Knowledge Update

​Manila, April 25 (IANS) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) operations exceeded the $30 billion mark for the first time in its 50-year history as regional demand for development finance and knowledge continues to grow, a report said on Tuesday.

Birmingham, April 25 (IANS) Higher level of autonomy at workplace has a positive effect on employees' well-being and gives them job satisfaction, according to a research.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham Business School examined the changes in reported well-being relative to levels of autonomy using two separate years of data for 20,000 employees from the Understanding Society survey.

The research, published in the journal Work and Occupations, found that levels of autonomy differed considerably between occupations and by gender.

Those working in management reported the highest levels of autonomy in their work, with 90 per cent reporting "some" or "a lot" of autonomy in the workplace.

Professionals report much less autonomy, particularly over the pace of work and over their working hours, according to the survey. 

For other employees -- 40-50 per cent of those surveyed -- experienced much lower autonomy while around half of lower-skilled employees experience no autonomy over working hours at all.

Dr Daniel Wheatley at the University of Birmingham Business School said: "Greater levels of control over work tasks and schedule have the potential to generate significant benefits for the employee, which was found to be evident in the levels of reported well-being."

"The positive effects associated with informal flexibility and working at home, offer further support to the suggestion that schedule control is highly valued and important to employees 'enjoying' work," he said.

The study found "compelling" evidence to suggest that men and women were affected in different ways by the type of autonomy they experienced.

For women, flexibility over the timing and location of their work appeared to be more beneficial allowing them to balance other tasks such as family commitments.

Dr Wheatley added: "The manner of work and control over work schedule was found to be more relevant to the well-being of female employees."

"Flexibility in work location, specifically homeworking, benefitted women with caring responsibilities allowing them to better manage paid work alongside the household," he said.

Men were found to be more impacted by job tasks, pace of work and task order.

The research also highlighted that despite the reported increased levels of well-being, in many cases managers remain unwilling to offer employees greater levels of autonomy and the associated benefits.

Washington, April 24 (IANS) The World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) here to strengthen cooperation between the two institutions, officials said.

Beijing, April 24 (IANS) Chinese lawmakers on Monday began reviewing a draft amendment to the Standardisation Law, as the country strives to achieve quality-based development.

​London, April 24 (IANS) A consortium of British companies on Monday unveiled a plan to test driverless cars on UK roads and motorways in 2019, the media reported.

The Driven consortium led by Oxbotica, which makes software for driverless vehicles, also plans to try out a fleet of autonomous vehicles between London and Oxford, the BBC reported.

The cars will communicate with one another about any hazards and should operate with almost full autonomy -- but will have a human on board as well.

Previous tests of driverless vehicles in the UK have mainly taken place at slow speeds and not on public roads.

"We're moving from the singleton autonomous vehicle to fleets of autonomous vehicles -- and what's interesting is what data the vehicles share with one another, when, and why," the BBC quoted founder Paul Newman, a professor from Oxford University, as saying. 

The project is backed by a government grant of 8.6 million pounds ($11 million) and involves an insurance company which will assess the risks involved at each stage of the journey.

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson breaks US spaceflight record

​Washington, April 23 (IANS) The Trump administration is pursuing over 3 per cent economic growth with the support of tax reforms and regulatory relief, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said.

​New York, April 23 (IANS) Google has introduced the first code for a new feature called 'Copyless Paste' in its Chrome app running on Android OS that will take data from Chrome usage and use that to improve the experience in other apps.

​Vancouver, April 23 (IANS) With Indians reporting high rate of urinary tract infections, the world's top cranberry producer Ocean Spray is eying the huge Indian market for its products.

​New York, April 23 (IANS) Researchers have found that 10 minutes of walking up and down stairs at a regular pace is more likely to make you feel energised than ingesting 50 milligrams of caffeine -- about the equivalent to the amount in a can of soda. "We found, in both the caffeine and the placebo conditions, that there was not much change in how they felt," said study co-author Patrick J. O'Connor, Professor at University of Georgia in the US. "But with exercise they did feel more energetic and vigorous. It was a temporary feeling, felt immediately after the exercise, but with the 50 milligrams of caffeine, we didn't get as big an effect," O'Connor said. The study, published in the journal Physiology and Behavior, aimed to simulate the hurdles faced in a typical office setting, where workers spend hours sitting and staring at computer screens and do not have time for a longer bout of exercise during the day. For the study, participants on separate days either ingested capsules containing caffeine or a placebo, or spent 10 minutes walking up and down stairs -- about 30 floors total -- at a low-intensity pace. O'Connor wanted to compare an exercise that could be achieved by people in an office setting, where they have access to stairs and a little time to be active, but not enough time to change into workout gear, shower and change back into work clothes. "And a lot of people working in office buildings have access to stairs, so it's an option to keep some fitness while taking a short break from work," O'Connor said. Study participants were female college students who described themselves as chronically sleep deprived - getting less than 6 and half hours per night. To test the effects of caffeine versus the exercise, each group took some verbal and computer-based tests to gauge how they felt and how well they performed certain cognitive tasks. Neither caffeine nor exercise caused large improvements in attention or memory, but stair walking was associated with a small increase in motivation for work.