Identifying nurses' rewards: a qualitative categorization study in Belgium

BACKGROUND: Rewards are important in attracting, motivating and retaining the most qualified employees, and nurses are no exception to this rule. This makes the establishment of an efficient reward system for nurses a true challenge for every hospital manager. A reward does not necessarily have a financial connotation: non-financial rewards may matter too, or may even be more important. Therefore, the present study examines nurses' reward perceptions, in order to identify potential reward options. METHODS: To answer the research question "What do nurses consider a reward and how can these rewards be categorized?", 20 in-depth semi-structured interviews with nurses were conducted and analysed using discourse and content analyses. In addition, the respondents received a list of 34 rewards (derived from the literature) and were asked to indicate the extent to which they perceived each of them to be rewarding. RESULTS: Discourse analysis revealed three major reward categories: financial, non-financial and psychological, each containing different subcategories. In general, nurses more often mentioned financial rewards spontaneously in the interview, compared to non-financial and psychological rewards. The questionnaire results did not, however, indicate a significant difference in the rewarding potential of these three categories. Both the qualitative and quantitative data revealed that a number of psychological and non-financial rewards were important for nurses in addition to their monthly pay and other remunerations. In particular, appreciation for their work by others, compliments from others, presents from others and contact with patients were highly valued. Moreover, some demographical variables influenced the reward perceptions. Younger and less experienced nurses considered promotion possibilities as more rewarding than the older and more senior ones. The latter valued job security and working for a hospital with a good reputation higher than their younger and more junior colleagues. CONCLUSION: When trying to establish an efficient reward system for nurses, hospital managers should not concentrate on the financial reward possibilities alone. They also ought to consider non-financial and psychological rewards (in combination with financial rewards), since nurses value these as well and they may lead to a more personalized reward system

Fluxes and major transport routes of arsenic in the Scheldt estuary

The estuary of the Scheldt was monitored for As during seven seasonally spread sampling campaigns. The resulting data indicated that As did not behave conservatively in the estuary; an important mobilisation of As was observed from the river up to halfway the estuary. Both input flux (from river to estuary) and output flux (from estuary to coastal zone) of dissolved As (Asd) were calculated from statistical interpretations of the longitudinal profiles. The size of the input flux changed equally to the river discharge, being at its highest in winter, during flood period, and at its lowest in summer, during dry period. The same could not be said for the output fluxes; in fact, as a consequence of the mobilisation, there was a large discrepancy between input and output fluxes and these differences appeared to depend largely on the season. In summer and early autumn, the estuary exported three times more dissolved As to the sea than it received from the river. In winter and spring, this amount was barely double. The additions in dissolved As during each sampling period were quantified spatially by applying an estuarine analogue of 21 sequential tanks assumed to be homogeneous, as well as by statistical estimates and calculations of dilution in each tank. A second model was used to model particulate As (Asp), dividing the estuary into four characteristic zones, in each of which the movements of suspended particulate matter (spm) were well defined. Since particulate particles are mainly transported as associated to suspended matter, the major routes of particulate As transport in each box could be determined from the knowledge of this spm transport. They appeared to be longitudinal, in downstream direction, together with a large flux of sedimentation of continental material in the 2-10 salinity zone. Such sedimentation greatly reduced the flux of particulate As to the coastal zone; the flux to the sea was only 16% of the initial particulate As flux from the river. By combining the findings of both models, literature data on As biogeochemistry and seasonal observations, some transport routes additional to the spm transport were suggested

Arsenic speciation in the River Zenne, Belgium

Arsenic species have been assessed in the Zenne River, a sewage contaminated tributary of the Scheldt estuary, in winter 2003. The highest total dissolved As concentrations were found in the middle part of the river with values up to 3.6 mu g L(-1). Particulate As concentrations increase towards the mouth of the River with highest levels of 2 mu g L(-1). A very good correlation between the % of dissolved As and % of dissolved Fe was observed. They both linearly decrease with the amount of dissolved oxygen.In the middle part of the Zenne River where the oxygen levels were lowest, even below 1 mg L(-1), As(III) was the dominant species. In the other parts (upstream and downstream) of the river, As(V) was dominant. A linear relation between the measured redox values and those calculated via the As(III)/As(V) couple exists, but the range of measured Eh values is much larger than the calculated ones. No methylated dissolved As species were found during our survey

Trace contaminants in water-column and food-web of the Scheldt estuary

Action plans for a better protection of the North Sea were presented at the successive North Sea Conferences. These plans included far-reaching undertakings to reduce aqueous discharges and atmospheric emissions of substances such as trace metals that are toxic, persistent and liable to bioaccumulate. For cadmium, lead and mercury the reduction targets were achieved, but an additional effort is necessary for copper and zinc. It is interesting to compare, for the various trace metals, the above mentioned emission reduction percentages with the immission reduction levels observed in the Scheldt estuary over the same period. The Scheldt estuary is not only a receiving water body: evacuation of pollutants to the sea, storage in the bottom sediments and depuration via efflux to the atmosphere all contribute to a reduction of the metal burden in the water column. All in- and outgoing flows have been put together in a box-model, and a mass balance for each box has been calculated. Only in 5 boxes on 30, the imbalance was larger than 20% with a highest value of 29%. For mercury, also the food-chain transfer in the Scheldt, including bioconcentration and bioaccumulation factors, has been studied. Despite the fact that Hg levels in the Scheldt estuary are much higher than in the North Sea, it appears that Hg concentrations in fish are even slightly lower in the Scheldt. A more striking observation is the very low MMHg fraction in Scheldt fish (average 57%), compared to that in North Sea fish (average 95%)

A cross-sector comparison of motivation-related concepts in for-profit and not-for-profit service organizations.

This contribution examines differences in four motivation-related concepts between employees in not-for-profit and for-profit sector service organizations. Using regression analyses, 630 knowledge workers, employed in either the not-for-profit or the for-profit sector, were compared. The majority of the hypotheses were supported by the data. Even after the impact of gender, age, seniority, contract type, and task characteristics were controlled for, employees from both sectors differed significantly. Not-for-profit workers valued more social service, perceived a better person–organization fit, and were more motivated by identified and integrated regulation. Their for-profit counterparts valued more advancement and were more motivated by external regulation. These conclusions account for a broad range of activities within the service industry because a wide variety of organizations were included in the study.

The biogeochemical behaviour of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn in the Scheldt estuary: results of the 1995 surveys

Cd, Cu, Zn and Pb concentrations in both dissolved and particulate phase were assessed during 1995. Data Quality Assurance was an integral part of this study and involved all major steps of the analysis procedure such as sampling, sample handling, preconcentration and determination. Desorption and redox processes clearly control the dissolved Cu and Cd profiles. Mobilisation of dissolved Zn is small and essentially restricted to the low salinity area and the late spring survey. Dissolved Pb shows the clearest dilution pattern. The parameters representative of these processes (dissolved oxygen and salinity) also correlate very well with the particulate metal profiles. In addition, the plankton activity (expressed by the chlorophyll-a levels) may influence the dissolved and particulate metal profiles. In combination with desorption and redox processes, seasonal variations were induced

Total and toxic arsenic levels in North Sea fish

Levels of arsenic contamination in muscle and liver tissue of 25 sea fish and 4 shellfish species from the North Sea were determined. Analyses were done by both ICP-MS and HG-AFS to distinguish between nontoxic and toxic fractions of As. Highest total As concentrations were found in lemon sole, dogfish, ray, and witch. Average total As concentrations in these fish species were higher than 20 mg kg-1 WW. The same species as well as the other flatfishes contained the highest amounts of toxic As (> 0.1 mg kg-1 WW). Toxic fractions (AsTox/AsT%) above 2% were found in the following six species: seabass, ling, john dory, pouting, dab, and brill. No preferential concentration in the liver compared to the muscle was observed. In a worst-case scenario (when fish has been dried or smoked and the toxic As level is high; for example 0.5 mg kg-1 WW), the As content of North Sea marine food may reach harmful levels. A normalization reflecting the toxic potential of sea fish was made. Shark and ray and most flatfish species have positive (high) normalized AsTox values. By ANOVA testing we compared the individual AsT concentrations of samples of the same species (intraspecies variability). Significant differences for some fish species were observed; significantly higher AsT concentrations were found in dogfish from the French coast versus the western North Sea and in common sole from the Bay of the Seine, in the north of France, versus the western North Sea

Overview of trace metal contamination in the Scheldt estuary and effect of regulatory measures

Seasonally, dissolved and particulate metal concentrations in the Scheldt estuary were assessed over a period of 4 years (1995–1998). High quality data were obtained following stringent analytical protocols for each step: sampling, sample treatment, sample storage and analysis. Of the 5 trace metals, Ni showed the most conservative behaviour, while Cd and Cu were clearly transferred from the particulate to the dissolved phase in the middle estuary. A substantial part of the particulate metals entering the estuarine system are lost through sedimentation. General seasonal patterns are the following: lower concentrations in spring and higher ones in winter (sometimes late fall/early winter) for dissolved metals, while in summer a pronounced rise of the longitudinal concentration profile is observed for the particulate metals. A comparison of the trace metal concentrations (dissolved and particulate) at the mouth of the estuary in 1995–1998 with those from 1981 to 1983, reveal reductions between 30 and 58%. Reductions based on direct emission measurements for almost the same period suggest reductions (dissolved + particulate) between 42 and 64%. Biomagnification (BMF) is the accumulation of a compound through the food-chain. It is in our case expressed as the ratio of the metal concentration in the organism (µg g–1, d.w.)/the metal concentration in total suspended matter (µg g–1, d.w.). Almost all BMF-values of Periwinkle, Nereis diversicolor and Macoma balthica (3 bottom organisms in the Scheldt estuary) are negative meaning that these organisms contain less heavy metals than the particulate suspended matter. For all organisms log BMFs for Pb, respectively Ni, are around –1.8, respectively –0.7. For Cd, Periwinkle shows slight enrichment (0.05) and for Cu even more (0.45), while negative values were observed for Nereis diversicolour and Macoma balthica. The latter organisms are more enriched in Zn (–0.09) than Periwinkle (–0.43)