This study examined the importance of polytechnics in Ghana’s development; its management and constraints-especially faculty turnover and how it impacts on sustainable polytechnic education. The sample comprised a total of 65 respondents drawn from six stakeholder groups: former polytechnic rectors, current polytechnic administrators’ current faculty; former polytechnic faculty, students, government officials as well as retired government officials. The study adopted a qualitative method to elicit data. However, the main study was preceded by a pilot study focusing on faculty turnover. Questionnaire informed by instruments used in earlier studies by Klass (2007) and Samuel (2008) were adapted and modified to suit the pilot study. An electronic questionnaire comprising 41 questions with a four (4) point scale (agree, uncertain, disagree and strongly disagree) on turnover and its consequences was hosted at Survey Monkey web site for administration by current polytechnic faculty. The link was emailed to 14 randomly selected current faculty members of seven polytechnics for administration and submission. These provided lead-in themes for the main qualitative study. Data for the main study was collected via interviews involving all six groups. Results indicate that polytechnics are important and contribute significantly to the sustenance of Ghana’s economy. Study further proved that polytechnics were mired in a number of constraints including turnover. The second portion examined the constraints of polytechnics with a focus on faculty turnover, causes and consequences on polytechnic sustenance vis-a-vis Ghana’s economy. This was supported by a semi structured interview schedules generated from the pilot study and administered on six case groups. The results showed a high rate of faculty turnover in polytechnics. Further, findings showed that turnover is caused by multiple factors (individual, institutional and environmental factors) which in turn interact with each other to influence turnover. Also, turnover was found to have impacted negatively on polytechnics, their clientele (students) and the national economy of Ghana. Findings of this study have a number of implications for policy especially higher education policy (polytechnics) management and education as well as some suggested strategies to help incentivize the academic staff and smoothen the management of the polytechnics.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the perceptions of job satisfaction as defined by management and nonmanagement employees and to compare both parties' perceptions of organizational benefits to a list prepared by the organization's benefit personnel. Turnover is costly to the organization, both in money and in the impact it has on those individuals remaining with the organization. Every effort should be undertaken to reduce the amount of turnover within the organization. A contributing factor leading to turnover may be a gap between what the employees believe is important to them and what management believes is important to the employees. The boundaries of the gap need to be identified before any effort can be made to reduce or bridge the gap. Once the boundaries are identified, policies can be analyzed and the possibility of reducing the gap investigated. Management as a whole must be aware of the needs and wants of their employees before any attempt to develop a retention strategy is undertaken. This knowledge can be acquired only through two-way communication with the employee. The communication process includes the simple process of asking employees for this information and then listening to how they respond. This study suggests that little difference exists in perception of job satisfaction importance for gender, age group, length of time with the organization, topic training hours, and between management and nonmanagement employees. However, perception gaps exist between the job satisfaction items addressed by organizational policies and procedures and those perceived by employees. Additional studies that include a number of varied organizations are needed before extensive generalizations can be made.

Despite numerous studies and reviews on faculty turnover, there appeared to be no systematic investigation of factors which influenced voluntary turnover among full-time faculty members in Nigerian educational institutions such as those studied here. In addition, it appeared that Nigeria lacked faculty turnover data for use in any meaningful research study. Therefore, this study investigated factors perceived to be influential among full-time faculty members leaving their jobs or institutions voluntarily. The six facets of the Job Descriptive Index developed by Smith, Kendall, and Hulin as well as a questionnaire about commitment development by Mowday, Porter and Steers elicited data concerning: present work, pay, promotion, supervision, coworkers, job in general, and commitment. Two hundred and eight (84.21%) of 247 full-time faculty members from ten selected colleges of technology/polytechnics in Nigeria became involved in this study. Means, frequencies, percentages, one-way ANOVA set at .05 level and Scheffe Test of Multiple Comparison set at .10 level were used for the analysis of data. Based on the findings, it could be established that full-time faculty members in Nigerian Colleges of Technology/Polytechnics are dissatisfied with their conditions of service. The most influential factors for voluntary turnover were pay and opportunities for promotion. Conclusions drawn from the study indicate that the demographic characteristics (gender, age, level of education, years of college teaching experience, salary grade level, college/polytechnic of employment, and region of origin) affect full-time faculty members' work attitudes. Further studies are recommended to determine policies and practices suitable for retaining the most capable full-time faculty members in Nigerian Colleges of Technology/Polytechnics.

Realistic Job Previews have been shown to impact newcomers to jobs through ircreased self-selection, reduced turnover, eased adjustment, improved performance and increased job satisfaction. To address a turnover problem, Realistic Job Previews were implemented in hiring for two entry level positions in half of 539 branch offices of a large financial services organization. Subjects consisted of 122 Service Representatives and 98 Financial Representatives. Eight months after implementation, turnover rates were compared for control and experimental groups. There was no significant difference between turnover among Service Representatives. Financial Representatives in the experimental group had lower turnover rates (p < .10), with the difference increasing over time. Comparing the turnover rates between three and six months tenure resulted in a statistically significant difference (p < .05).

Employee turnover is an ongoing issue in organisations because it has long been thought to detriment overall organisational efficiency and performance (Lee, Gerhart, Weller & Trevor, 2008; Takeuchi, Chen & Lepak, 2009; Trevor, 2001). Managers are only able to observe and control some aspects or influencers of turnover (Dalton, Todor & Krackhardt, 1982). Placing voluntary turnover drivers in context with human resource (HR) practices might provide a means through which managers can understand the less visible aspects of turnover. HR practices may assist managers to reduce the controllable (evident) and less observable drivers of voluntary turnover. March and Simon (1958), the seminal employee turnover theorists, suggest that the voluntary turnover decision has two competing aspects – desirability of the current job and desirability of alternatives. The perceived utility an employee garners from the current job might define the desirability of the current job. The more desirable the current job, the greater satisfaction and lower the likelihood of a quit. The potential utility the individual deems available from perceived alternative opportunities might define the desirability of alternatives. If the potential utility of an alternative outweighs the utility garnered by the current job, a quit seems more likely (March & Simon, 1958). Generally, mainstream voluntary turnover research has placed emphasis on understanding turnover antecedents in the current organisation - the aspects that lower the perceived utility garnered by the current job (Kirschenbaum & Weisberg, 2002). However, considerably less research has focused on the alternative that draws the employee away from their current job (Kirschenbaum & Weisberg, 2002). The alternative to which the individual moves is the turnover destination. The turnover destination contributes towards the withdrawal process because the person perceived the alternative as more desirable than the current job, increasing the likelihood of a quit. Observing organisational performance may provide an important means through which to examine the effect turnover destinations may have on withdrawal. Strategic human resource management (SHRM) and similar organisational development fields hold a particular view on organisational performance. SHRM theorists have paid particular attention to the implementation of high-performance human resource (HR) practices in organisations. Predominantly, extensive research has been conducted on the effect highiii performance HR practices might have on organisational performance and retention. SHRM theorists suggest that a combination (system) of high-performance HR practices correctly implemented in the firm, and aligned with organisational strategy, should bring about improved organisational performance and employee retention (Arthur, 1994; Carmeli & Schaubroeck, 2005; Combs, Liu, Hall & Ketchen, 2006; Shaw, Gupta & Delery, 2005; Subramony, 2009; Youndt, Snell, Dean & Lepak, 1996; Wood, 1999). The field of turnover destination research highlights the role of turnover destinations in the voluntary turnover process. Specifically, turnover destination theorists postulate that antecedents present in the current firm affect the quit decision by influencing the intensity of the desire to leave, and the perception of alternative opportunities shapes the choice of turnover destination (Kirschenbaum & Mano-Negrin, 1999; Kirschenbaum & Weisberg, 2002). Research in the field focuses on the influence turnover destinations might have on turnover intentions, moving away from the traditional focus of internal organisational antecedents and personal factors (Kirschenbaum & Weisberg, 2002). The relationship between high-performance HR practices and turnover destinations has not been extensively tested empirically, with few known studies in existence (for example: Fields, Dingman, Roman & Blum, 2005). Therefore, there is opportunity for greater research in the field. The developing South African economy is a suitable environment in which to measure whether high-performance HR practices affect turnover destinations at the individual-level, as no known research has been conducted. The South African economy is said to be suffering from the mass emigration of highly skilled individuals, who mostly move to developed countries with less prominent societal issues and less restrictive labour policies, amongst other reasons (Kerr-Phillips & Thomas, 2009; McDonald & Crush, 2002). A key interest for this research is the role experience of highperformance HR practices might play in emigration of South African white-collar workers. The study explores the relationship between high-performance HR practices and turnover destinations by measuring met expectations and turnover intentions. The objective of the empirical study is to establish whether experience of high-performance HR practices in the current job affect the likelihood of particular turnover destinations. A quantitative study, using a two-part time-separated survey, was conducted on white-collar workers from three South African provinces, including Gauteng, Kwa-Zulu iv Natal and the Western Cape. The first part of the survey measured respondents’ perceptions of the levels of actual high-performance HR practice provision in the current organisation. In addition, respondent expectations about the adequate level of the practices (that should retain them in their current jobs) were measured. The second part of the survey measured respondents’ intentions to move into a predefined set of turnover destinations. The final sample of 386 participants was used to analyse the impact of interactions between actual and adequate high-performance HR practices on a variety of turnover destinations, using polynomial regression analysis and response surface methodology. Overall, the results showed that a system of high-performance HR practices exert a weak to moderate influence on the predefined turnover destinations. Generally, South Africans with lower expectations about high-performance HR practice provision appear less likely to leave a job when the employer places greater emphasis on the practices. However, the likelihood of internal transfer and moving into a different organisation increases for individuals who possess higher expectations about high-performance HR practice provision, and have experienced higher levels of actual provision. The findings also show that, for the most part, the likelihood of emigration increases in employees with lower actual provision of high-performance HR practices, largely contradicting expectations about emigration. The increase in the likelihood of internal transfers and moves to external organisations, despite higher actual high-performance HR practice provision, might point towards over-provision of the practices, or the possibility of continuance commitment in South African employees. The findings suggest that, rather than higher emphasis of highperformance HR practices providing a means for emigration, broader external societal conditions may be motivating the emigration of skilled South Africans. As the results showed that a set of high-performance HR practices may exert a weak to moderate influence on turnover destination selection, there are recommendations for managers and future research. Implications for managers include promoting the implementation of a set of high-performance HR practices in the organisation. Researchers in the turnover destinations field should endeavour to measure actual turnover, rather than intentions in future studies.

Thesis advisor: Laura O'Dwyer / In recent decades, the plight of early career teacher turnover has had significant financial ramifications for our nation’s schools and has posed a serious threat to achieving educational equity, with the most disadvantaged schools experiencing the highest rates of turnover. Using data collected from the Beginning Teacher Longitudinal Survey, this study employed discrete-time competing risks survival analysis to explore the first-year experiences of public middle and high school teachers as predictors of their career decisions to stay in their current school, move to a new school, or leave the profession across the first five years of their career. Four facets were conceived as characterizing teachers’ first-year experiences: 1) policies and programs for first-year teachers provided by the administration including mentoring and induction, 2) perceptions of their preparedness to teach, 3) perceptions of school climate and workplace conditions, and 4) satisfaction with teaching. The research questions are: 1. What are the first-year experiences for teachers in the sample and how do they compare between teachers who are retained in their first school placements and teachers who voluntarily or involuntarily turn over in later years? 2. What first-year teacher experiences predict voluntary and involuntary turnover at the end of years 1, 2, 3, and 4? And, how does satisfaction with teaching in the first year interact with the three other facets of the first-year experience to predict voluntary and involuntary turnover across the early career window? Findings suggest there may be differences in the mechanisms that drive the moving and leaving phenomena, suggesting that policymakers treat the two turnover pathways as separate problems requiring separate solutions. Furthermore, findings suggest there may be more policy-amendable variables that can be manipulated in the first year of teaching to prevent leaving than there are to prevent moving, implying that curbing rates of moving to minimize the localized impacts of teacher migration to other schools may be more challenging than reducing rates of leaving the profession. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation.

by Ng Kwok-Kee, Paul. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1980. / Bibliography: leaves 51-52.

by Wilkie Wong Wing-Gay. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1980. / Bibliography: l. 26.

Orientador: Felipe Wanderley Amorim / Resumo: As mudanças globais mediadas pela ação antrópica estão alterando a biodiversidade e os ecossistemas em um ritmo acelerado. Um dos principais impulsionadores dessas mudanças é a introdução de espécies exóticas em ecossistemas nativos. Entre os grupos de organismos afetados por este processo, o das plantas é reconhecido um dos mais preocupantes, uma vez que a produção primária limita o tamanho e a composição das comunidades e participa através de efeitos em cascata em interações multi-tróficas. Uma das principais relações ecológicas influenciada por esse efeito é a relação entre plantas e polinizadores, cujo papel é importante para estrutura e funcionamento das comunidades biológicas, não apenas porque as plantas fornecem recursos alimentares essenciais para muitos grupos de animais que visitam flores, mas também porque o sucesso reprodutivo da maioria das plantas com flores depende dos serviços bióticos fornecidos por estes animais. Neste contexto, a introdução de espécies de plantas exóticas invasoras pode ter impactos críticos nas interações planta-polinizador ao nível da comunidade, principalmente através da competição com espécies nativas. Como as interações planta-polinizador são cruciais para determinar a estrutura da comunidade, nesse estudo nós testamos como o crescimento rápido de uma gramínea invasora altera a composição das espécies de plantas nativas em um campo cerrado, juntamente com os impactos deste processo sobre a estrutura das interações planta-polinizador. ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The global change mediated by anthropic action is altering biodiversity and ecosystems in a fast pace. One major driver of these changes is the introduction of alien species in native ecosystems. Among the groups of organisms that are affected by this process, plants are recognized to be one of the most concern, since primary production limit global communities’ sizes and composition, and participate through cascade effects on multitrophic interactions. One crucial type of interaction that is influenced by this effect is the plant-pollinator relationship, which have an important role in the structure and functioning of biological communities, not only because plants provide essential food resources for many groups of animals that visit flowers, but also because the reproductive success of most flowering plants depends on the biotic services provided by animals. In this context, the introduction of invasive alien plant species may have critical impacts on plant-pollinator interactions at community level, mainly through competition with native species. Since plantpollinator interactions are determinants of community structure, here we evaluated how the rising of a fast-growing invasive alien grass species changes plant species composition of a Neotropical grassland community along with its impacts on the structure of plant-pollinator interactions. For this, we analyzed the changes in community composition and plantpollinator interactions over time, through the temporal turnover... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

A eletro-oxidação de etanol é certamente um dos principais temas de pesquisa no campo de eletrocatálise devido ao sua potencial utilização em sistemas conversores de energia química em energia elétrica, pois é considerado um combustível renovável e de baixa toxicidade, além de possuir alta densidade energética. Quando afastado do equilíbrio termodinâmico, esse sistema apresenta uma dinâmica complexa devido a continua ativação e desativação do catalisador e na presença de instabilidades, é possível alcançar um maior valor de eficiência termodinâmica quando comparado com o mesmo sistema operando em regime convencional. Além disso, a facilidade de emergência de instabilidades e a simplicidade com que os parâmetros experimentais podem ser controlados fazem com que o estudo deste tipo de sistemas se torne atrativo para a comunidade científica. Nesta tese de doutorado são apresentados os resultados obtidos durante a dinâmica convencional e não-linear da eletro-oxidação de etanol em meio alcalino, combinando os dados obtidas em ambos os processos cinéticos para entender plenamente o efeito dos cátions durante a reação catalítica. Após a análise do impacto de diferentes íons na cinética convencional e complexa, foram estimados os valores máximos das frequências de turnover na presença de diferentes ânions e cátions, utilizando os dados obtidos por métodos eletroanalíticos e, assim, discutir a atividade em uma base mais fundamental. Ainda, a partir dos dados da dinâmica oscilatória, foi possível realizar uma avaliação indireta da dissipação química dos sistemas estudados empregando as curvas pseudo-estacionárias. Por fim foi realizada a caracterização do comportamento oscilatório da eletro-oxidação de etanol em meio alcalino em superfícies monocristalinas de platina, relacionando as variações no perfil oscilatório com os defeitos presentes nos planos cristalográficos. / The electro-oxidation of ethanol is certainly one of the main research topics in the field of electrocatalysis due to its potential use in converting chemical energy into electrical energy, since it is considered a renewable fuel with low toxicity and high energy density. When it is far from the thermodynamic equilibrium, this system presents a complex dynamic due to the continuous activation and deactivation of the catalyst and with the emergence of instabilities it is possible to achieve a higher thermodynamic efficiency when compared to the same system operating in conventional regime. In addition, the facility in which instabilities emerge and the simplicity which the experimental parameters can be controlled make the study of such systems attractive to the scientific community. In this thesis the results obtained during the conventional and non-linear dynamics of the electro-oxidation of ethanol in alkaline media are presented, combining the data obtained in both kinetic processes to fully understand the effect of the cations during the catalytic reaction. Once the impact of different ions on conventional and complex kinetics was analyzed, the maximum values of the turnover frequencies in the presence of different anions and cations were estimated using the data obtained by electroanalytical methods and, with the results in hand it was possible to discuss the activity on a more fundamental basis . Also, from the data of the oscillatory dynamics, it was possible to perform an indirect evaluation of the chemical dissipation of the systems studied using the pseudo-stationary curves. Finally, the characterization of the oscillatory behavior of the electro-oxidation of ethanol in alkaline medium on platinum single-crystalline surfaces was performed, connecting the disparities in the oscillatory profile with the defects presented in each crystallographic planes.