Onboarding in Global Virtual Teams: The Case of a Global Financial Organization

We explore onboarding in the context of global virtual teams (GVTs) with our findings from a qualitative case study with a leading global organization in the financial services industry. Through interviews with GVT members and leaders, we contribute to the literature in three ways: (a) revealing that onboarding in GVTs with dynamic membership is an ongoing practice (instead of a one-off activity); (b) identifying two categories of practices (known onboarding practices from the traditional literature and GVT-specific practices); and (c) suggesting that onboarding in GVTs with dynamic membership is not the organization’s and the leader’s responsibility alone, but existing and incoming members have a role to play too. We discuss our theoretical and practical contributions, and close with our study’s limitations and future research directions

Developing and Pilot Testing a Spanish Translation of CollaboRATE for Use in the United States

Background/Aim Given the need for access to patient-facing materials in multiple languages, this study aimed to develop and pilot test an accurate and understandable translation of CollaboRATE, a three-item patient-reported measure of shared decision-making, for Spanish-speaking patients in the United States (US). Method We followed the Translate, Review, Adjudicate, Pre-test, Document (TRAPD) survey translation protocol. Cognitive interviews were conducted with Spanish-speaking adults within an urban Massachusetts internal medicine clinic. For the pilot test, all patients with weekday appointments between May 1 and May 29, 2015 were invited to complete CollaboRATE in either English or Spanish upon exit. We calculated the proportion of respondents giving the best score possible on CollaboRATE and compared scores across key patient subgroups. Results: Four rounds of cognitive interviews with 26 people were completed between January and April 2015. Extensive, iterative refinements to survey items between interview rounds led to final items that were generally understood by participants with diverse educational backgrounds. Pilot data collection achieved an overall response rate of 73 percent, with 606 (49%) patients completing Spanish CollaboRATE questionnaires and 624 (51%) patients completing English CollaboRATE questionnaires. The proportion of respondents giving the best score possible on CollaboRATE was the same (86%) for both the English and Spanish versions of the instrument. Discussion Our translation method, guided by emerging best practices in survey and health measurement translation, encompassed multiple levels of review. By conducting four rounds of cognitive interviews with iterative item refinement between each round, we arrived at a Spanish language version of CollaboRATE that was understandable to a majority of cognitive interview participants and was completed by more than 600 pilot questionnaire respondents

Estado actual sobre la opinión e implantación en la sociedad de los psicólogos en España

There are few studies that present the image of the profession of psychology in the Spanish context. This descriptive and correlational study aims to describe the current state of opinion about psychology that exists in Spanish society. A sample of 920 people is obtained incidentally using a specific questionnaire as a tool. A descriptive analysis of the responses that generate a global pattern is carried out and done by cluster, which divides the sample into four specific response profiles. The main results indicate that opinions are generally positive, although there are still some myths and more traditional visions that are observed in some clusters, so work should be continued to increase and maintain the knowledge of society in relation to the profession.Existen pocos estudios que presenten la imagen de la profesión de psicología en el contexto español. Este estudio de tipo descriptivo y correlacional, tiene como objetivo describir el estado actual de la opinión sobre la psicología que existe en la sociedad española. Se obtiene una muestra de 920 personas de forma incidental utilizando como instrumento un cuestionario específico. Se realiza un análisis descriptivo de las respuestas que generan un patrón global y se hace un agrupamiento por clúster, que divide a la muestra en cuatro perfiles específicos de respuestas. Los principales resultados indican que las opiniones son en general positivas, aunque todavía existen algunos mitos y visiones más tradicionales que se observan en algunos clúster, por lo que se ha de seguir trabajando en aumentar y mantener el conocimiento de la sociedad en relación con la profesión.   There are few studies that present the image of the profession of psychology in the Spanish context. This descriptive and correlational study aims to describe the current state of opinion about psychology that exists in Spanish society. A sample of 920 people is obtained incidentally using a specific questionnaire as a tool. A descriptive analysis of the responses that generate a global pattern is carried out and done by cluster, which divides the sample into four specific response profiles. The main results indicate that opinions are generally positive, although there are still some myths and more traditional visions that are observed in some clusters, so work should be continued to increase and maintain the knowledge of society in relation to the profession

Effectiveness of a smartphone application for improving healthy lifestyles, a randomized clinical trial (EVIDENT II) : study protocol

Background: New technologies could facilitate changes in lifestyle and improve public health. However, no large randomized, controlled studies providing scientific evidence of the benefits of their use have been made. The aims of this study are to develop and validate a smartphone application, and to evaluate the effect of adding this tool to a standardized intervention designed to improve adherence to the Mediterranean diet and to physical activity. An evaluation is also made of the effect of modifying habits upon vascular structure and function, and therefore on arterial aging. Methods/Design: A randomized, double-blind, multicenter, parallel group clinical trial will be carried out. A total of 1215 subjects under 70 years of age from the EVIDENT trial will be included. Counseling common to both groups (control and intervention) will be provided on adaptation to the Mediterranean diet and on physical activity. The intervention group moreover will receive training on the use of a smartphone application designed to promote a healthy diet and increased physical activity, and will use the application for three months. The main study endpoints will be the changes in physical activity, assessed by accelerometer and the 7-day Physical Activity Recall (PAR) interview, and adaptation to the Mediterranean diet, as evaluated by an adherence questionnaire and a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Evaluation also will be made of vascular structure and function based on central arterial pressure, the radial augmentation index, pulse velocity, the cardio-ankle vascular index, and carotid intima-media thickness. Discussion: Confirmation that the new technologies are useful for promoting healthier lifestyles and that their effects are beneficial in terms of arterial aging will have important clinical implications, and may contribute to generalize their application in favor of improved population health. Trial registration: Clinical Trials.gov Identifier: NCT0201601

Relationships between quality of life and family function in caregiver

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There are caregivers who see their quality of life (QoL) impaired due to the demands of their caregiving tasks, while others manage to adapt and overcome the crises successfully. The influence of the family function in the main caregiver's situation has not been the subject of much evaluation. The aim of this study is to analyse the relationship between the functionality of the family and the QoL of caregivers of dependent relatives.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a cross-sectional study including 153 caregivers. Setting: Two health centers in the city of Salamanca(Spain). Caregiver variables analysed: demographic characteristics, care recipient features; family functionality (Family APGAR-Q) and QoL (Ruiz-Baca-Q) perceived by the caregiver. Five multiple regressions are performed considering global QoL and each of the four QoL dimensions as dependent variables. The Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) was used to study the influence of the family function questionnaire on QoL.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Family function is the only one of the variables evaluated that presented an association both with global QoL and with each of the four individual dimensions (p < 0.05). Using the CCA, we found that the physical and mental well-being dimensions are the ones which present a closer relationship with family functionality, while social support is the quality dimension that is least influenced by the Family APGAR-Q.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We find an association between family functionality and the caregiver's QoL. This relation holds for both the global measure of QoL and each of its four individual dimensions.</p

Practices for effective onboarding in dynamic Global Virtual Teams

Although onboarding constitutes a crucial aspect of today’s virtual work environments, and despite the wealth of studies on Global Virtual Teams (GVTs), we know surprisingly little about onboarding practices in this context. This is due to lack of empirical studies explicitly focused on onboarding in GVTs, and an emphasis on onboarding in the pandemic context which may not be relevant in the post-pandemic everyday GVT work. In this paper, we draw on empirical data from a global organization and present practices for effective onboarding a single member (or subgroup) half-way through GVT lifecycle. The practices we identified address specific challenges facing GVTs. We propose that (a) dynamic membership makes GVT onboarding an ongoing practice (rather than a one-off activity); (b) combining traditional and GVT-specific onboarding practices can help to enhance member visibility; and (c) organization, leaders, existing and incoming members all have a role to play in onboarding in GVTs (instead of being the sole responsibility of the organization/leader)

Perceived procedural organizational justice matters for the success of quality policies

[ENG]The purpose of the study was to investigate the role of perceptions of organizational justice in the relationship between changes to improve service quality and the level of job satisfaction of health care workers. The method was to use the fairness heuristic theory framework to compare workers from a primary health care center applying European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) practices with workers from centers not applying any quality policy (n = 95). Results show that the EFQM workers reported higher ratings of procedural justice than workers without EFQM, although their satisfaction levels were not significantly different. Furthermore, the application of the EFQM model showed a moderating influence on the relationship between procedural justice and satisfaction. Thus, in a changing environment, procedural justice had a strong effect on workers’ satisfaction. The value of the study is to deepen the understanding of how quality practices and organizational changes influence workers’ perceptions and attitudes towards their work environment