A noble task: testing an operational model of clergy occupational health

In many ways, clergy and religious leaders are an ignored yet high-risk population. A clergy member unable to cope with challenges in his or her own life may be ineffective at helping church members to cope with their stress. The purpose of the present study was to develop and test an operational model of clergy holistic health, including occupational demands, and personal and job-related resources. Data were collected from clergy (N = 418) and analyzed using correlational and regression based techniques. Results from the present study provided support for the demands-control-support model (Johnson & Hall, 1988). Specifically, clergy mental health may be improved by (a) an increase in the work-related social support needed to take advantage of job control followed by (b) an increase in job control

Guilty as Not (Re)Charged: Calling, Work-Recovery Guilt, and Their Effects on Recovery Experiences

Public and scholarly interest in the concept of work as a calling has grown considerably over the past few decades (Thompson & Bunderson, 2019). Much of this research has focused on the positive outcomes of calling, including increased work engagement (e.g., Dobrow Riza et al., 2019) and job performance (e.g., Park et al., 2016). However, a few studies have focused on the negative outcomes of calling, such as limited psychological detachment from work (Clinton et al., 2017). According to Work as Calling Theory (WCT; Duffy et al., 2018), psychological climate and individual differences may help to explain why some individuals who are living a calling may experience negative outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between living a calling and recovery experiences (i.e., psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery, and control; Sonnentag & Fritz, 2007). Using WCT (Duffy et al., 2018) as a theoretical lens, I proposed that individuals who are living a calling would experience greater work-recovery guilt (i.e., guilt experienced as a result of attempting to engage in recovery), and that this relationship would be stronger for those individuals who are working in an overwork climate (i.e., a work environment which encourages individuals to work more time than is required; Mazzetti et al., 2014) and for those individuals who experience persistent, uncontrollable thoughts about work (i.e., the cognitive dimension of workaholism; Clark et al., 2020). Further, I proposed that work-recovery guilt would partially mediate the negative relationship between living a calling and recovery experiences. Data were gathered at three time points two weeks apart using Prolific and proposed relationships were tested using path analyses. None of the hypothesized relationships were supported. These findings support the notion, proposed by Duffy et al. (2018), that living a calling at work should primarily be associated with positive, rather than negative, outcomes

Agreement between bovine respiratory disease scoring systems for pre-weaned dairy calves.

Clinical scoring systems have been proposed for respiratory disease diagnosis in calves, including the Wisconsin (WI) system (McGuirk in 2008) which uses five clinical signs, each partitioned into four levels of severity. Recently, we developed the California (CA) bovine respiratory disease (BRD) scoring system requiring less calf handling and consisting of six clinical signs, each classified as normal or abnormal. The objective of this study was to estimate the on-farm agreement between the WI and the CA scoring systems. A total of 100 calves were enrolled on a CA dairy and assessed for BRD case status using the two scoring systems simultaneously. The Kappa coefficient of agreement between these two systems was estimated to be 0.85, which indicated excellent agreement beyond chance. The simpler design and reduced calf handling required by the CA BRD scoring system may make it advantageous for on-farm use

A noble task: Testing an operational model of clergy occupational health

In many ways, clergy and religious leaders are an ignored yet high-risk population. In their efforts to ensure the spiritual well-being of their congregations, clergy frequently neglect their own well-being, resulting in stress and burnout, which then can lead to impaired health. This neglect often extends to clergy’s family and congregation. Church members typically seek help from clergy to cope with the loss of loved ones, life crises, and other general life stressors. A clergy member unable to cope with these same challenges in his or her own life may be ineffective at helping church members to cope with their stress. Recent theory applications and measure development efforts in this research space have led to several studies of specific occupational hazards or challenges faced by clergy. These challenges include high job demands, congregational criticism, and isolation; restoration following moral failures (e.g., alcohol abuse, adultery); and resolving conflict among congregation members . Furthermore, a holistic model of clergy health functioning has been proposed, which includes specific occupational challenges and their detrimental effects on clergy health. Unfortunately, the constructs in this model are more theoretical than operational. While such a model is useful for conceptualizing the factors that influence clergy health, an operational model of clergy holistic health is still needed to empirically test the effects of occupational demands, and personal and job-related resources on the health of clergy. The purpose of the present study, therefore, is to develop and test such a model. The ultimate goal of this research is to offer a model and methodological approach that can be useful to those interested in better identifying and addressing the health and well-being needs of clergy so that they may thrive in their roles to the betterment of their families and congregations

Study of fuel cells using storable rocket propellants Final report, 28 Jan. 1964 - 29 Jan. 1965

Fuel cells using storable rocket propellants for reactant

A Multidisciplinary Childrens Airway Center: Impact on the Care of Patients With Tracheostomy

BACKGROUND: Children with complex airway problems see multiple specialists. To improve outcomes and coordinate care, we developed a multidisciplinary Children's Airway Center. For children with tracheostomies, aspects of care targeted for improvement included optimizing initial hospital discharge, promoting effective communication between providers and caregivers, and avoiding tracheostomy complications. METHODS: The population includes children up to 21 years old with tracheostomies. The airway center team includes providers from pediatric pulmonology, pediatric otolaryngology/head and neck surgery, and pediatric gastroenterology. Improvement initiatives included enhanced educational strategies, weekly care conferences, institutional consensus guidelines and care plans, personalized clinic schedules, and standardized intervals between airway examinations. A patient database allowed for tracking outcomes over time. RESULTS: We initially identified 173 airway center patients including 123 with tracheostomies. The median number of new patients evaluated by the center team each year was 172. Median hospitalization after tracheostomy decreased from 37 days to 26 days for new tracheostomy patients <1 year old discharged from the hospital. A median of 24 care plans was evaluated at weekly conferences. Consensus protocol adherence increased likelihood of successful decannulation from 68% to 86% of attempts. The median interval of 8 months between airway examinations aligned with published recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: For children with tracheostomies, our Children's Airway Center met and sustained goals of optimizing hospitalization, promoting communication, and avoiding tracheostomy complications by initiating targeted improvements in a multidisciplinary team setting. A multidisciplinary approach to management of these patients can yield measurable improvements in important outcomes

Study of fuel cells using storable rocket propellants Final report, 18 Aug. 1965 - 23 Jun. 1969

Operating fuel cells on gaseous nitrogen tetroxide and aerozine 5

Your email didn\u27t find me well: Employee perceptions of work and feeling safe during COVID-19

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused massive disruptions to work and threats to employee well-being. A recent study found that 69% of U.S. workers claimed that this pandemic has been the most stressful time of their entire professional career, including major events like the September 11 terror attacks and the 2008 Great Recession (Ginger, 2020). In this session, we will present preliminary findings from our current studies identifying the most critical job demands related to the pandemic among employees from four occupational groups: university employees, public sector employees, gym employees, and clergy. We will also review the growing body of literature related to employee safety during the pandemic and conclude with recommendations for supporting employee well-being during this stressful time