184 research outputs found
Class-related health inequalities are not larger in the East
Background: The article investigates whether people in Eastern Europe have larger health inequalities than their counterparts in three West European regions (North, Central and the South).
Methods: Data were obtained for 63 754 individuals in 23 countries from the first (2002) and second (2004) waves of the European Social Survey. The health outcomes were self-reported limiting longstanding illness and fair/poor general health. Occupational class was defined according to the European Socioeconomic Classification (ESeC). The magnitude of absolute and relative inequalities according to nine occupational classes for men and women separately were identified, analysed and compared in all four regions of Europe.
Results: For both sexes and within all European regions, the higher and lower professionals, self-employed and higher service wo
Determinants of job satisfaction for salaried and self-employed professionals in Finland
This paper contributes to our knowledge of the determinants of job satisfaction by analysing the effects of employment status (self-employed or salaried employee) and work characteristics (autonomy, variety, task identity, task significance and feedback) on job satisfaction in a sample of 2327 Finnish professionals. The results of the structural equation model analysis show that although the self-employed are significantly more satisfied with their jobs than their salaried counterparts also in Finland, employment status as such does not explain job satisfaction when the five work characteristics are added to the structural model. Further, the analysis finds that task significance, variety and autonomy have similar effects on the level of job satisfaction among both employees and self-employed individuals, while feedback has a weaker effect when the individual is self-employed and task identity does not affect job satisfaction in either group. Overall the study points to the need to develop jobs that are high in autonomy, variety and task significance for professionals in order to enhance job satisfaction
Understanding decision quality through satisfaction
"PAAMS 2014 International Workshops, Salamanca, Spain, June 4-6, 2014. Proceedings"One of the most important factors to determine the success of an or-ganization is the quality of decisions made. In order to improve the decisions taken and to strengthen the competitiveness of organizations, systems such as Group Decision Support Systems (GDSSs) have been strongly developed and studied in recent decades. The amount of GDSSs incorporating automatic nego-tiation mechanisms, such as argumentation, is increasing nowadays. The evalu-ation of these mechanisms and the understanding of their real benefits for the organizations is still a hard challenge. In this article, we propose a model that allows a GDSS to measure the participantâs satisfaction with the decision, con-sidering aspects such as problem evaluation, personality, emotions and expecta-tions. This model is intended to enable the understanding of the decisionâs qual-ity achieved with an argumentation system and to evaluate its capability to po-tentiate the decisionâs quality. The proposed model validates all the assump-tions found in the literature regarding the participantâs satisfaction.This work is supported by FEDER Funds through the âPrograma Operacional Fac-tores de Competitividade - COMPETEâ program and by National Funds through FCT âFundação para a CiĂȘncia e a Tecnologiaâ under the project: FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-PEst-OE/EEI/UI0760/2011 and SFRH/BD/89697/2012
Physics of Solar Prominences: I - Spectral Diagnostics and Non-LTE Modelling
This review paper outlines background information and covers recent advances
made via the analysis of spectra and images of prominence plasma and the
increased sophistication of non-LTE (ie when there is a departure from Local
Thermodynamic Equilibrium) radiative transfer models. We first describe the
spectral inversion techniques that have been used to infer the plasma
parameters important for the general properties of the prominence plasma in
both its cool core and the hotter prominence-corona transition region. We also
review studies devoted to the observation of bulk motions of the prominence
plasma and to the determination of prominence mass. However, a simple inversion
of spectroscopic data usually fails when the lines become optically thick at
certain wavelengths. Therefore, complex non-LTE models become necessary. We
thus present the basics of non-LTE radiative transfer theory and the associated
multi-level radiative transfer problems. The main results of one- and
two-dimensional models of the prominences and their fine-structures are
presented. We then discuss the energy balance in various prominence models.
Finally, we outline the outstanding observational and theoretical questions,
and the directions for future progress in our understanding of solar
prominences.Comment: 96 pages, 37 figures, Space Science Reviews. Some figures may have a
better resolution in the published version. New version reflects minor
changes brought after proof editin
Benford's law predicted digit distribution of aggregated income taxes: the surprising conformity of Italian cities and regions
The yearly aggregated tax income data of all, more than 8000, Italian
municipalities are analyzed for a period of five years, from 2007 to 2011, to
search for conformity or not with Benford's law, a counter-intuitive phenomenon
observed in large tabulated data where the occurrence of numbers having smaller
initial digits is more favored than those with larger digits. This is done in
anticipation that large deviations from Benford's law will be found in view of
tax evasion supposedly being widespread across Italy. Contrary to expectations,
we show that the overall tax income data for all these years is in excellent
agreement with Benford's law. Furthermore, we also analyze the data of
Calabria, Campania and Sicily, the three Italian regions known for strong
presence of mafia, to see if there are any marked deviations from Benford's
law. Again, we find that all yearly data sets for Calabria and Sicily agree
with Benford's law whereas only the 2007 and 2008 yearly data show departures
from the law for Campania. These results are again surprising in view of
underground and illegal nature of economic activities of mafia which
significantly contribute to tax evasion. Some hypothesis for the found
conformity is presented.Comment: 18 pages, 5 tables, 4 figures, 61 references, To appear in European
Physical Journal
Ethnic and gender differences in applicants' decision-making processes: An application of the theory of reasoned action
Contains fulltext :
54483.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)11 p
Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy
We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable
and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is
presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and
systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of
globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude,
with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may
have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky
Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the
second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the
HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The
relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level
and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax
measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance
modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are
studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of
low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and
Space Scienc
Complex relationships among personality traits, job characteristics, and work behaviors
The aim of the study was to investigate the additive, mediating, and moderating effects of personality traits and job characteristics on work behaviors. Job applicants (N = 161) completed personality questionnaires measuring extraversion, neuroticism, achievement motivation, and experience seeking. One and a half years later, supervisors rated the applicants' job performance, and the job incumbents completed questionnaires about skill variety, autonomy, and feedback, work stress, job satisfaction, work self-efficacy, and propensity to leave. LISREL was used to test 15 hypotheses. Perceived feedback mediated the relationship between achievement motivation and job performance. Extraversion predicted work self-efficacy and job satisfaction. Work stress mediated the relationship between neuroticism and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction and experience seeking were related to propensity to leave. Autonomy, skill variety, and feedback were related to job satisfaction
Representational predicaments for employees: Their impact on perceptions of supervisors\u27 individualized consideration and on employee job satisfaction
A representational predicament for a subordinate vis-à -vis his or her immediate superior involves perceptual incongruence with the superior about the subordinate\u27s work or work context, with unfavourable implications for the employee. An instrument to measure the incidence of two types of representational predicament, being neglected and negative slanting, was developed and then validated through an initial survey of 327 employees. A subsequent substantive survey with a fresh sample of 330 employees largely supported a conceptual model linking being neglected and negative slanting to perceptions of low individualized consideration by superiors and to low overall job satisfaction. The respondents in both surveys were all Hong Kong Chinese. Two case examples drawn from qualitative interviews illustrate and support the conceptual model. Based on the research findings, we recommend some practical exercises to use in training interventions with leaders and subordinates. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC
Investigation of the ÎnâŻ=âŻ0 selection rule in Gamow-Teller transitions : The ÎČ-decay of 207 Hg
Gamow-Teller ÎČ decay is forbidden if the number of nodes in the radial wave functions of the initial and final states is different. This În=0 requirement plays a major role in the ÎČ decay of heavy neutron-rich nuclei, affecting the nucleosynthesis through the increased half-lives of nuclei on the astrophysical r-process pathway below both Z=50 (for N>82) and Z=82 (for N>126). The level of forbiddenness of the În=1Îœ1g 9/2 âÏ0g 7/2 transition has been investigated from the ÎČ â decay of the ground state of 207 Hg into the single-proton-hole nucleus 207 Tl in an experiment at the ISOLDE Decay Station. From statistical observational limits on possible Îł-ray transitions depopulating the Ï0g 7/2 â1 state in 207 Tl, an upper limit of 3.9Ă10 â3 % was obtained for the probability of this decay, corresponding to logâĄft>8.8 within a 95% confidence limit. This is the most stringent test of the În=0 selection rule to date
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