Cross-national validation of the resources depletion-recovery model: An empirical study of Spanish and British theme park employees

Surface acting (SA) refers to the strategy whereby front-line employees hide their own emotions and fake those required of them within their role within customer service transactions. Although researchers have associated SA with burnout, evidence now suggests that this could be an indirect relationship. Building on the Conservation of Resources theory, it was hypothesised that the combined effect of emotional effort and lack of rewarding interactions with customers triggered by SA would explain the strong association between SA and burnout (Studies 1 and 2). Furthermore, building on psychological recovery literature, it was hypothesised that the effort invested in SA would be a weaker predictor of front-line employees’ burnout in cases when they reported higher levels of recovery ability as opposed to lower levels (Study 2). A cross-national and cross-sectional design was used, and participants were theme park employees from UK (Study 1, NUK =204) and Spain (Study 2, NSpain=211). The explanatory role of emotional effort and rewarding interactions was supported, and the buffering effect of recovery ability was confirmed. Strategies aimed at minimising burnout risk for employees who deal with customers on a regular basis in these countries are discussed

Cross-cultural comparison of Spanish and British “service-with-a-smile” outcomes

PurposeEmployees working in the leisure service industry are required to show positive emotions when dealing with customers. However, empirical evidence confirms that faking emotions can lead to burnout. In contrast, employees that try to experience the emotions required by the role (i.e. deep acting (DA)) can lead to healthier outcomes. However, little is known about the process that underpins the link between DA and positive outcomes. Building on Côte’s social interaction model of emotion regulation and evidence linking customer satisfaction and DA, it was hypothesized that DA would be associated with employees’ self-actualization through customer interactions. This, in turn, was expected to explain the influence that DA has on relevant job attitudes (i.e. commitment, efficacy, turnover intentions). The model was tested in two countries with different emotional culture: Spain (i.e. impulsive) and the UK (i.e. institutional). Although UK was expected to report higher levels of effortful DA, the hypothesized process was expected to be the same. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachA cross-national design with theme park employees from Spain (n = 208) and UK (n = 204) was used. Hypotheses were tested with multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. FindingsThe relationship between job commitment and DA was mediated by self-actualization, and commitment partially explained the association between DA and professional efficacy in both countries. The impulsive-oriented country showed lower levels of DA and more positive job attitudes.Originality/valueIt is concluded that training employees to re-interpret costume

Development and cross-national validation of the Emotional Effort Scale (EEF)

Background: Researchers define Emotional Labour (EL) as the effort associated with meeting the emotional requirements of the job, yet nobody has ever directly tested this effort. Building on classic stress and ego depletion theory, this study develops the Emotional Effort Scale (EEF). Methods: In Study 1, exploratory (N = 197) and confirmatory factor analysis (N = 182) were conducted with a British sample. In Study 2, the instrument was adapted to Spanish and measurement invariance was tested (N = 304). In Study 3, (N = 185), we tested convergent and divergent validity with the EL strategies (i.e., surface acting and deep acting) and the relationship between EEF and emotional exhaustion. Results: The final scale is a two-dimensional measure (explicit and implicit emotional effort) with good reliability levels in all samples (N = 818). Additionally, it shows adequate convergent, divergent and nomological validity. Conclusions: The Emotional Effort construct adds unique value to the literature. Thus, explicit effort seems to be the mechanism that explains the association between EL and exhaustion. Additionally, this study adapts and translates the measure to two of the most used languages in the world, enabling the emergence of cross-national studies in the field of emotions at work

Beyond deep and surface acting: perceived emotional effort in customer service roles

Emotional Labour (EL) is a central feature of customer service roles, which refers to the effort employees exert in order to manage the emotions required by their role. Despite the emphasis placed upon “effort”, the instruments developed to measure EL have been focused on the strategies “deep acting” (i.e. changing your own feelings to achieve the required display) and “surface acting” (i.e. changing only the outward display). The lack of consistent findings, however, reveals the limited explanatory power of deep and surface acting as predictors of employees’ well being. Initial evidence from qualitative studies has started to emerge and suggests that the effort employees perceive to perform EL could be a better predictor of employees’ well being. Based on these findings and building on relevant stress theory, we present the development and initial validation of the perceived emotional effort construct

Moderating effect of sex in relation to personality and psychological wellbeing in college students

El bienestar psicológico (BP) es un indicador de calidad de vida a nivel individual y colectivo. La población universitaria es vulnerable a bajos niveles de BP. El sexo y los rasgos de personalidad afectan el BP. Profundizar en el conocimiento de estos factores sería de valor para el desarrollo de intervenciones acordes con las necesidades específicas de los universitarios. El objetivo de este trabajo es comparar la capacidad predictiva del sexo y de los rasgos de personalidad sobre las dimensiones del BP y analizar si el sexo posee un efecto moderador en relación a la personalidad y el BP. Se evaluaron 407 estudiantes universitarios mediante cuestionarios de autoinforme. El sexo resultó un predictor significativo para autonomía y crecimiento personal. Los rasgos de personalidad mostraron capacidad predictiva sobre las dimensiones de BP: extraversión, neuroticismo y conciencia sobre autoaceptación y dominio del entorno; extraversión y agradabilidad sobre relaciones positivas; extraversión, neuroticismo y apertura a la experiencia sobre autonomía; conciencia, agradabilidad y apertura a la experiencia sobre crecimiento personal y los cinco rasgos sobre propósito en la vida. El sexo presentó un efecto moderador para la relación del rasgo conciencia con la dimensión crecimiento personal. Los rasgos de personalidad se asociaron con las dimensiones de BP siguiendo en su mayoría los perfiles de relaciones hipotetizados por la literatura. Este trabajo profundiza en el conocimiento de los factores que influyen sobre el BP. Se espera que contribuya a desarrollar intervenciones destinadas a mejorar la calidad de vida de este grupo poblacional.The psychological well-being (PW) is a quality of life indicator at individual and collective levels. The university population is vulnerable to low levels of PW. Sex and personality features affect the PW. To deepen one’s knowledge of these factors would be of value to the development of interventions – according to the specific requirements for college students. The objective of this paper is to compare the predictive capacity of sex and personality features on the dimensions of the PW, and analyze if sex has a moderating effect in relation to personality and PW. We evaluated to 407 college students through self-report questionnaires. Sex resulted a significant predictor for autonomy and personal growth. The personality features showed predictive capacity over the dimensions of PW: extraversion, neuroticism, self-acceptance awareness, and control of the environment; extraversion and pleasantness over positive relationships; extraversion, neuroticism, and openness to the experience over autonomy; awareness, pleasantness and openness to the experience over personal growth and the five features on the purpose in life. Sex presented a moderating effect on the relationship of the conscience features with the personal growth dimension. The personality features were associated with the dimensions of PW following most of the relations profiles hypothesized by the literature. This work delves into the knowledge of the factors that influence on PW. It is hoped that this will contribute to develop interventions destined to improve the quality of life of this population group.Fil: Urquijo, Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Psicología. Centro de Investigación en Procesos Básicos, Metodologías y Educación; ArgentinaFil: Andrés, María Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Psicología. Centro de Investigación en Procesos Básicos, Metodologías y Educación; ArgentinaFil: del Valle, Macarena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Psicología. Centro de Investigación en Procesos Básicos, Metodologías y Educación; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez Carvajal, Raquel. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; Españ

Elimination of onchocerciasis in Ecuador: findings of post-treatment surveillance.

BACKGROUND: The Esmeraldas focus of onchocerciasis in Ecuador expanded geographically during the 1980s and was associated with severe ocular and skin disease. Mass drug administration (MDA) with ivermectin started in 1991, initially once but later twice a year, in the principle endemic focus followed by all satellite foci. Treatment was stopped in 2009 when entomological assessments determined that transmission of Onchocerca volvulus had been interrupted. METHODS: Three years after the cessation of ivermectin treatment in 2012, as defined by the WHO guidelines for onchocerciasis elimination, blackfly collections were done in four sentinel sites in former hyperendemic areas. The presence of infective larvae in local vectors, Simulium exiguum and Simulum quadrivittatum, was assessed by detection of O. volvulus DNA by PCR. Additional flies captured in four extra-sentinel sites located in former hyper- and mesoendemic dispersed isolated areas were also assessed. RESULTS: The results from 68,310 captured blackflies, 40,114 from four sentinel villages in the previously hyperendemic areas (Corriente Grande, El Tigre, San Miguel on Río Cayapas and Naranjal on Río Canandé) and 28,197 from extra-sentinel locations, were all negative for the presence of O. volvulus. These extra-sentinel sites (Hualpí on Río Hoja Blanca, Capulí on Río Onzole, La Ceiba on Río Tululví and Medianía on Río Verde) were included to provide additional evidence of the impact of MDA on the transmission of O. volvulus in isolated endemic areas. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that transmission of O. volvulus has been stopped in all endemic areas in Ecuador, including all satellite foci outside the main focus. These findings indicate that a strategy of ivermectin distribution twice a year to over 85% of the treatment-eligible population was effective in eliminating the infection from Ecuador in a focus with a highly competent primary vector, S. exiguum, and where the infection rates were equal to or greater than observed in many onchocerciasis foci in Africa

A new microporous zeolitic silicoborate (ITQ-52) with interconnected small and medium pores

A new zeolite (named as ITQ-52) having large cavities and small and medium channels has been synthesized. This was achieved by using a new family of amino-phosphonium cations as organic structure directing agents (OSDA). These cations contain P−C and P−N bonds, and therefore they lie between previously reported P-containing OSDA, such as tetraalkylphosphonium and phosphazenes. In this study, it has been found that 1,4- butanediylbis[tris(dimethylamino)]phosphonium dication is a very efficient OSDA for crystallization of several zeolites, and in some particular conditions, the new zeolite ITQ-52 was synthesized as a pure phase. The structure of ITQ-52 has been solved using high-resolution synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data of the calcined solid. This new zeolite crystallizes in the space group I2/m, with cell parameters a = 17.511 Å, b = 17.907 Å, c = 12.367 Å, and β = 90.22°. The topology of ITQ-52 can be described as a replication of a composite building unit with ring notation [435461] that gives rise to the formation of an interconnected 8R and 10R channel system.We thank financial support by the Spanish Government (MAT2012-38567-C02-01, MAT2012-38567-C02-02, Consolider Ingenio 2010-Multicat CSD-2009-00050 and Severo Ochoa SEV-2012-0267). R.S. acknowledges to UPV for a FPI predoctoral fellowship. Authors thank ALBA Light Source for beam allocation at beamline MSPD. We thank G. Sastre and J. A. Vidal for computational calculations and MAS NMR experiments, respectively.Simancas Coloma, R.; Jorda Moret, JL.; Rey Garcia, F.; Corma Canós, A.; Cantin Sanz, A.; Peral, I.; Popescu, C. (2014). A new microporous zeolitic silicoborate (ITQ-52) with interconnected small and medium pores. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 136(9):3342-3345. doi:10.1021/ja411915cS33423345136

Essential Role of TGF-β/Smad Pathway on Statin Dependent Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Regulation

BACKGROUND: The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase inhibitors (also called statins) exert proven beneficial effects on cardiovascular diseases. Recent data suggest a protective role for Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-beta) in atherosclerosis by regulating the balance between inflammation and extracellular matrix accumulation. However, there are no studies about the effect of statins on TGF-beta/Smad pathway in atherosclerosis and vascular cells. METHODOLOGY: In cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) statins enhanced Smad pathway activation caused by TGF-beta. In addition, statins upregulated TGF-beta receptor type II (TRII), and increased TGF-beta synthesis and TGF-beta/Smad-dependent actions. In this sense, statins, through Smad activation, render VSMCs more susceptible to TGF-beta induced apoptosis and increased TGF-beta-mediated ECM production. It is well documented that high doses of statins induce apoptosis in cultured VSMC in the presence of serum; however the precise mechanism of this effect remains to be elucidated. We have found that statins-induced apoptosis was mediated by TGF-beta/Smad pathway. Finally, we have described that RhoA inhibition is a common intracellular mechanisms involved in statins effects. The in vivo relevance of these findings was assessed in an experimental model of atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E deficient mice: Treatment with Atorvastatin increased Smad3 phosphorylation and TRII overexpression, associated to elevated ECM deposition in the VSMCs within atheroma plaques, while apoptosis was not detected. CONCLUSIONS: Statins enhance TGF-beta/Smad pathway, regulating ligand levels, receptor, main signaling pathway and cellular responses of VSMC, including apoptosis and ECM accumulation. Our findings show that TGF-beta/Smad pathway is essential for statins-dependent actions in VSMCs

SELNET clinical practice guidelines for bone sarcoma

Bone sarcoma are infrequent diseases, representing < 0.2% of all adult neoplasms. A multidisciplinary management within reference centers for sarcoma, with discussion of the diagnostic and therapeutic strategies within an expert multidisciplinary tumour board, is essential for these patients, given its heterogeneity and low frequency. This approach leads to an improvement in patient's outcome, as demonstrated in several studies. The Sarcoma European Latin-American Network (SELNET), aims to improve clinical outcome in sarcoma care, with a special focus in Latin-American countries. These Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) have been developed and agreed by a multidisciplinary expert group (including medical and radiation oncologist, surgical oncologist, orthopaedic surgeons, radiologist, pathologist, molecular biologist and representatives of patients advocacy groups) of the SELNET consortium, and are conceived to provide the standard approach to diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of bone sarcoma patients in the Latin-American context