Investigation of the relationship between structural empowerment and organizational commitment of nurses in Zanjan hospitals

Background: The demanding nature of nursing work environments signals longstanding and growing concerns about nurses' health and job satisfaction and the provision of quality care. Specifically in health care settings, nurse leaders play an essential role in creating supportive work environments to avert these negative trends and increase nurse job satisfaction.Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between structural empowerment and organizational commitment of nurses.Methods: 491 nurses working in Zanjan hospitals participated in this descriptive-correlational study in 2010. Tools for data collection were Meyer and Allen’s organizational commitment questionnaire and “Conditions for Work Effectiveness Questionnaire-II” (CWEQ-II). Data was analyzed by SPSS16. The statistical tests such as variance analysis, t-test, pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression were used for data analysis.Results: According to the findings, the perception of nurses working in hospitals on "Structural Empowerment" was moderate (15.98±3.29). Nurses believed "opportunity" as the most important element in structural empowerment with the score of 3.18 ±0.79. Nurses working in non-academic hospitals and in non-teaching hospitals had higher organizational commitment than others. There was a significant relationship between structural empowerment and organizational commitment.Conclusion: Generally, structural empowerment (relatively strong) correlates with nurses’ organizational commitment. We concluded that a high structural empowerment increases the organizational commitment of nurses.Keywords: Structural empowerment, organizational commitment, nurses, Zanja

A hybrid analytical network process and fuzzy goal programming for supplier selection: A case study of auto part maker

The aim of this research is to present a hybrid model to select auto part suppliers. The proposed method of this paper uses factor analysis to find the most influencing factors on part maker selection and the results are validated using different statistical tests such as Cronbach's Alpha and Kaiser-Meyer.The hybrid model uses analytical network process to rank different part maker suppliers and fuzzy goal programming to choose the appropriate alternative among various choices. The implementation of the proposed model of this paper is used for a case study of real-world problem and the results are discussed

An exploration on the responsibility to social adequacy in adolescent learning environments affected by the type of design experience based on the biophilic attitude

What is considered as a serious concern in the contemporary urban system is the widening gap between man and natural systems. The extreme density of buildings has brought about interaction with technology instead of interaction with nature, and lack of interest in environmental concerns for the urbanite adolescents, which can lead to a serious crisis in the mental health of an adolescent due to being on the path of maturity. Many studies in the field of learning environments indicate the effectiveness of interaction with natural processes on the promotion of adolescents' social identity; therefore, creating a suitable environment for reducing social harm and acquiring social skills can be effective in reducing mental pressures. Background and Objectives: Researches have shown that adolescents' interaction with nature is effective in improving stress and promoting effective mental health, and also nature-based learning environments play an important role in improving adolescents' social identity. This study tries to improve the level of adolescents’ mental health by recognizing and analyzing biophilic approach patterns as a nature-based approach, along with acquiring related capabilities and skills in educational environments. In addition to the explanation of the patterns corresponding to the experiences of biophilic (bio-oriented) attitudes, the present study prioritizes the related environmental indicators to acquire the abilities (cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and motivational) of the adolescence period in the context of learning. Materials and Methods: The used method is applied in terms of purpose, and the study method is descriptive-analytical and survey in terms of nature. Data collection is based on the study of library resources, and in the field stage, it is based on the distribution of questionnaires and interviews; also, the SPSS software was used to analyze the data. The Chi-square test is used to examine the significance of the relationship between variables in the research hypotheses, and the Pearson test is used to examine the correlation of independent and dependent variables that indicates the establishment of a correlation between research variables, which shows that the accuracy between all variables is less than 0.05 and the correlation coefficient of all relations is positive. The correlation coefficient between all variables is above 0.6 that indicates the establishment of a positive and strong relationship between all of the variables. The Friedman test was used in order to prioritize the relationships and strategies, and the content validity method was used to determine the reliability of the measurement of the questionnaire’s validity; also, the Cronbach's alpha test was used to examine the reliability of the questionnaire in SPSS software. Results: There is a significant difference between the types of environmental experiences (direct experience of nature, the indirect experience of nature, and the experience of space and place) in order to establish a compatible interaction between adolescents and nature. Also, the experience of direct interaction between adolescents and cognitive competence acquisition has the greatest impact on the promotion of adolescents' mental health; subsequently, the indirect experience of nature with cognitive competence acquisition and experience of space and place with behavioral competence acquisition have the greatest impact on the promotion of adolescents' mental health. According to the obtained information, social competencies are prioritized through biophilic design experiences. Conclusion: The results indicate that design experiences in the context of learning according to the biophilic approach can meet the psychological needs of the adolescent period, because of the deep multifaceted relationship with nature. Providing solutions following the patterns of this approach in nature-based learning environments can provide the conditions for achieving social adequacy and promoting adolescents’ mental health.   ===================================================================================== COPYRIGHTS  ©2020 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers.  ====================================================================================

Investigation of the relationship between structural empowerment and organizational commitment of nurses in Zanjan hospitals.

Background: The demanding nature of nursing work environments signals longstanding and growing concerns about nurses' health and job satisfaction and the provision of quality care. Specifically in health care settings, nurse leaders play an essential role in creating supportive work environments to avert these negative trends and increase nurse job satisfaction. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between structural empowerment and organizational commitment of nurses. Methods: 491 nurses working in Zanjan hospitals participated in this descriptive-correlational study in 2010. Tools for data collection were Meyer and Allen\u2019s organizational commitment questionnaire and \u201cConditions for Work Effectiveness Questionnaire-II\u201d (CWEQ-II). Data was analyzed by SPSS16. The statistical tests such as variance analysis, t-test, pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression were used for data analysis. Results: According to the findings, the perception of nurses working in hospitals on "Structural Empowerment" was moderate (15.98\ub13.29). Nurses believed "opportunity" as the most important element in structural empowerment with the score of 3.18\ub10.79. Nurses working in non-academic hospitals and in non-teaching hospitals had higher organizational commitment than others. There was a significant relationship between structural empowerment and organizational commitment. Conclusion: Generally, structural empowerment (relatively strong) correlates with nurses\u2019 organizational commitment. We concluded that a high structural empowerment increases the organizational commitment of nurses

Large-scale unit commitment under uncertainty: an updated literature survey

The Unit Commitment problem in energy management aims at finding the optimal production schedule of a set of generation units, while meeting various system-wide constraints. It has always been a large-scale, non-convex, difficult problem, especially in view of the fact that, due to operational requirements, it has to be solved in an unreasonably small time for its size. Recently, growing renewable energy shares have strongly increased the level of uncertainty in the system, making the (ideal) Unit Commitment model a large-scale, non-convex and uncertain (stochastic, robust, chance-constrained) program. We provide a survey of the literature on methods for the Uncertain Unit Commitment problem, in all its variants. We start with a review of the main contributions on solution methods for the deterministic versions of the problem, focussing on those based on mathematical programming techniques that are more relevant for the uncertain versions of the problem. We then present and categorize the approaches to the latter, while providing entry points to the relevant literature on optimization under uncertainty. This is an updated version of the paper "Large-scale Unit Commitment under uncertainty: a literature survey" that appeared in 4OR 13(2), 115--171 (2015); this version has over 170 more citations, most of which appeared in the last three years, proving how fast the literature on uncertain Unit Commitment evolves, and therefore the interest in this subject

Epidemiology of Chlamydia trachomatis in the Middle East and north Africa: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression.

BACKGROUND: The epidemiology of Chlamydia trachomatis in the Middle East and north Africa is poorly understood. We aimed to provide a comprehensive epidemiological assessment of C trachomatis infection in the Middle East and north Africa. METHODS: We did a systematic review of C trachomatis infection as well as a meta-analysis and meta-regression of C trachomatis prevalence. We searched PubMed and Embase, as well as regional and national databases up to March 13, 2019, using broad search terms with no language or year restrictions. Any document or report including biological measures for C trachomatis prevalence or incidence was eligible for inclusion. We extracted all measures of current (genital or rectal), recent, and ever infection with C trachomatis. We estimated pooled average prevalence in different populations using random-effects meta-analysis. Factors associated with prevalence and sources of between-study heterogeneity were determined using meta-regression. FINDINGS: We identified a total of 1531 citations, of which 255 reports contributed to 552 C trachomatis prevalence measures from 20 countries. No incidence measures were identified. Pooled prevalence of current genital infection was 3·0% (95% CI 2·3-3·8) in general populations, 2·8% (1·0-5·2) in intermediate-risk populations, 13·2% (7·2-20·7) in female sex workers, 11·3% (9·0-13·7) in infertility clinic attendees, 12·4% (7·9-17·7) in women with miscarriage, 12·4% (9·4-15·7) in symptomatic women, and 17·4% (12·5-22·8) in symptomatic men. Pooled prevalence of current rectal infection was 7·7% (4·2-12·0) in men who have sex with men. Substantial between-study heterogeneity was found. Multivariable meta-regression explained 29·0% of variation. Population type was most strongly associated with prevalence. Additional associations were found with assay type, sample size, country, and sex, but not with sampling methodology or response rate (about 90% of studies used convenience sampling and >75% had unclear response rate). There was no evidence for temporal variation in prevalence between 1982 and 2018. INTERPRETATION: C trachomatis prevalence in the Middle East and north Africa is similar to other regions, but higher than expected given its sexually conservative norms. High prevalence in infertility clinic attendees and in women with miscarriage suggests a potential role for C trachomatis in poor reproductive health outcomes in this region. FUNDING: National Priorities Research Program from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation)