Effects of Transparent Performance Data on Employee Performance: Evidence from a Field Experiment

There is a growing trend of continuously tracking performance metrics and providing them to employees via digital means without supervisor intermediation. Using a field experiment at a service organization, we examine how employees respond to transparent performance data previously available only to supervisors (i.e., daily performance metrics of employees in the same work group). We find that, compared with the pre-intervention mean value, the treatment group experienced an 11-percent decrease in strictly nonproductive time relative to the control group. The effect on reducing strictly nonproductive time seems greater than that on increasing strictly productive time. Performance improvements are greater in certain employee subsamples: those who previously perceived their supervisors as less-supportive, those with low intrinsic motivation, and those with high extrinsic motivation. We find inconclusive evidence on the moderating effects of social comparison orientation, suggesting that the main effect is unlikely to be driven by access to relative performance information

Contributors to Student Satisfaction With Special Program (Fresh Start) Residence Halls

Perceptions of student satisfaction living in special Fresh Start residence halls were collected (N = 1,160, 40% female, 11% minority, 72% freshmen). Satisfaction was influenced by out-of-state residency, satisfaction with two residence staff positions, and Fresh Start policies, as well as house comfort interaction factors and living in a suite or a renovated residence hall

Hoarding Disorder in Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Report

Hoarding disorder is a widely recognized age-related mental health disorder. Its implications adversely impact the full spectrum of individuals’ interpersonal, physiological, mental, vocational, and environmental health. The 2019 Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) began affecting North America in January 2020, and its lockdown measures (social distancing and stay- at-home orders) directly interfered with social interactions and daily life functioning. This particularly affected older adults with hoarding disorder, who often resort to maladaptive behaviours (excessive acquisition of items) to buffer against psychological distress. To address this problem, the current case report details a 66-year-old woman, Evelyn Sakash, who died in connection with compulsive hoarding behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings suggest that social isolation, ineffective coping skills, childhood poverty aftermath, andinterpersonal relationship disruptions were significant factors contributing to Evelyn’s undue object attachment during the COVID-19 outbreak. Drawing on Evelyn’s tragic accident during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative to increase awareness of the risks and seriousness of older adults’ complications when living with hoarding disorder among healthcare professionals. This case report highlights the importance of early detection and early intervention of hoarding disorder in older adults, including routinely assessing their physical and mental health statuses, social support systems, and coping mechanisms, especially during indefinite pandemic-induced lockdowns

The Influence of Custodial, Maintenance, and Residence Life Services on Student Satisfaction in Residence Halls

This study is important because it examines the relationship between students\u27 overall satisfaction with their residence hall living experience and students\u27 satisfaction with various custodial, maintenance, and residence life services. The study, conducted in university residence halls at a Midwestern Carnegie Classification Research extensive university, used a backward step-wise multiple linear regression model with data from a 57-item survey to predict students\u27 satisfaction with their overall residence hall experiences. The strongest predictors were students\u27 comfort and socializing within the living unit. Only one maintenance or custodial item, students\u27 satisfaction with exterior landscape maintenance, v^as a significant predictor of the dependent variable

Global burden of colistin-resistant bacteria : mobilized colistin resistance genes study (1980-2018)

Colistin is considered to be an antimicrobial of last-resort for the treatment of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections. The recent global dissemination of mobilized colistin resistance (mcr) genes is an urgent public health threat. An accurate estimate of the global prevalence of mcr genes, their reservoirs and the potential pathways for human transmission are required to implement control and prevention strategies, yet such data are lacking. Publications from four English (PubMed, Scopus, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Web of Science) and two Chinese (CNKI and WANFANG) databases published between 18 November 2015 and 30 December 2018 were identified. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, the prevalence of mcr genes in bacteria isolated from humans, animals, the environment and food products were investigated. A total of 974 publications were identified. 202 observational studies were included in the systematic review and 71 in the meta-analysis. mcr genes were reported from 47 countries across six continents and the overall average prevalence was 4.7% (0.1-9.3%). China reported the highest number of mcr-positive strains. Pathogenic Escherichia coli (54%), isolated from animals (52%) and harboring an IncI2 plasmid (34%) were the bacteria with highest prevalence of mcr genes. The estimated prevalence of mcr-1 pathogenic E. coli was higher in food-animals than in humans and food products, which suggests a role for foodborne transmission. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of prevalence of the mcr gene by source, organism, genotype and type of plasmid

Detector Characterization of a Near-Infrared Discrete Avalanche Photodiode 5x5 Array for Astrophysical Observations

We present detector characterization of a state-of-the-art near-infrared (950nm - 1650 nm) Discrete Avalanche Photodiode detector (NIRDAPD) 5x5 array. We designed an experimental setup to characterize the NIRDAPD dark count rate, photon detection efficiency (PDE), and non-linearity. The NIRDAPD array was illuminated using a 1050 nm light-emitting diode (LED) as well as 980 nm, 1310 nm, and 1550 nm laser diodes. We find a dark count rate of 3.3x10$^6$ cps, saturation at 1.2x10$^8$ photons per second, a photon detection efficiency of 14.8% at 1050 nm, and pulse detection at 1 GHz. We characterized this NIRDAPD array for a future astrophysical program that will search for technosignatures and other fast (>1 Ghz) astrophysical transients as part of the Pulsed All-sky Near-infrared Optical Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (PANOSETI) project. The PANOSETI program will consist of an all-sky optical (350 - 800 nm) observatory capable of observing the entire northern hemisphere instantaneously and a wide-field NIR (950 - 1650 nm) component capable of drift scanning the entire sky in 230 clear nights. PANOSETI aims to be the first wide-field fast-time response near-infrared transient search.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, 1 tabl

Pay for Environmental Performance: The Effect of Incentive Provision on Carbon Emissions

Corporations are increasingly under pressure to improve their environmental performance and to account for potential risks and opportunities associated with climate change. In this paper, we examine the effectiveness of monetary and nonmonetary incentives provided by companies to their employees in order to reduce carbon emissions. Specifically, we find evidence that the use of monetary incentives is associated with higher carbon emissions. This result holds both in cross-sectional and time-series analysis. Moreover, we find that the use of nonmonetary incentives is associated with lower carbon emissions. Consistent with monetary incentives crowding out motivation for pro-social behavior, we find that the effect of monetary incentives on carbon emissions is mitigated when these incentives are provided to employees with formally assigned responsibility for environmental performance. Furthermore, by employing a two-stage multinomial logistic model, we provide insights into factors affecting companies’ decisions on incentive provision, as well as showing that the impact of monetary incentives on carbon emissions remains significant even when we control for potential selection bias in our sample

Acceptance and commitment therapy for symptom interference in metastatic breast cancer patients: a pilot randomized trial

PURPOSE: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in women worldwide. With medical advances, metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients often live for years with many symptoms that interfere with activities. However, there is a paucity of efficacious interventions to address symptom-related suffering and functional interference. Thus, this study examined the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of telephone-based acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for symptom interference with functioning in MBC patients. METHODS: Symptomatic MBC patients (N = 47) were randomly assigned to six telephone sessions of ACT or six telephone sessions of education/support. Patients completed measures of symptom interference and measures assessing the severity of pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, depressive symptoms, and anxiety. RESULTS: The eligibility screening rate (64%) and high retention (83% at 8 weeks post-baseline) demonstrated feasibility. When examining within-group change, ACT participants showed decreases in symptom interference (i.e., fatigue interference and sleep-related impairment; Cohen's d range = - 0.23 to - 0.31) at 8 and 12 weeks post-baseline, whereas education/support participants showed minimal change in these outcomes (d range = - 0.03 to 0.07). Additionally, at 12 weeks post-baseline, ACT participants showed moderate decreases in fatigue and sleep disturbance (both ds = - 0.43), whereas education/support participants showed small decreases in these outcomes (ds = - 0.24 and - 0.18 for fatigue and sleep disturbance, respectively). Both the ACT and education/support groups showed reductions in depressive symptoms (ds = - 0.27 and - 0.28) at 12 weeks post-baseline. Group differences in all outcomes were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: ACT shows feasibility and promise in improving fatigue and sleep-related outcomes in MBC patients and warrants further investigation

Dual Oxidase Maturation factor 1 (DUOXA1) overexpression increases reactive oxygen species production and inhibits murine muscle satellite cell differentiation

Background: Dual oxidase maturation factor 1 (DUOXA1) has been associated with the maturation of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) producing enzyme, dual oxidase 1 (DUOX1) in the adult thyroid. However, ROS have also been implicated in the development of several tissues. We found that activated muscle satellite cells and primary myoblasts isolated from mice express robust levels of DUOXA1 and that its levels are altered as cells differentiate. Results: To determine whether DUOXA1 levels affect muscle differentiation, we used an adenoviral construct (pCMV5-DUOXA1-GFP) to drive constitutive overexpression of this protein in primary myoblasts. High levels of DUOXA1 throughout myogenesis resulted in enhanced H2O2 production, fusion defects, reduced expression of early (myogenin) and late (myosin heavy chain) markers of differentiation, and elevated levels of apoptosis compared to control cells infected with an empty adenoviral vector (pCMV5-GFP). DUOXA1 knockdown (using a DUOXA1 shRNA construct) resulted in enhanced differentiation compared to cells subjected to a control shRNA, and subjecting DUOXA1 overexpressing cells to siRNAs targeting DUOX1 or apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) rescued the phenotype. Conclusions: This study represents the first to demonstrate the importance of DUOXA1 in skeletal muscle myoblasts and that DUOXA1 overexpression in muscle stem cells induces apoptosis and inhibits differentiation through DUOX1 and ASK1. © 2014 Sandiford et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd