Suchergebnisse

AbstractFollowing the failure of legislative proposals for a multi‐sector greenhouse gas (GHG) cap‐and‐trade policy, the shift in focus to energy sector policies ignores the perhaps substantial potential for GHG mitigation from agriculture/forestry. We review estimates of the current U.S. agriculture sector contribution to GHG mitigation from a portfolio of existing sector policies in bioenergy, conservation, and research and development to compare accomplishments across programs. We then consider what opportunities and challenges may exist for increasing sector GHG mitigation by retargeting and/or expanding current programs—or for bioenergy‐related mitigation, implementing proposed new programs—to serve as an alternative to cap‐and‐trade.

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to explore the orientations of line managers in handling workplace conflict. In particular it examines the tension between the traditional preference of frontline managers for informal approaches and the perceived certainty of written disputes procedures.


Design/methodology/approach
– The paper draws upon findings from 12 organisational case studies, focusing on interviews conducted with HR and managers.


Findings
– As line managers undertake more responsibility for people management, their preferences for informal approaches to workplace issues appears to be being replaced by a more rigid adherence to policy and procedure. This is largely driven by a lack of confidence and expertise in conflict management and a fear of the repercussions (both legal and organisational) of mishandling difficult issues. Written procedure therefore provides managers with both a systematic guide but also a protective shield against criticism and litigation.


Research limitations/implications
– It is not possible to generalise from a limited sample, therefore this suggested change requires further exploration to assess whether it has been evidenced in organisations more widely.


Practical implications
– For practitioners this research highlights the critical requirement for organisations to develop key skills among line managers to enable them to respond effectively to problems at an early stage.


Social implications
– For policy-makers, the barriers to line managers implementing informal resolution should be considered.


Originality/value
– This paper enriches understanding of line managers' current role in people management and the challenges they face in doing so informally.

BACKGROUND: Human coronaviruses (HCoVs), rhinoviruses, and non-polio enteroviruses (NPEVs) are leading causes of seasonal acute respiratory infections among children and adults, posing significant health and economic burden annually. Despite this, little is known about their epidemiological dynamics, including the role of asymptomatic shedding in transmission; the durations of virus incubation and shedding; and the effect of immune responses on risk for re-infection during the same season. We studied respiratory virus shedding in military recruits, and used mathematical models to measure pathogen-specific transmission rates and durations of incubation, shedding, and immune protection. METHODS: We tested for shedding of HCoVs, rhinoviruses, and NPEVs in nasal samples collected from 78 military recruits entering basic training and then at staggered, biweekly visits over 65 days during winter 2017. We developed a continuous-time Markov chain model for virus acquisition and clearance, and used Bayesian methods to estimate model parameters for each of HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, rhinoviruses, and NPEVs. RESULTS: We observed widespread transmission of HCoV-229E, rhinoviruses, and NPEVs within the first week after entry into basic training, and a subsequent phase of transmission predominantly involving HCoV-OC43 during the second month (Figure). We estimated pre-epidemic reproductive numbers ranging from 1.97 (95% credible interval: 1.49, 2.60) for HCoV-OC43 to 5.69 (3.92, 7.98) for HCoV-229E (Table). Subjects re-acquired HCoV-229E, rhinoviruses, and NPEVs despite previous exposure; for these pathogens, we estimated reversion to pre-infection susceptibility to occur, on average, 28.5 (15.8, 49.7) days, 52.2 (22.3, 151.1), and 144.7 (61.3, 812.5) days, respectively, following clearance of viral shedding. CONCLUSION: Asymptomatic shedding is a source of transmission of common respiratory viruses in the close-contact basic training environment. Protection against re-acquisition is short-lived, and may be inadequate to prevent ...