Structural empowerment is a strong predictor of organizational commitment in nurses: A systematic review and meta-analysis

AIMS: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to explore the relationship between structural empowerment and organizational commitment and to examine a theoretical model under which empowerment could potentially affect organizational performance. DESIGN: PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews and meta-analyses were used and quality assessment of articles was performed. DATA SOURCES: Electronic database searches were conducted in Google Scholar, PubMed/Medline, CINAHL, Scopus, and EMBASE from January 1950–1 January 2019, which resulted in 204 retrieved studies, published between 1994–2018. REVIEW METHODS: A random effects model was used to produce a pooled estimate of effect sizes (correlation coefficient, Cronbach's alpha), with analysis of heterogeneity and publication bias. A meta-analytic structural equation model of the constructs analysed was also performed. RESULTS: The final review included 22 studies. The meta-analytic means of structural empowerment, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and psychological empowerment alpha reliabilities were 0.87, 0.84, 0.85, and 0.87, respectively. Heterogeneity but no publication bias was present in these outcomes. Structural empowerment was strongly correlated with organizational commitment (r = 0.43). The meta-analytic correlation coefficients of organizational commitment with psychological empowerment and job satisfaction were 0.53 and 0.47, respectively. Structural empowerment was correlated with job satisfaction and psychological empowerment with correlation coefficients of 0.57 and 0.44, respectively. Finally, job satisfaction was correlated with psychological empowerment with a correlation coefficient of 0.53. A meta-analytic structural equation model was tested with good fit which predicted performance (commitment and job satisfaction) from empowerment (structural and psychological). CONCLUSION: Structural empowerment is strongly correlated to organizational commitment and with psychological empowerment, they increase organizational performance. Organizations should attempt to make structural empowerment as widespread as possible to create an effective workplace culture. IMPACT: Structural empowerment in nurses is important to help deliver an effective workplace culture where nurses can be committed and have reduced intention-to-leave. Structural empowerment was strongly correlated with organizational commitment. Organizational commitment was significantly correlated with psychological empowerment and job satisfaction. Structural empowerment was correlated with job satisfaction and psychological empowerment as well. A meta-analytic structural equation model with good fit predicted performance. These results will affect nursing researchers and practitioners. Results indicate a need for organizational restructuring that promotes empowerment and formation of theoretical models that connect empowerment to performance

Mapping regional vulnerability in Europe’s energy transition: development and application of an indicator to assess declining employment in four carbon-intensive industries

Europe’s transition to an energy system compatible with limiting global heating to 1.5 °C will require radical changes in energy systems. While this will create substantial new growth industries in clean technologies, some currently important economic activities will decline. The impacts of that transition will not be the same for all regions. We map the economic vulnerability of European regions to ambitious decarbonisation scenarios in terms of employment losses in four carbon-intensive industries. To do so, we develop a composite vulnerability indicator that combines each region’s share of employment in those high-carbon industries with other dimensions of vulnerability and resilience. We then explore how regional patterns of vulnerability are influenced by the technology pathway to 2050, using four scenarios modelled using the European PRIMES model. We show that economic vulnerability to the low-carbon transition is regionally concentrated, with some regions combining high employment shares in industries expected to decline with weak adaptive capacity and high pre-existing unemployment. We also show that there is little variation in regional vulnerability arising from different transition pathways. All scenarios compatible with 1.5 °C involve large declines in all high-carbon sectors we analyse, and as a result, scenario variation does not lead to large variation in relative vulnerability of regions. The results highlight regions that may be in need of additional policy support to diversify their economies and achieve a just transition

Narrative-driven alternative roads to achieve mid-century CO2 net neutrality in Europe

The tightened climate mitigation targets of the EU green deal raise an important question: Which strategy should be used to achieve carbon emissions net neutrality? This study explores stakeholder-designed narratives of the future energy system development within the deep decarbonization context. European carbon net-neutrality goals are put under test in a model comparison exercise using state of the art Energy-Environment-Economy (E3) models: ETM-UCL, PRIMES and REMIND. Results show that while achieving the transition to carbon neutrality by mid-century is feasible under quite different future energy systems, some robust commonalities emerge. Electrification of end use sectors combined with large-scale expansion of renewable energy is a no-regret decision for all strategies; Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) plays an important role for achieving net-neutral targets under all scenarios, but is most relevant when demand-side changes are limited; hydrogen and synthetic fuels can be a relevant mitigation option for mid-century mitigation in hard-to-abate sectors; energy efficiency can reduce the supply system strain. Finally, high carbon prices (300-900€/tCO2) are needed under all strategies in order to achieve carbon net neutrality in 2050

Is Green Recovery Enough? Analysing the Impacts of Post-COVID-19 Economic Packages

Emissions pathways after COVID-19 will be shaped by how governments’ economic responses translate into infrastructure expansion, energy use, investment planning and societal changes. As a response to the COVID-19 crisis, most governments worldwide launched recovery packages aiming to boost their economies, support employment and enhance their competitiveness. Climate action is pledged to be embedded in most of these packages, but with sharp differences across countries. This paper provides novel evidence on the energy system and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions implications of post-COVID-19 recovery packages by assessing the gap between pledged recovery packages and the actual investment needs of the energy transition to reach the Paris Agreement goals. Using two well-established Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) and analysing various scenarios combining recovery packages and climate policies, we conclude that currently planned recovery from COVID-19 is not enough to enhance societal responses to climate urgency and that it should be significantly upscaled and prolonged to ensure compatibility with the Paris Agreement goal

Fossil extraction bans and carbon taxes: Assessing their interplay through multiple models

Given concerns about the ambition and effectiveness of current climate policies, a case has been made for the combination of demand side policies such as carbon pricing with supply side bans on fossil fuel extraction. However, little is known about their interplay in the context of climate stabilization strategies. Here, we present a multi-model assessment quantifying the effectiveness of supply side policies and their interactions with demand-side ones. We explore a variety of fossil fuel bans with four integrated assessment models and find that international supply side policies reduce carbon emissions but not at sufficient levels to stabilize temperature increase to well below 2°C. When combined with demand side policies, supply side policies reduce the required carbon price, dampen reliance on CO2 removal technologies, and increase investment in renewable energy. The results indicate the opportunity to integrate fossil fuel bans alongside price-based policies when exploring pathways to reach ambitious mitigation targets

Hypophosphataemia after intravenous iron therapy with ferric carboxymaltose—Real world experience from a tertiary centre in the UK

Background: Iron deficiency is the most common global cause of anaemia. Intravenous (IV) iron is used to correct iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) where oral iron cannot be used. Despite being effective, certain IV iron formulations cause significant hypophosphataemia. However, current knowledge on the clinical consequences of IV iron‐induced hypophosphataemia is broadly anecdotal or limited to isolated case reports. / Aims: To retrospectively examine the incidence and potential clinical consequences of hypophosphataemia post‐IV ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) in hospitalised patients with IDA (mixed aetiology). / Methods: Data were collected for 162 patients, who received a total of 169 FCM courses during a 2‐year audit period. Outcomes included incidence of moderate/severe hypophosphataemia (serum phosphate <0.65 mmol/L) ≤90 days post‐FCM, changes in alkaline phosphatase, need for phosphate replacement, and length of hospital stay. / Results: The incidence of moderate/severe hypophosphataemia post‐FCM was 33.7%; within this group the rate of severe hypophosphataemia (serum phosphate ≤0.32 mmol/L) was 8.8%. Moderate/severe hypophosphataemia persisted, with 35% of patients having a serum phosphate of <0.65 mmol/L for ≤90 days at the last measurement after IV FCM. Intervention with IV phosphate—an average of 4.4 infusions per person—was required in 29.8% of cases with moderate/severe hypophosphataemia. FCM‐induced moderate/severe hypophosphataemia was associated with a significantly longer hospital stay (P < 0.0035). / Conclusions: Moderate/severe hypophosphataemia is a frequent adverse drug reaction with FCM. In our study, FCM‐induced moderate/severe hypophosphataemia was also persistent, often required treatment, and was associated with longer hospital stay

Exploring the possibility space: taking stock of the diverse capabilities and gaps in integrated assessment models

Integrated assessment models (IAMs) have emerged as key tools for building and assessing long term climate mitigation scenarios. Due to their central role in the recent IPCC assessments, and international climate policy analyses more generally, and the high uncertainties related to future projections, IAMs have been critically assessed by scholars from different fields receiving various critiques ranging from adequacy of their methods to how their results are used and communicated. Although IAMs are conceptually diverse and evolved in very different directions, they tend to be criticised under the umbrella of 'IAMs'. Here we first briefly summarise the IAM landscape and how models differ from each other. We then proceed to discuss six prominent critiques emerging from the recent literature, reflect and respond to them in the light of IAM diversity and ongoing work and suggest ways forward. The six critiques relate to (a) representation of heterogeneous actors in the models, (b) modelling of technology diffusion and dynamics, (c) representation of capital markets, (d) energy-economy feedbacks, (e) policy scenarios, and (f) interpretation and use of model results

Improving future travel demand projections: a pathway with an open science interdisciplinary approach

Transport accounts for 24% of global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels. Governments face challenges in developing feasible and equitable mitigation strategies to reduce energy consumption and manage the transition to low-carbon transport systems. To meet the local and global transport emission reduction targets, policymakers need more realistic/sophisticated future projections of transport demand to better understand the speed and depth of the actions required to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. In this paper, we argue that the lack of access to high-quality data on the current and historical travel demand and interdisciplinary research hinders transport planning and sustainable transitions toward low-carbon transport futures. We call for a greater interdisciplinary collaboration agenda across open data, data science, behaviour modelling, and policy analysis. These advancemets can reduce some of the major uncertainties and contribute to evidence-based solutions toward improving the sustainability performance of future transport systems. The paper also points to some needed efforts and directions to provide robust insights to policymakers. We provide examples of how these efforts could benefit from the International Transport Energy Modeling Open Data project and open science interdisciplinary collaborations