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1 – 10 of 78H. Mannaert, B. De Gruyter and P. Adriaenssens
In this paper, a Web portal is presented for multicast communication management, providing fully automatic service management with integrated provisioning of hardware equipment…
Abstract
In this paper, a Web portal is presented for multicast communication management, providing fully automatic service management with integrated provisioning of hardware equipment. The portal is based on an open and configurable object‐oriented framework, that allows self‐provisioning by the user and the seamless integration with all types of multicast application software. As its topological structure is ideally suited for multicasting, and it allows the accurate control of the transmission bandwidth, the portal focuses currently on satellite as a delivery medium. The software architecture, the implementation, and the application usage of the Web portal for multicast delivery are described.
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Milja Niinihuhta, Anja Terkamo-Moisio, Tarja Kvist and Arja Häggman-Laitila
This study aims to describe nurse leaders’ experiences of work-related well-being and its association with background variables, working conditions, work engagement, sense of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to describe nurse leaders’ experiences of work-related well-being and its association with background variables, working conditions, work engagement, sense of coherence and burnout.
Design/methodology/approach
An electronic survey design was used. Data was collected between December 2015 and May 2016 with an instrument that included demographic questions and four internationally validated scales: the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, QPS Nordic 34+, the shortened Sense of Coherence scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Data was analysed using statistical methods.
Findings
A total of 155 nurse leaders completed the questionnaire, giving a 44% response rate. Most of them worked as nurse managers (89%). Participants’ work-related well-being scores ranged from 8 to 10. Statistically significant relationships were found between participants’ work-related well-being and their leadership skills, current position, sense of coherence and levels of burnout. In addition, there were statistically significant relationships between work-related well-being and all dimensions of working conditions.
Originality/value
This study underlines the fact that work-related well-being should not be evaluated based on a single factor. The participants’ perceived work-related well-being was high, although almost half of them reported always or often experiencing stress. The results suggest that nurse leaders may have resources such as good leadership and problem-solving skills, supportive working conditions and a high sense of coherence that prevent the experienced stress from adversely affecting their work-related well-being.
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Having fought off the bid by AB Wilhem Becker of Sweden— but firmly established in the UK through Becker Paint Ltd.—it now looks likely that the Donald Macpherson Group will be…
Abstract
Having fought off the bid by AB Wilhem Becker of Sweden— but firmly established in the UK through Becker Paint Ltd.—it now looks likely that the Donald Macpherson Group will be taken over by Yule Catto & Co. plc. As we go to press the boards of both companies have reached agreement on the terms of an offer.
Jörg W. Kirchhoff and Jan Ch. Karlsson
First-line nurse managers are frequently torn between conflicting demands from management and employees, and previous research suggests that nurse managers use a variety of…
Abstract
Purpose
First-line nurse managers are frequently torn between conflicting demands from management and employees, and previous research suggests that nurse managers use a variety of responses to cope with these demands. The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of social support on nurse managers’ responses to role-conflict.
Design/methodology/approach
Two focused ethnographic studies involving participant observation and interviews with seven first-line nurse managers were completed. One study included first-line nurse managers from four units in two municipalities (2005), while the second included three first-line nurse managers from a hospital in Norway (2015-2016).
Findings
Three types of responses were identified: the embracing managerialism career, the emphasising managerialism career and the emphasising professionalism career. Emphasising managerialism was associated with role distance from the role of nurse, whereas emphasising professionalism involved role distance from the managerial role.
Originality/value
This study provides insights into first-line nurse managers’ responses to role conflict, by identifying the mechanisms involved and an opportunity to develop a theoretical framework for future studies among nurse managers.
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Amir Amjad Mohammadi, Hadi Safaeipour, Mohammad Reza Chenaghlou, Alireza Behnejad and Roham Afghani Khoraskani
This paper aims at discovering the traditional techniques of Persian architecture for covering large-span spaces with a kind of ribbed vault titled “Karbandi”. This structure is…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims at discovering the traditional techniques of Persian architecture for covering large-span spaces with a kind of ribbed vault titled “Karbandi”. This structure is generated by intersecting several arches with a harmonic stellar geometry. Preliminary studies show that span factor affects the structural form of karbandi and large-span cases, despite similar architectural forms, have different structural systems and specific construction methods. The main focus of this paper is how karbandi has been designed and built on large-spans. To answer this question, the configuration and construction of a large-span karbandi in Tabriz Bazaar were recognized.
Design/methodology/approach
Data collection of the research was initially done in three parallel directions through the archival study of restoration documents, direct observation of the corpus of the vaultings and interviews with the master mason of the Haj-Mohammad-Qoli Timche restoration team. Then by cross-referencing the gathered data, the construction process of the karbandi was simulated in Rhino 6 and Grasshoppers software and its BIM-M models were created in three levels of development: LOD300, LOD350 and LOD400. In the next step, the preliminary BIM-M models of the karbandi were presented to the interviewed mason and revised and completed based on his comments.
Findings
Analyzing the BIM models by reverse engineering, resulted in (1) Discovering a unique self-supporting masonry construction method applied for the erection of karbandi vaulting on large-spans. (2) Finding the effect of scale factor on the architectural and structural form of the karbandi vault. (3) Discovering the connection types of the karbandi vault based on the construction details.
Originality/value
Despite the wide applications of karbandi vaults throughout history, very little information of their construction techniques is available. The techniques have mostly been experientially and orally passed down from masters to apprentices and rarely been documented. The quest to design and construct a karbandi vault is therefore like solving a puzzle whose most important guide is historical cases. Due to the geometric complexity of karbandi and its ability to cover large-span spaces, solving the puzzle can lead to achieving some technical ideas for masonry cross-ribbed vaulting. A great riddle of the karbandi vaults is how to design and build them on a large span.
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M. Ángeles López-Cabarcos, Analía López-Carballeira and Carlos Ferro-Soto
This study analyzes the mediating effect of emotional exhaustion between certain job demands (workload, role conflict, and influence at work) and employees' work attitudes…
Abstract
Purpose
This study analyzes the mediating effect of emotional exhaustion between certain job demands (workload, role conflict, and influence at work) and employees' work attitudes (affective commitment and turnover intention) in public healthcare. Furthermore, it analyzes the moderating effect of possibilities for development and the degree of freedom at work between the above-mentioned job demands and emotional exhaustion.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 512 healthcare professionals participated in the study. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and a hierarchical multiple regression analysis.
Findings
The results show that emotional exhaustion fully mediates the relationship between job demands (workload and role conflict) and work attitudes (affective commitment and turnover intention). Moreover, the possibilities for development and degree of freedom at work moderate the relationship between role conflict and emotional exhaustion.
Practical implications
Strategies should be designed to prevent employees from becoming emotionally exhausted and lead them to feel more motivated, which results in a more effective public healthcare service.
Originality/value
This study stresses the importance of analyzing the role of emotional exhaustion in the public healthcare context. It demonstrates the mediating role of this variable between several antecedents and consequences, and it analyzes whether other relevant variables can moderate the negative effects of emotional exhaustion.
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Qasim Zaheer, Mir Majaid Manzoor and Muhammad Jawad Ahamad
The purpose of this article is to analyze the optimization process in depth, elaborating on the components of the entire process and the techniques used. Researchers have been…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to analyze the optimization process in depth, elaborating on the components of the entire process and the techniques used. Researchers have been drawn to the expanding trend of optimization since the turn of the century. The rate of research can be used to measure the progress and increase of this optimization procedure. This study is phenomenal to understand the optimization process and different algorithms in addition to their application by keeping in mind the current computational power that has increased the implementation for several engineering applications.
Design/methodology/approach
Two-dimensional analysis has been carried out for the optimization process and its approaches to addressing optimization problems, i.e. computational power has increased the implementation. The first section focuses on a thorough examination of the optimization process, its objectives and the development of processes. Second, techniques of the optimization process have been evaluated, as well as some new ones that have emerged to overcome the above-mentioned problems.
Findings
This paper provided detailed knowledge of optimization, several approaches and their applications in civil engineering, i.e. structural, geotechnical, hydraulic, transportation and many more. This research provided tremendous emerging techniques, where the lack of exploratory studies is to be approached soon.
Originality/value
Optimization processes have been studied for a very long time, in engineering, but the current computational power has increased the implementation for several engineering applications. Besides that, different techniques and their prediction modes often require high computational strength, such parameters can be mitigated with the use of different techniques to reduce computational cost and increase accuracy.
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Nicholas Kavish and Brian Boutwell
Criminology has produced more than a century of informative research on the social correlates of criminal behavior. Recently, a growing body of theoretical and empirical work has…
Abstract
Purpose
Criminology has produced more than a century of informative research on the social correlates of criminal behavior. Recently, a growing body of theoretical and empirical work has begun to apply evolutionary principles, particularly from life history theory (LHT), to the study of crime. As this body of research continues to grow, it is important that work in this area synthesizes evolutionary principles with the decades of sociological research on the correlates of crime. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The current paper reviews the brief history of research applying life history concepts to criminology, providing an overview of the underlying framework, exploring examples of empirically testable and tested hypotheses that have been derived from the theory, discussing cautions and criticisms of life history research, and discussing how this area of research can be further integrated with existing theory.
Findings
A growing body of research has, with relative consistency, associated indicators of a faster life history strategy with aggression and violence in humans and across the animal kingdom. Research into these associations is still vulnerable to genetic confounding and more research with genetically sensitive designs is needed. The use of hypotheses informed by evolutionary insight and tested with genetically sensitive designs provides the best option for understanding how environmental factors can have an impact on violent and criminal behavior.
Originality/value
The current paper provides an updated review of the growing application of LHT to the study of human behavior and acknowledges criticisms and areas of concern that need to be considered when forming hypotheses for research.
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M. Ángeles López-Cabarcos, Analía López-Carballeira and Carlos Ferro-Soto
The nature of public healthcare highlights not only the need of understanding the role of emotional exhaustion in the relationship between employees’ job demands and desirable…
Abstract
Purpose
The nature of public healthcare highlights not only the need of understanding the role of emotional exhaustion in the relationship between employees’ job demands and desirable employees’ job attitudes, but also to adequate the combination of certain job resources and other organisational variables to moderate the employees’ feelings of emotional exhaustion. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
This viewpoint designs the theoretical approach that aims to understand the mediating role of emotional exhaustion among healthcare professionals and the capacity of certain variables to moderate it. The nature of the variables considered and the design of the theoretical model proposed highlights structural equation modelling as an optimal methodology to be used among a sample of European healthcare professionals.
Findings
Managers should be able to design strategies to mitigate, eliminate and prevent the causes of emotional exhaustion in public healthcare with the objective to improve the health and quality of life of healthcare professionals, and consequently the quality of the service provided to patients and their families.
Originality/value
This viewpoint highlights the importance of analysing the influence of employees’ emotional exhaustion on their attitudes in public healthcare. Direct relationships between emotional exhaustion and certain antecedents or consequences have been studied previously; however, studies analysing the mediating role of emotional exhaustion are very scarce and show mixed results. There are also few studies analysing the moderating role of certain job resources and other organisational variables in the relationships between employees’ job demands, employees’ emotional exhaustion and employees’ job attitudes.
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Dagny Johannessen, Daniel Joh. Adriaenssen, Kjell-Ove Ernes and Jon-Arild Johannessen
This paper aims to develop a methodology for teaching moral courage.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to develop a methodology for teaching moral courage.
Design/methodology/approach
Conceptual generalization.
Findings
This study uses a five-step method for teaching moral courage, together with a seven-level sliding scale for developing attitudes related to moral courage.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is an aspect of systemic education for pupils and students.
Practical implications
This study builds aspects of a methodology for education of active bystanders in moral conflict situations.
Social implications
This study builds aspects of a systemic methodology for education of moral issues.
Originality/value
Beers viable model (Figure 1) has been used to visualize a model for teaching moral courage.
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