Reining in Medicaid spending--states respond to declining revenues

Medical care, Cost of ; Medicare

Applying appraisal theories of emotion to the concept of emotional labor

Interest in the role of emotions in the workplace has increased in recent years (e.g., Arvey, Renz, & Watson, 1998; Ashkanasy, Hartel, & Daus, 2002; Fisher & Ashkanasy, 2000; Muchinsky, 2000). One particular area of workplace emotions research deals with emotional labor, or the regulation of emotions as part of the work role (Hochschild, 1983). Although emotional labor research has examined the ways that individuals can regulate their emotions, this research typically is not grounded in theories of the emotion generation process (Ashton-James and Ashkanasy, 2004) and does not examine the causal effects of emotion regulation strategies on outcomes. The present study applies appraisal theories of emotion (Lazarus, 2001; Scherer, 2001; Smith & Pope, 1992; Smith, Haynes, Lazarus, & Pope, 1993) to the literature on emotional labor by designing a training intervention that teaches employees to change their felt emotions to match organizationally-desired emotions by reappraising work situations in a more positive light. Appraisal theories of emotion state that emotions are generated by evaluations of situations or events. The purpose of the present study was to increase positive emotions and decrease negative emotions in customer service employees by teaching them to appraise workplace events differently. Measures of dependent variables were taken for one week (five shifts) before the training and one week (five shifts) after the training. Additionally, a control group was included who received only general customer service training. The reappraisal training produced an increase in high pleasure, low arousal emotions compared to the control training. The reappraisal training also decreased feelings of inauthenticity and depersonalization compared to the control training in one subsample

Goal orientation and feedback sign as predictors of changes in motivation and performance

This study examined the dimensions of goal orientation as moderators of the effects of feedback sign on changes in self-efficacy, effort, and performance over time. In general, the effect of feedback sign on changes in self-efficacy, effort, and performance was hypothesized to be strong for individuals high on performance goal orientation (PGO) and weak for individuals high on learning goal orientation (LGO). Participants completed several performance blocks of an implicit learning task that required individuals to control the temperature of a simulated chemical reactor. Participants were given manipulated normative feedback after each trial. Self-efficacy, effort, and performance were assessed at several points during the session. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to examine how self-efficacy, effort, and performance changed over the course of the experiment and the extent to which feedback sign and goal orientation predicted these changes. Significant findings included a main effect of feedback sign on changes in self-efficacy and effort. In addition, LGO interacted with the feedback manipulation in its effects on self-efficacy change, such that changes in the self-efficacy of individuals high in LGO were less influenced by feedback sign than changes in the self-efficacy of individuals low in LGO. Contributions of this research are discussed, including implications for giving feedback in organizations and for improving training programs

Nearly 6.4 Million Californians Lacked Health Insurance in 2007 -- Recession Likely to Reverse Small Gains in Coverage

Summarizes findings from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) on trends in the state's uninsured rate, the underlying factors, and projected trends. Points to flaws in the eligibility rules for public coverage and outlines policy implications

Genetic Markers for Sex Identification in Forensic DNA Analysis

The ability to determine the sex of an individual based on DNA evidence can be crucial in instances such as identification of victims of mass disaster, missing persons investigations, and sexual assault cases. The Y chromosome marker amelogenin is currently in widespread use for determination of chromosomal sex of an unknown DNA donor and differentiating the relative contributions of male and female DNA in a mixed forensic sample. However, many cases of the failure of the amelogenin marker to correctly determine the sex of DNA donors have been reported, causing the usefulness of the amelogenin marker in forensics to be questioned. In this paper we review use of amelogenin as a marker for sex identification in forensics and describe four additional Y chromosome markers, sex-determining region Y (SRY), Y-encoded testis-specific protein (TSPY), locus DXYS156, and steroid sulfatase (STS). The SRY, TSPY, DXYS156, and STS markers each have properties that could be used for developing more rigorous methods of testing forensic DNA samples for a Y chromosome or the presence of specific reproductive or secondary sex characteristics

Sharing Political and Religious Information on Facebook: Coworker Reactions

This study is the first to examine links between social media activity and workplace relationship outcomes. The study examines employees’ perceptions of coworkers who share political and religious information on Facebook. Authors piloted a measure of political and religious information sharing on Facebook (the PRISM-F). Results indicate that employees who frequently post political information on Facebook are less liked by their coworkers. In turn, this reduced liking relates to being less trusted, receiving less help, and receiving lower job performance ratings from coworkers. Religious information sharing was unrelated to these outcomes. Political and religious belief similarity did not moderate the effects of information sharing. This study offers evidence that although engaging in political discourse on Facebook can be tempting, it is associated with potentially negative workplace consequences. Furthermore, organizations may be well served by developing social media policies that caution employees about the potentially negative effects of sharing political information on Facebook.

Geophysical Applications for Arctic/Subarctic Transportation Planning

This report describes a series of geophysical surveys conducted in conjunction with geotechnical investigations carried out by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the value of and potential uses for data collected via geophysical techniques with respect to ongoing investigations related to linear infrastructure. One or more techniques, including direct-current resistivity, capacitive-coupled resistivity, and ground-penetrating radar, were evaluated at sites in continuous and discontinuous permafrost zones. Results revealed that resistivity techniques adequately differentiate between frozen and unfrozen ground, and in some instances, were able to identify individual ice wedges in a frozen heterogeneous matrix. Capacitive-coupled resistivity was found to be extremely promising due to its relative mobility as compared with direct-current resistivity. Ground-penetrating radar was shown to be useful for evaluating the factors leading to subsidence in an existing road. Taken as a whole, the study results indicate that supplemental geophysical surveys may add to the quality of a geotechnical investigation by helping to optimize the placement of boreholes. Moreover, such surveys may reduce the overall investigation costs by reducing the number of boreholes required to characterize the subsurface

Anglo-Danish Empire: A Companion to the Reign of King Cnut the Great

Anglo-Danish Empire is an interdisciplinary handbook for the Danish conquest of England in 1016 and the subsequent reign of King Cnut the Great. Bringing together scholars from the fields of history, literature, archaeology and manuscript studies, the volume offers comprehensive analysis of England\u27s shift from Anglo-Saxon to Danish rule. It follows the history of this complicated transition, from the closing years of the reign of King Æthelred II and the Anglo-Danish wars to Cnut\u27s accession to the throne of England and his consolidation of power at home and abroad. Ruling from 1016 to 1035, Cnut drew England into a Scandinavian empire that stretched from Ireland to the Baltic. His reign rewrote the place of Denmark and England within Europe, altering the political and cultural landscapes of both countries for decades to come.https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/mip_nmw/1009/thumbnail.jp

Immunisation rates of medical students at a tropical Queensland university

Abstract: Although medical students are at risk of contracting and transmitting communicable diseases, previous studies have demonstrated sub-optimal medical student immunity. The objective of this research was to determine the documented immunity of medical students at James Cook University to important vaccine-preventable diseases. An anonymous online survey was administered thrice in 2014, using questions with categories of immunity to determine documented evidence of immunity, as well as closed-ended questions about attitudes towards the importance of vaccination. Of the 1158 medical students targeted via survey, 289 responses were included in the study (response rate 25%), of which 19 (6.6%) had documented evidence of immunity to all of the vaccine-preventable diseases surveyed. Proof of immunity was 38.4% for seasonal influenza, 47.1% for pertussis, 52.2% for measles, 38.8% for varicella, 43.7% for hepatitis A, and 95.1% for hepatitis B (the only mandatory vaccination for this population). The vast majority of students agreed on the importance of vaccination for personal protection (98.3%) and patient protection (95.9%). In conclusion, medical students have sub-optimal evidence of immunity to important vaccine-preventable diseases. Student attitudes regarding the importance of occupational vaccination are inconsistent with their level of immunity. The findings of this study were used to prompt health service and educational providers to consider their duty of care to manage the serious risks posed by occupational communicable diseases