Dominant culture and bullying : personal accounts of workers in Malaysia

Workplace bullying has been termed the cancer of the workplace; it is a widespread and often intractable problem. Internationally, a wealth of research has examined the prevalence of workplace bullying and its negative effects. This research base and the scientific definition of workplace bullying are, however, based on Western perspectives and supported by theories, models, and research studies conducted in Western cultures. The differences in cultural perspectives of Western and Eastern countries mean that workplace bullying may not be understood in the same way across different cultural groups, particularly when cultures differ along the Individualism-Collectivism dimension. Given that Malaysia is an Eastern country with a number of ethnic groups, a more comprehensive understanding of workplace bullying in the Malaysian context is important. Through a case study comprising in-depth qualitative interviews with 20 employees from different organisations in Malaysia, this chapter reveals six lay beliefs of workplace bullying and 19 lay beliefs about bullying behaviors. The study also found that the 12 bullying behaviors are work related while the other seven are personal-nature bullying behaviors. These results emphasize the influence of culture on how bullying is perceived within the Malaysian context, and the importance of understanding lay representations of workplace bullying from the Eastern context that apparent across nation. Based on the interviews, a general definition of workplace bullying from Malaysian employees' perspectives is presented and developed. The chapter concludes with implications for understanding bullying as an important psychosocial hazard at work and recommendations for future research and practice across the Asia Pacific region

Increasing physical activity in adult women with Prader–Willi syndrome: A transferability study

International audienceBackground: The present authors aimed (a) to objectively quantify spontaneous physical activity (PA) in adult patients with Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) and (b) to evaluate the transferability of a home-based exercise training programme in these patients.Method: Physical activity was compared between 10 adult women with PWS (PWS group) and 20 adult women with non-syndromic obesity (CON group, for cross-sectional comparison). In the PWS group, PA, body composition, walking capacity, quality of life and eating behaviour were then compared before and after a 16-week supervised exercise programme.Results: The PWS group displayed lower PA and higher sedentary time compared to the CON group. Median attendance to exercise sessions reached 100% (Q1-Q3: 97%–100%) sessions. Moderate-to-vigorous PA and walking capacity increased after the programme without significant effect on body composition.Conclusion: Supervised home-based exercise sessions are an effective strategy to improve PA in women with PWS who are less active than women matched for adiposity

Aplicação da Liderança Situacional em enfermagem de emergência Aplicación del Liderazgo Situacional en la enfermería de emergencia Applying Situational Leadership in emergency nursing

Os objetivos do estudo consistiram em identificar a correspondência de opinião entre o enfermeiro de unidade de emergência e o pessoal auxiliar de enfermagem em relação ao estilo deliderança exercido pelo enfermeiro e o estilo que este profissional deveria adotar em relação ao nível de maturidade do liderado frente as atividades assistenciais desenvolvidas. O referencial teórico adotado foi a Liderança Situacional. Para o alcance dos objetivos, elaborou-se instrumentos que foram aplicados nos sujeitos (n=24) participantes da pesquisa.Os resultados demonstraram que o estilo mais exercido pelos enfermeiros foi o E3 (compartilhar) e que estes deveriam adotar em relação ao nível de maturidade do pessoal auxiliar, o estilo E4 (delegar) sugerindo que os liderados apresentam nível de maturidade alto (M4).<br>Los objetivos de este estudio fueron identificar la correspondencia de opinión entre el enfermero de unidad de emergencia y el personal auxiliar de enfermería con relación al estilo de liderazgo utilizado por el enfermero y el estilo de liderazgo que este profesional debería adoptar con relación al nivel de madurez del personal auxiliar de enfermería ante las actividades de cuidado desarrolladas. El Liderazgo Situacional fue adoptado como referencial teórico. Para alcanzar los objetivos, fueron elaborados instrumentos, que fueron aplicados en 24 participantes. Los resultados mostraron que el estilo de liderazgo más ejercido por los enfermeros fue el E3 (compartir). La mayoría de los sujetos consideró que el enfermero debería adoptar en relación al nivel de madurez del personal auxiliar el estilo de liderazgo E4 (delegar), sugiriendo que los liderados investigados presentan nivel de madurez alto (M4).<br>This study aimed to identify the correspondence of opinions between nurses and nursing staff members who work at the emergency unit regarding the leadership style performed by nurses and the style nurses must adopt considering the maturity level of nursing staff members and the care provided at the unit. Situational Leadership was adopted as a theoretical reference framework. In order to achieve these goals, instruments were elaborated and applied to 24 research participants. Results demonstrated that the leadership style nurses most frequently perform was E3 (participating), and that nurses should adopt leadership style E4 (delegating) in view of the nursing staff's level of maturity, suggesting that staff members present a high level of maturity (M4)