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The prevalence of personal connections in China, or guanxi, constitutes an institution that governs how people exchange favors. This study explores the effects of the guanxi institution on interfirm relational ties, information sharing, and the acquisition of skills across firms. According to social network theory, the marginal benefit of interfirm relational ties on information sharing should decrease with the strength of ties; according to information overload theory, information sharing should have an inverted U‐shaped effect on the acquisition of skills. Institutional theory further suggests that the links across these three constructs are subject to the influence of the guanxi institution. With data collected from 338 manufacturing companies, this study shows that the links differ across environments that have strong versus weak guanxi institutions. A strong guanxi institution generally promotes information sharing and skill acquisition, but it also has a dark side.

The report aims to gain a better understanding of youth employment outcomes in the hope of crafting more sound and responsive policies. The first part of this study provides an analysis of how youth spend their time and the determinants of this time use. The second part of the study provides an overview and analysis of the technical and vocational education and training sector. It also provides recommendations on how the sector can be made more responsive to the needs of youth in the light of the findings of the first part of the study.

Keywords: academic discipline, image of an object, formation, acquisition of skills, drawing, spatial object, graphic education, design document, modern graphic package, automatic design system, graphic information, pencil and paper technology, computer literacy, graphic package KOMPAS 3D, descriptive geometry , graphics engineering, graphic construction. [...]if in 2007, 2008, before the implementation of the project, schoolchildren from only four educational institutions in Aut°CAD took part in the competition, then in 2009 - from two educational institutions in Aut°CAD and from seven schools, lyceums and gymnasiums, then in now there are also secondary schools. [...]it can be assumed that in the coming years, the possession of the KOMPAS 3D graphics package by applicants of technical universities will become a fairly widespread phenomenon. [...]students' understanding and adherence to algorithms for solving positional and metric problems of descriptive geometry ceases to be a determining factor in the correctness of the task, but on the contrary, it can cause uncertainty in understanding the subject. In systems such as SolidWorks and KOMPAS 3D, a flat drawing and a solid part are various graphic documents that can be associated associatively. [...]the information environment of these systems is very convenient for teaching descriptive geometry.

This book analyzes skills demand and supply in Sri Lanka and scrutinizes how skills are formed, the factors shaping skills demand, and the responsiveness of the system. Sri Lanka has made strong progress in economic growth and poverty reduction. Economic growth and structural changes in the economy, however, make skills development imperative as Sri Lanka implements its the Mahinda Chintana plan to become a regional hub in strategic economic areas. Yet, skills shortages and mismatches are widespread, and firms with undereducated employees and a shortage of skilled labor are less productive. This book proposes an effective skills development system to help diversify the country's economy, improve its labor productivity and competitiveness, offer the country the flexibility to compete effectively in the global economy, and further reduce poverty in the country. After the book's introduction to the Mahinda Chintana plan, chapter two describes the general education and training system in Sri Lanka, especially the TVET sector. Chapter three examines the main drivers of skills demand and skills mismatches and gaps in Sri Lanka. Chapter four studies the relationship between education, training, and labor market outcomes, including skills already available in the workforce. Chapters five and six analyze factors affecting the skills supply system, such as cost, financing, and governance and also private sector provision. Chapter seven briefly reviews firm-based training in Sri Lanka based on evidence from the employer survey. Chapter eight assesses workforce development policies in Sri Lanka based on the World Bank's Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) framework. Finally, chapter nine provides the summary of main findings and outlines possibilities for the way forward in skills development in Sri Lanka. Please note that Figure 5.2 in the book is incorrect, and should be replaced by the corresponding figure in volume 2 of this report.

Purpose To effectively develop leaders, human resources and career development professionals need an effective method of determining leadership skill levels. For example, sending a novice leader to training meant for experts would likely be ineffective and frustrating for both the instructor and individual. Promoting a novice leader to a position requiring expert leadership skills could be disastrous. The purpose of this study was to determine if the Dreyfus (2004) model of skills acquisition could be applied to general leadership. Design/methodology/approach A total of 124 surveys were collected from five employers. Participants self-assessed their leadership skill level from novice to expert using Dreyfus level descriptions in 18 leadership self-efficacy dimensions identified by Anderson, Krajewski, Goffin and Jackson (2008). For comparison, leadership self-efficacy (LSE) was also measured with a self-assessment of proficiency in 88 specific leadership and management behaviors also identified in the Anderson et al. (2008) study. Findings Pearson correlation coefficient computations between total LSE and average Dreyfus level dimensions reported a strong positive correlation [r (124) = 0.644, p < 0.001] between total leadership self-efficacy and the average participant Dreyfus level self-assessments in each of the 18 leadership self-efficacy dimensions. Of the 18 LSE dimensions participants assessed their skill levels, 4 were found to be significant predictors of LSE [F (4,119) = 67.6887, p < 0.001] with an R2 = 0.482. Predicted leadership self-efficacy is equal to 187.14 + 16.327 (Project Credibility) + 8.046 (Mentor) + 6.971 (Build) + 9.342 (Solve). Research limitations/implications The majority of the individuals in the sample in this research study were from one employer, a local college (n = 88). The entire sample was from one small, somewhat isolated community. The majority of this sample was female (n = 81, 65 per cent) and white (n = 118, 95.2 per cent). A larger and more diverse sample may provide differing results. It also possible that other factors affected overall LSE, but using that score as a comparison, a clear correlation was shown between LSE and Dreyfus levels. Practical implications Based on the results of this study an individual who self-categorizes his or her leadership skill as novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient or expert is likely correct. Should the findings of this study prove generalizable, an individual’s perceived leadership skill level could be closely approximated with a simple, four-item instrument. Originality/value The concept of leadership levels has appeared in many studies and popular press publications. However, quantifying leadership skill levels or determining an individual’s leadership level has not been often addressed. This study attempts to apply a skills acquisition model and apply it to general leadership. The results appear to show that leadership levels can be quantified and accurately self-determined. This study also attempted to validate a leadership self-efficacy model.

There is growing interest, worldwide, in the link between education systems and the production of skills that are valued in the labor market. With growth stagnating and unemployment soaring in much of the world, educators are being asked to focus more on producing skills that feed into labor productivity and support the sustainable growth of employment and incomes. This timely volume contributes important new findings on the dynamics of education systems and labor market outcomes in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). It analyzes an important recent shift in labor market trends in LAC: the first decade of the 21st century has witnessed a marked decline in the earnings premia for university and secondary education. This, in turn, is contributing to reduced income inequality across the region. The recent trend contrasts with the sharp rise in tertiary earnings premia that was observed in the 1990s and that helped to reinforce high levels of income inequality in the region at that time. The authors recommend that, having achieved very large increases in secondary and tertiary enrollment, the region should now focus on improving the quality of its education systems and the pertinence of education curricula for the needs of the labor market. At age 15, the learning achievement of the average Latin American student still lags two years behind his or her Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) contemporary. The study opens up an important agenda for future research. While the evidence presented on the trends in education earnings premia is clear, the conclusions about the causes and significance of those trends are largely based on suggestive evidence for a limited number of countries, and are not definitive because of data limitations. The findings call for further in-depth analysis of the nature of skill mismatches, to inform policies that can strengthen the region's future economic growth by enhancing the productivity and earnings potential of the workforce.

This book investigates trends in skills demand and supply over the past two decades for insights into ways to build (and use) the critical skills needed to sustain competitiveness of the Philippine economy. Part one of the book investigates trends in demand for skills in the country overall and by sectors, explores its possible determinants, and attempts to identify emerging skills gaps. Part two turns to the analysis of the supply of skills in the country with a focus on the ability of education and training to provide highly skilled labor, keeping workers' skills updated, and providing skills development opportunities for the unskilled. It explores employers' perceptions on the quality of institutions and provides detailed analysis of the main characteristics, outcomes, and challenges in four key (or growing) subsectors of the provision of skills in the country: higher education, postsecondary technical-vocational education, non-formal secondary education, and postemployment training. It concludes with a summary of policy recommendations.

Parenting decisions are among the most consequential choices that people make throughout their lives. Starting with the work of pioneers such as Gary Becker, economists have used the tool set of their discipline to understand what parents do and how parents' actions affect their children. In recent years, the literature on parenting within economics has increasingly leveraged findings and concepts from related disciplines that also deal with parent-child interactions. For example, economists have developed models to understand the choice among various parenting styles that were first explored in the developmental psychology literature and have estimated detailed empirical models of children's accumulation of cognitive and noncognitive skills in response to parental and other inputs. In this review, we survey the economic literature on parenting and point out promising directions for future research.

Working memory (WM) training has recently become a topic of intense interest and controversy. Although several recent studies have reported near- and far-transfer effects as a result of training WM-related skills, others have failed to show far transfer, suggesting that generalization effects are elusive. Also, many of the earlier intervention attempts have been criticized on methodological grounds. The present study resolves some of the methodological limitations of previous studies and also considers individual differences as potential explanations for the differing transfer effects across studies. We recruited intrinsically motivated participants and assessed their need for cognition (NFC; Cacioppo & Petty Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 42:116–131, 1982 ) and their implicit theories of intelligence (Dweck, 1999 ) prior to training. We assessed the efficacy of two WM interventions by comparing participants’ improvements on a battery of fluid intelligence tests against those of an active control group. We observed that transfer to a composite measure of fluid reasoning resulted from both WM interventions. In addition, we uncovered factors that contributed to training success, including motivation, need for cognition, preexisting ability, and implicit theories about intelligence.

The primary motor cortex (M1) is critical for movement execution, but its role in motor skill acquisition remains elusive. Here, we examine the role of M1 intracortical circuits during skill acquisition. Paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) paradigms of short-interval intracortical facilitation (SICF) and inhibition (SICI) were used to assess excitatory and inhibitory circuits, respectively. We hypothesised that intracortical facilitation and inhibition circuits in M1 would be modulated to support acquisition of a novel visuomotor skill. Twenty-two young, neurologically healthy adults trained with their nondominant hand on a skilled and non-skilled sequential visuomotor isometric finger abduction task. Electromyographic recordings were obtained from the nondominant first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle. Corticomotor excitability, SICF, and SICI were examined before, at the midway point, and after the 10-block motor training. SICI was assessed using adaptive threshold-hunting procedures. Task performance improved after the skilled, but not non-skilled, task training, which likely reflected the increase in movement speed during training. The amplitudes of late SICF peaks were modulated with skilled task training. There was no modulation of the early SICF peak, SICI, and corticomotor excitability with either task training. There was also no association between skill acquisition and SICF or SICI. The findings indicate that excitatory circuitries responsible for the generation of late SICF peaks, but not the early SICF peak, are modulated in motor skill acquisition for a sequential visuomotor isometric finger abduction task.