Attracting and Retaining Knowledge Workers

Author(s):  
Sébastien Darchen ◽  
Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay

A concentration of knowledge workers, including scientists and engineers, has been identified by recent works as an element fostering economic growth in metropolitan areas. The authors’ aim in this chapter is to study the factors influencing the mobility of graduate students in science and technology. The creative class thesis has emphasized the fact that criteria related to the quality of place have a positive impact on the attraction of talents and on economic development. This thesis was the basis for the authors’ research. In this paper, they assimilate the workforce in science and technology to the concept of knowledge workers. The authors compared the influence of criteria related to the quality of place on the mobility of students with other criteria related to career opportunities and to the social network. They collected the data through an on-line questionnaire and they also proceeded to interviews with students in science and technology. The authors present in this chapter the results of their research for Montreal. With a quantitative analysis, they show that while Montreal is often considered as a very attractive place, the criteria related to the quality of place play a secondary role in the attraction and retention of the population studied, while those related to the career opportunities dominate. This leads to nuance the theories that highlight the importance of place versus job opportunities, and shows that while the quality of place may have an influence on the mobility patterns of knowledge workers, job opportunities have more impact on the attraction/retention of this professional category.

Author(s):  
J. Myles Shaver

This chapter presents data from a propriety survey of approximately 3,000 professional headquarters employees across twenty-three companies in the Minneapolis-St. Paul headquarters economy. The data confirm many expected demographics of this talent pool. They are highly educated, they are high-earning, they are predominantly in dual career relationships, and many are raising children. The data also verify the frequency with which this talent pool moves across companies and across industries. The data also show that different factors primarily affect the attraction and retention of talent to this region. Quality of life factors play a more prominent role in retention, whereas job opportunities play a more prominent role in attraction. Overall, the data show that this talent pool primarily values quality of life factors that center on economic opportunities, the ability to raise children, and well-being.


Employee retention has become one of the major areas of concern for industries across the globe, considering the dynamics of the Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) business environment. Today global explosion in business creates more prospects, employees have become highly mobile and not restricting to particular job. It is universally accepted that human resources are the life-blood of any organization. In this competitive era, every organization has realised that human capital is the major source of existence, growth and excellence of any company. Employee retention is also significantly important to make the company more cost effective and save the time by avoiding frequent hire to newcomers. Moreover, it is the interest of the employer to retain and utilise the expertise of the valuable employees which further adds on to its productivity and profit. In today’s global work environment, technology has improved the global job opportunities with lucrative salary packages, flexible working hours, career opportunities, better workplace environment, on-line-recruitment facility and so on. Hence, it is a high time for the employers to keep regular track of their employees’ satisfaction, ambition, commitment, engagement, work-life balance and to modify the policies asper the requirement. This paper highlights various factors that can have impact on employee retention. Further, it derives a model or framework including the desired strategies which can be adopted for retaining honest, trustworthy and competent employees.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-72
Author(s):  
Herlin Hamimi ◽  
Abdul Ghafar Ismail ◽  
Muhammad Hasbi Zaenal

Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam which has a function of faith, social and economic functions. Muslims who can pay zakat are required to give at least 2.5 per cent of their wealth. The problem of poverty prevalent in disadvantaged regions because of the difficulty of access to information and communication led to a gap that is so high in wealth and resources. The instrument of zakat provides a paradigm in the achievement of equitable wealth distribution and healthy circulation. Zakat potentially offers a better life and improves the quality of human being. There is a human quality improvement not only in economic terms but also in spiritual terms such as improving religiousity. This study aims to examine the role of zakat to alleviate humanitarian issues in disadvantaged regions such as Sijunjung, one of zakat beneficiaries and impoverished areas in Indonesia. The researcher attempted a Cibest method to capture the impact of zakat beneficiaries before and after becoming a member of Zakat Community Development (ZCD) Program in material and spiritual value. The overall analysis shows that zakat has a positive impact on disadvantaged regions development and enhance the quality of life of the community. There is an improvement in the average of mustahik household incomes after becoming a member of ZCD Program. Cibest model demonstrates that material, spiritual, and absolute poverty index decreased by 10, 5, and 6 per cent. Meanwhile, the welfare index is increased by 21 per cent. These findings have significant implications for developing the quality of life in disadvantaged regions in Sijunjung. Therefore, zakat is one of the instruments to change the status of disadvantaged areas to be equivalent to other areas.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1089-1097
Author(s):  
Nguyen Quynh Hoa ◽  
◽  
Phung Chu Hoang ◽  

Quality outcomes from vocational education and training (VET) are fundamental to ensuring a skilled workforce and supporting a productive economy. The quality of vocational training from the demand’s perspective is defined as meeting the customer specification, needs or requirements. Using the method of Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Multiple Regression Analysis to get the analytical results of 275 respondents as graduates of University of Transport and Communication, University of Transport Technology (the two universities training on transportation in the North of Vietnam), the results show that factors are measured by the observed variables in the study that ensure reliability and relevance. The descriptive statistics result of vocational training quality is 3.28, while all independent variables are at average level (between 3.1 to 3.48) with the highest value related to the quality of the teacher and the lowest are facilities and training programs and management capacity of university. However, the regression results show that the qualification of the teacher, material facilities and training program, management capacity and job opportunities at the training school do not affect the quality of the training while “Learners-NH” have a great positive effect and the labor market information has a negative effect on the training quality of the school significantly. Base on those data, some policy recommendations have been given out in order to improve the training quality of transport technology universities in the north of Vietnam in particular and the vocational training quality of Vietnam in general.


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gina G Mentzer ◽  
Alex J Auseon

Heart failure (HF) affects more than 5 million people and has an increasing incidence and cost burden. Patients note symptoms of dyspnea and fatigue that result in a decreased quality of life, which has not drastically improved over the past decades despite advances in therapies. The assessment of exercise capacity can provide information regarding patient diagnosis and prognosis, while doubling as a potential future therapy. clinically, there is acceptance that exercise is safe in hf and can have a positive impact on morbidity and quality of life, although evidence for improvement in mortality is still lacking. specific prescriptions for exercise training have not been developed because many variables and confounding factors have prevented research trials from demonstrating an ideal regimen. Physicians are becoming more aware of the indices and goals for hf patients in exercise testing and therapy to provide comprehensive cardiac care. it is further postulated that a combination of exercise training and pharmacologic therapy may eventually provide the most benefits to those suffering from hf.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (29) ◽  
pp. 29-37
Author(s):  
Tan Van Truong

By the growth regression approach, the research has identified that the investment capital contributed 1,939 and agricultural labor contributed 1,291 to the agricultural growth of An Giang province. More specifically, the contribution of TFP (Total Factor Productivity) to the agricultural growth in the period 2000 - 2004 was averagely 0,11%, in 2005 - 2010 was -5,03%, and in period 2011 - 2016 was 0,81%. The total factor productivity contributed to the agricultural growth slowly. In order to raise the contribution of TFP, the research represents 05 solutions including the increase of the effectiveness of using the investment capital, the increase of the quality of labor, the application of the science and technology into agricultural production, agriculturalrestructuring, and the increase of  agricultural demand.


Author(s):  
T.V. Latysheva ◽  
E.A. Latysheva ◽  
I.A. Manto

Наследственный ангиоотек (НАО) с дефицитом С1ингибитора (С1ИНГ) представляет собой редкое заболевание, которое оказывает сильное воздействие на жизнь пациентов как физически, так и эмоционально. Непредсказуемость атак влияет на повседневную жизнь, выбор профессии, социальную активность. Кроме того, страх перед развитием отека, а также связанными с ним болью и риском смерти приводит к депрессивным расстройствам, характерным для хронических, в особенности жизнеугрожающих заболеваний. Появление современных патогенетических препаратов способно минимизировать влияние НАО и улучшить качество жизни больных. В основе терапии НАО лежат долгосрочная профилактика, краткосрочная профилактика и купирование острых атак. В данной статье речь пойдет о долгосрочной профилактике.Hereditary angioedema (HAE) due to of C1inhibitor deficiency is a rare disease, which causes a strong physical and psychological impact on patients lives. HAE affects daily life, career opportunities, and social activity. In addition, fear of the edema development, as well as the associated with it pain and risk of death leads to depressive disorders specific for chronic (especially lifethreatening) diseases. The emergence of modern pathogenetic drugs can minimize the effect of HAE and improve the patients quality of life. There are three different therapeutic strategies that are used for HAE treatment: longterm prophylaxis, shortterm and ondemand therapy for acute attacks. This article focuses on longterm prophylaxis.


1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-87
Author(s):  
L. Van Vooren ◽  
P. Willems ◽  
J. P. Ottoy ◽  
G. C. Vansteenkiste ◽  
W. Verstraete

The use of an automatic on-line titration unit for monitoring the effluent quality of wastewater plants is presented. Buffer capacity curves of different effluent types were studied and validation results are presented for both domestic and industrial full-scale wastewater treatment plants. Ammonium and ortho-phosphate monitoring of the effluent were established by using a simple titration device, connected to a data-interpretation unit. The use of this sensor as the activator of an effluent quality proportional sampler is discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 775-775
Author(s):  
Debra Sheets ◽  
Stuart MacDonald ◽  
Andre Smith

Abstract Choral singing is a novel approach to reduce dementia stigma and social isolation while offering participants a sense of purpose, joy and social connection. The pervasiveness of stigma surrounding dementia remains one of the biggest barriers to living life with dignity following a diagnosis (Alzheimer Society of Canada, 2018). This paper examines how a social inclusion model of dementia care involving an intergenerational choir for people living with dementia, their care partners and high school students can reduce stigma and foster social connections. Multiple methodologies are used to investigate the effects of choir participation on cognition, stress levels, social connections, stigma, and quality of life. Results demonstrate the positive impact of choir participation and indicate that this socially inclusive intervention offers an effective, non-pharmacological alternative for older adults living with dementia in the community. Discussion focuses on the importance of instituting meaningful and engaging dementia-friendly activities at the community level.


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