper explored the ventilation level and monitoring methods for indoor infection risk in office buildings, improved the Wells-Riley equation and ventilation rate equation, providing the possibility of real-time monitoring of the transmission risk of COVID-19 in office buildings. Then, the main influencing factors of the exposure risk of SARS-CoV-2, including working density, dwell time, and fresh air volume per person, were field measured in three office areas and three conference rooms of an office building in Shenzhen, China. In addition, the field monitored carbon dioxide (CO2) data were used to estimate the possibility of COVID-19 infection in offices and conference rooms. The results show that the number of staff, ventilation rate, and office hours are all important factors affecting the infection risk of workers in the office building environment, but the existing literature rarely considers these three points at the same time. In addition, the paper adopted the method of assessing the infection risk from place to place, time to time, and person to person in the building environment, providing early warning for office buildings and helping to control the spread of airborne diseases. The results can be beneicial to understanding and taking necessary safety considerations against the infection risk in closed public or governmental environments. The paper explored the ventilation level and monitoring methods for indoor infection risk in office buildings and improved the Wells-Riley equation and ventilation rate equation, providing the possibility of real-time monitoring of the transmission risk of COVID-19 in office buildings. The results showed that the number of staff, ventilation rate, and office hours are all important factors affecting the infection risk of workers in the office building environment, but the existing literature has rarely considered these three points at the same time. Meanwhile, research has further demonstrated the connection between the risk of virus infection and indoor monitoring environmental indicators, providing a new path for further accurate prediction of indoor infection risk. The results can be beneficial to understanding and taking necessary safety considerations against the infection risk in closed public or governmental environments. Therefore, evaluating indoor transmission risks through monitoring environmental indicators is feasible and could be used as a reference basis for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medicaid is the largest health insurance program in the United States, covering more than 86 million Americans as of early 2023, and is key for progress towards health equity. Although policy changes like Medicaid expansion have significantly expanded the number of people who are eligible for Medicaid, the administrative burdens of enrolling in and renewing coverage can be substantial. Although many applications are now submitted online, physical access to Medicaid offices still plays a critical role in understanding eligibility, getting help in applying, and navigating required documentation for both initial enrollment and redetermination of eligibility. However, as more government functions have moved online, in-person office locations and/or staff may have been cut to reduce costs, and gentrification has shifted where minoritized, marginalized, and/or low-income populations live, it is unclear if the key local connection point between residents and Medicaid has been maintained. To our knowledge, no single source of Medicaid office locations has been assembled and made available for research purposes. Our objective was to identify and geocode all public-facing Medicaid offices in the United States, which can then be paired with other spatial data (e.g., demographics, Medicaid participation, health care use, health outcomes) to explore policy-relevant research questions. We identified Medicaid office addresses in all 50 states and the District of Columbia by searching state government websites (e.g., Department of Health and Human Services or analogous state agency). Our corpus of Medicaid office addresses was then geocoded using the Census Geocoder with unresolved addresses investigated and/or manually geocoded using Google Maps. After deduplication (e.g., where multiple counties share a single office) and removal of mailing addresses (e.g., PO Boxes), our final dataset includes 3026 Medicaid office locations.

To compare the effect of office, home, and internal bleaching on the shear bond strength (SBS) of enamel to porcelain laminate veneers. Materials and Methods: A total of 36 extracted maxillary central incisors were randomly assigned to four groups: (1) no bleaching (control); (2) office bleaching with 40% hydrogen peroxide (HP); (3) home bleaching with 15% carbamide peroxide; and (4) intracoronal bleaching with sodium perborate (SP) using the walking bleaching technique. All teeth were separately immersed in artificial saliva for 14 days. The enamel surface was then reduced by 0.5 mm, and IPS e.max Press ceramic discs were bonded using a resin cement. After 24 hours, all specimens were thermocycled (5,000 cycles, 5°C to 55°C). The SBS was measured using a universal testing machine, and the failure mode was determined using a stereomicroscope. One-way ANOVA and Tukey honest significant difference tests were used for data analysis (P < .05). Results: A significant difference was noted among the groups (P < .001). The highest SBS was noted in the control group (15.71 ± 5.39 MPa). The mean SBS in the office bleaching group (12.30 ± 4.64 MPa) was almost the same as the control. The lowest mean SBS belonged to the home bleaching group (5.39 ± 3.99 MPa). The mode of failure was adhesive in all four groups. Conclusion: If bleaching is intended to be followed by porcelain veneers, the office bleaching technique with 40% HP is recommended. Delaying the bonding procedure for 2 weeks does not appear to be effective with home or intracoronal bleaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Contemporary Accounting Research is the property of Canadian Academic Accounting Association 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.)

Electrical energy is often wasted through human negligence when people do not switch off electrical appliances such as lighting after leaving a place. Such a scenario often happens in a classroom when the last person leaves the class and forgets to switch off the electrical appliances. Such wastage may not be able to be afforded by schools that are limited financially. Therefore, this research proposed a simple and cost-effective system that can analyze whether there is or is not a human presence in the classroom by applying a counter to count the total number of people entering and leaving the classroom based on the sensing signals of a set of dual PIR sensors only and then correlating this to automatically turn on or off the electrical appliances mentioned. The total number of people identified in the classroom is also displayed on an LCD screen. A TRIZ approach is used to support the ideation of the system. The system can switch on several electrical output loads simultaneously when the presence of people is detected and switch them off when there are no people in the classroom. The proposed system can be expanded to be used in homes, offices, and buildings to prevent the high cost of electricity consumption caused by the negligence of people. This enables smarter control of electricity consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the widespread practice of appointing deputy judges, called naib s, in the Ottoman Empire from the mid-eighteenth to the early nineteenth centuries. Based on extensive archival research, it analyses how the judiciary turned into a system of allocating revenue sources. An increasing number of offices of kadı (judge) were assigned as a source of income to higher-ranking ulema, who, through intermediaries, in turn farmed out their judicial offices to naib s in return for a fixed sum of money. Importantly, the apportionment fees for taxes collected from local taxpayers constituted a significant part of naib s' incomes. The practice of deputizing in the Ottoman judiciary thus shows a close parallel with tax farming. Because the naib s transferred their revenues to the higher-ranking ulema, farming out judicial offices became a major economic basis for maintaining the Ottoman ulema hierarchy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operational utility of the NOAA National Severe Storm Laboratory's storm-scale probabilistic Warn-on-Forecast System (WoFS) was examined across the watch-to-warning time frame in a virtual NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT) experiment. Over four weeks, 16 NWS forecasters from local Weather Forecast Offices, the Storm Prediction Center, and the Weather Prediction Center participated in simulated forecasting tasks and focus groups. Bringing together multiple NWS entities to explore new guidance impacts on the broader forecast process is atypical of prior NOAA HWT experiments. This study therefore provides a framework for designing such a testbed experiment, including methodological and logistical considerations necessary to meet the needs of both local office and national center NWS participants. Furthermore, this study investigated two research questions: 1) How do forecasters envision WoFS guidance fitting into their existing forecast process? and 2) How could WoFS guidance be used most effectively across the current watch-to-warning forecast process? Content and thematic analyses were completed on flowcharts of operational workflows, real-time simulation interactions, and focus group activities and discussions. Participants reported numerous potential applications of WoFS, including improved coordination and consistency between local offices and national centers, enhanced hazard messaging, and improved operations planning. Challenges were also reported, including the knowledge and training required to incorporate WoFS guidance effectively and forecasters' trust in new guidance and openness to change. The solutions identified to these challenges will take WoFS one step closer to transition, and in the meantime, improve the capabilities of WoFS for experimental use within the operational community. Significance Statement: A first-of-its-kind experiment brought together forecasters from local weather forecast offices and national centers to examine the experimental Warn-on-Forecast System's (WoFS's) potential applications across watch-to-warning scales. This experiment demonstrated that WoFS can provide great benefit to forecasters, though a few challenges remain. Benefits provided by WoFS frequently overlap roles and responsibilities at local and national scales, suggesting the potential for enhanced cross-office collaboration. The challenges anticipated for WoFS operational use are far fewer than the benefits, and some solutions to these challenges are now being implemented. Finally, the mixed-methods experimental framework described herein also provides guidance for future collaborative experiments in testbed research that examine impacts of new technologies across NWS entities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration enforcement is an emotional field displaying conflicting positions and tensions between bureaucrats and migrants, and within and between organizations. This article conducts an in-depth analysis of emotions within organizational encounters and the role that emotions play between organizations and in the outcome of cases. It examines how emotions directed towards other agencies shape an organizational work ethos and professional standing. Using ethnographic data collected in Swiss migration offices, social services offices and legal counselling offices, this article discloses how such actors 'feel' each other and therefore indirectly show how they 'feel' the 'state' and its policies regarding the creation of migrant subjects and their integration and belonging. While social workers and legal advisors often understand migration policies as restrictive towards migrant individuals, migration officials find themselves in the role of the state defender. Studying their emotions thus facilitates an analysis of the discrepancies between different agencies in the realm of migration administration and of their emotional dissonance, which characterize the migration regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competition in the design office market is high, therefore it is important to be aware of the conditions determining the competitive advantage, thus increasing the bidding effectiveness. For this reason, the aim of the article is to identify key success factors (KSF) increasing successful bidding of a small design office. The factors were identified and then analysed based on a literature review, expert interviews and using Group Consensus Cluster Analysis (GCCA) – the module of the AHP method clustering a group of decision makers into smaller subgroups with higher consensus. To examine the managerial implications, a KSF analysis was conducted from the perspective of the bidding effectiveness of the selected small design office. The results indicate that 'technical skills and experience' is the factor most influencing the potential of a small design office. Nevertheless the entire proposed procedure provides important guidelines on how to use the organisation's strengths for its development and what needs to be improved in its operation. Detailed analysis of key success factors (KSFs) of the design office operation. KSFs subjected to the AHP method using Group Consensus Cluster Analysis (GCCA). Managerial implications based on KSF analysis from the perspective of the bidding effectiveness of the selected small design office. Combining AHP method with the KSF analysis provides the company with important guidelines regarding strategic efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Racial discrimination adversely impacts health and well-being, and interferes with organizational functioning, including United Nations offices where limited systematic research exists. This article presents and discusses a secondary analysis of data from the 'Survey on Racial Discrimination' issued by the United Nations Staff Union Geneva in 2020. The survey produced quantitative and qualitative data and was completed by 1251 staff, consultants, and interns (response rate: 14.7%). Descriptive statistics were computed for key findings. More than one third (34.4%) of participants reported having personally experienced racial discrimination. Most reported national origin as basis (61.8%), stated that this experience had affected their opportunities for career advancement (66.2%), and took no action as response (57.4%), mainly due to a lack of trust in the organization's recourse mechanism. In addition, more than one third (34.3%) of survey participants had witnessed colleagues being racially discriminated against. Chi-square tests to assess differences between groups showed that those belonging to a racial, ethnic, and/or national minority or group reported higher rates of personally experienced and witnessed incidents of racial discrimination compared to those who did not identify as such. Furthermore, participants who reported having experienced racial discrimination had a higher proportion of witnessing racial discrimination. The qualitative survey data on suggested measures to address racial discrimination in the workplace were examined through thematic analysis and rendered three overarching themes: Understanding racial discrimination; revising practices of recruitment, promotion, and appointment; and restructuring case management processes. Our results suggest that racial discrimination poses a significant issue within United Nations offices in Geneva and call for educational initiatives and significant structural changes. We recommend tailored research to inform these measures and highlight that committed leadership and the participation and vigilance of all involved in shaping the culture of the organization is needed to address racial discrimination in the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pakistan Association of Medical Editors (PAME) organized a workshop on Peer Review at PMA House in Karachi on December 16th, 2023. The workshop aimed to build the professional capacity of faculty members and teach them how to conduct peer reviews. Twenty-one faculty members from various medical institutions attended the workshop, which included hands-on activities and presentations. The workshop was well-received, and participants were encouraged to stay in contact with the facilitators for further learning opportunities. Additionally, PAME decided to hold elections through electronic voting and entrusted the responsibility of auditing their accounts to Mr. Shaukat Ali Jawaid. [Extracted from the article]

With the development of IoT technology and the improvement of people's living standards, smart locks have become prevalent in ordinary households. However, for enterprises and institutions requiring unified management and control capabilities for networked smart locks, the technology has been relatively lagging, and there is a lack of established brands. Existing products are mostly based on wireless low-power network protocols, leading to common issues of low stability, limited network scalability, and high maintenance efforts. This paper addresses the problems existing in current networked lock systems and leverages the centralized office characteristics of enterprises and institutions. By integrating IoT technology and Power over Ethernet- (PoE-) centralized power supply, we have developed a networked smart lock system with unified management and control capabilities. This system is primarily designed for applications in offices, collective dormitories, and hotels of enterprises, institutions, and schools. The test results demonstrate that even with a scale of over tens of thousands of networked locks under unified control, the system maintains fast response times and low packet loss rates. It also incorporates energy-saving and environmentally friendly features, as well as easy automatic updates, facilitating convenient postdeployment maintenance. Thus, it effectively meets the requirements for centralized management and control in different application scenarios with centralized use of rooms. In conclusion, this research has led to the development of a unified management and control networked smart lock system, which is well suited for enterprises, institutions, and schools. Its scalability, speed, energy efficiency, and ease of maintenance make it an excellent solution for various application scenarios requiring centralized management and control of access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1968 a model building was designed in Seville, conceived by a pioneering technical office in the city: OTAISA. This Seville 1 modular office building had a distinctly Anglo-Saxon character and was destined to become a local architectural benchmark. Its construction, consistent with the innovative nature of its programme, employed a prefabricated façade system that not only solved a technical problem but also represented the iconic image of the city's first modular office building. This research explores the role that graphic processes of a geometric nature played in the design of the prefabricated modules of its envelope. It demonstrates the importance of drawing and geometry in both the ideation and development of the project, emphasizing its significance in the building's regulatory layout. The graphic definition of the original project has been completed, providing material that this work, by way of research, seeks to recreate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What qualities are needed by statisticians to achieve top leadership positions in academia, business, industry and government? Five leaders from statistical societies, national and international statistical offices, and academia share their experiences. They respond to five specific questions. Firstly, is leadership just needed by top management or do all statisticians have a role? If so, what is it? Secondly, do statisticians naturally make good leaders? What new skills do they need to acquire? What skills advantages do they have? Thirdly, the panel consider the question: did you work for people who were not good leaders? How did they fall short? What good role models did panellists have? And then, is it harder for women, and for other under-represented groups? And finally they were asked: what message do you have for young statisticians aspiring to leadership roles? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National statistical offices (NSOs) and academia benefit from establishing partnerships and collaborating in different ways by bringing together their respective expertise. Collaborative alliances of this nature appear to offer numerous advantages for both the partners and the public and seem to be essential for unlocking opportunities within the evolving data ecosystem. Establishing good and fruitful collaboration between academia and NSOs requires a collaborative environment where each partner can see the benefits of the collaboration and how they could contribute. Different areas of collaboration are presented within four categories: education and learning, research, promotion of data use in society and providing services to each other. The article further discusses the benefits and conditions of a successful partnership. Examples from Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, and Norway showcase practical-level experiences and some lessons learned at the country level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. technology industry increasingly shifted toward cities. Local governments pursuing innovation-led growth encouraged this shift, as exemplified by San Francisco, the spatial and symbolic urban home of the global technology industry. The commercial real estate market is central to understanding the city's growth as a tech cluster between 2008 and 2020. Platform technology firms substantially contributed to employment growth and demand for office real estate in San Francisco during this period of rapid tech industry expansion. The city also exemplifies how the pandemic-led transition to remote work has profoundly changed the relationship between platform firms and urban space. In this article, we use interviews and secondary sources to study tech-led office leasing and development activity in San Francisco. We identify neighborhood-level trajectories of path dependence, industrial conversion, failed revitalization, and frontier-making during the period of growth leading up to 2020. Digital platform companies exert significant economic and political influence over cities, but their control over urban space is also constrained by the historical, material, and economic realities of commercial real estate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The German S2k guideline is the first to include a checklist that captures atopic dermatitis (AD) signs and symptoms as well as the lack of treatment response to identify patients eligible for systemic therapy. Objectives: Identifying candidates for a start/switch of systemic therapy in adult AD patients in Germany by applying the S2k guideline's checklist. Methods: In this German multicentre, cross‐sectional, non‐interventional study (German Clinical Trials Register number: DRKS00023296), adult patients with mild to severe AD were enrolled at dermatological outpatient clinics and offices between April and October 2021. Demographics, clinical characteristics and quality of life were collected using questionnaires during one single visit. Eligibility for a start/switch of systemic AD therapy was evaluated according to the criteria of the German S2k guideline's checklist. Results: Atopic dermatitis patients (575) were included in the analysis. One hundred and sixty‐four patients (28.5%) received systemic (SYS) AD therapy and 411 patients (71.5%) did not (TOP). Of the TOP therapy patients, 38.7% were eligible to start systemic AD therapy, and about half of those (49.1%), were scheduled to start systemic AD therapy. The most frequent reason deciding against a systemic therapy was the patient's wish. Although 29.3% of SYS patients were eligible for a switch according to the criteria of the German S2k guideline's checklist, the majority (81.3%) did not switch AD therapy. Conclusions: This is the first study on the implementation of the German S2k guideline's checklist in everyday care of AD patients in Germany. More than one‐third of the TOP patients were identified as eligible for systemic treatment. By applying the guideline's checklist criteria, another one‐third of SYS patients may have benefited from a change of current systemic therapy. The use of the German S2k guideline's checklist in routine care represents an important tool to ensure effective patient care and identify inadequately treated patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Access to hygiene facilities is essential for health and well-being, and in many countries, employers are legally obliged to ensure that hygiene facilities are readily available. This interview study considers how being on the move impacts the ability of mobile workers (such as community care workers, police, delivery drivers, gardeners, cleaners, utility workers) to access hygiene facilities, and the challenges they face. Methods: Using a qualitative exploratory research design, we investigate through semi-structured interviews with 22 United Kingdom (UK) mobile workers (1) what influences their access to hygiene facilities, (2) their hygiene needs, and (3) where mobile workers are accessing hygiene facilities. The interview data was analysed qualitatively using a coding framework developed from a literature review of hand hygiene in fixed workplaces. Results: Mobile workers' access to hygiene facilities is influenced by the wider cultural environment, the biological environment, the organisational environment, the physical environment, the facility owner, the worker's role, and the individual themselves, all underpinned by social norms. Our participants needed hygiene facilities so they could use the toilet, clean themselves, and do their work, and for First Aid. Access to facilities is challenging, and our participants needed to access facilities where they were working, travel to find them, or use hygiene kits. The quality of facilities is frequently poor, and mobile workers must often seek permission and may incur financial costs. Our participants often had to rely on the goodwill of people in private homes. In the absence of facilities, workers often resort to strategies that may affect their health (such as restricting drinking and eating, and ignoring urges) or their dignity (such as relieving themselves outdoors or even soiling their clothes). Conclusions: The lack of hygiene facilities available to mobile workers is a serious health and well-being concern. Given that there are many occupations where workers are mobile at least some of the time, the scale of the problem needs to be recognised. This study adds to our understanding of hygiene in workplaces and highlights the inadequacy of current legislation, which appears to serve primarily those working in fixed workplaces such as offices. Recommendations are made to policy makers and organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autonomous robots are increasingly served in real-world unstructured human environments with complex long-horizon tasks, such as restaurant serving and office delivery. Task and motion planning (TAMP) is a recent research method in Artificial Intelligence Planning for these applications. TAMP integrates high-level abstract reasoning with the low-level geometric feasibility check and thus is more comprehensive than traditional task planning methods. While regular TAMP approaches are challenged by different types of uncertainties and the generalization of various applications when implemented in real-world scenarios. This article systematically reviews the most relevant approaches to TAMP and classifies them according to their features and emphasis; it categorizes the challenges and presents online TAMP and machine learning-based TAMP approaches for addressing them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]