If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this conceptual paper is to illuminate the problems that are associated with defining and identifying talent and to discuss the development of talent as a contributor to employability. Design/methodology/approach -The world of work is characterised by new and rapidly changing demands. Talent management has recently been the target of increasing interest and is considered to be a method by which organisations can meet the demands that are associated with increased complexity. Previous studies have often focused on the management of talent, but the issue of what exactly should be managed has generally been neglected. In this paper, the authors focus on discussing the substance of talent and the problems associated with identifying talent by using the following closely related concepts: employability, knowledge, and competence. Findings -Employability is central to employee performance and organisational success. Individual employability includes general meta-competence and context-bound competence that is related to a specific profession and organisation. The concept of employability is wider than that of talent, but the possession of talent is critical to being employable. In this paper, the authors suggest a model in which talent includes individual, institutional, and organisational-social dimensions. Practical implications -The illumination of different meanings of talent management and the substance of talent is crucial to the practical implication of central human resource development practices, such as training and development. Originality/value -The paper shows that clarification of the conceptual boundaries and the presentation of a typology that is relevant to the understanding of talent are central to the creation of valid talent management systems that aim to define and develop talent.

Purpose -Employability includes the ability to find employment and remain employed. Employability includes both hard and soft skills, including formal and actual competence, interpersonal skills, and personal characteristics. This paper aims to focus on illuminating perceptions engineering graduates have regarding employability. More specifically, the aim is to explore how engineering graduates perceive, invest in, manage, and develop their employability. Design/methodology/approach -The study highlighted in the paper draws on a longitudinal qualitative study and the empirical data include recurrent interviews with 20 recent graduates from Master's level engineering programs in information technology. Findings -The results of the paper indicate that hard formal and technical vocational skills are considered to be of declining importance. Generally, these skills are considered less important in relation to one's individual employability compared to different forms of soft skills and personal attributes. The meaning of employability is typically viewed relationally and contextually and is associated with the specific place in which one works. The responsibility for managing and developing one's employability lies with each individual. Practical implications -The results have practical implications for higher education and engineering curriculum design related to the enhancement of graduate employability. Originality/value -The results of the paper indicate that engineering graduates have educational expectations that are not entirely consistent with current university practices. The study respondents indicated that the educational program should focus less on the substantive content of the engineering curriculum, and instead focus more on generalist competence and soft employability skills, including interpersonal skills.

BackgroundIn managing a life with coronary heart disease and the possibility of planning and following a rehabilitation plan, patients’ empowerment and self-efficacy are considered important. However, currently there is limited data on levels of empowerment among patients with coronary heart disease, and demographic and clinical characteristics associated with patient empowerment are not known.The purpose of this study was to assess the level of patient empowerment and general self-efficacy in patients six to 12 months after the cardiac event. We also aimed to explore the relationship between patient empowerment, general self-efficacy and other related factors such as quality of life and demographic variables.MethodsA sample of 157 cardiac patients (78% male; age 68 ± 8.5 years) was recruited from a Swedish hospital. Patient empowerment was assessed using the SWE-CES-10. Additional data was collected on general self-efficacy and well-being (EQ5D and Ladder of Life). Demographic and clinical variables were collected from medical records and interviews.ResultsThe mean levels of patient empowerment and general self-efficacy on a 0–4 scale were 3.69 (±0.54) and 3.13 (±0.52) respectively, and the relationship between patient empowerment and general self-efficacy was weak (r = 0.38). In a simple linear regression, patient empowerment and general self-efficacy were significantly correlated with marital status, current self-rated health and future well-being. Multiple linear regressions on patient empowerment (Model 1) and general self-efficacy (Model 2) showed an independent significant association between patient empowerment and current self-rated health. General self-efficacy was not independently associated with any of the variables.ConclusionsPatients with a diagnosis of coronary heart disease reported high levels of empowerment and general self-efficacy at six to 12 months after the event. Clinical and demographic variables were not independently associated with empowerment or low general self-efficacy. Patient empowerment and general self-efficacy were not mutually interchangeable, and therefore both need to be measured when planning for secondary prevention in primary health care.Trial registrationNCT01462799.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12875-018-0749-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundAtrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with substantial morbidity, in particular stroke. Despite good evidence for the reduction of stroke risk with anticoagulant therapy, there remains significant undertreatment. The main aim of the current study was to investigate whether a clinical decision support tool (CDS) for stroke prevention integrated in the electronic health record could improve adherence to guidelines for stroke prevention in patients with AF.Methods and findingsWe conducted a cluster-randomized trial where all 43 primary care clinics in the county of Östergötland, Sweden (population 444,347), were randomized to be part of the CDS intervention or to serve as controls. The CDS produced an alert for physicians responsible for patients with AF and at increased risk for thromboembolism (according to the CHA2DS2-VASc algorithm) without anticoagulant therapy. The primary endpoint was adherence to guidelines after 1 year. After randomization, there were 22 and 21 primary care clinics in the CDS and control groups, respectively. There were no significant differences in baseline adherence to guidelines regarding anticoagulant therapy between the 2 groups (CDS group 70.3% [5,186/7,370; 95% CI 62.9%–77.7%], control group 70.0% [4,187/6,009; 95% CI 60.4%–79.6%], p = 0.83). After 12 months, analysis with linear regression with adjustment for primary care clinic size and adherence to guidelines at baseline revealed a significant increase in guideline adherence in the CDS (73.0%, 95% CI 64.6%–81.4%) versus the control group (71.2%, 95% CI 60.8%–81.6%, p = 0.013, with a treatment effect estimate of 0.016 [95% CI 0.003–0.028]; number of patients with AF included in the final analysis 8,292 and 6,508 in the CDS and control group, respectively). Over the study period, there was no difference in the incidence of stroke, transient ischemic attack, or systemic thromboembolism in the CDS group versus the control group (49 [95% CI 43–55] per 1,000 patients with AF in the CDS group compared to 47 [95% CI 39–55] per 1,000 patients with AF in the control group, p = 0.64). Regarding safety, the CDS group had a lower incidence of significant bleeding, with events in 12 (95% CI 9–15) per 1,000 patients with AF compared to 16 (95% CI 12–20) per 1,000 patients with AF in the control group (p = 0.04). Limitations of the study design include that the analysis was carried out in a catchment area with a high baseline adherence rate, and issues regarding reproducibility to other regions.ConclusionsThe present study demonstrates that a CDS can increase guideline adherence for anticoagulant therapy in patients with AF. Even though the observed difference was small, this is the first randomized study to our knowledge indicating beneficial effects with a CDS in patients with AF.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02635685

This article draws on a longitudinal qualitative study of graduate transitions from higher education programmes to the world of work. In the study, 23 physicians and 20 master's level engineers in information technology, recently graduated from four different universities in Sweden, were interviewed. The aim of this article is to explore the graduates' perceptions of the function and impact of professional education in relation to professional practice. In the case of medicine, the educational and professional competence bases overlap significantly, and the professional education programme is viewed as a direct vocational preparation. However, the physicians argue that the transition to the workplace is associated with a need to reprioritise knowledge. The engineers consider the educational and professional competence bases to be only loosely coupled. Rather than focusing on the substance of the educational programme, the engineers consider the educational programme to constitute a broad foundation facilitating further learning and professional development in the workplace.