AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NON-MONETARY WELFARE PROGRAMS AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE AMONG NON-TEACHING STAFF IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING IN KENYA

Welfare programs are concerned with the total wellbeing of employees both at work and at home. Non-monetary welfare programs in the workplace are offered by employers in the hope of winning the satisfaction index of an employee and hence increasing employee engagement and commitment, which equally translate to increased productivity, reduced turnover and enhanced employee loyalty. Several experts assert that non-monetary welfare programmes have long lasting effects on employee performance since they are intrinsic in nature. The objective of the study was to investigate the relationship between non-monetary welfare programmes like safety and health programmes and pension and retirement schemes with employee productivity among the non-teaching staff in institutions of higher learning in Kenya. The study adopted descriptive research design. The population comprised staff from five private universities in Nairobi County which have been in operation for ten years or more from which a sample of 30% was selected. Data was collected by use semi structured questionnaires. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics: frequency, percentages, mean and standard deviation. Data was presented using tables and charts. The findings revealed that non-monetary welfare programmes have a significant relationship with performance. The study concludes that provision of employee welfare programs have positive impact on employee performance. The study recommends that organizations should learn and implement welfare programs in order to get the most out of the employees.  Article visualizations

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NON-MONETARY WELFARE PROGRAMS AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE AMONG NON-TEACHING STAFF IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING IN KENYA

Welfare programs are concerned with the total wellbeing of employees both at work and at home. Non-monetary welfare programs in the workplace are offered by employers in the hope of winning the satisfaction index of an employee and hence increasing employee engagement and commitment, which equally translate to increased productivity, reduced turnover and enhanced employee loyalty. Several experts assert that non-monetary welfare programmes have long lasting effects on employee performance since they are intrinsic in nature. The objective of the study was to investigate the relationship between non-monetary welfare programmes like safety and health programmes and pension and retirement schemes with employee productivity among the non-teaching staff in institutions of higher learning in Kenya. The study adopted descriptive research design. The population comprised staff from five private universities in Nairobi County which have been in operation for ten years or more from which a sample of 30% was selected. Data was collected by use semi structured questionnaires. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics: frequency, percentages, mean and standard deviation. Data was presented using tables and charts. The findings revealed that non-monetary welfare programmes have a significant relationship with performance. The study concludes that provision of employee welfare programs have positive impact on employee performance. The study recommends that organizations should learn and implement welfare programs in order to get the most out of the employees.  Article visualizations

Attenuation of morphine antinociceptive tolerance by a CB1 receptor agonist and an NMDA receptor antagonist: Interactive effects

CB1 cannabinoid (CB1) receptor agonists and N-Methyl-d-Aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists attenuate the development of morphine antinociceptive tolerance. The present study used dose-addition analysis to evaluate CB1/NMDA receptor interactions on this endpoint. Chronic morphine administration (5 days, 100 mg/kg, twice daily) resulted in a 2.8-fold rightward shift in the morphine dose-effect curve. Co-administration of either the CB1 receptor agonist CP-55940 (5-(1,1-Dimethylheptyl)-2-[5-hydroxy-2-(3-hydroxypropyl)cyclohexyl]phenol; 0.32-1.0 mg/kg) or the NMDA receptor antagonist (−)-6-phosphonomethyl-deca-hydroisoquinoline-3-carboxylic acid (LY235959; 1.0-3.2 mg/kg) with morphine dose-dependently attenuated morphine tolerance. The relative potency of each drug alone was quantified using a defined level of effect (one-quarter log shift in the morphine dose-effect curve), resulting in equieffective doses of 0.42 mg/kg and 1.1 mg/kg for CP-55940 and LY235959, respectively. Subsequent experiments assessed CP-55940/LY235959 interactions using a fixed-proportion design. Co-administration of CP-55940/LY235959 mixtures (1:1, 1:3.2, or 1:10 CP-55940/LY235959) with morphine dose-dependently attenuated morphine tolerance. Isobolographic and dose-addition analysis were used to statistically compare the experimentally determined potency for each mixture (zmix) with predicted additive potency (zadd). Mixtures of 1:1 and 1:3.2 CP-55940/LY235959 produced additive effects (zadd = zmix), while the mixture of 1:10 CP-55940/LY235959 produced a supra-additive effect (zadd > zmix). These results suggest that CP-55940 and LY235959 produce additive or supra-additive attenuation of morphine antinociceptive tolerance after repeated morphine administration, depending on their relative concentrations

Prehistoric rock art in Scotland: archaeology, meaning and engagement

This booklet aims to widen understanding and appreciation of prehistoric rock carvings in Scotland. Rock art forms some of the most prolific, fascinating, and inspiring fragments of Scotland’s ancient past. It captures a wealth of information about the people who created it, the world they lived in, and the beliefs they held in order to make sense of that world. There is still much to learn about Scotland’s rock art, but investigations over the last two decades have helped us understand more about its significance to people in the past and its value to us today. In the following pages, we provide an overview of rock art in Scotland, its connections with other parts of Britain and Europe, and its treatment today. In the first two sections (About Rock Art and Rock Art and Meaning), we emphasise the uniqueness of Scotland’s rock art and explore the key questions surrounding it: What is it? Where is it? How old is it? Who made it? And, above all, what does it mean? In the third section (Rock Art Today), we highlight the importance of recording, preserving and celebrating the rock art that survives today to ensure future understanding, community engagement, and cultural identity. There is much more to say about rock art than we can possibly fit into this booklet and, in the final section, we offer suggestions for where to find out more and where to visit rock art in the landscape, in museums, and online

A multiscalar methodology for holistic analysis of prehistoric rock carvings in Scotland

Prehistoric rock carvings are one of Scotland’s most enigmatic and poorly understood monument types. This article discusses the pioneering approach used by Scotland’s Rock Art Project to enhance understanding of the abstract motifs through multiscalar computational analyses of a large dataset co-produced with community teams. The approach can be applied to suitable rock art datasets from other parts of the world and has international relevance for rock art reserach. Our analysis incorporates data from across Scotland in order to investigate inter-regional differences and similarities in the nature and contexts of the carvings. Innovative application of complementary analytical methods identified subtle regional variations in the character of the rock art and motif types. This variability suggest an understanding of the rock art tradition that was widely shared but locally adapted, and reflects connections and knowledge exchange between specific regions

Interventions to reduce pedestrian road traffic injuries: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials, cluster randomized controlled trials, interrupted time-series, and controlled before-after studies

BACKGROUND: Road traffic injuries are among the top ten causes of death globally, with the highest burden in low and middle-income countries, where over a third of deaths occur among pedestrians and cyclists. Several interventions to mitigate the burden among pedestrians have been widely implemented, however, the effectiveness has not been systematically examined. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of interventions to reduce road traffic crashes, injuries, hospitalizations and deaths among pedestrians. METHODS: We considered studies that evaluated interventions to reduce road traffic crashes, injuries, hospitalizations and/or deaths among pedestrians. We considered randomized controlled trials, interrupted time-series studies, and controlled before-after studies. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, WHO Global Health Index, Health Evidence, Transport Research International Documentation and ClinicalTrials.gov through 31 August 2020, and the reference lists of all included studies. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts and full texts, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias. We summarized findings narratively with text and tables. RESULTS: A total of 69123 unique records were identified through the searches, with 26 of these meeting our eligibility criteria. All except two of these were conducted in high-income countries and most were from urban settings. The majority of studies observed either a clear effect favoring the intervention or an unclear effect potentially favoring the intervention and these included: changes to the road environment (19/27); changes to legislation and enforcement (12/12); and road user behavior/education combined with either changes to the road environment (3/3) or with legislation and enforcement (1/1). A small number of studies observed either a null effect or an effect favoring the control. CONCLUSIONS: Although the highest burden of road traffic injuries exists in LMICs, very few studies have examined the effectiveness of available interventions in these settings. Studies indicate that road environment, legislation and enforcement interventions alone produce positive effects on pedestrian safety. In combination with or with road user behavior/education interventions they are particularly effective in improving pedestrian safety

The coastal environment and human health : microbial indicators, pathogens, sentinels and reservoirs

© 2008 Author et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Environmental Health 7 (2008): S3, doi:10.1186/1476-069X-7-S2-S3.Innovative research relating oceans and human health is advancing our understanding of disease-causing organisms in coastal ecosystems. Novel techniques are elucidating the loading, transport and fate of pathogens in coastal ecosystems, and identifying sources of contamination. This research is facilitating improved risk assessments for seafood consumers and those who use the oceans for recreation. A number of challenges still remain and define future directions of research and public policy. Sample processing and molecular detection techniques need to be advanced to allow rapid and specific identification of microbes of public health concern from complex environmental samples. Water quality standards need to be updated to more accurately reflect health risks and to provide managers with improved tools for decision-making. Greater discrimination of virulent versus harmless microbes is needed to identify environmental reservoirs of pathogens and factors leading to human infections. Investigations must include examination of microbial community dynamics that may be important from a human health perspective. Further research is needed to evaluate the ecology of non-enteric water-transmitted diseases. Sentinels should also be established and monitored, providing early warning of dangers to ecosystem health. Taken together, this effort will provide more reliable information about public health risks associated with beaches and seafood consumption, and how human activities can affect their exposure to disease-causing organisms from the oceans.The Oceans and Human Health Initiative research described within this paper is supported by the National Science Foundation, The National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Grant numbers are: NIEHS P50 ES012742 and NSF OCE- 043072 (RJG, LAA-Z, MFP), NSF OCE04-32479 and NIEHS P50 ES012740 (RSF), NSF OCE-0432368 and NIEHS P50 ES12736 (HMS-G), NIEHS P50 ES012762 and NSF OCE-0434087 (JSM)