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1 – 10 of 16Sandra van Eckert, Uta Gaidys and Colin R. Martin
Nursing staff display symptoms of psychological stress more frequently than members of other professions. The subjective experience of embitterment also takes on a greater…
Abstract
Purpose
Nursing staff display symptoms of psychological stress more frequently than members of other professions. The subjective experience of embitterment also takes on a greater significance. This paper seeks to determine if level of education has an impact on the degree of embitterment as a function of educational status.
Design/methodology/approach
A between subjects design was used with academic status as the independent variable and self‐report embitterment, using the German version of the Bern Embitterment Inventory, as the primary dependent variable. A random sample of 212 German nurses with academic and non‐academic education participated in the study.
Findings
The comparison between academic and non‐academic nursing staff revealed a statistically significant difference indicating that an academic education has a positive effect on the subjective perception of embitterment (p=0.001).
Originality/value
Considering the current situation of academic nurses within the German health care system and the everyday nursing routine, psychological stress potential of unique dimensions such as embitterment have important ramifications in terms of understanding the relationship between the mental health and academic status of nurses within this system. The findings suggest the merit and value of further implementation of academic nursing study courses in Germany.
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A high percentage of managers, teachers and administrators are plateaued — they are at a point in their career when the likelihood of additional hierarchical promotion is probably…
Abstract
A high percentage of managers, teachers and administrators are plateaued — they are at a point in their career when the likelihood of additional hierarchical promotion is probably zero. Basically, such plateauing arises for two reasons:
Larry R. Smeltzer and Marie F. Zener
A prescriptive model for announcing layoffs is presented. The model isbased on a thorough literature review and indepth case analysis of eightcompanies which announced layoffs…
Abstract
A prescriptive model for announcing layoffs is presented. The model is based on a thorough literature review and indepth case analysis of eight companies which announced layoffs. Based on the model, ten recommendations for effective layoff announcements are presented and discussed. Because the cases′ analysis revealed that most strategies relating to the announcements were superficial, the major recommendation is to develop a thorough strategy. This model should help to develop an appropriate strategy. The nature of the layoff and organizational dynamics are first considered in this model. Other variables considered are the source of the announcement, the channel used to present the message, the timing of the announcement and the message itself.
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Lyndon Jones and Clifford H. John
The National Examinations Board in Supervisory Studies (NEBSS) was established in June 1964 on the initiative of the Department of Education and Science and was supported by all…
Abstract
The National Examinations Board in Supervisory Studies (NEBSS) was established in June 1964 on the initiative of the Department of Education and Science and was supported by all the major organizations concerned with supervisory education and training. It was charged with the task of providing examinations and national qualifications in the field of foremanship and supervisory studies. The Board, which is an independent autonomous body administered by the City and Guilds of London Institute, has laid down that its objectives are to stimulate and co‐ordinate the provision of suitable courses for supervision at all levels over the whole range of industry, trade and commerce, and, by the provision and control of nationally accepted examination standards, to establish a general recognition of the cardinal need for supervisors to be properly qualified to enable them to discharge their responsibilities with maximum effectiveness. To achieve its objectives the Board has established a flexible structure which assists the development of local initiative by encouraging technical colleges and industrial or commercial organizations to co‐operate in devising suitable courses and examinations to meet specific needs whilst, at the same time, establishing and maintaining national standards in supervisory studies. Such courses are approved by the Board for the award of the Certificate, Supplementary Certificate and Advanced Certificate in Supervisory Studies on the basis of internal examinations externally assessed by the Board.
S. Sangiamsuk, B. Bubphachot, O. Watanabe and S. Rittidech
The purpose of this paper was to study the parameters affecting corrosion of the closed-loop oscillating heat-pipe with check valves (CLOHP/CV) in a system in clear that will be…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to study the parameters affecting corrosion of the closed-loop oscillating heat-pipe with check valves (CLOHP/CV) in a system in clear that will be basic data to be used in future research. The majority of research focuses on the inner surface corrosion heat-pipe systems. The CLOHP/CV is commonly favored in cooling electronic devices, etc. Despite these common applications, limited reliable experimental research findings are available on the operation of the CLOHP/CV. Because of these reasons, the lack of detailed data, working fluids effect, working temperatures and duration of testing of the CLOHP/CV, this study focuses on determining the actual inner surface corrosion.
Design/methodology/approach
Seven types of copper tubes used in the CLOHP/CV set were sectioned to observe their inner surfaces. Seven different specimens with tube corrosion were examined by a visual inspection, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX). The technique for detecting metals solution in samples is based on the fact that ground state metals absorb light at specific wavelengths. Metal ions in a solution are converted to atomic state by means of a flame. In this study, concentration of copper particle in the working fluid was found by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (Flame-AAS) and elements that occurred on inner surface tube were analyzed by EDX.
Findings
The analyses with SEM and EDX testing found that the character corrosion of inner surface of CLOHP/CV was pitting clearly. The analysis with Flame-AAS found that the concentration of copper particles in the distilled water and ethanol as working fluid is more than after 1,000 hours until 3,000 hours because of excess volume of oxygen in working fluid which causes many reactions at the beginning. When the oxygen decreases after 1,000 hours, it causes the reaction to decrease too and get the most concentration of copper particles, i.e. 18.57228 ppm or 0.40859 mg.
Originality/value
Corrosion-dependant maintenance must also be factored into the design. Producing reliable equipment that will become standardized and fixing the time for proper maintenance will require individuals that are knowledgeable about the materials that are going to be used in the design of such equipment. Nowadays, the lack of detailed data of working fluids effect, working temperatures and duration of testing of the CLOHP/CV focuses on determining the actual inner surface corrosion. Therefore, this research aimed to study the parameters affecting corrosion of the CLOHP/CV in a system in clear that will be basic data to be used in future research.
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Mona O'Moore and Niall Crowley
This paper aims to evaluate the subjective experience with associated clinical and health effects on workers subjected to persistent harassment in the workplace. The study also…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate the subjective experience with associated clinical and health effects on workers subjected to persistent harassment in the workplace. The study also attempts to explore an a priori hypothesised personality/clinical effects model of workplace bullying, identifying the relationships between relevant variables using structural equation modelling (SEM).
Design/methodology/approach
The sample represents 100 individual psychological assessments conducted by professional psychologists at an Anti‐bullying research and resource centre. The quantitative results are based on robust psychometric inventories. The conceptual models were tested using the software LISREL 8.7.
Findings
Results indicate elevated overall psychometric scores on all psychological and physical health inventories. The constructed a priori model was conceived based on grounded theoretical literature which assessed the moderating impact of individual factors such as personality on the severity of clinical effect, thought to be as a result of workplace bullying. Using a strictly confirmatory approach, however, all tested models were not adequate fits.
Social implications
Results of this study have implications for the prevention and intervention of workplace bullying both of which need to be intensified in order to minimise the physical and psychological ill effects of victimisation in the workplace. One of the key messages of this study is that the severity of the clinical effect may not relate to a person's character, but rather to the traumatic experience of bullying itself. The findings suggest that action is needed at an organizational level as explanations with regards to the intensity of psychological health outcomes may not be found in the constitution of one's personality.
Originality/value
This is a unique study that looks specifically at personality as a potential moderating factor of psychological and physical health in relation to workplace bullying.
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A lot of so‐called training has about as much relevance to the organisation's needs as does the game of Monopoly to the property business. Furthermore, after witnessing many…
Abstract
A lot of so‐called training has about as much relevance to the organisation's needs as does the game of Monopoly to the property business. Furthermore, after witnessing many organisations paying large sums of money for off‐the‐shelf training packages, one can only assume that some of those selling the courses are the direct descendants of the nineteenth‐century pedlars of snake oil and other all‐purpose cures. Whilst a number of trainers are to present‐day management what the alchemist was to the mediaeval rulers, they have convinced them that their magic formula can turn leaden personnel into eighteen‐carat gold managers. Hence, at the risk of mixing metaphors, to term it the great training robbery is fair comment.
This paper is focused on sectoral restructuring and changes in industrial relations in further education (FE colleges) during the 1990s, brought about by the 1992 Further and…
Abstract
This paper is focused on sectoral restructuring and changes in industrial relations in further education (FE colleges) during the 1990s, brought about by the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act. Its concern is particularly with the workplace implications of such restructuring and change for lecturers' union representatives and their members. The very rapid pace and fundamental nature of these developments generated deep and considerable workplace discontent, lecturers were denied an effective voice for the expression of this discontent and something close to a “Bleak House” scenario in FE colleges was created. There was a significant departure from what were essentially corporatist industrial relations traditions in the sector, and the paper suggests that there has been a lasting and critical effect on the nature and trajectory of industrial relations in FE in spite of policy initiatives and developments in the post‐1997 period of Labour government.
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The literary world is an elitist enclave, where anti‐marketing rhetoric is regularly encountered. This paper aims to show that the book trade has always been hard‐nosed and…
Abstract
Purpose
The literary world is an elitist enclave, where anti‐marketing rhetoric is regularly encountered. This paper aims to show that the book trade has always been hard‐nosed and commercially driven.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is less a review of the literature, or a theoretical treatise, than a selective revelation of the commercial realities of the book business.
Findings
The paper shows that the cultural industries in general and the book business in particular were crucibles of marketing practice long before learned scholars started taking notice. It highlights the importance of luck, perseverance and, not least, marketing nous in the “manufacture” of international bestsellers.
Research limitations/implications
By highlighting humankind's deep‐seated love of narrative – its clear preference for fiction over fact – this paper suggests that marketing scholars should reconsider their preferred mode of research representation. Hard facts are all very well, but they are less palatable than good stories, well told.
Originality/value
The paper makes no claim to originality. It recovers what we already know but appear to have forgotten in our non‐stop pursuit of scientific respectability.
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