The Relationships Between Job Characteristics and Job Satisfaction Among Call Center Workers.

Empirical studies have shown that employee turnover rates in call centers positions are significantly greater than most other job positions. This quantitative study examined the relationship of call center employees’ job satisfaction and job characteristics using Hackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristics Model as the primary theoretical framework. Specifically, the study looked at the components of the Motivating Potential Score, including three psychological states and five job characteristics, in relation to job satisfaction. This study surveyed call center employees within a large payroll and human resources services company in New York State. The results of the study demonstrated that there was a strong positive correlation between job satisfaction and the Motivating Potential Score. In addition, the study showed that of the three psychological states, experienced meaningfulness and knowledge of results almost equally had the strongest relation to perceived job satisfaction. Feedback was shown to have the greatest relationship to job satisfaction of the five job characteristics among the overall sample of call center workers. These findings highlight the opportunity to conduct additional research to gain greater insights into call center job design, training for both call centers workers and their management, and additional initiatives for motivating for female employees. Overall, this research provides greater understanding of job characteristics in call center positions and their relation to call center employees’ job satisfaction

Spaceflight modulates gene expression in the whole blood of astronauts

Astronauts are exposed to a unique combination of stressors during spaceflight, which leads to alterations in their physiology and potentially increases their susceptibility to disease, including infectious diseases. To evaluate the potential impact of the spaceflight environment on the regulation of molecular pathways mediating cellular stress responses, we performed a first-of-its-kind pilot study to assess spaceflight-related gene-expression changes in the whole blood of astronauts. Using an array comprised of 234 well-characterized stress-response genes, we profiled transcriptomic changes in six astronauts (four men and two women) from blood preserved before and immediately following the spaceflight. Differentially regulated transcripts included those important for DNA repair, oxidative stress, and protein folding/degradation, including HSP90AB1, HSP27, GPX1, XRCC1, BAG-1, HHR23A, FAP48, and C-FOS. No gender-specific differences or relationship to number of missions flown was observed. This study provides a first assessment of transcriptomic changes occurring in the whole blood of astronauts in response to spaceflight

Bearings House: Community Reintegration Project

Research poster documenting the following project: Long Creek Youth Development Center offers a variety of activities, an education, mentorship, and structure for Bearings House residents. In addition to those programs, we hoped through building a relationship with residents we could identify their occupational interests and assist in their transition to life in the community. We strived to support residents through their transition to Bearings House and give them an opportunity to further explore their interests as well as expose them to new occupations they may have not previously participated in order to help as they reintegrate into the community.https://dune.une.edu/cecespring2020/1010/thumbnail.jp

The Relationships Between Job Characteristics and Job Satisfaction Among Call Center Workers.

Empirical studies have shown that employee turnover rates in call centers positions are significantly greater than most other job positions. This quantitative study examined the relationship of call center employees’ job satisfaction and job characteristics using Hackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristics Model as the primary theoretical framework. Specifically, the study looked at the components of the Motivating Potential Score, including three psychological states and five job characteristics, in relation to job satisfaction. This study surveyed call center employees within a large payroll and human resources services company in New York State. The results of the study demonstrated that there was a strong positive correlation between job satisfaction and the Motivating Potential Score. In addition, the study showed that of the three psychological states, experienced meaningfulness and knowledge of results almost equally had the strongest relation to perceived job satisfaction. Feedback was shown to have the greatest relationship to job satisfaction of the five job characteristics among the overall sample of call center workers. These findings highlight the opportunity to conduct additional research to gain greater insights into call center job design, training for both call centers workers and their management, and additional initiatives for motivating for female employees. Overall, this research provides greater understanding of job characteristics in call center positions and their relation to call center employees’ job satisfaction

Transcriptional profiling of canine osteosarcoma identifies prognostic gene expression signatures with translational value for humans

Abstract Canine osteosarcoma is increasingly recognized as an informative model for human osteosarcoma. Here we show in one of the largest clinically annotated canine osteosarcoma transcriptional datasets that two previously reported, as well as de novo gene signatures devised through single sample Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (ssGSEA), have prognostic utility in both human and canine patients. Shared molecular pathway alterations are seen in immune cell signaling and activation including TH1 and TH2 signaling, interferon signaling, and inflammatory responses. Virtual cell sorting to estimate immune cell populations within canine and human tumors showed similar trends, predominantly for macrophages and CD8+ T cells. Immunohistochemical staining verified the increased presence of immune cells in tumors exhibiting immune gene enrichment. Collectively these findings further validate naturally occurring osteosarcoma of the pet dog as a translationally relevant patient model for humans and improve our understanding of the immunologic and genomic landscape of the disease in both species

Three-Dimensional Tissue Assemblies: Novel Models for the Study of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Pathogenesis

The lack of readily available experimental systems has limited knowledge pertaining to the development of Salmonella-induced gastroenteritis and diarrheal disease in humans. We used a novel low-shear stress cell culture system developed at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in conjunction with cultivation of three-dimensional (3-D) aggregates of human intestinal tissue to study the infectivity of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium for human intestinal epithelium. Immunohistochemical characterization and microscopic analysis of 3-D aggregates of the human intestinal epithelial cell line Int-407 revealed that the 3-D cells more accurately modeled human in vivo differentiated tissues than did conventional monolayer cultures of the same cells. Results from infectivity studies showed that Salmonella established infection of the 3-D cells in a much different manner than that observed for monolayers. Following the same time course of infection with Salmonella, 3-D Int-407 cells displayed minimal loss of structural integrity compared to that of Int-407 monolayers. Furthermore, Salmonella exhibited significantly lower abilities to adhere to, invade, and induce apoptosis of 3-D Int-407 cells than it did for infected Int-407 monolayers. Analysis of cytokine expression profiles of 3-D Int-407 cells and monolayers following infection with Salmonella revealed significant differences in expression of interleukin 1α (IL-1α), IL-1β, IL-6, IL-1Ra, and tumor necrosis factor alpha mRNAs between the two cultures. In addition, uninfected 3-D Int-407 cells constitutively expressed higher levels of transforming growth factor β1 mRNA and prostaglandin E(2) than did uninfected Int-407 monolayers. By more accurately modeling many aspects of human in vivo tissues, the 3-D intestinal cell model generated in this study offers a novel approach for studying microbial infectivity from the perspective of the host-pathogen interaction