Effects of requested, forced and denied shift schedule change on work ability and health of nurses in Europe: results from the European NEXT-Study

Background: Previous cross-sectional findings from the European Nurses Early Exit Study (NEXT) show that nurses who were dissatisfied with their work schedule tended to consider leaving the nursing profession. Mediating factors in this decision process may be caused by self-perceived poor work ability and/or health. The aim of this paper is to investigate changes in work ability and general health among nurses in relation to requested, forced and denied change of shift schedule. Methods: Longitudinal data from the NEXT Study was used. In total 11,102 nurses from Belgium, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, France and Italy completed both the ‘basic questionnaire’ (t1) and the ’12 month follow-up questionnaire’ (t2). To examine the time-effect (repeated measures) and the group-effect of five defined groups of nurses on the Work Ability Index (WAI) and general health (SF36), an adjusted 2-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed. Results: The nurses who wanted to, but could not change their shifts during the 12 month follow-up had the lowest initial and follow-up scores for WAI (t1: 37.6, t2: 36.6, p <0.001), lowest general health (t1: 63.9, t2: 59.2, p <0.001) and showed the highest decrease in both outcomes. Shift pattern change in line with the nurses’ wishes was associated with improved work ability and to a lesser comparatively low extent with increased decline in health scores. A forced change of shift against the nurses’ will was significantly associated with a deteriorating work ability and health. Conclusions: The findings would suggest that nurses’ desire to change their shift patterns may be an indicator for perceived low work ability and/or low health. The results also indicate that fulfilling nurses’ wishes with respect to their shift work pattern may improve their personal resources such as work ability and – to somewhat lesser extent – health. Disregarding nurses’ preferences, however, bears the risk for further resource deterioration. The findings imply that shift schedule organization may constitute a valuable preventive tool to promote nurses’ work ability and – to lesser extent – their perceived health, not least in aging nursing work forces

Beschäftigen statt entlassen: Instrumente des Beschäftigungs-Managements mit Fallstudien aus der Energieversorgung

Diese betriebswirtschaftliche Handlungshilfe wendet sich an Betriebsräte und Personalführungen in Unternehmen, die mit dem Problem des Personalabbaus konfrontiert sind. Die anhaltende dramatische Umbruchsituation in den Unternehmen der Energieversorgung in Deutschland und die Suche nach praktischen Alternativen zu drohenden Entlassungen sind der Ausgangspunkt. Vor- und Nachteile der bekannten und weniger bekannten Instrumente zur Beschäftigungssicherung, die grundsätzlich in jeder Branche anwendbar sind, werden aus betriebswirtschaftlicher Sicht bewertet. Fallstudien und Vereinbarungen aus Energieversorgungsunternehmen zeigen, welche Lösungen in der Praxis zu betrieblichen Bündnissen für Arbeit gefunden werden

The design of the HOM-damping cells for the S-band linear collider

Damping cells for the higher order modes are necessary for the S-band linear collider to minimize BBU (Beam-Break-Up). The construction of the damper cells has to take into account the different field geometries of the higher order modes. So two different types of dampers have been designed: a wall slotted an an iris slotted cell. In order to optimize the two types of damping cells with respect to damping strength, impedance matching between coupling system and waveguide dampers and between damping cell and undamped cells and the tuning system, damping cells of both types have been built and examinated

The effect of a single HOM-damper cell within a channel of undamped cells

The effect of a single HOM-damper cell within a channel of undamped cells is described theoretically using an equivalent circuit model. From this a simple equation can be derived which relates the Q-value of the single damping-cell, the bandwidth of the passband under consideration, and the additional phase shift which is introduced by the damper cell to provide energy flow into the damper cell. This equation immediately shows the limitations of such single cell damping systems. Comparisons with experimental results are shown

Can we learn from benchmarking studies of airports and where do we want to go from here?

This paper outlines some first results from a study on the technical efficiency and total factor productivity (TFP) of 17 international airports in Germany. The analysis was undertaken with panel data from 1998 - 2002. According to the Malmquist-DEA the performance at nearly every airport decreased from 2001, mainly due to the aftermath of September 11, 2001. As was assumed, the technical efficiency and productivity of most airports declined. This was especially the case for the terminal side since capacity expansions in the form of new or additional terminal buildings increased excess supply while passenger volume was decreasing. This study is the first step of a larger research project on measuring the performance of German airports

Mode propagation in an iris type accelerator section loaded with single heavily HOM-damped cells

The wakefield effects in accelerator sections for future linear colliders will be reduced either by damping by detuning or by a combination of both. For the DESY/THD linac [1] it is forseen to employ heavily HOM-damped cells to provide a strong coupling to the TE/TM11-dipole passband as well as to the TM/TE11-dipole passband. For our experiments we have used wall-slotted damping cells. This leads to several problems concerning the propagation of fundamental and HOM-modes. Experimental investigations have been done. Results are presented

Quality factor measurements in cavities with mode overlap

A new method of measuring quality factors in cavities is presented. This method is well suited to measure quality factors in undamped cavities as well as in heavily damped cavities, and in addition this method provides a possibility of separating modes and measuring quality factors especially in cases of overlapping modes. Measurements have been carried out on HOM-damped cavities for the DESY/THD linear collider project. Results are presented

Binnenschifffahrt

Die Binnenschifffahrt ist ein wichtiges Element des Gesamtsystems Wasser und nur in diesem Kontext in seiner Bedeutung zu erfassen. Aufgrund ihrer Systemvorteile leistet sie einen wichtigen Beitrag für ein leistungs- und zukunftsfähiges Verkehrssystem. Sie hat noch ausreichende Kapazitäten, ist ein kostengünstiger, sicherer und umweltfreundlicher Verkehrsträger mit hoher Energieeffizienz. Dennoch steht sie vor einer Vielzahl von Herausforderungen

Bildung 12- bis 40-gliedriger Oligolide aus enantiomerenreinen 3-Hydroxybuttersäure-Derivaten – Bausteine für eine 2₁- und eine 3₁-Helix

Trimeric, tetrameric, and pentameric oligolides are formed preferentially from (S)-βbutyrolactone, or from methyl (R)-3-hydroxybutanoate, upon prolonged treatment with catalytic amounts of tetraoxadistannacyclodecane (Shanzer's macrolactonization catalyst) in refluxing xylene. The crystal structure of the tetramer is described. Substructures of the larger folded oligolides are used for the construction of a left-handed 21-helix, as found in the biopolymer PHB, and a heretofore unknown right-handed 31-helix