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The purpose of this literature review is, first, to understand how employees with disabilities in the context of COVID-19 have been studied under the talent management (TM) approach; second, to explore what we know about the predictors and outcomes that have been linked to TM practices in that area; and third, to identify gaps in our understanding and provide insights for future research.

This paper presents a systematic literature review (SLR) based on 38 academic sources published in high-impact indexes from 2020 to 2023.

The existing research shows COVID-19 as a crucial context that led organizations to more precarious and segmented TM practices, which had negative consequences for employees with disabilities, both at the individual level (reduced satisfaction and income, and increased health issues) and the organizational level (increased unemployment, turnover and discrimination as well as declining performance and productivity).

This paper provides essential contributions to the field of TM in the relatively unexplored context of employees with disabilities since the emergence of COVID-19. Our literature review suggests there is significant room for developing and implementing adjusted TM strategies and practices to foster effective inclusiveness, accommodations and supportive work environments for employees with disabilities. From this evidence, a number of key avenues for future research and key implications for academics and practitioners are provided.

This study explores factors that influence the initiation of leadership coaching relationships that include externally employed coaches and school administrators.

This qualitative research study includes semi-structured interviews, observations and documents collected across three academic years within the context of a university-based leadership coaching program. Participants included six leadership coaches and six school administrators who participated in the program.

Qualitative analysis indicates that gender and race, prior professional experience, pre-existing professional relationships and the complexity of the district’s organizational structure influence the initiation of the coaching relationship.

Confidentiality restrictions imposed by the program limit opportunities for member checking and other forms of triangulation. Additional data collection using more expansive research methods would help address this limitation.

This study contributes to the sparse literature about leadership coaching with school administrators by describing how different factors influence initiation coaching relationships.

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between employer branding (EB) and talent retention. The paper also analyses the mediating role of employee engagement in the association between EB and talent retention.

Partial least square structural equation modelling has been applied to carry out the analysis. The findings are based on the perceptions of IT professionals (n = 397) to assess the interrelationship between EB, employee engagement and talent retention.

The paper gives empirical insights on how employee engagement helps promote employer value offerings to the employee, which helps in the successful retention of employees. The results indicate that employee engagement partially mediates the association between EB and talent retention.

This study provides a clear direction to a diversity of practitioners working in IT firms. Building and maintaining sympathetic and emotional connections with co-workers, team leaders and higher managerial employees can help increase employee engagement. The findings can help business planners and managers focus their efforts on employer brand elements for successfully involving their workforce.

Authors believe this study is one of its kind to test the association between EB and talent retention mediated by the engagement level of employees. The present research study will help future academia delve into how EB can significantly impact the engagement and retention of existing employees.

Since the 1980's, diversity management (DM) has been regarded as a relevant scholarly and practical endeavour laden with different and often contrasting rationales and conceptualisations. In this regard, the current literature on DM largely differentiates between two overarching approaches – the instrumental and the critical approach with varying conceptualisations and underlying understandings of DM. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how a paradox lens can be utilised to bridge existing understandings of diversity management.

The authors aim to discuss the current state of DM literature and reconceptualise DM from a paradox lens.

The authors argue that the use of a paradox lens on DM allows for challenges to be brought forward instead of ignored or hidden away by illuminating and actively acknowledging both the liberating but also the challenging and oftentimes constraining experiences for the actors involved. Thus, a Paradox lens offers space for embracing and utilising paradoxes when working with diversity.

Diversity management is no new concept in the field of human resource management and several scholars argue that the longstanding divide between the instrumental and critical approach remains problematic and limiting for the practice of DM. Hence, the value of reconceptualising DM from a paradox lens lies in bridging the two approaches in order to give way to viewing DM as a nuanced, dynamic and multifaceted practice that can accommodate complexity and contradictions in new and potentially beneficial manners.

The purpose of this article is to prepare graphene/polyimide composite materials for use as bearing cage materials, improving the friction and wear performance of bearing cages.

The oil absorption and discharge tests were conducted to evaluate the oil content properties of the materials, while the mechanical properties were analyzed through cross-sectional morphology examination. Investigation into the tribological behavior and wear mechanisms encompassed characterization and analysis of wear trace morphology in PPI-based materials. Consequently, the influence of varied graphene nanoplatelets (GN) concentrations on the oil content, mechanical and tribological properties of PPI-based materials was elucidated.

The composites exhibit excellent oil-containing properties due to the increased porosity of PPI-GN composites. The robust formation of covalent bonds between GN and PPI amplifies the adhesive potency of the PPI-GN composites, thereby inducing a substantial enhancement in impact strength. Notably, the PPI-GN composites showed enhanced lubrication properties compared to PPI, which was particularly evident at a GN content of 0.5 Wt.%, as evidenced by the minimization of the average coefficient of friction and the width of the abrasion marks.

This paper includes implications for elucidating the wear mechanism of the polyimide composites under frictional wear conditions and then to guide the optimization of oil content and tribological properties of polyimide bearing cage materials.

In this paper, homogeneously dispersed PPI-GN composites were effectively synthesized by introducing GN into a polyimide matrix through in situ polymerization, and the lubrication mechanism of the PPI composites was compared with that of the PPI-GN composites to illustrate the composites’ superiority.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-12-2023-0415

The combination of an Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC) layer and steel plate to reinforce RC beams (ESRB) is a new strengthening method. The ESRB was proposed based on the steel plate at the bottom of RC beams, aiming to solve the problem of over-reinforced RC beams and improve the bearing capacity of RC beams without affecting their ductility.

In this paper, the finite element model of ESRB was established by ABAQUS. The results were compared with the experimental results of ESRB in previous studies and the reliability of the finite element model was verified. On this basis, parameters such as the width of the steel plate, thickness of the ECC layer, damage degree of the original beam and cross-sectional area of longitudinal tensile rebar were analyzed by the verified finite element model. Based on the load–deflection curve of ESRB, ESRB was discussed in terms of ultimate bearing capacity and ductility.

The results demonstrate that when the width of the steel plate increases, the ultimate load of ESRB increases to 133.22 kN by 11.58% as well as the ductility index increases to 2.39. With the increase of the damage degree of the original beam, the ultimate load of ESRB decreases by 23.7%–91.09 kN and the ductility index decreases to 1.90. With the enhancement of the cross-sectional area of longitudinal tensile rebar, the ultimate bearing capacity of ESRB increases to 126.75 kN by 6.2% and the ductility index elevates to 2.30. Finally, a calculation model for predicting the flexural capacity of ESRB is proposed. The calculated results of the model are in line with the experimental results.

Based on the comparative analysis of the test results and numerical simulation results of 11 test beams, this investigation verified the accuracy and reliability of the finite element simulation from the aspects of load–deflection curve, characteristic load and failure mode. Furthermore, based on load–deflection curve, the effects of steel plate width, ECC layer thickness, damage degree of the original beam and cross-sectional area of longitudinal tensile rebar on the ultimate bearing capacity and ductility of ESRB were discussed. Finally, a simplified method was put forward to further verify the effectiveness of ESRB through analytical calculation.

This paper aims to obtain a calculation method by hand without iteration.

This paper adopts strains as known quantities to solve the internal forces and deformations of the section, simplifies the deflection curve of the column and obtains nomograms that can calculate the bearing capacity and reinforcement of circular reinforced concrete (RC) columns by hand.

Nomograms include five variables: mechanical reinforcement ratio, relative normal force, dimensionless bending moment, slenderness ratio and ultimate dimensionless curvature. Nomograms corresponding to all classes of concrete have been drawn, and their dimensionless form makes them widely applicable. The calculation results of nomograms are compared and analysed with numerical calculation results, and the difference is within 5%, meeting the engineering requirements.

Calculating the bearing capacity of compression bending components requires considering second-order effects. Therefore, the calculation of the bearing capacity of circular RC columns requires iterative calculation, as it includes dual nonlinearity of material and geometry, and the two are coupled with each other. To calculate the bearing capacity of the section adopting ordinary concrete, it is necessary to solve the transcendental equation iteratively. For high-strength concrete, it can only be solved by numerical integration. A fast calculation method by hand is proposed in this paper.

Based on the weak seismic performance and low ductility of coupled shear walls, engineered cementitious composites (ECC) is utilized to strengthen it to solve the deformation problem in tall buildings more effectively and study its mechanical properties more deeply.

The properties of reinforced concrete coupled shear wall (RCCSW) and reinforced ECC coupled shear wall (RECSW) have been studied by numerical simulation, which is in good agreement with the experimental results. The reliability of the finite element model is verified. On this basis, a detailed parameter study is carried out, including the strength and reinforcement ratio of longitudinal rebar, the placement height of ECC in the wall limb and the position of ECC connecting beams. The study indexes include failure mode and the skeleton curve.

The results suggest that the bearing capacity of RECSW is significantly affected by the ratio of longitudinal rebar. When the ratio of longitudinal rebar increases from 0.47% to 3.35%, the bearing capacity of RECSW increases from 250 kN to 303 kN, an increase of 21%. The strength of longitudinal rebar has little influence on the bearing capacity of RECSW. When the strength of the longitudinal rebar increases, the bearing capacity of RECSW increases little. The failure mode of RECSW can be improved by lowering the casting height of the ECC beam in a certain range.

In this paper, ECC is used to strengthen the coupled shear wall, and the accuracy of the finite element model is verified from the failure mode and skeleton curve. On this basis, the casting height of the ECC casting wall limb, the strength and reinforcement ratio of longitudinal rebar and the position of the ECC beam are studied in detail.

The purpose of this study is to use the corrected stress field theory to derive the shear capacity of geopolymer concrete beams (GPC) and consider the shear-span ratio as a major factor affecting the shear capacity. This research aims to provide guidance for studying the shear capacity of GPC and to observe how the failure modes of beams change with the variation of the shear-span ratio, thereby discovering underlying patterns.

Three test beams with shear span ratios of 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 are investigated in this paper. For GPC beams with shear-span ratios of 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5, ultimate capacities are 337kN, 235kN and 195kN, respectively. Transitioning from 1.5 to 2.0 results in a 30% decrease in capacity, a reduction of 102kN. Moving from 2.0 to 2.5 sees a 17% decrease, with a loss of 40KN in capacity. A shear capacity formula, derived from modified compression field theory and considering concrete shear strength, stirrups and aggregate interlocking force, was validated through finite element modeling. Additionally, models with shear ratios of 1 and 3 were created to observe crack propagation patterns.

For GPC beams with shear-span ratios of 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5, ultimate capacities of 337KN, 235KN and 195KN are achieved, respectively. A reduction in capacity of 102KN occurs when transitioning from 1.5 to 2.0 and a decrease of 40KN is observed when moving from 2.0 to 2.5. The average test-to-theory ratio, at 1.015 with a variance of 0.001, demonstrates strong agreement. ABAQUS models beams with ratios ranging from 1.0 to 3.0, revealing crack trends indicative of reduced crack angles with higher ratios. The failure mode observed in the models aligns with experimental results.

This article provides a reference for the shear bearing capacity formula of geopolymer reinforced concrete (GRC) beams, addressing the limited research in this area. Additionally, an exponential model incorporating the shear-span ratio as a variable was employed to calculate the shear capacity, based on previous studies. Moreover, the analysis of shear capacity results integrated literature from prior research. By fitting previous experimental data to the proposed formula, the accuracy of this study's derived formula was further validated, with theoretical values aligning well with experimental results. Additionally, guidance is offered for utilizing ABAQUS in simulating the failure process of GRC beams.

The main goal of this paper is to study empirically the importance of experience of top managers and firms for export performance, having controlled for a number of firm characteristics.

The study is based on the probit model applied to the 2020 edition of the BEEPS firm level survey. The authors analyze firms in 15 EU member and 15 non-member countries.

The results indicate that firm experience can increase the probability of direct exporting, but is not significant for indirect exporting. The results also support the importance of interaction between experience of managers and experience of firms. The authors conclude that only the combination of managerial and firm experience can have a positive and significant effect for direct exporting. This relationship is more pronounced in the case of EU members.

The main limitations of our approach are related to data constraints. These include availability of only cross-sectional data and the limited number of individual characteristics of managers.

The importance of experience for exporting suggests that firms can break into foreign markets by hiring more experienced managers.

Post-communist countries can improve their export performance by hiring more experienced managers that would stimulate direct exports. Moreover, they can also export indirectly through intermediaries.

In contrast to previous studies, the authors used a model proposed by Jørgensen and Schroder (2008) in which the authors endogenized the costs of exporting by linking them to firm and managerial experience. Then, the authors validated empirically the importance of experience for firm export performance, having controlled for the set of individual firm characteristics.