Some Problems Concerning the Assessment of Job Characteristics in Nursing Work

Abstract

The question of whether one should use subjective rather than “objective” assessments of job characteristics is still the subject of a vigorous discussion in analytical studies of jobs and in job design. In nursing work situations, too, the attention of managers and researchers for such studies is growing. In this article the results of a study are presented in which a comparison is made between two kinds of assessments: job characteristics as judged by task performers (nurses) and job characteristics as judged by non-task performers (nursing management). Differences and agreements between mean scores as well as between correlations with dependent variables like job satisfaction were analysed. Most agreement seems to be on the ratings of “complexity and difficulty”, “work pressure”, and “promotion and growth opportunities”. As to “feedback and clarity”, “autonomy”, and “patient caring opportunities”, differences between the ratings have been found. It appears that a larger number of correlations between the nurse-rated job characteristics and the reaction variables is found to be statistically significant than between the management-rated job characteristics and the reaction variables. Social, organizational, and methodological reasons for the observed differences are put forward.     

The Factor Structure of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory: An Alternative View

Wagner and Copper (1963) reported high discriminative power for one score (the ACTivity score) of the Wagner Hand Test between (unskilled and semi-skilled) workers at Goodwill Industries, Akron, Ohio who had been rated “Satisfactory” or “Unsatisfactory” by their superiors.

An attempt to crossvalidate this finding, in a three-group design, in a large Western Canadian Plywood mill failed to produce the expected relationship; neither the ACT score, nor any of the other scores derived from this test showed any consistent trend in terms of postdicting activity level, or general acceptability of the 18 Ss involved in this study.     

Relationship between religious beliefs and post-traumatic growth in patients with cancer in southeast of Iran

Information about religious beliefs and post-traumatic growth is limited in Iranian cancer patients. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between religious beliefs and post-traumatic growth among cancer patients in Iran. This correlational study included a convenience sample of 200 eligible cancer patients who were hospitalized in the oncology wards and outpatient clinics. Using Post-traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) and Religious Beliefs Scale, data were collected. Findings showed that, the total mean score of PTG was 93.81 (SD?=?15.25). Among the categories, the lowest score belonged to “appreciation of life” component (7.67±1.99), and the highest score belonged to “spiritual change” component (67.49 ± 17.78). The mean score of Religious Beliefs Scale was 67.20 (12.35). Post-traumatic growth positively correlated with religious beliefs (r?=?.345; p?=?.001). The results suggest that, information about religious beliefs and post-traumatic growth should be included in the continuous and in-service education of cancer patients and nurses who work with them.     

Therapist perspectives on working with fears,blocks and resistances to compassion in compassion focused therapy

Objective

A core aspect of compassion focused therapy (CFT) is addressing fears, blocks, and resistances (FBRs) to compassion. How CFT therapists do this with clients remains unclear. This study aims to explore the perspectives of well-trained, experienced CFT therapists regarding how they work with FBRs in the context of CFT.

Methods

A qualitative study was conducted. Participants were asked five open-ended questions regarding (a) their experiences of working with FBRs to compassion, (b) how they understand and formulate FBRs, (c) specific ways they address FBRs, (d) how other therapists might learn about working with FBRs, and (e) their top recommendations. A total of 64 participants completed the online questionnaire, and the qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Results

The analysis produced four interrelated superordinate themes: (a) Getting “alongside” and “behind”: The central role of formulation, (b) “It's not your fault”: Psychoeducation, (c) “Get experiential”: An emphasis on experiential interventions, and (d) “Respect the wisdom”: The importance of therapeutic process.

Conclusions

Working with FBRs to compassion is critical in CFT. Understanding the wisdom in the client's FBRs, and validating and de-shaming the client's FBRs are crucial. We provide clinical recommendations regarding working with FBRs as part of CFT.     

Burnout,compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction among nurses in the context of maternal and perinatal deaths

This study investigated the prevalence and levels of burnout, compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction among nurses with exposure to maternal and perinatal deaths. A convenience sample of 83 nurses was selected for participation from six hospitals in Limpopo province, South Africa, comprising 98% females with an age range of 21 to 62 years, and 15 to 18 mean years of experience in maternal and perinatal care. The nurses completed the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL R-IV), which is a measure of burnout, compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction. The analysis examined the prevalence and level of burnout, compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction among the nurses. Most of the respondents (92%) reported with moderate burnout scores, and about 67% reported with moderate to high compassion fatigue scores, whilst 82% reported with compassion satisfaction scores. Moderate levels of high burnout and compassion fatigue can co-occur with relatively high compassion satisfaction among nurses in critical-care health services.     

Hemisphere differences in an auditory Stroop test

In an auditory Stroop test, right-handed subjects were required to judge the pitch of the following stimuli: two pure tones, one at a high frequency and one at a low frequency; two congruent words, “high,” sung at the high frequency, and “low,” sung at the low frequency; and two noncongruent words, “high” at low frequency and “low” at high frequency. A sequence of these stimuli was presented monaurally first to one ear, and then to the other. The Stroop effect (the difference between mean RT to congruent words, and mean RT to noncongruent words) was larger for right ear (left hemisphere) presentation. The same experiment was repeated dichotically with a competing message presented to the opposite ear. Again, the Stroop effect was larger for the right ear, and the ear differences were slightly more marked. The result is interpreted as reflecting hemispheric specialization for linguistic and nonlinguistic processing and a model of Stroop conflict in which response competition varies with the relative availability of the conflicting response.

     

Professional Boundary Ethics Attitudes and Awareness Among Nurses and Physicians in a University Hospital in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

This study sought to gauge ethical attitudes about professional boundary issues of physicians and nurses in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Respondents scored 10 relevant boundary vignettes as to their ethical acceptability. The group as a whole proved “aware/ ethically conservative,” but with the physicians' score falling on the “less ethically conservative” part of the spectrum compared to nurses. The degree of ethicality was more related to profession than to gender, with nurses being more “ethical” than physicians.     

Recognition memory and awareness: A large effect of study-test modalities on “know” responses following a highly perceptual orienting task

Abstract

Two experiments investigated the effects of varying the correspondence between presentation and test modes on states of conscious awareness in recognition memory. Experiment 1 used visual test items and showed that auditory and visual study modes differentially affected recollective experience and feelings of familiarity assessed by “remember” and “know” responses accompanying recognition: “know” responses were slightly enhanced following visual presentation, but this was largely offset by a similarly small increase in “remember” responses. Experiment 2 employed conditions designed to maximise any effect on “know” responses of the correspondence between presentation and test modes by using a highly perceptual orienting task at study. Under these conditions, there was a large mode correspondence effect on “know” responses. The results support the idea that “know” responses are particularly sensitive to perceptual factors.     

A Longitudinal Study of Nurses’ Work-Life Balance: a Case of a Regional Teaching Hospital in Taiwan

Work-life balance is essential for nurses who are in direct contact with patients in healthcare organizations. This study employs the measurement of nurses’ behaviors rather than the measurement of their perceptions to identify critical demographic variables influencing the work-life balance. A work-life balance dimension measured by a four-point frequency scale from the Chinese version of the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire is used to assess nurses’ behaviors in practice from a longitudinal viewpoint based on a regional teaching hospital in Taiwan. The results show that experience in organization, respondents reporting events in the past 12 months, and experience in position are three critical factors to impact nurses’ work-life balance. Moreover, “work all day without break,” “change the individual or family plan because of the work,” and “work overtime” are the most critical questions in the work-life balance that can be the targets for hospital management to enhance the balance of nurses’ work-life conditions in the hospital.

     

Relationships Between Scores on the General Purpose Abbreviated Battery of Stanford-Binet IV,Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised,Columbia Mental Maturity Scale,and Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test

This study investigated the correlations among the “General Purpose Abbreviated Battery” of the Stanford-Binet IV: Fourth Edition, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised, the Columbia Mental Maturity Scale, and the Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test. A third-grade class of 23 children (11 boys, 12 girls) took all four of the tests, and the intercorrelations of the total scores of the four tests were calculated. The Binet IV and Peabody correlation was statistically significant (p < .01) as was the correlation between Binet IV and Columbia (p < .05). The correlation between Binet IV and Goodenough-Harris was not statistically significant (p > .05).

     

Assessing Loneliness in UAE Populations: the Relationship with Age,Gender, Marital Status,and Academic Performance

This study evaluates the extent of loneliness among tertiary students and the wider population in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and examines its association with age, gender, marital status and academic performance. The study used the Arabic version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale. A total of 1429 students from all colleges of the UAEU and 1431 participants from the UAE responded to the scale and to questions on gender, age, marital status and educational level. It was found that college students tended to score below average on the loneliness scale and that males tended to score slightly lower than females. As for the wider UAE community, the participants’ mean loneliness score was also below the scale average and there were no statistically significant differences between males and females or between married and single persons. With respect to age, it was found that only among unmarried participants was age significantly correlated with loneliness. Interestingly enough, the relationship between academic performance as measured by GPA and loneliness levels was not statistically significant for either gender. These results were discussed within the UAE cultural context and the related literature.

     

Queer Muslim love: a time for ijtihad

ABSTRACT

Across the globe, Muslim communities have developed, and are continuing to develop, a theology of compassion, non-judgmental attitudes, and support toward queer Muslims. This discourse uses ijtihadic analysis to support acceptance of queer Muslim love, because religion is a strong and deep social construct that acts as a moral compass where Muslim queers learn to feel “unacceptable”, “bad”, and “worthless” and under the mercy of the horrified gaze of mainstream, heteropatriarchy, which uses religious arguments to contest the rights enshrined in the South African constitution. It provides a case study as a pedagogical reflection to share intentions, process, and outcomes of sexual diversity workshops to support queer Muslim love to broadly raise critical consciousness about alternative sexual orientations and identities.     

Attitudes to doctors and medicine: The preliminary development of a new scale

Abstract

The preliminary development of a new scale to measure attitudes towards medicine and doctors is described. The scale comprises four factors: “positive attitude towards doctors,” “positive attitude towards medicine,” “negative attitude towards doctors,” and “negative attitude towards medicine.” Alpha coefficients for the four scales were satisfactory, ranging from 0.69 to 0.76. Test re-test reliabilities ranged from 0.69 to 0.81. Evidence of criterion-related validity was obtained from comparison of the attitudes of five groups involved in health care: nurses, medical students, patients, and sociologists and psychologists who are teachers in medical schools. Patients and medical students held significantly more positive attitudes towards doctors and medicine that did nurses and behavioural scientists. While nurses were as negative towards doctors as sociologists and psychologists, they were significantly less negative about medicine.     

Happiness,health, and religiosity: significant associations among Lebanese adolescents

The present study sought to test for an association between, and sex-related differences in, happiness, health, and religiosity. A sample (N?=?239) of Lebanese adolescents was recruited (111 boys and 128 girls). They responded to the Oxford Happiness Inventory, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Love of Life Scale as well as five self-rating scales to assess happiness, satisfaction, mental health, physical health, and religiosity. Boys obtained a higher mean score on mental health than did their female counterparts. All the Pearson correlations between the study scales were significant and positive but two. Principal components analysis yielded two salient components in boys and labelled “Happiness”, and “Religiosity and health”. In girls, only one component was retained, and labelled “Happiness, health, and religiosity”. It was concluded that those consider themselves as enjoying happiness, experienced good mental and physical health and more religious.     

The Effects of Subject-and Experimenter-Induced Defensive Response Sets on Picture-Frustration Test Reactions

Thirty male college students, half scoring high and half low on the MMPI K-scale, were administered a multiple-choice (M-C) modification of the Rosenzweig P-F Study under three instructional sets. Two of these sets were induced by E and compared with the third which represented S's normal test-taking set. The two induced sets included (1) a “should” set in which concern for the social consequences of behavior was accentuated, and (2) a “wish” set in which concern for social consequences was minimized, and freedom of self-expression was accentuated.

It was hypothesized that Ss making extremely high or low scores on the K-scale would likewise score differently on the M-C, P-F test. High K, defined by its authors as a measure of test defensiveness, and low K, as test-taking candidness, would be associated with P-F score patterns reflecting these test-taking attitudes: High K Ss showing Impunitive (M) dominant reaction patterns and low K showing Extrapunitive (E) or Intropunitive (I) dominant patterns. These hypothèses were confirmed except that intropunitive responses were extremely rare in the entire subject sample.

It was further hypothesized that the typical high K pattern would be induced in low K Ss under the “should” instructional set and the low K pattern would be elicited from high K Ss under “wish” instructions. This expectation was confirmed. It was suggested that the technique of manipulating responses via test taking instructions can generate correction factors useful in projective as well as structured personality tests.     

Leader Member Exchanges: Distinction Between Two Factors

Abstract

The dimensionality of Graen's Leader Member Exchange concept was examined in a cross-sectional questionnaire study among 1147 Dutch nurses. The total sample was divided into two subgroups by means of stratified random selection (n1 = 574; n2 = 573) and analyses were performed in each subgroup separately. The factorial structure of a 12-item self-report Leader Member Exchange questionnaire was examined. Exploratory factor analysis on the data of subgroup 1 yielded two factors, which were labelled “consideration/coaching by the leader” and “filling an assistant position”. Confirmatory factor analyses with LISREL showed that a two-factor oblique model had the best fit in both subgroups. Equality of factor structures in both subgroups was clearly demonstrated. Differential validity of the two Leader Member Exchange factors was studied by correlating each factor with measures of job-related affect. In both subgroups, the consideration/coaching factor had a significantly stronger, positive relationship with job satisfaction and a significantly stronger, negative relationship with propensity to quit the job, whereas the assistant position factor had a significantly stronger, positive relationship with job-responsibility. Results concerning the relationships with effectiveness ratings were inconclusive. The results of this study indicate that the Leader Member Exchange concept is two-dimensional rather than unidimensional.     

Toward Development of a Projective Set

An exploration of the possibility of developing a projective set in a client that will allow for lowering of his defenses and thus possibly eliciting “richer projective materials.” A “anxious tension” set was produced in one group of Ss by means of an intelligence type test and “playful tension” was produced in another group by means of a fantasy task. A projective technique (Part A of the Rosenzweig F-Battery) was then given to both groups. The results indicate that this projective technique was taken at a more implicit (or deeper) level following the “playful tension” than following the “anxious tension.” Implications for the pre-test environment of projective techniques are given.