Diagnostic Work through Evidence-Based Guidelines: Avoiding Gaps Between Development and Implementation of a Guideline for Problem Behaviour in Elderly Care

Diagnostic work is the reflexive work of figuring out what issues are at stake and determining the scope for action. This work is not generally accommodated by evidence-based guidelines, which generally promote a uniform, predefined approach to solving healthcare problems that risk narrowing the opportunities for diagnostic work in healthcare practice. Consequently, guidelines are often criticised as too general to solve situated, individual healthcare problems and gaps between guidelines and their implementation are often reported. The Netherlands has developed a guideline for problem behaviour in elderly care, explicitly designed for diagnostic work, thus stimulating a situated approach. Relational problem behaviour is highly embedded in its context. The guideline stimulates diagnostic work, which helps to unravel problem behaviour and is opening alternatives in elderly care. Diagnostic work does not transfer guideline development problems to healthcare practice, but simply structures the decision-making process without giving a predefined answer. Diagnostic work is thus important to consider in order to avoid a gap between guideline development and implementation.     

Drop the Small Talk When Establishing Baseline Behaviour in Interviews

The present experiment investigated the behavioural patterns of interviewees when comparing their baseline behaviour, prior to the interview, with their behaviour during the investigative interview. Similar to what has been advised in the police literature, the truthful baseline behaviour was established prior to the interview through non‐threatening questions. The investigative part of the interview then followed in which the interviewee was aware that they would be assessed on whether they were lying. During the investigative part, interviewees either discussed the job that they had (truth tellers, n = 128) or pretended to have (liars, n = 115). Findings revealed that both liars and truth tellers' behavioural patterns differed between the baseline behaviour and the investigative part of the interview. The findings suggest small talk should not be used as a baseline comparison with the investigative part of the interview when determining if the interviewee is being deceitful. An alternative way of using a baseline lie detection method, the comparable truth method, is discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigating a process model for leader affective presence,interpersonal emotion regulation,and interpersonal behaviour in teams

Leader affective presence is the tendency of leaders to elicit feelings that are consistent among other individuals, and has been supported as a relevant personality trait for understanding teamwork. Drawing on a model that integrates personality and emotion regulation, this study aimed to expand research on affective presence by proposing team members’ perceptions of leader interpersonal emotion regulation as a process that explains how leader affective presence is related to team member behaviour. In the model, teamness—the perception that interdependence and reflexivity are required in the team—is presented as a boundary condition to the effects of affective presence via emotion regulation. Results of a study conducted with 99 teams showed that team member ratings of leader positive affective presence were linked to their perceptions that leaders had used affect-improving emotion regulation which in turn was associated with greater team citizenship behaviour. Contrariwise, team member ratings of leader negative affective presence were associated with perceived use of affect-worsening emotion regulation by leaders which in turn was associated with lower levels of team citizenship, but only when teams were low in teamness. These findings contribute to understanding how leaders’ individual differences are related to teamwork through affective processes.     

The implications of perceived leader favouritism in the context of leader-member exchange relationships

Leader-member exchange (LMX) theory suggests that supervisors have relatively high-quality exchange relationships with some employees and relatively low-quality relationships with others. Prior investigations indicate that employees who have high-quality LMX relationships with their supervisors benefit in terms of more positive work attitudes and higher performance than those who do not. However, when employees feel like their supervisors are favouring some employees over others, it is likely to undermine the positive effects of LMX (even among employees who have high-quality exchanges with their supervisor). Using data from 305 employees and their coworkers, we found that the positive effects of LMX (regarding organizational citizenship behaviour, withdrawal behaviour, and relative deprivation regarding one’s career) were weakened by perceived leader favouritism. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Job demands,job resources and innovative work behaviour: a European Union study

This study aims to investigate the relationship between several job design variables and innovative work behaviour (IWB). Guided by the Job Demands Resources model, the aim was to evaluate the relationship between work demands (time constraints), resources (autonomy and social support), and other work factors (task monotony, complexity, and dealing with unforeseen circumstances) with idea generation and idea implementation behaviours in a sample of 12,924 participants from the 27 European Union member states in 2010. We also wished to investigate if individual IWB, at the country level, is associated with country innovative performance (an aggregate of process/product and marketing/organizational innovation). We employed a multilevel generalized structural equation model to test our hypotheses. In our final model autonomy, manager encouragement and dealing with unforeseen problems showed the highest positive relationship with idea generation and idea implementation. Conversely, monotonous tasks and working at high speed were negatively related to IWB. Furthermore, we have found strong indications that country-level IWB positively relates to the odds of a country scoring higher on the aforementioned innovation indicators. Between-country unexplained variance in IWB was reduced from 17.1% in our initial model, to 1.9% in our final iteration. Limitations, implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Crossing road intersections in old age—With or without risks? Perceptions of risk and crossing behaviours among the elderly

Pedestrians aged over 65 are known to be a critical group in terms of road safety because they represent the age group with the highest number of fatalities or injured persons in road accidents. It is widely recognized that the latter is due to the physical vulnerability of this age group in case of injury. However, physical and cognitive decline come into play during the action of crossing a street. Various studies have attempted to connect the crossing behaviours of the elderly with variables such as age, gender, sensory acuity, level of attentiveness, physical decline and the design of intersections. In demonstrating the complexity of the relationship between people and their environments, the literature suggests that age, physical ability, and the spatial configuration of roads are major components of road safety. Moreover, people’s knowledge and mastery of their environments, as well as their ability to adapt to change affects how they move through space. Taking these factors into account, this study examines the perceptions of elderly pedestrians with regards to the quality and risks of road crossings in the context of Montréal, Québec, in Canada. The analyze are based on observations and questionnaires in order to bring to light a better understanding of the relationship between the crossing behaviours, characteristics and perceptions of the elderly. While previous studies have examined perception and observation separately, this study is unique in having looked at both angles simultaneously. Five profiles of elderly people in both urban and suburban environments were established. A sample of 181 elderly pedestrians (65–93 years of age, AVG = 74) were surveyed using a questionnaire. In addition to close-ended questions, respondents were asked to evaluate 17 environmental ambiance and risk behaviours according to various scales. Using principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), the data was grouped into 6 categories that define and distinguish 7 profiles of elderly people. These profiles were explored according to the socioeconomic status and crossing behaviours of respondents. The probabilities of adopting different crossing behaviours were tested by employing logistic regression models. The results reveal greater variability in the perceptions of the elderly in terms of risk related to crossing behaviours and type of signalisation at intersections. Even among seniors, the perceptions of risk varied greatly, which may have had an impact on their behaviours. While some of the behaviours observed coincided with the perceptions of respondents, the results of this study suggest that they only play a marginal role.     

Pedestrians’ road crossing decisions and body parts’ movements

This study aims to examine pedestrians' crossing decision, body parts' movement and full body movement, just before and during road crossing in a simulated setup. To accomplish this, a novel experimental setup for analyzing pedestrians’ crossing behavior and motion was developed where the simulated display was synchronized with a 3D motion capturing system. Twenty participants, divided into control and an experimental time pressure group, observed sixteen short (less than 30 s) and long road (70 s or more) crossing scenarios with varying crossing opportunities. Based on the crossing opportunities they were asked to cross a 3.6 m wide one-lane one way urban road. It was found that the crossing initiation process consists of four incremental movements of body parts: the head and the shoulder first; the hip, wrist and elbow second; the knee as a separate joint, and finally the ankle. Results showed that pedestrians’ decision to cross and body parts movement are influenced by time pressure and wait time for a safe crossing opportunity. Specifically, pedestrians prepare their body parts earlier, initiate their crossing earlier, and adjust their speed to compensate for the risk taken in less safe or non-safe crossing opportunities. Within the control group, women tended to be more risk avoiding than men, however those differences disappeared in the time pressure group. Most importantly, the findings provide initial evidence that this novel simulation configuration can be used to gain precise knowledge of pedestrians’ decision-making and movement processes.     

Influences on anger in German urban cyclists

Previous research shows that anger and aggression among road users lead to maladjusted driving and a higher risk of accidents. Especially cyclists as vulnerable road users have a high risk of being injured if they are involved in accidents. This paper examines reasons for cycling anger in two studies. The first study aimed at identifying anger provoking events. Seventy-three cyclists were invited to discuss anger provoking events in a focus group setting. These events were rated regarding their anger intensity, clustered within focus groups, and aggregated across all groups. The first study revealed 208 unique cycling anger provoking events of varying anger intensity that were summarized in six clusters. The second study aimed at validating these anger provoking events, the ratings, and the clusters. Here, 129 participants were asked to complete a four-time point diary study (over the course of ten days), in which they registered all anger provoking events that they experienced while cycling. The results of this study validated most of the anger provoking events of the first study. Both studies show that most anger provoking events are related to conflicts between cyclists with other road users like car drivers and pedestrians. Moreover, conflicts with car drivers seem to cause stronger anger among cyclists than conflicts with other cyclists or pedestrians. Implications for further research and the planning of road infrastructure are discussed.     

Women’s everyday mobility: Frightening situations and their impacts on travel behaviour

This paper investigates frightening situations women face in their everyday mobility. The focus is not on serious criminal offences but rather on all situations causing fear such as harassment and the influence on the travel behaviour of women. Two surveys were conducted in Austria in 2012 and 2013 to assess whether and how many women are affected and to get insights in locations of the incidents and the circumstances. The personal security aspects of different modes of transport are investigated. The results show that women who experienced frightening situations tend to avoid certain destinations or routes and travel modes more than other women. The results also confirm that women in general have constrained travel behaviour because of fear about their personal security. When it is impossible to change route or travel time e.g. due to personal restraints, or when simply no other transport mode is available, women are captives to use unwanted transport options, even when they have to reckon with frightening situations. The conclusions summarize that women’s personal security plays an important role in terms of travel behaviour and increased attention should be paid by authorities as well as city- and transport planners striving for sustainable built environments. As the share of affected women is high and it can be assumed that women are more often imperilled than men the questions arises, if this can be assimilated to unequal mobility opportunities, finally resulting in a social deficiency for women.     

Investigation of drivers’ thresholds of a subjectively accepted driving performance with a focus on automated driving

Lately, the development and implementation of automated driving moved to the center of interest in the automotive industry. In this context, one of the central issues – the configuration of adequate trajectories – is mainly tackled using a technical approach. However, it appears that a technically ideal driving performance does not necessarily coincide with the drivers’ subjective preferences. This study strives to determine thresholds of a subjectively accepted driving performance regarding lateral vehicle control. A second objective is to analyze the influence of selected personal and situational factors on these thresholds. An empirical online survey with 161 participants rating video sequences of driving performances was conducted. The video sequences differed not only with regard to the lateral offset of the ego-vehicle but also concerning the weather (sun/rain) and traffic conditions (existence/driving behavior of oncoming traffic). Additionally, the participants’ driving experience and sensation seeking were considered in the data evaluation. To analyze the data, binary logistic regression analyses were calculated. They revealed that the subjective evaluation of driving performances varies primarily depending on the lateral offset of both the ego-vehicle and the oncoming traffic. The results indicate that regarding the lateral offset certain thresholds of subjectively accepted driving performances do exist. Regarding the development of automated driving systems, two issues need to be considered in order to ultimately guarantee user acceptance. First, the subjective thresholds need to be integrated into the systems’ trajectory planning. Second, the oncoming traffic’s driving behavior has to be considered.