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Myra Hindley is typically described as an ‘icon of evil’. In the 1960s, Hindley and her boyfriend Ian Brady sexually tortured and murdered at least two girls and three boys, aged between 10 and 17 years, in the Manchester area of the UK. All except one were sexually assaulted. She has provoked a huge amount of public commentary for more than three and a half decades after her conviction. This chapter asks how Hindley's actions were understood and interpreted at the time. Central themes are the concept ‘evil’, sexual violence, pornography, permissive society and patriarchy, as refracted through gender and class.

In this chapter, the authors examined expatriates that self-initiate their international work for personal reasons and the factors that affect their departure from an organization. The authors conducted a systematic review of self-initiated expatriation (SIE) and its definitions in order to propose an integrated definition of SIE and model its nomological network. In addition, the authors construct a roadmap for future research directions in the SIE domain. Finally, using a qualitative research design, the authors studied the organizational practices designed to reduce SIE turnover in an exemplary multinational organization. Overall, our contributions are enhanced clarity of the SIE construct and the theorized practice of SIE retention.

This paper analyzes the influence of HR function on organizational performance through the effective deployment of high-performance work practices. Although researchers have examined the relationship between these constructs, extant literature demonstrates contradictory findings. Thus, building on contemporary strategic HRM literature this study expands previous frameworks adopting a system thinking perspective, namely the concept of maturity of HRM system.

It is a cross-sectional study, having collected primary data from 424 managers and employees working in 135 organizations. The research model and hypotheses were tested at unit level using structured equation modelling.

The results support a positive impact of the HR function on perceived organizational performance. Furthermore, demonstrating that the mediation through high-performance work practices is partial, supporting that the HR function has an incremental value over HR practices on organizational performance. Inspired by system thinking, this study tested an integrated model that combines the HRM system, HR function and organizational performance. Overall, it contributes to the literature by providing additional evidence to the influence of HR Function for organizational performance.

The data were collected using a questionnaire at a single point in time, and thus, not allowing cause-effect inferences.

The results provide guidance to organizational leaders interested in designing and implementing effective HRM systems and building successful HR departments.

This study advances the understanding of the mechanisms by which HR function, HR practices and HRM system interact to explain organizational performance. Furthermore, it suggests that organizational decision-makers to benefit the most from high-performance work practices should embedded them on mature HRM systems.

A chaotic home environment, marked by disorganization, noise and a lack of routine, has negative associations with language development, social competence and executive functioning. This study aims to investigate the mediating effect of chaotic homes on adaptive behaviors, or behaviors that allow independent functioning, in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to neurotypical (NT) children. Children with ASD have difficulties with adaptive functioning in their environment, and identifying factors in the home that may exacerbate these behaviors will help in understanding the larger family dynamics that may affect behavior.

In total, 251 primary caregivers completed questionnaires about their children’s adaptive behavior and the structure of the home environment.

The results of a mediation analysis found a significant indirect effect of ASD status leading to lower adaptive behaviors through home chaos. This suggests those with ASD experienced more household chaos than NT children, which influenced their lower adaptive behavior scores.

This research provides insights into the complex relationship between the home environment and child behavior in children with ASD.

In social work, as in other disciplines, activism receives mixed responses within the academy, in professional practice and for those who cling to unyielding professionalism. There is a gulf between those who favour research and practice neutrality and those striving for systemic change. The co-option of non-state actors into political discourses, policies and practices is increasingly normalised. Drawing on reflections, observations and campaign examples, this chapter discusses social work activism as resistance to racialised neoliberal politics. It highlights endeavours by civil society actors of conscience, devised to restore humanity at a time when national and international norms have severely ruptured. Two illustrative examples from Australia are used: ‘illegalised’ people seeking asylum and Islamophobia. Although dissent and disruption are hallmarks of critical social work, with social workers having the potential to position themselves as human rights defenders, this prospect is weakened through expectations in research, teaching and practice.

Emphasizing the increasing role of talent management (TM) as a global phenomenon and a source of sustainable competitive advantage for organizations, this study aims to present a scoping review of empirical literature on TM, examining the transition of TM from a phenomenon-driven to a theory-driven field.

Using a scoping review, this study analyzed 200 empirical studies published between 2010 and 2023 on TM.

The results indicate that TM is extensively studied in nationally operated, large, private, engineering-led organizations in Anglo-Saxon countries. The study highlights the necessity for more empirical studies and statistically robust evidence to establish the effectiveness of TM.

This review intends to provide a vision and direction for future researchers, guiding TM towards becoming a theory-driven field characterized by widely accepted theoretical frameworks and research designs.

The findings of this study may not be generalizable to other types of organizations or cultural contexts, as it primarily focused on large private engineering-led organizations in Anglo-Saxon countries.

This paper offers a comprehensive view of the definitions, contextualization, conceptualization, frameworks, practices, processes and under-explored areas of TM, which are essential for its development as a discipline.