Stretch goals and the distribution of organizational performance

Many academics, consultants, and managers advocate stretch goals to attain superior organizational performance. However, existing theory speculates that, although stretch goals may benefit some organizations, they are not a “rule for riches” for all organizations. To address this speculation, we use two experimental studies to explore the effects on the mean, median, variance, and skewness of performance of stretch compared with moderate goals. Participants were assigned moderate or stretch goals to manage a widely used business simulation. Compared with moderate goals, stretch goals improve performance for a few participants, but many abandon the stretch goals in favor of lower self-set goals, or adopt a survival goal when faced with the threat of bankruptcy. Consequently, stretch goals generate higher performance variance across organizations and a right-skewed performance distribution. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we find no positive stretch goal main effect on performance. Instead, stretch goals compared with moderate goals generate large attainment discrepancies that increase willingness to take risks, undermine goal commitment, and generate lower risk-adjusted performance. The results provide a richer theoretical and empirical appreciation of how stretch goals influence performance

Improving the identification of osteopenia the relationship between muscle power, body mass index and bone mass density

Nurse Practitioners (NPs) play a large role in preventive healthcare, especially as it relates to low bone mass density (LBMD). With 44 million people affected by osteoporosis in the United States and two million annual hospitalizations for osteoporosis-related fractures, identifying a more cost effective way to assess and predict low bone mass density (LBMD) before fractures occur is vital for optimal health. This study was conducted to examine the relationship between muscle power (MP) and bone mass density (BMD) and explore the use of MP according to body mass index (BMI) as a means of identifying LBMD. A prospective descriptive design was used to explore these variables among seventeen female volunteers between the ages of 30 - 65 years. Anthropometric measurements were recorded for each participant along with BMI, MP of the calf muscles, and BMD of the calcaneus. The results demonstrate a moderately significant correlation between BMD with MP (r = .541) and BMI (r = .581) using a two-tailed Pearson's correlation coefficient test set at 0.05 level. Weight (X) MP (+) Newton's was found to be highly correlated with BMD (r = .791) using a two-tailed Pearson's correlation coefficient test (p< 0.0001). Future research should focus on sex, age, and weight distributions to determine accurate prediction models. Using this approach, clinicians could access empirical data to assist in the identification of LBMD in the clinical setting. This approach is consistent with the preventative nature of advanced nursing practice and has the capacity to avoid unnecessary diagnostic testing and preserve millions of healthcare dollars. Study findings may help to direct future research in the use of MP as a clinical tool for identifying those at risk of LBMD and osteoporosis

Predictors of an Initial Position in Emergency Medicine

Introduction: Each year, emergency medicine (EM) residency graduates enter a variety of community and academic positions. For some training programs, the potential for an academic career is a consideration during the interview process; however, no studies have looked at factors that might predict an academic career. Our goal was to identify variables present during the EM application cycle that predict an initial academic position.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed application materials from 211 EM graduates at Emory University from 2003-2013. We analyzed biographical variables, board scores, personal statements, and both undergraduate and medical school research experience and publications. An academic position was defined as working at a site with residents rotating in the emergency department, full or part-time appointment at a medical school, or a position with research required for promotion. We used a logistic regression model to determine the impact of these predictors on obtaining an initial academic position.Results: A total of 79 (37%) graduates initially chose an academic job, and 132 (63%) took a community position. We identified the following statistically significant variables: younger age (odds ratio [OR] [0.79], 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.67-0.93], p=0.01); undergraduate publications (OR [1.41], 95% CI [1.08-1.83], p=0.01); and medical school publications (OR [3.39], 95% CI [1.66-6.94], p&lt;0.001). Of note, mention of an academic career in the personal statement showed no statistical correlation (p = 0.41).Conclusion: Younger age, and undergraduate and medical school publications were the variables most associated with an initial academic position. As this is a single-institution study, more studies are needed to validate these findings.

Predictors of an Initial Academic Position in Emergency Medicine

Introduction: Each year, emergency medicine (EM) residency graduates enter a variety of community and academic positions. For some training programs, the potential for an academic career is a consideration during the interview process; however, no studies have looked at factors that might predict an academic career. Our goal was to identify variables present during the EM application cycle that predict an initial academic position. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed application materials from 211 EM graduates at Emory University from 2003–2013. We analyzed biographical variables, board scores, personal statements, and both undergraduate and medical school research experience and publications. An academic position was defined as working at a site with residents rotating in the emergency department, full or part-time appointment at a medical school, or a position with research required for promotion. We used a logistic regression model to determine the impact of these predictors on obtaining an initial academic position. Results: A total of 79 (37%) graduates initially chose an academic job, and 132 (63%) took a community position. We identified the following statistically significant variables: younger age (odds ratio [OR] [0.79], 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.67–0.93], p=0.01); undergraduate publications (OR [1.41], 95% CI [1.08–1.83], p=0.01); and medical school publications (OR [3.39], 95% CI [1.66–6.94], p<0.001). Of note, mention of an academic career in the personal statement showed no statistical correlation (p = 0.41). Conclusion: Younger age, and undergraduate and medical school publications were the variables most associated with an initial academic position. As this is a single-institution study, more studies are needed to validate these findings

Laboratory Cultivation of Widespread and Previously Uncultured Soil Bacteria

Most soil bacteria belong to family-level phylogenetic groups with few or no known cultivated representatives. We cultured a collection of 350 isolates from soil by using simple solid media in petri dishes. These isolates were assigned to 60 family-level groupings in nine bacterial phyla on the basis of a comparative analysis of their 16S rRNA genes. Ninety-three (27%) of the isolates belonged to 20 as-yet-unnamed family-level groupings, many from poorly studied bacterial classes and phyla. They included members of subdivisions 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the phylum Acidobacteria, subdivision 3 of the phylum Verrucomicrobia, subdivision 1 of the phylum Gemmatimonadetes, and subclasses Acidimicrobidae and Rubrobacteridae of the phylum Actinobacteria. In addition, members of 10 new family-level groupings of subclass Actinobacteridae of the phylum Actinobacteria and classes Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, and Gammaproteobacteria of the phylum Proteobacteria were obtained. The high degree of phylogenetic novelty and the number of isolates affiliated with so-called unculturable groups show that simple cultivation methods can still be developed further to obtain laboratory cultures of many phylogenetically novel soil bacteria

Critical appraisal of emergency medicine education research: the best publications of 2012.

ObjectivesThe objective was to critically appraise and highlight medical education research published in 2012 that was methodologically superior and whose outcomes were pertinent to teaching and education in emergency medicine (EM).MethodsA search of the English language literature in 2012 querying Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), PsychInfo, PubMed, and Scopus identified EM studies using hypothesis-testing or observational investigations of educational interventions. Two reviewers independently screened all of the publications and removed articles using established exclusion criteria. This year, publications limited to a single-site survey design that measured satisfaction or self-assessment on unvalidated instruments were not formally reviewed. Six reviewers then independently ranked all remaining publications using one of two scoring systems depending on whether the study methodology was primarily qualitative or quantitative. Each scoring system had nine criteria, including four related to methodology, that were chosen a priori, to standardize evaluation by reviewers. The quantitative study scoring system was used previously to appraise medical education published annually in 2008 through 2011, while a separate, new qualitative study scoring system was derived and implemented consisting of parallel metrics.ResultsForty-eight medical education research papers met the a priori criteria for inclusion, and 33 (30 quantitative and three qualitative studies) were reviewed. Seven quantitative and two qualitative studies met the criteria for inclusion as exemplary and are summarized in this article.ConclusionsThis critical appraisal series aims to promote superior education research by reviewing and highlighting nine of the 48 major education research studies with relevance to EM published in 2012. Current trends and common methodologic pitfalls in the 2012 papers are noted