Leadership Behaviour and Upward Feedback: Findings from a Longitudinal Intervention

A sample of 48 managers and 308 staff members of a community health care organization took part in a study to investigate the influence of participating in an upward feedback program on leadership behaviour, both as indicated be self-ratings and subordinates’ ratings. The research design consisted of three measurement points within one year. The intervention included managers receiving upward feedback and a management skills workshop. The results showed a negative effect of the program on leadership behaviour as rated by the staff. Furthermore, managers reduced their self-ratings in the condition where they participated in both a feedback session and an management skills workshop

Laser-driven resonance of dye-doped oil-coated microbubbles: A theoretical and numerical study

Microbubbles are used to enhance the contrast in ultrasound imaging. When coated with an optically absorbing material, these bubbles can also provide contrast in photoacoustic imaging. This multimodal aspect is of pronounced interest to the field of medical imaging. The aim of this paper is to provide a theoretical framework to describe the physical phenomena underlying the photoacoustic response. This article presents a model for a spherical gas microbubble suspended in an aqueous environment and coated with an oil layer containing an optically absorbing dye. The model includes heat transfer between the gas core and the surrounding liquids. This framework is suitable for the investigation of both continuous wave and pulsed laser excitation. This work utilizes a combination of finite difference simulations and numerical integration to determine the dependancy on the physical properties, including composition and thickness of the oil layer on the microbubble response. A normalization scheme for a linearized version of the model was derived to facilitate comparison with experimental measurements. The results show that viscosity and thickness of the oil layer determine whether or not microbubble resonance can be excited. This work also examines the use of non-sinusoidal excitation to promote harmonic imaging techniques to further improve the imaging sensitivity

Bed of roses? The role of garden space in older people’s well-being

The purpose of this research was to investigate the role of outdoor housing environment (OHE), including front and back gardens, yards, courtyards, patios and balconies, in older people’s well-being. Descriptions of their OHEs were collected from 2558 individuals living in 526 distinct housing developments using a postal questionnaire. A large range of background variables were measured, mainly through the questionnaire. Characteristics of respondents’ immediate neighbourhood environments were measured from digital maps and satellite/bird’s-eye images. Among the OHE variables, statistically significant predictors of well-being were having one’s own patio (as opposed to shared or none), and having a green view from one’s living area (a positive effect on well-being). The authors conclude that it would be beneficial for older people’s housing to include private patio space, where possible, as well as a large amount of greenery. The research supports the claim that older people benefit from green space as much by viewing it from inside as spending time in it. If older people have no or very little garden space, a green street environment is likely to increase their well-being, especially if it can be seen from their home

Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction, Recovery State, and Recovery Timing

This study aimed to provide insight into recovery from work-related load effects by examining (1) whether basic psychological need satisfaction (BPN satisfaction) during non-work days facilitates recovery; (2) whether the effect of BPN satisfaction is stronger in case of an unfavorable initial recovery state; and (3) whether the association between BPN satisfaction and recovery is stronger on non-work weekend days compared to nonwork weekdays. Data were collected across seven consecutive days from 205 employees (39% shift workers). Fatigue and depressed mood were assessed as indicators of (failed) recovery. Multilevel analyses revealed that BPN satisfaction during non-work days was related to improved recovery state. This association was stronger if employees had experienced elevated fatigue on the preceding day, and on non-work weekend days compared to non-work weekdays

Ultrasound-Responsive Cavitation Nuclei for Therapy and Drug Delivery

Therapeutic ultrasound strategies that harness the mechanical activity of cavitation nuclei for beneficial tissue bio-effects are actively under development. The mechanical oscillations of circulating microbubbles, the most widely investigated cavitation nuclei, which may also encapsulate or shield a therapeutic agent in the bloodstream, trigger and promote localized uptake. Oscillating microbubbles can create stresses either on nearby tissue or in surrounding fluid to enhance drug penetration and efficacy in the brain, spinal cord, vasculature, immune system, biofilm or tumors. This review summarizes recent investigations that have elucidated interactions of ultrasound and cavitation nuclei with cells, the treatment of tumors, immunotherapy, the blood–brain and blood–spinal cord barriers, sonothrombolysis, cardiovascular drug delivery and sonobactericide. In particular, an overview of salient ultrasound features, drug delivery vehicles, therapeutic transport routes and pre-clinical and clinical studies is provided. Successful implementation of ultrasound and cavitation nuclei-mediated drug delivery has the potential to change the way drugs are administered systemically, resulting in more effective therapeutics and less-invasive treatments

Effectiveness of a smartphone app in increasing physical activity amongst male adults: a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Smartphones are ideal for promoting physical activity in those with little intrinsic motivation for exercise. This study tested three hypotheses: H1 - receipt of social feedback generates higher step-counts than receipt of no feedback; H2 - receipt of social feedback generates higher step-counts than only receiving feedback on one's own walking; H3 - receipt of feedback on one's own walking generates higher step-counts than no feedback (H3). METHODS: A parallel group randomised controlled trial measured the impact of feedback on steps-counts. Healthy male participants (n = 165) aged 18-40 were given phones pre-installed with an app that recorded steps continuously, without the need for user activation. Participants carried these with them as their main phones for a two-week run-in and six-week trial. Randomisation was to three groups: no feedback (control); personal feedback on step-counts; group feedback comparing step-counts against those taken by others in their group. The primary outcome measure, steps per day, was assessed using longitudinal multilevel regression analysis. Control variables included attitude to physical activity and perceived barriers to physical activity. RESULTS: Fifty-five participants were allocated to each group; 152 completed the study and were included in the analysis: n = 49, no feedback; n = 53, individual feedback; n = 50, individual and social feedback. The study provided support for H1 and H3 but not H2. Receipt of either form of feedback explained 7.7 % of between-subject variability in step-count (F = 6.626, p < 0.0005). Compared to the control, the expected step-count for the individual feedback group was 60 % higher (effect on log step-count = 0.474, 95 % CI = 0.166-0.782) and that for the social feedback group, 69 % higher (effect on log step-count = 0.526, 95 % CI = 0.212-0.840). The difference between the two feedback groups (individual vs social feedback) was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Always-on smartphone apps that provide step-counts can increase physical activity in young to early-middle-aged men but the provision of social feedback has no apparent incremental impact. This approach may be particularly suitable for inactive people with low levels of physical activity; it should now be tested with this population

Knowledge networks and universities : locational and organisational aspects of knowledge transfer interactions

This paper explores the nature of the significant knowledge networks universities form with external organisations through knowledge transfer activities. Focussing on the UK higher education system, the analysis focuses on examining the extent to which organisational and locational characteristics are associated with the nature of these networks, finding that the nature of the networks universities form through knowledge transfer are related to both characteristics. In particular, we find that the institution’s status is important with more established universities are likely to have a more diverse range of organisations with which they interact, as well as a higher number of non-local interactions. In terms of geographic location, we find that universities within lagging regions tend to have more locally focused networks than universities in more leading regions. Overall, the knowledge transfer networking capacity of universities is found to be associated with the regional business environment within which they are situated, with the results going someway to confirming the importance of the role of universities in regional innovation systems, However, it also the case that more established, research focussed, universities are more likely to form part of wider , and possibly even more globalised, knowledge networks. Therefore, both the flow and stock of knowledge within regions is likely to be influenced by the networks formed by its universities, which has implications for both regional innovation capability and regional competitiveness

Negative safety events as correlates of work-safety tension

We investigate the extent to which three types of self-reported negative safety events (i.e., being injured at work, working in an unsafe way, witnessing others working in an unsafe way) correlate with work-safety tension. Work-safety tension is bi-dimensional, defined here as the perceived conflict between production and following safety rules (“barriers to safety compliance”) and production and proactive ways of working more safely (“barriers to safety participation”). Directly experiencing or witnessing negative safety events may send signals to employees about the extent to which their organization prioritizes production over safety. We tested a model of negative safety events as predictors of both barriers to safety compliance and barriers to safety participation using survey data from 316 front-line supervisors (97% male, mean age = 44 years) working for a UK rail maintenance company. The number of injuries directly experienced had a positive relationship with perceived barriers to safety compliance, whereas the number of times respondents witnessed others work in an unsafe way had a positive relationship with perceived barriers to safety participation

Observer reactions to workplace mistreatment: it’s a matter of perspective

Workplace mistreatment regularly occurs in the presence of others (i.e., observers). The reactions of observers toward those involved in the mistreatment episode have wide-reaching implications. In the current set of studies, we draw on theories of perspective-taking to consider how this form of interpersonal sensemaking influences observer reactions toward those involved in a witnessed incident of workplace mistreatment. We find that observers’ blame attributions and empathic concern for the individual whose perspective is taken explain the positive effects of perspective-taking on observer attitudes toward and performance evaluations of both the target and instigator of a witnessed incident of mistreatment. We also find that the effect of perspective-taking on observer reactions is stronger when the witnessed mistreatment is more severe. Finally, we find that although observer perspective-taking in the context of mistreatment can be encouraged, the effect seems to benefit instigators’ performance evaluations rather than targets’. Implications for targets, instigators, and organizations are discussed