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1 – 10 of 34Lawrence R. Murphy and Joseph J. Hurrell
A growing number of studies have demonstrated the efficacy of worksite stress management training for reducing worker psychophysiological arousal and subjective reports of…
Abstract
A growing number of studies have demonstrated the efficacy of worksite stress management training for reducing worker psychophysiological arousal and subjective reports of anxiety, depression, and somatic complaints. The role of stress management in the larger context of occupational stress reduction, however, has not been addressed. An application of stress management as one component of an organisational stressor reduction programme is described. Other components in the process which have been completed include the formation of a stress reduction committee and conduct of a stress assessment survey. Future plans include the formulation and implementation of recommendations for reducing organisational stress and repeated evaluations of their efficacy. The purpose is to depict element of the overall process and to report progress to date in this effort.
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Shaker Bani-Melhem, Rachid Zeffane and Mohamed Albaity
This study aims to examine the impact of workplace happiness, coworker support and job stress on employee innovative behavior. The mediating effects of coworker support and job…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the impact of workplace happiness, coworker support and job stress on employee innovative behavior. The mediating effects of coworker support and job stress are also explored.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses survey data from 328 employees from different departments in four- and five-star hotels in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Based on an extensive literature review, five main hypotheses were formulated and explored. These were tested through multiple regression analysis using the SPSS Process Macro plugin.
Findings
Workplace happiness is the most significant determinant of employees’ innovative behavior, while coworker support plays a significant mediating role. Contrary to the study hypothesis and assumption, job stress alone is not a significant mediator; it only plays a mediating role when combined with coworker support.
Research limitations/implications
The sample is from a single sector (hotels) in a single country. Future research would benefit from examining the above relationships in other sectors (such as health and education) in the UAE. It could also explore the validity of these relationships in the tourism/hotels sector of other countries in the Middle East and Gulf regions.
Originality/value
Few studies have attempted to investigate factors that may promote or impede innovative behavior among employees in the hotels sector, particularly in the UAE. The data, model and findings of this study address this gap and add to the current state of knowledge.
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Mary L Marzec, Andrew Scibelli and Dee Edington
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of changes of medical condition burden index (MCBI) and stress on absenteeism and discuss implications for policy/program…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of changes of medical condition burden index (MCBI) and stress on absenteeism and discuss implications for policy/program design.
Design/methodology/approach
Sample: US utility employees that participated in Health Risk Appraisals (HRA) during 2009 and 2010 (n=3,711). Methods: the MCBI was created by summing number of medical conditions. Absenteeism was measured from administrative records. Change in MCBI and stress and impact on absenteeism was assessed according to incremental change, by low/high categorizations, and by using multivariate regression.
Findings
Incrementally, greater changes in MCBI or stress generally resulted in corresponding absenteeism change. For both MCBI and stress, high categories were associated with greater absenteeism compared to those in low categories. Those remaining in the low MCBI category decreased absenteeism (−0.10 days/year; p=0.01). Changes from low to high MCBI resulted in increased absenteeism (+0.12 days/year; p=0.04. Changes in stress from low to high or from high to low categories resulted in concurrent changes in absenteeism (+0.21 days/year; p=0.04 and −0.31 days/year; p=0.01, respectively). Regression analyses indicated the interaction between stress and MCBI as a significant contributor to absenteeism change.
Research limitations/implications
Conclusions: MCBI, stress and their interaction appear to be direct determinants of absenteeism. Companies should consider both physical and emotional health simultaneously in program interventions in order to reduce absenteeism.
Originality/value
Unlike most studies illustrating cross-sectional relationships, this study shows how changes in stress and medical conditions relate to changes in absenteeism. The interaction between MCBI and stress in this context is also a novel addition.
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Marjorie Armstrong‐Stassen and Sheila J. Cameron
This longitudinal panel study examined the relationship of three dimensions of control (personal, job and organizational) assessed in the initial phase of a hospital amalgamation…
Abstract
This longitudinal panel study examined the relationship of three dimensions of control (personal, job and organizational) assessed in the initial phase of a hospital amalgamation on nurses’ reactions two years later during the amalgamation period. The participants were 179 full‐time nurses employed in four community hospitals being amalgamated into two. Nurses reported low organizational control, a finding consistent with the sense of powerlessness frequently associated with nurses. The hypothesis that the three types of control would differentially predict nurses’ reactions to the hospital amalgamation was supported. Personal control significantly predicted changes in perceived co‐worker support and help‐seeking coping over the amalgamation period. Job control significantly predicted changes in perceived supervisor support and direct action coping (putting more effort into doing one’s job) over the amalgamation period. Organizational control significantly predicted changes in perceived hospital support and trust in the hospital over the amalgamation period. The findings indicate the need to include more than one dimension of control in investigations of nurses’ sense of powerlessness and the importance of matching the type of control to outcome variables.
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Samson Ibironke, Joseph B. Fashakin and A.O. Badmus
The purpose of this paper is to nutritionally evaluate the potency of complementary food produced by mixing different sources of vegetable and animal protein together.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to nutritionally evaluate the potency of complementary food produced by mixing different sources of vegetable and animal protein together.
Design/methodology/approach
Maize (carbohydrate), peanut (groundnut) and crayfish (Euastacus spp) were the sole energy and protein sources, respectively. Diet 1 (Basal); diet 2 (groundnut‐fermented‐maize (ogi) 1:9); diet 3 (crayfish‐ground‐nut‐ogi, 1:1:9); diet 4 (crayfish‐ogi, 1:9); diet 5 control (Nutrend). The formulated complementary diets were fed to 30 albino rats. A commercial product (Nutrend) manufactured by nestle plc was obtained at a local supermarket, Ile‐Ife, Nigeria and was used as standard diet.
Findings
The result showed the growth rate (non‐protein diet) decreased from 37.962‐36.910; and the growth rate (protein diet) increased from 37.270‐54.544, 37.770‐82.662, 37.900‐78.570, and 37.636‐80.521 for diets 1 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively. Protein efficiency ratio (PER), for diets 1 2, 3, 4 and 5 were nil, 1.45, 3.30, 3.15, and 2.94, respectively. Net protein ratio (NPR), for diets 1 2, 3, 4 and 5 were nil, 0.85, 2.78, 2.59, and 2.45, respectively. The average nitrogen retained in various organs of experimental animals, such as liver, kidney and muscle of the diets 1 2, 3 4 and 5 were 35.52, 33.55, 33.58: 48.32, 48.40 48.68: 55.70, 53.20, 56.08: 52.30, 50.48, 54.65: and 56.76, 44.63, 56.80, respectively. The formulations compared to control were found superior in terms of growth rate, PER, NPR and ensure optimum nitrogen content in the liver, kidney and tissues.
Originality/value
The paper's findings show that the complementary food formulations which are not expensive, locally available, and affordable, could be produced from plant and animal sources and may be suitable to eradicate protein energy malnutrition (PEM).
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In an address to the East India Association Sir John Woodhead drew upon his experience as chairman of the Famine Inquiry Commission to review in authoritative fashion what Lord…
Abstract
In an address to the East India Association Sir John Woodhead drew upon his experience as chairman of the Famine Inquiry Commission to review in authoritative fashion what Lord Scarborough described from the chair as one of the most important requirements of to‐day, that of increasing the food supplies and improving the diet of the people of India. Of the present population of about 400,000,000, it has been estimated that fully one‐third are under‐nourished, while a still larger proportion are ill‐nourished for lack of a balanced diet. The staple articles of diet are rice, wheat and millet, and even when these are consumed in adequate quantities their deficiencies in proteins, fats, vitamins, and mineral salts must be made good by protective foods. The technological possibilities of increasing food production are very great. It is known that the yield of rice can be increased by anything up to one‐half by manuring and by the use of improved strains; and that potential increases in millet and wheat are of the order of 30 per cent. The Famine Inquiry Commission concluded that self‐sufficiency in cereals was practicable as well as desirable as a policy for the future, and that a large increase in protective and supplementary foods, such as pulses, vegetables, fruit and fish was entirely feasible. Nor is there any mystery as to how the increase is to be achieved. The methods which must be followed, such as the provision of an assured water supply, the utilisation of every source of fertilising material, the cultivation of improved strains of plants and beasts, the protection of husbandry from pests and of the husbandman from ill‐health—all these are familiar in plans for the improvement of the rural economy of India. What is novel, however, is the increasing recognition that only a concerted effort, on a national scale, employing the resources of the people and of the Government in close partnership, can avail to raise the Indian masses from ramshackle medievalism to ordered, progressive modernity. Improvement of diet is among the most important elements in that improvement of the standard of living which is the principal object of all Indian planning to‐day. At present, lack of purchasing power is the root of malnutrition as of many other evils; increased agricultural production and a better diet arc bound up with the process of increasing the national wealth through simultaneous industrial development. Urbanisation and higher living standards may in turn exert their influence upon the growth of population; for Sir John Wood‐head's commission found that among the upper and professional classes the birth‐rate is falling steadily. Throughout the whole population, indeed, the birth‐rate fell from 34 a thousand in 1940 to 26 a thousand in 1943; but this decline may be due to transient causes only. There seemed good grounds for hoping that the future pressure of population need present no immovable obstacle to the success of a really national movement for better livelihood.
Thi Kim Thoa Ninh, Thi Huyen Ngo and Hong Sinh Nguyen
The aim of this paper is to investigate the needs of lecturers and learners for digital scholarship services (DSS) and to suggest recommendations for the development of DSS at…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to investigate the needs of lecturers and learners for digital scholarship services (DSS) and to suggest recommendations for the development of DSS at Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM).
Design/methodology/approach
The research employed a mixed method approach, comprising a paper questionnaire with 360 respondents to collect quantitative data and in-depth interviews with 18 participants, including lecturers (L), postgraduate students (P), and undergraduate students (U), to gather qualitative data.
Findings
The findings indicate that lecturers and students have diverse needs for various DSS services, with digital information resources and institutional repositories being the most common, followed by new and workable digital technology infrastructure, training courses in using digital tools and methods, and ongoing advice and support at different stages of the research process.
Research limitations/implications
The limitations of this study indicate that further research is necessary to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the DSS needs in higher education institutions in Vietnam of various sizes and characteristics.
Practical implications
This research provides a practical basis for the development and provision of appropriate support to the development of DSS at VNU-HCM.
Originality/value
The originality of this paper and its value lies in the contribution to the understanding of the needs of DSS in a context of the digital transformation and the improvement of the quality of education and research in the higher education sector in Vietnam.
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During the year under consideration the work of inspectors of foods was continued on the special lines which have characterised it throughout the war. Opportunity for reviving the…
Abstract
During the year under consideration the work of inspectors of foods was continued on the special lines which have characterised it throughout the war. Opportunity for reviving the routine work of the branch on such matters as the administration of the Unsound Food and Foreign Meat Regulations, Sale of Food and Drugs Acts and other measures dealing with food subjects had not yet arisen, and the energies of the branch were directed chiefly to carrying on the work of supervising the conditions under which food for the Armies was being manufactured, and dealing with a large number of special questions arising out of the abnormal conditions of food supply and distribution which continued to exist during this period.
Sir Ben Lockspeiser, Secretary of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, opening a Conference on Chemical Engineering Methods in the Food Industry at the Wellcome…
Abstract
Sir Ben Lockspeiser, Secretary of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, opening a Conference on Chemical Engineering Methods in the Food Industry at the Wellcome Research Institution, London, recently, said:—
Despite increasing recognition of the importance of mental health at the workplace, there is very little evidence and limited research information on the issue of the poor mental…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite increasing recognition of the importance of mental health at the workplace, there is very little evidence and limited research information on the issue of the poor mental health of the workers, especially miners. The purpose of this paper is to assess the relationship between stress faced by quarry workers in consonance with their socio-demographic characteristics and their working conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was a cross-sectional study of quarry workers with comparison groups in the Karauli district of Rajasthan, a state located in north-western India. The study was conducted during the period May-September 2014, as part of a doctoral program. The study sample comprised a total of 218 quarry workers along with a comparison group of 203 non-miners. The level of occupational stress was assessed by using a General Health Questionnaire consisting of 12 questions.
Findings
This study found that the comparison group was at a low risk of psychological stress as compared to the mine workers. The independent risk factors for occupational stress among workers were illiteracy, gender (female), married, divorced/separated, and suffering from some occupational health problem.
Social implications
This study concluded that mine workers are at a high level of stress, which underscores the need for urgent interventions from the government to address the issue. This is especially important as mine workers make significant contributions to the national income.
Originality/value
This paper fulfills an identified need to study the mental health status of quarry workers, thereby helping fill a persistent gap in Indian research on this issue.
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