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The difference between generations can be observed in multiple perspectives of value system, lifestyle and consumer behaviour. This is similar in terms of preferences for choosing workplaces. In our research, we focus on the Z generation, which is garnering more and more importance from the perspective of recruitment, in order to understand the factors they take into consideration when choosing among career paths, the solutions they think are successful for them when planning their career path, and the supporting of their personal development. In the qualitative phase of the research, we conducted mini focus groups (30 group interviews), while our quantitative phase encompassed standardised questionnaires (filled out by 1200 participants). This study introduces the partial results of these project phases.

A new method, a monoclonal antibody-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) recognizing a secreted, invasion plasmid-coded protein antigen (IpaC), was used to identify enteroinvasive Escherichia coli and Shigella strains among colonies from 859 cultures of fecal samples from children in Kuwait. A total of 33.8% of the samples were diarrheal. By the immunoassay, enteroinvasive E. coli strains were identified from two diarrheal samples but from none of the samples from children without diarrhea. These strains were fully virulent and belonged to serogroup O28ac. In addition, 26 Shigella strains were also recognized by the ELISA, while only 23 were isolated by routine biotyping and serotyping. For two diarrheal patients, Shigella was identified by culture only. The study showed that the IpaC-specific immunoassay is a simple and useful tool for identifying enteroinvasive strains. Furthermore, by reporting the first enteroinvasive E. coli isolates from Kuwait, the study indicates the presence of this group of pathogens as a potential source of diarrhea in the region.