Flourishing in the workplace: an investigation into the intentional strategies employed by those experiencing long-term positive affect in the UK public sector

This thesis is focused on positive affect in the workplace, with a particular emphasis on the UK public sector. Three samples of data were taken from 433 respondents across nine participating organizations with the aim of identifying those who rate themselves as happy and upbeat and whom others are noticing in this regard. Thus, the thesis goes beyond the analysis of those who are self-nominated as happy, seeking those who are flourishing (denoted throughout as Happy Plus or H+ ) which, for the purposes of this thesis, are categorised as employees whose positive affect is contagious. The data identified 45 H+ respondents, ascertaining that their happiness has a degree of longevity that is in line with eudaimonic sources and that the state of flourishing is unlikely to be accidental. The flourishing respondents were measured on 16 workplace emotions and compared against a group of 388 non-flourishing work colleagues. The H+ respondents recorded higher scores in all 4 emotions associated with employee engagement (enthusiastic, joyful, inspired & excited) and employee satisfaction (calm, relaxed, laid back & at ease) while the NonH+ group scored higher in emotions associated with stress (nervous, anxious, tense & worried) and depression (dejected, despondent, hopeless & depressed). Independent samples t-tests (using the Bonferroni correction) suggest these differences are statistically significant in 13 of the 16 affects measured. This is salient in that the more vigorous sense of employee engagement tends to result in pro-social behaviours that are correlated with bottom-line performance. The thesis then sought to discover the means by which the H+ respondents achieve and maintain their flourishing status. Following Lyubomirsky s (2007) contention that if an individual s genes and circumstances are fixed (in the immediacy of here and now) then it is the 40% of one s intentional strategies that will differentiate the flourishing from their non-flourishing colleagues. Thus, the H+ and NonH+ groups were compared on a raft of seventeen within-person strategies. The flourishing group rate choosing to be positive as their biggest single strategy, with the corollary that attitudinal choice requires both awareness and effort. It is postulated that engaged employees are attitude maximizers rather than satisficers , in that they are less likely to make do with ambivalent attitudes, striving to be as positive as they are able. Flourishing employees are also significantly more likely to set goals, play to their strengths, have positive internal dialogue, reframe negative events and consume less news. They indulge in what is termed life-crafting in which they alter their thoughts and circumstances to maximise their likelihood of remaining happy. The thesis concludes with a series of recommendations, focusing on co-creation , the idea that happiness emerges as a collective and cooperative endeavour that requires both favourable working conditions and individual effort. As such, recommendations are aimed at how organizations can learn from the findings to implement structures and policies that are best placed to facilitate flourishing cultures. There is a further set of recommendations alluding to what individuals can do to raise their own happiness levels. As such, it is argued that organizational culture change is not simply a matter of instigating top-down or bottom-up remedies, but rather eliciting change that emanates from inside-out

Innovative Knowledge Management At Disney: Human Capital And Queuing Solutions For Services

It is well known that most activities in which a service is provided require customers to wait in a queue during the experience. One thing that is inherent in waiting lines is the universal dislike for the process. In fact, the feelings and opinions developed in waiting lines influence the customers perception of the awaited experience. In this paper, Disney is used as a case study for queuing solutions. In particular, we examine their implementation of Knowledge Management (KM) solutions to improve the waiting line process. The use of Disney cast members as human capital combined with the knowledge of customer preferences has made the FASTPASS an innovative solution to enhance queuing in the Disney theme parks. In the past, KM has been thought of as the collection of technological assets and managerial policies that compensate for information failures. In fact, the individuals need for human interaction provides the richest opportunity for knowledge acquisition. Disneys ability to capture customers in virtual queues while giving them a pleasurable waiting experience has made them a leader in KM initiatives in the service industry

What do patients prefer their functional seizures to be called, and what are their experiences of diagnosis? - A mixed methods investigation

This study explored the preferred terms for functional seizures, and the experience of being diagnosed, from the patient’s perspective. 39 patients in a neuropsychiatry service diagnosed with functional seizures completed an online survey to investigate preferences for, and offensiveness of, 11 common diagnostic terms used to describe functional seizures. Of these 39 patients, 13 consented to take part in a semistructured interview exploring the experience of receiving a diagnosis. Nonepileptic attack disorder (NEAD), functional seizures, functional nonepileptic attacks (FNEA), and dissociative seizures were ranked the highest preferred terms and did not significantly differ from one another. NEAD was the least offensive term, with functional seizures and FNEA following closely. Significant overlap in confidence intervals was found between the offensiveness of all terms. Terms that indicated a psychological origin were the least preferred and viewed as most offensive. Thematic analysis identified three main themes on the experience of being diagnosed: ‘being heard and having a shared understanding’, ‘feeling alone’, and ‘sense of hope’. Patients favored diagnostic terms that facilitated and alleviated these themes on a personal basis; however, preferences differed across individuals. Our findings suggest that a range of terms have a similar level of preference and offense rating, with NEAD, functional seizures, and FNEA being the most favorable. Qualitative analysis indicates that a term and its accompanying explanation should facilitate shared acceptance and understanding, and several terms provide this. In combination with our previous study on healthy participants, we propose that one of the two terms researched are adopted by patients, health professionals, and the public: Functional nonepileptic attacks or Functional seizures

The Pipeline Project: A Holistic Approach to Teaching Multimedia

The multimedia industry has embraced the integration of computer software packages. The industry recognizes that better integration and compatibility of software and hardware will produce better end results and improve workflow. In fact, many of the major software developers are now introducing suites of products. Surely, educational establishments should follow suit and develop courses in which differing but complementary subject areas (modules) are integrated. The main area of development at Leeds Metropolitan University has been to allow students to clearly see the aims and objectives of each module but within a more global project. Not only has this holistic approach benefited the students, it has also allowed staff to develop material that extends across modules, allows for team teaching, and integrates the lecture program. This logical approach to project work echoes the skills required in the multimedia industry

Wind Ensemble and Concert Band

Kennesaw State University School of Music presents: Wind Ensemble and Concert Band.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1574/thumbnail.jp

Enhancing User Immersion and Virtual Presence in Interactive Multiuser Virtual Environments through the Development and Integration of a Gesture-Centric Natural User Interface Developed from Existing Virtual Reality Technologies

Immersion, referring to the level of physical or psychological submergence of a user within a virtual space relative to that user's consciousness of the real-world environment, has predominantly been established as an indispensable part of interactive media designs. This is most prevalent in Virtual Reality (VR) platforms, as their applications are typically reliant on user believability. With a wide variation of possible methodologies for the enhancement of this feature, the collectively recognised paradigm lies on the emphasis of naturalism in the design of the virtual system [7]. Though widely used by some specialised VR applications [4] such concepts are yet to be fully explored in the more contemporary virtual systems such as Social Immersive Virtual Environment (SIVE). The focus of the study described in this paper are the techniques being developed to enhance user immersion, virtual presence and co-presence in a SIVE application, through the design and integration of a VR-based Natural User Interface (NUI) that allows users to naturally and intuitively interact with the virtual environment and other networked users through the utilisation of full body gesture controls. These gestural controls prioritise the emulation of the alternate equivalent of such real-wold interactions, whilst also providing an interface for the seamless and unobtrusive translation of the user's real-world physical state into the virtual environment through intuitive user to virtual avatar proprioceptive coordination. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014