Purpose The purpose of this integrative literature review was three-fold: to explore the phenomenon of women’s career interruptions as revealed by publications in the past two decades, to propose a new career decision tree model (CDTM) and to outline an agenda for future research. Design/methodology/approach The authors adopted the integrative literature review approach proposed by Torraco (2005, 2016) and used a mind mapping application called MindMeister to synthesize 64 identified articles. Findings The proposed CDTM can assist those who are interested in exploring individuals’ career decisions to think systematically about career influencers at different levels. Originality/value The CDTM is significantly different from existing career models and theories in that it explains women’s career interruptions in a context-sensitive manner. This model can assist human resource development professionals in analyzing the influencers of women’s career decisions and tackling individual problems level by level.

Purpose Employment mismatch is a significant problem in many countries. However, little conceptualization research has been conducted on employment mismatch from a social justice perspective. The purpose of this study is to shed light on social justice issues that have been obscured in the human resource development (HRD) literature through the lens of the distributive justice theory. Design/methodology/approach This study first reviews the literature to identify the gaps in employment mismatch research by reviewing three relevant bodies of literature: education mismatch, immigrant mismatch and disability mismatch. It then provides a new conceptualization of employment mismatch by examining employment mismatch through the lens of Rawls’ (1971) distributive justice theory. Findings The author proposed a framework of healthy employment relations using the constructs of social system design, moral guidance, education reform and individual development. Implications were proposed for research and practice. Originality/value The new framework of healthy employment approaches employment mismatch from four aspects embraced by the distributive justice theory. This model can assist HRD professionals and policymakers in responding to the employment mismatch of different populations.

The maternal-fetal immune disorder is considered to be an important factor of preterm birth (PTB); however, the underlying mechanism is still not fully understood. This study was designed to explore the innate and adaptive immune features in the decidua during term and preterm labor. Women delivered at term or preterm were classified into four groups: term not in labor (TNL, N=19), term in labor (TL, N=17), preterm not in labor (PNL, N=10), and preterm in labor (PIL, N=10). Decidua basalis and parietalis were collected and analyzed for macrophage subtypes (M1 and M2) as well as T helper 1 (Th1), Th2, Th17 and regulatory T (Treg) cells by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. Our results demonstrated significantly decreased frequencies of M2 cells and elevated M1/M2 ratio in the PIL group compared to that in the PNL group in both decidua basalis and parietalis, whereas no significant differences were found between the above two groups in both sites in terms of the polarization status of Th cells. On the contrary, macrophage subsets were comparable in the TL and TNL groups, whereas elevated Th1 percentages and Th1/Th2 ratio were observed in TL women compared to that in TNL women in the decidua. Interestingly, although the frequencies and ratios of Th17 and Treg were comparable among the four groups, the Th17/Treg ratios of these groups were significantly increased in decidua basalis than that in decidua parietalis. Collectively, the M1/M2 imbalance is associated with the breakdown of maternal-fetal immune tolerance during PTB, whereas the aberrant Th1/Th2 profile plays an important role in immune disorder during term labor. Moreover, Th17/Treg deviation is more remarkable in decidua basalis than in decidua parietalis.

Purpose The current review sought to bring light to the issue of an underexplored career phenomenon – career indecision. Career indecision is a significant developmental stage in one’s career life and has been a prominent topic in vocational psychology research in the past decades. However, it has received scant scholarly attention in the human resource development (HRD) field. Besides, the career indecision literature, in general, is lacking theoretical refinement and analytical review. The present study aims to stimulate HRD scholars’ interests by providing an introductory context for understanding the richness and potentialities of researching career indecision in the HRD area. Design/methodology/approach To address the gap, the author conducted an integrative review (Torraco, 2005, 2016) of 60 peer-reviewed articles and synthesized the existing knowledge of career indecision. More importantly, antecedent and outcome factors associated with career indecision were identified and analyzed. Findings A nomological network about career indecision was provided. Besides, the results of the integrative review revealed several omissions in the career indecision literature. Building upon that, implications for HRD research and practice are presented and discussed. Originality/value As an initial attempt to synthesize career indecision literature, this study sought to stimulate HRD professionals’ interest in examining this underexplored career phenomenon.

Purpose Building on social exchange theory and selection, optimization and compensation theory, this study aims to examine a moderated curvilinear relationship between servant leadership (SL) and work-family conflict (WFC). Design/methodology/approach Participants were 329 female workers recruited from a Chinese small business in the service Industry. A three-step hierarchical regression was conducted to examine the relationships among the variables and the incremental contribution of SL and age and the squared term of SL. Findings Study results confirmed a curvilinear relationship between SL and WFC and the moderating effect of age. When younger female employees perceived a moderate range of SL from their supervisors, they reported higher WFC compared to the low or high level of perceived SL. On the contrary, senior female employees reported a lower level of WFC when they perceived a moderate level of SL than when they perceived very low or high levels. Originality/value SL research has experienced a period of exponential growth in the past decade. This study advanced the field of leadership by arguing that SL perceived by female employees is curvilinearly related to WFC and the curvilinear relationship is moderated by age.