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Although the impact of human capital on productivity has long been discussed in prior studies, empirical evidence for African firms remains limited. The existing few studies have focussed on one type of human capital in isolation and failed to explore the distinct role of different types of human capital on productivity. The aim of this study is to examine the extent to which various typologies of human capital – schooling, on-the-job training (OJT) and slack time –, both in isolation and as a combination, contribute to the productivity of African firms.

To this end, a cross-sectional firm-level data set from 13 African countries was used. To unravel the casual relationship, propensity score matching (PSM) and multinomial endogenous switching treatment regression (MESTR) techniques were employed.

Results indicate that all typologies of human capital – schooling, slack time and OJT – have a significant and positive impact on firms' productivity. The findings of the study further point out that the highest payoff, in terms of increased productivity, is achieved when various typologies of human capital are used in combination, rather than in isolation, in the production process.

The policy implications are that productivity of African firms can be improved by increasing the general level of schooling; encouraging firm-sponsored OJT; and giving employees time to develop new ideas.

The present study provides important insights into the distinct role of different types of human capital on productivity. In addition, it provides empirical evidence for a region where empirical evidence is scant.

Since last few years, cold chain management (CCM) has gained growing interest among practitioners, policymakers, researchers and academicians. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review focused on food cold chain management (FCCM) over the last 16 years to identify state of the art in the literature, highlight research gaps and define appropriate research questions (RQs) for future research.

The paper analyzes the content of 89 research articles published on the topic of food cold chain (FCC) from 2001 to 2016 within different journals. The Scopus and Web of Science databases were taken into consideration to shortlist research articles. Henceforth, the authors scrutinized the FCC industry to offer some effective strategies to tackle the chain complexities. The authors also draw interwoven between FCC infrastructure, integration, stakeholders’ interest, value addition, partners’ performance and overall food cold chain performance (FCCP) into a conceptual framework.

This paper identifies four research gaps in the literature of FCC concerning the most popular approaches used for the FCCP measurement, the performance measurement metrics, the factors which negatively affect the FCCP and the main sustainability issues in FCC.

This study identifies RQs which represent possible areas of investigation to improve the body of the FCCP evaluation and management. Furthermore, the FCC practitioners, food authorities and researchers might find this review useful, as it draws a clear picture of research in the respective domain.

This chapter will strive to broaden the debate about school dropouts with a holistic analysis of two interviews applying the ‘Equalities Literacy Theory (EQL)’ as an analytical framework. We also use other theories and concepts such as Pierre Bourdieu's theory of fields and capitals, Etienne Wenger's concept of practice communities and McDermott's terms of contexts. In the chapter, we will meet Stine and Marlene, two young Danish women, both from close-knit families. ¹ Bullying and social exclusion became the topics for both interviews as each of the informants narrate how it impacted them back then and how it has influenced their lives. We will use these two narratives to emphasise the importance of seeing vulnerability, dropout and marginalisation as situated in a context-based perspective.

This chapter focuses on the educational potential of the arts for at-risk students in educational contexts. The aim is to understand how arts are experienced by students who are struggling for various reasons, and to highlight the arts' role in education. The idea is based on international studies from the last decades, where arts are promoted as sources to strengthen motivation, academic achievement and engagement among students who are at risk for school failure. Here, three boys who have struggled throughout their educational journey are examined due to their general interest in different art forms such as music and art (paintings, drawings, crafts, etc.). Through a qualitative, indirect interview technique, the boys have been approached with the aim of gathering life stories and understanding the contexts that surround them. The boys' stories convey that learning through music and art differs from other experiences at school and promotes positive emotions. Furthermore, the discussion focuses on the emotional and perceptual aspects of learning through arts, and suggests that curriculums emphasizing arts might strengthen at-risk students' chances for educational completion.

Since more than 450 million people worldwide suffer from mental disorders, interventions that promote mental health have been called for. Mindfulness-based coping (MBC) is an intervention based on coping skills from cognitive behavioral therapy integrating mindfulness practices. The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the MBC program for psychiatric outpatients. The study employed a mixed research method with a qualitative approach using semi-structured patient interviews and clinical assessments from patients' therapists and a quantitative approach using instruments measuring mindful coping, mental ill health, and life satisfaction. The study sample included 38 psychiatric outpatients from a district psychiatric outpatient service in Norway. Results suggested that although use of the different skills varied, participants had a positive experience with the program and positive changes in psychological functioning were observed. Findings provide knowledge regarding the design of interventions integrating mindfulness to promote more adequate psychological coping.

This paper explores and elaborates on emotions and capability in organizations through the phenomenon of care. Drawing upon multi-disciplinary theory, as well as empirical material from a case study in the hotel industry (involving four organizations), a theoretical framework is offered for understanding the multidimensional, dynamic, social relational nature and role of care in organizations. This is shown through the suggestion of a conceptual framework of four ideal types of practices in frontline work. In the practice of care, emotions are one of the vital parts in a larger whole. Regarding the role of care in organizations, it is suggested that what, and how, one cares for, are continually created, tested, negotiated and/or re-constructed. This paper suggests that the claims regarding care also provide implications for the study and understanding of emotions and capability in organizations.

The aim of this paper is to explore the evolving nature of the work of cabin crew in a Scandinavian carrier in three eras, drawing on theories of gender and emotional labour.

The paper draws on ethnographic data from fieldwork, interviews and documents.

From being a feminized and temporary occupation for young, upper- and middle-class women in the 1970s, the occupation became a full-time job and with greater diversity of cabin crew. Today there are signs of the job becoming a precarious and temporary one of demanding and devalorized work in a polarized and class-divided labour market. Changing circumstances impact on the emotional labour requirement and terms and conditions at work.

A limitation is that the research design was not initially longitudinal in the sense that the author does not have exactly the same kind of data from each era. The author has, however, been involved in this field for two decades, used multiple methods and interacted with different stakeholders and drew on a unique data material.

The development in aviation is contributing to new discriminatory practices, driving employee conditions downwards and changing the job demands. This development will have practical consequences for the lives and families of cabin crew.

The analysis illustrates how work ‘constructs' workers and contributes in creating jobs that are not sustainable for the employees. Intensification of work, insecurity and tougher working conditions also challenge key features in the Nordic model such as proper pay, decent work and a life-long employment. Much indicates that the profession is again becoming a temporary one of demanding work with poor working conditions in a polarized and class-divided labour market.

The research contributes to the literature on emotional labour, gender and the evolving nature of the work of cabin crew. The unique data material, the longitudinal aspect of the research and the focus on a single network carrier are good in charting changes over time.

The purpose of this paper is to explore two research questions: how do people with concurrent substance abuse and mental health disorders (concurrent conditions) experience and describe meaningful activities? And how do meaningful activities influence the recovery process?

This qualitative study uses an explorative and interpretive design in a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach. Transcribed interviews are analysed using a phenomenological-hermeneutic method for researching lived experience. The study was submitted to the Norwegian Center for Research Data where it was approved (Case No. 54661).

Structural analysis resulted in three overarching themes: achieving a positive identity through actions and feeling worthwhile; physically outside but inside the norms of society, and idleness, isolation, and obstacles on the road to recovery. Meaningful activities, considered a cornerstone in the recovery process, vary widely and are primarily described in social contexts, thereby confirming the significance of social aspects of recovery in addition to recovery as an individual journey. The findings also show that experiencing meaningful activities contributes to recovery capital and the development of recovery-promotive identities.

The study consisted of a small sample size, recruited at one location which served as a primary research limitation.

This paper provides insights for health care practitioners and health care decision makers regarding the importance of meaningful activities viewed through a recovery perspective.

Few studies to date have used a comprehensive approach to describe the influence of experiencing meaningful activities on the recovery process.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate an unexploited conceptual pragmatic sociological framework for analyses of action strategies among social assistance recipients, who are affected by contemporary politics of retrenchment.

Noting that existing literature on resistance and coping is mostly concerned with either collective public resistance or sub-public individualised coping strategies, the paper turns to theoretical insights from newer French pragmatic sociologist Laurent Thévenot, enabling the researcher to dissolve the stark boundaries between private/public and coping/resistance. The use of the concepts is demonstrated through a case study analysis of the various actions of Danish social assistance recipients, who were recently affected by a harsh workfare initiative.

The empirical demonstration points to a plurality of individualised strategies of action, taken on by the affected social assistance recipients. Thereby it points to some advantages of the proposed framework, as it makes visible the versatility of the contemporary “welfare client”, as he or she dynamically changes the scope of action and moves between the private and the public and between coping and resistance.

The paper applies hitherto unexploited concepts from French pragmatic sociology to strategies of action among welfare recipients in times of welfare retrenchment.

A relationship between personality and incident/emergency command ability is often assumed to exist, yet little research has explicitly examined such a relationship. Good leaders in emergencies are expected to be calm, decisive under pressure and confident in action. Such qualities, by their very nature, are difficult to gauge in standard selection procedures. This presents organizations with the problem of how to determine whether someone possesses the right personal qualities and skills for a command position. Investigates the potential contribution of a personality questionnaire to the prediction of command and crisis management ability of offshore installation managers (OIM). In an emergency, they are expected to take command and ensure the safety of offshore personnel, which may include their safe evacuation. A total of 154 OIMs completed the Occupational Personality Questionnaire Concept 5.2, of whom 93 were rated by trainers on their ability to deal with a simulated offshore emergency. Discusses correlations of their personality scores with performance ratings and revealed few significant results and the difficulties of finding a test of emergency command ability.