University of Greenwich

About: University of Greenwich is a education organization based out in London, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 3749 authors who have published 9958 publications receiving 234340 citations.

Responding to a major global crisis: The effects of hotel safety leadership on employee safety behavior during COVID-19

Abstract: Purpose: The main purpose of this research was to examine the effect of hotel safety leadership on employee safety behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the mediation role of belief restoration and the moderation role of perceived risk between safety leadership and behavior were also investigated. Design/methodology/approach: The COVID-19 outbreak served as the background for a questionnaire survey of 23 hotels in China with 1,594 valid responses being received. The statistical analysis techniques used were exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, structural equation modeling, and hierarchical regression. Findings: The results showed that: (1) hotel safety leadership positively affected employee safety behavior (compliance, participation and adaptation); (2) belief restoration partially mediated the influence of safety leadership on safety behavior; and (3) perceived risk negatively moderated the direct effect as well as the mediation effect of “safety leadership - belief restoration - safety behavior”. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation was that the questionnaires were collected with the same measurement system within a certain period of time (cross-sectional design). And future research should test and expand this conceptual model in different crises, business fields, theoretical orientation, and cultural backgrounds. Practical implications: Hotels should develop management strategies based on safety leadership and motivate and promote employee safety behavior from the four aspects of safety coaching, care, motivation, and control. Originality/value: This investigation expanded the research on the effectiveness of safety leadership and especially with respect to safety in the hospitality industry during a major global crisis. Also, the research conceptual model and variables contained therein are original contributions to the hospitality research literature.

Mathematical notation in formal specification: too difficult for the masses?

Abstract: The phrase "not much mathematics required" can imply a variety of skill levels. When this phrase is applied to computer scientists, software engineers, and clients in the area of formal specification, the word "much" can be widely misinterpreted with disastrous consequences. A small experiment in reading specifications revealed that students already trained in discrete mathematics and the specification notation performed very poorly; much worse than could reasonably be expected if formal methods proponents are to be believed.

African ancestry of New World, Bemisia tabaci -whitefly species

Abstract: Bemisia tabaci whitefly species are some of the world’s most devastating agricultural pests and plant-virus disease vectors. Elucidation of the phylogenetic relationships in the group is the basis for understanding their evolution, biogeography, gene-functions and development of novel control technologies. We report here the discovery of five new Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) B. tabaci putative species, using the partial mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 gene: SSA9, SSA10, SSA11, SSA12 and SSA13. Two of them, SSA10 and SSA11 clustered with the New World species and shared 84.8‒86.5% sequence identities. SSA10 and SSA11 provide new evidence for a close evolutionary link between the Old and New World species. Re-analysis of the evolutionary history of B. tabaci species group indicates that the new African species (SSA10 and SSA11) diverged from the New World clade c. 25 million years ago. The new putative species enable us to: (i) re-evaluate current models of B. tabaci evolution, (ii) recognise increased diversity within this cryptic species group and (iii) re-estimate divergence dates in evolutionary time.