Friday, March 08, 2024

Prepare workers to weather time shocks

Building temporal resilience into jobs can help employees thrive when schedules turn upside down

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

AUSTIN, Texas — Managers can do much to help their workers become more resilient to inevitable time disruptions in today’s workplace, says new research from The University of Texas at Austin.

With intricate supply chains and operations that sprawl across time zones, workplace time disturbances are only increasing. Such temporal disruptions aren’t just inconvenient, says David Harrison, Texas McCombs professor of management professor: They can carry tangible business costs, such as impaired health, increased mistakes, and reduced productivity.

In a new study with Liliana Pérez-Nordtvedt of The University of Texas at Arlington, Harrison looks at how to make such disruptions less disruptive, by fitting individuals’ workflows and psychologies to new arrangements in time.

“There are different patterns of resilience to different kinds of changes in time,” Harrison says. So rather than a one-size-fits-all strategy for resilience, he finds three: adjusting, absorbing, and adopting. Each has strengths and weaknesses, depending on the length and severity of a disruption.

Adjusting: Outwardly, workers change their schedules. But psychologically, they resist change, expecting that routines will soon return to normal.

Absorbing: Employees absorb disruptions by shifting tasks around to accommodate them.

Adopting: When a disruption looks to be long term, some people accept the new normal and reorganize their lives around it.

Harrison offers several ideas to foster temporal resilience in the workplace — before disruptions strike.

Flexible Deadlines: “The more you can loosen up tight time cycles, the better able people are going to be to rejigger their cycles to meet the demands,” Harrison says.

Margins: Include flex in schedules so minor interruptions don’t wreck an entire day. For example, Harrison himself leaves at least a half-hour between meetings.

“Build in that little buffer,” he advises. “If everything’s super-duper wound tight, then nobody’s ever going to be on time.”

Bite-sized Shifts: If a manager needs to make a major time change, Harrison suggests breaking it into a series of smaller changes, giving workers time to adapt to each stage.

Patience: Finally, he advises, don’t expect superhuman performance. When there are shocks to schedules, allow for short-term dips.

“Recognize that it’s not people being resistant to change,” he says. “It’s people being organisms for whom time is a fundamental element of dealing with the environment. Time has a learning curve, too.”

JOURNAL

Academy of Management Review

DOI

10.5465/amr.2022.0452

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Literature review

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

From Time Wrinkling to Time Razing Disruptions: Understanding Temporal Resilience

Building temporal resilience into jobs can help employees thrive when schedules turn upside down: Study

by University of Texas at Austin

Managers can do much to help their workers become more resilient to inevitable time disruptions in today's workplace, says new research from The University of Texas at Austin.

With intricate supply chains and operations that sprawl across time zones, workplace time disturbances are only increasing. Such temporal disruptions aren't just inconvenient, says David Harrison, Texas McCombs professor of management professor: They can carry tangible business costs, such as impaired health, increased mistakes, and reduced productivity.

In a new study with Liliana Pérez-Nordtvedt of The University of Texas at Arlington, Harrison looks at how to make such disruptions less disruptive by fitting individuals' workflows and psychologies to new arrangements in time.

"There are different patterns of resilience to different kinds of changes in time," Harrison says. So, rather than a one-size-fits-all strategy for resilience, he finds three: adjusting, absorbing, and adopting. Each has strengths and weaknesses, depending on the length and severity of a disruption:

Adjusting: Outwardly, workers change their schedules. But psychologically, they resist change, expecting that routines will soon return to normal.

Absorbing: Employees absorb disruptions by shifting tasks around to accommodate them.

Adopting: When a disruption looks to be long-term, some people accept the new normal and reorganize their lives around it.

Harrison offers several ideas to foster temporal resilience in the workplace—before disruptions strike.

Flexible Deadlines: "The more you can loosen up tight time cycles, the better able people are going to be to rejigger their cycles to meet the demands," Harrison says.

Margins: Include flex in schedules so minor interruptions don't wreck an entire day. For example, Harrison himself leaves at least a half-hour between meetings. "Build in that little buffer," he advises. "If everything's super-duper wound tight, then nobody's ever going to be on time."

Bite-sized Shifts: If a manager needs to make a major time change, Harrison suggests breaking it into a series of smaller changes, giving workers time to adapt to each stage.

Patience: Finally, he advises, don't expect superhuman performance. When there are shocks to schedules, allow for short-term dips.

"Recognize that it's not people being resistant to change," he says. "It's people being organisms for whom time is a fundamental element of dealing with the environment. Time has a learning curve, too."

The findings are published in the journal Academy of Management Review.

More information: Liliana Pérez-Nordtvedt et al, From Time Wrinkling to Time Razing Disruptions: Understanding Temporal Resilience, Academy of Management Review (2024). DOI: 10.5465/amr.2022.0452

Provided by University of Texas at Austin Scientists improve timing of fog warnings by detecting changes in atmospheric electric field

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for TEMPUS

Keep the change: Scientists analyze attitudes of shop assistants

Peer-Reviewed Publication

SWPS UNIVERSITY

The limited number of shoppers during the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to unfavourable behaviour of sellers towards buyers. The fewer shoppers in the shop, the more likely the sellers were to keep their change, a study by scientists from SWPS University shows. For shoppers, it is a signal to remain vigilant; for decision-makers it is a practical tip on shaping policies during crises.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, various restrictions were introduced in Poland and many other countries to stop the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. These restrictions included wearing masks in public areas, a ban on gatherings, limited number of people shopping at the same time.

Shops, masks and social distancing

Researchers from SWPS University decided to look at the lesser-known effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. They investigated how pandemic restrictions introduced in shops affected the behaviour of shop assistants - and published their research results in PLOS One.

Our goal was to demonstrate that reducing social interactions by covering faces and maintaining distance. These measures may loosen social norms and lead to tangible material losses, describes study co-author Dr. Maciej Kościelniak from the Institute of Psychology at SWPS University.

The researchers emphasise that while masks are a proven measure of protection against the spread of the virus, covering the face leads to a change in human interactions. It limits the possibilities of drawing conclusions and increases the sense of anonymity.

The study was conducted in 216 grocery shops in Poland, in June-September 2021. The majority of participating shop assistants (over 78%) were women. The shoppers, played by research assistants (two adults in their 50s and two teenagers), were tasked with buying a specific product and giving the seller an amount greater than the actual price of the product. During the study, some research assistants wore non-transparent masks covering the nose and lower part of the face, and the other group wore plastic visors.

Shopping with others means a greater chance for fair treatment

It turned out that wearing a mask or a transparent visor had no impact on the sellers' honesty. What did matter was the number of customers in the shop. A customer who shopped in the presence of other people was more than three times more likely to receive correct change than one who was alone with the seller. The researchers were surprised to find that sellers were more likely to give correct change to shoppers of the same gender as themselves.

The study provides practical insights for policymakers responsible for establishing regulations and social policies during a health crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

While maintaining social distance is vital for public health, it could inadvertently encourage fraudulent practices. Retail outlets should therefore consider introducing more rigorous monitoring systems. Customers, on the other hand, should be more vigilant to minimise the risk of being cheated, comments the researcher from SWPS University.

The authors of the publication point out that the scientific discussion tends to overlook the less obvious but significant consequences of pandemic restrictions.

Noticing them is crucial for developing informed policies that will protect social fabric during times of crisis, Dr. Kościelniak concludes.

JOURNAL

PLoS ONE

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0296746

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

COVID-19 masks and limited number of shoppers as determinants of shop assistants’ (dis)honesty

Forbes ranks the University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical campus among America’s best employers

Grant and Award Announcement

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO ANSCHUTZ MEDICAL CAMPUS

Forbes Best Large Employers — IMAGE:
FORBES BEST LARGE EMPLOYERS
view more
CREDIT: FORBES

The University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus is listed as one of Forbes America’s Best Large Employers for 2024.

The 2024 list of “America’s Best Employers” was conducted by Forbes and market research firm Statista, the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider.

“This ranking is meaningful to our organization because the people who work at CU Anschutz drive our success as a leading academic medical campus by providing unparalleled patient care services, being a premier national leader in research and innovation, and fostering a supportive learning environment for our students,” said Adrienne Howarth-Moore, Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief HR Officer at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus. “We’re dedicated to investing in our people and creating a workplace where every individual is supported, empowered and has the resources to reach their full potential.”

The findings were drawn from survey responses from more than 170,000 U.S. based employees working in organizations across several industries. Among the factors evaluated were benefits, employee recognition, opportunities for advancement, a sense pride in their work and much more. They were also asked to rate their willingness to recommend their employer to friends and family and to nominate organizations other than their own.

“This ranking recognizes the progress we’ve made on our strategic plan goal of also making CU Denver campus a best place to work,” said teri engelke, assistant vice chancellor for human resources. “We recognize we still have a way to go, but it is always good to pause and celebrate our progress. I want to thank those of you who have been working to enhance our workplace while delivering quality service to our students and to our colleagues.”

Survey responses were given by current employees, employees who had worked for the company within the past two years and individuals familiar with the company through friends, family or peers in their industry. More than 3.5 million employer evaluations were considered.

To review the full list and read more about the ranking methodology, visit the Forbes’ website.

About the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is a world-class academic medical campus at the forefront of transformative education, science, medicine, and healthcare. The campus encompasses six health professional schools and colleges, offering more than 40-degree programs and is host to two nationally ranked independent hospitals providing more than two million patient visits annually. Innovative, interconnected and highly collaborative, the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus delivers life-changing treatments, patient care and professional training and conducts world-renowned research fueled by over $705 million in research grants and powered by more than 13,000 employees. CU Anschutz economic impact to the State of Colorado is more than $8.5 billion. For more information, visit www.cuanschutz.edu.

About the University of Colorado Denver Campus
Millions of moments start at CU Denver campus, a place where innovation, research, and learning meet in the heart of a global city. With our consolidation with CU Anschutz, we are the state’s premier public urban research university. CU Denver has more than 100 in-demand, top-ranked bachelors, master’s, and doctoral degree programs. We partner with diverse learners—at any stage of their life and career—for transformative educational experiences. Across seven schools and colleges, our leading faculty inspires and works alongside students to solve complex challenges and produce impactful creative work. As part of the state’s largest university system, CU Denver campus is a major contributor to the Colorado economy, with 2,000 employees and an annual economic impact of $800 million. To learn more about how CU Denver helps learners meet their moment, visit ucdenver.edu. 

Plant science: Tracing the spread of cacao domestication

Peer-Reviewed Publication

SCIENTIFIC REPORTS

The cacao tree (Theobroma cacao), whose beans (cocoa) are used to make products including chocolate, liquor and cocoa butter, may have spread from the Amazon basin to the other regions of South and Central America at least 5,000 years ago via trade routes, suggests a paper published in Scientific Reports. These findings, based on residues in ancient vessels, reveal how different strains of cacao tree were bred and suggest that cacao products were more widely used among ancient South and Central American cultures than previously thought.

The modern cacao tree — whose scientific name means ‘the food of the gods’ — is one of the world’s most important crops. There are eleven known genetic groups including the widely used Criollo and Nacional strains. Although it is well established that the cacao tree was originally domesticated in the upper Amazonian basin, it has not been clear how its use by other cultures spread throughout South and Central America.

Claire Lanaud and colleagues analysed residues from 352 ceramic items from 19 pre-Colombian cultures spanning from approximately 5,900 to 400 years ago across Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Belize, and Panama. The authors tested for the presence of ancient cacao DNA and those of three methylxanthine (mild stimulant) components that are present in modern T. cacao strains — theobromine, theophylline, and caffeine — to identify ancient T. cacao residues. The authors also used genetic information from 76 modern samples of T. cacao to establish the ancestry of ancient cacao present in the ceramic items, which could reveal how ancient strains diversified and spread.

The findings demonstrate that cacao was extensively cultivated along the Pacific Coast soon after its domestication in the Amazon at least 5,000 years ago, with high levels of diversity among the ancient strains indicating that genetically distinct populations were bred together. The presence of cacao genotypes originating from the Peruvian Amazon in the coastal Valdivia Ecuadorian region suggests that these cultures had long-standing contact, according to the authors. Peruvian strains were also detected in artefacts from the Colombian Caribbean coast. Together, this indicates that cacao strains underwent a wide diffusion across countries and were cross bred to adapt to new environments as different cultures adopted their use, suggest the authors.

They conclude that greater understanding of cacao’s genetic history and diversity may help to counter threats, such as disease and climate change, facing modern cacao strains.

JOURNAL

Scientific Reports

DOI

10.1038/s41598-024-53010-6

ARTICLE TITLE

A revisited history of cacao domestication in pre-Columbian times revealed by archaeogenomic approaches

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

7-Mar-2024

AI predicts healthiness of food menus and highlights ‘double burden’ of unhealthy food environment in deprived areas

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have used artificial intelligence to predict the healthiness of cafe, takeaway and restaurant menus at outlets across Britain and used this information to map which of its local authorities have the most and least healthy food environments.

The findings, published in Health & Place, highlight the double burden faced by people living in the most deprived areas, where there tend to be more food outlets per capita – more than double the number in the least deprived areas – and these outlets tend to be less healthy.

‘Out-of-home’ food – whether that’s food eaten in a pub, café or restaurant or takeaway food – is an increasing part of how many people eat. But this food tends to be higher in calories, saturated fat and salt, and less nutritious than food prepared at home.

Studies have shown consistently that the more an individual eats food out of home – especially fast food – the poorer the quality of their diet and the higher their body weight. In the UK, there also tend to be more fast food outlets in more deprived neighbourhoods.

Not all menus are equal, however – some will be healthier than others – but little is known about whether there are differences between neighbourhoods in the healthiness of out-of-home food outlets.

Yuru Huang, a Gates Cambridge Scholar at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, said: “Given the link between the food environment and diet, it’s important to understand how healthy this environment is at a local level. This will empower local authorities to take action to try and improve the consumer food environment.”

To explore this, Huang and colleagues examined menus from almost 55,000 food outlets on Just Eat, an online food ordering and delivery platform. Each outlet’s menu was given a healthiness score of 0-12 (with 12 being the healthiest) based on a number of factors including: the number of special offers (such as meal deals or family meals), desserts, salads, chips, milk, water, and the diversity of vegetables.

As not every food outlet is on Just Eat, the team turned to an artificially-intelligent ‘deep learning’ model, trained on a subset of Just Eat data, to predict menu healthiness of every out-of-home food outlet in Britain – a total of almost 180,000 outlets. These outlets were classified into four categories:

cafes, snack bars, and tea rooms
fast food and takeaways
pubs, bars, and inns
restaurants

The only information available for all out-of-home food outlets were the outlets’ names and hygiene ratings. When the team tested their model, they found that the outlet’s name was the best at predicting the healthiness of its menu.

While the complexities of menu healthiness cannot be accurately captured by name only, the researchers validated their results against a different set of test data from Just Eat to that used in the model training, and against real menus from outlets in Cambridge and Peterborough to demonstrate that the model works.

Restaurants were found, on average, to have the healthiest menus, followed by: cafes, snack bars, and tea rooms; pubs, bars, and inns; and lastly fast food and takeaways.

The team used geographical data to map the food outlets, summarising the average menu healthiness of all out-of-home food outlets at the local authority level. Local authority districts with the highest menu healthiness scores included City of London, Kensington and Chelsea, and Westminster. The local authority districts with the lowest menu healthiness scores were Northeast Lincolnshire, Luton, and Kingston upon Hull.

The researchers found that, in general, the higher the level of deprivation in an area, the lower the average menu healthiness across its out-of-home food outlets – and all four categories of food outlets tended to be less healthy in more deprived areas.

Not only that, but out-of-home food outlets also tended to cluster in more deprived areas. In the most deprived areas, there were 8.39 food outlets per 1,000-3,000 people, compared to just 3.85 in the least deprived areas.

Huang said: “There’s a clear pattern between the healthiness of menus at out-of-home food outlets in an area and its level of deprivation. This can create a ‘double burden’ for people living in deprived neighbourhoods, where there are more outlets and these tend to be less healthy, compared to less deprived neighbourhoods.

“On top of this, there are studies that show, for example, that people with the lowest income were more likely to be obese when living in areas with a high proportion of fast-food outlets. This could even create a ‘triple burden’ for people living in these areas.”

The researchers acknowledge that the menu healthiness score does not capture the intricate nuances of the menu, such as portion size, cooking methods, and levels of food processing. This could be important, as interventions such as healthy catering awards introduced by local government focus on aspects like smaller portion sizes, reducing salt, and switching cooking oils.

This work was supported by the Medical Research Council and Gates Cambridge.

Reference
Huang, Y et al. Assessing the healthiness of menus of all out-of-home food outlets and its socioeconomic patterns in Great Britain. Health & Place; 5 Dec 2023 ; DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2023.103146

JOURNAL

Health & Place

DOI

10.1016/j.healthplace.2023.103146

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

ARTICLE TITLE

Assessing the healthiness of menus of all out-of-home food outlets and its socioeconomic patterns in Great Britain

New study reveals the evolutionary nature of animal friendships

Peer-Reviewed Publication

STOCKHOLM UNIVERSITY

Biologists from Stockholm University and University of Neuchâtel present groundbreaking research shedding new light on the evolution of social bonds and cooperation among group-living animals.
The study was published in the journal PNAS.

Animals living in stable groups often exhibit interesting social behaviors, including cooperation and mutual aid. Biologists have long observed that individuals within these groups form social bonds or friendships, characterized by prosocial actions such as food sharing. However, the evolutionary explanations of these friendships have remained a subject of debate.

For over fifty years, biologists have attempted to explain these behaviors using game theory, with a particular focus on reciprocity where individuals return help if they have received it previously. However, traditional models of strict and immediate reciprocity fail to fully capture the complexity of real relationships.

In a groundbreaking study, researchers from Stockholm University and the University of Neuchâtel provide a new explanation for the evolution of helping behavior with social bonds that more closely aligns with observed phenomena. According to their analysis, social bonds develop gradually over time within friendships. Strong bonds are characterized by a history of mutual aid and recently shared activities between individuals.

This gradual buildup of bonds can occur in small or larger groups, provided that individuals have opportunities to interact with bonded partners in smaller subgroups. Interestingly, the study shows that existing group members actively initiate social bonds with new recruits, expanding the social network within the group. This dual action of maintaining existing friendships while forming new ones underscores the importance of social cohesion in group-living animals.

“How group members interact with new individuals is much discussed, and recently the idea that friendships with new individuals will develop only very slowly has been emphasized. Our analysis suggests that this need not be the case”, says Olof Leimar, Professor Emeritus at the Department of Zoology at Stockholm University. “In fact, in the original discussions of the evolution of helping, the possibility that group members actively attempt to develop new friendships was put forward, and our analysis agrees with this,” Olof Leimar adds.

The study draws inspiration from the mutual nature of the relationship between mother and offspring, where help primarily flows in one direction. Much publicized observations of food sharing in groups of vampire bats further support the theoretical framework proposed by the researchers.

“We hope that our results will inspire biologists to further investigate the dynamics of social bonds in different group-living species, including studies on how new bonds are formed”, says Olof Leimar.

This collaborative effort between researchers from Stockholm University and University of Neuchâtel sheds new light on the evolutionary origins of friendship and cooperation among group-living animals.

Contact:
Olof Leimar, Professor Emeritus, at the Department of Zoology, Stockholm University
E-mail: olof.leimar@zoologi.su.se
Phone: +4670-285 09 93

JOURNAL

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI

10.1073/pnas.2317736121

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Social bond dynamics and the evolution of helping

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

7-Mar-2024

Files.libcom.org

https://files.libcom.org/files/Peter%20Kropotkin-%20Mutual%20Aid;%20A%20Factor%20of%20Evolution.pdf

Peter Kropotkin Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution - Libcom.o...

It will be only after we have well established the facts of mutual aid in different classes of animals, and their importance for evolution, that we shall be ...

Mapping the future’s sweet spot for clean energy and biodiversity

Joshua Tree and Kit Fox study: consider future range shifts when siting clean energy

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - DAVIS

San Joaquin kit fox — IMAGE:
AN ENDANGERED SAN JOAQUIN KIT FOX.
view more
CREDIT: CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES

Climate change is driving both the loss of biodiversity and the need for clean, renewable energy. It is also shifting where species are expected to live in the future. Yet these realities are rarely considered together. Where can clean energy projects be built without impacting the future habitat ranges of threatened and endangered species?

A study from the University of California, Davis, examines this question by overlaying renewable energy siting maps with the ranges of two species in the southwestern United States: the iconic and climate-vulnerable Joshua tree and federally endangered San Joaquin kit fox.

The study, published today in the journal Nature Climate Change, found that Joshua trees are expected to lose 31% of their habitat while kit foxes lose 81% by 2070. That’s with climate change alone, under a moderate emissions scenario. When overlayed with existing and proposed renewable energy projects, an additional 1.7% of Joshua tree habitat and 3.9% of kit fox habitat could be lost.

“This study describes how we need to use more renewable energy to fight climate change, but it also warns us that as we expand renewable energy, we are going to overlap with biodiversity hotspots,” said first author Uzma Ashraf, a postdoctoral scholar with the UC Davis Wild Energy Center and the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources. “We show how advanced computer modeling can be applied to improve our understanding of how to site renewable energy resources in ways that benefit biodiversity and their shifting ranges.”

Clean energy and biodiversity

Globally, 290 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity were developed in 2021. The world needs to ramp that up to 1,120 GW every year between now and 2030 to meet net zero emissions goals by 2050.

Meanwhile, animal populations have declined by two-thirds in the past 50 years, mostly due to habitat losses, which are exacerbated by climate change, the study notes.

Altering the landscape could damage places that would otherwise serve as climate refugia under future climate conditions.

San Joaquin kit foxes have been known to use solar facilities for habitat, which scientists attribute to the shade the facilities provide. The study said this suggests there may be ways to minimize impacts to the species through careful attention to its ecological needs.

Future-facing decisions

Corresponding author and Associate Professor Rebecca R. Hernandez directs the Wild Energy Center at UC Davis. She said her center is working to develop a framework to help clean energy developers make future-facing decisions on siting that consider expected range shifts of animals.

“There is a current moonshot for solar and wind energy development,” Hernandez said. “It is one where the footprint of the transition takes hold fast but in a manner that reinforces goals for biodiversity conservation and social justice. Species maps are now dynamic over time under climate change. Our team uses state-of-the-art computational tools to chart a safe passage for renewables.”

The study’s co-authors include Toni Lynn Morelli of the U.S. Geological Survey and Adam B. Smith of the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development.

The study was funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.