Despite the considerable interest in researcher reflexivity within the organizational literature, little attention has been paid to participant reflexivity, here defined as the reflexive considerations of research participants that are stimulated by their involvement in research. Our argument is that engagement in the research process is a context where such reflexive thinking is likely to happen and that through certain methodological approaches, participants’ reflexive thinking becomes more conscious and therefore potentially accessible to the researcher. In identifying the participant reflexivity that emerged as part of a photo-elicitation study of work-life balance and conflict, we outline the kinds of reflexive dialogue that participants reported as being stimulated by involvement in the research and explore the link between emotion and reflexive practice. Hence our paper contributes to our understanding of qualitative research and reflexivity first by highlighting empirically the kinds of internal dialogue reported when participants engage in self-reflexivity as part of the research process; second, by outlining how we can access participant reflexivity methodologically, including through emotions; and third, by explicating the value for researchers in accessing participant reflexivity.
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to outline the development of a toolkit designed to assist UK small to medium enterprise businesses (SMEs) manage work-life balance (WLB) policies and practice issues, across the life stages. Design/methodology/approach -A multi-method approach was adopted combining a literature review, limited empirical study and piloting of the toolkit. Findings -Life stages pose complex work-life challenges for employees and resource and workforce management issues for employers. Demographics, employment cultures and socio-economic and labour market trends impact on the physical and psychological wellbeing of employees. In striving to fulfil multiple work-life roles, workers constantly face challenges in terms of (un)paid work/non-work commitments, caring responsibilities and changing family structures resulting in work/family tensions. This leads to workforce planning, recruitment and retention costs for businesses. Employers face challenges in working with the growing number of WLB policies and in monitoring and evaluating policies, practices and procedures. SMEs require support to adopt a comprehensive WLB approach, whilst meeting operational requirements within resource capabilities and ensuring business sustainability. Practical implications -The toolkit is a source of WLB guidance for practitioners and those with an HR role in SMEs. The paper encourages reflection on research from business and social science research to better inform human resource (HR) practice. Originality/value -The paper identifies the critical need for "WLB across the life-stages" policy and practice guidance for UK SMEs.
This research work presents the entropy analysis of the three-dimensional bioconvection flow of nanofluid over a linearly moving plate in the presence of magnetic effects. Nanoparticles and microorganisms have been considered in the fluid, with the magnetic field acting in the transverse direction to the plate. The viscous dissipation term is also considered in the energy equation. The partial differential equations (PDEs) of the boundary layer region of this problem are transformed with suitable non-similarity transformations into a system of nonlinear PDEs. Afterward, the local non-similarity method via the BVP4c MATLAB algorithm with a second level of truncation delivers a solution of the problem. The effect of important parameters such as magnetic field, Eckert number, thermophoresis, Prandtl number, Peclet number, Brownian motion, Schmidt number, Brinkman number, Lewis number, slip factor on temperature distribution, concentration of nanofluid, density of motile microorganisms, and entropy generation are shown in the graphical profiles.
Phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK1) is a key enzyme in glycolysis that can also be released from certain cells. In the extracellular milieu, PGK1 reportedly acts as a disulphide reductase to activate plasmin, resulting in the production of angiostatin, a potent angiogenesis inhibitor. Certain cancer cell lines secrete unusually large amounts of PGK1, raising the possibility that serum PGK1 levels can be used to screen for cancer. To facilitate the characterization of the PGK1 secretory pathway and to monitor serum levels of PGK1, we have developed a sensitive sandwich ELISA using an immuno-affinity-purified chicken polyclonal antibody for capturing PGK1 and an immuno-affinity-purified rabbit polyclonal antibody for detecting it. The assay is about 10-fold more sensitive than other reported PGK1 ELISAs. We used the ELISA to quantify the amount of PGK1 released from HeLa cells and PGK1 serum levels in cancer patients. Of 10 cancer patients whose serum was tested, 3 of 4 with pancreatic cancer had 65-900% higher levels of PGK1 than that found in normal serum.
The aims of this paper are twofold. First, we aim to expand understanding of work-family experiences beyond the prevalent emphasis on traditional couple-headed families within organization and management literatures by focusing on the experiences of employed single mothers. Second, we aim to gain insight into how work and family meanings may be negotiated in the context of heightened conflicting ideals and demands. Drawing on rich qualitative data from in-depth interviews and diaries, our findings make three important contributions to the existing work-family literature. First, we show that conflicting work and family ideals are not only exacerbated for single mothers, but viable narrative strategies with which to negotiate this conflict are also restricted. Second, we highlight how narratives constructed around the meaning of work are key to single mothers' negotiation of conflicting work and family ideals and identify three work narratives drawn upon by single mothers focused on providing, performing and protecting. Finally, we demonstrate how shifts between single mothers' work narratives are particularly influenced by progression opportunities and a supportive work environment. We conclude by making suggestions for future work-family research.this issue by exploring, for example, work-family experiences of ethnic minority women (Kamenou, 2008) and same-sex couples (Sawyer, Thoroughgood and Ladge, 2017), noting the importance of acknowledging different experiences when engaging with work-life debates. The current study aims to continue in this regard by focusing our attention on the work-family experiences of single mothers.Single-parent households are common across OECD countries (Eurostat, 2017), constituting one in four families in the UK and USA (ONS, 2017; US Census, 2016), of which the majority are headed by women (ONS, 2019;US Census, 2016). Literatures outside management fields, such as within social policy (e.g. Nieuwenhuis and
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