Sample records for psychological contract measure

  1. Instrument to Measure Psychological Contract Violation in Pharmacy Students

    PubMed Central

    Wilkin, Noel E.; Bentley, John P.; Bouldin, Alicia S.; Wilson, Marvin C.; Holmes, Erin R.

    2010-01-01

    Objectives To adapt and evaluate an instrument that measures perceived psychological contract violations in pharmacy students by schools and colleges of pharmacy. Design A psychological contract violations measure was developed from existing literature and the 1997 ACPE Guidelines and pilot-tested with second-year pharmacy students at 2 schools of pharmacy. A revised measure then was administered to second-year pharmacy students at 6 schools of pharmacy. Using a 5-point Likert-type scale, participants were asked to indicate the level of obligations they received compared to what was promised by the school of pharmacy. Results Exploratory factor analysis on the psychological contract violations measure was conducted using principal components analysis resulting in 7 factors, which led to a revised measure with 26 items. Using a sample of 339 students, the proposed 7-factor measurement model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. In general, the results supported the hypothesized model. The final 23-item scale demonstrated both reliability and validity. Some students perceived certain aspects of the psychological contract that exists with their school of pharmacy were being violated. Conclusion The psychological contract violations measure may serve as a valuable tool in helping to identify areas where their students believe that schools/colleges of pharmacy have not fulfilled promised obligations. PMID:21045949

  2. Instrument to measure psychological contract violation in pharmacy students.

    PubMed

    Spies, Alan R; Wilkin, Noel E; Bentley, John P; Bouldin, Alicia S; Wilson, Marvin C; Holmes, Erin R

    2010-08-10

    To adapt and evaluate an instrument that measures perceived psychological contract violations in pharmacy students by schools and colleges of pharmacy. A psychological contract violations measure was developed from existing literature and the 1997 ACPE Guidelines and pilot-tested with second-year pharmacy students at 2 schools of pharmacy. A revised measure then was administered to second-year pharmacy students at 6 schools of pharmacy. Using a 5-point Likert-type scale, participants were asked to indicate the level of obligations they received compared to what was promised by the school of pharmacy. Exploratory factor analysis on the psychological contract violations measure was conducted using principal components analysis resulting in 7 factors, which led to a revised measure with 26 items. Using a sample of 339 students, the proposed 7-factor measurement model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. In general, the results supported the hypothesized model. The final 23-item scale demonstrated both reliability and validity. Some students perceived certain aspects of the psychological contract that exists with their school of pharmacy were being violated. The psychological contract violations measure may serve as a valuable tool in helping to identify areas where their students believe that schools/colleges of pharmacy have not fulfilled promised obligations.

  3. The application of the psychological contract to workplace safety.

    PubMed

    Walker, Arlene; Hutton, Dorothy M

    2006-01-01

    Psychological contracts of safety are conceptualized as the beliefs of individuals about reciprocal safety obligations inferred from implicit or explicit promises. Although the literature on psychological contracts is growing, the existence of psychological contracts in relation to safety has not been established. The research sought to identify psychological contracts in the conversations of employees about safety, by demonstrating reciprocity in relation to employer and employee safety obligations. The identified safety obligations were used to develop a measure of psychological contracts of safety. The participants were 131 employees attending safety training sessions in retail and manufacturing organizations. Non-participant observation was used to collect the data during safety training sessions. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. Categories for coding were established through identification of language markers that demonstrated contingencies or other implied obligations. Direct evidence of reciprocity between employer safety obligations and employee safety obligations was found in statements from the participants demonstrating psychological contracts. A comprehensive list of perceived employer and employee safety obligations was compiled and developed into a measure of psychological contracts of safety. A small sample of 33 safety personnel was used to validate the safety obligations. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Implications of these findings for safety and psychological contract research are discussed.

  4. Exchange relationships: examining psychological contracts and perceived organizational support.

    PubMed

    Coyle-Shapiro, Jacqueline A-M; Conway, Neil

    2005-07-01

    The authors surveyed 347 public sector employees on 4 measurement occasions to investigate the conceptual distinctiveness of the psychological contract and perceived organizational support (POS) and how they are associated over time. Results support the distinctiveness of the 2 concepts. In terms of their interrelationships over time, by drawing on psychological contract theory the authors found little support for a reciprocal relationship between POS and psychological contract fulfillment. Under an alternative set of hypotheses, by drawing on organizational support theory and by separating psychological contract fulfillment into its 2 components (perceived employer obligations and inducements), the authors found that perceived employer inducements were positively related to POS, which, in turn, was negatively related to perceived employer obligations. The results suggest that POS and the components of psychological contract fulfillment are more important in predicting organizational citizenship behavior than psychological contract fulfillment. Copyright 2005 APA, all rights reserved.

  5. The development and validation of a psychological contract of safety scale.

    PubMed

    Walker, Arlene

    2010-08-01

    This paper builds on previous research by the author and describes the development and validation of a new measure of the psychological contract of safety. The psychological contract of safety is defined as the beliefs of individuals about reciprocal safety obligations inferred from implicit and explicit promises. A psychological contract is established when an individual believes that perceived employer and employee safety obligations are contingent on each other. A pilot test of the measure is first undertaken with participants from three different occupations: nurses, construction workers, and meat processing workers (N=99). Item analysis is used to refine the measure and provide initial validation of the scale. A larger validation study is then conducted with a participant sample of health care workers (N=424) to further refine the measure and to determine the psychometric properties of the scale. Item and correlational analyses produced the final employer and employee obligations scales, consisting of 21 and 17 items, respectively. Factor analyses identified two underlying dimensions in each scale comparable to that previously established in the organizational literature. These transactional and relational-type obligations provided construct validity of the scale. Internal consistency ratings using Cronbach's alpha found the components of the psychological contract of safety measure to be reliable. The refined and validated psychological contract of safety measure will allow investigation of the positive and negative outcomes associated with fulfilment and breach of the psychological contract of safety in future research. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Psychological Contracts: Are They Still Relevant?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maguire, Heather

    2002-01-01

    Empirical evidence from a banking organization illustrated how change has an impact on psychological contracts. Concluded that maintenance of contracts makes an important contribution to relationships but organizations need to adjust psychological contracts to meet the needs of the work force. (Contains 58 references.) (JOW)

  7. Psychological Contracts and Their Implications for Commitment: A Feature-Based Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McInnis, Kate J.; Meyer, John P.; Feldman, Susan

    2009-01-01

    Two studies were conducted to examine the link between employee perceptions of the psychological contract and their affective and normative commitments to the organization. The authors adapt a new approach to the study of psychological contracts by developing a generalizable measure of "contract features" (e.g., scope; time frame). In Study 1…

  8. [The state of the psychological contract and its relation with employees' psychological health].

    PubMed

    Gracia, Francisco Javier; Silla, Inmaculada; Peiró, José María; Fortes-Ferreira, Lina

    2006-05-01

    In the present paper the role of the state of the psychological contract to predict psychological health results is studied in a sample of 385 employees of different Spanish companies. Results indicate that the state of the psychological contract significantly predicts life satisfaction, work-family conflict and well-being beyond the prediction produced by the content of the psychological contract. In addition, trust and fairness, two dimensions of the state of psychological contract, all together contribute to explain these psychological health variables adding value to the role as predictor of fulfillment of the psychological contract. The results support the approach argued by Guest and colleagues.

  9. Psychological contracts of hospice nurses.

    PubMed

    Jones, Audrey Elizabeth; Sambrook, Sally

    2010-12-01

    Psychological contracts have been described as individuals' beliefs regarding the obligations, expectations, and contributions that exist between them and their employer. They can be influenced by the organization's culture and philosophy, through human resources policies, and through the employee's personality and characteristics. Owing to the recent economic crisis, hospices in the UK are currently in a transitional phase and are being expected to demonstrate efficiencies that might be more in line with a business model than a health-care environment. This may conflict with the philosophical views of hospice nurses. To support nurses through this transition, it might be helpful to understand the antecedents of hospice nurses' behaviour and how they construct their psychological contracts. Failure to offer adequate support might lead to negative outcomes such as a desire to leave the organisation, poorer quality work, or disruptive behaviour. This study used a modified grounded theory approach involving in-depth interviews to explore the context and content of the psychological contracts of hospice nurses in the UK. Four main themes emerged: the types of psychological contracts formed, how the contracts are formed, their contents, and the breaches and potential violations the nurses perceive.

  10. A 'new' psychological contract for nurses: some management implications.

    PubMed

    Cavanagh, S J

    1996-03-01

    Changes within the health services are raising a number of employment issues for nurses. The idea that a professional qualification and a job will lead to security of employment and career development is rapidly changing. These assumptions, the 'old' psychological contract, is giving way to new expectations from employers and employees; the emergence of a 'new' psychological contract. A psychological contract is an implicit agreement between employer and employee that each party will treat the other fairly. Such contracts are maintained by virtue of all parties wanting to seek agreement on issues where possible and to maintain trust. While such a contract is not a legally binding agreement it is nonetheless a binding understanding between people. Changes to this psychological contract can have important implications for individuals and their employer in terms of work and organizational commitment. This paper will discuss some of the issues surrounding psychological contracts and the impact of violating them. It will also discuss, from a management perspective, how psychological contracts develop between employer and employee, and how to form a 'new' psychological contract based upon mutual benefit and shared values.

  11. Career Stage and Generational Differences in Psychological Contracts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hess, Narelle; Jepsen, Denise M.

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine how employees in different generational groups (or cohorts) and different career stages perceive their psychological contracts. Design/methodology/approach: A survey of 345 working adults included psychological contract obligations, incentives and importance and the cognitive responses of job…

  12. The changing psychological contract at work and employee burnout.

    PubMed

    Malach Pines, Ayala

    2002-01-01

    Today we stand in a vortex of technological, economic, and cultural changes that altered dramatically the world of labor and with it the psychological contract between employers and employees. While the effects of the changed contract at work are usually addressed from an organizational, social or economic perspective, the current article addresses it from a psychological perspective from which one noteworthy cost of the changed psychological contract is employee burnout. The article describes burnout, differentiates it from stress, and proposes an existential perspective to explain its underlying dynamic, using the results of a cross-cultural study of Israeli and American managers as an example. Recent studies on gender differences in management are used to point in the recommended for preventing employee burnout, despite the new psychological contract, namely--a democratic, egalitarian management style.

  13. Mutuality and reciprocity in the psychological contracts of employees and employers.

    PubMed

    Dabos, Guillermo E; Rousseau, Denise M

    2004-02-01

    The authors assessed the joint perceptions of the employee and his or her employer to examine mutuality and reciprocity in the employment relationship. Paired psychological contract reports were obtained from 80 employee-employer dyads in 16 university-based research centers. On the basis of in-depth study of the research setting, research directors were identified as primary agents for the university (employer) in shaping the terms of employment of staff scientists (employees). By assessing the extent of consistency between employee and employer beliefs regarding their exchange agreement, the present study mapped the variation and consequences of mutuality and reciprocity in psychological contracts. Results indicate that both mutuality and reciprocity are positively related to archival indicators of research productivity and career advancement, in addition to self-reported measures of Met Expectations and intention to continue working with the employer. Implications for psychological contract theory are presented. ((c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved)

  14. Lack of symmetry in employees' perceptions of the psychological contract.

    PubMed

    Jepsen, Denise M; Rodwell, John J

    2012-06-01

    Despite debate on the nature of employees' perceptions of their psychological contract, little research has compared employees' and employers' sides of the psychological contract. All 80 items from both scales in the Psychological Contract Inventory were used in a survey of 436 currently working, non-student respondents. Structural equation modeling yielded nonsymmetrical perspectives on promises and obligations, highlighting the validity of approaching the issues via individual perceptions.

  15. Psychological contract and organizational citizenship behavior in China: investigating generalizability and instrumentality.

    PubMed

    Hui, Chun; Lee, Cynthia; Rousseau, Denise M

    2004-04-01

    This study examined the generalizability of psychological contract forms observed in the West (D. M. Rousseau, 2000) to China. Using 2 independent samples, results confirmed the generalizability of 3 psychological contract forms: transactional, relational, and balanced. This study also examined the nature of relationships of psychological contracts with organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). In particular, this study explored the role of instrumentality as a mediating psychological process. The authors found evidence that instrumentality mediates the relationship of relational and balanced forms with OCB; however, the transactional contract form is directly related to OCB. The authors discuss the implications of these results for the meaning of psychological contracts and OCB in China and raise issues for future research.

  16. Testing the Differential Effects of Changes in Psychological Contract Breach and Fulfillment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Conway, Neil; Guest, David; Trenberth, Linda

    2011-01-01

    Rousseau (1989 and elsewhere) argued that a defining feature of psychological contract breach was that once a promise had been broken it could not easily be repaired and therefore that the effects of psychological contract breach outweighed those of psychological contract fulfillment. Using two independent longitudinal surveys, this paper…

  17. Psychological contracts and commitment amongst nurses and nurse managers: a discourse analysis.

    PubMed

    McCabe, T J; Sambrook, Sally

    2013-07-01

    Few studies explore the link between the psychological contracts and the commitment of nursing professionals in the healthcare sector, and how perceived breaches of the psychological contract can impact on nurses' commitment levels. This study explores the connections between the psychological contracts and organisational and professional commitment of nurses and nurse managers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nurses and nurse managers, to explore the connections between their psychological contracts and organisational and professional commitment. Large acute and small community organisation within the British National Health Service. 28 nurses and 11 nurse managers working within an acute and a community sector organisation - 20 and 19 in each organisation. Participants were selected through a process of purposive sampling, reflecting variations in terms of age, grade, ward and tenure. A discourse analysis was conducted on the qualitative data from the thirty nine semi-structured interviews. Two overall themes emerged, professional and managerial values. Professional values included the sub-themes: professional recognition; immediate work environment - leadership and peer support; professional development and progression. Sub-themes under managerial values included: involvement; general management; resource management. The findings suggest that nurses and nurse managers are governed by relational psychological contracts, underpinned by an affective and to a lesser extent normative commitment towards the nursing profession. They emphasise 'professional values', and professional commitment, as the basis for positive psychological contracts amongst nursing professionals. There was anecdotal evidence of relational psychological contract breach, with decreasing job satisfaction as the outcome of perceived psychological contract breach. Positive psychological contracts and commitment levels amongst nursing professionals can be supported by managers been

  18. Psychological contract breaches, organizational commitment, and innovation-related behaviors: a latent growth modeling approach.

    PubMed

    Ng, Thomas W H; Feldman, Daniel C; Lam, Simon S K

    2010-07-01

    This study examined the relationships among psychological contract breaches, organizational commitment, and innovation-related behaviors (generating, spreading, implementing innovative ideas at work) over a 6-month period. Results indicate that the effects of psychological contract breaches on employees are not static. Specifically, perceptions of psychological contract breaches strengthened over time and were associated with decreased levels of affective commitment over time. Further, increased perceptions of psychological contract breaches were associated with decreases in innovation-related behaviors. We also found evidence that organizational commitment mediates the relationship between psychological contract breaches and innovation-related behaviors. These results highlight the importance of examining the nomological network of psychological contract breaches from a change perspective.

  19. Career Management and the Changing Psychological Contract.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Atkinson, Carol

    2002-01-01

    A 1993 survey in a British bank revealed a lack of strategic approaches to career management and a negative psychological contract. A 2000 follow-up showed that employees viewed the new contract as a regression from a relational to a transactional approach. They had increased responsibility for career development, but management failed to provide…

  20. [Psychological contract in the light of flexible employment: The review of studies].

    PubMed

    Żołnierczyk-Zreda, Dorota

    Changing employment relations between employees and employers due to the increasing employment flexibility have contributed to the development of a new paradigm to analyze these relations based on the concept of psychological contract. This paradigm might be particularly relevant in Poland where the employment flexibility understood as the number of workers with temporary contracts is the highest in Europe. In this paper the concept of psychological contract is presented along with the existing findings related to its range, balance and contract fulfilment vs. contract breach. The results of studies showing the differences in psychological contract of temporary and permanent workers are also presented. The majority of them indicate that psychological contracts of temporary workers are limited in their extent, less balanced and asymmetric (to workers' disadvantage), as well as more transactional in their nature than those of permanent workers. The temporary workers' well-being and attitudes towards work and their reaction to psychological contract breach largely depends on their preferences for this type of employment, on their qualifications and on a labor market situation. Med Pr 2016;67(4):529-536. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

  1. The psychological contracts of National Health Service nurses.

    PubMed

    Purvis, Lynne J; Cropley, Mark

    2003-03-01

    Following the psychological contract model of the employee-employer exchange relationship is offered as a means of understanding the expectations of a UK sample of 223 National Health Service (NHS) nurses in association with their leaving intentions. A pilot study involving 21 NHS nurses, using the repertory grid technique was conducted to elicit contract expectations. Twenty-nine categories of expectation were identified through content analysis. The study proper, employed a survey developed on the basis of results from the pilot study to identify contract profiles among 223 nurses from three London/South-east NHS hospitals, using the Q-sort method. Type of contract held (relational/transactional), satisfaction (job and organization), and leaving intentions were also examined. Q-analysis yielded four contract profiles among the nurses sampled: 'self-development and achievement'; 'belonging and development'; 'competence and collegiality' and 'autonomy and development'. Correlation analysis demonstrated that leaving intentions were associated with a need for personal autonomy and development, and the violation of expectations for being appreciated, valued, recognized and rewarded for effort, loyalty, hard-work and achievement, negative endorsement of a relational contract, positive endorsement of a transactional contract, and job and organizational dissatisfaction. Findings illustrate the diagnostic utility of the term psychological contract for understanding the expectations of NHS nurses. The potential significance of these findings for managing nurse retention is highlighted.

  2. Identifying psychological contract breaches to guide improvements in faculty recruitment, retention, and development.

    PubMed

    Peirce, Gretchen L; Desselle, Shane P; Draugalis, JoLaine R; Spies, Alan R; Davis, Tamra S; Bolino, Mark

    2012-08-10

    To identify pharmacy faculty members' perceptions of psychological contract breaches that can be used to guide improvements in faculty recruitment, retention, and development. A list of psychological contract breaches was developed using a Delphi procedure involving a panel of experts assembled through purposive sampling. The Delphi consisted of 4 rounds, the first of which elicited examples of psychological contract breaches in an open-ended format. The ensuing 3 rounds consisting of a survey and anonymous feedback on aggregated group responses. Usable responses were obtained from 11 of 12 faculty members who completed the Delphi procedure. The final list of psychological contract breaches included 27 items, after modifications based on participant feedback in subsequent rounds. The psychological contract breach items generated in this study provide guidance for colleges and schools of pharmacy regarding important aspects of faculty recruitment, retention, and development.

  3. Jazzing up the Psychological Contract

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hartley, Nell Tabor

    2010-01-01

    Helping students and practitioners to understand and utilize the Psychological Contract is often a difficult task. Unlike fault-finding research, this paper presents the PC as a positive, vibrant and valuable tool. In an effort to make the concept less elusive, the paper draws upon the metaphor of jazz. The metaphor is an accepted tool of…

  4. Identifying Psychological Contract Breaches to Guide Improvements in Faculty Recruitment, Retention, and Development

    PubMed Central

    Desselle, Shane P.; Draugalis, JoLaine R.; Spies, Alan R.; Davis, Tamra S.; Bolino, Mark

    2012-01-01

    Objective. To identify pharmacy faculty members’ perceptions of psychological contract breaches that can be used to guide improvements in faculty recruitment, retention, and development. Methods. A list of psychological contract breaches was developed using a Delphi procedure involving a panel of experts assembled through purposive sampling. The Delphi consisted of 4 rounds, the first of which elicited examples of psychological contract breaches in an open-ended format. The ensuing 3 rounds consisting of a survey and anonymous feedback on aggregated group responses. Results. Usable responses were obtained from 11 of 12 faculty members who completed the Delphi procedure. The final list of psychological contract breaches included 27 items, after modifications based on participant feedback in subsequent rounds. Conclusion. The psychological contract breach items generated in this study provide guidance for colleges and schools of pharmacy regarding important aspects of faculty recruitment, retention, and development. PMID:22919084

  5. The Role of Future Time Perspective in Psychological Contracts: A Study among Older Workers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bal, P. Matthijs; Jansen, Paul G. W.; van der Velde, Mandy E. G.; de Lange, Annet H.; Rousseau, Denise M.

    2010-01-01

    Using a sample of post-retirement workers (N = 176), this study investigated the role of future time perspective (FTP) in psychological contracts. The study aimed to test: (i) whether future time perspective is related to employer psychological contract fulfillment and (ii) whether it moderates relations between psychological contract fulfillment…

  6. Psychological contract types as moderator in the breach-violation and violation-burnout relationships.

    PubMed

    Jamil, Amber; Raja, Usman; Darr, Wendy

    2013-01-01

    This research examined the relationships between perceived psychological contract breach, felt violation, and burnout in a sample (n = 361) of employees from various organizations in Pakistan. The moderating role of contract types in these relationships was also tested. Findings supported a positive association between perceived psychological contract breach and felt violation and both were positively related to burnout. Transactional and relational contracts moderated the felt violation-burnout relationship. Scores on relational contract type tended to be higher than for transactional contract type showing some contextual influence.

  7. The psychological contract: is the UK National Health Service a model employer?

    PubMed

    Fielden, Sandra; Whiting, Fiona

    2007-05-01

    The UK National Health Service (NHS) is facing recruitment challenges that mean it will need to become an 'employer of choice' if it is to continue to attract high-quality employees. This paper reports the findings from a study focusing on allied health professional staff (n = 67), aimed at establishing the expectations of the NHS inherent in their current psychological contract and to consider whether the government's drive to make the NHS a model employer meets those expectations. The findings show that the most important aspects of the psychological contract were relational and based on the investment made in the employment relationship by both parties. The employment relationship was one of high involvement but also one where transactional contract items, such as pay, were still of some importance. Although the degree of employee satisfaction with the relational content of the psychological contract was relatively positive, there was, nevertheless, a mismatch between levels of importance placed on such aspects of the contract and levels of satisfaction, with employees increasingly placing greater emphasis on those items the NHS is having the greatest difficulty providing. Despite this apparent disparity between employee expectation and the fulfilment of those expectations, the overall health of the psychological contract was still high.

  8. Hedgehogs, Foxes, Ethics, and the Evolving Social Contract in Psychology.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rosnow, Ralph L.

    This paper discusses the importance of ethics in psychological research. It defines the social contract between psychological science and society as the responsibility not to do psychological or physical harm to any research participants and to do beneficial research in a way that will produce valid research. Also explored are ways in which…

  9. Psychological contracts: a new strategy for retaining reduced-hour physicians.

    PubMed

    Hartwell, Jennifer K

    2010-01-01

    As a retention strategy, healthcare organizations offer reduced-hour schedules to physicians seeking better work-family balance. However, this quantitative study of 94 full-time and reduced-hour female physicians in the Boston area found that working fewer hours helps physicians achieve better balance but does not improve their burnout or career satisfaction, or impact their intention to quit or leave the field of medicine. Instead, the findings demonstrate that psychological contract fulfillment, which reflects the subjective nature of the employment relationship, is more important than work hours, an objective job condition, in predicting intention to quit and these other outcomes. A fine-grained analysis is initiated uncovering the multidimensionality of the psychological contract construct. To integrate successful reduced-hour arrangements for physicians, medical managers are directed to the importance of understanding the composition of reduced-hour physicians' psychological contracts, specifically, their need to do challenging work, receive high levels of supervisor support, and promotion opportunities.

  10. Reactions to psychological contract breaches and organizational citizenship behaviours: An experimental manipulation of severity.

    PubMed

    Atkinson, Theresa P; Matthews, Russell A; Henderson, Alexandra A; Spitzmueller, Christiane

    2018-01-30

    Grounded in affective events theory, we investigated the effects of experimentally manipulated psychological contract breaches on participants' feelings of violation, subsequent perceptions of psychological contract strength, and organizational citizenship behaviours in a sample of working adults. Results support previous findings that pre-existing relational psychological contract strength interacts with severity of unmet promises or expectations. Specifically, individuals with high relational contracts who experience low severity of unmet promises/expectations have the lowest breach perceptions, whereas individuals with high relational contracts who experience more severe levels unmet promises/expectations experience the highest level of breach perceptions. Results also support the concept of a breach spiral in that prior perceptions of breach led to an increased likelihood of subsequent perceptions of breach following the experimental manipulation. Furthermore, consistent with affective events theory, results support the argument that a psychological contract breach's effect on specific organizational citizenship behaviours is mediated by feelings of violation and the reassessment of relational contracts. These effects were present even after controlling for the direct effects of the manipulated severity of unmet promises/expectations. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  11. Are Emotions Transmitted From Work to Family? A Crossover Model of Psychological Contract Breach.

    PubMed

    Liang, Huai-Liang

    2018-01-01

    Based on affective events theory and the crossover model, this study examines the effect of psychological contract breach on employee dysfunctional behavior and partner family undermining and explores the crossover effect of employee dysfunctional behavior on partner family undermining in work-family issues. This study collected 370 employee-partner dyads (277 male employees, 93 female employees, M age = 43.59 years) from a large manufacturing organization. The results of this study support the conception that employees' psychological contract breach results in frustration in the workplace. In addition, mediation analysis results reveal that psychological contract breach relates to employee dysfunctional behavior in the workplace. The findings show that partners' psychological strain mediates the relationship between employee dysfunctional behavior and partner family undermining. Furthermore, these findings provide investigations for the crossover model to display the value of psychological contract breach in family issues.

  12. The psychological contract: enhancing productivity and its implications for long-term care.

    PubMed

    Flannery, Raymond B

    2002-01-01

    When hired, a new employee is usually given a job description and an explanation of benefits. In addition, the employee will also have a psychological contract with the organization. This contract, often unstated, reflects the main source of the employee's motivation to work hard. This is true of all groups of employees, including long-term care staff. Common examples of psychological contracts for long-term care administrative staff include autonomy, social acceptance, and being in the forefront of cutting-edge research. An awareness of these psychological contracts can result in better "fits" between employee aspirations and relevant long-term care organization tasks so that productivity is enhanced. This article outlines the steps necessary to create these good fits in ways that benefit both the organization and its employees. These recommendations are of particular relevance to administrators and supervisors in long-term carefacilities.

  13. Toward a better understanding of psychological contract breach: a study of customer service employees.

    PubMed

    Deery, Stephen J; Iverson, Roderick D; Walsh, Janet T

    2006-01-01

    Experiences of psychological contract breach have been associated with a range of negative behavior. However, much of the research has focused on master of business administration alumni and managers and made use of self-reported outcomes. Studying a sample of customer service employees, the research found that psychological contract breach was related to lower organizational trust, which, in turn was associated with perceptions of less cooperative employment relations and higher levels of absenteeism. Furthermore, perceptions of external market pressures moderated the effect of psychological contract breach on absenteeism. The study indicated that psychological contract breach can arise when employees perceive discrepancies between an organization's espoused behavioral standards and its actual behavioral standards, and this can affect discretionary absence. (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved.

  14. Raising the Curtain: Exploring Dancers’ Perceptions of Obligation through the Psychological Contract Lens

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stanway, Alicia R.; Bordia, Sarbari; Fein, Erich C.

    2013-01-01

    The current study takes an exploratory approach to investigate which situational factors influence perceptions of psychological contracts, as well as the content that comprises psychological contracts in the dance training industry. Semi-structured interviews ("n"?=?10) were conducted with students enrolled in a higher education…

  15. Promised and Delivered Inducements and Contributions: An Integrated View of Psychological Contract Appraisal

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lambert, Lisa Schurer

    2011-01-01

    The reciprocal exchange of employees' work for pay that is central to employment relationships is viewed here through the lens of the psychological contract. A psychological contract involves promised inducements, promised contributions, delivered inducements, and delivered contributions: How an employee cognitively integrates these 4 elements is…

  16. Do promises matter? An exploration of the role of promises in psychological contract breach.

    PubMed

    Montes, Samantha D; Zweig, David

    2009-09-01

    Promises are positioned centrally in the study of psychological contract breach and are argued to distinguish psychological contracts from related constructs, such as employee expectations. However, because the effects of promises and delivered inducements are confounded in most research, the role of promises in perceptions of, and reactions to, breach remains unclear. If promises are not an important determinant of employee perceptions, emotions, and behavioral intentions, this would suggest that the psychological contract breach construct might lack utility. To assess the unique role of promises, the authors manipulated promises and delivered inducements separately in hypothetical scenarios in Studies 1 (558 undergraduates) and 2 (441 employees), and they measured them separately (longitudinally) in Study 3 (383 employees). The authors' results indicate that breach perceptions do not represent a discrepancy between what employees believe they were promised and were given. In fact, breach perceptions can exist in the absence of promises. Further, promises play a negligible role in predicting feelings of violation and behavioral intentions. Contrary to the extant literature, the authors' findings suggest that promises may matter little; employees are concerned primarily with what the organization delivers.

  17. What Does the Student Psychological Contract Mean? Evidence from a UK Business School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Koskina, Aikaterini

    2013-01-01

    Much has been written about psychological contracts in organisational contexts but very little in educational settings, especially within higher education. Using an exploratory single case study this article provides qualitative empirical evidence about the ways in which the psychological contract is perceived by a group of postgraduate students…

  18. Let's be professional about this: ideology and the psychological contracts of registered nurses.

    PubMed

    O'Donohue, Wayne; Nelson, Lindsay

    2007-07-01

    This study explores whether there is evidence of an ideological component in the psychological contracts of professional employees, as well as evidence of credible supporting commitments by their employer. Fundamental changes in the employment context have prompted many individuals to seek a closer alignment between themselves and their work, as well as with the organizational and broader societal contexts. For many professional employees identification with their professional ideology is a significant factor in producing such an alignment. The study uses an exploratory qualitative approach to analyse interview data collected from a sample of registered nurses employed in an Australian public hospital. The analysis identifies psychological contract terms best understood by reference to an ideological currency. It also suggests that the organization is perceived as obligated to provide credible support for that professional contribution, and the perceived lack of such support has significant impacts. The findings raise doubts about the utility of the concept of a psychological contract that recognizes only economic and socio-emotional exchanges for understanding the psychological contracts of professional employees.

  19. Promised and delivered inducements and contributions: an integrated view of psychological contract appraisal.

    PubMed

    Lambert, Lisa Schurer

    2011-07-01

    The reciprocal exchange of employees' work for pay that is central to employment relationships is viewed here through the lens of the psychological contract. A psychological contract involves promised inducements, promised contributions, delivered inducements, and delivered contributions: How an employee cognitively integrates these 4 elements is a central question in psychological contract theory. Three alternative approaches for integrating the 4 elements were drawn from discrepancy theory, from equity theory, and from need theories of satisfaction, respectively. Experimental findings disconfirmed the discrepancy and equity approaches. Findings were consistent with the premise of the needs model, which is that appraisal is driven by how psychological contract elements facilitate or hinder an employee's effort to fulfill personal needs. Results showed that promised and delivered pay and work contribute uniquely to appraisal but that they vary in their influence on appraisal. These findings were consistent with the needs model principle that elements proximal to need satisfaction matter more than distal elements. That is, what is delivered (for pay and for work) matters more than what is promised, and pay matters more than work.

  20. Outcomes associated with breach and fulfillment of the psychological contract of safety.

    PubMed

    Walker, Arlene

    2013-12-01

    The study investigated the outcomes associated with breach and fulfillment of the psychological contract of safety. The psychological contract of safety is defined as the beliefs of individuals about reciprocal employer and employee safety obligations inferred from implicit or explicit promises. When employees perceive that safety obligations promised by the employer have not been met, a breach of the psychological contract occurs, termed employer breach of obligations. The extent to which employees fulfill their safety obligations to the employer is termed employee fulfillment of obligations. Structural equation modeling was used to test a model of safety that investigated the positive and negative outcomes associated with breach and fulfillment of the psychological contract of safety. Participants were 424 health care workers recruited from two hospitals in the State of Victoria, Australia. Following slight modification of the hypothesized model, a good fitting model resulted. Being injured in the workplace was found to lower perceptions of trust in the employer and increase perceptions of employer breach of safety obligations. Trust in the employer significantly influenced perceived employer breach of safety obligations such that lowered trust resulted in higher perceptions of breach. Perceptions of employer breach significantly impacted employee fulfillment of safety obligations with high perceptions of breach resulting in low employee fulfillment of obligations. Trust and perceptions of breach significantly influenced safety attitudes, but not safety behavior. Fulfillment of employee safety obligations significantly impacted safety behavior, but not safety attitudes. Implications of these findings for safety and psychological contract research are explored. A positive emphasis on social exchange relationships in organizations will have positive outcomes for safety climate and safety behavior. © 2013.

  1. The role of the psychological contract in the motivation of nurses.

    PubMed

    Corder, Emma; Ronnie, Linda

    2018-02-05

    Purpose Although private health care is regarded as providing a premium quality experience for both patients and staff alike, it is not without its daily challenges for health professionals. This study aims to explore the psychological contract of nurses to develop a greater understanding of how employee-employer interaction impacts motivation levels. Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with thirteen nurses at a private hospital in South Africa. Five nursing managers were interviewed to provide a management perspective. Thematic analysis was used to identify the salient elements of the psychological contract and to establish connections with motivational features. Findings The psychological contract of nurses was balanced in nature, contained predominantly relational elements and was characterized by the need for manager support, leadership and autonomy. Motivation was a by-product of fulfilment and was enhanced by a combination of tangible and intangible rewards. Practical implications Nursing managers should recognize their role in caring for the wellbeing of their staff and should be trained accordingly. Equipping nurses with the necessary tools to work autonomously, as well as acknowledging their skills, will stimulate confidence and improve motivation. Originality/value This study makes an important contribution to the existing literature on the psychological contract of nurses within the health-care system. It provides insight into relationship-based mechanisms that can be used to improve the motivation of nurses and thus impact the overall quality of patient care.

  2. Antecedents of Psychological Contract Breach: The Role of Job Demands, Job Resources, and Affect

    PubMed Central

    Vantilborgh, Tim; Bidee, Jemima; Pepermans, Roland; Griep, Yannick; Hofmans, Joeri

    2016-01-01

    While it has been shown that psychological contract breach leads to detrimental outcomes, relatively little is known about factors leading to perceptions of breach. We examine if job demands and resources predict breach perceptions. We argue that perceiving high demands elicits negative affect, while perceiving high resources stimulates positive affect. Positive and negative affect, in turn, influence the likelihood that psychological contract breaches are perceived. We conducted two experience sampling studies to test our hypotheses: the first using daily surveys in a sample of volunteers, the second using weekly surveys in samples of volunteers and paid employees. Our results confirm that job demands and resources are associated with negative and positive affect respectively. Mediation analyses revealed that people who experienced high job resources were less likely to report psychological contract breach, because they experienced high levels of positive affect. The mediating role of negative affect was more complex, as it increased the likelihood to perceive psychological contract breach, but only in the short-term. PMID:27171275

  3. Antecedents of Psychological Contract Breach: The Role of Job Demands, Job Resources, and Affect.

    PubMed

    Vantilborgh, Tim; Bidee, Jemima; Pepermans, Roland; Griep, Yannick; Hofmans, Joeri

    2016-01-01

    While it has been shown that psychological contract breach leads to detrimental outcomes, relatively little is known about factors leading to perceptions of breach. We examine if job demands and resources predict breach perceptions. We argue that perceiving high demands elicits negative affect, while perceiving high resources stimulates positive affect. Positive and negative affect, in turn, influence the likelihood that psychological contract breaches are perceived. We conducted two experience sampling studies to test our hypotheses: the first using daily surveys in a sample of volunteers, the second using weekly surveys in samples of volunteers and paid employees. Our results confirm that job demands and resources are associated with negative and positive affect respectively. Mediation analyses revealed that people who experienced high job resources were less likely to report psychological contract breach, because they experienced high levels of positive affect. The mediating role of negative affect was more complex, as it increased the likelihood to perceive psychological contract breach, but only in the short-term.

  4. An Investigation of Leadership Styles and Psychological Contracts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chu, Hui-Chin; Fu, Chi-Jung

    2005-01-01

    This study was conducted to determine whether a statistically significant relationship exists between the leadership styles of managers and employee psychological contracts, as perceived by the employees. The findings indicated that the employees' perception of leadership style significantly affected satisfaction levels of employee psychological…

  5. The impact of the psychological contract, justice and individual differences: nurses take it personally when employers break promises.

    PubMed

    Rodwell, John; Gulyas, Andre

    2013-12-01

    To explore affective and attitudinal outcomes of aspects of the psychological contract, organizational justice and negative affectivity in nursing. Job satisfaction, mental health and commitment to organizations and the nursing profession is important for nurse retention. The psychological contract and organizational justice are related constructs that have been linked to these outcomes, as has the characteristic of negative affectivity. Rarely have the relationships between these concepts and outcomes been examined. Cross-sectional data were collected during November, 2007. Survey data collected on Registered Nurses and midwives from a large metropolitan hospital in Australia (n = 193, after removing missing cases and outliers) were analysed using structural equation modelling. The model used self-report measures of psychological contract obligations, fulfilment and breach, organizational justice and negative affectivity as predictors of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, career commitment and psychological distress. Goodness-of-fit statistics confirmed a well-fitting model. The model explained 49%, 29%, 60% and 47% of the variance in psychological distress, job satisfaction, organizational commitment and career commitment respectively. Findings support the influence of the psychological contract, fairness and individual differences on outcomes important to nurse retention. Keeping promises is more important than making promises that cannot be kept. The results support a discrepancy mechanism underlying fulfilment and breach. The impact of breach suggests that nurses take breach personally, whereas fulfilment may represent a global evaluation of discrepancies. Ultimately, fulfilling, rather than making promises, keeps nurses happy. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. Psychological Contract Breach and Job Attitudes: A Meta-Analysis of Age as a Moderator

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bal, P. Matthijs; De Lange, Annet H.; Jansen, Paul G. W.; Van Der Velde, Mandy E. G.

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the influence of age in the relation between psychological contract breach and the development of job attitudes. Based on affective events, social exchange, and lifespan theory, we hypothesized that (1) psychological contract breach would be related negatively to job attitudes, and (2) that age would moderate…

  7. Teacher Views on Organizational Support and Psychological Contract Violation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Argon, Türkan; Ekinci, Serkan

    2017-01-01

    This study aimed to determine the relationship between secondary school teachers' view regarding Organizational Support and Psychological Contract Violation. The study conducted with relational screening model included 230 secondary school teachers employed in Bolu central district in 2014-2015 academic year. Perceived Organizational Support Scale…

  8. Into the Looking Glass: Psychological Contracts in Research Administration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hicks, Melanie; Monroy-Paz, Jorge

    2015-01-01

    In a world of fast moving technology, pressure cooker work climates and stretched resources, productivity, employee engagement, and talent retention are critical to the success of any organization. Research administration offices are no exception. Psychological contract theory provides insightful illumination on reactions to these environments by…

  9. Beyond reciprocity: A conservation of resources view on the effects of psychological contract violation on third parties.

    PubMed

    Deng, Hong; Coyle-Shapiro, Jacqueline; Yang, Qian

    2018-05-01

    Building on conservation of resources theory, we cast resource depletion as a novel explanatory mechanism to explain why employees' experience of psychological contract violation results in harm to third parties outside the employee-organization exchange dyad. This resource-based perspective extends and complements the dominant social exchange perspective which views employee reactions to psychological contract violation as targeting the source of the violation-the organization. The present article reports on 3 studies. Study 1 conducted an experiment with 109 participants and established the main effect of psychological contract violation on resource depletion. Study 2, using survey data from 315 medical employees and their immediate supervisors, found that after controlling for the social exchange mechanism (i.e., revenge cognitions toward the organization), resource depletion mediated the indirect effects of psychological contract violation on supervisory reports of employees' interpersonal harming toward coworkers and decision-making vigilance for clients. Further, we found that organizational and professional identification played opposing moderating roles in the effects of violation on resource depletion and consequently behavioral outcomes, such that these mediated relationships were stronger when organizational identification was high, and weaker when professional identification was high. Study 3 replicated all the results obtained in Studies 1 and 2 with time-lagged data from 229 medical employees across 3 measurement points. The findings confirm that resource depletion is a more effective explanation of the consequences of violation on third parties than revenge cognitions, although both are useful in predicting organization-directed outcomes (i.e., civic virtue and organizational rule compliance). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  10. Teachers' Psychological Contract Perceptions and Person-Environment Fit Levels

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Demirkasimoglu, Nihan

    2014-01-01

    Problem Statement: Modern management approaches attach great importance to both the informal and the economic aspects of the organizations. Identifying teachers' psychological contract types and fit levels of a work environment in terms of variables such as seniority, educational degree, and school type will lead to discovery of the motivational…

  11. Actively Coping with Violation: Exploring Upward Dissent Patterns in Functional, Dysfunctional, and Deserted Psychological Contract End States

    PubMed Central

    Schalk, René; De Ruiter, Melanie; Van Loon, Joost; Kuijpers, Evy; Van Regenmortel, Tine

    2018-01-01

    Recently, scholars have emphasized the importance of examining how employees cope with psychological contract violation and how the coping process contributes to psychological contract violation resolution and post-violation psychological contracts. Recent work points to the important role of problem-focused coping. Yet, to date, problem-focused coping strategies have not been conceptualized on a continuum from constructive to destructive strategies. Consequently, potential differences in the use of specific types of problem-focused coping strategies and the role these different strategies play in the violation resolution process has not been explored. In this study, we stress the importance of focusing on different types of problem-focused coping strategies. We explore how employee upward dissent strategies, conceptualized as different forms of problem-focused coping, contribute to violation resolution and post-violation psychological contracts. Two sources of data were used. In-depth interviews with supervisors of a Dutch car lease company provided 23 case descriptions of employee-supervisor interactions after a psychological contract violation. Moreover, a database with descriptions of Dutch court sentences provided eight case descriptions of employee-organization interactions following a perceived violation. Based on these data sources, we explored the pattern of upward dissent strategies employees used over time following a perceived violation. We distinguished between functional (thriving and reactivation), dysfunctional (impairment and dissolution) and deserted psychological contract end states and explored whether different dissent patterns over time differentially contributed to the dissent outcome (i.e., psychological contract end state). The results of our study showed that the use of problem-focused coping is not as straightforward as suggested by the post-violation model. While the post-violation model suggests that problem-focused coping will most

  12. Actively Coping with Violation: Exploring Upward Dissent Patterns in Functional, Dysfunctional, and Deserted Psychological Contract End States.

    PubMed

    Schalk, René; De Ruiter, Melanie; Van Loon, Joost; Kuijpers, Evy; Van Regenmortel, Tine

    2018-01-01

    Recently, scholars have emphasized the importance of examining how employees cope with psychological contract violation and how the coping process contributes to psychological contract violation resolution and post-violation psychological contracts. Recent work points to the important role of problem-focused coping. Yet, to date, problem-focused coping strategies have not been conceptualized on a continuum from constructive to destructive strategies. Consequently, potential differences in the use of specific types of problem-focused coping strategies and the role these different strategies play in the violation resolution process has not been explored. In this study, we stress the importance of focusing on different types of problem-focused coping strategies. We explore how employee upward dissent strategies, conceptualized as different forms of problem-focused coping, contribute to violation resolution and post-violation psychological contracts. Two sources of data were used. In-depth interviews with supervisors of a Dutch car lease company provided 23 case descriptions of employee-supervisor interactions after a psychological contract violation. Moreover, a database with descriptions of Dutch court sentences provided eight case descriptions of employee-organization interactions following a perceived violation. Based on these data sources, we explored the pattern of upward dissent strategies employees used over time following a perceived violation. We distinguished between functional (thriving and reactivation), dysfunctional (impairment and dissolution) and deserted psychological contract end states and explored whether different dissent patterns over time differentially contributed to the dissent outcome (i.e., psychological contract end state). The results of our study showed that the use of problem-focused coping is not as straightforward as suggested by the post-violation model. While the post-violation model suggests that problem-focused coping will most

  13. Leader--member exchange, differentiation, and psychological contract fulfillment: a multilevel examination.

    PubMed

    Henderson, David J; Wayne, Sandy J; Shore, Lynn M; Bommer, William H; Tetrick, Lois E

    2008-11-01

    Prior integrations of the leader-member exchange (LMX) and psychological contract literatures have not clarified how within-group LMX differentiation influences employees' attitudes and behaviors in the employment relationship. Therefore, using a sample of 278 members and managers of 31 intact work groups at 4 manufacturing plants, the authors examined how LMX operating at the within-group level (relative LMX, or RLMX) and the group level influenced perceptions of psychological contract fulfillment and employee-level outcomes. Controlling for individual-level perceptions of LMX quality, results indicated a positive relationship between RLMX and fulfillment, which was strengthened as group-level variability in LMX quality increased. Perceptions of fulfillment mediated the relationship between RLMX and performance and sportsmanship behaviors. The importance of conceptualizing LMX as simultaneously operating at multiple levels is highlighted.

  14. "Seinfeld," Professor of Organizational Behavior: The Psychological Contract and Systems Thinking.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dent, Eric B.

    2001-01-01

    Explains how television programs such as "Seinfeld" illustrate the organizational behavior concepts of the social psychological contract and the interdependence aspect of systems thinking. Describes to use "Seinfeld" in the management classroom. (Contains 18 references.) (SK)

  15. Student Satisfaction with Online Learning: Is It a Psychological Contract?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dziuban, Charles; Moskal, Patsy; Thompson, Jessica; Kramer, Lauren; DeCantis, Genevieve; Hermsdorfer, Andrea

    2015-01-01

    The authors explore the possible relationship between student satisfaction with online learning and the theory of psychological contracts. The study incorporates latent trait models using the image analysis procedure and computation of Anderson and Rubin factors scores with contrasts for students who are satisfied, ambivalent, or dissatisfied with…

  16. Can You Get a Better Deal Elsewhere? The Effects of Psychological Contract Replicability on Organizational Commitment over Time

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ng, Thomas W. H.; Feldman, Daniel C.

    2008-01-01

    Previous research on psychological contracts has focused on whether or not employees feel their employers have fulfilled the promises made to them. Instead, here we examine how perceptions of the external labor market, particularly about whether present psychological contracts could be replicated elsewhere, influence employees' attachment to their…

  17. The Influences of Leadership Style and School Climate to Faculty Psychological Contracts: A Case of S University in Taiwan

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chu, Hui-Chin; Fu, Chi-Jung

    2006-01-01

    This study was to investigate the impacts of leadership style and school climate on faculty psychological contracts. Demographic variables were also tested. The findings indicated that overall perceptions of the faculties toward leadership style, school climate, and psychological contract were favorable. Moreover, leadership style and school…

  18. Conscientiousness and reactions to psychological contract breach: a longitudinal field study.

    PubMed

    Orvis, Karin A; Dudley, Nicole M; Cortina, Jose M

    2008-09-01

    The authors examined the role of employee conscientiousness as a moderator of the relationships between psychological contract breach and employee behavioral and attitudinal reactions to the breach. They collected data from 106 newly hired employees within the 1st month of employment (Time 1), 3 months later (Time 2), and 8 months after Time 1 (Time 3) to observe the progression through contract development, breach, and reaction. Results suggest that conscientiousness is a significant moderator for 4 of the 5 contract breach-employee reaction relationships examined (turnover intentions, organizational loyalty, job satisfaction, and 1 of 2 facets of job performance). Specifically, employees who were lower in conscientiousness had more negative reactions to perceived breach with respect to turnover intentions, organizational loyalty, and job satisfaction. In contrast, employees who were higher in conscientiousness reduced their job performance to a greater degree in response to contract breach. Future research directions are discussed.

  19. The Home-School Psychological Contract: Implications for Parental Involvement in Middle Schooling.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Renihan, Patrick J.; Renihan, Frederick J.

    1995-01-01

    Contends that social change has created a need for parents and teachers to develop strategies to improve communication, mutual understanding, and effective ways to nurture and educate young adolescents. Addresses the psychological contract between school and home, strategies and stances, and considerations and strategies for strengthening the…

  20. The Relationship between Authoritarian Leadership and Employees' Deviant Workplace Behaviors: The Mediating Effects of Psychological Contract Violation and Organizational Cynicism.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Hongyan; Chen, Yang; Sun, Peizhen; Yang, Jun

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between authoritarian leadership and employees' deviant workplace behaviors (DWB), as well as the mediating effects of psychological contract violation and organizational cynicism. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 391 manufacturing workers in a northern city of China. Structural equation modeling was performed to test the theory-driven models. The results showed that the relationship between authoritarian leadership and employees' DWB was mediated by organizational cynicism. Moreover, this relationship was also sequentially mediated by psychological contract violation and organizational cynicism. This research unveiled psychological contract violation and organizational cynicism as underlying mechanism that explained the link between authoritarian leadership and employees' DWB.

  1. The Relationship between Authoritarian Leadership and Employees’ Deviant Workplace Behaviors: The Mediating Effects of Psychological Contract Violation and Organizational Cynicism

    PubMed Central

    Jiang, Hongyan; Chen, Yang; Sun, Peizhen; Yang, Jun

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between authoritarian leadership and employees’ deviant workplace behaviors (DWB), as well as the mediating effects of psychological contract violation and organizational cynicism. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 391 manufacturing workers in a northern city of China. Structural equation modeling was performed to test the theory-driven models. The results showed that the relationship between authoritarian leadership and employees’ DWB was mediated by organizational cynicism. Moreover, this relationship was also sequentially mediated by psychological contract violation and organizational cynicism. This research unveiled psychological contract violation and organizational cynicism as underlying mechanism that explained the link between authoritarian leadership and employees’ DWB. PMID:28536550

  2. Perceived Control and Psychological Contract Breach as Explanations of the Relationships Between Job Insecurity, Job Strain and Coping Reactions: Towards a Theoretical Integration.

    PubMed

    Vander Elst, Tinne; De Cuyper, Nele; Baillien, Elfi; Niesen, Wendy; De Witte, Hans

    2016-04-01

    This study aims to further knowledge on the mechanisms through which job insecurity is related to negative outcomes. Based on appraisal theory, two explanations-perceived control and psychological contract breach-were theoretically integrated in a comprehensive model and simultaneously examined as mediators of the job insecurity-outcome relationship. Different categories of outcomes were considered, namely work-related (i.e. vigour and need for recovery) and general strain (i.e. mental and physical health complaints), as well as psychological (i.e. job satisfaction and organizational commitment) and behavioural coping reactions (i.e. self-rated performance and innovative work behaviour). The hypotheses were tested using data of a heterogeneous sample of 2413 Flemish employees by means of both single and multiple mediator structural equation modelling analyses (bootstrapping method). Particularly, psychological contract breach accounted for the relationship between job insecurity and strain. Both perceived control and psychological contract breach mediated the relationships between job insecurity and psychological coping reactions, although the indirect effects were larger for psychological contract breach. Finally, perceived control was more important than psychological contract breach in mediating the relationships between job insecurity and behavioural coping reactions. This study meets previous calls for a theoretical integration regarding mediators of the job insecurity-outcome relationship. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  3. Promises from Afar: A Model of International Student Psychological Contract in Business Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bordia, Sarbari; Bordia, Prashant; Restubog, Simon Lloyd D.

    2015-01-01

    Despite their significant presence in western business schools, the needs and experiences of international students have not been adequately reflected in the business education literature. We draw upon psychological contract theory--used to understand employer-employee relationships--to develop a novel theoretical model on the international…

  4. The Psychological Contract and Individual Differences: The Role of Exchange and Creditor Ideologies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coyle-Shapiro, Jacqueline A-M.; Neuman, Joel H.

    2004-01-01

    The present study examines exchange and creditor ideologies (two dispositional characteristics that are strongly related to exchange relationships) and their moderating effects on the psychological contract. Five hundred public-sector employees were studied over a 3-year period. Respondents' were surveyed as to their perceptions of what they…

  5. Perceptions of employment relations and permanence in the organization: mediating effects of affective commitment in relations of psychological contract and intention to quit.

    PubMed

    Alcover, Carlos-María; Martínez-Iñigo, David; Chambel, Maria José

    2012-06-01

    Working conditions in call/contact centers influence employees' perceptions of their relations with the organization and their attitudes to work. Such perceptions can be analyzed through the psychological contract. The association between the relational/transactional orientation of the psychological contract and intention to quit the organization was examined, as well as the mediating role of affective commitment in employment relations. Data were collected from 973 employees in a cross-sectional survey. Analysis confirmed that there was a statistically significant relation between the orientation of the psychological contract and intention to quit, which was positive for transactionally oriented and negative for relationally oriented contracts. A mediating role for affective commitment was also confirmed, and a full mediating effect was reported for both orientations.

  6. The Moderating Effect of Psychological Contract Violation on the Relationship between Narcissism and Outcomes: An Application of Trait Activation Theory

    PubMed Central

    Zagenczyk, Thomas J.; Smallfield, Jarvis; Scott, Kristin L.; Galloway, Bret; Purvis, Russell L.

    2017-01-01

    We use trait activation and psychological contracts theories to build the argument that narcissism is a personality trait that will manifest itself in the form of exit and neglect when employees experience psychological contract violation. To test our hypotheses, we surveyed 262 employees from a wide array of industries working in different organizations at two points in time. Our results indicate that violation moderated the relationship between narcissism and exit such that narcissistic employees who experienced high levels of violation had higher levels of exit. However, we did not find support for our prediction regarding neglect. The findings suggest that the importance of narcissism at work may be contingent on the situation. Our study contributes to research on narcissism in the workplace, trait activation theory, and the role that individual differences play in shaping employee responses to psychological contract violation. PMID:28713315

  7. The Moderating Effect of Psychological Contract Violation on the Relationship between Narcissism and Outcomes: An Application of Trait Activation Theory.

    PubMed

    Zagenczyk, Thomas J; Smallfield, Jarvis; Scott, Kristin L; Galloway, Bret; Purvis, Russell L

    2017-01-01

    We use trait activation and psychological contracts theories to build the argument that narcissism is a personality trait that will manifest itself in the form of exit and neglect when employees experience psychological contract violation. To test our hypotheses, we surveyed 262 employees from a wide array of industries working in different organizations at two points in time. Our results indicate that violation moderated the relationship between narcissism and exit such that narcissistic employees who experienced high levels of violation had higher levels of exit. However, we did not find support for our prediction regarding neglect. The findings suggest that the importance of narcissism at work may be contingent on the situation. Our study contributes to research on narcissism in the workplace, trait activation theory, and the role that individual differences play in shaping employee responses to psychological contract violation.

  8. Training Opportunities and Employee Exhaustion in Call Centres: Mediation by Psychological Contract Fulfilment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chambel, Maria Jose; Castanheira, Filipa

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this study is to analyse psychological contract fulfilment as a mechanism through which training affects stress in call centres. The hypotheses were tested on a sample of 412 call centre operators, using structural equation modelling to analyse their survey responses. Our results demonstrated that training is negatively related to…

  9. Modeling Psychological Contract Violation using Dual Regime Models: An Event-based Approach.

    PubMed

    Hofmans, Joeri

    2017-01-01

    A good understanding of the dynamics of psychological contract violation requires theories, research methods and statistical models that explicitly recognize that violation feelings follow from an event that violates one's acceptance limits, after which interpretative processes are set into motion, determining the intensity of these violation feelings. Whereas theories-in the form of the dynamic model of the psychological contract-and research methods-in the form of daily diary research and experience sampling research-are available by now, the statistical tools to model such a two-stage process are still lacking. The aim of the present paper is to fill this gap in the literature by introducing two statistical models-the Zero-Inflated model and the Hurdle model-that closely mimic the theoretical process underlying the elicitation violation feelings via two model components: a binary distribution that models whether violation has occurred or not, and a count distribution that models how severe the negative impact is. Moreover, covariates can be included for both model components separately, which yields insight into their unique and shared antecedents. By doing this, the present paper offers a methodological-substantive synergy, showing how sophisticated methodology can be used to examine an important substantive issue.

  10. Why e-return services fail: a psychological contract violation approach.

    PubMed

    Hsieh, Pei-Ling

    2012-12-01

    This study elucidates why and how e-return services (e-RS) fail, representing a preliminary attempt to explain the critical role of psychological contract violation (PCV) and explore its antecedents and outcomes in e-RS research. Based on marketing, psychology, and information systems-related studies, a theoretical framework is developed to correlate perceived fairness (PF), causal attribution (CA), and magnitude of negative outcome (MNO) with customers' PCV. Additionally, based on trust (TR), exactly how PCV further influences customers' stickiness intention (SI) is examined as well. Analysis results indicate that PF, CA, and MNO influence customers during both the evaluation stage and the customer receipt of e-RS, subsequently deriving PCV. These factors contribute to the subsequent success of e-RS, especially, customers' TR and SI. Furthermore, recommendations are made on how firms should evaluate PCV and its influencing factors to prevent e-RS failure.

  11. The Changing Contours of the Psychological Contract: Unpacking Context and Circumstances of Breach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pate, Judy

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose a processual framework of psychological contract breach, which maps holistically the interactions among concepts drawn from the trust and justice literature. However, the price of a holistic picture is frequently a lack of depth of analysis of any single variable, and consequently the second part of…

  12. Do HRD Investment Strategies Pay? Exploring the Relationship between Lifelong Learning and Psychological Contracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin, Graeme; Pate, Judy; McGoldrick, Jim

    1999-01-01

    A four-year study of a Scottish manufacturer's employee lifelong learning program discovered a positive relationship between the program and employee perceptions of careers, fairness, and the long-term "psychological contract." Due to reduction in the employer's commitment to job security, employees were beginning to view the program as…

  13. The Importance of the Beginning Teachers' Psychological Contract: A Pathway toward Flourishing in Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dollansky, Tracy D.

    2014-01-01

    Beginning teachers enter the profession with notions about what their school organization will provide for them and what they will give their organization, in exchange. Psychological contracts, as defined by Schein exist between beginning teachers and their organization. I contend, with the use of a conceptual framework, that if the implicit terms…

  14. Contracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gellert, Shepard D.; Wilson, Grace

    1977-01-01

    This paper reviews experimental psychology goal research and its implications for the therapist doing contract therapy. Clinical examples of various levels of contracts give illustrations, and a technique, the therapeutic double bind, as a form of contract, is detailed. A case study is presented to illustrate the use of the theory. Three…

  15. Review of the Literature on the Changing Psychological Contract: Implications on Career Management and Organizations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lessner, Ryan; Akdere, Mesut

    2008-01-01

    The changing psychological contract has become a focus for organizational development, especially as job roles within organizations continue to change. This literature review examines the evolving employee-employer relationship and how this relationship has impacted career management and organizations for over the past century. The paper…

  16. The relationships between perceived organizational support, affective commitment, psychological contract breach, organizational citizenship behaviour and work engagement.

    PubMed

    Gupta, Vishal; Agarwal, Upasna A; Khatri, Naresh

    2016-11-01

    This study examines the factors that mediate and moderate the relationships of perceived organizational support with work engagement and organization citizenship behaviour. Specifically, affective commitment is posited to mediate and psychological contract breach to moderate the above relationships. Nurses play a critical role in delivering exemplary health care. For nurses to perform at their best, they need to experience high engagement, which can be achieved by providing them necessary organizational support and proper working environment. Data were collected via a self-reported survey instrument. A questionnaire was administered to a random sample of 750 nurses in nine large hospitals in India during 2013-2014. Four hundred and seventy-five nurses (63%) responded to the survey. Hierarchical multiple regression was used for statistical analysis of the moderated-mediation model. Affective commitment was found to mediate the positive relationships between perceived organizational support and work outcomes (work engagement, organizational citizenship behaviour). The perception of unfulfilled expectations (psychological contract breach) was found to moderate the perceived organizational support-work outcome relationships adversely. The results of this study indicate that perceived organizational support exerts its influence on work-related outcomes and highlight the importance of taking organizational context, such as perceptions of psychological contract breach, into consideration when making sense of the influence of perceived organizational support on affective commitment, work engagement and citizenship behaviours of nurses. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. The measurement of psychological literacy: a first approximation

    PubMed Central

    Roberts, Lynne D.; Heritage, Brody; Gasson, Natalie

    2015-01-01

    Psychological literacy, the ability to apply psychological knowledge to personal, family, occupational, community and societal challenges, is promoted as the primary outcome of an undergraduate education in psychology. As the concept of psychological literacy becomes increasingly adopted as the core business of undergraduate psychology training courses world-wide, there is urgent need for the construct to be accurately measured so that student and institutional level progress can be assessed and monitored. Key to the measurement of psychological literacy is determining the underlying factor-structure of psychological literacy. In this paper we provide a first approximation of the measurement of psychological literacy by identifying and evaluating self-report measures for psychological literacy. Multi-item and single-item self-report measures of each of the proposed nine dimensions of psychological literacy were completed by two samples (N = 218 and N = 381) of undergraduate psychology students at an Australian university. Single and multi-item measures of each dimension were weakly to moderately correlated. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of multi-item measures indicated a higher order three factor solution best represented the construct of psychological literacy. The three factors were reflective processes, generic graduate attributes, and psychology as a helping profession. For the measurement of psychological literacy to progress there is a need to further develop self-report measures and to identify/develop and evaluate objective measures of psychological literacy. Further approximations of the measurement of psychological literacy remain an imperative, given the construct's ties to measuring institutional efficacy in teaching psychology to an undergraduate audience. PMID:25741300

  18. Post-"Psychological Contract" Violation: The Durability and Transferability of Employee Perceptions. The Case of TimTec.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pate, Judy; Malone, Charles

    2000-01-01

    Interviews with 20 employees 5 years after a factory closure explored pre- and postlayoff experiences and perceptions of current employers. The experience of the violation of the psychological contract affected perceptions of loyalty, commitment, and trust that were transferred to the current employer. (SK)

  19. Left Unsaid: The Role of Work Expectations and Psychological Contracts in Faculty Careers and Departure

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Meara, KerryAnn; Bennett, Jessica Chalk; Neihaus, Elizabeth

    2016-01-01

    Early career faculty bring many expectations to the door-steps of their new academic homes. Yet such expectations are often left unsaid. Unfortunately, what is left unsaid can be a major factor in faculty departure. This study makes a distinct contribution to the departure literature by examining the psychological contracts and work expectations…

  20. Measuring Psychological Critical Thinking: An Update

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lawson, Timothy J.; Jordan-Fleming, Mary Kay; Bodle, James H.

    2015-01-01

    Critical thinking is widely considered an important skill for psychology majors. However, few measures exist of the types of critical thinking that are specific to psychology majors. Lawson (1999) designed the Psychological Critical Thinking Exam (PCTE) to measure students' ability to "think critically, or evaluate claims, in a way that…

  1. The Relationship between Psychological Contract Breach and Employee Deviance: The Moderating Role of Hostile Attributional Style

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chiu, Su-Fen; Peng, Jei-Chen

    2008-01-01

    This study investigated the main effects and the interaction effects of psychological contract breach and hostile attributional style on employee deviance (i.e., interpersonal deviance and organizational deviance). Data were collected from 233 employees and their supervisors in eight electronic companies in Taiwan. Results demonstrate that…

  2. Investigating the Role of Psychological Contract Breach on Career Success: Convergent Evidence from Two Longitudinal Studies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Restubog, Simon Lloyd D.; Bordia, Prashant; Bordia, Sarbari

    2011-01-01

    The current study extends past research by examining leader-member exchange as a mediator of the relationship between employee reports of psychological contract breach and career success. In addition, we tested a competing perspective in which we proposed that performance mediators (i.e., in-role performance and organizational citizenship…

  3. Full-Time versus Part-Time Employees: Understanding the Links between Work Status, the Psychological Contract, and Attitudes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Conway, Neil; Briner, Rob B.

    2002-01-01

    Analysis of psychological contract variables (affective and continuance commitment, intention to quit, well-being, job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior)was conducted on two samples: 1,608 banking employees (71% part time) and 366 supermarket employees (65% part time). Part- and full-time workers had different attitudes; fulfilment…

  4. Psychological functioning in headache sufferers.

    PubMed

    Andrasik, F; Blanchard, E B; Arena, J G; Teders, S J; Teevan, R C; Rodichok, L D

    1982-05-01

    The present study examined the psychological test responses of 99 headache sufferers and 30 matched nonheadache controls. Headache subjects were of four types: migraine (n = 26), muscle contraction (n = 39), combined migraine-muscle contract ion (n = 22), and cluster (n = 12). Measures consisted of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, a modified hostility scale derived from the MMPI, Back Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Autonomic Perception Questionnaire, Rathus Assertiveness Schedule, Social Readjustment Rating Scale, Psychosomatic Symptom Checklist, Schalling-Sifneos Scale, Need for Achievement, and Hostile Press. Significant differences were found on five clinical scales of the MMPI--1, 2, 3, 6, and 7. Of the non-MMPI scales, only the Psychosomatic Symptom Checklist and Trait Anxiety Inventory were significant. Control subjects revealed no significant findings on any tests. The headache groups fell along a continuum, beginning with cluster subjects, who showed only minimal distress, continuing through migraine and combined migraine-muscle contraction, and ending with muscle contraction subjects, who revealed the greatest degree of psychological disturbance. However, none of the headache groups could be characterized by marked elevations on any of the psychological tests, which contrasts with past research findings. It is suggested that the present results may be more representative of the "typical" headache sufferer.

  5. A Group Counseling Contract.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Norbert; Johnson, Sarah Campbell

    1980-01-01

    A group counseling contract was developed following American Psychological Association ethical guidelines. The contract was effective in enabling participants to quickly become involved in group process. The contract could be modified for use by group facilitators in a variety of settings. (Author)

  6. Operational Contract Support: Economic Impact Evaluation and Measures of Effectiveness

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-12-01

    NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA MBA PROFESSIONAL REPORT OPERATIONAL CONTRACT SUPPORT: ECONOMIC IMPACT EVALUATION AND MEASURES...DATES COVERED MBA professional report 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE OPERATIONAL CONTRACT SUPPORT: ECONOMIC IMPACT EVALUATION AND MEASURES OF EFFECTIVENESS 5...evaluation, expeditionary economics , operational contract support, measure of effectiveness 15. NUMBER OF PAGES 89 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY

  7. Measuring Air Force Contracting Customer Satisfaction

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-12-01

    NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA MBA PROFESSIONAL REPORT MEASURING AIR FORCE CONTRACTING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ...... satisfaction elements should be included in a standardized tool that measures the level of customer satisfaction for AF Contracting’s external and

  8. The Psychological Contract of Science Students: Social Exchange with Universities and University Staff from the Students' Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Toole, Paddy; Prince, Nike

    2015-01-01

    Considerable research has been undertaken involving the student experience and depicting undergraduate students as consumers of education. This construction of the relationship between students and universities is based primarily on notions of economic exchange. In this paper, using the construct of the psychological contract, we show that social…

  9. Measurement of the Lorentz-FitzGerald body contraction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rafelski, Johann

    2018-02-01

    A complete foundational discussion of acceleration in the context of Special Relativity (SR) is presented. Acceleration allows the measurement of a Lorentz-FitzGerald body contraction created. It is argued that in the back scattering of a probing laser beam from a relativistic flying electron cloud mirror generated by an ultra-intense laser pulse, a first measurement of a Lorentz-FitzGerald body contraction is feasible.

  10. On the conceptual foundations of psychological measurement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maul, Andrew; Wilson, Mark; Torres Irribarra, David

    2013-09-01

    Measurement has long been an important element of epistemology in the physical sciences and natural philosophy. More recently, the psychological sciences have developed a variety of techniques that purport to be instances of measurement as well. However, it is not clear how the understanding of measurement invoked in psychological science applications accords with the understanding of measurement found in other scientific disciplines. A sharper focus on conceptual clarity and coherence across the psychological and physical sciences has the potential to add a great deal to efforts to improve such practices. In this paper, we argue that it is possible to formulate a philosophically coherent account of how measurement works in both the physical and the human sciences.

  11. Administrative Authority, Leadership Style and the Master Contract.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Robson, Donald L.; Davis, Marlene E.

    1983-01-01

    Examines the effects on school administrators' influence of the formal relationships established by collective bargaining and of administrators' leadership styles. A survey conducted in 20 Chicago-area high schools measures as a dependent variable teachers'"professional zone of acceptance" or psychological contract. (MCG)

  12. One Big Happy Family? Unraveling the Relationship between Shared Perceptions of Team Psychological Contracts, Person-Team Fit and Team Performance.

    PubMed

    Gibbard, Katherine; Griep, Yannick; De Cooman, Rein; Hoffart, Genevieve; Onen, Denis; Zareipour, Hamidreza

    2017-01-01

    With the knowledge that team work is not always associated with high(er) performance, we draw from the Multi-Level Theory of Psychological Contracts, Person-Environment Fit Theory, and Optimal Distinctiveness Theory to study shared perceptions of psychological contract (PC) breach in relation to shared perceptions of complementary and supplementary fit to explain why some teams perform better than other teams. We collected three repeated survey measures in a sample of 128 respondents across 46 teams. After having made sure that we met all statistical criteria, we aggregated our focal variables to the team-level and analyzed our data by means of a longitudinal three-wave autoregressive moderated-mediation model in which each relationship was one-time lag apart. We found that shared perceptions of PC breach were directly negatively related to team output and negatively related to perceived team member effectiveness through a decrease in shared perceptions of supplementary fit. However, we also demonstrated a beneficial process in that shared perceptions of PC breach were positively related to shared perceptions of complementary fit, which in turn were positively related to team output. Moreover, best team output appeared in teams that could combine high shared perceptions of complementary fit with modest to high shared perceptions of supplementary fit. Overall, our findings seem to indicate that in terms of team output there may be a bright side to perceptions of PC breach and that perceived person-team fit may play an important role in this process.

  13. One Big Happy Family? Unraveling the Relationship between Shared Perceptions of Team Psychological Contracts, Person-Team Fit and Team Performance

    PubMed Central

    Gibbard, Katherine; Griep, Yannick; De Cooman, Rein; Hoffart, Genevieve; Onen, Denis; Zareipour, Hamidreza

    2017-01-01

    With the knowledge that team work is not always associated with high(er) performance, we draw from the Multi-Level Theory of Psychological Contracts, Person-Environment Fit Theory, and Optimal Distinctiveness Theory to study shared perceptions of psychological contract (PC) breach in relation to shared perceptions of complementary and supplementary fit to explain why some teams perform better than other teams. We collected three repeated survey measures in a sample of 128 respondents across 46 teams. After having made sure that we met all statistical criteria, we aggregated our focal variables to the team-level and analyzed our data by means of a longitudinal three-wave autoregressive moderated-mediation model in which each relationship was one-time lag apart. We found that shared perceptions of PC breach were directly negatively related to team output and negatively related to perceived team member effectiveness through a decrease in shared perceptions of supplementary fit. However, we also demonstrated a beneficial process in that shared perceptions of PC breach were positively related to shared perceptions of complementary fit, which in turn were positively related to team output. Moreover, best team output appeared in teams that could combine high shared perceptions of complementary fit with modest to high shared perceptions of supplementary fit. Overall, our findings seem to indicate that in terms of team output there may be a bright side to perceptions of PC breach and that perceived person-team fit may play an important role in this process. PMID:29170648

  14. Psychological contract breach among allied health professionals.

    PubMed

    Rodwell, John; Gulyas, Andre

    2015-01-01

    Allied health professionals are vital for effective healthcare yet there are continuing shortages of these employees. Building on work with other healthcare professionals, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of psychological contract (PC) breach and types of organisational justice on variables important to retention among allied health professionals: mental health and organisational commitment. The potential effects of justice on the negative outcomes of breach were examined. Multiple regressions analysed data from 113 allied health professionals working in a medium-large Australian healthcare organisation. The main negative impacts on respondents' mental health and commitment were from high PC breach, low procedural and distributive justice and less respectful treatment from organisational representatives. The interaction between procedural justice and breach illustrates that breach may be forgivable if processes are fair. Surprisingly, a betrayal or "aggravated breach effect" may occur after a breach when interpersonal justice is high. Further, negative affectivity was negatively related to respondents' mental health (affective outcomes) but not commitment (work-related attitude). Healthcare organisations should ensure the fairness of decisions and avoid breaking promises within their control. If promises cannot reasonably be kept, transparency of processes behind the breach may allow allied health professionals to understand that the organisation did not purposefully fail to fulfil expectations. This study offers insights into how breach and four types of justice interact to influence employee mental health and work attitudes among allied health professionals.

  15. Perceptions of Psychological Contract Violations in School Districts that Serve Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Exploratory Qualitative Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lilly, Julianna D.; Reed, Dianne

    2004-01-01

    This study examined issues of psychological contract violation between parents of children with autism spectrum disorder and school districts that serve them. As such, the sampling strategy was to focus on parents who were dissatisfied with the educational services their child was receiving from the school district so that the parents' "lived…

  16. Measuring School Psychology Trainee Self-Efficacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lockwood, Adam B.; Mcclure, John; Sealander, Karen; Baker, Courtney N.

    2017-01-01

    There is an ever-increasing need for school psychology training programs to demonstrate their ability to produce competent practitioners. One method of addressing this need is through the assessment of self-efficacy. However, little research on self-efficacy in school psychology exists likely due to the lack of a psychometrically sound measure of…

  17. Modeling Psychological Contract Violation using Dual Regime Models: An Event-based Approach

    PubMed Central

    Hofmans, Joeri

    2017-01-01

    A good understanding of the dynamics of psychological contract violation requires theories, research methods and statistical models that explicitly recognize that violation feelings follow from an event that violates one's acceptance limits, after which interpretative processes are set into motion, determining the intensity of these violation feelings. Whereas theories—in the form of the dynamic model of the psychological contract—and research methods—in the form of daily diary research and experience sampling research—are available by now, the statistical tools to model such a two-stage process are still lacking. The aim of the present paper is to fill this gap in the literature by introducing two statistical models—the Zero-Inflated model and the Hurdle model—that closely mimic the theoretical process underlying the elicitation violation feelings via two model components: a binary distribution that models whether violation has occurred or not, and a count distribution that models how severe the negative impact is. Moreover, covariates can be included for both model components separately, which yields insight into their unique and shared antecedents. By doing this, the present paper offers a methodological-substantive synergy, showing how sophisticated methodology can be used to examine an important substantive issue. PMID:29163316

  18. Social comparison and perceived breach of psychological contract: their effects on burnout in a multigroup analysis.

    PubMed

    Cantisano, Gabriela Topa; Domínguez, J Francisco Morales; García, J Luis Caeiro

    2007-05-01

    This study focuses on the mediator role of social comparison in the relationship between perceived breach of psychological contract and burnout. A previous model showing the hypothesized effects of perceived breach on burnout, both direct and mediated, is proposed. The final model reached an optimal fit to the data and was confirmed through multigroup analysis using a sample of Spanish teachers (N = 401) belonging to preprimary, primary, and secondary schools. Multigroup analyses showed that the model fit all groups adequately.

  19. When employees strike back: investigating mediating mechanisms between psychological contract breach and workplace deviance.

    PubMed

    Bordia, Prashant; Restubog, Simon Lloyd D; Tang, Robert L

    2008-09-01

    In this article, psychological contract breach, revenge, and workplace deviance are brought together to identify the cognitive, affective, and motivational underpinnings of workplace deviance. On the basis of S. L. Robinson and R. J. Bennett's (1997) model of workplace deviance, the authors proposed that breach (a cognitive appraisal) and violation (an affective response) initiate revenge seeking. Motivated by revenge, employees then engage in workplace deviance. Three studies tested these ideas. All of the studies supported the hypothesized relationships. In addition, self-control was found to be a moderator of the relationship between revenge cognitions and deviant acts; the relationship was weaker for people high in self-control.

  20. The moderating role of overcommitment in the relationship between psychological contract breach and employee mental health.

    PubMed

    Reimann, Mareike

    2016-09-30

    This study investigated whether the association between perceived psychological contract breach (PCB) and employee mental health is moderated by the cognitive-motivational pattern of overcommitment (OC). Linking the psychological contract approach to the effort-reward imbalance model, this study examines PCB as an imbalance in employment relationships that acts as a psychosocial stressor in the work environment and is associated with stress reactions that in turn negatively affect mental health. The analyses were based on a sample of 3,667 employees who participated in a longitudinal linked employer-employee survey representative of large organizations (with at least 500 employees who are subject so social security contributions) in Germany. Fixed-effects regression models, including PCB and OC, were estimated for employee mental health, and interaction effects between PCB and OC were assessed. The multivariate fixed-effects regression analyses showed a significant negative association between PCB and employee mental health. The results also confirmed that OC does indeed significantly increase the negative effect of PCB on mental health and that OC itself has a significant and negative effect on mental health. The results suggest that employees characterized by the cognitive-motivational pattern of OC are at an increased risk of developing poor mental health if they experience PCB compared with employees who are not overly committed to their work. The results of this study support the assumption that psychosocial work stressors play an important role in employee mental health.

  1. The moderating role of overcommitment in the relationship between psychological contract breach and employee mental health

    PubMed Central

    Reimann, Mareike

    2016-01-01

    Objectives: This study investigated whether the association between perceived psychological contract breach (PCB) and employee mental health is moderated by the cognitive-motivational pattern of overcommitment (OC). Linking the psychological contract approach to the effort-reward imbalance model, this study examines PCB as an imbalance in employment relationships that acts as a psychosocial stressor in the work environment and is associated with stress reactions that in turn negatively affect mental health. Methods: The analyses were based on a sample of 3,667 employees who participated in a longitudinal linked employer-employee survey representative of large organizations (with at least 500 employees who are subject so social security contributions) in Germany. Fixed-effects regression models, including PCB and OC, were estimated for employee mental health, and interaction effects between PCB and OC were assessed. Results: The multivariate fixed-effects regression analyses showed a significant negative association between PCB and employee mental health. The results also confirmed that OC does indeed significantly increase the negative effect of PCB on mental health and that OC itself has a significant and negative effect on mental health. Conclusions: The results suggest that employees characterized by the cognitive-motivational pattern of OC are at an increased risk of developing poor mental health if they experience PCB compared with employees who are not overly committed to their work. The results of this study support the assumption that psychosocial work stressors play an important role in employee mental health. PMID:27488041

  2. Examination of Psychological Type and Preferred Negotiation Tactics and Strategies of Contract Negotiators

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1992-09-01

    Auxiliary Process .................. 23 iii Page The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ....................... 24 The Relationship of Personality Type and...negotiation tactics and/or strategies. Major Charan Johnstone (1986) studied the relationship of psychological type as measured by the Myers-Briggs Type...1986:118). Determining psychological type for both government and industry negotiators, and the relationship to negotiation tactics and strategies may

  3. Measurement equivalence and differential item functioning in family psychology.

    PubMed

    Bingenheimer, Jeffrey B; Raudenbush, Stephen W; Leventhal, Tama; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne

    2005-09-01

    Several hypotheses in family psychology involve comparisons of sociocultural groups. Yet the potential for cross-cultural inequivalence in widely used psychological measurement instruments threatens the validity of inferences about group differences. Methods for dealing with these issues have been developed via the framework of item response theory. These methods deal with an important type of measurement inequivalence, called differential item functioning (DIF). The authors introduce DIF analytic methods, linking them to a well-established framework for conceptualizing cross-cultural measurement equivalence in psychology (C.H. Hui and H.C. Triandis, 1985). They illustrate the use of DIF methods using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN). Focusing on the Caregiver Warmth and Environmental Organization scales from the PHDCN's adaptation of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment Inventory, the authors obtain results that exemplify the range of outcomes that may result when these methods are applied to psychological measurement instruments. (c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved

  4. Reviewing the Relationship between Human Resource Practices and Psychological Contract and Their Impact on Employee Attitude and Behaviours: A Conceptual Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aggarwal, Upasana; Bhargava, Shivganesh

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesise literature on the role of human resource practices (HRP) in shaping employee psychological contract (PC). Based on this review, a conceptual framework for examining the relationship between HRP and PC and their impact on employee attitudes as well as behaviour has been put forward for…

  5. Prediction of maximal surface electromyographically based voluntary contractions of erector spinae muscles from sonographic measurements during isometric contractions.

    PubMed

    Cuesta-Vargas, Antonio I; González-Sánchez, Manuel

    2014-03-01

    Currently, there are no studies combining electromyography (EMG) and sonography to estimate the absolute and relative strength values of erector spinae (ES) muscles in healthy individuals. The purpose of this study was to establish whether the maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) of the ES during isometric contractions could be predicted from the changes in surface EMG as well as in fiber pennation and thickness as measured by sonography. Thirty healthy adults performed 3 isometric extensions at 45° from the vertical to calculate the MVC force. Contractions at 33% and 100% of the MVC force were then used during sonographic and EMG recordings. These measurements were used to observe the architecture and function of the muscles during contraction. Statistical analysis was performed using bivariate regression and regression equations. The slope for each regression equation was statistically significant (P < .001) with R(2) values of 0.837 and 0.986 for the right and left ES, respectively. The standard error estimate between the sonographic measurements and the regression-estimated pennation angles for the right and left ES were 0.10 and 0.02, respectively. Erector spinae muscle activation can be predicted from the changes in fiber pennation during isometric contractions at 33% and 100% of the MVC force. These findings could be essential for developing a regression equation that could estimate the level of muscle activation from changes in the muscle architecture.

  6. A brief measure of attitudes toward mixed methods research in psychology.

    PubMed

    Roberts, Lynne D; Povee, Kate

    2014-01-01

    The adoption of mixed methods research in psychology has trailed behind other social science disciplines. Teaching psychology students, academics, and practitioners about mixed methodologies may increase the use of mixed methods within the discipline. However, tailoring and evaluating education and training in mixed methodologies requires an understanding of, and way of measuring, attitudes toward mixed methods research in psychology. To date, no such measure exists. In this article we present the development and initial validation of a new measure: Attitudes toward Mixed Methods Research in Psychology. A pool of 42 items developed from previous qualitative research on attitudes toward mixed methods research along with validation measures was administered via an online survey to a convenience sample of 274 psychology students, academics and psychologists. Principal axis factoring with varimax rotation on a subset of the sample produced a four-factor, 12-item solution. Confirmatory factor analysis on a separate subset of the sample indicated that a higher order four factor model provided the best fit to the data. The four factors; 'Limited Exposure,' '(in)Compatibility,' 'Validity,' and 'Tokenistic Qualitative Component'; each have acceptable internal reliability. Known groups validity analyses based on preferred research orientation and self-rated mixed methods research skills, and convergent and divergent validity analyses based on measures of attitudes toward psychology as a science and scientist and practitioner orientation, provide initial validation of the measure. This brief, internally reliable measure can be used in assessing attitudes toward mixed methods research in psychology, measuring change in attitudes as part of the evaluation of mixed methods education, and in larger research programs.

  7. Change management of mergers: the impact on NHS staff and their psychological contracts.

    PubMed

    Cortvriend, Penny

    2004-08-01

    The NHS has experienced a significant amount of organisational change and restructuring, which has included numerous mergers and de-mergers, since the Labour party came to power in the UK in 1997. However, to date there has been little in the way of evaluation of such changes, particularly the impact of organisational restructuring on the staff involved. This paper examines the human aspect of a merger, and subsequent de-merger, within a primary care trust (PCT) in the North of England, using a focus group methodology. The findings demonstrate that leadership and management styles have a significant impact on staff experiencing such changes. In addition, the psychological contract can be damaged due to the impact of several factors, inducing exit or intention to leave. Employees experienced a constant cycle of change with little time for stabilisation or adjustment, leading to negativity and lowered motivation at times.

  8. Trends in measurement models and methods in understanding occupational health psychology.

    PubMed

    Tetrick, Lois E

    2017-07-01

    Measurement of occupational health psychology constructs is the cornerstone to developing our understanding of occupational health and safety. It also is critical in the design, evaluation, and implementation of interventions to improve employees and organizations well-being. The purpose of this article is a brief review of the current state of measurement theory and practice in occupational health psychology. Also included are a discussion of development of newer measurement models and methods, which are in use in other disciplines of psychology, but have not been incorporated into the occupational health psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  9. Measuring psychological flexibility in medical students and residents: a psychometric analysis

    PubMed Central

    Palladino, Christie L.; Ange, Brittany; Richardson, Deborah S.; Casillas, Rhonda; Decker, Matt; Gillies, Ralph A.; House, Amy; Rollock, Michael; Salazar, William H.; Waller, Jennifer L.; Zeidan, Ronnie; Stepleman, Lara

    2013-01-01

    Purpose Psychological flexibility involves mindful awareness of our thoughts and feelings without allowing them to prohibit acting consistently with our values and may have important implications for patient-centered clinical care. Although psychological flexibility appears quite relevant to the training and development of health care providers, prior research has not evaluated measures of psychological flexibility in medical learners. Therefore, we investigated the validity of our learners’ responses to three measures related to psychological flexibility. Methods Fourth-year medical students and residents (n=275) completed three measures of overlapping aspects of psychological flexibility: (1) Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II); (2) Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ); and (3) Mindful Attention and Awareness Questionnaire (MAAS). We evaluated five aspects of construct validity: content, response process, internal structure, relationship with other variables, and consequences. Results We found good internal consistency for responses on the AAQ (α=0.93), MAAS (α=0.92), and CFQ (α=0.95). Factor analyses demonstrated a reasonable fit to previously published factor structures. As expected, scores on all three measures were moderately correlated with one another and with a measure of life satisfaction (p<0.01). Conclusion Our findings provide preliminary evidence supporting validity of the psychological flexibility construct in a medical education sample. As psychological flexibility is a central concept underlying self-awareness, this work may have important implications for clinical training and practice. PMID:23948496

  10. A brief measure of attitudes toward mixed methods research in psychology

    PubMed Central

    Roberts, Lynne D.; Povee, Kate

    2014-01-01

    The adoption of mixed methods research in psychology has trailed behind other social science disciplines. Teaching psychology students, academics, and practitioners about mixed methodologies may increase the use of mixed methods within the discipline. However, tailoring and evaluating education and training in mixed methodologies requires an understanding of, and way of measuring, attitudes toward mixed methods research in psychology. To date, no such measure exists. In this article we present the development and initial validation of a new measure: Attitudes toward Mixed Methods Research in Psychology. A pool of 42 items developed from previous qualitative research on attitudes toward mixed methods research along with validation measures was administered via an online survey to a convenience sample of 274 psychology students, academics and psychologists. Principal axis factoring with varimax rotation on a subset of the sample produced a four-factor, 12-item solution. Confirmatory factor analysis on a separate subset of the sample indicated that a higher order four factor model provided the best fit to the data. The four factors; ‘Limited Exposure,’ ‘(in)Compatibility,’ ‘Validity,’ and ‘Tokenistic Qualitative Component’; each have acceptable internal reliability. Known groups validity analyses based on preferred research orientation and self-rated mixed methods research skills, and convergent and divergent validity analyses based on measures of attitudes toward psychology as a science and scientist and practitioner orientation, provide initial validation of the measure. This brief, internally reliable measure can be used in assessing attitudes toward mixed methods research in psychology, measuring change in attitudes as part of the evaluation of mixed methods education, and in larger research programs. PMID:25429281

  11. Direct measurement of Vorticella contraction force by micropipette deflection.

    PubMed

    France, Danielle; Tejada, Jonathan; Matsudaira, Paul

    2017-02-01

    The ciliated protozoan Vorticella convallaria is noted for its exceptionally fast adenosine triphosphate-independent cellular contraction, but direct measurements of contractile force have proven difficult given the length scale, speed, and forces involved. We used high-speed video microscopy to image live Vorticella stalled in midcontraction by deflection of an attached micropipette. Stall forces correlate with both distance contracted and the resting stalk length. Estimated isometric forces range from 95 to 177 nanonewtons (nN), or 1.12 nN·μm -1 of the stalk. Maximum velocity and work are also proportional to distance contracted. These parameters constrain proposed biochemical/physical models of the contractile mechanism. © Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  12. Negotiation, Administration, and Measurement of Food Service Contracts in Higher Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scott, H. Donald

    1973-01-01

    The process of establishing and maintaining relations with a contract feeder is reviewed. Initial contact, reasons for the contact, contract negotiation, key people involved, and the ultimate tools of measurement are mentioned. Possible goals and objectives to be specified to a negotiating contractor are suggested. Items to be covered in the…

  13. Personality, preterm labor contractions, and psychological consequences.

    PubMed

    Handelzalts, Jonathan E; Krissi, Haim; Levy, Sigal; Freund, Yael; Carmiel, Naama; Ashwal, Eran; Peled, Yoav

    2016-03-01

    Research of psychological factors associated with imminent preterm labor (PTL) is sparse, compared with considerable research of preterm birth. We explored state and trait psychological variables associated with PTL, both pre- and postpartum. During 2012-2014, 56 women hospitalized due to PTL, and 33 pregnant women without PTL, responded during gestational week 20-33, to a demographic questionnaire, the Big-Five Inventory (BFI), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), the Fear of Childbirth Questionnaire, and the Maternal-Fetal Attachment Inventory (MFAS). At 4-6 weeks postpartum, 35 and 23 of the women in the respective groups responded online to the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Mother to Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS). Compared to women without PTL, women with PTL scored higher on neuroticism, openness to experience, and MFAS (p < 0.01 each), scored lower on consciousness and agreeableness (p < 0.01 each), and showed greater fear of childbirth (p < 0.05). Significant differences were not found in the postpartum variables of EPDS and MIBS. In the PTL group, MFAS (β = 0.36, p < 0.01), but not fear of childbirth (β = 0.08, p = NS), remained higher, after controlling for demographic variables and neuroticism. PTL was associated with personality variables, but not with psychological consequences, other than elevated prepartum attachment to the fetus.

  14. Incorporating measurement error in n = 1 psychological autoregressive modeling

    PubMed Central

    Schuurman, Noémi K.; Houtveen, Jan H.; Hamaker, Ellen L.

    2015-01-01

    Measurement error is omnipresent in psychological data. However, the vast majority of applications of autoregressive time series analyses in psychology do not take measurement error into account. Disregarding measurement error when it is present in the data results in a bias of the autoregressive parameters. We discuss two models that take measurement error into account: An autoregressive model with a white noise term (AR+WN), and an autoregressive moving average (ARMA) model. In a simulation study we compare the parameter recovery performance of these models, and compare this performance for both a Bayesian and frequentist approach. We find that overall, the AR+WN model performs better. Furthermore, we find that for realistic (i.e., small) sample sizes, psychological research would benefit from a Bayesian approach in fitting these models. Finally, we illustrate the effect of disregarding measurement error in an AR(1) model by means of an empirical application on mood data in women. We find that, depending on the person, approximately 30–50% of the total variance was due to measurement error, and that disregarding this measurement error results in a substantial underestimation of the autoregressive parameters. PMID:26283988

  15. Incorporating measurement error in n = 1 psychological autoregressive modeling.

    PubMed

    Schuurman, Noémi K; Houtveen, Jan H; Hamaker, Ellen L

    2015-01-01

    Measurement error is omnipresent in psychological data. However, the vast majority of applications of autoregressive time series analyses in psychology do not take measurement error into account. Disregarding measurement error when it is present in the data results in a bias of the autoregressive parameters. We discuss two models that take measurement error into account: An autoregressive model with a white noise term (AR+WN), and an autoregressive moving average (ARMA) model. In a simulation study we compare the parameter recovery performance of these models, and compare this performance for both a Bayesian and frequentist approach. We find that overall, the AR+WN model performs better. Furthermore, we find that for realistic (i.e., small) sample sizes, psychological research would benefit from a Bayesian approach in fitting these models. Finally, we illustrate the effect of disregarding measurement error in an AR(1) model by means of an empirical application on mood data in women. We find that, depending on the person, approximately 30-50% of the total variance was due to measurement error, and that disregarding this measurement error results in a substantial underestimation of the autoregressive parameters.

  16. Collaboration in Action: Measuring and Improving Contracting Performance in the University of California Contracting Network

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tran, Tam; Bowman-Carpio, LeeAnna; Buscher, Nate; Davidson, Pamela; Ford, Jennifer J.; Jenkins, Erick; Kalay, Hillary Noll; Nakazono, Terry; Orescan, Helene; Sak, Rachael; Shin, Irene

    2017-01-01

    In 2013, the University of California, Biomedical Research, Acceleration, Integration, and Development (UC BRAID) convened a regional network of contracting directors from the five University of California (UC) health campuses to: (i) increase collaboration, (ii) operationalize and measure common metrics as a basis for performance improvement…

  17. Examining the effects of turnover intentions on organizational citizenship behaviors and deviance behaviors: A psychological contract approach.

    PubMed

    Mai, Ke Michael; Ellis, Aleksander P J; Christian, Jessica Siegel; Porter, Christopher O L H

    2016-08-01

    Although turnover intentions are considered the most proximal antecedent of organizational exit, there is often temporal separation between thinking about leaving and actual exit. Using field data from 2 diverse samples of working adults, we explore a causal model of the effects of turnover intentions on employee behavior while they remain with the organization, focusing specifically on organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) and deviance behaviors (DBs). Utilizing expectancy theory as an explanatory framework, we argue that turnover intentions result in high levels of transactional contract orientation and low levels of relational contract orientation, which in turn lead to a decrease in the incidence of OCBs and an increase in the incidence of DBs. We first used a pilot study to investigate the direction of causality between turnover intentions and psychological contract orientations. Then, in Study 1, we tested our mediated model using a sample of employees from a large drug retailing chain. In Study 2, we expanded our model by arguing that the mediated effects are much stronger when the organization is deemed responsible for potential exit. We then tested our full model using a sample of employees from a large state-owned telecommunications corporation in China. Across both studies, results were generally consistent and supportive of our hypotheses. We discuss the implications of our findings for future theory, research, and practice regarding the management of both the turnover process and discretionary behaviors at work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  18. Interpretation of 2-probe turbulence measurements in an axisymmetric contraction

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Marion-Moulin, C.; Tan-Atichat, J.; Nagib, H. M.

    1983-01-01

    Simultaneous measurements of the streamwise and radial velocity components at two points, one on and one off the centerline with variable radial separation, were digitally recorded and processed at several stations along a four to one contraction with controlled upstream turbulence conditions. Various statistical quantities are presented including spectra and coherence functions. The integral L sub ux, L sub um, L sub vx, L sub vm were also estimated and their variation along the contraction is examined.

  19. Psychological contract breach and outcomes: Combining meta-analysis and structural equation models.

    PubMed

    Topa Cantisano, Gabriela; Morales Domínguez, J Francisco; Depolo, Marco

    2008-08-01

    In this study, meta-analytic procedures were used to examine the relationships between psychological contract perceived breach and certain outcome variables, such as organizational commitment, job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behaviours (OCB). Our review of the literature generated 41 independent samples in which perceived breach was used as a predictor of these personal and organizational outcomes. A medium effect size (ES) for desirable outcomes (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational trust, OCB and performance) was obtained (r=-.35). For undesirable outcomes (neglect in role duties and intention to leave), ES were also medium (r=.31). When comparing attitudinal (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational trust) and behavioural outcomes (OCB, neglect in role duties and performance), a stronger ES was found for attitudinal (r=-.24) than for behavioural outcomes (r=-.11). Potential moderator variables were examined, and it was found that they explained only a percentage of variability of primary studies. Structural equation analysis of the pooled meta-analytical correlation matrix indicated that the relationships of perceived breach with satisfaction, OCB, intention to leave and performance are fully mediated by organizational trust and commitment. Results are discussed in order to suggest theoretical and empirical implications.

  20. Guidelines for competency development and measurement in rehabilitation psychology postdoctoral training.

    PubMed

    Stiers, William; Barisa, Mark; Stucky, Kirk; Pawlowski, Carey; Van Tubbergen, Marie; Turner, Aaron P; Hibbard, Mary; Caplan, Bruce

    2015-05-01

    This study describes the results of a multidisciplinary conference (the Baltimore Conference) that met to develop consensus guidelines for competency specification and measurement in postdoctoral training in rehabilitation psychology. Forty-six conference participants were chosen to include representatives of rehabilitation psychology training and practice communities, representatives of psychology accreditation and certification bodies, persons involved in medical education practice and research, and consumers of training programs (students). Consensus education and training guidelines were developed that specify the key competencies in rehabilitation psychology postdoctoral training, and structured observation checklists were developed for their measurement. This study continues the development of more than 50 years of thinking about education and training in rehabilitation psychology and builds on the existing work to further advance the development of guidelines in this area. The conference developed aspirational guidelines for competency specification and measurement in rehabilitation psychology postdoctoral training (i.e., for studying the outcomes of these training programs). Structured observation of trainee competencies allows examination of actual training outcomes in relation to intended outcomes and provides a methodology for studying how program outcomes are related to program structures and processes so that program improvement can occur. Best practices in applying program evaluation research methods to the study of professional training programs are discussed. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  1. Disentangling the effects of promised and delivered inducements: relational and transactional contract elements and the mediating role of trust.

    PubMed

    Montes, Samantha D; Irving, P Gregory

    2008-11-01

    Psychological contracts contain both relational and transactional elements, each of which is associated with unique characteristics. In the present research, the authors drew on these distinct qualities to develop and test hypotheses regarding differential employee reactions to underfulfillment, fulfillment, and overfulfillment of relational and transactional promises. Further, the authors extended their test of the theoretical distinctions between relational and transactional contracts by assessing the relevance of trust as a key underlying mechanism of relational and transactional psychological contract breach effects. Participants in this 3-wave longitudinal study included 342 full-time temporary employees. In support of existing theoretical distinctions, results indicated that employees reacted differently to varying levels of fulfillment of their relational and transactional contracts and that trust is a more central mechanism of relational, as opposed to transactional, psychological contract breach effects. These findings underscore L.S. Lambert, J. R. Edwards, and D. M. Cable's (2003) recent recommendation that the traditional conceptualization and study of psychological contract breach requires expansion.

  2. Initial Validation of an Instrument Measuring Psychology-Specific Epistemological Beliefs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Renken, Maggie D.; McMahan, Ethan A.; Nitkova, Martina

    2015-01-01

    Psychology-specific epistemological beliefs (EBs) are believed to influence students' approach to and performance in psychology courses. However, empirical research on this topic is limited due in part to a lack of well-validated instruments measuring this construct. The primary objective of this research was to develop and validate the…

  3. Organization Analytics: Taking Cost-per-Dollar-Obligated (CPDO) Measures to the Next Level in Defense Contracting

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-04-30

    previously, PALT duration was identified by customers as the single most important performance measure . In this section, we present the benchmark...decrease customer satisfaction . We identified percentage of warranted contracting officers ranging from 24% to 91% of an organization’s contracting...multiple uses of CPDO and other measures to optimize contract awards and meet the needs of procurement customers more effectively. Extending this

  4. Measuring Psychological and Physical Abuse of Children with the Conflict Tactics Scales.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Straus, Murray A.

    Application of the Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS) to the assessment of child abuse is described. The CTS is a brief instrument designed to measure three aspects of parent-to-child behavior: (1) reasoning; (2) psychological aggression; and (3) physical aggression. The psychological and physical aggression indexes are intended to measure the…

  5. Standard form contracts and contract schemas: a preliminary investigation of the effects of exculpatory clauses on consumers' propensity to sue.

    PubMed

    Stolle, D P; Slain, A J

    1997-01-01

    This study investigated the extent to which exculpatory clauses deter consumers from pursuing their legal rights. Undergraduate participants (N = 101) were presented with two written vignettes and asked to imagine themselves as a consumer harmed by a contracted for service. Participants then read a contract and responded to questions assessing their likelihood of seeking compensation and their perceptions of the contract. The presence of exculpatory clauses, the severity of the harm, and the nature of the harm were varied. The data suggest that exculpatory clauses, if read, have a deterrent effect on propensity to seek compensation. Development of a psychological definition of contract schemas and implications for legal policy are discussed.

  6. Alternative Ways of Measuring Counselees' Jungian Psychological-Type Preferences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vacha-Haase, Tammi; Thompson, Bruce

    2002-01-01

    Instruments measuring Carl Jung's (1921/1971) theory of psychological types have been widely used in various counseling contexts, including career counseling, marital and family therapy, and team building. The most popular measure of types, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), was developed by Katherine C. Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Briggs…

  7. Evidence-based Assessment in Pediatric Psychology: Measures of Psychosocial Adjustment and Psychopathology

    PubMed Central

    Thill, Azure Welborn; Bachanas, Pamela; Garber, Judy; Miller, Karen Bearman; Abad, Mona; Bruno, Elizabeth Franks; Carter, Jocelyn Smith; David-Ferdon, Corinne; Jandasek, Barbara; Mennuti-Washburn, Jean E.; O’Mahar, Kerry; Zukerman, Jill

    2008-01-01

    Objective To provide an evidence-based review of measures of psychosocial adjustment and psychopathology, with a specific focus on their use in the field of pediatric psychology. Methods As part of a larger survey of pediatric psychologists from the Society of Pediatric Psychology e-mail listserv (American Psychological Association, APA, Division 54), 37 measures were selected for this psychometric review. Measures that qualified for the review fell into one of the following three categories: (a) internalizing or externalizing rating scales, (b) broad-band rating scales, and (c) self-related rating scales. Results Psychometric characteristics (i.e., three types of reliability, two types of validity) were strong for the majority of measures reviewed, with 34 of the 37 measures meeting “well-established” evidence-based assessment (EBA) criteria. Strengths and weaknesses of existing measures were noted. Conclusions Recommendations for future work in this area of assessment are presented, including suggestions that more fine-grained EBA criteria be developed and that evidence-based “profiles” be devised for each measure. PMID:17728305

  8. Self-Report Measure of Psychological Abuse of Older Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Conrad, Kendon J.; Iris, Madelyn; Ridings, John W.; Langley, Kate; Anetzberger, Georgia J.

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: This study tested key psychometric properties of the Older Adult Psychological Abuse Measure (OAPAM), one self-report scale of the Older Adult Mistreatment Assessment (OAMA). Design and Methods: Items and theory were developed in a prior concept mapping study. Subsequently, the measures were administered to 226 substantiated clients by 22…

  9. Measurement of Psychological Disorders Using Cognitive Diagnosis Models

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Templin, Jonathan L.; Henson, Robert A.

    2006-01-01

    Cognitive diagnosis models are constrained (multiple classification) latent class models that characterize the relationship of questionnaire responses to a set of dichotomous latent variables. Having emanated from educational measurement, several aspects of such models seem well suited to use in psychological assessment and diagnosis. This article…

  10. Measurement of Emotional/Psychological Child Maltreatment: A Review

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tonmyr, Lil; Draca, Jasminka; Crain, Jennifer; MacMillan, Harriet L.

    2011-01-01

    Background: Emotional/psychological child maltreatment (ECM) is a major public health problem with serious consequences including emotional and behavioral problems. Nevertheless, ECM is an understudied area. Objectives: The aims of this review are to identify measures of ECM and to evaluate their psychometric properties and utilities. We provide a…

  11. Measuring Contract Agency Performance with Administrative Data.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wulczyn, Fred; Orlebeke, Britany; Melamid, Elan

    2000-01-01

    Analyzed the relative performance of contract agencies providing out-of-home care by examining administrative data on the length of time it took children placed in out-of-home care to return to their families. Found that contract agency performance differs and that "agency effects" leave an independent imprint on a child's out-of-home…

  12. 41 CFR 51-9.303-2 - Special requirements for medical/psychological records.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Special requirements for medical/psychological records. 51-9.303-2 Section 51-9.303-2 Public Contracts and Property Management Other Provisions Relating to Public Contracts COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR...

  13. Automatic and quantitative measurement of collagen gel contraction using model-guided segmentation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Hsin-Chen; Yang, Tai-Hua; Thoreson, Andrew R.; Zhao, Chunfeng; Amadio, Peter C.; Sun, Yung-Nien; Su, Fong-Chin; An, Kai-Nan

    2013-08-01

    Quantitative measurement of collagen gel contraction plays a critical role in the field of tissue engineering because it provides spatial-temporal assessment (e.g., changes of gel area and diameter during the contraction process) reflecting the cell behavior and tissue material properties. So far the assessment of collagen gels relies on manual segmentation, which is time-consuming and suffers from serious intra- and inter-observer variability. In this study, we propose an automatic method combining various image processing techniques to resolve these problems. The proposed method first detects the maximal feasible contraction range of circular references (e.g., culture dish) and avoids the interference of irrelevant objects in the given image. Then, a three-step color conversion strategy is applied to normalize and enhance the contrast between the gel and background. We subsequently introduce a deformable circular model which utilizes regional intensity contrast and circular shape constraint to locate the gel boundary. An adaptive weighting scheme was employed to coordinate the model behavior, so that the proposed system can overcome variations of gel boundary appearances at different contraction stages. Two measurements of collagen gels (i.e., area and diameter) can readily be obtained based on the segmentation results. Experimental results, including 120 gel images for accuracy validation, showed high agreement between the proposed method and manual segmentation with an average dice similarity coefficient larger than 0.95. The results also demonstrated obvious improvement in gel contours obtained by the proposed method over two popular, generic segmentation methods.

  14. COMMITMENT A Psychological Tie and Moral Value

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-04-01

    groups of commitment53 When examining organizational commitment, these antecedents are found in “ psychological contracts.”54 These contracts are of...events 5. Dominance: The degree to which a soldier fails to take others’ suggestions and feelings into account when making decisions, does not listen...well-communicated, and fair work experiences, training, and human resource management policies. When people perceive that they are valued and

  15. Measuring Psychological Capital: Construction and Validation of the Compound PsyCap Scale (CPC-12)

    PubMed Central

    Lorenz, Timo; Beer, Clemens; Pütz, Jan; Heinitz, Kathrin

    2016-01-01

    With the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ) being the standard measure to assess psychological capital (PsyCap) in the context of organizations, this paper aims to broaden this domain-specific approach by introducing a measure with universal claim. Two studies were conducted to create and validate a German self-report scale (CPC-12) measuring PsyCap. We performed confirmatory factor analyses and correlations with other positive psychological constructs on the data of two German samples (N1 = 321; N2 = 202). The twelve-item CPC-12 exhibits the anticipated factorial structure with a very good model fit and associations to other constructs concur with previous findings with other measures of PsyCap. PMID:27035437

  16. The commerce of professional psychology and the new ethics code.

    PubMed

    Koocher, G P

    1994-11-01

    The 1992 version of the American Psychological Association's Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct brings some changes in requirements and new specificity to the practice of psychology. The impact of the new code on therapeutic contracts, informed consent to psychological services, advertising, financial aspects of psychological practice, and other topics related to the commerce of professional psychology are discussed. The genesis of many new thrusts in the code is reviewed from the perspective of psychological service provider. Specific recommendations for improved attention to ethical matters in professional practice are made.

  17. Measurement and Evaluation in Psychology and Education, 8th Edition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thorndike, Robert M.; Thorndike-Christ, Tracy M.

    2010-01-01

    In this classic introduction to educational and psychological measurement, Thorndike and Thorndike-Christ provide all of the pertinent information future professionals need to know in order to develop the skills to use test information wisely. Incorporating standard measurement concepts as they apply to both educational and psychological…

  18. In-vivo measurement of muscle tension: dynamic properties of the MC sensor during isometric muscle contraction.

    PubMed

    Đorđević, Srđan; Tomažič, Sašo; Narici, Marco; Pišot, Rado; Meglič, Andrej

    2014-09-25

    Skeletal muscle is the largest tissue structure in our body and plays an essential role for producing motion through integrated action with bones, tendons, ligaments and joints, for stabilizing body position, for generation of heat through cell respiration and for blood glucose disposal. A key function of skeletal muscle is force generation. Non-invasive and selective measurement of muscle contraction force in the field and in clinical settings has always been challenging. The aim of our work has been to develop a sensor that can overcome these difficulties and therefore enable measurement of muscle force during different contraction conditions. In this study, we tested the mechanical properties of a "Muscle Contraction" (MC) sensor during isometric muscle contraction in different length/tension conditions. The MC sensor is attached so that it indents the skin overlying a muscle group and detects varying degrees of tension during muscular contraction. We compared MC sensor readings over the biceps brachii (BB) muscle to dynamometric measurements of force of elbow flexion, together with recordings of surface EMG signal of BB during isometric contractions at 15° and 90° of elbow flexion. Statistical correlation between MC signal and force was very high at 15° (r = 0.976) and 90° (r = 0.966) across the complete time domain. Normalized SD or σN = σ/max(FMC) was used as a measure of linearity of MC signal and elbow flexion force in dynamic conditions. The average was 8.24% for an elbow angle of 90° and 10.01% for an elbow of angle 15°, which indicates high linearity and good dynamic properties of MC sensor signal when compared to elbow flexion force. The next step of testing MC sensor potential will be to measure tension of muscle-tendon complex in conditions when length and tension change simultaneously during human motion.

  19. Grant and contract activity in 2012.

    PubMed

    2013-01-01

    Presents a list of the American Psychological Association's grant and contract activity during 2012. The titles, grants or sponsors, and total award amounts are provided. Most grants include multiyear funding, and only active externally funded grants in excess of $1,500 are listed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. Psychological Correlates of Self-Reported and Objectively Measured Physical Activity among Chinese Children—Psychological Correlates of PA

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Jing-Jing; Baranowski, Tom; Lau, Patrick W. C.; Chen, Tzu-An; Zhang, Shu-Ge

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to explore the associations among psychological correlates and physical activity (PA) in Chinese children and to further examine whether these associations varied by different PA measures. PA self-efficacy, motivation, and preference were reported in 449 8–13-year-old Chinese children (252 males). Moderate- to vigorous- intensity PA (MVPA) was measured by the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C) and with an ActiGraph GT3X accelerometer. Correlations and hierarchical regressions were performed to explore their associations. The study psychological variables were all positively related to PAQ-C and objective MVPA (r: 0.22–0.63). The associations with PAQ-C were all substantially stronger than those with accelerometry. Beyond the explained variance accounted for by demographics and social desirability, the addition of the psychological correlates accounted for 45% of the variance of the PAQ-C score, while only 13% for accelerometry-based MVPA. The associations of specific variables with the PAQ-C score (age, PA self-efficacy, autonomous motivation and preference) were somewhat different from those associated with objective MVPA (PA self-efficacy, autonomous motivation, and negatively associated with female gender). This study demonstrated the importance of self-efficacy and autonomous motivation in association with PA and indicated the difference in level of their associations with different PA measures. PMID:27754396

  1. Psychological Correlates of Self-Reported and Objectively Measured Physical Activity among Chinese Children-Psychological Correlates of PA.

    PubMed

    Wang, Jing-Jing; Baranowski, Tom; Lau, Patrick W C; Chen, Tzu-An; Zhang, Shu-Ge

    2016-10-13

    This study aimed to explore the associations among psychological correlates and physical activity (PA) in Chinese children and to further examine whether these associations varied by different PA measures. PA self-efficacy, motivation, and preference were reported in 449 8-13-year-old Chinese children (252 males). Moderate- to vigorous- intensity PA (MVPA) was measured by the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C) and with an ActiGraph GT3X accelerometer. Correlations and hierarchical regressions were performed to explore their associations. The study psychological variables were all positively related to PAQ-C and objective MVPA ( r : 0.22-0.63). The associations with PAQ-C were all substantially stronger than those with accelerometry. Beyond the explained variance accounted for by demographics and social desirability, the addition of the psychological correlates accounted for 45% of the variance of the PAQ-C score, while only 13% for accelerometry-based MVPA. The associations of specific variables with the PAQ-C score (age, PA self-efficacy, autonomous motivation and preference) were somewhat different from those associated with objective MVPA (PA self-efficacy, autonomous motivation, and negatively associated with female gender). This study demonstrated the importance of self-efficacy and autonomous motivation in association with PA and indicated the difference in level of their associations with different PA measures.

  2. Predictors of sustained organizational commitment among nurses with temporary job contracts.

    PubMed

    Jalonen, Paivi; Virtanen, Marianna; Vahtera, Jussi; Elovainio, Marko; Kivimaki, Mika

    2006-05-01

    To examine sociodemographic, work-related factors and psychological health as predictors of sustained organizational commitment among temporary hospital employees. The participants were 412 nurses who had a temporary job contract and reported being committed to their organization at baseline. Organizational commitment was measured again 2 years later. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that age over 35 years, high job control, high participative safety, high perceived justice in decision making, and low psychological distress predicted sustained organizational commitment at follow-up. The change from temporary employment to a permanent job and high job control predicted sustained organizational commitment even after the effect of all the other predictors was taken into account. Organizations that employ temporary workers should pay attention to the job control and career prospects of temporary staff.

  3. Piloting Psychology Annual Reviews as a Method of Measuring Psychological Distress and Quality of Life in Paediatric Renal Transplant Patients

    PubMed Central

    2016-01-01

    Psychosocial distress and poorer quality of life after renal transplantation are common in children and young people. This has implications for medication adherence and survival. Posttransplant psychology annual reviews were introduced in one Paediatric Renal Service in the UK as a means of measuring psychological distress and quality of life, as well as facilitating identification of patients and parents/carers who would benefit from psychological intervention. The process of completing posttransplant psychology annual reviews is discussed within this paper. The posttransplant psychology annual review appointments identified patients experiencing depression and/or anxiety and problems in quality of life. These assessments have led to appropriate referrals to, and engagement with, the renal psychology service as well as with community tier 3 child and adolescent mental health services. The posttransplant psychology annual review will continue to be completed at this UK site and discussions will be undertaken with other paediatric renal transplant services to consider whether these could be introduced at a national level to facilitate collection of longitudinal data regarding long-term psychosocial impact of paediatric renal transplantation and its effect on quality of life. PMID:27965973

  4. Management practices and performance of mergers and acquisitions in Pakistan: mediating role of psychological contract.

    PubMed

    Bari, Muhammad Waseem; Fanchen, Meng; Baloch, Muhammad Awais

    2016-01-01

    The objective of this study is to examine the direct and indirect effect of management practices (procedural justice, coordination approach, communication system, integration strategy, and coping programs) on merger and acquisition (M&A) performance in the Pakistan banking industry. Psychological contract (PC) acts as a mediator between Management practices and M&A performance. The Present study distributes a structured questionnaire to 700 bank employees of different management cadres. The useful response rate is 76 % (536 employees). It uses PLS-SEM technique for data analysis. (1) procedural justice is a key strategy which has highly significant direct and indirect effect on M&A performance; however integration strategy and the communication system have an only direct effect. (2) PC performs partial mediation at different levels between management practices and M&A financial and non-financial performance. This study provides an effective solution to solve the soft issues during and post-M&A process. This is one of the few studies which effectively integrate the five constructs into a single framework to study their effects on M&A performance. Limitations and future research directions are presented in the last section of the study.

  5. Internet pornography use: perceived addiction, psychological distress, and the validation of a brief measure.

    PubMed

    Grubbs, Joshua B; Volk, Fred; Exline, Julie J; Pargament, Kenneth I

    2015-01-01

    The authors aimed to validate a brief measure of perceived addiction to Internet pornography refined from the 32-item Cyber Pornography Use Inventory, report its psychometric properties, and examine how the notion of perceived addiction to Internet pornography might be related to other domains of psychological functioning. To accomplish this, 3 studies were conducted using a sample of undergraduate psychology students, a web-based adult sample, and a sample of college students seeking counseling at a university's counseling center. The authors developed and refined a short 9-item measure of perceived addiction to Internet pornography, confirmed its structure in multiple samples, examined its relatedness to hypersexuality more broadly, and demonstrated that the notion of perceived addiction to Internet pornography is very robustly related to various measures of psychological distress. Furthermore, the relation between psychological distress and the new measure persisted, even when other potential contributors (e.g., neuroticism, self-control, amount of time spent viewing pornography) were controlled for statistically, indicating the clinical relevance of assessing perceived addiction to Internet pornography.

  6. Measuring Linguistic Empathy: An Experimental Approach to Connecting Linguistic and Social Psychological Notions of Empathy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kann, Trevor

    2017-01-01

    This dissertation investigated the relationship between Linguistic Empathy and Psychological Empathy by implementing a psycholinguistic experiment that measured a person's acceptability ratings of sentences with violations of Linguistic Empathy and correlating them with a measure of the person's Psychological Empathy. Linguistic Empathy…

  7. Psychometric Properties of Scores on a New Measure of Psychological Type.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vacha-Haase, Tammi; Thompson, Bruce

    Instruments measuring Carl Jung's (1921/1971) theory of psychological types have been widely used in various counseling contexts. The most popular measure of types has been the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (K. Briggs and I. Myers). This measure has been criticized for dichotomous scoring, forced-choice response formats, and differential gender…

  8. Measurement of psychological disorders using cognitive diagnosis models.

    PubMed

    Templin, Jonathan L; Henson, Robert A

    2006-09-01

    Cognitive diagnosis models are constrained (multiple classification) latent class models that characterize the relationship of questionnaire responses to a set of dichotomous latent variables. Having emanated from educational measurement, several aspects of such models seem well suited to use in psychological assessment and diagnosis. This article presents the development of a new cognitive diagnosis model for use in psychological assessment--the DINO (deterministic input; noisy "or" gate) model--which, as an illustrative example, is applied to evaluate and diagnose pathological gamblers. As part of this example, a demonstration of the estimates obtained by cognitive diagnosis models is provided. Such estimates include the probability an individual meets each of a set of dichotomous Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (text revision [DSM-IV-TR]; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) criteria, resulting in an estimate of the probability an individual meets the DSM-IV-TR definition for being a pathological gambler. Furthermore, a demonstration of how the hypothesized underlying factors contributing to pathological gambling can be measured with the DINO model is presented, through use of a covariance structure model for the tetrachoric correlation matrix of the dichotomous latent variables representing DSM-IV-TR criteria. Copyright 2006 APA

  9. Concurrent levels of maternal salivary cortisol are unrelated to self-reported psychological measures in low-risk pregnant women

    PubMed Central

    VOEGTLINE, Kristin M.; COSTIGAN, Kathleen A.; KIVLIGHAN, Katie T.; LAUDENSLAGER, Mark L.; HENDERSON, Janice L.; DIPIETRO, Janet A.

    2013-01-01

    Associations between salivary cortisol and maternal psychological distress and well-being were examined prospectively on 112 women with normally progressing, singleton pregnancies between 24 and 38 weeks gestation. At each of 5 visits, conducted in 3-week intervals, women provided a saliva sample and completed questionnaires measuring trait anxiety, depressive symptoms, pregnancy-specific hassles and uplifts, and psychological well-being. Maternal salivary cortisol was unrelated to psychological measures with the exception of minor associations detected with measures of anxiety and depressive symptoms between 30 and 32 weeks only. Findings indicate that self-reported maternal psychological distress and well-being are not associated with significant variation in maternal salivary cortisol levels during the second half of gestation. This suggests that studies that measure psychological factors in pregnancy but do not measure maternal cortisol should exercise caution in assuming activation of the maternal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is the mechanism through which maternal psychological factors are transduced to the fetus. PMID:23269500

  10. Anisotropy of human muscle via non invasive impedance measurements. Frequency dependence of the impedance changes during isometric contractions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kashuri, Hektor

    In this thesis we present non invasive muscle impedance measurements using rotatable probes extending the work done by Aaron et al. (1997) by measuring not only the real part of the impedance but the imaginary part as well. The results reveal orientations of underlying muscle fibers via minima in resistance and reactance versus angle curves, suggesting this method as potentially useful for studying muscle properties in clinical and physiological research. Calculations of the current distribution for a slab of material with anisotropic conductivity show that the current distribution depends strongly on the separation of two current electrodes and as well as on its conducting anisotropy. Forearm muscle impedance measurements at 50 kHz done by Shiffman et al. (2003) had shown that both resistance (R) and reactance (X) increase during isometric contraction. We have extended these measurements in the 3 to 100 kHz range and we found that resistance (R) and reactance (X) both increase and their changes increased or decreased at frequency dependent rates. Analysis based on circuit models of changes in R and X during the short contraction pulses showed that the extra cellular fluid resistance increased by 3.9 +/- 1.4 %, while the capacitance increased by 5.6 +/- 2 %. For long contraction pulses at very low frequencies: (1) there was practically no change in R during contraction, which implies that these changes are due to cellular membrane or intracellular effects with the extra cellular water component not participating, and (2) in post contraction stage there were no morphological changes which means that drifts in R can only be due to physiological changes. Following Shiffman et al. (2003) we measured impedance changes of R and X during a triangular shaped pulse of force generated via isometric forearm muscle contraction at 50 kHz. We measured these changes in 3-100 kHz frequency range for a stair case pulse of forces and the results showed that they are frequency

  11. In-Vivo Measurement of Muscle Tension: Dynamic Properties of the MC Sensor during Isometric Muscle Contraction

    PubMed Central

    Đorđević, Srđan; Tomažič, Sašo; Narici, Marco; Pišot, Rado; Meglič, Andrej

    2014-01-01

    Skeletal muscle is the largest tissue structure in our body and plays an essential role for producing motion through integrated action with bones, tendons, ligaments and joints, for stabilizing body position, for generation of heat through cell respiration and for blood glucose disposal. A key function of skeletal muscle is force generation. Non-invasive and selective measurement of muscle contraction force in the field and in clinical settings has always been challenging. The aim of our work has been to develop a sensor that can overcome these difficulties and therefore enable measurement of muscle force during different contraction conditions. In this study, we tested the mechanical properties of a “Muscle Contraction” (MC) sensor during isometric muscle contraction in different length/tension conditions. The MC sensor is attached so that it indents the skin overlying a muscle group and detects varying degrees of tension during muscular contraction. We compared MC sensor readings over the biceps brachii (BB) muscle to dynamometric measurements of force of elbow flexion, together with recordings of surface EMG signal of BB during isometric contractions at 15° and 90° of elbow flexion. Statistical correlation between MC signal and force was very high at 15° (r = 0.976) and 90° (r = 0.966) across the complete time domain. Normalized SD or σN = σ/max(FMC) was used as a measure of linearity of MC signal and elbow flexion force in dynamic conditions. The average was 8.24% for an elbow angle of 90° and 10.01% for an elbow of angle 15°, which indicates high linearity and good dynamic properties of MC sensor signal when compared to elbow flexion force. The next step of testing MC sensor potential will be to measure tension of muscle-tendon complex in conditions when length and tension change simultaneously during human motion. PMID:25256114

  12. The Warfighter’s Applications of Social Psychology in Future Conflict

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-01-01

    Quantico, Virginia 22134-5068 MASTERS OF OPERATIONAL STUDIES THE WARFIGHTER’S APPLICATION OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY IN FUTURE CONFLICT...2006 to 00-00-2006 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE The Warfighter’s Applications of Social Psychology in Future Conflict 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT...this paper will start with an introduction to the current theories of conflict resolution within the science of social psychology. Then an

  13. How Should We Measure Psychological Resilience in Sport Performers?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sarkar, Mustafa; Fletcher, David

    2013-01-01

    Psychological resilience is important in sport because athletes must constantly withstand a wide range of pressures to attain and sustain high performance. To advance psychologists' understanding of this area, there exists an urgent need to develop a sport-specific measure of resilience. The purpose of this article is to review psychometric…

  14. Development and Validation of Participation and Positive Psychologic Function Measures for Stroke Survivors

    PubMed Central

    Bode, Rita K.; Heinemann, Allen W.; Butt, Zeeshan; Stallings, Jena; Taylor, Caitlin; Rowe, Morgan; Roth, Elliot J.

    2013-01-01

    Bode RK, Heinemann AW, Butt Z, Stallings J, Taylor C, Rowe M, Roth EJ. Development and validation of participation and positive psychologic function measures for stroke survivors. Objective To evaluate the reliability and validity of Neurologic Quality of Life (NeuroQOL) item banks that assess quality-of-life (QOL) domains not typically included in poststroke measures. Design Secondary analysis of item responses to selected NeuroQOL domains. Setting Community. Participants Community-dwelling stroke survivors (n=111) who were at least 12 months poststroke. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Five measures developed for 3 NeuroQoL domains: ability to participate in social activities, satisfaction with participation in social activities, and positive psychologic function. Results A single bank was developed for the positive psychologic function domain, but 2 banks each were developed for the ability-to-participate and satisfaction-with-participation domains. The resulting item banks showed good psychometric properties and external construct validity with correlations with the legacy instruments, ranging from .53 to .71. Using these measures, stroke survivors in this sample reported an overall high level of QOL. Conclusions The NeuroQoL-derived measures are promising and valid methods for assessing aspects of QOL not typically measured in this population. PMID:20801251

  15. Evidence-based assessment in pediatric psychology: family measures.

    PubMed

    Alderfer, Melissa A; Fiese, Barbara H; Gold, Jeffrey I; Cutuli, J J; Holmbeck, Grayson N; Goldbeck, Lutz; Chambers, Christine T; Abad, Mona; Spetter, Dante; Patterson, Joän

    2008-10-01

    To provide a review of the evidence base of family measures relevant to pediatric psychology. Twenty-nine family measures were selected based upon endorsement by Division 54 listserv members, expert judgment, and literature review. Spanning observational and self-report methods, the measures fell into three broad assessment categories: Family functioning, Dyadic family relationships, and Family functioning in the context of childhood chronic health conditions. Measures were categorized as: "Well-established", "Approaching well-established", or "Promising." Nineteen measures met "well-established" criteria and the remaining ten were "approaching well-established." "Well-established" measures were documented for each of the broad assessment categories named above. Many measures deemed "well-established" in the general population are proving to be reliable and useful in pediatric samples. More evidence of the validity of family measures is needed in this context. This review should prove helpful to clinicians and researchers as they strive to make evidence-based decisions regarding family measures.

  16. I Am So Tired… How Fatigue May Exacerbate Stress Reactions to Psychological Contract Breach

    PubMed Central

    Achnak, Safâa; Griep, Yannick; Vantilborgh, Tim

    2018-01-01

    Previous research showed that perceptions of psychological contract (PC) breach have undesirable individual and organizational consequences. Surprisingly, the PC literature has paid little to no attention to the relationship between PC breach perceptions and stress. A better understanding of how PC breach may elicit stress seems crucial, given that stress plays a key role in employees' physical and mental well-being. Based on Conservation of Resources Theory, we suggest that PC breach perceptions represent a perceived loss of valued resources, subsequently leading employees to experience higher stress levels resulting from emerging negative emotions. Moreover, we suggest that this mediated relationship is moderated by initial levels of fatigue, due to fatigue lowering the personal resources necessary to cope with breach events. To tests our hypotheses, we analyzed the multilevel data we obtained from two experience sampling designs (Study 1: 51 Belgian employees; Study 2: 53 US employees). Note that the unit of analysis is “observations” rather than “respondents,” resulting in an effective sample size of 730 (Study 1) and 374 (Study 2) observations. In both studies, we found evidence for the mediating role of negative emotions in the PC breach—stress relationship. In the second study, we also found evidence for the moderating role of fatigue in the mediated PC breach—stress relationship. Implications for research and practice are discussed. PMID:29559935

  17. I Am So Tired… How Fatigue May Exacerbate Stress Reactions to Psychological Contract Breach.

    PubMed

    Achnak, Safâa; Griep, Yannick; Vantilborgh, Tim

    2018-01-01

    Previous research showed that perceptions of psychological contract (PC) breach have undesirable individual and organizational consequences. Surprisingly, the PC literature has paid little to no attention to the relationship between PC breach perceptions and stress. A better understanding of how PC breach may elicit stress seems crucial, given that stress plays a key role in employees' physical and mental well-being. Based on Conservation of Resources Theory, we suggest that PC breach perceptions represent a perceived loss of valued resources, subsequently leading employees to experience higher stress levels resulting from emerging negative emotions. Moreover, we suggest that this mediated relationship is moderated by initial levels of fatigue, due to fatigue lowering the personal resources necessary to cope with breach events. To tests our hypotheses, we analyzed the multilevel data we obtained from two experience sampling designs (Study 1: 51 Belgian employees; Study 2: 53 US employees). Note that the unit of analysis is "observations" rather than "respondents," resulting in an effective sample size of 730 (Study 1) and 374 (Study 2) observations. In both studies, we found evidence for the mediating role of negative emotions in the PC breach-stress relationship. In the second study, we also found evidence for the moderating role of fatigue in the mediated PC breach-stress relationship. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

  18. Association of occupation, employment contract, and company size with mental health in a national representative sample of employees in Japan.

    PubMed

    Inoue, Akiomi; Kawakami, Norito; Tsuchiya, Masao; Sakurai, Keiko; Hashimoto, Hideki

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the cross-sectional association of employment contract, company size, and occupation with psychological distress using a nationally representative sample of the Japanese population. From June through July 2007, a total of 9,461 male and 7,717 female employees living in the community were randomly selected and surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire and interview including questions about occupational class variables, psychological distress (K6 scale), treatment for mental disorders, and other covariates. Among males, part-time workers had a significantly higher prevalence of psychological distress than permanent workers. Among females, temporary/contract workers had a significantly higher prevalence of psychological distress than permanent workers. Among males, those who worked at companies with 300-999 employees had a significantly higher prevalence of psychological distress than those who worked at the smallest companies (with 1-29 employees). Company size was not significantly associated with psychological distress among females. Additionally, occupation was not significantly associated with psychological distress among males or females. Similar patterns were observed when the analyses were conducted for those who had psychological distress and/or received treatment for mental disorders. Working as part-time workers, for males, and as temporary/contract workers, for females, may be associated with poor mental health in Japan. No clear gradient in mental health along company size or occupation was observed in Japan.

  19. Psychological correlates of self-reported and objectively measured physical activity among Chinese children—psychological correlates of PA

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    This study aimed to explore the associations among psychological correlates and physical activity (PA) in Chinese children and to further examine whether these associations varied by different PA measures. PA self-efficacy, motivation, and preference were reported in 449 8–13-year-old Chinese childr...

  20. Psychological Measurement Needs Units, Ratios, and Real Quantities: A Commentary on Humphry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kyngdon, Andrew

    2011-01-01

    Behavioral scientists have struggled with units of measurement for as long as they have struggled with measurement itself. Psychology's sole attempt at an explicit unit of measurement--the Lexile Framework for Reading (Stenner, Burdick, Sanford, & Burdick, 2006)--has been and continues to be ignored by the psychometric "cognoscenti."…

  1. The trucker strain monitor: an occupation-specific questionnaire measuring psychological job strain.

    PubMed

    De Croon, E M; Blonk, R W; Van der Beek, J; Frings-Dresen, M H

    2001-08-01

    To develop and validate a short and user-friendly questionnaire measuring psychological job strain in truck drivers. In cooperation with an occupational physician in the Dutch road transport industry we developed items on the basis of face validity and information of existing questionnaires on the subject. These items were pilot-tested, by means of interviews, in 15 truck drivers. Study I examined the factorial structure of the initial 30-item trucker strain monitor (TSM) in a sample of 153 truck drivers. Subsequently, number of items per factor was reduced on the basis of reliability analyses (Cronbach's alpha). Study II examined construct and criterion validity of the TSM in a randomly selected group of 2,000 truck drivers, of whom 1,111 participated (adjusted response = 63%). Additionally, sensitivity and specificity were assessed by examining the ability of the TSM to identify truck drivers with or without self-reported sickness absence in the past 12 months because of psychological complaints. Factor analyses of the initial 30-item TSM revealed a two-factor solution. Item reduction resulted in a six-item work-related fatigue scale and four-item sleeping problems scale with high internal consistency. Results of study II confirmed the internal consistency of the TSM scales and provided support for construct and criterion validity. The composite, work-related fatigue, and sleeping problems scale had a sensitivity of 83%, 80% and 71% respectively, in identifying truck drivers with prior sickness absence because of psychological complaints. Specificity rates were 72%, 73% and 72% respectively. Despite methodological limitations, the results suggest that the TSM is a reliable and valid indicator of psychological job strain in truck drivers. In particular, the composite and work-related fatigue scale identified drivers with prior absenteeism because of psychological complaints, quite accurately. Future longitudinal research in specific sub-groups of truck drivers

  2. A Comparison of Three Different Scoring Methods for Self-Report Measures of Psychological Aggression in a Sample of College Females

    PubMed Central

    Shorey, Ryan C.; Brasfield, Hope; Febres, Jeniimarie; Cornelius, Tara L.; Stuart, Gregory L.

    2012-01-01

    Psychological aggression in females’ dating relationships has received increased empirical attention in recent years. However, researchers have used numerous measures of psychological aggression, and various scoring methods with these measures, making it difficult to compare across studies on psychological aggression. In addition, research has yet to examine whether different scoring methods for psychological aggression measures may affect the psychometric properties of these instruments. The current study examined three self-report measures of psychological aggression within a sample of female college students (N = 108), including their psychometric properties when scored using frequency, sum, and variety scores. Results showed that the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2) had variable internal consistency depending on the scoring method used and good validity; the Multidimensional Measure of Emotional Abuse (MMEA) and the Follingstad Psychological Aggression Scale (FPAS) both had good internal consistency and validity across scoring methods. Implications of these findings for the assessment of psychological aggression and future research are discussed. PMID:23393957

  3. A comparison of three different scoring methods for self-report measures of psychological aggression in a sample of college females.

    PubMed

    Shorey, Ryan C; Brasfield, Hope; Febres, Jeniimarie; Cornelius, Tara L; Stuart, Gregory L

    2012-01-01

    Psychological aggression in females' dating relationships has received increased empirical attention in recent years. However, researchers' have used numerous measures of psychological aggression and various scoring methods with these measures, making it difficult to compare across studies on psychological aggression. In addition, research has yet to examine whether different scoring methods for psychological aggression measures may affect the psychometric properties of these instruments. This study examined three self-report measures of psychological aggression within a sample of female college students (N = 108), including their psychometric properties when scored using frequency, sum, and variety scores. Results showed that the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2) had variable internal consistency depending on the scoring method used and good validity; the Multidimensional Measure of Emotional Abuse (MMEA) and the Follingstad Psychological Aggression Scale (FPAS) both had good internal consistency and validity across scoring methods. Implications of these findings for the assessment of psychological aggression and future research are discussed.

  4. Evidence-based Assessment in Pediatric Psychology: Family Measures

    PubMed Central

    Fiese, Barbara H.; Gold, Jeffrey I.; Cutuli, J. J.; Holmbeck, Grayson N.; Goldbeck, Lutz; Chambers, Christine T.; Abad, Mona; Spetter, Dante; Patterson, Joän

    2008-01-01

    Objective To provide a review of the evidence base of family measures relevant to pediatric psychology. Method Twenty-nine family measures were selected based upon endorsement by Division 54 listserv members, expert judgment, and literature review. Spanning observational and self-report methods, the measures fell into three broad assessment categories: Family functioning, Dyadic family relationships, and Family functioning in the context of childhood chronic health conditions. Measures were categorized as: “Well-established”, “Approaching well-established”, or “Promising.” Results Nineteen measures met “well-established” criteria and the remaining ten were “approaching well-established.” “Well-established” measures were documented for each of the broad assessment categories named above. Conclusions Many measures deemed “well-established” in the general population are proving to be reliable and useful in pediatric samples. More evidence of the validity of family measures is needed in this context. This review should prove helpful to clinicians and researchers as they strive to make evidence-based decisions regarding family measures. PMID:17905801

  5. Thin-film dielectric elastomer sensors to measure the contraction force of smooth muscle cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Araromi, O.; Poulin, A.; Rosset, S.; Favre, M.; Giazzon, M.; Martin-Olmos, C.; Liley, M.; Shea, H.

    2015-04-01

    The development of thin-film dielectric elastomer strain sensors for the characterization of smooth muscle cell (SMC) contraction is presented here. Smooth muscle disorders are an integral part of diseases such as asthma and emphysema. Analytical tools enabling the characterization of SMC function i.e. contractile force and strain, in a low-cost and highly parallelized manner are necessary for toxicology screening and for the development of new and more effective drugs. The main challenge with the design of such tools is the accurate measurement of the extremely low contractile cell forces expected as a result of SMC monolayer contraction (as low as ~ 100 μN). Our approach utilizes ultrathin (~5 μm) and soft elastomer membranes patterned with elastomer-carbon composite electrodes, onto which the SMCs are cultured. The cell contraction induces an in-plane strain in the elastomer membrane, predicted to be in the order 1 %, which can be measured via the change in the membrane capacitance. The cell force can subsequently be deduced knowing the mechanical properties of the elastomer membrane. We discuss the materials and fabrication methods selected for our system and present preliminary results indicating their biocompatibility. We fabricate functional capacitive senor prototypes with good signal stability over the several hours (~ 0.5% variation). We succeed in measuring in-plane strains of 1 % with our fabricated devices with good repeatability and signal to noise ratio.

  6. Insights into Mercury's interior structure from geodesy measurements and global contraction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rivoldini, A.; Van Hoolst, T.

    2014-04-01

    The measurements of the gravitational field of Mercury by MESSENGER [6] and improved measurements of the spin state of Mercury [3] provide important insights on its interior structure. In particular, these data give strong constraints on the radius and density of Mercury's core [5, 2]. However, present geodesy data do not provide strong constraints on the radius of the inner core. The data allow for models with a fully molten liquid core to models which have an inner core radius that is smaller than about 1760km [5], if it is assumed that sulfur is the only light element in the core. Models without an inner core are, however, at odds with the observed internally generated magnetic field of Mercury since Mercury's dynamo cannot operate by secular cooling alone at present. The present radius of the inner core depends mainly on Mercury's thermal state and light elements inside the core. Because of the secular cooling of the planet,the temperature inside the core drops below the liquidus temperature of the core material somewhere in the core and leads to the formation of an inner core and to the global contraction of the planet. The amount of contraction depends on the temperature decrease, on the thermal expansion of the materials inside the planet, and on the volume of crystallized liquid core alloy. In this study we use geodesy data, the recent estimate about the radial contraction of Mercury [1], and thermo-chemical evolution calculations in order to improve our knowledge about Mercury's inner core radius and thermal state. Since data from remote sensing of Mercury's surface [4] indicate that Mercury formed under reducing conditions we consider models that have sulfur and silicon as light elements inside their core. Unlike sulfur, which does almost not partition into solid iron under Mercury's core pressure and temperature conditions, silicon partitions virtually equally between solid and liquid iron. As a consequence, the density difference between the liquid and

  7. The Basic Psychological Needs at Work Scale: Measurement Invariance between Canada and France.

    PubMed

    Brien, Maryse; Forest, Jacques; Mageau, Geneviève A; Boudrias, Jean-Sébastien; Desrumaux, Pascale; Brunet, Luc; Morin, Estelle M

    2012-07-01

    The purpose of this study is to develop and validate the Basic Psychological Needs at Work Scale (BPNWS) in French, but items are also provided in English in the article. The BPNWS is a work-related self-report instrument designed to measure the degree to which the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, as identified by Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), are satisfied at work. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the first study examines the structure of the BPNWS in a group of 271 workers. The second study tests the measurement invariance of the scale in a group of 851 teachers from two different cultures, Canada and France. Results support the three-factor structure and show adequate internal consistency, as well as nomological validity across samples. © 2012 The Authors. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being © 2012 The International Association of Applied Psychology.

  8. Fractal based complexity measure and variation in force during sustained isometric muscle contraction: effect of aging.

    PubMed

    Arjunan, Sridhar P; Kumar, Dinesh K; Bastos, Teodiano

    2012-01-01

    This study has investigated the effect of age on the fractal based complexity measure of muscle activity and variance in the force of isometric muscle contraction. Surface electromyogram (sEMG) and force of muscle contraction were recorded from 40 healthy subjects categorized into: Group 1: Young - age range 20-30; 10 Males and 10 Females, Group 2: Old - age range 55-70; 10 Males and 10 Females during isometric exercise at Maximum Voluntary contraction (MVC). The results show that there is a reduction in the complexity of surface electromyogram (sEMG) associated with aging. The results demonstrate that there is an increase in the coefficient of variance (CoV) of the force of muscle contraction and a decrease in complexity of sEMG for the Old age group when compared with the Young age group.

  9. Psychological stress measurement through voice output analysis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Older, H. J.; Jenney, L. L.

    1975-01-01

    Audio tape recordings of selected Skylab communications were processed by a psychological stress evaluator. Strip chart tracings were read blind and scores were assigned based on characteristics reported by the manufacturer to indicate psychological stress. These scores were analyzed for their empirical relationships with operational variables in Skylab judged to represent varying degrees of situational stress. Although some statistically significant relationships were found, the technique was not judged to be sufficiently predictive to warrant its use in assessing the degree of psychological stress of crew members in future space missions.

  10. Contractual School Psychological Services: Prevalence and Practices.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Michael B.; Gibson, Ron L.; Bolen, Larry M.

    2000-01-01

    School districts (N=121) in a Southeastern state were surveyed concerning the prevalence and practices of contract school psychological services in public schools. Most reported that their primary service was providing triennial reevaluations. Survey determined that the most pressing concern regarding contractual services is ensuring that these…

  11. Objectively-measured outdoor time and physical and psychological function among older adults.

    PubMed

    Harada, Kazuhiro; Lee, Sangyoon; Lee, Sungchul; Bae, Seongryu; Harada, Kenji; Suzuki, Takao; Shimada, Hiroyuki

    2017-10-01

    Objective measurements of outdoor time are essential to establishing evidence about the health benefits of going outdoors among older adults. To better understanding the health benefits of going outdoors, clarification of potential mediators to connect going outdoors with health benefits is necessary. The present study aimed to investigate associations of objectively-measured outdoor time with older adults' physical and psychological function, and examine the mediating role of physical activity on these associations. Baseline data from a randomized control trial of physical activity among older adults with global cognitive impairment was used. Data from 192 participants were analyzed. Measures included steps-per-day, objectively-measured outdoor time per day using global positioning systems, physical function (cardiorespiratory fitness, lower-extremity strength), psychological function (depression, well-being) and basic factors. Path analysis showed that outdoor time was significantly associated with steps-per-day (path coefficient = 0.23) and depression (path coefficient = -0.16). Outdoor time was not directly associated with cardiorespiratory fitness, lower-extremity strength and well-being. However, steps-per-day was associated with cardiorespiratory fitness (path coefficient = 0.18), lower-extremity strength (path coefficient = -0.22) and well-being (path coefficient = 0.14). We found that objectively-measured outdoor time was indirectly associated with physical function, and both directly and indirectly with psychological function through physical activity among older adults. This finding indicates that going outdoors influences older adults' health outcomes, and is mainly mediated by physical activity. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 1455-1462. © 2016 Japan Geriatrics Society.

  12. Assessing mental imagery in clinical psychology: A review of imagery measures and a guiding framework

    PubMed Central

    Pearson, David G.; Deeprose, Catherine; Wallace-Hadrill, Sophie M.A.; Heyes, Stephanie Burnett; Holmes, Emily A.

    2013-01-01

    Mental imagery is an under-explored field in clinical psychology research but presents a topic of potential interest and relevance across many clinical disorders, including social phobia, schizophrenia, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. There is currently a lack of a guiding framework from which clinicians may select the domains or associated measures most likely to be of appropriate use in mental imagery research. We adopt an interdisciplinary approach and present a review of studies across experimental psychology and clinical psychology in order to highlight the key domains and measures most likely to be of relevance. This includes a consideration of methods for experimentally assessing the generation, maintenance, inspection and transformation of mental images; as well as subjective measures of characteristics such as image vividness and clarity. We present a guiding framework in which we propose that cognitive, subjective and clinical aspects of imagery should be explored in future research. The guiding framework aims to assist researchers in the selection of measures for assessing those aspects of mental imagery that are of most relevance to clinical psychology. We propose that a greater understanding of the role of mental imagery in clinical disorders will help drive forward advances in both theory and treatment. PMID:23123567

  13. The development of positive psychology outcome measures and their uses in dementia research: A systematic review.

    PubMed

    Stoner, Charlotte R; Stansfeld, Jacki; Orrell, Martin; Spector, Aimee

    2017-01-01

    Positive psychology is gaining credence within dementia research but currently there is a lack of outcome measures within this area developed specifically for people with dementia. Authors have begun adopting positive psychology measures developed with other populations but there is no consensus around which are more appropriate or psychometrically robust. A systematic search identified measures used between 1998 and 2017 and an appraisal of the development procedure was undertaken using standardised criteria enabling the awarding of scores based on reporting of psychometric information. Twelve measures within the constructs of identity, hope, religiosity/spirituality, life valuation, self-efficacy, community and wellbeing were identified as being used within 17 dementia studies. Development procedures were variable and scores on development criterion reflected this variability. Of the measures included, the Herth Hope Index, Systems of Belief Inventory and Psychological Wellbeing Scale appeared to be the most robustly developed and appropriate for people with dementia.

  14. Commentary on Stiers and colleagues' guidelines for competency development and measurement in rehabilitation psychology postdoctoral training.

    PubMed

    Hatcher, Robert L

    2015-05-01

    Comments on the article, "Guidelines for competency development and measurement in rehabilitation psychology postdoctoral training," by Stiers et al. (see record 2014-55195-001). Stiers and colleagues have provided a thorough and well-conceived set of guidelines that lay out the competencies expected for graduates of postdoctoral residencies in rehabilitation psychology, accompanied by a set of more specific, observable indicators of the residents' competence level. This work is an important aspect of the broader project of the Rehabilitation Psychology Specialty Council (APA Division 22, the American Board of Rehabilitation Psychology, the Foundation for Rehabilitation Psychology, the Academy of Rehabilitation Psychology, and the Council of Rehabilitation Psychology Postdocotral Training Programs) to develop overall guidelines for programs providing postdoctoral training in this field (Stiers et al., 2012). (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  15. Organizational justice and psychological distress among permanent and non-permanent employees in Japan: a prospective cohort study.

    PubMed

    Inoue, Akiomi; Kawakami, Norito; Tsuno, Kanami; Tomioka, Kimiko; Nakanishi, Mayuko

    2013-06-01

    Organizational justice has recently been introduced as a new concept as psychosocial determinants of employee health, and an increase in precarious employment is a challenging issue in occupational health. However, no study investigated the association of organizational justice with mental health among employees while taking into account employment contract. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the prospective association of organizational justice (procedural justice and interactional justice) with psychological distress by employment contract among Japanese employees. A total of 373 males and 644 females from five branches of a manufacturing company in Japan were surveyed. At baseline (August 2009), self-administered questionnaires, including the Organizational Justice Questionnaire (OJQ), the K6 scale (psychological distress scale), the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R), and other covariates, were used. After one-year follow-up (August 2010), the K6 scale was used again to assess psychological distress. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted by sex and employment contract. After adjusting for demographic characteristics, psychological distress, and neuroticism at baseline, low procedural justice was significantly associated with a higher risk of psychological distress at follow-up among non-permanent female employees, while no significant association of procedural justice or interactional justice with psychological distress at follow-up was observed among permanent male or female employees. The results of non-permanent male employees could not be calculated because of small sample size. Low procedural justice may be an important predictor of psychological distress among non-permanent female employees.

  16. Psychological impact and recovery after involvement in a patient safety incident: a repeated measures analysis

    PubMed Central

    Van Gerven, Eva; Bruyneel, Luk; Panella, Massimiliano; Euwema, Martin; Sermeus, Walter; Vanhaecht, Kris

    2016-01-01

    Objective To examine individual, situational and organisational aspects that influence psychological impact and recovery of a patient safety incident on physicians, nurses and midwives. Design Cross-sectional, retrospective surveys of physicians, midwives and nurses. Setting 33 Belgian hospitals. Participants 913 clinicians (186 physicians, 682 nurses, 45 midwives) involved in a patient safety incident. Main outcome measures The Impact of Event Scale was used to retrospectively measure psychological impact of the safety incident at the time of the event and compare it with psychological impact at the time of the survey. Results Individual, situational as well as organisational aspects influenced psychological impact and recovery of a patient safety incident. Psychological impact is higher when the degree of harm for the patient is more severe, when healthcare professionals feel responsible for the incident and among female healthcare professionals. Impact of degree of harm differed across clinicians. Psychological impact is lower among more optimistic professionals. Overall, impact decreased significantly over time. This effect was more pronounced for women and for those who feel responsible for the incident. The longer ago the incident took place, the stronger impact had decreased. Also, higher psychological impact is related with the use of a more active coping and planning coping strategy, and is unrelated to support seeking coping strategies. Rendered support and a support culture reduce psychological impact, whereas a blame culture increases psychological impact. No associations were found with job experience and resilience of the health professional, the presence of a second victim support team or guideline and working in a learning culture. Conclusions Healthcare organisations should anticipate on providing their staff appropriate and timely support structures that are tailored to the healthcare professional involved in the incident and to the specific

  17. Uterine Contraction Modeling and Simulation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Liu, Miao; Belfore, Lee A.; Shen, Yuzhong; Scerbo, Mark W.

    2010-01-01

    Building a training system for medical personnel to properly interpret fetal heart rate tracing requires developing accurate models that can relate various signal patterns to certain pathologies. In addition to modeling the fetal heart rate signal itself, the change of uterine pressure that bears strong relation to fetal heart rate and provides indications of maternal and fetal status should also be considered. In this work, we have developed a group of parametric models to simulate uterine contractions during labor and delivery. Through analysis of real patient records, we propose to model uterine contraction signals by three major components: regular contractions, impulsive noise caused by fetal movements, and low amplitude noise invoked by maternal breathing and measuring apparatus. The regular contractions are modeled by an asymmetric generalized Gaussian function and least squares estimation is used to compute the parameter values of the asymmetric generalized Gaussian function based on uterine contractions of real patients. Regular contractions are detected based on thresholding and derivative analysis of uterine contractions. Impulsive noise caused by fetal movements and low amplitude noise by maternal breathing and measuring apparatus are modeled by rational polynomial functions and Perlin noise, respectively. Experiment results show the synthesized uterine contractions can mimic the real uterine contractions realistically, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

  18. Positive psychology outcome measures for family caregivers of people living with dementia: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Stansfeld, Jacki; Stoner, Charlotte R; Wenborn, Jennifer; Vernooij-Dassen, Myrra; Moniz-Cook, Esme; Orrell, Martin

    2017-08-01

    Family caregivers of people living with dementia can have both positive and negative experiences of caregiving. Despite this, existing outcome measures predominately focus on negative aspects of caregiving such as burden and depression. This review aimed to evaluate the development and psychometric properties of existing positive psychology measures for family caregivers of people living with dementia to determine their potential utility in research and practice. A systematic review of positive psychology outcome measures for family caregivers of people with dementia was conducted. The databases searched were as follows: PsychINFO, CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PubMed. Scale development papers were subject to a quality assessment to appraise psychometric properties. Twelve positive outcome measures and six validation papers of these scales were identified. The emerging constructs of self-efficacy, spirituality, resilience, rewards, gain, and meaning are in line with positive psychology theory. There are some robust positive measures in existence for family caregivers of people living with dementia. However, lack of reporting of the psychometric properties hindered the quality assessment of some outcome measures identified in this review. Future research should aim to include positive outcome measures in interventional research to facilitate a greater understanding of the positive aspects of caregiving and how these contribute to well-being.

  19. Ultrasonographic measurements of lower trapezius muscle thickness at rest and during isometric contraction: a reliability study.

    PubMed

    Talbott, Nancy R; Witt, Dexter W

    2014-07-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the intra-rater reliability and inter-rater reliability of ultrasound imaging (USI) thickness measurements of the lower trapezius (LT) at rest and during active contractions when the transverse process and the lamina were used as reference sites for the measurement process. Twenty healthy individuals between the ages of 22 and 32 years volunteered. With the subject prone and the shoulder in 145° of abduction, images of the LT were taken bilaterally by one examiner as the subject: (1) rested; (2) actively held the test position; and (3) actively held the test position while holding a weight. Ten subjects returned and testing was repeated by the same examiner and by a second examiner. LT thickness measurements were recorded at the level of the transverse process and at the level of the lamina. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) for within session intra-rater reliability (ICC3,3) ranged from 0.951 to 0.986 for both measurement sites while between session intra-rater reliability (ICC3,2) ranged from 0.935 to 0.962. Within session inter-rater reliability (ICC2,2) ranged from 0.934 to 0.973. USI can be used to reliably measure LT thickness at rest, during active contraction and during active contraction when holding a weight. The described protocol can be utilized during shoulder examinations to provide an additional assessment tool for monitoring changes in LT thickness.

  20. The Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale: Measurement Invariance over Gender

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vlachopoulos, Symeon P.

    2008-01-01

    This study examined the extent of measurement invariance of the Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale responses (BPNES; Vlachopoulos & Michailidou, 2006) across male (n = 716) and female (n = 1,147) exercise participants. BPNES responses from exercise participants attending private fitness centers (n = 1,012) and community exercise programs…

  1. Variability of Measurement of Patellofemoral Indices with Knee Flexion and Quadriceps Contraction: An MRI-Based Anatomical Study

    PubMed Central

    Laugharne, Edward; Bali, Navi; Purushothamdas, Sanjay; Almallah, Faris; Kundra, Rik

    2016-01-01

    Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of varying knee flexion and quadriceps activity on patellofemoral indices measured on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Materials and Methods MRI of the knee was performed in 20 patients for indications other than patellar or patellofemoral pathology. Axial and sagittal sequences were performed in full extension of the knee with the quadriceps relaxed, full extension of the knee with the quadriceps contracted, 30° flexion of the knee with the quadriceps relaxed, and 30° flexion with the quadriceps contracted. Bisect offset, patella tilt angle, Insall-Salvati ratio and Caton-Deschamps index were measured. Results With the knee flexed to 30° and quadriceps relaxed, the mean values of patellar tilt angle, bisect offset, Insall-Salvati ratio and Caton-Deschamps index were all within normal limits. With the knee extended and quadriceps contracted, the mean patellar tilt angle (normal value, <15°) was 14.6° and the bisect offset (normal value, <65%) was 65%, while the Caton-Deschamps index was 1.34 (normal range, 0.6 to 1.3). With the knee extended and quadriceps relaxed, the mean Caton-Deschamps index was 1.31. Conclusions MRI scanning of the knee in extension with the quadriceps contracted leads to elevated patellofemoral indices. MRI taken with the knee in 30° of flexion allows more reliable assessment of the patellofemoral joint and minimises the confounding effect of quadriceps contraction. PMID:27894177

  2. A Measure of Child and Adolescent Self-Concept and Psychological Adjustment.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bronstein, Phyllis; And Others

    This paper presents a new multi-scale instrument--the Bronstein-Cruz Child/Adolescent Self-Concept and Adjustment Scale, which measures self-concept and psychological adjustment for children and adolescents, aged 10-18 years. It consists of five subscales: Self-Evaluation, Social and Peer Relations, Family Relations, Sense of Mastery, and…

  3. Employment contracts: cross-sectional and longitudinal relations with quality of working life, health and well-being.

    PubMed

    Kompier, Michiel; Ybema, Jan Fekke; Janssen, Julia; Taris, Toon

    2009-01-01

    The aim of this study was to enhance (i) insight in the relationship between different types of employment contract and the quality of working life, health and well-being, and (ii) our causal understanding of these relationships by comparing employees whose contract type changes across time. Analyses were based on a two-year prospective cohort study. Cross-sectional analyses were based upon a sample of 2,454 Dutch employees (2004). Longitudinal data were available for 1,865 respondents (2004-2006). We distinguished among 5 contract types, and subgroups of 'Upward' (i.e., towards permanent employment) and 'Downward' (towards temporary employment) movers across time. Data were analysed with analysis of variance and cross table analysis. Cross-sectionally, we found differences between contract types in quality of working life: generally permanent employees had better jobs, whereas temporary agency workers and on call workers had more 'bad work characteristics'. We also found a difference in health behaviour (smoking) and that psychological health was worst among temporary agency workers. In longitudinal analyses we found some evidence that a positive change in employment contract was associated with a better quality of working life and better psychological health, whereas the opposite was true for a negative contract change. The quality of working life, health and well-being are unequally distributed over employment contract groups. Temporary agency workers and on-call workers deserve special attention in terms of job design and human resource management.

  4. Review of Positive Psychology Outcome Measures for Chronic Illness, Traumatic Brain Injury and Older Adults: Adaptability in Dementia?

    PubMed

    Stoner, Charlotte R; Orrell, Martin; Spector, Aimee

    2015-01-01

    Despite positive psychology being increasingly recognised as an important agent in well-being, there is a lack of standardised outcome measures for psychosocial dementia research. This review assessed positive psychology outcome measures using standardised criterion in populations that were identified as having shared characteristics. It aimed to identify robust measures that were suitable for potential adaption or use within a dementia population. The review identified 16 positive psychology outcome measures (and 8 further psychometric assessments of these) within the constructs of resilience, self-efficacy, religiousness/spirituality, life valuation, sense of coherence, autonomy, resourcefulness and a combined measure (CASP-19). Scale development studies were subject to a quality assessment, and most were found to be lacking information on reproducibility and responsiveness. A wide range of measures within the constructs of positive psychology was identified as having potential utility for psychosocial research within a dementia population. Examples included the CD-RISC, GSWB, SWLS, MPAQ, RSOA and CASP-19. It is recommended that such scales are further adapted or validated for people with dementia. Underreporting of appropriate psychometric analyses hampered this review, and it is recommended that future authors endeavour to report such analyses. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  5. The New Friends Vignettes: Measuring Parental Psychological Control that Confers Risk for Anxious Adjustment in Preschoolers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McShane, Kelly E.; Hastings, Paul D.

    2009-01-01

    This investigation examined the links between preschoolers' internalizing problems and anxiety-related social difficulties and two aspects of maternal and paternal psychological control: overprotection and critical control. Some 115 mothers and 92 fathers completed the New Friends Vignettes (NFV), a new measure of psychological control and…

  6. The development and preliminary psychometric properties of two positive psychology outcome measures for people with dementia: the PPOM and the EID-Q.

    PubMed

    Stoner, Charlotte R; Orrell, Martin; Long, Maria; Csipke, Emese; Spector, Aimee

    2017-03-21

    Positive psychology research in dementia care has largely been confined to the qualitative literature because of the lack of robust outcome measures. The aim of this study was to develop positive psychology outcome measures for people with dementia. Two measures were each developed in four stages. Firstly, literature reviews were conducted to identify and operationalise salient positive psychology themes in the qualitative literature and to examine existing measures of positive psychology. Secondly, themes were discussed within a qualitative study to add content validity for identified concepts (n = 17). Thirdly, draft measures were submitted to a panel of experts for feedback (n = 6). Finally, measures were used in a small-scale pilot study (n = 33) to establish psychometric properties. Salient positive psychology themes were identified as hope, resilience, a sense of independence and social engagement. Existing measures of hope and resilience were adapted to form the Positive Psychology Outcome Measure (PPOM). Due to the inter-relatedness of independence and engagement for people with dementia, 28 items were developed for a new scale of Engagement and Independence in Dementia Questionnaire (EID-Q) following extensive qualitative work. Both measures demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (α = .849 and α = .907 respectively) and convergent validity. Two new positive psychology outcome measures were developed using a robust four-stage procedure. Preliminary psychometric data was adequate and the measures were easy to use, and acceptable for people with dementia.

  7. Individual and work-unit measures of psychological demands and decision latitude and the use of antihypertensive medication.

    PubMed

    Daugaard, S; Andersen, J H; Grynderup, M B; Stokholm, Z A; Rugulies, R; Hansen, Å M; Kærgaard, A; Mikkelsen, S; Bonde, J P; Thomsen, J F; Christensen, K L; Kolstad, H A

    2015-04-01

    To analyse whether psychological demands and decision latitude measured on individual and work-unit level were related to prescription of antihypertensive medication. A total of 3,421 women and 897 men within 388 small work units completed a questionnaire concerning psychological working conditions according to the job strain model. Mean levels of psychological demands and decision latitude were computed for each work unit to obtain exposure measures that were less influenced by reporting bias. Dispensed antihypertensive medication prescriptions were identified in The Danish National Prescription Registry. Odds ratios (OR) comparing the highest and lowest third of the population at individual and work-unit level, respectively, were estimated by multilevel logistic regression adjusted for confounders. Psychological demands and decision latitude were tested for interaction. Supplementary analyses of 21 months follow-up were conducted. Among women, increasing psychological demands at individual (adjusted OR 1.54; 95 % CI 1.02-2.33) and work-unit level (adjusted OR 1.41; 95 % CI 1.04-1.90) was significantly associated with purchase of antihypertensive medication. No significant association was found for decision latitude. Follow-up results supported an association with psychological demands but they were not significant. All results for men showed no association. Psychological demands and decision latitude did not interact. High psychological work demands were associated with the purchase of prescribed antihypertensive medication among women. This effect was present on both the work-unit and the individual level. Among men there were no associations. The lack of interaction between psychological demands and decision latitude did not support the job strain model.

  8. Discord of Biological and Psychological Measures in a Group of Depressed African American and White Cancer Patients

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Amy Y

    2011-01-01

    Objective: This study examined racial differences in the self-report of depressive symptoms by reference to biological states. Methods: The study used a convenience sample of 20 depressed cancer patients (CES-D ≥16) (15 African Americans and 5 Whites). Subjects completed depression assessment on a battery of psychological measures and provided blood and saliva samples. Laboratory tests were performed on biomarkers (serotonin, cortisol and IL-6). T-test was computed to examine racial differences on biological and psychological measures. Results: Depressed Whites had a significantly higher cortisol level than depressed African Americans, but no significant group difference was found on any self-reported psychological measures of depression. There was a trend that African Americans reported fewer depressive symptoms on psychological measures but exceeded Whites on the domain of somatization; however, such group differences did not approach statistic significance in this small sample. Conclusion: African Americans did not appear to underreport depression in consideration of their biological states, but had a tendency to report more somatic symptoms than Whites; this may be attributable to non-depression diseases or reporting behavior rather than somatic sensitivity. African Americans exhibited more mistrust in the health care system, which could affect the self-report of depression. There is a discord between biological and psychological measures of depression. Biomarkers prove to be useful for evaluating racial difference in the self-report of depression. Implication for Nursing: Nurses should be cautious of somatic complaints when assessing African American cancer patient’s depression. Establishing trust is essential for an accurate assessment of depression in African American cancer patients. PMID:22135714

  9. The Improvement of Measurement in Education and Psychology: Contributions of Latent Trait Theories.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Spearritt, Donald, Ed.

    Educational and psychological measurement has been a main area of work for the Australian Council for Educational (ACER) since its inception. The theoretical and practical contributions of latent trait measurement and commentary on the relatively recent use of these models in Australia were the focus of a seminar celebrating the 50th anniversary…

  10. Reliability of near-infrared spectroscopy for measuring biceps brachii oxygenation during sustained and repeated isometric contractions.

    PubMed

    Muthalib, Makii; Millet, Guillaume Y; Quaresima, Valentina; Nosaka, Kazunori

    2010-01-01

    We examine the test-retest reliability of biceps brachii tissue oxygenation index (TOI) parameters measured by near-infrared spectroscopy during a 10-s sustained and a 30-repeated (1-s contraction, 1-s relaxation) isometric contraction task at 30% of maximal voluntary contraction (30% MVC) and maximal (100% MVC) intensities. Eight healthy men (23 to 33 yr) were tested on three sessions separated by 3 h and 24 h, and the within-subject reliability of torque and each TOI parameter were determined by Bland-Altman+/-2 SD limits of agreement plots and coefficient of variation (CV). No significant (P>0.05) differences between the three sessions were found for mean values of torque and TOI parameters during the sustained and repeated tasks at both contraction intensities. All TOI parameters were within+/-2 SD limits of agreement. The CVs for torque integral were similar between the sustained and repeated task at both intensities (4 to 7%); however, the CVs for TOI parameters during the sustained and repeated task were lower for 100% MVC (7 to 11%) than for 30% MVC (22 to 36%). It is concluded that the reliability of the biceps brachii NIRS parameters during both sustained and repeated isometric contraction tasks is acceptable.

  11. A systematic review of the relationship between objective measurements of the urban environment and psychological distress.

    PubMed

    Gong, Yi; Palmer, Stephen; Gallacher, John; Marsden, Terry; Fone, David

    2016-11-01

    The urban environment has become the main place that people live and work. As a result it can have profound impacts on our health. While much of the literature has focused on physical health, less attention has been paid to the possible psychological impacts of the urban environment. In order to understand the potential relevance and importance of the urban environment to population mental health, we carried out a systematic review to examine the associations between objective measurements of the urban environment and psychological distress, independently of the individual's subjective perceptions of the urban environment. 11 peer-reviewed papers published in English between January 2000 and February 2012 were identified. All studies were cross-sectional. Despite heterogeneity in study design, the overall findings suggested that the urban environment has measurable associations with psychological distress, including housing with deck access, neighbourhood quality, the amount of green space, land-use mix, industry activity and traffic volume. The evidence supports the need for development of interventions to improve mental health through changing the urban environment. We also conclude that new methods for measuring the urban environment objectively are needed which are meaningful to planners. In particular, future work should look at the spatial-temporal dynamic of the urban environment measured in Geographical Information System (GIS) in relation to psychological distress. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  12. Development of the psychological impact of tinnitus interview: a clinician-administered measure of tinnitus-related distress.

    PubMed

    Henry, J L; Kangas, M; Wilson, P H

    2001-01-01

    The development of valid and reliable methods for assessing psychological aspects of tinnitus continues to be an important goal of research. Such assessment methods are potentially useful in clinical and research contexts. Existing self-report measures have a number of disadvantages, and so a need exists to develop a form of assessment that is less open to response bias and the effects of experimental demand. A new approach, the Psychological Impact of Tinnitus Interview (PITI), is described, and some preliminary data on its psychometric properties are reported. The results suggest that the PITI is capable of providing a measure of separate, relatively independent dimensions of tinnitus-related distress--namely, sleep difficulties, general distress, mood, suicidal aspects, and avoidance of or interference with normal activities. This method may lead to more refined measures of these dimensions of tinnitus-related psychological difficulties. The PITI should be regarded as a promising assessment tool for use in experimental settings, pending further work on its content, coding method, and administration.

  13. The effectiveness of the "Brainwork Intervention" in reducing sick leave for unemployed workers with psychological problems: design of a controlled clinical trial.

    PubMed

    Audhoe, Selwin S; Nieuwenhuijsen, Karen; Hoving, Jan L; Sluiter, Judith K; Frings-Dresen, Monique H W

    2015-04-14

    Among the working population, unemployed, temporary agency and expired fixed-term contract workers having psychological problems are a particularly vulnerable group, at risk for sickness absence and prolonged work disability. Studies investigating the effectiveness of return-to-work (RTW) interventions on these workers, who are without an employment contract, are scarce. Therefore, a RTW intervention called 'Brainwork' was developed. The objective of this paper is to describe the 'Brainwork Intervention' and the trial design evaluating its effectiveness in reducing the duration of sick leave compared to usual care. The 'Brainwork Intervention' is designed to assist unemployed, temporary agency and expired fixed-term contract workers who are sick-listed due to psychological problems, with their return to work. The 'Brainwork Intervention' uses an activating approach: in the early stage of sick leave, workers are encouraged to exercise and undertake activities aimed at regaining control and functional recovery while job coaches actively support their search for (temporary) jobs. The content of the intervention is tailored to the severity of the psychological problems and functional impairments, as well as the specific psychosocial problems encountered by the sick-listed worker. The intervention study is designed as a quasi-randomized controlled clinical trial with a one-year follow-up and is being conducted in the Netherlands. The control group receives care as usual with minimal involvement of occupational health professionals. Outcomes are measured at baseline, and 4, 8 and 12 months after initiation of the program. The primary outcome measure is the duration of sick leave. Secondary outcome measures are: the proportion of subjects who returned to work at 8 and 12 months; the number of days of paid employment during the follow-up period; the degree of worker participation; the level of psychological complaints; and the self-efficacy for return to work. The cost

  14. Assessment of Aberdeen Proving Ground - Army Contracting Command, Contract Management Processes

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-04-11

    systems (2008). The Balance Scorecard approach is presented by Niven as “a carefully selected set of quantifiable measures derived from the ...areas of emphasis: the customer, internal processes, learning and growth and financial (Niven, 2003). Both public and private entities recognize the ...contract score card developed by Cullen looks further past the balance scorecard approach by assessing an organization’s contracted functions (2009

  15. Comorbidity structure of psychological disorders in the online e-PASS data as predictors of psychosocial adjustment measures: psychological distress, adequate social support, self-confidence, quality of life, and suicidal ideation.

    PubMed

    Al-Asadi, Ali M; Klein, Britt; Meyer, Denny

    2014-10-28

    A relative newcomer to the field of psychology, e-mental health has been gaining momentum and has been given considerable research attention. Although several aspects of e-mental health have been studied, 1 aspect has yet to receive attention: the structure of comorbidity of psychological disorders and their relationships with measures of psychosocial adjustment including suicidal ideation in online samples. This exploratory study attempted to identify the structure of comorbidity of 21 psychological disorders assessed by an automated online electronic psychological assessment screening system (e-PASS). The resulting comorbidity factor scores were then used to assess the association between comorbidity factor scores and measures of psychosocial adjustments (ie, psychological distress, suicidal ideation, adequate social support, self-confidence in dealing with mental health issues, and quality of life). A total of 13,414 participants were assessed using a complex online algorithm that resulted in primary and secondary Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition, Text Revision) diagnoses for 21 psychological disorders on dimensional severity scales. The scores on these severity scales were used in a principal component analysis (PCA) and the resulting comorbidity factor scores were related to 4 measures of psychosocial adjustments. A PCA based on 17 of the 21 psychological disorders resulted in a 4-factor model of comorbidity: anxiety-depression consisting of all anxiety disorders, major depressive episode (MDE), and insomnia; substance abuse consisting of alcohol and drug abuse and dependency; body image-eating consisting of eating disorders, body dysmorphic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorders; depression-sleep problems consisting of MDE, insomnia, and hypersomnia. All comorbidity factor scores were significantly associated with psychosocial measures of adjustment (P<.001). They were positively related to psychological distress and

  16. Comorbidity Structure of Psychological Disorders in the Online e-PASS Data as Predictors of Psychosocial Adjustment Measures: Psychological Distress, Adequate Social Support, Self-Confidence, Quality of Life, and Suicidal Ideation

    PubMed Central

    Klein, Britt; Meyer, Denny

    2014-01-01

    Background A relative newcomer to the field of psychology, e-mental health has been gaining momentum and has been given considerable research attention. Although several aspects of e-mental health have been studied, 1 aspect has yet to receive attention: the structure of comorbidity of psychological disorders and their relationships with measures of psychosocial adjustment including suicidal ideation in online samples. Objective This exploratory study attempted to identify the structure of comorbidity of 21 psychological disorders assessed by an automated online electronic psychological assessment screening system (e-PASS). The resulting comorbidity factor scores were then used to assess the association between comorbidity factor scores and measures of psychosocial adjustments (ie, psychological distress, suicidal ideation, adequate social support, self-confidence in dealing with mental health issues, and quality of life). Methods A total of 13,414 participants were assessed using a complex online algorithm that resulted in primary and secondary Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition, Text Revision) diagnoses for 21 psychological disorders on dimensional severity scales. The scores on these severity scales were used in a principal component analysis (PCA) and the resulting comorbidity factor scores were related to 4 measures of psychosocial adjustments. Results A PCA based on 17 of the 21 psychological disorders resulted in a 4-factor model of comorbidity: anxiety-depression consisting of all anxiety disorders, major depressive episode (MDE), and insomnia; substance abuse consisting of alcohol and drug abuse and dependency; body image–eating consisting of eating disorders, body dysmorphic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorders; depression–sleep problems consisting of MDE, insomnia, and hypersomnia. All comorbidity factor scores were significantly associated with psychosocial measures of adjustment (P<.001). They were

  17. Strategies and Lessons-Learned for the Successful Alignment of Contract Cost with the Contract Budget Base (CBB) within the First Year of Contract Award - 13154

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mullis, Jay; Rueter, Ken

    2013-07-01

    In order to provide a sound basis and foundation for integrated Project and Contract change management, it is imperative to ensure the alignment of the Negotiated Contract Costs (NCC) with the Contract Budget Base (CBB), where CBB is defined as the Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) plus Management Reserve (MR). The achievement of this alignment assures customer and contractor agreement on scope, requirements, quantities, schedule and cost, which facilitates the identification of change conditions and ultimate agreement on the value of changes to the NCC and the CBB. Delays in contract/CBB true up/reconciliation can negatively effect measurement of project progress, limitingmore » owner understanding of liability, and may result in increased contract disagreements and potential claims. The Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OR-EM) and URS - CH2M Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR) achieved alignment of the NCC with the CBB within 10 months of UCOR taking over work on the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) cleanup contract by: 1. Managing as a discrete project; 2. Establishing expectations and setting tone of interactions; 3. Using personnel experienced with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR); 4. Partnering; 5. Establishing ombudsmen. (authors)« less

  18. Duration of general practitioner contracts.

    PubMed

    Abelsen, Birgit; Gaski, Margrete; Brandstorp, Helen

    2015-12-01

    The regular GP scheme is intended to promote continuity in the relationship between doctor and patient. The duration of GP contracts is therefore a key factor in the success of the scheme. This study examines how long the GP contracts last and whether their duration varies according to doctors' gender and age, municipality size and list size. The study encompasses 7,359 GP contracts throughout Norway, entered into between municipalities and doctors in the period 1 May 2001 - 1 May 2014. Duration is measured as the time from which the contract was signed until its expiry or the end of the study period. The material was analysed with measures of central tendencies and dispersion, Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression. Median duration of a GP contract at the time of the study was 5.91 years. It varied between 2.75 years in the smallest municipalities and 8.37 years in the largest ones. The duration of a GP contract increased significantly if the doctor was a woman, or with the doctor's age at the start of the contract, increased municipality size and increased list size. If it is assumed that continuity in the doctor-patient relationship provides a qualitatively better GP service, the results indicate that patients in small municipalities are generally offered a lower-quality service than patients in large municipalities.

  19. Measuring Cross-Cultural Competence in Soldiers and Cadets: A Comparison of Existing Instruments

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-11-01

    Cracking the nonverbal code: Intercultural competence and gesture recognition across cultures . Journal of Cross - Cultural Psychology , 36, 380-395...Technical Report 1276 Measuring Cross - Cultural Competence in Soldiers and Cadets: A Comparison of Existing Instruments Allison Abbe U.S. Army...Final 3. DATES COVERED (from. . July 2008-August 2010 .to) 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMBER Measuring Cross - Cultural Competence

  20. Trust-based or performance-based management: a study of employment contracting in hospitals.

    PubMed

    Pettersen, Inger Johanne

    2011-01-01

    Hospitals are frequently changing managerial practices due to numerous public sector reforms taking place. In general, these reforms include the making and monitoring of contracts that regulate relations between the hospitals and their professional staffs. The aim of this paper is to discuss some main characteristics of the contracts that regulate the perceived relations between physicians as employees and the public hospital as employer. The theoretical framework is based on a contract theory approach. The empirical data is based on survey data from full-time employed physicians in the medical and surgical divisions in one of the largest university hospitals in Norway. This study shows that perceived obligations and psychological contracts indicate high degree of relational contracts between the hospital and the physicians. These socio-cultural elements should be recognized as important mechanisms of coordination and communication when policy makers and hospital managers are designing hospital management control systems. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  1. Treating the insomniac patient - General measures and psychological and pharmacological treatment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kales, A.; Bixler, E. O.; Kales, J. D.

    1975-01-01

    The general preliminary measures for treating insomnia include moderate physical exercise several hours before bedtime, and the relaxation of complex mental activity before bedtime. A case history concerning a woman with marital troubles is offered as evidence that insomnia may be caused by deeply rooted psychological and situational problems. Another case history illustrates how prior pharmacological treatment may complicate the process of clinically evaluating an insomniac.

  2. Instruments to measure behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia.

    PubMed

    van der Linde, Rianne M; Stephan, Blossom C M; Dening, Tom; Brayne, Carol

    2014-03-01

    Reliable and valid measurement of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) is important for research and clinical practice. Here we provide an overview of the different instruments and discuss issues involved in the choice of the most appropriate instrument to measure BPSD in research. A list of BPSD instruments was generated. For each instrument Pubmed and SCOPUS were searched for articles that reported on their use or quality. Eighty-three instruments that are used to measure BPSD were identified. Instruments differ in length and detail, whether the interview is with participants, informants or by observation, the target sample and the time frames for use. Reliability and validity is generally good, but reported in few independent samples. When choosing a BPSD instrument for research the research question should be carefully scrutinised and the symptoms of interest, population, quality, detail, time frame and practical issues should be considered. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  3. Measuring Chinese psychological well-being with Western developed instruments.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Jie; Norvilitis, Jill M

    2002-12-01

    We explored the possibility of applying 4 psychological scales developed and commonly used in the West to Chinese culture. The participants, 273 Chinese and 302 Americans, completed measures of self-esteem (Self-Esteem Scale; Rosenberg, 1965), depression (Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale; Radloff, 1977), social support (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support; Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, & Farley, 1988), and suicidal ideation (Scale for Suicide Ideation; Beck, Kovacs, & Weissman, 1979). All scales were found to be reliable and valid cross culturally. Comparative analyses suggest that gender differences on all 4 scales are smaller among the Chinese than the Americans. Americans were more likely to score higher on the socially desirable scales (self-esteem and social support) and lower on the socially undesirable scale (suicidal ideation). However, no cultural differences were found in this study on the measure of depression. Results suggest that, with a few considerations or potential modifications, the current measures could be used in Chinese culture.

  4. Myths and Misconceptions in Popular Psychology: Comparing Psychology Students and the General Public

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Furnham, Adrian; Hughes, David J.

    2014-01-01

    This study examined the prevalence of psychological myths and misconceptions among psychology students and within the general population. In total, 829 participants completed a 249-item questionnaire designed to measure a broad range of psychological myths. Results revealed that psychological myths and misconceptions are numerous and widely held.…

  5. Psychological Type of Person-Centered Counselors.

    PubMed

    Robbins, Mandy; Turley, Joanne

    2016-02-01

    There are various models and approaches to counseling and psychotherapy. Important characteristics of therapists include psychological type. This study aimed to investigate the psychological type profile of person-centered counselors. The psychological type of 85 counselors (63 women, 22 men) was measured with the Francis Psychological Type Scales (FPTS). Results indicate that the FPTS can reliably measure psychological type among counselors, and the most common psychological type was introvert, intuitive, feeling, and judging (INFJ). The relation of these psychological types with a person-centered approach is further discussed.

  6. Contract Audit Followup: Its Impact on Defense Contracting.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1983-12-01

    NOTES Contract Auditor Disposition of Contract Audit Reports Contracting Officer Independent Role of Contracting Officer Contract Audit Report Overaged...fundamental shift in the relationship between the contracting officer and contract auditor , strengthening the auditor’s role while eroding the...the indepen- .1 ident role of the contracting officer; (2) attracts unneces- sary attention to the contracting officer/ auditor relationship; (3) imposes

  7. 24 CFR 965.308 - Energy performance contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Energy performance contracts. 965... URBAN DEVELOPMENT PHA-OWNED OR LEASED PROJECTS-GENERAL PROVISIONS Energy Audits and Energy Conservation Measures § 965.308 Energy performance contracts. (a) Method of procurement. Energy performance contracting...

  8. 24 CFR 965.308 - Energy performance contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Energy performance contracts. 965... URBAN DEVELOPMENT PHA-OWNED OR LEASED PROJECTS-GENERAL PROVISIONS Energy Audits and Energy Conservation Measures § 965.308 Energy performance contracts. (a) Method of procurement. Energy performance contracting...

  9. 24 CFR 965.308 - Energy performance contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Energy performance contracts. 965... URBAN DEVELOPMENT PHA-OWNED OR LEASED PROJECTS-GENERAL PROVISIONS Energy Audits and Energy Conservation Measures § 965.308 Energy performance contracts. (a) Method of procurement. Energy performance contracting...

  10. 24 CFR 965.308 - Energy performance contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Energy performance contracts. 965... URBAN DEVELOPMENT PHA-OWNED OR LEASED PROJECTS-GENERAL PROVISIONS Energy Audits and Energy Conservation Measures § 965.308 Energy performance contracts. (a) Method of procurement. Energy performance contracting...

  11. 24 CFR 965.308 - Energy performance contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Energy performance contracts. 965... URBAN DEVELOPMENT PHA-OWNED OR LEASED PROJECTS-GENERAL PROVISIONS Energy Audits and Energy Conservation Measures § 965.308 Energy performance contracts. (a) Method of procurement. Energy performance contracting...

  12. A survey of job satisfaction, sources of stress and psychological symptoms among general practitioners in Leeds.

    PubMed Central

    Appleton, K; House, A; Dowell, A

    1998-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The past seven years have seen rapid changes in general practice in the United Kingdom (UK), commencing with the 1990 contract. During the same period, concern about the health and morale of general practitioners (GPs) has increased and a recruitment crisis has developed. AIM: To determine levels of psychological symptoms, job satisfaction, and subjective ill health in GPs and their relationship to practice characteristics, and to compare levels of job satisfaction since the introduction of the 1990 GP contract with those found before 1990. METHOD: Postal questionnaire survey of all GP principals on the Leeds Health Authority list. The main outcome measures included quantitative measures of practice characteristics, job satisfaction, mental health (General Health Questionnaire), and general physical health. Qualitative statements about work conditions, job satisfaction, and mental health were collected. RESULTS: A total of 285/406 GPs (70%) returned the questionnaires. One hundred and forty-eight (52%) scored 3 or more on the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), which indicates a high level of psychological symptoms. One hundred and sixty GPs (56%) felt that work had affected their recent physical health. Significant associations were found between GHQ-12 scores, total job satisfaction scores, and GPs' perceptions that work had affected their physical health. Problems with physical and mental health were associated with several aspects of workload, including list size, number of sessions worked per week, amount of time spent on call, and use of deputizing services. In the qualitative part of the survey, GPs reported overwork and excessive hours, paperwork and administration, recent National Health Service (NHS) changes, and the 1990 GP contract as the most stressful aspects of their work. CONCLUSIONS: Fifty-two per cent of GPs in Leeds who responded showed high levels of psychological symptoms. Job satisfaction was lower than in a national survey

  13. Attempting to Predict Withdrawal from Higher Education Using Demographic, Psychological and Educational Measures

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Charlton, John P.; Barrow, Corinne; Hornby-Atkinson, Pat

    2006-01-01

    Demographic, psychological and secondary level examination measures were obtained at the start of undergraduate courses in an attempt to predict first-year higher education (HE) withdrawal. As usual, withdrawal was greatest for males. Overall, intrinsic motivation and independent study expectations were better predictors of withdrawal than…

  14. Mathematical psychology.

    PubMed

    Batchelder, William H

    2010-09-01

    Mathematical psychology is a sub-field of psychology that started in the 1950s and has continued to grow as an important contributor to formal psychological theory, especially in the cognitive areas of psychology such as learning, memory, classification, choice response time, decision making, attention, and problem solving. In addition, there are several scientific sub-areas that were originated by mathematical psychologists such as the foundations of measurement, stochastic memory models, and psychologically motivated reformulations of expected utility theory. Mathematical psychology does not include all uses of mathematics and statistics in psychology, and indeed there is a long history of such uses especially in the areas of perception and psychometrics. What is most unique about mathematical psychology is its approach to theory construction. While accepting the behaviorist dictum that the data in psychology must be observable and replicable, mathematical models are specified in terms of unobservable formal constructs that can predict detailed aspects of data across multiple experimental and natural settings. By now almost all the substantive areas of cognitive and experimental psychology have formal mathematical models and theories, and many of these are due to researchers that identify with mathematical psychology. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. Measuring contraction propagation and localizing pacemaker cells using high speed video microscopy

    PubMed Central

    Akl, Tony J.; Nepiyushchikh, Zhanna V.; Gashev, Anatoliy A.; Zawieja, David C.; Coté, Gerard L.

    2011-01-01

    Previous studies have shown the ability of many lymphatic vessels to contract phasically to pump lymph. Every lymphangion can act like a heart with pacemaker sites that initiate the phasic contractions. The contractile wave propagates along the vessel to synchronize the contraction. However, determining the location of the pacemaker sites within these vessels has proven to be very difficult. A high speed video microscopy system with an automated algorithm to detect pacemaker location and calculate the propagation velocity, speed, duration, and frequency of the contractions is presented in this paper. Previous methods for determining the contractile wave propagation velocity manually were time consuming and subject to errors and potential bias. The presented algorithm is semiautomated giving objective results based on predefined criteria with the option of user intervention. The system was first tested on simulation images and then on images acquired from isolated microlymphatic mesenteric vessels. We recorded contraction propagation velocities around 10 mm∕s with a shortening speed of 20.4 to 27.1 μm∕s on average and a contraction frequency of 7.4 to 21.6 contractions∕min. The simulation results showed that the algorithm has no systematic error when compared to manual tracking. The system was used to determine the pacemaker location with a precision of 28 μm when using a frame rate of 300 frames per second. PMID:21361700

  16. Legislative recognition in France of psychological harassment at work.

    PubMed

    Graser, M; Manaouil, C; Verrier, A; Doutrellot-Phillipon, C; Jardé, O

    2003-01-01

    The recent French Law on Social Modernisation of 17 January 2002 introduced into the French Labour Code and into the French Criminal Code, the concept of "moral" harassment. The definition of psychological harassment under this law adopts quite a broad conception of the notion of psychological harassment. The legislator has established a means for "friendly" settlement of disputes: mediation. When it has not been possible to settle the dispute internally, the Courts have a number of sanctions available to them. The French Labour Code provides that any termination of the contract of employment resulting from a situation of psychological harassment is automatically null and void. Such nullification should therefore be applicable whatever the nature of the termination: dismissal, resignation or negotiated departure and it punishes psychological harassment at work by imprisonment for one year and a fine of 3,750 Euros. The French Criminal Code prescribes penalties of one year and 15,000 Euros.

  17. Applying quantum principles to psychology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Busemeyer, Jerome R.; Wang, Zheng; Khrennikov, Andrei; Basieva, Irina

    2014-12-01

    This article starts out with a detailed example illustrating the utility of applying quantum probability to psychology. Then it describes several alternative mathematical methods for mapping fundamental quantum concepts (such as state preparation, measurement, state evolution) to fundamental psychological concepts (such as stimulus, response, information processing). For state preparation, we consider both pure states and densities with mixtures. For measurement, we consider projective measurements and positive operator valued measurements. The advantages and disadvantages of each method with respect to applications in psychology are discussed.

  18. Concepts and Methods of Explicit Marital Negotiation Training with the Marriage Contract Game.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blechman, Elaine A.; Rabin, Claire

    1982-01-01

    Describes the Marriage Contract Game, designed to help couples negotiate relationship and task problems in an explicit, rational manner. Discusses the game's conceptual ties to modes of behavioral family intervention and to the social psychology of bargaining. Concludes with an example of the game's application to a distressed couple. (Author/JAC)

  19. [Elaboration and validation of a tool to measure psychological well-being: WBMMS].

    PubMed

    Massé, R; Poulin, C; Dassa, C; Lambert, J; Bélair, S; Battaglini, M A

    1998-01-01

    Psychological well-being scales used in epidemiologic surveys usually show high construct validity. The content validation, however, is less convincing since these scales rest on lists of items that reflect the theoretical model of the authors. In this study we present results of the construct and criterion validation of a new Well-Being Manifestations Measure Scale (WBMMS) founded on an initial list of manifestations derived from an original content validation in a general population. It is concluded that national and public health epidemiologic surveys should include both measures of positive and negative mental health.

  20. Psychological collectivism: a measurement validation and linkage to group member performance.

    PubMed

    Jackson, Christine L; Colquitt, Jason A; Wesson, Michael J; Zapata-Phelan, Cindy P

    2006-07-01

    The 3 studies presented here introduce a new measure of the individual-difference form of collectivism. Psychological collectivism is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct with the following 5 facets: preference for in-groups, reliance on in-groups, concern for in-groups, acceptance of in-group norms, and prioritization of in-group goals. Study 1 developed and tested the new measure in a sample of consultants. Study 2 cross-validated the measure using an alumni sample of a Southeastern university, assessing its convergent validity with other collectivism measures. Study 3 linked scores on the measure to 4 dimensions of group member performance (task performance, citizenship behavior, counterproductive behavior, and withdrawal behavior) in a computer software firm and assessed discriminant validity using the Big Five. The results of the studies support the construct validity of the measure and illustrate the potential value of collectivism as a predictor of group member performance. ((c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).

  1. Risks associated with tendinitis: effects from demographic, socioeconomic, and psychological status among Brazilian workers.

    PubMed

    Frazão, Paulo; Costa, Carla Maria; de Almeida, Márcia Furquim

    2010-01-01

    Self-reported tendinitis/tenosynovitis was evaluated by gender, age group, skin color, family income, and educational and psychological status. !The study was carried out in a representative sample of formally contracted Brazilian workers from a household survey. A total of 54,660 participants were included. Occupations were stratified according to estimated prevalences of self-reported injuries. Non-conditional logistic regression was performed, and all variables were analyzed in two occupational groups. The overall prevalence rate of tendinitis/tenosynovitis was 3.1%: 5.5% in high-prevalence occupations (n = 10,726); and 2.5% in low-prevalence occupations (n = 43,934). White female workers between the ages of 45 and 64 years and at a higher socioeconomic level were more likely to report tendinitis/tenosynovitis regardless of their occupational category. An adjusted OR = 3.59 [95% CI: 3.15--4.09] was found between tendinitis/tenosynovitis and psychological status. Among formally contracted Brazilian workers, higher income can imply greater physical and psychological demands that, regardless of occupational stratum, increase the risk of tendinitis/tenosynovitis. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  2. Exploiting the relationship between birefringence and force to measure airway smooth muscle contraction with PS-OCT (Conference Presentation)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Adams, David C.; Hariri, Lida P.; Holz, Jasmin A.; Szabari, Margit V.; Harris, R. Scott; Cho, Jocelyn L.; Hamilos, Daniel L.; Luster, Andrew D.; Medoff, Benjamin D.; Suter, Melissa J.

    2016-03-01

    The ability to observe airway dynamics is fundamental to forming a complete understanding of pulmonary diseases such as asthma. We have previously demonstrated that Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) can be used to observe structural changes in the airway during bronchoconstriction, but standard OCT lacks the contrast to discriminate airway smooth muscle (ASM) bands- ASM being responsible for generating the force that drives airway constriction- from the surrounding tissue. Since ASM in general exhibits a greater degree of birefringence than the surrounding tissue, a potential solution to this problem lies in the implementation of polarization sensitivity (PS) to the OCT system. By modifying the OCT system so that it is sensitive to the birefringence of tissue under inspection, we can visualize the ASM with much greater clarity and definition. In this presentation we show that the force of contraction can be indirectly measured by an associated increase in the birefringence signal of the ASM. We validate this approach by attaching segments of swine trachea to an isometric force transducer and stimulating contraction, while simultaneously measuring the exerted force and imaging the segment with PS-OCT. We then show how our results may be used to extrapolate the force of contraction of closed airways in absence of additional measurement devices. We apply this technique to assess ASM contractility volumetrically and in vivo, in both asthmatic and non-asthmatic human volunteers.

  3. Introduction to Psychology. Fourth Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kalat, James W.

    Chapters in this textbook for college students in introductory psychology courses are: (1) What is Psychology?; (2) Scientific Methods in Psychology; (3) Biological Psychology; (4) Sensation and Perception; (5) Altered States; (6) Learning; (7) Memory; (8) Cognition and Language; (9) Intelligence and Its Measurement; (10) Development; (11)…

  4. Happy software developers solve problems better: psychological measurements in empirical software engineering

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Xiaofeng; Abrahamsson, Pekka

    2014-01-01

    For more than thirty years, it has been claimed that a way to improve software developers’ productivity and software quality is to focus on people and to provide incentives to make developers satisfied and happy. This claim has rarely been verified in software engineering research, which faces an additional challenge in comparison to more traditional engineering fields: software development is an intellectual activity and is dominated by often-neglected human factors (called human aspects in software engineering research). Among the many skills required for software development, developers must possess high analytical problem-solving skills and creativity for the software construction process. According to psychology research, affective states—emotions and moods—deeply influence the cognitive processing abilities and performance of workers, including creativity and analytical problem solving. Nonetheless, little research has investigated the correlation between the affective states, creativity, and analytical problem-solving performance of programmers. This article echoes the call to employ psychological measurements in software engineering research. We report a study with 42 participants to investigate the relationship between the affective states, creativity, and analytical problem-solving skills of software developers. The results offer support for the claim that happy developers are indeed better problem solvers in terms of their analytical abilities. The following contributions are made by this study: (1) providing a better understanding of the impact of affective states on the creativity and analytical problem-solving capacities of developers, (2) introducing and validating psychological measurements, theories, and concepts of affective states, creativity, and analytical-problem-solving skills in empirical software engineering, and (3) raising the need for studying the human factors of software engineering by employing a multidisciplinary viewpoint

  5. Happy software developers solve problems better: psychological measurements in empirical software engineering.

    PubMed

    Graziotin, Daniel; Wang, Xiaofeng; Abrahamsson, Pekka

    2014-01-01

    For more than thirty years, it has been claimed that a way to improve software developers' productivity and software quality is to focus on people and to provide incentives to make developers satisfied and happy. This claim has rarely been verified in software engineering research, which faces an additional challenge in comparison to more traditional engineering fields: software development is an intellectual activity and is dominated by often-neglected human factors (called human aspects in software engineering research). Among the many skills required for software development, developers must possess high analytical problem-solving skills and creativity for the software construction process. According to psychology research, affective states-emotions and moods-deeply influence the cognitive processing abilities and performance of workers, including creativity and analytical problem solving. Nonetheless, little research has investigated the correlation between the affective states, creativity, and analytical problem-solving performance of programmers. This article echoes the call to employ psychological measurements in software engineering research. We report a study with 42 participants to investigate the relationship between the affective states, creativity, and analytical problem-solving skills of software developers. The results offer support for the claim that happy developers are indeed better problem solvers in terms of their analytical abilities. The following contributions are made by this study: (1) providing a better understanding of the impact of affective states on the creativity and analytical problem-solving capacities of developers, (2) introducing and validating psychological measurements, theories, and concepts of affective states, creativity, and analytical-problem-solving skills in empirical software engineering, and (3) raising the need for studying the human factors of software engineering by employing a multidisciplinary viewpoint.

  6. Objectively Measured Sedentary Behavior, Obesity, and Psychological Well-Being: A Cross-Sectional Study of Japanese Schoolchildren.

    PubMed

    Ishii, Kaori; Shibata, Ai; Adachi, Minoru; Mano, Yoshiyuki; Oka, Koichiro

    2017-04-01

    Sedentary behaviors (SB) are associated with health indicators; however, there are currently very few studies that have examined these associations, especially in conjunction with psychological factors, in children. The current study examined the independent relationship between objectively assessed SB, and indicators of obesity and psychological well-being, among Japanese children. A total of 967 elementary-school children completed a cross-sectional survey. SB was measured with accelerometers for 7 consecutive days. Psychological well-being data (eg, anxiety and behavior problems) were collected via a self-report questionnaire. To determine the relationship of SB with degree of obesity and psychological well-being, linear regression analyses were conducted to relate the indicators of obesity and psychological well-being on SB, adjusted by gender, grade, percentage of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day, duration spent wearing the accelerometer, and degree of obesity. SB was significantly related to behavioral/emotional problems (β = .280, P = .010, R 2 = .015). There was a statistically significant relationship between SB and anxiety (β = .206, P = .059, R 2 = .007). No significant association with degree of obesity was found. Excess SB relates higher levels of behavioral/emotional problems and anxiety. These results can inspire the development of interventions that promote well-being and enhance psychological health, by focusing on SB in Japanese children.

  7. Examining psychological inflexibility as a transdiagnostic process across psychological disorders

    PubMed Central

    Levin, Michael E.; MacLane, Chelsea; Daflos, Susan; Seeley, John; Hayes, Steven C.; Biglan, Anthony; Pistorello, Jacqueline

    2017-01-01

    The current cross-sectional study examined psychological inflexibility, a process in which behavior is rigidly guided by psychological reactions rather than direct contingencies or personal values, as a transdiagnostic process relevant to a range of depressive, anxiety, substance use and eating disorders. A sample of 972 first-year college students between 17 and 20 years of age completed self-report measures of psychological inflexibility and psychological distress as well as a structured diagnostic interview. Psychological inflexibility was significantly higher across a range of current and lifetime depressive and anxiety disorders as well as lifetime history of eating disorders, relative to students with no disorder, even after controlling for general psychological distress. Findings were mixed for substance use disorders, with a more consistent pattern for lifetime history than for current disorders. Psychological inflexibility was also related to having comorbid depressive, anxiety, and substance use disorders relative to only having one of these diagnoses. Results are discussed in relation to research on psychological inflexibility as a transdiagnostic pathological process and target for interventions. PMID:29057212

  8. Psychological impact and recovery after involvement in a patient safety incident: a repeated measures analysis.

    PubMed

    Van Gerven, Eva; Bruyneel, Luk; Panella, Massimiliano; Euwema, Martin; Sermeus, Walter; Vanhaecht, Kris

    2016-08-31

    To examine individual, situational and organisational aspects that influence psychological impact and recovery of a patient safety incident on physicians, nurses and midwives. Cross-sectional, retrospective surveys of physicians, midwives and nurses. 33 Belgian hospitals. 913 clinicians (186 physicians, 682 nurses, 45 midwives) involved in a patient safety incident. The Impact of Event Scale was used to retrospectively measure psychological impact of the safety incident at the time of the event and compare it with psychological impact at the time of the survey. Individual, situational as well as organisational aspects influenced psychological impact and recovery of a patient safety incident. Psychological impact is higher when the degree of harm for the patient is more severe, when healthcare professionals feel responsible for the incident and among female healthcare professionals. Impact of degree of harm differed across clinicians. Psychological impact is lower among more optimistic professionals. Overall, impact decreased significantly over time. This effect was more pronounced for women and for those who feel responsible for the incident. The longer ago the incident took place, the stronger impact had decreased. Also, higher psychological impact is related with the use of a more active coping and planning coping strategy, and is unrelated to support seeking coping strategies. Rendered support and a support culture reduce psychological impact, whereas a blame culture increases psychological impact. No associations were found with job experience and resilience of the health professional, the presence of a second victim support team or guideline and working in a learning culture. Healthcare organisations should anticipate on providing their staff appropriate and timely support structures that are tailored to the healthcare professional involved in the incident and to the specific situation of the incident. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For

  9. Health promotion, psychological distress, and disease prevention in the workplace: a cross-sectional study of Italian adults.

    PubMed

    Ramaci, Tiziana; Pellerone, Monica; Ledda, Caterina; Rapisarda, Venerando

    2017-01-01

    Job insecurity resulting from new types of employment contracts, together with organizational dynamics such as restructuring and internationalization, is emerging as an important source of organizational and individual stress, often transforming the workplace into a hostile and, above all, extremely demanding context from a psychological point of view. The aim of this study was to identify the possible relationships between individual and organizational dimensions of work (such as engagement, autonomy, personal and collective efficacy at work, and satisfaction) and their impact on stress levels. The survey involved 120 Italian workers: 72 females (60%) and 48 males (40%), with a mean age of 41.8 years ±7.31 years. The groups of participants were selected on the basis of employment contract type (traditional or atypical) to emphasize potential differences. The study was conducted using a set of self-administered questionnaires, including the Psychological Stress Measure and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. The data show that personal and collective efficacy at work correlates negatively with stress, which in turn correlates negatively with engagement and satisfaction. The results support the hypothesis that job insecurity could be considered a strong predictor of poor health. The study should be considered as a preliminary assessment prior to studies of broader interventions to increase quality of life.

  10. Arbitrary Metrics in Psychology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blanton, Hart; Jaccard, James

    2006-01-01

    Many psychological tests have arbitrary metrics but are appropriate for testing psychological theories. Metric arbitrariness is a concern, however, when researchers wish to draw inferences about the true, absolute standing of a group or individual on the latent psychological dimension being measured. The authors illustrate this in the context of 2…

  11. [Formula: see text]-Contraction in terms of measure of noncompactness with application for nonlinear integral equations.

    PubMed

    Nikbakhtsarvestani, Farzaneh; Vaezpour, S Mansour; Asadi, Mehdi

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, some new generalization of Darbo's fixed point theorem is proved by using a [Formula: see text]-contraction in terms of a measure of noncompactness. Our result extends to obtaining a common fixed point for a pair of compatible mappings. The paper contains an application for nonlinear integral equations as well.

  12. Does Cervical Muscular Contraction Affect the Measurement for Electroglottographic Perturbation Parameters?

    PubMed

    Hosokawa, Kiyohito; Ogawa, Makoto; Iwahashi, Toshihiko; Hashimoto, Michiko; Inohara, Hidenori

    2015-11-01

    The purpose was to assess whether cervical muscular contraction during phonation influences the period and amplitude perturbation quotients (PPQ and APQ, respectively) of electroglottographic (EGG) signals, and whether high-pass filtering can attenuate these effects. Prospective. We included 19 nondysphonic speakers and 21 patients with muscle tension dysphonia. During the recording of acoustic and EGG signals, each participant was instructed to naturally phonate sustained vowels /i:/ and /a:/ (NP tasks), and additionally, each nondysphonic participant was asked to phonate the same vowels in a nondysphonic voice quality while contracting the cervical muscles (muscular contracted phonation [MCP] tasks). To confirm the contraction, surface and needle electromyography (EMG) was performed. The EGG signals were high-pass filtered at different cutoff frequencies from 0 to 90 Hz and were subsequently analyzed for the PPQ and APQ. Compared with the NP tasks, the MCP tasks enhanced the cervical EMG activities ranging from 0 to more than 1000 Hz, but conferred only low-frequency noise to the EGG signals under 50 Hz and increased the values for EGG-APQ, but not EGG-PPQ. These EGG-APQ values exhibited gradual decreases after high-pass filtering with an increase in the cutoff frequency ranging from 0 to 50 Hz in both groups, followed by plateaus during the MCP tasks in the nondysphonic group. The present results demonstrate that cervical muscular contraction seriously affects the EGG-APQ values for unfiltered EGG signals independent of the EMG activities and that appropriate high-pass filtering over 50 Hz can attenuate these effects. Copyright © 2015 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. PHIT for Duty, a Personal Health Intervention Tool for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-04-01

    Award Number: W81XWH-11-2-0129 TITLE: PHIT for Duty, a Personal Health Intervention Tool for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury...TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER W81XWH-11-2-0129 PHIT for Duty, a Personal Health Intervention Tool for Psychological Health and Traumatic...health problems. PHIT for Duty integrates self-report and physiological sensor instruments to assess health status via brief weekly screening

  14. Contract Specialist Turnover Rate and Contract Management Maturity in the National Capital Region Contracting Center: An Analysis

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-12-01

    interviews with separating employees to obtain this information (Mathis & Jackson, 2003, pp. 90-91). Management should also measure the ‘internal churn rate...Sullivan, 2009). This is a measure of internal transfers from one department to others. High internal churn rates in particular areas may...contracting support and service throughout the National Capital Region” (CCE, 2009). Among other things, CCE provides telecommunication equipment and

  15. Measuring psychological trauma after spinal cord injury: Development and psychometric characteristics of the SCI-QOL Psychological Trauma item bank and short form

    PubMed Central

    Kisala, Pamela A.; Victorson, David; Pace, Natalie; Heinemann, Allen W.; Choi, Seung W.; Tulsky, David S.

    2015-01-01

    Objective To describe the development and psychometric properties of the SCI-QOL Psychological Trauma item bank and short form. Design Using a mixed-methods design, we developed and tested a Psychological Trauma item bank with patient and provider focus groups, cognitive interviews, and item response theory based analytic approaches, including tests of model fit, differential item functioning (DIF) and precision. Setting We tested a 31-item pool at several medical institutions across the United States, including the University of Michigan, Kessler Foundation, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, the University of Washington, Craig Hospital and the James J. Peters/Bronx Veterans Administration hospital. Participants A total of 716 individuals with SCI completed the trauma items Results The 31 items fit a unidimensional model (CFI=0.952; RMSEA=0.061) and demonstrated good precision (theta range between 0.6 and 2.5). Nine items demonstrated negligible DIF with little impact on score estimates. The final calibrated item bank contains 19 items Conclusion The SCI-QOL Psychological Trauma item bank is a psychometrically robust measurement tool from which a short form and a computer adaptive test (CAT) version are available. PMID:26010967

  16. A Developmental Examination of the Psychometric Properties and Predictive Utility of a Revised Psychological Self-Concept Measure for Preschool-Aged Children

    PubMed Central

    Jia, Rongfang; Lang, Sarah N.; Schoppe-Sullivan, Sarah J.

    2015-01-01

    Accurate assessment of psychological self-concept in early childhood relies on the development of psychometrically sound instruments. From a developmental perspective, the current study revised an existing measure of young children's psychological self-concepts, the Child Self-View Questionnaire (CSVQ, Eder, 1990), and examined its psychometric properties using a sample of preschool-aged children assessed at approximately 4 years old with a follow-up at age 5 (N = 111). The item compositions of lower-order dimensions were revised, leading to improved internal consistency. Factor Analysis revealed three latent psychological self-concept factors (i.e., Sociability, Control, and Assurance) from the lower-order dimensions. Measurement invariance by gender was supported for Sociability and Assurance, not for Control. Test-retest reliability was supported by stability of the psychological self-concept measurement model during the preschool years, although some evidence of increasing differentiation was obtained. Validity of children's scores on the three latent psychological self-concept factors was tested by investigating their concurrent associations with teacher-reported behavioral adjustment on the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Scale – Short Form (SCBE-SF, LaFreniere & Dumas, 1996). Children who perceived themselves as higher in Sociability at 5 years old displayed less internalizing behavior and more social competence; boys who perceived themselves as higher in Control at age 4 exhibited lower externalizing behavior; children higher in Assurance had greater social competence at age 4, but displayed more externalizing behavior at age 5. Implications relevant to the utility of the revised psychological self-concept measure are discussed. PMID:26098231

  17. [Measurement of unemployment-related psychological stress: Validation of the Unemployment Stress (USS)].

    PubMed

    Szabóné Kapuvári, Virág; Martos, Tamás

    2016-01-01

    Nowadays the theme of unemployment and the given answers of it are up to date questions in psychology. In spite of this fact, the psychological methods measuring this phenomenon are often missing. That is why the Unemployment Stress Scale (USS) is presented in this article. The aim of our study is to develop a scale called USS and test it's validity and reliability. There were 287 adult unemployed persons asked in this study. Besides the USS we used the Beck Depression Scale, the Spielberger Anxiety Scale (TRAIT), the Sense of Coherence Scale (Hungarian version) and the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale. According to our results, USS has showed an excellent criterion and construct validity. A useful scale has been formed according to test-retest results. (Cronbach-alfa: 0.88 and 0.86 according to the samples). Moreover our scale has a strong correlation with the Spielberger Anxiety Scale (TRAIT) and the Beck Depression Scale. These chracteristics of the new scale proved that we fond a factor, independent from the self esteem and the sense of coherence, which represents the stress level in the situation of unemployment. This scale is a professional construction to measure stress contributed to unemployment. The USS can be a useful scale in clinical practice because after measuring with this scale we can protect the personality of the unemployed by representing the actual unemployment stress level. That is why professionals can help earlier in a crisis like this.

  18. [Psychological harassment].

    PubMed

    Puech, Paloma; Pitcho, Benjamin

    2013-04-01

    Two types of harassment are distinguished: sexual and psychological. In the private sector, according to French labour laws and the penal code, psychological harassment is actionable. It is up to the employer to prove the absence of harassment. The sanctions incurred can be up to 5 years imprisonment and a 150,000 euro fine and various measures of compensation for damages can be envisaged.

  19. Relative importance of various measures of HIV-related stigma in predicting psychological outcomes among children affected by HIV

    PubMed Central

    Zhao, Guoxiang; Li, Xiaoming; Zhao, Junfeng; Zhang, Liying; Stanton, Bonita

    2011-01-01

    Objective To assess the relative importance of four different measures of HIV-related stigma in predicting psychological problems among children affected by HIV in rural China. Methods Cross-sectional data were collected from 755 orphans (i.e., children who lost one or both of their parents to HIV), 466 vulnerable children (children who were living with HIV-infected parents), and 404 comparison children who were from the same community and did not have HIV-related illness or death in their families. Four HIV-related stigma measures include perceived public stigma against people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), perceived public stigma against children affected by HIV (orphans and vulnerable children), personal stigmatizing attitudes against PLWHA, and enacted stigma among children affected by HIV. Psychological problems included depression and adjustment problems. Results Various measures of HIV-related stigma independently and differentially contribute to children psychological problems. Enacted stigma and children's perceived public stigma against PLWHA or children affected by HIV are generally stronger predictors of psychological problems than their own feelings or attitudes towards PLWHA. Conclusion Various aspects of HIV-related stigma are important for us to understand the perception, attitudes, and experience of children affected by HIV, including both children experiencing HIV-related parental illness and death in their own family and children who were living in the communities hardly hit by HIV. Future health promotion and psychological care efforts for children affected by HIV need to consider the effect of various forms of HIV-related stigma on these children's psychosocial well-being and mobilize the community resources to mitigate the negative effect of HIV-related stigma on PLWHA and their children. PMID:21681458

  20. Relative importance of various measures of HIV-related stigma in predicting psychological outcomes among children affected by HIV.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Guoxiang; Li, Xiaoming; Zhao, Junfeng; Zhang, Liying; Stanton, Bonita

    2012-06-01

    To assess the relative importance of four different measures of HIV-related stigma in predicting psychological problems among children affected by HIV in rural China. Cross-sectional data were collected from 755 orphans (i.e., children who lost one or both of their parents to HIV), 466 vulnerable children (children who were living with HIV-infected parents), and 404 comparison children who were from the same community and did not have HIV-related illness or death in their families. Four HIV-related stigma measures include perceived public stigma against people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), perceived public stigma against children affected by HIV (orphans and vulnerable children), personal stigmatizing attitudes against PLWHA, and enacted stigma among children affected by HIV. Psychological problems included depression and adjustment problems. Various measures of HIV-related stigma independently and differentially contribute to children's psychological problems. Enacted stigma and children's perceived public stigma against PLWHA or children affected by HIV are generally stronger predictors of psychological problems than their own feelings or attitudes towards PLWHA. Various aspects of HIV-related stigma are important for us to understand the perception, attitudes, and experience of children affected by HIV, including both children experiencing HIV-related parental illness and death in their own family and children who were living in the communities hardly hit by HIV. Future health promotion and psychological care efforts for children affected by HIV need to consider the effect of various forms of HIV-related stigma on these children's psychosocial well-being and mobilize the community resources to mitigate the negative effect of HIV-related stigma on PLWHA and their children.

  1. Stretch-induced contraction in pulmonary arteries.

    PubMed

    Kulik, T J; Evans, J N; Gamble, W J

    1988-12-01

    Stretch stimulates contraction of systemic blood vessels, but the response has not been described in pulmonary vessels. To determine whether pulmonary arteries contract when stretched, isolated cylindrical segments of pulmonary arteries were suspended between two parallel wires, stretched, and the active force was generated in response to stretch measured. Eighty-nine percent of segments from small (in situ diameter less than 1,000 microns) feline pulmonary arteries contracted when stretched, and in 65% of these the magnitude of stretch was related to the magnitude of contraction. Large (in situ diameter greater than or equal to 1,000 microns) feline pulmonary arteries did not contract with stretch. Multiple, rapidly repeated stretches resulted in a diminution of active force development. Stretch-induced contraction required external Ca2+ and was abolished by diltiazem (10 microns), but it was not affected by phenoxybenzamine, phentolamine, diethylcarbamazine, or mechanical removal of endothelium. Indomethacin blunted but did not abolish stretch-induced contraction, an effect that may have been nonspecific. This study suggests that stretch can act, probably directly, on smooth muscle in small feline pulmonary arteries to elicit contraction and that it may be a determinant of pulmonary vascular tone. In addition, feline pulmonary arteries are suitable for the in vitro study of stretch-induced contraction.

  2. Contraction design for small low-speed wind tunnels

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bell, James H.; Mehta, Rabindra D.

    1988-01-01

    An iterative design procedure was developed for two- or three-dimensional contractions installed on small, low-speed wind tunnels. The procedure consists of first computing the potential flow field and hence the pressure distributions along the walls of a contraction of given size and shape using a three-dimensional numerical panel method. The pressure or velocity distributions are then fed into two-dimensional boundary layer codes to predict the behavior of the boundary layers along the walls. For small, low-speed contractions it is shown that the assumption of a laminar boundary layer originating from stagnation conditions at the contraction entry and remaining laminar throughout passage through the successful designs if justified. This hypothesis was confirmed by comparing the predicted boundary layer data at the contraction exit with measured data in existing wind tunnels. The measured boundary layer momentum thicknesses at the exit of four existing contractions, two of which were 3-D, were found to lie within 10 percent of the predicted values, with the predicted values generally lower. From the contraction wall shapes investigated, the one based on a fifth-order polynomial was selected for installation on a newly designed mixing layer wind tunnel.

  3. Contraction design for small low-speed wind tunnels

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bell, James H.; Mehta, Rabindra D.

    1988-01-01

    An iterative design procedure was developed for 2- or 3-dimensional contractions installed on small, low speed wind tunnels. The procedure consists of first computing the potential flow field and hence the pressure distributions along the walls of a contraction of given size and shape using a 3-dimensional numerical panel method. The pressure or velocity distributions are then fed into 2-dimensional boundary layer codes to predict the behavior of the boundary layers along the walls. For small, low speed contractions, it is shown that the assumption of a laminar boundary layer originating from stagnation conditions at the contraction entry and remaining laminar throughout passage through the successful designs is justified. This hypothesis was confirmed by comparing the predicted boundary layer data at the contraction exit with measured data in existing wind tunnels. The measured boundary layer momentum thicknesses at the exit of four existing contractions, two of which were 3-D, were found to lie within 10 percent of the predicted values, with the predicted values generally lower. From the contraction wall shapes investigated, the one based on a 5th order polynomial was selected for newly designed mixing wind tunnel installation.

  4. The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale as a Positive Psychology Measure for People with Spinal Cord Injuries

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fujikawa, Mayu; Lee, Eun-Jeong; Chan, Fong; Catalano, Denise; Hunter, Celeste; Bengtson, Kevin; Rahimi, Maryam

    2013-01-01

    The main objective of this study is to evaluate the measurement structure of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) as a positive psychology measure for people with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) using confirmatory factor analysis. The participants consisted of 274 Canadians with SCI living in the community. The result indicated that the…

  5. Intra and interobserver variability of intrapartum transperineal ultrasound measurements with contraction and pushing.

    PubMed

    Sainz, José A; Fernández-Palacín, Ana; Borrero, Carlota; Aquise, Adriana; Ramos, Zenaida; García-Mejido, José A

    2018-04-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the inter- and intraobserver correlation of the different intrapartum-transperineal-ultrasound-parameters(ITU) (angle of progression (AoP), progression-distance (PD), head-direction (HD), midline-angle (MLA) and head-perineum distance (HPD)) with contraction and pushing. We evaluated 28 nulliparous women at full dilatation under epidural analgesia. We performed a transperineal ultrasound evaluating AoP and PD in the longitudinal plane, and MLA and HPD in the transverse plane. Interclass correlation coefficients (ICC) with 95% CIs and Bland-Altman analysis were used to assess intra- and interobserver measurement's repeatability. The ICC of the ITU for the same observer was adequate for all the parameters (p < .005) AoP 0.98 (95%CI, 0.96-0.99), PD 0.98 (95%CI, 0.97-0.99), MLA 0.99 (95%CI, 0.97-0.99), HPD 0.96 (95%CI, 0.88-0.99). The ICC of the ITU for interobserver was: AoP 0.93 (95%CI, 0.79-0.98), PD 0.92 (95%CI, 0.76-0.97), MLA 0.77 (95%CI, 0.42-0.92), HPD 0.47 (95%CI, -0.12-0.8). The HD had an interobserver correlation of 0.53 (95%CI, 0.1-0.9) (Kappa C). The mean difference of the AoP was 2.42°, of the PD 1 mm and 0.28° MLA (Bland-Altman test). ITU has an adequate intra- and interobserver correlation for its use with contraction and pushing under epidural analgesia. Impact statement What is already known on this subject: The intrapartum transperineal ultrasound parameters can be used with contraction and pushing under epidural analgesia. What the results of this study add to what we know: ITU may be used to evaluate the difficulty of instrumental delivery/to evaluate the difficulty of instrumentation in vaginal operative deliveries and this study concludes that ITU is reproducible during uterine contraction with pushing. What the implications are of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research: Therefore, ITU could be used without difficulty with an adequate intra- and interobserver correlation for the

  6. Validation of a scale to measure parental psychological empowerment in the vaccination decision.

    PubMed

    Marta, Fadda; Elisa, Galimberti; Luisa, Romanò; Marino, Faccini; Sabrina, Senatore; Alessandro, Zanetti; Peter J, Schulz

    2017-09-21

    Parents' empowerment is advocated to promote and preserve an informed and autonomous decision regarding their children' immunization. The scope of this study is to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of an instrument to measure parents' psychological empowerment in their children's vaccination decision and propose a context-specific definition of this construct. Grounding in previous qualitative data, we generated an initial pool of items which was later content and face validated by a panel of experts. A pretest allowed us to reduce the initial pool to 9 items. Convergent and discriminant validity measures included the General Self-Efficacy Scale, a Psychological Empowerment Scale, and the Control Preference Scale. Vaccination-related outcomes such as attitude and intention were also included. Principal Component Analysis revealed a 2-factor structure, with each factor composed of 2 items. The first factor concerns the perceived influence of one's personal and family experience with vaccination, while the second factor represents the desire not to ask other parents about their experience with vaccination and their lack of interest in other parents' vaccination opinion. In light of its association with positive immunization-related outcomes, public health efforts should be directed to reinforce parents' empowerment.

  7. Measuring Memory Reactivation With Functional MRI: Implications for Psychological Theory.

    PubMed

    Levy, Benjamin J; Wagner, Anthony D

    2013-01-01

    Environmental cues often remind us of earlier experiences by triggering the reactivation of memories of events past. Recent evidence suggests that memory reactivation can be observed using functional MRI and that distributed pattern analyses can even provide evidence of reactivation on individual trials. The ability to measure memory reactivation offers unique and powerful leverage on theoretical issues of long-standing interest in cognitive psychology, providing a means to address questions that have proven difficult to answer with behavioral data alone. In this article, we consider three instances. First, reactivation measures can indicate whether memory-based inferences (i.e., generalization) arise through the encoding of integrated cross-event representations or through the flexible expression of separable event memories. Second, online measures of memory reactivation may inform theories of forgetting by providing information about when competing memories are reactivated during competitive retrieval situations. Finally, neural reactivation may provide a window onto the role of replay in memory consolidation. The ability to track memory reactivation, including at the individual trial level, provides unique leverage that is not afforded by behavioral measures and thus promises to shed light on such varied topics as generalization, integration, forgetting, and consolidation. © The Author(s) 2013.

  8. Validating a Psychology as a Helping Profession Scale

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gervasio, Amy Herstein; Wendorf, Craig A.; Yoder, Natalie F.

    2010-01-01

    We developed an 11-item Psychology as a Helping Profession (PHP) scale that measured aspects of personal growth/helping skills and applied helping. The scale was only weakly correlated with Friedrich's (1996) Psychology as Science (PAS) scale, implying that the 2 scales measure different conceptions of the nature of psychology. Psychology majors…

  9. 48 CFR 1335.006 - Contracting methods and contract type.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF CONTRACTING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CONTRACTING 1335.006 Contracting methods and... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contracting methods and... research services under the contract might involve the use of human subjects. The provision is mandatory...

  10. The importance of risk-aversion as a measurable psychological parameter governing risk-taking behaviour

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thomas, P. J.

    2013-09-01

    A utility function with risk-aversion as its sole parameter is developed and used to examine the well-known psychological phenomenon, whereby risk averse people adopt behavioural strategies that are extreme and apparently highly risky. The pioneering work of the psychologist, John W. Atkinson, is revisited, and utility theory is used to extend his mathematical model. His explanation of the psychology involved is improved by regarding risk-aversion not as a discrete variable with three possible states: risk averse, risk neutral and risk confident, but as continuous and covering a large range. A probability distribution is derived, the "motivational density", to describe the process of selecting tasks of different degrees of difficulty. An assessment is then made of practicable methods for measuring risk-aversion.

  11. Measuring Knowledge of Introductory Psychology: What Are the Relevant Constructs?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Milewski, Glenn B.; Patelis, Thanos

    The 1999 Advanced Placement[R] (AP[R] Psychology Examination contains items drawn from 13 factors related to the study of psychology. This factor structure had not been explored previously. This study focuses on evaluating the fit of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models to examination items. Since examination items were dichotomous and…

  12. "You Can See How Things Will End by the Way They Begin": The Contribution of Early Mutual Obligations for the Development of the Psychological Contract.

    PubMed

    Farnese, Maria Luisa; Livi, Stefano; Barbieri, Barbara; Schalk, René

    2018-01-01

    This study explores dynamic processes in the development of the psychological contract, focusing on the interaction of obligations related to the two parties (i.e., employees' perceptions of both their own and the organization's obligations fulfillment) on attitudinal outcomes (organizational commitment and turnover intention) during the initial stage of the employment relationship. In a twofold cross-sectional and two-wave study on newly hired correctional police officers, we examined: (a) whether perception of organizational obligations fulfillment moderates the relationship between employee obligations and their attitudes (Study 1, n.500); (b) the direct and moderated influence of perceived obligations at the entrance stage on those in the following months (Study 2, n.223). Results confirmed that, in the eyes of the newcomer, the obligations fulfillment of each of the two parties interact, having an additional effect beyond the main direct effects, in influencing both subsequent obligations perceptions and, through this, the outcome variables. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

  13. 42 CFR 434.6 - General requirements for all contracts and subcontracts. P>(a) Contracts. All contracts under...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false General requirements for all contracts and subcontracts. P>(a) Contracts. All contracts under this part must include all of the following: 434.6 Section... contracts and subcontracts.P>(a) Contracts. All contracts under this part must include all of the following...

  14. Teaching Contracts with Contracts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Misner, Robert L.

    1977-01-01

    The teaching of contracts law is an area that lends itself easily to introducing students to realistic factual situations. An exercise is described in which students were assigned to separate "firms" with volunteers from the later law school classes as clients. Each firm was responsible for submitting a signed contract and an accompanying paper.…

  15. 23 CFR 635.121 - Contract time and contract time extensions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... TRAFFIC OPERATIONS CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE Contract Procedures § 635.121 Contract time and contract time extensions. (a) The STD should have adequate written procedures for the determination of contract... 23 Highways 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Contract time and contract time extensions. 635.121...

  16. The Goldilocks contract: The synergistic benefits of combining structure and autonomy for persistence, creativity, and cooperation.

    PubMed

    Chou, Eileen Y; Halevy, Nir; Galinsky, Adam D; Murnighan, J Keith

    2017-09-01

    Contracts are commonly used to regulate a wide range of interactions and relationships. Yet relying on contracts as a mechanism of control often comes at a cost to motivation. Integrating theoretical perspectives from psychology, economics, and organizational theory, we explore this control-motivation dilemma inherent in contracts and present the Contract-Autonomy-Motivation-Performance-Structure (CAMPS) model, which highlights the synergistic benefits of combining structure and autonomy. The model proposes that subtle reductions in the specificity of a contract's language can boost autonomy, which increases intrinsic motivation and improves a range of desirable behaviors. Nine field and laboratory experiments found that less specific contracts increased task persistence, creativity, and cooperation, both immediately and longitudinally, because they boosted autonomy and intrinsic motivation. These positive effects, however, only occurred when contracts provided sufficient structure. Furthermore, the effects were limited to control-oriented clauses (i.e., legal clauses), and did not extend to coordination-oriented clauses (i.e., technical clauses). That is, there were synergistic benefits when a contract served as a scaffold that combined structure with general clauses. Overall, the current model and experiments identify a low-cost solution to the common problem of regulating social relationships: finding the right amount of contract specificity promotes desirable outcomes, including behaviors that are notoriously difficult to contract. The CAMPS model and the current set of empirical findings explain why, when, and how contracts can be used as an effective motivational tool. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  17. Health promotion, psychological distress, and disease prevention in the workplace: a cross-sectional study of Italian adults

    PubMed Central

    Ramaci, Tiziana; Pellerone, Monica; Ledda, Caterina; Rapisarda, Venerando

    2017-01-01

    Background Job insecurity resulting from new types of employment contracts, together with organizational dynamics such as restructuring and internationalization, is emerging as an important source of organizational and individual stress, often transforming the workplace into a hostile and, above all, extremely demanding context from a psychological point of view. Materials and methods The aim of this study was to identify the possible relationships between individual and organizational dimensions of work (such as engagement, autonomy, personal and collective efficacy at work, and satisfaction) and their impact on stress levels. The survey involved 120 Italian workers: 72 females (60%) and 48 males (40%), with a mean age of 41.8 years ±7.31 years. The groups of participants were selected on the basis of employment contract type (traditional or atypical) to emphasize potential differences. The study was conducted using a set of self-administered questionnaires, including the Psychological Stress Measure and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Results The data show that personal and collective efficacy at work correlates negatively with stress, which in turn correlates negatively with engagement and satisfaction. The results support the hypothesis that job insecurity could be considered a strong predictor of poor health. Conclusion The study should be considered as a preliminary assessment prior to studies of broader interventions to increase quality of life. PMID:28860882

  18. A Measurement of AFIT Contracting and Acquisition Management Program Usefulness as Perceived by Graduates and Their Supervisors.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1982-09-01

    21 functions. The legal category covers the business, commer- cial and contract law fields, including patents and royalties, technical data, claims...Course Rankings Question # Subject Area Median Rank 55,56,59 Contract Management Theory 7.0 1 53,54 Contract Law 6.5 2 So Contracting & Acquis. Mgt...respondents ranked Contract Management Theory as the most useful course among all courses in the AFIT CAM curriculum. Graduates ranked Contract Law as

  19. Comparison of the Validity of Four Fall-Related Psychological Measures in a Community-Based Falls Risk Screening

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, Delilah S.; Ellis, Rebecca; Kosma, Maria; Fabre, Jennifer M.; McCarter, Kevin S.; Wood, Robert H.

    2011-01-01

    We examined the measurement properties of fall-related psychological instruments with a sample of 133 older adults (M age = 74.4 years, SD = 9.4). Measures included the Comprehensive Falls Risk Screening Instrument, Falls-efficacy Scale-International (FES-I), Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC), modified Survey of Activities and Fear of…

  20. Relational Contract: Applicable to Department of Defense Contracts

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1989-12-01

    examine the evolution of contract law and, in particular, the role of contractual incompleteness in exchange relationships. 2.1.1. The Classical Approach...Classical contract law facilitates exchange by separately detailing all aspects of the contracting process 9 at the outset by prespecification of all...modifications after contractual performance has begun. According to Williamson (1979), classical contract law implements prespecification through legal

  1. Placebo and Nocebo Effects: The Advantage of Measuring Expectations and Psychological Factors

    PubMed Central

    Corsi, Nicole; Colloca, Luana

    2017-01-01

    Several studies have explored the predictability of placebo and nocebo individual responses by investigating personality factors and expectations of pain decreases and increases. Psychological factors such as optimism, suggestibility, empathy and neuroticism have been linked to placebo effects, while pessimism, anxiety and catastrophizing have been associated to nocebo effects. We aimed to investigate the interplay between psychological factors, expectations of low and high pain and placebo hypoalgesia and nocebo hyperalgesia. We studied 46 healthy participants using a well-validated conditioning paradigm with contact heat thermal stimulations. Visual cues were presented to alert participants about the level of intensity of an upcoming thermal pain. We delivered high, medium and low levels of pain associated with red, yellow and green cues, respectively, during the conditioning phase. During the testing phase, the level of painful stimulations was surreptitiously set at the medium control level with all the three cues to measure placebo and nocebo effects. We found both robust placebo hypolagesic and nocebo hyperalgesic responses that were highly correlated with expectancy of low and high pain. Simple linear regression analyses showed that placebo responses were negatively correlated with anxiety severity and different aspects of fear of pain (e.g., medical pain, severe pain). Nocebo responses were positively correlated with anxiety sensitivity and physiological suggestibility with a trend toward catastrophizing. Step-wise regression analyses indicated that an aggregate score of motivation (value/utility and pressure/tense subscales) and suggestibility (physiological reactivity and persuadability subscales), accounted for the 51% of the variance in the placebo responsiveness. When considered together, anxiety severity, NEO openness-extraversion and depression accounted for the 49.1% of the variance of the nocebo responses. Psychological factors per se did not

  2. Contraction coupling efficiency of human first dorsal interosseous muscle.

    PubMed

    Jubrias, Sharon A; Vollestad, Nina K; Gronka, Rod K; Kushmerick, Martin J

    2008-04-01

    During working contractions, chemical energy in the form of ATP is converted to external work. The efficiency of this conversion, called 'contraction coupling efficiency', is calculated by the ratio of work output to energy input from ATP splitting. Experiments on isolated muscles and permeabilized fibres show the efficiency of this conversion has a wide range, 0.2-0.7. We measured the work output in contractions of a single human hand muscle in vivo and of the ATP cost of that work to calculate the contraction coupling efficiency of the muscle. Five subjects performed six bouts of rapid voluntary contractions every 1.5 s for 42 s (28 contractions, each with time to peak force < 150 ms). The bouts encompassed a 7-fold range of workloads. The ATP cost during work was quantified by measuring the extent of chemical changes within the muscle from (31)P magnetic resonance spectra. Contraction coupling efficiency was determined as the slope of paired measurements of work output and ATP cost at the five graded work loads. The results show that 0.68 of the chemical energy available from ATP splitting was converted to external work output. A plausible mechanism to account for this high value is a substantially lower efficiency for mitochondrial ATP synthesis. The method described here can be used to analyse changes in the overall efficiency determined from oxygen consumption during exercise that can occur in disease or with age, and to test the hypothesis that such changes are due to reduced contraction coupling efficiency.

  3. Mechanical and optical characteristics of a new fiber optical system used for cardiac contraction measurement.

    PubMed

    Kloppe, A; Hoeland, K; Müller, S; Hexamer, M; Nowack, G; Mügge, A; Werner, J

    2004-10-01

    In order to obtain a better physiological performance and a closer restoration of the regular rhythm of failing hearts, a new fiber optical sensor system for the measurement of cardiac contraction has been developed. It consists of an opto-electrical unit and a sensing fiber which has to be positioned in the heart. The objective of this new fiber optic sensor system is to use the inotropic information to adjust a stimulation algorithm in single or multichamber pacing or to detect arrhythmia in insufficient heart function. In this study, the mechanical and optical characteristics of different fibers are investigated. The relationship between the attenuation (with an achieved numerical maximum of 0.3 dB), the bending diameter and the angle of bending is determined in a range of 20-160 mm. The most suitable fiber for the application in cardiological problems is determined (WT8 fiber), for which the sensitivity is analyzed. Additionally, power spectra are calculated from WT8 fiber signals obtained from pig hearts, working under physiological conditions. The maximal frequency response was 23 Hz. It is concluded that the fiber optical measurement of cardiac contraction is not only feasible and reproducible, but the WT8 fiber also shows optimal behavior in the range of parameters occurring in the heart chambers. Nevertheless, in order to restrict the measured signal reliably to bending processes within the chambers only, it is concluded that a special combined fiber has to be constructed with a high sensitivity only at its terminal section within the heart.

  4. The Meaning of Validity in the New "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing": Implications for Measurement Courses.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goodwin, Laura D.; Leech, Nancy L.

    2003-01-01

    The treatment of validity in the newest edition of "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing" is quite different from coverage in earlier editions of the Standards and in most measurement textbooks. The view of validity in the 1999 Standards is discussed, and suggestions for instructors of measurement courses are offered. (Contains 56…

  5. Comparison of the efficiency of rat papillary muscles during afterloaded isotonic contractions and contractions with sinusoidal length changes.

    PubMed

    Mellors, L J; Gibbs, C L; Barclay, C J

    2001-05-01

    The results of previous studies suggest that the maximum mechanical efficiency of rat papillary muscles is lower during a contraction protocol involving sinusoidal length changes than during one involving afterloaded isotonic contractions. The aim of this study was to compare directly the efficiency of isolated rat papillary muscle preparations in isotonic and sinusoidal contraction protocols. Experiments were performed in vitro (27 degrees C) using left ventricular papillary muscles from adult rats. Each preparation performed three contraction protocols: (i) low-frequency afterloaded isotonic contractions (10 twitches at 0.2 Hz), (ii) sinusoidal length change contractions with phasic stimulation (40 twitches at 2 Hz) and (iii) high-frequency afterloaded isotonic contractions (40 twitches at 2 Hz). The first two protocols resembled those used in previous studies and the third combined the characteristics of the first two. The parameters for each protocol were adjusted to those that gave maximum efficiency. For the afterloaded isotonic protocols, the afterload was set to 0.3 of the maximum developed force. The sinusoidal length change protocol incorporated a cycle amplitude of +/-5% resting length and a stimulus phase of -10 degrees. Measurements of force output, muscle length change and muscle temperature change were used to calculate the work and heat produced during and after each protocol. Net mechanical efficiency was defined as the proportion of the energy (enthalpy) liberated by the muscle that appeared as work. The efficiency in the low-frequency, isotonic contraction protocol was 21.1+/-1.4% (mean +/- s.e.m., N=6) and that in the sinusoidal protocol was 13.2+/-0.7%, consistent with previous results. This difference was not due to the higher frequency or greater number of twitches because efficiency in the high-frequency, isotonic protocol was 21.5+/-1.0%. Although these results apparently confirm that efficiency is protocol-dependent, additional experiments

  6. Social contract and social integration in adolescent development.

    PubMed

    Hilles, W S; Kahle, L R

    1985-10-01

    Eighty-nine subjects from two high schools were tested during the spring of their sophomore and senior years, when their mean ages were 16 years, 1 month, and 18 years, 1 month, respectively. Composites measured social contract with: (a) independence, (b) implicit social contract, societal norms and expectations, and (c) explicit social contracts, rules. Composites and single items measured social integration with: (d) role commitment, (e) social-American Dream, accepting the belief in the American Dream that hard work would lead to social success, (f) self-American Dream, belief that hard work will produce personal satisfaction and success, (g) raw deal, perceptions of being treated unfairly, (h) self-blame, and (i) feelings of hopelessness. The results of the cross-lagged panel correlations generally support the hypothesis that students respond to implicit social contracts through role commitment, which is further expressed by a belief in the American Dream for social fulfillment, while responding to the perception of explicit social contracts by not believing in the benefits of the American Dream for personal fulfillment. These results were interpreted as supporting Dienstbier's theory of moral development.

  7. “You Can See How Things Will End by the Way They Begin”: The Contribution of Early Mutual Obligations for the Development of the Psychological Contract

    PubMed Central

    Farnese, Maria Luisa; Livi, Stefano; Barbieri, Barbara; Schalk, René

    2018-01-01

    This study explores dynamic processes in the development of the psychological contract, focusing on the interaction of obligations related to the two parties (i.e., employees’ perceptions of both their own and the organization’s obligations fulfillment) on attitudinal outcomes (organizational commitment and turnover intention) during the initial stage of the employment relationship. In a twofold cross-sectional and two-wave study on newly hired correctional police officers, we examined: (a) whether perception of organizational obligations fulfillment moderates the relationship between employee obligations and their attitudes (Study 1, n.500); (b) the direct and moderated influence of perceived obligations at the entrance stage on those in the following months (Study 2, n.223). Results confirmed that, in the eyes of the newcomer, the obligations fulfillment of each of the two parties interact, having an additional effect beyond the main direct effects, in influencing both subsequent obligations perceptions and, through this, the outcome variables. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. PMID:29719521

  8. Measuring psychological resilience to disasters: are evidence-based indicators an achievable goal?

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Despite rising interest on the concept of societal resilience and its measurement, little has been done to provide operational indicators. Importantly, an evidence-based approach to assess the suitability of indicators remains unexplored. Furthermore few approaches that exist do not investigate indicators of psychological resilience, which is emerging as an important component of societal resilience to disasters. Disasters are events which overwhelm local capacities, often producing human losses, injury and damage to the affected communities. As climate hazards and disasters are likely to increase in the coming decades, strengthening the capacity of societies to withstand these shocks and recover quickly is vital. In this review, we search the Web of Knowledge to summarize the evidence on indicators of psychological resilience to disasters and provided a qualitative assessment of six selected studies. We find that an evidence-based approach using features from systematic reviews is useful to compile, select and assess the evidence and elucidate robust indicators. We conclude that strong social support received after a disaster is associated with an increased psychological resilience whereas a female gender is connected with a decrease in the likelihood of a resilient outcome. These results are consistent across disaster settings and cultures and are representative of approximately 13 million disaster-exposed civilians of adult age. An approach such as this that collects and evaluates evidence will allow indicators of resilience to be much more revealing and useful in the future. They will provide a robust basis to prioritize indicators to act upon through intersectoral policies and post-disaster public health interventions. PMID:24359448

  9. Surrogacy and Shakespeare: the Merchant's contract revisited.

    PubMed

    La Puma, J; Schiedermayer, D L; Grover, J

    1989-01-01

    Despite measures intended to assure that adequate information, reasonable understanding, and willing participation are involved in surrogacy contracts, questions of economic coercion remain for surrogate mothers. Surrogate contracts have been voided in several states. Nevertheless, obstetricians may be caught between their wish to help the infertile couple desirous of a baby through surrogacy and the ethical and legal questions about the use of surrogacy as a medical treatment. Obstetricians should not be placed in the position of Portia in The Merchant of Venice, that of an arbiter of an unethical contract. Obstetricians should not prescribe or acknowledge surrogacy as a medical treatment and should not knowingly participate in contracts that lead to surrogate pregnancy.

  10. Psychological Literacy Weakly Differentiates Students by Discipline and Year of Enrolment.

    PubMed

    Heritage, Brody; Roberts, Lynne D; Gasson, Natalie

    2016-01-01

    Psychological literacy, a construct developed to reflect the types of skills graduates of a psychology degree should possess and be capable of demonstrating, has recently been scrutinized in terms of its measurement adequacy. The recent development of a multi-item measure encompassing the facets of psychological literacy has provided the potential for improved validity in measuring the construct. We investigated the known-groups validity of this multi-item measure of psychological literacy to examine whether psychological literacy could predict (a) students' course of enrolment and (b) students' year of enrolment. Five hundred and fifteen undergraduate psychology students, 87 psychology/human resource management students, and 83 speech pathology students provided data. In the first year cohort, the reflective processes (RPs) factor significantly predicted psychology and psychology/human resource management course enrolment, although no facets significantly differentiated between psychology and speech pathology enrolment. Within the second year cohort, generic graduate attributes (GGAs) and RPs differentiated psychology and speech pathology course enrolment. GGAs differentiated first-year and second-year psychology students, with second-year students more likely to have higher scores on this factor. Due to weak support for known-groups validity, further measurement refinements are recommended to improve the construct's utility.

  11. Psychology of the scientist: LXXXI. Professional school and traditional program graduates: comparison on measures of achievement in clinical psychology.

    PubMed

    Templer, D I; Tomeo, M E; Pointkowski, S R; Mitroff, D; Niederhauser, R N; Siscoe, K

    2000-06-01

    Clinical psychologists who graduated from traditional programs and those who graduated from professional schools were compared on both scientifically and professionally oriented criteria of achievement and recognition. Upon controlling for year of graduation from a doctoral program, the professional school graduates were less likely to be APA fellows, less likely to be on the editorial board of specified research oriented journals in clinical psychology, less likely to have diplomate status in the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP), less likely to have been president of state psychological associations, and less likely to have been APPIC internship directors.

  12. The measurement of psychological constructs in people with osteoarthritis of the knee: a psychometric evaluation.

    PubMed

    Lincoln, Nadina; Moreton, Bryan; Turner, Katie; Walsh, David

    2017-02-01

    Purpose To examine the measurement properties of measures of psychological constructs in people with knee osteoarthritis. Method Participants with osteoarthritis of the knee completed the beck depression inventory (BDI-II), state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI), arthritis helplessness index (AHI), fatigue severity scale (FSS), coping strategies questionnaire (CSQ), beliefs about pain control questionnaire (BPCQ), illness perceptions questionnaire-revised (IPQ-R), pain self-efficacy questionnaire (PSEQ) at home as part of a set of measures covering different aspects of osteoarthritis pain. The questionnaires were returned by pre-paid envelope. Rasch analysis was used to check the psychometric properties of the scales in people with osteoarthritis. Results The STAI-SF was an acceptable measure of anxiety and the revised FSS an acceptable measure of fatigue, with removal of items 1 and 2. The BDI subscales were acceptable for measuring negative thoughts and behaviours related to depressive symptomatology with some modifications to the scale. The helplessness scale of the AHI was acceptable as a measure of helplessness. The PSEQ was an acceptable measure of self-efficacy and the CSQ as a measure of cognitive coping strategies. The BPCQ and IPQ-R did not fit the Rasch model. Conclusions These findings indicate that questionnaires need to be checked for their ability to measure psychological constructs in the clinical groups to which they will be applied. Implications for Rehabilitation For people with osteoarthritis, the STAI-SF is an acceptable measure of anxiety and the revised FSS an acceptable measure of fatigue with removal of items 1 and 2. The BDI subscales, but not the total score, are acceptable for measuring depressive symptomatology with some modifications to the scoring of the scale. And helplessness can be measured using the Helplessness subscale of the AHI. The PSEQ was an acceptable measure of self-efficacy and cognitive coping strategies can be measured

  13. Customer relationship management in the contract pharmaceutical industry: an exploratory study for measuring success.

    PubMed

    Kros, John F; Nadler, Scott; Molis, Justin

    2007-01-01

    Managing customer relationships is a very important issue in business-to-business markets. This research investigates the growing number of available resources defining Customer Relationship Management (CRM) efforts, and how they are being applied within the Contract Pharmaceutical Manufacturing industry. Exploratory study results using face-to-face and telephone questionnaires based on four criteria for rating a company's CRM efforts are presented. Data was collected from large Contract Pharmaceutical Manufacturing companies in the US market. The results and conclusions are discussed relating how the Contract Pharmaceutical Manufacturing industry is implementing CRM including some potential steps to take when considering a CRM initiative.

  14. Psychological Literacy Weakly Differentiates Students by Discipline and Year of Enrolment

    PubMed Central

    Heritage, Brody; Roberts, Lynne D.; Gasson, Natalie

    2016-01-01

    Psychological literacy, a construct developed to reflect the types of skills graduates of a psychology degree should possess and be capable of demonstrating, has recently been scrutinized in terms of its measurement adequacy. The recent development of a multi-item measure encompassing the facets of psychological literacy has provided the potential for improved validity in measuring the construct. We investigated the known-groups validity of this multi-item measure of psychological literacy to examine whether psychological literacy could predict (a) students’ course of enrolment and (b) students’ year of enrolment. Five hundred and fifteen undergraduate psychology students, 87 psychology/human resource management students, and 83 speech pathology students provided data. In the first year cohort, the reflective processes (RPs) factor significantly predicted psychology and psychology/human resource management course enrolment, although no facets significantly differentiated between psychology and speech pathology enrolment. Within the second year cohort, generic graduate attributes (GGAs) and RPs differentiated psychology and speech pathology course enrolment. GGAs differentiated first-year and second-year psychology students, with second-year students more likely to have higher scores on this factor. Due to weak support for known-groups validity, further measurement refinements are recommended to improve the construct’s utility. PMID:26909058

  15. Contracting for directorships.

    PubMed

    Knapp, Donna K

    2013-05-01

    Hospitals are required to have a medical director of respiratory care as a condition of their participation in the Federal Medicare and Medicaid programs. This gives physicians opportunities to improve the quality of care for the patients in their community, to diversify income streams, and to assist hospitals to meet regulatory requirements for quality. The contracts for these positions are usually provided by the hospital, so it is imperative that physicians know how to protect their interests, what is expected of them, if they are being paid fairly, and that the contract is compliant with all regulatory issues. The directorship relationship with the hospital that provides designated health services and the "stand in the shoes" definition of direct compensation also gives physicians and physician practices guidance to determine if their group and individual physicians are compliant with Stark and antikickback regulations. This article guides physicians through the process of reviewing a contract for medical directorship or service line management services. Information on compensation in the directorship market can be found in at least two standard surveys. Duties and compensation vary among entities and frequently include incentive-based compensation for improving quality measures and operations. Directorships are evolving to service line management as more of the hospital's reimbursement is linked to clinical quality and patient satisfaction. This article does not offer legal advice, nor is it meant to be all inclusive. Physicians should consult a health-care attorney for any questions before signing any contract.

  16. Parallel NGO Networks for HIV Control: Risks and Opportunities for NGO Contracting

    PubMed Central

    Zaidi, Shehla; Gul, Xaher; Nishtar, Noureen

    2013-01-01

    Policy measures for preventive and promotive services are increasingly reliant on contracting of NGOs. Contracting is a neo-liberal response relying on open market competition for service delivery tenders. In contracting of health services a common assumption is a monolithic NGO market. A case study of HIV control in Pakistan shows that in reality the NGO market comprises of parallel NGO networks having widely different service packages, approaches and agendas. These parallel networks had evolved over time due to vertical policy agendas. Contracting of NGOs for provision of HIV services was faced with uneven capacities and turf rivalries across both NGO networks. At the same time contracting helped NGO providers belonging to different clusters to move towards standardized service delivery for HIV prevention. Market based measures such as contracting need to be accompanied with wider policy and system measures that overcome silos in NGO working by facilitating a common construct on the health issue, cohesive priorities and integrated working. PMID:23445705

  17. Parallel NGO networks for HIV control: risks and opportunities for NGO contracting.

    PubMed

    Zaidi, Shehla; Gul, Xaher; Nishtar, Noureen Aleem

    2012-12-27

    Policy measures for preventive and promotive services are increasingly reliant on contracting of NGOs. Contracting is a neo-liberal response relying on open market competition for service delivery tenders. In contracting of health services a common assumption is a monolithic NGO market. A case study of HIV control in Pakistan shows that in reality the NGO market comprises of parallel NGO networks having widely different service packages, approaches and agendas. These parallel networks had evolved over time due to vertical policy agendas. Contracting of NGOs for provision of HIV services was faced with uneven capacities and turf rivalries across both NGO networks. At the same time contracting helped NGO providers belonging to different clusters to move towards standardized service delivery for HIV prevention. Market based measures such as contracting need to be accompanied with wider policy measures that facilitate in bringing NGOs groups to a shared understanding of health issues and responses.

  18. The Relationship among Self-Report and Measured Report of Psychological Abuse, and Depression for a Sample of Women Involved in Intimate Relationships with Male Partners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kelly, Virginia; Warner, Kelly; Trahan, Courtenay; Miscavage, Karen

    2009-01-01

    This study examined the relationship between level of depression and level of psychological abuse in women. In addition, the relationship between the use of self-report and measured report of psychological abuse within an intimate relationship was assessed. One hundred women were surveyed using the Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory…

  19. Integrating cross-cultural psychology research methods into ethnic minority psychology.

    PubMed

    Leong, Frederick T L; Leung, Kwok; Cheung, Fanny M

    2010-10-01

    Multicultural psychology has 2 related but often disconnected streams, namely cross-cultural psychology and racial and ethnic minority psychology (Hall & Maramba, 2001). We propose that advances in both fields will be facilitated if there is greater cross-fertilization, especially in methodological approaches given that proponents in both fields are interested in studying and understanding the role and impact of culture on human behavior. To facilitate this cross-fertilization, we present 3 methodological approaches that would be of value in racial and ethnic minority psychology. First, we present an overview of the importance of and the approaches to evaluating and establishing measurement equivalence. Second, we discuss recent advances in the understanding of conceptual equivalence in light of indigenous approaches, cultural manipulation, and multilevel analysis. Third, we present a combined etic-emic approach to cross-cultural personality research as illustrated by the Cross-Cultural Personality Assessment Inventory developed by Fanny Cheung and her colleagues. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

  20. Single-item measures for depression and anxiety: Validation of the Screening Tool for Psychological Distress in an inpatient cardiology setting.

    PubMed

    Young, Quincy-Robyn; Nguyen, Michelle; Roth, Susan; Broadberry, Ann; Mackay, Martha H

    2015-12-01

    Depression and anxiety are common among patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and confer significant cardiac risk, contributing to CVD morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately, due to the lack of screening tools that address the specific needs of hospitalized patients, few cardiac inpatient programs offer routine screening for these forms of psychological distress, despite recommendations to do so. The purpose of this study was to validate single-item measures for depression and anxiety among cardiac inpatients. Consecutive inpatients were recruited from the cardiology and cardiac surgery step-down units at a university-affiliated, quaternary-care hospital. Subjects completed a questionnaire that included: (a) demographics, (b) single-item-measures for depression and anxiety (from the Screening Tool for Psychological Distress (STOP-D)), and (c) Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). One hundred and five participants were recruited with a wide variety of cardiac diagnoses, having a mean age of 66 years, and 28% were women. Both STOP-D items were highly correlated with their corresponding validated measures and demonstrated robust receiver-operator characteristic curves. Severity scores on both items correlated well with established severity cut-off scores on the corresponding subscales of the HADS. The STOP-D is a self-administered, self-report measure using two independent items that provide severity scores for depression and anxiety. The tool performs very well compared with other previously validated measures. Requiring no additional scoring and being free, STOP-D offers a simple and valid method for identifying hospitalized cardiac patients who are experiencing psychological distress. This crucial first step triggers initiation of appropriate monitoring and intervention, thus reducing the likelihood of the adverse cardiac outcomes associated with psychological distress. © The European Society of Cardiology 2014.

  1. Polymorphic Contracts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Belo, João Filipe; Greenberg, Michael; Igarashi, Atsushi; Pierce, Benjamin C.

    Manifest contracts track precise properties by refining types with predicates - e.g., {x : Int |x > 0 } denotes the positive integers. Contracts and polymorphism make a natural combination: programmers can give strong contracts to abstract types, precisely stating pre- and post-conditions while hiding implementation details - for example, an abstract type of stacks might specify that the pop operation has input type {x :α Stack |not ( empty x )} . We formalize this combination by defining FH, a polymorphic calculus with manifest contracts, and establishing fundamental properties including type soundness and relational parametricity. Our development relies on a significant technical improvement over earlier presentations of contracts: instead of introducing a denotational model to break a problematic circularity between typing, subtyping, and evaluation, we develop the metatheory of contracts in a completely syntactic fashion, omitting subtyping from the core system and recovering it post facto as a derived property.

  2. Measuring the Psychological Distance between an Organization and Its Members—The Construction and Validation of a New Scale

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Hong; Li, Shanshan

    2018-01-01

    There exists a lack of specific research methods to estimate the relationship between an organization and its employees, which has long challenged research in the field of organizational management. Therefore, this article introduces psychological distance concept into the research of organizational behavior, which can define the concept of psychological distance between employees and an organization and describe a level of perceived correspondence or interaction between subjects and objects. We developed an employee-organization psychological distance (EOPD) scale through both qualitative and quantitative analysis methods. As indicated by the research results based on grounded theory (10 employee in-depth interview records and 277 opening questionnaires) and formal investigation (544 questionnaires), this scale consists of six dimensions: experiential distance, behavioral distance, emotional distance, cognitive distance, spatial-temporal distance, and objective social distance based on 44 items. Finally, we determined that the EOPD scale exhibited acceptable reliability and validity using confirmatory factor analysis. This research may establish a foundation for future research on the measurement of psychological relationships between employees and organizations. PMID:29375427

  3. The association between waiting for psychological therapy and therapy outcomes as measured by the CORE-OM.

    PubMed

    Beck, Alison; Burdett, Mark; Lewis, Helen

    2015-06-01

    To investigate the impact of waiting for psychological therapy on client well-being as measured by the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) global distress (GD) score. Global distress scores were retrieved for all clients referred for psychological therapy in a secondary care mental health service between November 2006 and May 2013 and who had completed a CORE-OM at assessment and first session. GD scores for a subgroup of 103 clients who had completed a CORE-OM during the last therapy session were also reviewed. The study sample experienced a median wait of 41.14 weeks between assessment and first session. The relationship between wait time from referral acceptance to assessment, and assessment GD score was not significant. During the period between assessment and first session no significant difference in GD score was observed. Nevertheless 29.1% of the sample experienced reliable change; 16.0% of clients reliably improved and 13.1% reliably deteriorated whilst waiting for therapy. Demographic factors were not found to have a significant effect on the change in GD score between assessment and first session. Waiting time was associated with post-therapy outcomes but not to a degree which was meaningful. The majority of individuals (54.4%), regardless of whether they improved or deteriorated whilst waiting for therapy, showed reliable improvement at end of therapy as measured by the CORE-OM. The majority of GD scores remained stable while waiting for therapy; however, 29.1% of secondary care clients experienced either reliable improvement or deterioration. Irrespective of whether they improved, deteriorated or remained unchanged whilst waiting for therapy, most individuals who had a complete end of therapy assessment showed reliable improvements following therapy. There was no significant difference in GD score between assessment and first session recordings. A proportion of clients (29.1%) showed reliable change, either improvement or

  4. Contracting with outpatient hemodialysis patients to improve adherence to treatment.

    PubMed

    Laidlaw, J K; Beeken, J E; Whitney, F W; Reyes, A A

    1999-02-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between contingency contracting and adherence to prescribed therapy in outpatient chronic hemodialysis patients. A quasi-experimental, pretest/posttest design was used. The sample included 15 hemodialysis patients, 6 in the phosphorus group and 9 in the weight-gain group. The study was conducted at an outpatient hemodialysis center in a Midwestern rural state. Specific variables investigated were interdialytic weight gains and serum phosphorus levels that reflect adherence to fluid restrictions and to taking phosphate-binding medications. Weekly interviews were conducted with each patient and content analysis of interview data was completed to identify categories related to adherence and nonadherence. Pre- and postcontract weight gains and phosphorus levels were analyzed with a paired two sample t-test. The categories related to adherence and nonadherence included physiological, psychological, environmental, locus of control/self-control/self-praise, economical, medical, knowledge deficit, health benefits, family support, and social support. Adherence to taking phosphate-binding medication responded more favorably to contingency contracting than did adherence to fluid restrictions. Chronic outpatient hemodialysis patients in the sample responded to the use of contingency contracting and developed techniques to remember to take phosphate-binding medications in order to lower serum phosphorus medications.

  5. Reproducibility in Psychological Science: When Do Psychological Phenomena Exist?

    PubMed Central

    Iso-Ahola, Seppo E.

    2017-01-01

    Scientific evidence has recently been used to assert that certain psychological phenomena do not exist. Such claims, however, cannot be made because (1) scientific method itself is seriously limited (i.e., it can never prove a negative); (2) non-existence of phenomena would require a complete absence of both logical (theoretical) and empirical support; even if empirical support is weak, logical and theoretical support can be strong; (3) statistical data are only one piece of evidence and cannot be used to reduce psychological phenomena to statistical phenomena; and (4) psychological phenomena vary across time, situations and persons. The human mind is unreproducible from one situation to another. Psychological phenomena are not particles that can decisively be tested and discovered. Therefore, a declaration that a phenomenon is not real is not only theoretically and empirically unjustified but runs counter to the propositional and provisional nature of scientific knowledge. There are only “temporary winners” and no “final truths” in scientific knowledge. Psychology is a science of subtleties in human affect, cognition and behavior. Its phenomena fluctuate with conditions and may sometimes be difficult to detect and reproduce empirically. When strictly applied, reproducibility is an overstated and even questionable concept in psychological science. Furthermore, statistical measures (e.g., effect size) are poor indicators of the theoretical importance and relevance of phenomena (cf. “deliberate practice” vs. “talent” in expert performance), not to mention whether phenomena are real or unreal. To better understand psychological phenomena, their theoretical and empirical properties should be examined via multiple parameters and criteria. Ten such parameters are suggested. PMID:28626435

  6. Family disruption, economic hardship and psychological distress in schizophrenia: can they be measured?

    PubMed

    Madianos, M; Economou, M; Dafni, O; Koukia, E; Palli, A; Rogakou, E

    2004-11-01

    This study examined the dimensions of burden perceived by key-relatives of patients suffering from schizophrenia spectrum disorder by the development of an instrument, the Family Burden Scale (FBS) and the underlying predictors. One hundred and seventy one primary caregivers, living with 158 patients suffering from chronic psychotic illness and maintained on community basis in Athens area, were interviewed by the use of FBS supplemented by the Family Atmosphere Scale and GHQ. Construction procedure and factor analysis of FBS produced a scale of 23 items in four factors, three of them measuring objective and the fourth one, subjective burden. The scale was also proved to be reliable and valid. Forty-five percent of primary caregivers reported high levels of burden. Psychological impairment (high GHQ scores) was related with high levels of burden and negative family atmosphere. Previous admissions and duration of illness were also found to predict burden. The results suggest that FBS differentiates objective from subjective burden. Psychological well being of carers is affected by the dimensions of perceived burden.

  7. 29 CFR 4.122 - Contracts for operation of postal contract stations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... Application of the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act Specific Exclusions § 4.122 Contracts for operation of postal contract stations. The Act, in paragraph (7) of section 7, exempts from its provisions “any... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Contracts for operation of postal contract stations. 4.122...

  8. Measurement of high-resolution mechanical contraction of cardiac muscle by induced eddy current.

    PubMed

    Lee, Young-Jae; Lee, Kang-Hwi; Kang, Seung-Jin; Kim, Kyeung-Nam; Khang, Seonah; Koo, Hye Ran; Gi, Sunok; Lee, Joo Hyeon; Lee, Jeong-Whan

    2014-01-01

    There are many types of devices which help to manage a personal health conditions such as heartbeat chest belt, pedometer and smart watch. And the most common device has the relationship with heart rate or ECG data. However, users have to attach some electrode or fasten the belt on the bare skin to measure bio-signal information. Therefore, most of people want more convenient and short-ready-time and no-need to attach electrode. In this paper, we proposed the high-resolution measuring system of mechanical activity of cardiac muscle and thereby measure heartbeat. The principle of the proposed measuring method is that the alternating current generate alternating magnetic field around coil. This primary magnetic field induces eddy current which makes magnetic field against primary coil in the nearby objects. To measure high-resolution changes of the induced secondary magnetic fields, we used digital Phase-locked loop(PLL) circuit which provides more high-resolution traces of frequency changes than the previous studies based on digital frequency counter method. As a result of our preliminary experiment, peak-peak intervals of the proposed method showed high correlation with R-R intervals of clinical ECG signals(r=0.9249). Also, from signal traces of the proposed method, we might make a conjecture that the contraction of atrium or ventricle is reflected by changing conductivity of cardiac muscle which is beating ceaselessly.

  9. Contract Design: Risk Management and Evaluation.

    PubMed

    Mühlbacher, Axel C; Amelung, Volker E; Juhnke, Christin

    2018-01-12

    Effective risk adjustment is an aspect that is more and more given weight on the background of competitive health insurance systems and vital healthcare systems. The risk structure of the providers plays a vital role in Pay for Performance. A prerequisite for optimal incentive-based service models is a (partial) dependence of the agent's returns on the provider's gain level. Integrated care systems as well as accountable care organisations (ACOs) in the US and similar concepts in other countries are advocated as an effective method of improving the performance of healthcare systems. These systems outline a payment and care delivery model that intends to tie provider reimbursements to predefined quality metrics. By this the total costs of care shall be reduced. Little is known about the contractual design and the main challenges of delegating "accountability" to these new kinds of organisations and/or contracts. The costs of market utilisation are highly relevant for the conception of healthcare contracts; furthermore information asymmetries and contract-specific investments are an obstacle to the efficient operation of ACOs. A comprehensive literature review on methods of designing contracts in Integrated Care was conducted. The research question in this article focuses on how reimbursement strategies, evaluation of measures and methods of risk adjustment can best be integrated in healthcare contracting. Each integrated care contract includes challenges for both payers and providers without having sufficient empirical data on both sides. These challenges are clinical, administrative or financial nature. Risk adjusted contracts ensure that the reimbursement roughly matches the true costs resulting from the morbidity of a population. If reimbursement of care provider corresponds to the actual expenses for an individual/population the problem of risk selection is greatly reduced. The currently used methods of risk adjustment have widely differing model and forecast

  10. Cine phase contrast MRI to measure continuum Lagrangian finite strain fields in contracting skeletal muscle.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Hehe; Novotny, John E

    2007-01-01

    To measure the complex mechanics and Lagrangian finite strain of contracting human skeletal muscle in vivo with cine phase contrast MRI (CPC-MRI) applied to the human supraspinatus muscle of the shoulder. Processing techniques are applied to transform velocities from CPC-MRI images to displacements and planar Lagrangian finite strain. An interpolation method describing the continuity of the velocity field and forward-backward and Fourier transform methods were used to track the displacement of regions of interest during a cyclic abduction motion of a subject's arm. The components of the Lagrangian strain tensor were derived during the motion and principal and maximum in-plane shear strain fields calculated. Derived displacement and strain fields are shown that describe the contraction mechanics of the supraspinatus. Strains vary over time during the cyclic motion and are highly nonuniform throughout the muscle. This method presented overcomes the physical resolution of the MRI scanner, which is crucial for the detection of detailed information within muscles, such as the changes that might occur with partial tears of the supraspinatus. These can then be used as input or validation data for modeling human skeletal muscle.

  11. Resolving Contract Disputes

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1988-11-01

    as part of the required training for Army contracting personnel. Specifically, these were courses in contract administration and contract law offered...courts and boards. The process itself was discussed in very general terms.[7] The AFIT Government Contract Law Course concerns itself with legal concepts...Washington, D.C., 1984 4. . Air Force Institute of Technology, Government Contract Law , Course Manual, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, April

  12. Mechanics and contraction dynamics of single platelets and implications for clot stiffening

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lam, Wilbur A.; Chaudhuri, Ovijit; Crow, Ailey; Webster, Kevin D.; Li, Tai-De; Kita, Ashley; Huang, James; Fletcher, Daniel A.

    2011-01-01

    Platelets interact with fibrin polymers to form blood clots at sites of vascular injury. Bulk studies have shown clots to be active materials, with platelet contraction driving the retraction and stiffening of clots. However, neither the dynamics of single-platelet contraction nor the strength and elasticity of individual platelets, both of which are important for understanding clot material properties, have been directly measured. Here we use atomic force microscopy to measure the mechanics and dynamics of single platelets. We find that platelets contract nearly instantaneously when activated by contact with fibrinogen and complete contraction within 15 min. Individual platelets can generate an average maximum contractile force of 29 nN and form adhesions stronger than 70 nN. Our measurements show that when exposed to stiffer microenvironments, platelets generated higher stall forces, which indicates that platelets may be able to contract heterogeneous clots more uniformly. The high elasticity of individual platelets, measured to be 10 kPa after contraction, combined with their high contractile forces, indicates that clots may be stiffened through direct reinforcement by platelets as well as by strain stiffening of fibrin under tension due to platelet contraction. These results show how the mechanosensitivity and mechanics of single cells can be used to dynamically alter the material properties of physiologic systems.

  13. 48 CFR 35.006 - Contracting methods and contract type.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... indicated a high degree of probability that development is feasible and (2) the Government has determined... SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF CONTRACTING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CONTRACTING 35.006 Contracting methods and..., performance objectives, and specifications for the work can be defined will largely determine the type of...

  14. Use of the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms 62 (CCAPS-62) as a Repeated Measure

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ghosh, Arpita; Rieder Bennett, Sara; Martin, Juanita K.

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this initial, exploratory study was to examine the utility of the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms-62 (CCAPS-62) as a repeated measure tool at one university counseling center. This study investigated whether clients engaged in individual counseling changed in symptomology while in treatment and when (e.g.,…

  15. Number and measure: Hermann von Helmholtz at the crossroads of mathematics, physics, and psychology.

    PubMed

    Darrigol, Olivier

    2003-09-01

    In 1887 Helmholtz discussed the foundations of measurement in science as a last contribution to his philosophy of knowledge. This essay borrowed from earlier debates on the foundations of mathematics (Grassmann/Du Bois), on the possibility of quantitative psychology (Fechner/Kries, Wundt/Zeller), and on the meaning of temperature measurement (Maxwell,Mach.). Late nineteenth-century scrutinisers of the foundations of mathematics (Dedekind, Cantor, Frege, Russell) made little of Helmholtz's essay. Yet it inspired two mathematicians with an eye on physics (Poincaré and Hölder), and a few philosopher-physicists (Mach, Duhem,Campbell). The aim of the present paper is to situate Helmholtz's contribution in this complex array of nineteenth-century philosophies of number, quantity, and measurement. 2003 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  16. Psychological Fitness and Resilience: A Review of Relevant Constructs, Measures, and Links to Well-Being

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-01-01

    assessed using self -report instruments. The most widely used instrument is the Rosenberg Self - Esteem Scale ( Rosenberg , 1965), which consists of 10 items...Construct validation of a single-item measure and the Rosenberg self - esteem scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27(2), 151–161. doi...fitness from the scientific literature: self -regulation, positive affect, perceived control, self -efficacy, self - esteem , and optimism. This review

  17. Assessment of pelvic floor muscle contraction with palpation, perineometry and transperineal ultrasound: a cross-sectional study.

    PubMed

    Volløyhaug, I; Mørkved, S; Salvesen, Ø; Salvesen, K Å

    2016-06-01

    To study the correlation between palpation, perineometry and transperineal ultrasound for assessment of pelvic floor muscle contraction and to define a contraction scale for ultrasound measurements. This was a cross-sectional study of 608 women examined with palpation of pelvic floor muscle contraction, using the Modified Oxford Scale, and measurement of the vaginal squeeze pressure with a vaginal balloon connected to a fiber-optic microtip transducer (perineometry). Transperineal ultrasound was used for measurements of levator hiatal area and anteroposterior (AP) diameter in the plane of minimal hiatal dimensions, at rest and on contraction. The pelvic floor muscle contraction was expressed as the percentage difference between values at rest and on contraction. Spearman's rank was used to test for correlation between the different methods of assessment. Significant correlations were found between all assessment methods (P < 0.001). Palpation correlated with perineometry (rs = 0.74) and with proportional change in hiatal area (rs = 0.67) and AP diameter (rs = 0.69) on ultrasound. Perineometry correlated with proportional change in hiatal area (rs = 0.60) and AP diameter (rs = 0.66) on ultrasound. We defined a contraction scale based on the proportional change in AP diameter. In this population, a change in AP diameter of < 7% corresponded to absence of contractions, 7-18% corresponded to weak contractions, 18-35% corresponded to normal contractions and > 35% corresponded to strong contractions. We found moderate to strong correlation between ultrasound measurements, palpation and perineometry for assessing pelvic floor muscle contraction. The proportional change in levator hiatal AP diameter was the ultrasound measurement with strongest correlation to palpation and perineometry and formed the basis for the contraction scale for ultrasound measurements. Copyright © 2015 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Copyright © 2015 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley

  18. Psychological literacy: proceed with caution, construction ahead

    PubMed Central

    Murdoch, Douglas D

    2016-01-01

    Psychological literacy is the ethical application of psychological skills and knowledge. This could benefit individuals in their personal, occupational, and civic lives and subsequently benefit society as a whole. We know that psychology has a wide-ranging impact on society. The potential benefits of a psychologically literate citizenry in improved parenting, better business practices, enlightened legislation, and many other areas make this a desirable goal. It has been proposed that this should become the primary goal of an undergraduate psychology education to benefit the majority who do not go on to graduate school and even those who only take a few psychology courses. This idea has significant merit and warrants further investigation and development. However, there are major concerns that need to be addressed. First, what are uniquely psychological skills and knowledge? Many of the skills psychology undergraduates acquire are generic to university and not specific to psychology. Second, psychology can be as harmful when misapplied as it can be beneficial when ethically applied. Third, psychology departments will need to address pragmatic as well as ethical issues, including issues of competency, boundaries, accountability, and confidentiality. Fourth, the available empirical evidence to direct such efforts is primarily at the anecdotal, case example, and pilot study stages. Significant improvements are needed in measuring psychological literacy, choice of outcome measures, and research methodologies before these advantages can be realized in an empirically supported manner. Currently, best practices in the undergraduate curriculum are the mindful and purposeful design of courses and experiential opportunities. It is proposed that psychological literacy is best conceptualized as a meta-literacy and that it should become a goal of psychology undergraduate education but not necessarily the goal. PMID:27540315

  19. The STarT Back Screening Tool and Individual Psychological Measures: Evaluation of Prognostic Capabilities for Low Back Pain Clinical Outcomes in Outpatient Physical Therapy Settings

    PubMed Central

    Bishop, Mark D.; Fritz, Julie M.; Robinson, Michael E.; Asal, Nabih R.; Nisenzon, Anne N.

    2013-01-01

    Background Psychologically informed practice emphasizes routine identification of modifiable psychological risk factors being highlighted. Objective The purpose of this study was to test the predictive validity of the STarT Back Screening Tool (SBT) in comparison with single-construct psychological measures for 6-month clinical outcomes. Design This was an observational, prospective cohort study. Methods Patients (n=146) receiving physical therapy for low back pain were administered the SBT and a battery of psychological measures (Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire physical activity scale and work scale [FABQ-PA and FABQ-W, respectively], Pain Catastrophizing Scale [PCS], 11-item version of the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia [TSK-11], and 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9]) at initial evaluation and 4 weeks later. Treatment was at the physical therapist's discretion. Clinical outcomes consisted of pain intensity and self-reported disability. Prediction of 6-month clinical outcomes was assessed for intake SBT and psychological measure scores using multiple regression models while controlling for other prognostic variables. In addition, the predictive capabilities of intake to 4-week changes in SBT and psychological measure scores for 6-month clinical outcomes were assessed. Results Intake pain intensity scores (β=.39 to .45) and disability scores (β=.47 to .60) were the strongest predictors in all final regression models, explaining 22% and 24% and 43% and 48% of the variance for the respective clinical outcome at 6 months. Neither SBT nor psychological measure scores improved prediction of 6-month pain intensity. The SBT overall scores (β=.22) and SBT psychosocial scores (β=.25) added to the prediction of disability at 6 months. Four-week changes in TSK-11 scores (β=−.18) were predictive of pain intensity at 6 months. Four-week changes in FABQ-PA scores (β=−.21), TSK-11 scores (β=−.20) and SBT overall scores (β=−.18) were predictive of

  20. Monitoring elbow isometric contraction by novel wearable fabric sensing device

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Xi; Tao, Xiaoming; So, Raymond C. H.; Shu, Lin; Yang, Bao; Li, Ying

    2016-12-01

    Fabric-based wearable technology is highly desirable in sports, as it is light, flexible, soft, and comfortable with little interference to normal sport activities. It can provide accurate information on the in situ deformation of muscles in a continuous and wireless manner. During elbow flexion in isometric contraction, upper arm circumference increases with the contraction of elbow flexors, and it is possible to monitor the muscles’ contraction by limb circumferential strains. This paper presents a new wireless wearable anthropometric monitoring device made from fabric strain sensors for the human upper arm. The materials, structural design and calibration of the device are presented. Using an isokinetic testing system (Biodex3®) and the fabric monitoring device simultaneously, in situ measurements were carried out on elbow flexors in isometric contraction mode with ten subjects for a set of positions. Correlations between the measured values of limb circumferential strain and normalized torque were examined, and a linear relationship was found during isometric contraction. The average correlation coefficient between them is 0.938 ± 0.050. This wearable anthropometric device thus provides a useful index, the limb circumferential strain, for upper arm muscle contraction in isometric mode.

  1. Contract Design: Risk Management and Evaluation

    PubMed Central

    Amelung, Volker E.; Juhnke, Christin

    2018-01-01

    Introduction: Effective risk adjustment is an aspect that is more and more given weight on the background of competitive health insurance systems and vital healthcare systems. The risk structure of the providers plays a vital role in Pay for Performance. A prerequisite for optimal incentive-based service models is a (partial) dependence of the agent’s returns on the provider’s gain level. Integrated care systems as well as accountable care organisations (ACOs) in the US and similar concepts in other countries are advocated as an effective method of improving the performance of healthcare systems. These systems outline a payment and care delivery model that intends to tie provider reimbursements to predefined quality metrics. By this the total costs of care shall be reduced. Methods: Little is known about the contractual design and the main challenges of delegating “accountability” to these new kinds of organisations and/or contracts. The costs of market utilisation are highly relevant for the conception of healthcare contracts; furthermore information asymmetries and contract-specific investments are an obstacle to the efficient operation of ACOs. A comprehensive literature review on methods of designing contracts in Integrated Care was conducted. The research question in this article focuses on how reimbursement strategies, evaluation of measures and methods of risk adjustment can best be integrated in healthcare contracting. Results: Each integrated care contract includes challenges for both payers and providers without having sufficient empirical data on both sides. These challenges are clinical, administrative or financial nature. Risk adjusted contracts ensure that the reimbursement roughly matches the true costs resulting from the morbidity of a population. If reimbursement of care provider corresponds to the actual expenses for an individual/population the problem of risk selection is greatly reduced. The currently used methods of risk adjustment

  2. Contracts in radiology practices: contract types and key provisions.

    PubMed

    Muroff, Julie A; Muroff, Lawrence R

    2004-07-01

    A contract between a radiology group and its physician member(s) provides the foundation for the professional relationships in a group practice. The parties are not in positions of parity; contract provisions are structured to maintain the primacy of the group over the individual members. An integration clause should be included to preclude reliance on communications that are not memorialized by the language of the contract. Precise, unambiguous terms must be used to convey the intentions of the parties. The contract should have a clear date of initiation and, if applicable, an effective date of termination. Mechanisms for termination and modification should be expressed clearly to minimize the risk of judicial interference. The method of determining and adjusting the salary and other benefits of the radiologist should be stated, as consideration is necessary to support the existence of a legal contract. The obligations of the radiologist to the practice are often stated in general terms to maximize the group's flexibility. Finally, other key clauses that are discussed in the paper should be incorporated into the contract.

  3. Evaluation of contract time estimation and contracting procedures : technical summary.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1996-08-01

    The objective of this research was 1) to provide the DOTD with a systematic approach to the determination of contract duration, and 2) to explore innovative contracting procedures that may prove beneficial in DOTD projects. The innovative contracting...

  4. Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, 2014 Edition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Educational Research Association (AERA), 2014

    2014-01-01

    Developed jointly by the American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and the National Council on Measurement in Education, "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing" (Revised 2014) addresses professional and technical issues of test development and use in education, psychology, and…

  5. CT imaging during microwave ablation: Analysis of spatial and temporal tissue contraction

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Liu, Dong; Brace, Christopher L., E-mail: clbrace@wisc.edu

    Purpose: To analyze the spatial distribution and temporal development of liver tissue contraction during high-temperature ablation by using intraprocedural computed tomography (CT) imaging. Methods: A total of 46 aluminum fiducial markers were positioned in a 60 × 45 mm grid, in a single plane, around a microwave ablation antenna in each of six ex vivo bovine liver samples. Ablations were performed for 10 min at 100 W. CT data of the liver sample were acquired every 30 s during ablation. Fiducial motion between acquisitions was tracked in postprocessing and used to calculate measures of tissue contraction and contraction rates. Themore » spatial distribution and temporal evolution of contraction were analyzed. Results: Fiducial displacement indicated that the zone measured postablation was 8.2 ± 1.8 mm (∼20%) smaller in the radial direction and 7.1 ± 1.0 mm (∼10%) shorter in the longitudinal direction than the preablation tissue dimension. Therefore, the total ablation volume was reduced from its preablation value by approximately 45%. Very little longitudinal contraction was noted in the distal portion of the ablation zone. Central tissues contracted more than 60%, which was near an estimated limit of ∼70% based on initial water content. More peripheral tissues contracted only 15% in any direction. Contraction rates peaked during the first 60 s of heating with a roughly exponential decay over time. Conclusions: Ablation zones measured posttreatment are significantly smaller than the pretreatment tissue dimensions. Tissue contraction is spatially dependent, with the greatest effect occurring in the central ablation zone. Contraction rate peaks early and decays over time.« less

  6. Running Head: Evaluation of Contract Versus VA-Staffed CBOCs. Evaluating Contract versus VA-Staffed Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) Using Patient Satisfaction and Access Measures in the Veterans Health Administration

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-06-01

    Contract versus VA-Staffed Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCS) Using Patient Satisfaction and Access Measures in the Veterans Health ...Administration 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) Belote, Janna, M., Civilian - Veterans Health Administration 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e...TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System 4300 West 7th

  7. Longitudinal relationships between workplace bullying and psychological distress.

    PubMed

    Nielsen, Morten Birkeland; Hetland, Jørn; Matthiesen, Stig Berge; Einarsen, Ståle

    2012-01-01

    The aims of this study were to examine reciprocal longitudinal associations between exposure to workplace bullying and symptoms of psychological distress and to investigate how self-labeled victimization from bullying explains the effects of bullying on health. Logistic regression analysis was employed to examine the longitudinal relationships between workplace bullying and psychological distress in a representative cohort sample of 1775 Norwegian employees. The time-lag between baseline and follow-up was two years. Exposure to bullying behavior was measured with the revised version of the Negative Acts Questionnaire. Perceived victimization from bullying was measured by a single self-labeling question. Psychological distress was measured with the 25-item Hopkins Symptom Checklist. All variables were measured at both baseline and follow-up. After adjustment for psychological distress at baseline, exposure to bullying behavior [odds ratio (OR) 1.68, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.07-2.62) was found to predict subsequent psychological distress. This effect of bullying behaviors disappeared when victimization from bullying (OR 2.47, 95% CI 1.17-5.22) was entered into the regression. Both psychological distress (OR 2.49, 95% CI 1.64-3.80) and victimization (OR 2.61, 95% CI 1.42-4.81) at baseline were associated with increased risks of being a target of bullying behaviors at follow-up. Psychological distress (OR 2.51, 95% CI 1.39-4.52) and bullying behaviors (OR 2.95, 95% CI 1.39-4.52) at follow-up were associated with victimization. The mutual relationship between bullying and psychological distress indicates a vicious circle where bullying and distress reinforce their own negative effects. This highlights the importance of early interventions to stop workplace bullying and provide treatment options to employees with psychological distress.

  8. 24 CFR 983.206 - HAP contract amendments (to add or substitute contract units).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false HAP contract amendments (to add or... Contract § 983.206 HAP contract amendments (to add or substitute contract units). (a) Amendment to substitute contract units. At the discretion of the PHA and subject to all PBV requirements, the HAP contract...

  9. Nonadherence in dialysis patients: prevalence, measurement, outcome, and psychological determinants.

    PubMed

    Clark, Sarah; Farrington, Ken; Chilcot, Joseph

    2014-01-01

    Nonadherence to aspects of the management of End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD) is common. Estimates of nonadherence vary with assessment method. Whilst readily available and free from report bias, physiological proxies-frequently used as measures of adherence-are often confounded by clinical factors including residual kidney function and dialysis adequacy. Despite variation in estimates of its prevalence, it is clear that suboptimal adherence to dialysis prescriptions, medication and diet can lead to adverse clinical outcomes. Several factors can help explain nonadherence in ESKD including mood, self-efficacy, social support, illness, and treatment perceptions. Psychological interventions have been shown to improve ESKD adherence, yet achieving long-term behavior change remains challenging. Identifying individuals who struggle to adhere to aspects of the dialysis regime, and tailoring theory-led interventions to improve and support adherence is a clear clinical need requiring further empirical enquiry. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. Measuring Emotional Intelligence Enhances the Psychological Evaluation of Chronic Pain.

    PubMed

    Doherty, Eva M; Walsh, Rosemary; Andrews, Leanne; McPherson, Susan

    2017-12-01

    The assessment of emotional factors, in addition to other psychosocial factors, has been recommended as a means of identifying individuals with chronic pain who may not respond to certain pain treatments. Systematic reviews of the evidence regarding the prediction of responsiveness to a treatment called the spinal cord stimulator (SCS) have yielded inconclusive results. Emotional intelligence is a term which refers to the ability to identify and manage emotions in oneself and others and has been shown to be inversely associated with emotional distress and acute pain. This study aims to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence, chronic pain, and the more established psychosocial factors usually used for SCS evaluations by clinical psychologists in medical settings. A sample of 112 patients with chronic pain on an acute hospital waiting list for SCS procedures in a pain medicine service were recruited. Psychological measures were completed including: a novel measure of emotional intelligence; usual measures of emotional distress and catastrophizing; and a numerical rating scale designed to assess pain intensity, pain-related distress, and interference. As predicted, findings revealed significant associations between most of the measures analyzed and current pain intensity. When entered into a simultaneous regression analysis, emotional intelligence scores remained the only significant predictor of current pain intensity. There are potential clinical, ethical, and organizational implications of emotional intelligence processes partially predicting pain in patients on a waiting list for a medical procedure. These results may offer new insight, understanding, and evaluation targets for clinical psychologists in the field of pain management.

  11. Brown adipose tissue activation as measured by infrared thermography by mild anticipatory psychological stress in lean healthy females.

    PubMed

    Robinson, Lindsay J; Law, James M; Symonds, Michael E; Budge, Helen

    2016-04-01

    What is the central question of this study? Does psychological stress, which is known to promote cortisol secretion, simultaneously activate brown adipose tissue function in healthy adult females? What is the main finding and its importance? One explanation for the pronounced differences in brown adipose tissue function between individuals lies in their responsiveness to psychological stress and, as such, should be taken into account when examining its in vivo stimulation. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of obesity, type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome and is a potential therapeutic target. Brown adipose tissue can have a significant impact on energy balance and glucose homeostasis through the action of uncoupling protein 1, dissipating chemical energy as heat following neuroendocrine stimulation. We hypothesized that psychological stress, which is known to promote cortisol secretion, would simultaneously activate BAT at thermoneutrality. Brown adipose tissue activity was measured using infrared thermography to determine changes in the temperature of the skin overlying supraclavicular BAT (TSCR ). A mild psychological stress was induced in five healthy, lean, female, Caucasian volunteers using a short mental arithmetic (MA) test. The TSCR was compared with a repeated assessment, in which the MA test was replaced with a period of relaxation. Although MA did not elicit an acute stress response, anticipation of MA testing led to an increase in salivary cortisol, indicative of an anticipatory stress response, that was associated with a trend towards higher absolute and relative TSCR . A positive correlation between TSCR and cortisol was found during the anticipatory phase, a relationship that was enhanced by increased cortisol linked to MA. Our findings suggest that subtle changes in the level of psychological stress can stimulate BAT, findings that may account for the high variability and inconsistency in reported BAT

  12. Contracting and Higher Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ferris, James M.

    1991-01-01

    The potential gains in efficiency of three types of contracts in college administration are contrasted. Contract types include explicit contracts in the budgeting process between the state and higher education institutions; institutional contracting for inputs; and interinstitutional contracting. The tradeoff between production cost savings and…

  13. Narrative psychological content analysis as a tool for psychological status monitoring of crews in isolated, confined and extreme settings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ehmann, B.; Balázs, L.; Fülöp, É.; Hargitai, R.; Kabai, P.; Péley, B.; Pólya, T.; Vargha, A.; László, J.

    2011-05-01

    This paper is about a pilot application of narrative psychological content analysis in the psychological status monitoring of Crew 71 of a space analog simulation environment, the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS). Both the method and its theoretical framework, Scientific Narrative Psychology, are original developments by Hungarian psychologists [5] (László, 2008). The software was NooJ, a multilingual linguistic development environment [11] (Silberztein, 2008). Three measures were conceptualized and assessed: emotional status, team spirit and subjective physical comfort. The results showed the patterns of these three measures on a daily basis at group level, and allowed for detecting individual differences as well. The method is adaptable to languages involved in space psychology, e.g. Russian, French and German in addition to English.

  14. Research on Mathematical Techniques in Psychology. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gulliksen, Harold

    Mathematical techniques are developed for studying psychological problems in three fields: (1) psychological scaling, (2) learning and concept formation, and (3) mental measurement. Psychological scaling procedures are demonstrated to be useful in many areas, ranging from sensory discrimination of physical stimuli, such as colors, sounds, etc.,…

  15. Psychology or Psychological Science?: A Survey of Graduate Psychology Faculty Regarding Program Names

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Collisson, Brian; Rusbasan, David

    2018-01-01

    The question of renaming graduate psychology programs to psychological science is a timely and contentious issue. To better understand why some programs, but not others, are changing names, we surveyed chairpersons (Study 1) and faculty (Study 2) within graduate psychology and psychological science programs. Within psychology programs, a name…

  16. Doctoral Training in Statistics, Measurement, and Methodology in Psychology: Replication and Extension of Aiken, West, Sechrest, and Reno's (1990) Survey of PhD Programs in North America

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aiken, Leona S.; West, Stephen G.; Millsap, Roger E.

    2008-01-01

    In a survey of all PhD programs in psychology in the United States and Canada, the authors documented the quantitative methodology curriculum (statistics, measurement, and research design) to examine the extent to which innovations in quantitative methodology have diffused into the training of PhDs in psychology. In all, 201 psychology PhD…

  17. 48 CFR 227.7009-3 - Additional clauses-contracts except running royalty contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ...-contracts except running royalty contracts. 227.7009-3 Section 227.7009-3 Federal Acquisition Regulations...—contracts except running royalty contracts. The following clauses are examples for use in patent release and settlement agreements, and license agreements not providing for payment by the Government of a running...

  18. 48 CFR 227.7009-3 - Additional clauses-contracts except running royalty contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ...-contracts except running royalty contracts. 227.7009-3 Section 227.7009-3 Federal Acquisition Regulations...—contracts except running royalty contracts. The following clauses are examples for use in patent release and settlement agreements, and license agreements not providing for payment by the Government of a running...

  19. Aerobic metabolism on muscle contraction in porcine iris sphincter.

    PubMed

    Kanda, Hidenori; Kaneda, Takeharu; Kato, Asami; Yogo, Takuya; Harada, Yasuji; Hara, Yasusi; Urakawa, Norimoto; Shimizu, Kazumasa

    2016-12-01

    Eyes are supplied O 2 through the cornea and vessels of the retina and iris, which are tissues characterized by aerobic metabolism. Meanwhile, there are no reports on the association between iris sphincter contraction and aerobic metabolism. In this paper, we studied the aforementioned association. Eyes from adult pigs of either sex were obtained from a local abattoir. A muscle strip was connected to a transducer to isometrically record the tension. O 2 consumption was measured using a Clark-type polarograph connected to a biological oxygen monitor. Creatine phosphate (PCr) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) contents were measured in the muscle strips by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Iris sphincter muscles were measured in resting, contractile or hypoxic phases. Contraction was induced by hyperosmotic 65 mM KCl (H-65K + ) or carbachol (CCh), and hypoxia was induced by aeration with N 2 instead of O 2 or by addition of sodium cyanide (NaCN). H-65K + - and CCh-induced muscle contraction, involved increasing O 2 consumption. Hypoxia and NaCN significantly decreased H-65K + - and CCh-induced muscle contraction and/or O 2 consumption and PCr contents. Our results suggest that the contractile behavior in porcine iris sphincter highly depends on mitogen oxidative metabolism.

  20. An Evaluation of the Precision of Measurement of Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scales in a Population Sample

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abbott, Rosemary A.; Ploubidis, George B.; Huppert, Felicia A.; Kuh, Diana; Croudace, Tim J.

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this study is to assess the effective measurement range of Ryff's Psychological Well-being scales (PWB). It applies normal ogive item response theory (IRT) methodology using factor analysis procedures for ordinal data based on a limited information estimation approach. The data come from a sample of 1,179 women participating in a…

  1. Contract Actions for Leased Equipment

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1999-06-30

    Fundamentals, Fundamentals of Contract Pricing, and Government Contract Law courses. The additional instruction should emphasize the contracting officers...Contracting Fundamentals, Fundamentals of Contract Pricing, and Government Contract Law courses. This additional instruction should emphasize the important...FAR 107.401 and 207.470 in the Basics of Contracting and Government Contract Law courses, and that price analysis in assessing lease versus purchase

  2. 40 CFR 35.4235 - Are there specific provisions my group's contract(s) must contain?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ...) Suspension and Debarment; (g) The following clauses from 40 CFR 30.48: (1) Remedies for breaches of contract...'s contract(s) must contain? 35.4235 Section 35.4235 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL... provisions my group's contract(s) must contain? Your group must include the following provisions in each of...

  3. A randomized control study of psychological intervention to reduce anxiety, amotivation and psychological distress among medical students.

    PubMed

    Saravanan, Coumaravelou; Kingston, Rajiah

    2014-05-01

    Test anxiety aggravates psychological distress and reduces the motivation among graduate students. This study aimed to identify psychological intervention for test anxiety, which reduces the level of psychological distress, amotivation and increases the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation among medical students. Westside test anxiety scale, Kessler Perceived Stress Scale and Academic Motivation Scale were used to measure test anxiety, psychological distress and motivation on 436 1(st) year medical students. Out of 436 students, 74 students who exhibited moderate to high test anxiety were randomly divided into either experimental or waiting list group. In this true randomized experimental study, 32 participants from the intervention group received five sessions of psychological intervention consist of psychoeducation, relaxation therapy and systematic desensitization. Thirty-three students from waiting list received one session of advice and suggestions. After received psychological intervention participants from the intervention group experienced less anxiety, psychological distress, and amotivation (P < 0.01) and high intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (P < 0.01) in the postassessment compared with their preassessment scores. Overall psychological intervention is effective to reduce anxiety scores and its related variables.

  4. Contract Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gilbert, Jay

    Academic work carried out through learning contracts at Empire State College is described. Learning contracts are defined and examples are given. Faculty roles, educational advantages, and implementation methods are discussed. (MLH)

  5. 48 CFR 35.006 - Contracting methods and contract type.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... short-duration fixed-price contract may be useful for developing system design concepts, resolving... contracts as designs become more firmly established, risks are reduced, and production tooling, equipment...

  6. Report: Improved Contract Administration Needed for the Customer Technology Solutions Contract

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Report #13-P-0398, September 16, 2013. Based on our review of the WCF contract EPW08034, which ended September 2012, the EPA needs to improve its contract administration to assist in managing other similar type contracts.

  7. Defining and measuring blood donor altruism: a theoretical approach from biology, economics and psychology

    PubMed Central

    Evans, R; Ferguson, E

    2014-01-01

    Background and Objectives While blood donation is traditionally described as a behaviour motivated by pure altruism, the assessment of altruism in the blood donation literature has not been theoretically informed. Drawing on theories of altruism from psychology, economics and evolutionary biology, it is argued that a theoretically derived psychometric assessment of altruism is needed. Such a measure is developed in this study that can be used to help inform both our understanding of the altruistic motives of blood donors and recruitment intervention strategies. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional survey (N = 414), with a 1-month behavioural follow-up (time 2, N = 77), was designed to assess theoretically derived constructs from psychological, economic and evolutionary biological theories of altruism. Theory of planned behaviour (TPB) variables and co-operation were also assessed at time 1 and a measure of behavioural co-operation at time 2. Results Five theoretical dimensions (impure altruism, kinship, self-regarding motives, reluctant altruism and egalitarian warm glow) of altruism were identified through factor analyses. These five altruistic motives differentiated blood donors from non-donors (donors scored higher on impure altruism and reluctant altruism), showed incremental validity over TPB constructs to predict donor intention and predicted future co-operative behaviour. Conclusions These findings show that altruism in the context of blood donation is multifaceted and complex and, does not reflect pure altruism. This has implication for recruitment campaigns that focus solely on pure altruism. PMID:24117697

  8. Utah Youth Suicide Study: Psychological Autopsy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moskos, Michelle; Olson, Lenora; Halbern, Sarah; Keller, Trisha; Gray, Doug

    2005-01-01

    We conducted a psychological autopsy study to further understand youth suicide in Utah. While traditional psychological autopsy studies primarily focus on the administration of psychometric measures to identify any underlying diagnosis of mental illness for the suicide decedent, we focused our interviews to identify which contacts in the…

  9. Forearm muscle oxygenation decreases with low levels of voluntary contraction

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Murthy, G.; Kahan, N. J.; Hargens, A. R.; Rempel, D. M.

    1997-01-01

    The purpose of our investigation was to determine if the near infrared spectroscopy technique was sensitive to changes in tissue oxygenation at low levels of isometric contraction in the extensor carpi radialis brevis muscle. Nine subjects were seated with the right arm abducted to 45 degrees, elbow flexed to 85 degrees, forearm pronated 45 degrees, and wrist and forearm supported on an armrest throughout the protocol. Altered tissue oxygenation was measured noninvasively with near infrared spectroscopy. The near infrared spectroscopy probe was placed over the extensor carpi radialis brevis of the subject's right forearm and secured with an elastic wrap. After 1 minute of baseline measurements taken with the muscle relaxed, four different loads were applied just proximal to the metacarpophalangeal joint such that the subjects isometrically contracted the extensor carpi radialis brevis at 5, 10, 15, and 50% of the maximum voluntary contraction for 1 minute each. A 3-minute recovery period followed each level of contraction. At the end of the protocol, with the probe still in place, a value for ischemic tissue oxygenation was obtained for each subject. This value was considered the physiological zero and hence 0% tissue oxygenation. Mean tissue oxygenation (+/-SE) decreased from resting baseline (100% tissue oxygenation) to 89 +/- 4, 81 +/- 8, 78 +/- 8, and 47 +/- 8% at 5, 10, 15, and 50% of the maximum voluntary contraction, respectively. Tissue oxygenation levels at 10, 15, and 50% of the maximum voluntary contraction were significantly lower (p < 0.05) than the baseline value. Our results indicate that tissue oxygenation significantly decreases during brief, low levels of static muscle contraction and that near infrared spectroscopy is a sensitive technique for detecting deoxygenation noninvasively at low levels of forearm muscle contraction. Our findings have important implications in occupational medicine because oxygen depletion induced by low levels of muscle

  10. Psychological Inflexibility and Child Anxiety.

    PubMed

    Simon, Ellin; Verboon, Peter

    2016-01-01

    Psychological flexibility is the main outcome of acceptance commitment therapy. Insight into the usefulness of measuring psychological flexibility is an important step to enable studies on the effectiveness of acceptance commitment therapy in middle-aged children (8-10 years). For this purpose, we examined the factor structure, the construct validity and the reliability of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth. The Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth taps psychological inflexibility (the opposite of psychological flexibility) in children and adolescents. Although the questionnaire has been extensively validated in older children, this is not the case for middle-aged children. The Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth contains 17 items and is constituted of the subscales cognitive fusion, experiential avoidance and behavioral ineffectiveness. A shortened 8-item version also exists, the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth-8, which does not distinguish between these subscales. We performed a confirmatory factor analysis. Additionally, we assessed the relationship between psychological flexibility and child anxiety. Children, aged 8-10 years, were recruited via regular primary schools. Of the 459 approached children, 267 (58 %) parents signed informed consents for their children (Age: M  = 9.18; SD  = .79; Sex: n boys  = 137, 51 %). Children completed the questionnaires during regular classes. In this sample, the 17-item version of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth was less appropriate for measuring psychological inflexibility than the 8-item version. Furthermore, we found a significant positive relationship between psychological inflexibility and child anxiety. We argue that acceptance commitment therapy would be an interesting candidate for intervening early on in dysfunctional child anxiety, as acceptance commitment therapy's cognitive elements require cognitive skills that children are likely to

  11. On convergence of the unscented Kalman-Bucy filter using contraction theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maree, J. P.; Imsland, L.; Jouffroy, J.

    2016-06-01

    Contraction theory entails a theoretical framework in which convergence of a nonlinear system can be analysed differentially in an appropriate contraction metric. This paper is concerned with utilising stochastic contraction theory to conclude on exponential convergence of the unscented Kalman-Bucy filter. The underlying process and measurement models of interest are Itô-type stochastic differential equations. In particular, statistical linearisation techniques are employed in a virtual-actual systems framework to establish deterministic contraction of the estimated expected mean of process values. Under mild conditions of bounded process noise, we extend the results on deterministic contraction to stochastic contraction of the estimated expected mean of the process state. It follows that for the regions of contraction, a result on convergence, and thereby incremental stability, is concluded for the unscented Kalman-Bucy filter. The theoretical concepts are illustrated in two case studies.

  12. Materials fatigue initiates eccentric contraction-induced injury in rat soleus muscle.

    PubMed Central

    Warren, G L; Hayes, D A; Lowe, D A; Prior, B M; Armstrong, R B

    1993-01-01

    1. The initiation of exercise-induced muscle injury is thought to be the result of high tensile stresses produced in the muscle during eccentric contractions. Materials science theory suggests that high tensile stresses could initiate the injury during the first eccentric contraction (normal stress theory) or after multiple eccentric contractions (materials fatigue). It was the objective of this study to investigate the two possibilities. 2. Rat soleus muscles (n = 66; 11 protocols with 6 muscles per protocol) were isolated, placed in an oxygenated Krebs-Ringer buffer at 37 degrees C, and baseline measurements were made. The muscle then performed an injury protocol which consisted of between zero and ten eccentric contractions (muscle starting length = 0.90 soleus muscle length, L0; length change = 0.25 L0; velocity = 1.5 L0/s; peak force = 180% maximal isometric tetanic tension (P0); time between contractions = 4 min; total duration of the injury protocol = 40 min). At the end of the injury protocol, the muscle was incubated in buffer for 1 h; every 15 min, an isometric twitch and tetanus were performed and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release was measured. Total muscle [Ca2+] was measured at the end of the incubation. 3. Change-point regression analysis indicates that at 0 min into the incubation, declines in P0, maximal rate of tension development (+dP/dt), maximal rate of relaxation (-dP/dt), and muscle stiffness (dP/dx) became significantly greater after eight eccentric contractions (p < or = 0.05). No relation was found between the number of eccentric contractions performed and the LDH activity at 0 min into the incubation, although after 60 min of incubation, LDH activity in the buffer was linearly related to eccentric contraction number (p = 0.01). There was no relationship between total muscle [Ca2+] and eccentric contraction number. These findings support the materials fatigue hypothesis of exercise-induced muscle injury. PMID:8229814

  13. Adolescent Sex Education: A Preventive Mental Health Measure.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Obstfeld, Lisa S.; Meyers, Andrew W.

    1984-01-01

    This article addresses the issue of adolescent sex education as a means of preventing sexuality-related disorders, including: sexual dysfunction; sexual deviance; physical health problems often contracted from sexual activity; and various psychological and sociological ill effects resulting from unplanned pregnancies. (Author/CJB)

  14. Dynamics of myosin-driven skeletal muscle contraction: I. Steady-state force generation.

    PubMed

    Lan, Ganhui; Sun, Sean X

    2005-06-01

    Skeletal muscle contraction is a canonical example of motor-driven force generation. Despite the long history of research in this topic, a mechanistic explanation of the collective myosin force generation is lacking. We present a theoretical model of muscle contraction based on the conformational movements of individual myosins and experimentally measured chemical rate constants. Detailed mechanics of the myosin motor and the geometry of the sarcomere are taken into account. Two possible scenarios of force generation are examined. We find only one of the scenarios can give rise to a plausible contraction mechanism. We propose that the synchrony in muscle contraction is due to a force-dependent ADP release step. Computational results of a half sarcomere with 150 myosin heads can explain the experimentally measured force-velocity relationship and efficiency data. We predict that the number of working myosin motors increases as the load force is increased, thus showing synchrony among myosin motors during muscle contraction. We also find that titin molecules anchoring the thick filament are passive force generators in assisting muscle contraction.

  15. Dynamics of Myosin-Driven Skeletal Muscle Contraction: I. Steady-State Force Generation

    PubMed Central

    Lan, Ganhui; Sun, Sean X.

    2005-01-01

    Skeletal muscle contraction is a canonical example of motor-driven force generation. Despite the long history of research in this topic, a mechanistic explanation of the collective myosin force generation is lacking. We present a theoretical model of muscle contraction based on the conformational movements of individual myosins and experimentally measured chemical rate constants. Detailed mechanics of the myosin motor and the geometry of the sarcomere are taken into account. Two possible scenarios of force generation are examined. We find only one of the scenarios can give rise to a plausible contraction mechanism. We propose that the synchrony in muscle contraction is due to a force-dependent ADP release step. Computational results of a half sarcomere with 150 myosin heads can explain the experimentally measured force-velocity relationship and efficiency data. We predict that the number of working myosin motors increases as the load force is increased, thus showing synchrony among myosin motors during muscle contraction. We also find that titin molecules anchoring the thick filament are passive force generators in assisting muscle contraction. PMID:15778440

  16. Employee absenteeism measures reflecting current work practices may be instrumental in a re-evaluation of the relationship between psychological distress/mental health and absenteeism.

    PubMed

    Hilton, Michael F; Sheridan, Judith; Cleary, Catherine M; Whiteford, Harvey A

    2009-01-01

    Absenteeism rates are the cornerstone metrics guiding corporate policy for health care investment in employees. However, traditional absenteeism measures do not reflect the contemporary workplace milieu. It is accepted practice that employees work evenings or weekends to makeup time. Using a hours-based absenteeism measure, that accounts for time made-up as well as time lost, this paper evaluates the impact of psychological distress on employee absenteeism.Psychological distress and absenteeism data were collected from 54,264 full-time employees. Consistent with traditional approaches, employees indicated how many days they were absent. Hours based absenteeism was formulated from the ratio of how many hours the employees worked and how many hours were they expected to work in the past seven-days.Concordant with previous concinnous evidence, traditional absenteeism computation indicated that elevated psychological distress is associated with increasing absenteeism. Using the hours-based method psychological distress did not significantly influence absenteeism.Traditional calculations of absenteeism do not reflect the current work practices of the majority of employees. Employees with psychological distress may take time off work but it appears that they make up for lost time possibly to stay up to speed with task driven occupations and avoid performance review.

  17. Teaching about Contracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Froman, Michael; Kosnoff, Kathy

    1978-01-01

    Presents teaching strategies for introducing high school students to contract law. Offers as a case study a contract agreement between pro football players and team owners. Stresses basic elements of contracts (offer, acceptance, consideration, and understanding the bargaining process). Journal available from the American Bar Association, 1155…

  18. Guarded self-disclosure predicts psychological distress and willingness to use psychological services among East Asian immigrants in the United States.

    PubMed

    Barry, Declan T; Mizrahi, Trina C

    2005-08-01

    This study examined the relationship between guarded self-disclosure, psychological distress, and willingness to use psychological services if distressed among 170 (88 male, 82 female) East Asian immigrants in the United States. Participants were administered a battery of psychometrically established measures. Participants who endorsed overall guarded self-disclosure, self-concealment (i.e., unwillingness to reveal affect to others), or conflict avoidance (i.e., maintenance of harmony via suppression of feelings) were significantly more likely to report psychological distress and were significantly less likely to report willingness to use psychological services. While conflict avoidance was a significant independent predictor of psychological distress, self-concealment was a significant independent predictor of willingness to use psychological services. These findings point to the importance of assessing multiple facets of guarded self-disclosure, which appear to be differentially associated with psychological distress and willingness to use psychological services.

  19. 48 CFR 1517.204 - Contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 true Contracts. 1517.204 Section 1517.204 Federal Acquisition Regulations System ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY CONTRACTING METHODS AND CONTRACT TYPES SPECIAL CONTRACTING METHODS Options 1517.204 Contracts. The SCM may approve a contract with...

  20. Psychological Adjustment of Siblings to a Child with Diabetes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hollidge, Colin

    2001-01-01

    Examines the psychological adjustment of well child siblings living with siblings with diabetes. Psychological adjustment was assessed by measuring self-concept; behavioral difficulties; competence; anxiety; and depression on standardized tests. The well siblings demonstrated significant internal psychological stressors and maintained high levels…

  1. Objective techniques for psychological assessment, phase 2. [techniques for measuring human performance during space flight stress

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wortz, E. C.; Saur, A. J.; Nowlis, D. P.; Kendall, M. P.

    1974-01-01

    Results are presented of an initial experiment in a research program designed to develop objective techniques for psychological assessment of individuals and groups participating in long-duration space flights. Specifically examined is the rationale for utilizing measures of attention as an objective assessment technique. Subjects participating in the experiment performed various tasks (eg, playing matrix games which appeared on a display screen along with auditory stimuli). The psychophysiological reactions of the subjects were measured and are given. Previous research of various performance and psychophysiological methods of measuring attention is also discussed. The experiment design (independent and dependent variables) and apparatus (computers and display devices) are described and shown. Conclusions and recommendations are presented.

  2. Toward Optimizing Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials: Normalization Reduces the Need for Strong Neck Muscle Contraction.

    PubMed

    Noij, Kimberley S; Herrmann, Barbara S; Rauch, Steven D; Guinan, John J

    2017-01-01

    The cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP) represents an inhibitory reflex of the saccule measured in the ipsilateral sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) in response to acoustic or vibrational stimulation. Since the cVEMP is a modulation of SCM electromyographic (EMG) activity, cVEMP amplitude is proportional to muscle EMG amplitude. We sought to evaluate muscle contraction influences on cVEMP peak-to-peak amplitudes (VEMPpp), normalized cVEMP amplitudes (VEMPn), and inhibition depth (VEMPid). cVEMPs at 500 Hz were measured in 25 healthy subjects for 3 SCM EMG contraction ranges: 45-65, 65-105, and 105-500 μV root mean square (r.m.s.). For each range, we measured cVEMP sound level functions (93-123 dB peSPL) and sound off, meaning that muscle contraction was measured without acoustic stimulation. The effect of muscle contraction amplitude on VEMPpp, VEMPn, and VEMPid and the ability to distinguish cVEMP presence/absence were evaluated. VEMPpp amplitudes were significantly greater at higher muscle contractions. In contrast, VEMPn and VEMPid showed no significant effect of muscle contraction. Cohen's d indicated that for all 3 cVEMP metrics contraction amplitude variations produced little change in the ability to distinguish cVEMP presence/absence. VEMPid more clearly indicated saccular output because when no acoustic stimulus was presented the saccular inhibition estimated by VEMPid was zero, unlike those by VEMPpp and VEMPn. Muscle contraction amplitude strongly affects VEMPpp amplitude, but contractions 45-300 μV r.m.s. produce stable VEMPn and VEMPid values. Clinically, there may be no need for subjects to exert high contraction effort. This is especially beneficial in patients for whom maintaining high SCM contraction amplitudes is challenging. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  3. The equivalence of computerized and paper-and-pencil psychological instruments: implications for measures of negative affect.

    PubMed

    Schulenberg, S E; Yutrzenka, B A

    1999-05-01

    The use of computerized psychological assessment is a growing practice among contemporary mental health professionals. Many popular and frequently used paper-and-pencil instruments have been adapted into computerized versions. Although equivalence for many instruments has been evaluated and supported, this issue is far from resolved. This literature review deals with recent research findings that suggest that computer aversion negatively impacts computerized assessment, particularly as it relates to measures of negative affect. There is a dearth of equivalence studies that take into account computer aversion's potential impact on the measurement of negative affect. Recommendations are offered for future research in this area.

  4. Behavioral activation in TFP: The role of the treatment contract in transference-focused psychotherapy.

    PubMed

    Yeomans, Frank E; Delaney, Jill C; Levy, Kenneth N

    2017-09-01

    Transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP) is a manualized evidence-based treatment for borderline and other severe personality disorders that is based on psychoanalytic object relations theory. Similar to other psychodynamic psychotherapies, TFP focuses on changing psychological structures, but also focuses on symptom and behavioral change, particularly the importance of being active (e.g., obtaining a job or involvement in similar activities). In TFP, the establishment of the treatment contract, also known as the treatment frame, is where goals such as work and other activities are agreed upon. The focus on such activities is particularly relevant to the concept of behavioral activation. We provide a clinical vignette to illustrate how TFP utilizes behavioral activation in facilitating treatment outcome both at the behavioral level and at the psychological level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  5. Neural activity in the reward-related brain regions predicts implicit self-esteem: A novel validity test of psychological measures using neuroimaging.

    PubMed

    Izuma, Keise; Kennedy, Kate; Fitzjohn, Alexander; Sedikides, Constantine; Shibata, Kazuhisa

    2018-03-01

    Self-esteem, arguably the most important attitudes an individual possesses, has been a premier research topic in psychology for more than a century. Following a surge of interest in implicit attitude measures in the 90s, researchers have tried to assess self-esteem implicitly to circumvent the influence of biases inherent in explicit measures. However, the validity of implicit self-esteem measures remains elusive. Critical tests are often inconclusive, as the validity of such measures is examined in the backdrop of imperfect behavioral measures. To overcome this serious limitation, we tested the neural validity of the most widely used implicit self-esteem measure, the implicit association test (IAT). Given the conceptualization of self-esteem as attitude toward the self, and neuroscience findings that the reward-related brain regions represent an individual's attitude or preference for an object when viewing its image, individual differences in implicit self-esteem should be associated with neural signals in the reward-related regions during passive-viewing of self-face (the most obvious representation of the self). Using multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) on functional MRI (fMRI) data, we demonstrate that the neural signals in the reward-related regions were robustly associated with implicit (but not explicit) self-esteem, thus providing unique evidence for the neural validity of the self-esteem IAT. In addition, both implicit and explicit self-esteem were related, although differently, to neural signals in regions involved in self-processing. Our finding highlights the utility of neuroscience methods in addressing fundamental psychological questions and providing unique insights into important psychological constructs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  6. A randomized control study of psychological intervention to reduce anxiety, amotivation and psychological distress among medical students

    PubMed Central

    Saravanan, Coumaravelou; Kingston, Rajiah

    2014-01-01

    Background: Test anxiety aggravates psychological distress and reduces the motivation among graduate students. This study aimed to identify psychological intervention for test anxiety, which reduces the level of psychological distress, amotivation and increases the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation among medical students. Materials and Methods: Westside test anxiety scale, Kessler Perceived Stress Scale and Academic Motivation Scale were used to measure test anxiety, psychological distress and motivation on 436 1st year medical students. Out of 436 students, 74 students who exhibited moderate to high test anxiety were randomly divided into either experimental or waiting list group. In this true randomized experimental study, 32 participants from the intervention group received five sessions of psychological intervention consist of psychoeducation, relaxation therapy and systematic desensitization. Thirty-three students from waiting list received one session of advice and suggestions. Results: After received psychological intervention participants from the intervention group experienced less anxiety, psychological distress, and amotivation (P < 0.01) and high intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (P < 0.01) in the postassessment compared with their preassessment scores. Conclusion: Overall psychological intervention is effective to reduce anxiety scores and its related variables. PMID:25097619

  7. Assessing Psychological Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetes: a Critical Comparison of Measures.

    PubMed

    Holmes-Truscott, E; Pouwer, F; Speight, J

    2017-07-01

    This study aims to examine the operationalisation of 'psychological insulin resistance' (PIR) among people with type 2 diabetes and to identify and critique relevant measures. PIR has been operationalised as (1) the assessment of attitudes or beliefs about insulin therapy and (2) hypothetical or actual resistance, or unwillingness, to use to insulin. Five validated PIR questionnaires were identified. None was fully comprehensive of all aspects of PIR, and the rigour and reporting of questionnaire development and psychometric validation varied considerably between measures. Assessment of PIR should focus on the identification of negative and positive attitudes towards insulin use. Actual or hypothetical insulin refusal may be better conceptualised as a potential consequence of PIR, as its assessment overlooks the attitudes that may prevent insulin use. This paper provides guidance on the selection of questionnaires for clinical or research purpose and the development of new, or improvement of existing, questionnaires.

  8. Are psychological measures and actuarial data equally effective in discriminating among the prison population? Analysis by crimes

    PubMed Central

    Burneo-Garcés, Carlos; Marín-Morales, Agar; Pérez-García, Miguel

    2018-01-01

    The ability of a wide range of psychological and actuarial measures to characterize crimes in the prison population has not yet been compared in a single study. Our main objective was to determine if the discriminant capacity of psychological measures (PM) and actuarial data (AD) varies according to the crime. An Ecuadorian sample of 576 men convicted of Robbery, Murder, Rape and Drug Possession crimes was evaluated through an ad hoc questionnaire, prison files and the Spanish adaptation of the Personality Assessment Inventory. Discriminant analysis was used to establish, for each crime, the discriminant capacity and the classification accuracy of a model composed of AD (socio-demographic and judicial measures) and a second model incorporating PM. The AD showed a superior discriminant capacity, whilst the contribution of both types of measures varied according to the crime. The PM generated some increase in the correct classification percentages for Murder, Rape and Drug Possession, but their contribution was zero for the crime of Robbery. Specific profiles of each crime were obtained from the strongest significant correlations between the value of each explanatory variable and the probability of belonging to the crime. The AD model is more robust when these four crimes are characterized. The contribution of AD and PM depends on the crime, and the inclusion of PM in actuarial models moderately optimizes the classification accuracy of Murder, Rape, and Drug Possession crimes. PMID:29874264

  9. Psychology Faculty Perceptions of Abnormal Psychology Textbooks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rapport, Zachary

    2011-01-01

    The problem. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the perceptions and opinions of psychology professors regarding the accuracy and inclusiveness of abnormal psychology textbooks. It sought answers from psychology professors to the following questions: (1) What are the expectations of the psychology faculty at a private university of…

  10. Positive Psychology: Considerations and Implications for Counseling Psychology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mollen, Debra; Ethington, Lanaya L.; Ridley, Charles R.

    2006-01-01

    Why has the specialty of counseling psychology been overlooked in the larger conversation about positive psychology? Is it reasonable that counseling psychology claims positive psychology as its own? What are some of the problems in defining "positive psychology," and how does the lack of consensus around operationalization thwart discourse on…

  11. Assessment in health psychology: Introduction to the special issue.

    PubMed

    Butt, Zeeshan

    2016-09-01

    For the past 27 years, Psychological Assessment has been committed to publishing empirical research relevant to clinical assessment of basic and applied cognition, personality, interpersonal behavior, psychopathology, forensics, and biological psychology. There is growing interest in the use of patient-centered outcomes in medical/surgical care and for measuring health care performance. Patient-centered outcome measures complement traditional clinical outcomes of morbidity and mortality, capturing the patient’s perspective regarding their health and its treatment. In this issue, we highlight 11 articles that address different aspects of such work. The articles in this special issue represent both the depth and breadth of the opportunities that exist for psychological assessment in the health setting. While there are countless patient-centered measures currently in use to measure health and health outcomes, the evidence base for their use can be quite variable (Butt, 2016). The hope is that future issues of Psychological Assessment will highlight more work in this area. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved

  12. Psychological controversies in gastroparesis: A systematic review

    PubMed Central

    Woodhouse, Sally; Hebbard, Geoff; Knowles, Simon R

    2017-01-01

    AIM To systematically review literature addressing three key psychologically-oriented controversies associated with gastroparesis. METHODS A comprehensive search of PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO databases was performed to identify literature addressing the relationship between gastroparesis and psychological factors. Two researchers independently screened all references. Inclusion criteria were: an adult sample of gastroparesis patients, a quantitative methodology, and at least one of the following: (1) evaluation of the prevalence of psychopathology; (2) an outcome measure of anxiety, depression, or quality of life; and (3) evidence of a psychological intervention. Case studies, review articles, and publications in languages other than English were excluded from the current review. RESULTS Prevalence of psychopathology was evaluated by three studies (n = 378), which found that combined anxiety/depression was present in 24% of the gastroparesis cohort, severe anxiety in 12.4%, depression in 21.8%-23%, and somatization in 50%. Level of anxiety and depression was included as an outcome measure in six studies (n = 1408), and while limited research made it difficult to determine the level of anxiety and depression in the cohort, a clear positive relationship with gastroparesis symptom severity was evident. Quality of life was included as an outcome measure in 11 studies (n = 2076), with gastroparesis patients reporting lower quality of life than population norms, and a negative relationship between quality of life and symptom severity. One study assessed the use of a psychological intervention for gastroparesis patients (n = 120) and found that depression and gastric function were improved in patients who received psychological intervention, however the study had considerable methodological limitations. CONCLUSION Gastroparesis is associated with significant psychological distress and poor quality of life. Recommendations for future studies and the development of

  13. Defining and measuring blood donor altruism: a theoretical approach from biology, economics and psychology.

    PubMed

    Evans, R; Ferguson, E

    2014-02-01

    While blood donation is traditionally described as a behaviour motivated by pure altruism, the assessment of altruism in the blood donation literature has not been theoretically informed. Drawing on theories of altruism from psychology, economics and evolutionary biology, it is argued that a theoretically derived psychometric assessment of altruism is needed. Such a measure is developed in this study that can be used to help inform both our understanding of the altruistic motives of blood donors and recruitment intervention strategies. A cross-sectional survey (N = 414), with a 1-month behavioural follow-up (time 2, N = 77), was designed to assess theoretically derived constructs from psychological, economic and evolutionary biological theories of altruism. Theory of planned behaviour (TPB) variables and co-operation were also assessed at time 1 and a measure of behavioural co-operation at time 2. Five theoretical dimensions (impure altruism, kinship, self-regarding motives, reluctant altruism and egalitarian warm glow) of altruism were identified through factor analyses. These five altruistic motives differentiated blood donors from non-donors (donors scored higher on impure altruism and reluctant altruism), showed incremental validity over TPB constructs to predict donor intention and predicted future co-operative behaviour. These findings show that altruism in the context of blood donation is multifaceted and complex and, does not reflect pure altruism. This has implication for recruitment campaigns that focus solely on pure altruism. © 2013 The Authors. Vox Sanguinis published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. on behalf of International Society of Blood Transfusion.

  14. Implementing the water framework directive: contract design and the cost of measures to reduce nitrogen pollution from agriculture.

    PubMed

    Bartolini, Fabio; Gallerani, Vittorio; Raggi, Meri; Viaggi, Davide

    2007-10-01

    The performance of different policy design strategies is a key issue in evaluating programmes for water quality improvement under the Water Framework Directive (60/2000). This issue is emphasised by information asymmetries between regulator and agents. Using an economic model under asymmetric information, the aim of this paper is to compare the cost-effectiveness of selected methods of designing payments to farmers in order to reduce nitrogen pollution in agriculture. A principal-agent model is used, based on profit functions generated through farm-level linear programming. This allows a comparison of flat rate payments and a menu of contracts developed through mechanism design. The model is tested in an area of Emilia Romagna (Italy) in two policy contexts: Agenda 2000 and the 2003 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform. The results show that different policy design options lead to differences in policy costs as great as 200-400%, with clear advantages for the menu of contracts. However, different policy scenarios may strongly affect such differences. Hence, the paper calls for greater attention to the interplay between CAP scenarios and water quality measures.

  15. Implementing the Water Framework Directive: Contract Design and the Cost of Measures to Reduce Nitrogen Pollution from Agriculture

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bartolini, Fabio; Gallerani, Vittorio; Raggi, Meri; Viaggi, Davide

    2007-10-01

    The performance of different policy design strategies is a key issue in evaluating programmes for water quality improvement under the Water Framework Directive (60/2000). This issue is emphasised by information asymmetries between regulator and agents. Using an economic model under asymmetric information, the aim of this paper is to compare the cost-effectiveness of selected methods of designing payments to farmers in order to reduce nitrogen pollution in agriculture. A principal-agent model is used, based on profit functions generated through farm-level linear programming. This allows a comparison of flat rate payments and a menu of contracts developed through mechanism design. The model is tested in an area of Emilia Romagna (Italy) in two policy contexts: Agenda 2000 and the 2003 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform. The results show that different policy design options lead to differences in policy costs as great as 200-400%, with clear advantages for the menu of contracts. However, different policy scenarios may strongly affect such differences. Hence, the paper calls for greater attention to the interplay between CAP scenarios and water quality measures.

  16. 48 CFR 1517.204 - Contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 6 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Contracts. 1517.204 Section 1517.204 Federal Acquisition Regulations System ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY CONTRACTING METHODS AND CONTRACT TYPES SPECIAL CONTRACTING METHODS Options 1517.204 Contracts. The SCM may approve a...

  17. Psychological distress and alcohol use among fire fighters.

    PubMed

    Boxer, P A; Wild, D

    1993-04-01

    Few studies have investigated stressors to which fire fighters are subjected and the potential psychological consequences. One hundred and forty-five fire fighters were studied to enumerate potential occupational stressors, assess psychological distress and problems with alcohol use, and determine whether a relationship exists between these measures and self-reported stressors. Hearing that children are in a burning building was the highest ranked stressor. According to three self-report instruments, between 33 and 41% of the fire fighters were experiencing significant psychological distress, and 29% had possible or probable problems with alcohol use. These figures are significantly higher than would be expected in a typical community or working population. In a logistic regression analysis, no relationship was found between measures of psychological distress and alcohol use and the 10 most highly ranked work stressors.

  18. OECD's Brief Self-Report Measure of Educational Psychology's Most Useful Affective Constructs: Cross-Cultural, Psychometric Comparisons across 25 Countries

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marsh, Herbert W.; Hau, Kit-Tai; Artelt, Cordula; Baumert, Jurgen; Peschar, Jules L.

    2006-01-01

    Through a rigorous process of selecting educational psychology's most useful affective constructs, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) constructed the Students' Approaches to Learning (SAL) instrument, which requires only 10 min to measure 14 factors that assess self-regulated learning strategies, self-beliefs,…

  19. Correlations of Male College Students' Verbal Response Mode Use in Psychotherapy with Measures of Psychological Disturbance and Psychotherapy Outcome.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McDaniel, Susan H.; And Others

    1981-01-01

    Compared verbal response mode use by male students with measures of clients' psychological distress, disturbance, and change. Results indicated more distressed clients used a higher percentage of disclosures and lower percentage of edifications, clients who improved more participated more, no relationship between improvement in psychotherapy and…

  20. Psychology Ethics in Introductory Psychology Textbooks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zucchero, Renee' A.

    2011-01-01

    Previous research revealed that introductory psychology textbooks included limited information about psychology ethics. This study reviewed 48 current introductory psychology textbooks for research and other APA ethics content. These textbooks included slightly more total ethics content and were more thorough in their review of research ethics…

  1. The impact of environmental stressors and types of work contract on occupational stress.

    PubMed

    Corrêa, Ana Paula; Ferreira, Maria Cristina

    2011-05-01

    This study aimed to investigate the impact of seven environmental stressors (role conflict, work overload, interpersonal difficulties, work-family conflict, work instability, lack of autonomy and pressure of responsibility) and the nature of the employment contract (permanent or atypical) on three psychological reactions to occupational stress (job satisfaction, positive emotions, and negative emotions at work). 305 Brazilian workers from both sexes participated in this research, distributed between permanent and atypical workers. The results showed that the role conflict and the work overload had a negative impact on job satisfaction. The role conflict had a negative impact on the positive emotions at work, while the pressure of responsibility interfered positively in it. The work overload interfered positively in the negative emotions at work, while the pressure of responsibility interfered negatively in it. The type of contract did not affect significantly any one of the dependent variables. The implications of the results for future research are discussed.

  2. Measuring the academic, social, and psychological effects of academic service learning on middle school students

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Giacalone, Valarie A.

    The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an academic service learning project on ninth-grade students' science achievement and attitudes. A quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest design was used with four classes of one teacher in a rural school. The treatment was an Energy Fair service project. Two treatment classes that were chosen by random assignment (n = 58) were compared to two control classes (n = 64), who performed an alternative assignment. The Energy Fair was conducted for the elementary school students and on a limited basis for fellow students (peers). The academic effect was measured by a teacher-designed end-of-unit ecology test, with a subset of the questions on energy use. Psychological effects were measured by a self-esteem questionnaire, which measured both self-esteem and the satisfaction felt about one's self-esteem. Social effects were measured by three semantic differentials, one each for "adults," "peers," and "elementary students." The teacher was interviewed regarding her observations about the project. Written reflections from both the treatment and control groups were coded and analyzed. Pretest results were divided into thirds of high, medium, and low for all variables to search for the possibility of an attribute-treatment interaction. Analysis of covariance was used to reduce the possibility of pretest bias, to test for significant effects, and to test for a level by treatment interaction. Although the posttest means favored the experimental group, no statistically significant difference was found for academic results. No significant effect was found for either of the psychological measures. No change was found for the social results regarding "adults." A statistically significant effect was found for social results in the categories of "elementary students" and "peers." No statistically significant level by treatment interaction was found. Further research on the effects of academic service learning projects is needed at

  3. Cost and Schedule Benchmarks for Defense Acquisition Contracts

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1994-09-01

    and schedule deviations early Knepp & S -curves for cost S -curves couldn’t Stroble/1993 control be used Terry & EAC Indices SCI-based EAC is...completed and on-going contracts from the early 1970’ s to date. Some of the fields in the database used in determining the status of cost overruns and...Measurement Data (Christensen, 1992:20). Christensen Article David S . Christensen published an analysis of cost overruns on DoD acquisition contracts

  4. Adolescents' experience of parental psychological caregiving and neglect: Construct development.

    PubMed

    Christ, Sharon L; Kwak, Yoon Young; Lu, Ting

    2017-01-01

    Psychological or emotional neglect is a recognized form of child maltreatment in the United States. However, neglect as a form of maltreatment and particularly psychological neglect as a subtype are understudied relative to other forms of maltreatment. One reason for this is that few measures of psychological (or emotional) neglect are available and there remains some uncertainty about how to define and measure it. In this article, we put forth a theoretical definition of psychological caregiving, including omission of care or psychological neglect of adolescents by their primary caregivers. We present an operationalization of psychological caregiving/neglect using adolescent self-reported survey items. A confirmatory latent variable modeling approach was used to measure and validate psychological caregiving/neglect in 2 adolescent (age 11 to 17) population cohorts involved with Child Protective Services (CPS) in the United States. The latent variable fits the samples well in both cohort populations indicating a valid construct, is mostly invariant across gender and age, is stable over time, and has good reliability. The measure also shows concurrent validity, associating strongly with all problem behavior domains. Questionnaire items similar to those used in this measure could be included along with other items in future studies of adolescent populations. We recommend further dialogue and development of this construct as a potential major contributing factor to the health and well-being of individuals and to advance research in the area of emotional care and neglect experiences in adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  5. 48 CFR 1817.204 - Contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 true Contracts. 1817.204 Section 1817.204 Federal Acquisition Regulations System NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION CONTRACTING METHODS AND CONTRACT TYPES SPECIAL CONTRACTING METHODS Options 1817.204 Contracts. (e)(i) The 5...

  6. Relationship among self-esteem, psychological reactance, and other personality variables.

    PubMed

    Joubert, C E

    1990-06-01

    69 women and 42 men responded to the Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory, the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, the Hong Psychological Reactance Scale, and the Famous Sayings test. Also, subjects rated their happiness using a Likert scale. Men scored significantly higher than did women on the UCLA Loneliness, Hostility, and Psychological Reactance measures, and lower on the Conventional Mores and Social Acquiescence measures. Loneliness scores positively correlated with Psychological Reactance scores and negatively with Self-esteem and Conventional Mores scores and with happiness self-ratings for both sexes. Men who scored higher on Psychological Reactance tended to score lower on Conventional Mores. Happiness ratings correlated negatively with Psychological Reactance for all subjects and positively with Conventional Mores for men subjects only. Women's self-esteem scores correlated positively with self-ratings of happiness and negatively with Psychological Reactance, Hostility, and Fear of Failure. Finally, women's Psychological Reactance scores correlated positively with those on Bass's Fear of Failure scale.

  7. Contracts. Warranties.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mertz, Gayle

    1988-01-01

    Presents two lesson plans for grades 5-9 which are meant to increase student's legal literacy. The first lesson covers contracts and includes a comic strip which illustrates contract law. The second deals with warranties and why they are important. Included are examples of product warranties. (GEA)

  8. Matrix metalloproteinase inhibition reduces contraction by dupuytren fibroblasts.

    PubMed

    Townley, William A; Cambrey, Alison D; Khaw, Peng T; Grobbelaar, Adriaan O

    2008-11-01

    Dupuytren's disease is a common fibroproliferative condition of the hand characterized by fibrotic lesions (nodules and cords), leading to disability through progressive digital contracture. Although the etiology of the disease is poorly understood, recent evidence suggests that abnormal matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity may play a role in cell-mediated collagen contraction and tissue scarring. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of ilomastat, a broad-spectrum MMP inhibitor, in an in vitro model of Dupuytren fibroblast-mediated contraction. Nodule-derived and cord-derived fibroblasts were isolated from Dupuytren patients; carpal ligament-derived fibroblasts acted as control. Stress-release fibroblast-populated collagen lattices (FPCLs) were used as a model of contraction. FPCLs were allowed to develop mechanical stress (48 hours) during treatment with ilomastat (0-100 micromol/L), released, and allowed to contract over a 48-hour period. Contraction was estimated by measuring lattice area compared with untreated cells or treatment with a control peptide. MMP-1, MMP-2, and MT1-MMP levels were assessed by zymography, Western blotting, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Nodule-derived fibroblasts contracted lattices (69% +/- 2) to a greater extent than did cord-derived (55% +/- 3) or carpal ligament-derived (55% +/- 1) fibroblasts. Exposure to ilomastat led to significant inhibition of lattice contraction by all fibroblasts, although a reduction in lattice contraction by nodule-derived fibroblasts was most prominent (84% +/- 8). In addition, treatment with ilomastat led to a concomitant suppression of MMP-1 and MMP-2 activity, whereas MT1-MMP activity was found to be upregulated. Our results demonstrate that inhibition of MMP activity results in a reduction in extracellular matrix contraction by Dupuytren fibroblasts and suggest that MMP activity may be a critical target in preventing recurrent contracture caused by this disease.

  9. Interdisciplinary Aspects of Learning: Physics and Psychology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oleg, Yavoruk

    2015-01-01

    The article deals with interdisciplinary aspects of learning in the case of physics and psychology. It describes the lab-based academic course focused on: observation and experimentation; discovery of new scientific facts; measurement; identification of errors; the study of psychological characteristics of people (time perception, the reaction…

  10. Functional implications of muscle co-contraction during gait in advanced age.

    PubMed

    Lo, Justine; Lo, On-Yee; Olson, Erin A; Habtemariam, Daniel; Iloputaife, Ikechukwu; Gagnon, Margaret M; Manor, Brad; Lipsitz, Lewis A

    2017-03-01

    Older adults often exhibit high levels of lower extremity muscle co-contraction, which may be the cause or effect of age-related impairments in gait and associated falls. Normal gait requires intact executive function and thus can be slowed by challenging executive resources available to the neuromuscular system through the performance of a dual task. We therefore investigated associations between lower limb co-contraction and gait characteristics under normal and dual task conditions in healthy older adults (85.4±5.9years). We hypothesized that greater co-contraction is associated with slower gait speed during dual task conditions that stress executive and attentional abilities. Co-contraction was quantified during different phases of the gait cycle using surface electromyography (EMG) signals obtained from the anterior tibialis and lateral gastrocnemius while walking at preferred speed during normal and dual task conditions. Variables included the time difference to complete the Trail Making Test A and B (ΔTMT) and gait measures during normal or dual task walking. Higher co-contraction levels during the swing phase of both normal and dual task walking were associated with longer ΔTMT (normal: R 2 =0.25, p=0.02; dual task: R 2 =0.27, p=0.01). Co-contraction was associated with gait measures during dual task walking only; greater co-contraction levels during stride and stance were associated with slower gait speed (stride: R 2 =0.38, p=0.04; stance: R 2 =0.38, p=0.04), and greater co-contraction during stride was associated with longer stride time (R 2 =0.16, p=0.03). Our results suggest that relatively high lower limb co-contraction may explain some of the mobility impairments associated with the conduct of executive tasks in older adults. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Psychological Stress Can Be Decreased by Traditional Thai Massage.

    PubMed

    Sripongngam, Thanarat; Eungpinichpong, Wichai; Sirivongs, Dhavee; Kanpittaya, Jaturat; Tangvoraphonkchai, Kamonwan; Chanaboon, Sutin

    2015-06-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the immediate effects of traditional Thai massage (TTM) on psychological stress and heart rate variability (HRV). Thirty healthy participants were randomly allocated in two groups, a TTM group (n = 15) who received a 1-hour session with moderate pressure of whole body TTM or a control group (n=15) who rested on the bedfor 1 hour All ofthem were given a 10-minute mental arithmetic test to induce psychological stress after which they received a 1-hour session of TTM or bed rest. Psychological stress and HR V were measured at baseline and immediately after mental arithmetic test, and immediately after TTM or bed rest. The studyfound that psychological stress was signficantly increased (p<0.05) after mental arithmetic test in both groups. Comparison on these measures between immediately after mental arithmetic test and after TTM or bed rest revealed that psychological stress was significantly decreased (p<0.05) and HR Vwas significantly increased (p<0.05) in both groups. Root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) and low frequency were significantly increased (p<0.05) only in the TTM group. However; all of these measures were found without significant difference when groups were compared. TTM and bed rest could decrease psychological stress and HRV

  12. Psychological distress associated with cancer screening: A systematic review.

    PubMed

    Chad-Friedman, Emma; Coleman, Sarah; Traeger, Lara N; Pirl, William F; Goldman, Roberta; Atlas, Steven J; Park, Elyse R

    2017-10-15

    Current national cancer screening recommendations include the potential risk of psychological harm related to screening. However, data on the relation of psychological distress to cancer screening is limited. The authors conducted a systematic review to assess psychological distress associated with cancer screening procedures. Studies that administered measures of psychological distress between 2 weeks before and 1 month after the screening procedure were included. In total, 22 eligible studies met criteria for review, including 13 observational trials and 9 randomized controlled trials. Eligible studies used a broad range of validated and unvalidated measures. Anxiety was the most commonly assessed construct and was measured using the State Trait Anxiety Inventory. Studies included breast, colorectal, prostate, lung, and cervical screening procedures. Distress was low across procedures, with the exception of colorectal screening. Distress did not vary according to the time at which distress was measured. None of the studies were conducted exclusively with the intention of assessing distress at the time of screening. Evidence of low distress during the time of cancer screening suggests that distress might not be a widespread barrier to screening among adults who undergo screening. However, more studies are needed using validated measures of distress to further understand the extent to which screening may elicit psychological distress and impede adherence to national screening recommendations. Cancer 2017;123:3882-94. © 2017 American Cancer Society. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

  13. Uninvolved versus target muscle contraction during contract: relax proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching.

    PubMed

    Azevedo, Daniel Camara; Melo, Raphael Marques; Alves Corrêa, Ricardo Vidal; Chalmers, Gordon

    2011-08-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare the acute effect of the contract-relax (CR) stretching technique on knee active range of motion (ROM) using target muscle contraction or an uninvolved muscle contraction. pre-test post-test control experimental design. Clinical research laboratory. Sixty healthy men were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The Contract-Relax group (CR) performed a traditional hamstring CR stretch, the Modified Contract-Relax group (MCR) performed hamstring CR stretching using contraction of an uninvolved muscle distant from the target muscle, and the Control group (CG) did not stretch. Active knee extension test was performed before and after the stretching procedure. Two-way between-within analysis of variance (ANOVA) results showed a significant interaction between group and pre-test to post-test (p < 0.001). Post-hoc examination of individual groups showed no significant change in ROM for the CG (0.8°, p = 0.084), and a significant moderate increase in ROM for both the CR (7.0°, p < 0.001) and MCR (7.0°, p < 0.001) groups. ROM gain following a CR PNF procedure is the same whether the target stretching muscle is contracted, or an uninvolved muscle is contracted. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Contraction frequency after administration of misoprostol in obese versus nonobese women.

    PubMed

    Stefely, Erin; Warshak, Carri R

    2018-04-30

    To examine impact of obesity on contraction frequency following misoprostol. Our hypothesis is that an increased volume of distribution reduces the bioavailability of misoprostol and may be an explanation for reduced efficacy. We examined the contraction frequency as a surrogate marker for bioavailability of misoprostol. We compared the rate of contractions at five time intervals in 313 subjects: prior to administration, and at four intervals post administration. We compared number of contractions in obese versus nonobese. As a planned secondary analysis, we then compared the rate of change in contractions per hour at four time intervals: a repeated measures analysis to compare the rate of change in contractions per hour over the 5-hour window controlling for race (White versus non-White) and parity (primiparous versus multiparous). General linear model and repeated measures analysis were conducted to report the parameter estimates, least square means, difference of least square means, and p values. Nonobese women presented with more contractions at baseline, 7 ± 5 versus 4 ± 5 c/h, p < .001. At all four time intervals after misoprostol administration obese women had fewer contractions per hour. The rate of change in contraction frequency after administration found obese women had a lower rate of increase in contraction frequency over the course of all four hours. We found a least squares means estimate (c/h): first hour (-0.87), p = .08, second hour (-2.43), p = .01, third hour (-1.80), p = .96, and fourth hour (-2.98), p = .007. Obese women have a lower rate of contractions per hour at baseline and at four intervals after misoprostol administration. In addition, the rate of change in the increase in contractions/hour also was reduced in obese women versus nonobese women. This suggests a lower bioavailability of misoprostol in women with a larger volume of distribution which would likely impact the efficacy of misoprostol in obese

  15. 23 CFR 635.121 - Contract time and contract time extensions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... time extensions. (a) The STD should have adequate written procedures for the determination of contract... of the effective date of this Final Rule. (b) Contract time extensions granted by a STD shall be...

  16. 23 CFR 635.121 - Contract time and contract time extensions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... time extensions. (a) The STD should have adequate written procedures for the determination of contract... of the effective date of this Final Rule. (b) Contract time extensions granted by a STD shall be...

  17. 23 CFR 635.121 - Contract time and contract time extensions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... time extensions. (a) The STD should have adequate written procedures for the determination of contract... of the effective date of this Final Rule. (b) Contract time extensions granted by a STD shall be...

  18. 23 CFR 635.121 - Contract time and contract time extensions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... time extensions. (a) The STD should have adequate written procedures for the determination of contract... of the effective date of this Final Rule. (b) Contract time extensions granted by a STD shall be...

  19. Renal myofibroblasts contract collagen I matrix lattices in vitro.

    PubMed

    Kelynack, K J; Hewitson, T D; Pedagogos, E; Nicholls, K M; Becker, G J

    1999-01-01

    Myofibroblasts, cells with both fibroblastic and smooth muscle cell features, have been implicated in renal scarring. In addition to synthetic properties, contractile features and integrin expression may allow myofibroblasts to rearrange and contract interstitial collagenous proteins. Myofibroblasts from normal rat kidneys were grown in cell-populated collagen lattices to measure cell generated contraction. Following detachment of cell populated collagen lattices, myofibroblasts progressively contracted collagen lattices, reducing lattice diameter by 42% at 24 h. Alignment of myofibroblasts, rearrangement of fibrils and beta(1) integrin expression were observed within lattices. We postulate that interstitial myofibroblasts contribute to renal scarring through manipulation of collagenous proteins. Copyright 1999 S. Karger AG, Basel

  20. Capturing the psychologic-personal perspective in spinal cord injury.

    PubMed

    Geyh, Szilvia; Müller, Rachel; Peter, Claudio; Bickenbach, Jerome E; Post, Marcel W M; Stucki, Gerold; Cieza, Alarcos

    2011-11-01

    The overall objective of this study was to illustrate a systematic approach for capturing the psychologic-personal perspective in International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health-based comprehensive research on spinal cord injury (SCI) in terms of what and how to measure. The specific aims were to identify (1) relevant areas of research for capturing the psychologic-personal factors in a study that is planned and conceptualized according to the comprehensive context of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, using SCI as a case in point; (2) a set of domains relevant for SCI research from a psychologic-personal perspective; and (3) suitable measurement instruments that can be considered for the assessment of those identified domains based on a set of predefined guiding principles. The psychologic-personal factor structure was developed based on an item pool of 1246 entries from secondary analyses of available data from SCI studies. The domain set for psychologic-personal factors was identified through reviewing the scientific literature in PubMed and PsycInfo. The set of measurement instruments was collected using available measurement reviews, searches in the literature, instrument databases, and further sources and was selected using guiding principles. Forty specific psychologic-personal factors, subdivided into seven areas of research, were identified: (1) sociodemographic personal characteristics, (2) the position in the immediate social and physical context, (3) personal history and biography, (4) feelings, (5) thoughts and beliefs, (6) motives, and (7) patterns of experience and behavior. The psychologic-personal factors domain set contains both cross-cutting outcome domains, namely quality-of-life, life satisfaction, subjective well-being, and sociodemographic personal characteristics, life events, positive and negative affect, perceived stress, locus of control, self-efficacy, purpose in life, coping

  1. 48 CFR 904.7004 - Findings, determination, and contract award or termination.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... that award of a contract to an offeror(s) or continued performance of a contract by a contractor will... types of plans that a contractor can propose are: measures which provide for physical or organizational separation of the facility or organizational component containing the classified information or special...

  2. Effects of muscle contraction on cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in normal subjects.

    PubMed

    Rosengren, Sally M

    2015-11-01

    Cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMPs) are vestibular-dependent muscle reflexes recorded from the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscles in humans. cVEMP amplitude is modulated by stimulus intensity and SCM muscle contraction strength, but the effect of muscle contraction is less well-documented. The effects of intensity and contraction were therefore compared in 25 normal subjects over a wide range of contractions. cVEMPs were recorded at different contraction levels while holding stimulus intensity constant and at different intensities while holding SCM contraction constant. The effect of muscle contraction on cVEMP amplitude was linear for most of the range of muscle contractions in the majority of subjects (mean R(2)=0.93), although there were some nonlinearities when the contraction was either very weak or very strong. Very weak contractions were associated with absent responses, incomplete morphology and prolonged p13 latencies. Normalization of amplitudes, by dividing the p13-n23 amplitude by the muscle contraction estimate, reduced the effect of muscle contraction, but tended to underestimate the amplitude with weak contractions. Minimum contraction levels are required for accurate interpretation of cVEMPs. These data highlight the importance of measuring SCM contraction strength when recording cVEMPs. Copyright © 2015 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Service quality in contracted facilities.

    PubMed

    Rabbani, Fauziah; Pradhan, Nousheen Akber; Zaidi, Shehla; Azam, Syed Iqbal; Yousuf, Farheen

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to explore the readiness of contracted and non-contracted first-level healthcare facilities in Pakistan to deliver quality maternal and neonatal health (MNH) care. A balanced scorecard (BSC) was used as the assessment framework. Using a cross-sectional study design, two rural health centers (RHCs) contracted out to Aga Khan Health Service, Pakistan were compared with four government managed RHCs. A BSC was designed to assess RHC readiness to deliver good quality MNH care. In total 20 indicators were developed, representing five BSC domains: health facility functionality, service provision, staff capacity, staff and patient satisfaction. Validated data collection tools were used to collect information. Pearson χ2, Fisher's Exact and the Mann-Whitney tests were applied as appropriate to detect significant service quality differences among the two facilities. Contracted facilities were generally found to be better than non-contracted facilities in all five BSC domains. Patients' inclination for facility-based delivery at contracted facilities was, however, significantly higher than non-contracted facilities (80 percent contracted vs 43 percent non-contracted, p=0.006). The study shows that contracting out initiatives have the potential to improve MNH care. This is the first study to compare MNH service delivery quality across contracted and non-contracted facilities using BSC as the assessment framework.

  4. The relationship between exercise motives and psychological well-being.

    PubMed

    Maltby, J; Day, L

    2001-11-01

    The aim of the present study was to use the self-determination model of exercise motives to examine the relationship between extrinsic and intrinsic motives for exercise and a number of measures of psychological well-being. Undergraduate students purporting to exercise regularly (N = 227; 102 men, 125 women) were split into 2 groups: those exercising for less than 6 months and those exercising for 6 months or more. The respondents were asked to complete measures of exercise motivation, self-esteem, psychological well-being, and stress. Among individuals exercising for less than 6 months, a number of extrinsic motivations for exercise were significantly related to poorer psychological well-being. Among individuals exercising for 6 months or more, a number of intrinsic motivations were significantly related to better psychological well-being. The present findings suggest that researchers can use self-determination theory to understand the relationship between exercise motivation and psychological well-being.

  5. Gender, Empathy, and the Choice of the Psychology Major

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harton, Helen C.; Lyons, Patrick C.

    2003-01-01

    We compared male and female psychology majors to psychology minors and nonmajors to understand the trends in a growing major in which women outnumber men. A total of 451 psychology majors, minors, and nonmajors from 4 institutions completed a questionnaire measuring empathy, career goals, and perceptions of the importance of empathy for therapy.…

  6. The Post-Baccalaureate Perceptions of Psychology Alumni

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Landrum, R. Eric; Elison-Bowers, P.

    2009-01-01

    Faculty members from 7 Departments of Psychology distributed a link to an online survey to their psychology alumni in order to ascertain alumni opinions about college courses, impact of student clubs, value of the undergraduate degree, beliefs about the department, and measures of global satisfaction. These variables were examined in conjunction…

  7. Creating a Full-thickness Choroidal Incision: An Ex Vivo Analysis of Human and Porcine Tissue Contraction Dynamics

    PubMed Central

    LoBue, Stephen A.; Yamada, Norihiro; Choi, Moon Jeong; Olsen, Timothy W.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose We hypothesized that the elastic nature of the choroid leads to tissue contraction following a full-thickness, sharp incision. Furthermore, we sought to quantify, measure, and compare tissue contraction in ex vivo porcine globes and human globes of various ages using predetermined variables. Method A full-thickness, ex vivo choroidal incision was performed in either pig (n = 97) or human (n = 30) specimens. Variables included trephine diameter (1.5, 2.0, or 2.5 mm) versus a straight surgical blade, and temperature (1.7 °–4.4° vs. 36.6°F). Central centripetal and surround centrifugal tissue contractions were measured. Mean percentage tissue contraction was assessed as a ratio of trephine diameter to final tissue contraction measured immediately following each incision using a standardized device. Results For trephination in pig specimens, centripetal contraction ranged from 38% to 50% with a mean of 44%. Centrifugal contraction was approximately 15%. Human choroidal contraction was 39% and 15%, respectively, with a statistically significant inverse relationship to age (R2 = 0.35, P ≤ 0.01). Asymmetric contraction was noted when incisions were closer to choroidal attachment sites to the sclera, such as near vortex ampullae. Linear incisions resulted in contraction that correlated with incision length (R2 = 0.35, P ≤ 0.001). Conclusions A full-thickness choroidal incision results in significant tissue contraction. For circular incisions, the centripetal contraction approaches 50% of the original incision size. For linear incisions, the contraction corresponds directly with incision length. In human specimens, there is less contraction with advancing age. Translational Relevance Our findings have clinical relevance for choroidal biopsy, traumatic injury, and choroidal translocation surgery. PMID:29134136

  8. Managing Contraction.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taylor, William

    The major thesis of this paper on declining resources and enrollment is that the management of decline, or, as the author calls it, "contraction," is not simply an economic and technical problem; it is basically a conceptual and political one. The author first considers the effects of contraction on schools, buildings, and courses,…

  9. The effects of 72 hours of sleep loss on psychological variables.

    PubMed

    Mikulincer, M; Babkoff, H; Caspy, T; Sing, H

    1989-05-01

    A study was conducted on the effects of 72 hours of sleep loss and modified continuous operations on performance and psychological variables. This paper presents the results of self-report data of 12 subjects for the following psychological variables: sleepiness, affect, motivation, cognitive difficulties, and waking dreams. The relationship between the self-report measures and performance in a visual search and memory task is also examined. Most of the psychological variables are significantly affected by the number of days of sleep deprivation, all are significantly affected by hour of day; but only sleepiness, affect and motivation are also significantly affected by the interaction between these variables. The peak hours for self-reported psychological complaints are generally between 0400 and 0800, while the lowest number of complaints are usually reported in the afternoon/early evening, between 1600 and 2000. In addition, the results showed that (a) the amplitude of the circadian component of the psychological data increased over the period of sleep loss, and (b) psychological data were more highly correlated with a measure of general performance than with accuracy. The mechanisms of sleep deprivation underlying its effects on psychological and performance measures are discussed.

  10. Employee contract issues for dermatologists.

    PubMed

    Brown, Christopher E; Indest, George F

    2013-12-01

    Employees and employers routinely face negotiating and preparing physician employment contracts. It is important for both sides to know and understand the basic information on what a comprehensive employment contract for a dermatologist should contain. There are various employment contract provisions from both the employee's perspective and the employer's perspective that must be considered when preparing physician employment contracts. This article provides basic advice and recommendations on requirements that should be included in such contracts. It suggests legal pitfalls that can be avoided through various contract clauses.

  11. The role of psychological flexibility in a self-help acceptance and commitment therapy intervention for psychological distress in a randomized controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Fledderus, Martine; Bohlmeijer, Ernst T; Fox, Jean-Paul; Schreurs, Karlein M G; Spinhoven, Philip

    2013-03-01

    This study examined the role of psychological flexibility, as a risk factor and as a process of change, in a self-help Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) intervention for adults with mild to moderate depression and anxiety. Participants were randomized to the self-help programme with e-mail support (n=250), or to a waiting list control group (n=126). All participants completed measures before and after the intervention to assess depression, anxiety and psychological flexibility. Participants in the experimental condition also completed these measures during the intervention (after three and six weeks) and at a three-month follow-up. With multilevel modelling, it was shown that the effects of the intervention on psychological distress were stronger for participants with higher levels of psychological flexibility. Furthermore, our study showed that improved psychological flexibility mediated the effects of the ACT intervention. With a cross-lagged panel design, it was shown that especially improvements in psychological flexibility in the last three sessions of the intervention were important for further reductions in anxiety. To conclude, our study showed the importance of targeting psychological flexibility during an ACT intervention for a reduction in depressive and anxiety symptoms. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Fibrinogen inhibits fibroblast-mediated contraction of collagen

    PubMed Central

    Nien, Yih-Dar; Han, Yuan-Ping; Tawil, Bill; Chan, Linda S.; Tuan, Tai-Lan; Garner, Warren L.

    2008-01-01

    Extracellular matrix changes in composition and organization as it transitions from the provisional matrix of the fibrin/platelet plug to collagen scar in healed wounds. The manner in which individual matrix proteins affect these activities is not well established. In this article we describe the interactions of two important extracellular matrix components, fibrin and collagen, using an in vitro model of wound contraction, the fibroblast-populated collagen lattice. We utilized different fibrinogen sources and measured tissue reorganization in floating and tensioned collagen lattices. Our results showed that both fibrin and fibrinogen decreased the contraction of fibroblast populated collagen lattices in a dose-dependent manner. Polymerization of fibrinogen to fibrin using thrombin had no effect on this inhibition. Further, there was no effect due to changes in protein concentration, alternate components of the fibrin sealant, or the enzymatic action of thrombin. These results suggest that the initial stability of the fibrin provisional matrix is due to the fibrin, because this protein appears to inhibit contraction of the matrix. This may be important in the early phases of wound healing when clot stability is vital for hemostasis. Later, as fibrin is replaced by collagen, wound contraction can occur. PMID:12950643

  13. Measurement equivalence: A non-technical primer on categorical multi-group confirmatory factor analysis in school psychology.

    PubMed

    Pendergast, Laura L; von der Embse, Nathaniel; Kilgus, Stephen P; Eklund, Katie R

    2017-02-01

    Evidence-based interventions (EBIs) have become a central component of school psychology research and practice, but EBIs are dependent upon the availability and use of evidence-based assessments (EBAs) with diverse student populations. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA) is an analytical tool that can be used to examine the validity and measurement equivalence/invariance of scores across diverse groups. The objective of this article is to provide a conceptual and procedural overview of categorical MG-CFA, as well as an illustrated example based on data from the Social and Academic Behavior Risk Screener (SABRS) - a tool designed for use in school-based interventions. This article serves as a non-technical primer on the topic of MG-CFA with ordinal (rating scale) data and does so through the framework of examining equivalence of measures used for EBIs within multi-tiered models - an understudied topic. To go along with the illustrated example, we have provided supplementary files that include sample data, Mplus input code, and an annotated guide for understanding the input code (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2016.11.002). Data needed to reproduce analyses in this article are available as supplemental materials (online only) in the Appendix of this article. Copyright © 2016 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. 48 CFR 235.006 - Contracting methods and contract type.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... Defense (Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics) (USD(AT&L)) of an intent not to exercise a fixed-price... award a fixed-price type contract for a development program effort unless— (1) The level of program risk permits realistic pricing; (2) The use of a fixed-price type contract permits an equitable and sensible...

  15. Forensic psychology and correctional psychology: Distinct but related subfields of psychological science and practice.

    PubMed

    Neal, Tess M S

    2018-02-12

    This article delineates 2 separate but related subfields of psychological science and practice applicable across all major areas of the field (e.g., clinical, counseling, developmental, social, cognitive, community). Forensic and correctional psychology are related by their historical roots, involvement in the justice system, and the shared population of people they study and serve. The practical and ethical contexts of these subfields is distinct from other areas of psychology-and from one another-with important implications for ecologically valid research and ethically sound practice. Forensic psychology is a subfield of psychology in which basic and applied psychological science or scientifically oriented professional practice is applied to the law to help resolve legal, contractual, or administrative matters. Correctional psychology is a subfield of psychology in which basic and applied psychological science or scientifically oriented professional practice is applied to the justice system to inform the classification, treatment, and management of offenders to reduce risk and improve public safety. There has been and continues to be great interest in both subfields-especially the potential for forensic and correctional psychological science to help resolve practical issues and questions in legal and justice settings. This article traces the shared and separate developmental histories of these subfields, outlines their important distinctions and implications, and provides a common understanding and shared language for psychologists interested in applying their knowledge in forensic or correctional contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. Reducing teachers' psychological distress through a mindfulness training program.

    PubMed

    Franco, Clemente; Mañas, Israel; Cangas, Adolfo J; Moreno, Emilio; Gallego, José

    2010-11-01

    Teachers constitute one of the professional collectives most affected by psychological problems. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study is to examine the efficacy of a mindfulness training programme to reduce psychological distress in a group of teachers. The sample comprised 68 teachers of Secondary School Education, from various public schools; half of them formed the experimental group, and the another half the control group. The levels of psychological distress were measured, in both groups, by the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R) before and after the application of the programme. Statistical analysis shows the significant reduction of three general measures of psychological distress (Global Severity Index, Positive Symptom Distress Index, and Positive Symptom Total), as well in all its dimensions (somatization, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensibility, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism), in the experimental group compared with the control group. Follow-up measures show that these results were maintained for four months after termination of the intervention in the experimental group.

  17. Physiological response to submaximal isometric contractions of the paravertebral muscles

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jensen, B. R.; Jorgensen, K.; Hargens, A. R.; Nielsen, P. K.; Nicolaisen, T.

    1999-01-01

    STUDY DESIGN: Brief (30-second) isometric trunk extensions at 5%, 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) and 3 minutes of prolonged trunk extension (20% MVC) in erect position were studied in nine healthy male subjects. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the intercorrelation between intramuscular pressure and tissue oxygenation of the paravertebral muscles during submaximal isometric contractions and further, to evaluate paravertebral electromyogram and intramuscular pressure as indicators of force development. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Local physiologic responses to muscle contraction are incompletely understood. METHODS: Relative oxygenation was monitored with noninvasive near-infrared spectroscopy, intramuscular pressure was measured with a transducer-tipped catheter, and surface electromyogram was monitored at three recording sites. RESULTS: The root mean square amplitudes of the paravertebral electromyogram (L4, left and right; T12, right) and intramuscular pressure measured in the lumbar multifidus muscle at L4 increased with greater force development in a curvilinear manner. A significant decrease in the oxygenation of the lumbar paravertebral muscle in response to muscle contraction was found at an initial contraction level of 20% MVC. This corresponded to a paravertebral intramuscular pressure of 30-40 mm Hg. However, during prolonged trunk extension, no further decrease in tissue oxygenation was found compared with the tissue oxygenation level at the end of the brief contractions, indicating that homeostatic adjustments (mean blood pressure and heart rate) over time were sufficient to maintain paravertebral muscle oxygen levels. CONCLUSION: At a threshold intramuscular pressure of 30-40 mm Hg during muscle contraction, oxygenation in the paravertebral muscles is significantly reduced. The effect of further increase in intramuscular pressure on tissue oxygenation over time may be compensated for by an increase in blood pressure and heart

  18. Performance-based contracting in home-care work in The Netherlands: professionalism under pressure?

    PubMed

    Oomkens, Rosanne; Hoogenboom, Marcel; Knijn, Trudie

    2016-07-01

    Our aim was to improve the understanding of the relationships between performance-based contracting, management supportiveness and professionalism in home care. Using path analysis, this article explores the relationships between home-care workers' perceptions of management support, implementation of performance-based contracting (i.e. use of strict time registration rules and cost-efficiency measures) and autonomy and intrinsic job satisfaction. We hypothesised that: use of strict time registration rules and cost-efficiency measures relates to lower levels of autonomy and intrinsic job satisfaction (H1); there is an indirect relationship between use of strict time registration rules and use of cost-efficiency measures and intrinsic job satisfaction via autonomy (H2); higher levels of management support relate to the use of looser time registration rules and less use of cost-efficiency measures (H3); and higher levels of management support relate to higher levels of autonomy and intrinsic job satisfaction (H4). We used data from a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2010 of a sample of Dutch home-care workers (N = 156, response rate = 34%). Overall, our study suggests that the consequences of performance-based contracting for professionalism are ambiguous. More specifically, using strict time registration rules is related to lower levels of autonomy, whereas using cost-efficiency measures does not seem to affect autonomy (H1). Performance-based contracting has no consequences for the level of fulfilment home-care workers find in their job, as neither of the two contracting dimensions measured was directly or indirectly related to intrinsic job satisfaction (H1, H2). The role of managers must be taken into account when studying performance-based contracting, because perceived higher management support is related to managers' less frequent use of both strict time registration rules and of cost-efficiency measures (H3). The insight we gained into the importance of

  19. 48 CFR 1846.470 - Contract clause.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... CONTRACT MANAGEMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE Government Contract Quality Assurance 1846.470 Contract clause. The contracting officer may insert a clause substantially as stated at 1852.246-71, Government Contract Quality Assurance Functions, in solicitations and contracts to specify the location(s) of quality assurance...

  20. 48 CFR 3416.307 - Contract clauses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contract clauses. 3416.307 Section 3416.307 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ACQUISITION REGULATION CONTRACTING METHODS AND CONTRACT TYPES TYPES OF CONTRACTS Cost-Reimbursement Contracts 3416.307 Contract...

  1. An in situ optical imaging system for measuring lipid uptake, vessel contraction, and lymph flow in small animal lymphatic vessels

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kassis, Timothy; Weiler, Michael J.; Dixon, J. Brandon

    2012-03-01

    All dietary lipids are transported to venous circulation through the lymphatic system, yet the underlying mechanisms that regulate this process remain unclear. Understanding how the lymphatics functionally respond to changes in lipid load is important in the diagnosis and treatment of lipid and lymphatic related diseases such as obesity, hypercholesterolemia, and lymphedema. Therefore, we sought to develop an in situ imaging system to quantify and correlate lymphatic function as it relates to lipid transport. A custom-built optical set-up provides us with the capability of dual-channel imaging of both high-speed bright-field video and fluorescence simultaneously. This is achieved by dividing the light path into two optical bands. Utilizing high-speed and back-illuminated CCD cameras and post-acquisition image processing algorithms, we have the potential quantify correlations between vessel contraction, lymph flow and lipid concentration of mesenteric lymphatic vessels in situ. Local flow velocity is measured through lymphocyte tracking, vessel contraction through measurements of the vessel walls and lipid uptake through fluorescence intensity tracking of a fluorescent long chain fatty acid analogue, Bodipy FL C16. This system will prove to be an invaluable tool for both scientists studying lymphatic function in health and disease, and those investigating strategies for targeting the lymphatic system with orally delivered drugs.

  2. Introducing Students to Psychological Research: General Psychology as a Laboratory Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thieman, Thomas J.; Clary, E. Gil; Olson, Andrea M.; Dauner, Rachel C.; Ring, Erin E.

    2009-01-01

    For 6 years, we have offered an integrated weekly laboratory focusing on research methods as part of our general psychology course. Through self-report measures and controlled comparisons, we found that laboratory projects significantly increase students' knowledge and comfort level with scientific approaches and concepts, sustain interest in…

  3. Pain judgements of patients' relatives: examining the use of social contract theory as theoretical framework.

    PubMed

    Kappesser, Judith; de C Williams, Amanda C

    2008-08-01

    Observer underestimation of others' pain was studied using a concept from evolutionary psychology: a cheater detection mechanism from social contract theory, applied to relatives and friends of chronic pain patients. 127 participants estimated characters' pain intensity and fairness of behaviour after reading four vignettes describing characters suffering from pain. Four cues were systematically varied: the character continuing or stopping liked tasks; continuing or stopping disliked tasks; availability of medical evidence; and pain intensity as rated by characters. Results revealed that pain intensity and the two behavioural variables had an effect on pain estimates: high pain self-reports and stopping all tasks led to high pain estimates; pain was estimated to be lowest when characters stopped disliked but continued with liked tasks. This combination was also rated least fair. Results support the use of social contract theory as a theoretical framework to explore pain judgements.

  4. 48 CFR 716.406 - Contract clauses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Contract clauses. 716.406 Section 716.406 Federal Acquisition Regulations System AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONTRACTING METHODS AND CONTRACT TYPES TYPES OF CONTRACTS Cost Reimbursement Contracts 716.406 Contract clauses. The...

  5. 48 CFR 716.406 - Contract clauses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contract clauses. 716.406 Section 716.406 Federal Acquisition Regulations System AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONTRACTING METHODS AND CONTRACT TYPES TYPES OF CONTRACTS Cost Reimbursement Contracts 716.406 Contract clauses. The...

  6. 48 CFR 3416.701 - Contract clause.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contract clause. 3416.701 Section 3416.701 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ACQUISITION REGULATION CONTRACTING METHODS AND CONTRACT TYPES TYPES OF CONTRACTS Agreements 3416.701 Contract clause. The contracting...

  7. Wellness Assessment: A Rationale, A Measure, and Physical/Psychological Components.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shuffield, Gilda; Dana, Richard H.

    Wellness, or holistic health, represents a positive attitude toward the integration of physical and psychological aspects of lifestyle. There have been few attempts to assess wellness that contain more than questionnaire items across several component areas. This paper describes a test battery that includes physical (nutrition, cardiorespiratory…

  8. Prospective relationships between workplace sexual harassment and psychological distress.

    PubMed

    Nielsen, M B; Einarsen, S

    2012-04-01

    Exposure to workplace sexual harassment (SH) has been associated with impaired mental health, but longitudinal studies confirming the relationship are lacking. To examine gender differences in prospective associations between SH and psychological distress. Baseline questionnaire survey data were collected in 2005 in a representative sample of Norwegian employees. Follow-up data were collected in 2007. SH was measured with the Bergen Sexual Harassment Scale. Psychological distress was measured with the 25 item Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL-25) with cases of psychological distress defined as having a mean score of <1.75. Variables were measured at both baseline and follow-up. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyse data. Response rates were 57% in 2005 and 75% in 2007 when the final cohort comprised 1775 respondents. After adjusting for baseline distress and age, exposure to SH at baseline was associated with psychological distress at follow-up among women [odds ratio (OR): 2.03; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.2-3.39] but not men (OR: 1.32; 95% CI: 0.72-2.43). Baseline distress was significantly related to SH at follow-up among men (OR: 3.03; 95% CI: 1.74-5.26) but not women (OR: 1.15; 95% CI: 0.69-1.92). The study found that SH contributed to subsequent psychological distress among women. Workplace measures against SH would be expected to lead to a reduction in mental disorders. The finding that psychological distress predicts SH among men may indicate either a vulnerability factor or a negative perception mechanism.

  9. A robot control architecture supported on contraction theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Silva, Jorge; Sequeira, João; Santos, Cristina

    2017-01-01

    This paper proposes fundamentals for stability and success of a global system composed by a mobile robot, a real environment and a navigation architecture with time constraints. Contraction theory is a typical framework that provides tools and properties to prove the stability and convergence of the global system to a unique fixed point that identifies the mission success. A stability indicator based on the combination contraction property is developed to identify the mission success as a stability measure. The architecture is fully designed through C1 nonlinear dynamical systems and feedthrough maps, which makes it amenable for contraction analysis. Experiments in a realistic and uncontrolled environment are realised to verify if inherent perturbations of the sensory information and of the environment affect the stability and success of the global system.

  10. 48 CFR 17.204 - Contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... information technology contracts. However, statutes applicable to various classes of contracts, for example... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Contracts. 17.204 Section 17.204 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION CONTRACTING METHODS AND...

  11. Mindfulness and its Role in Physical and Psychological Health.

    PubMed

    Prazak, Michael; Critelli, Joseph; Martin, Luci; Miranda, Vanessa; Purdum, Michael; Powers, Catherine

    2012-03-01

    This study examined the relationships of mindfulness, a form of focused self-awareness, with physical and psychological health. Mindfulness was measured in terms of four stable forms of awareness: Observe, an awareness of internal and external stimuli; Describe, an ability to verbally express thoughts clearly and easily; Act with Awareness, the tendency to focus on present tasks with undivided attention; and Accept without Judgment, the tendency to take a nonjudgmental attitude toward one's own thoughts and emotions. These aspects of mindfulness were explored in relation to both physical health, which consisted of heart rate variability, a measure of overall cardiovascular health, and psychological health, which consisted of flourishing, existential well-being, negative affect, and social well-being in a sample of 506 undergraduate students. Individuals high in mindfulness showed better cardiovascular health and psychological health. © 2011 The Authors. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being © 2011 The International Association of Applied Psychology.

  12. Resilience and Psychological Distress in Psychology and Medical Students.

    PubMed

    Bacchi, Stephen; Licinio, Julio

    2017-04-01

    The authors investigated levels of resilience and psychological distress in medical and psychology students, factors that may affect these levels, the relationship between resilience and psychological distress, and student opinion on causes of stress and possible interventions. A voluntary anonymous online survey was distributed to University of Adelaide medical and psychology students. Medical and psychology students (n = 560; response rate = 24.7%) had similar mean resilience and psychological distress scores, and 47.9% of medical students and 55.1% of psychology students were psychologically distressed. Higher levels of resilience were associated with lower levels of distress (p < 0.001). Students supported resilience-based interventions, greater financial support, clearer learning objectives and more continuous assessment as potential means to reduce the effects of stress. Higher levels of resilience were associated with lower levels of psychological distress. Further studies are required to determine the efficacy of resilience-based interventions in these groups.

  13. Psychological Skills Development and Maintenance in Professional Soccer Players: An Experimental Design with Follow Up Measures

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miçoogullari, Bülent Okan

    2016-01-01

    Psychological skills training and Psychological well-being (PWB) are two essential concepts not only for general mental health but also for athletic performance in sport settings. However, the effects of problems in Sport Training Scale (PSTS) on sport performance and general psychological well-being have not been systematically examined through…

  14. Violated and vulnerable: women's experiences of contracting a sexually transmitted infection from a male partner.

    PubMed

    East, Leah; Peters, Kath; Jackson, Debra

    2017-08-01

    To explore women's stories of contracting a sexually transmitted infection from a male partner and elucidate the gendered constructs and violence experienced that made the women vulnerable to these infections. Violence against women can result in both physical and psychological consequences and expose women to multiple health risks including sexual health adversity. Feminist storytelling approach. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 10 women. All data underwent thematic analysis. Findings from this study revealed the women were vulnerable to contracting sexually transmitted infection/s from their male sexual partners as a result of unequal gender and abusive relationship dynamics. Subsequently, contracting a sexual infection within this context potentially increased their vulnerability in both current and future relationships, through their loss of self-confidence and perceived ability to have a trusting loving heterosexual relationship as women with sexually transmitted infection/s. Women in relationships in which they are subordinate to their male partner are at heightened risk of sexual health adversity, including contracting a sexually transmitted infection. Contracting a sexually transmitted infection within the context of an abusive relationship can further increase women's vulnerability to dominant male partners, thus further exposure to sexual risk and adversity. Nurses working in clinical settings are well placed to conduct opportunistic screening of women's sexual health, including assessment of sexually transmitted infections and the nature of the encounter in which they were contracted. Thorough assessment can potentially identify relationship and personal factors that can increase a woman's risk to both sexual adversity and forms of abuse. Also, if women do divulge that they have suffered abuse, nurses are positioned to provide support and guidance in implementing strategies to minimise risk as well as referring them to specialised services.

  15. Psychological harassment in the nursing workplace: an observational study.

    PubMed

    Fornés, Joana; Cardoso, Meiremar; Castelló, Joana Maria; Gili, Margalida

    2011-06-01

    Psychological harassment in the workplace involves disrespectful or humiliating behavior to workers. Nurses make up one of the groups that are most exposed to these behaviors. This descriptive study investigated the most common types of psychological harassment in the nursing workplace and their relationship with sociodemographic variables among 285 nurses in Spain. Findings indicate differences in the prevalence of psychological harassment depending on the criterion that was used. Psychological harassment is positively correlated with a desire to abandon the profession and negatively with participation in decision making. The results suggest combining different measures to evaluate psychological harassment in the workplace and zero-tolerance polices for psychological abuse. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Trauma and Psychological Distress among Ethnically Diverse Community College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Edman, Jeanne L.; Watson, Susan B.; Patron, David J.

    2016-01-01

    An association has been found between traumatic experiences and psychological distress; however, the impact of ethnicity on psychological distress is less clear. The present study examined the relationship between traumatic experiences and measures of psychological distress among a multiethnic sample of community college students. A total of 389…

  17. 78 FR 11685 - Public Availability of FY 2011 Service Contract Inventory Analysis, FY 2012 Service Contract...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-02-19

    ... Analysis, FY 2012 Service Contract Inventory, and FY 2012 Service Contract Inventory Planned Analysis for... of the availability of the FY 2011 Service Contract Inventory Analysis, the FY 2012 Service Contract Inventory, and the FY 2012 Service Contract Inventory Planned Analysis. The FY 2011 inventory analysis...

  18. 24 CFR 232.605 - Contract requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... Fire Safety Equipment Form of Contract § 232.605 Contract requirements. (a) The contract between the... contract. Either form of contract shall include the cost of fire safety equipment, its installation, and...

  19. 24 CFR 232.605 - Contract requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... Fire Safety Equipment Form of Contract § 232.605 Contract requirements. (a) The contract between the... contract. Either form of contract shall include the cost of fire safety equipment, its installation, and...

  20. 24 CFR 232.605 - Contract requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... Fire Safety Equipment Form of Contract § 232.605 Contract requirements. (a) The contract between the... contract. Either form of contract shall include the cost of fire safety equipment, its installation, and...

  1. 48 CFR 217.204 - Contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ...)(i) Notwithstanding FAR 17.204(e), the ordering period of a task order or delivery order contract...) of this section does not apply to the following: (A) Contracts, including task or delivery order contracts, awarded under other statutory authority. (B) Advisory and assistance service task order contracts...

  2. Automatic Conflict Detection on Contracts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fenech, Stephen; Pace, Gordon J.; Schneider, Gerardo

    Many software applications are based on collaborating, yet competing, agents or virtual organisations exchanging services. Contracts, expressing obligations, permissions and prohibitions of the different actors, can be used to protect the interests of the organisations engaged in such service exchange. However, the potentially dynamic composition of services with different contracts, and the combination of service contracts with local contracts can give rise to unexpected conflicts, exposing the need for automatic techniques for contract analysis. In this paper we look at automatic analysis techniques for contracts written in the contract language mathcal{CL}. We present a trace semantics of mathcal{CL} suitable for conflict analysis, and a decision procedure for detecting conflicts (together with its proof of soundness, completeness and termination). We also discuss its implementation and look into the applications of the contract analysis approach we present. These techniques are applied to a small case study of an airline check-in desk.

  3. 7 CFR 634.25 - Contracting.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... AGRICULTURE LONG TERM CONTRACTING RURAL CLEAN WATER PROGRAM Participant RCWP Contracts § 634.25 Contracting... agrees to apply his or her water-quality plan. Any person who controls, or shares control, of the farm... basic contract document, special provisions as needed, the participant's water-quality plan, schedule of...

  4. 7 CFR 634.25 - Contracting.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... AGRICULTURE LONG TERM CONTRACTING RURAL CLEAN WATER PROGRAM Participant RCWP Contracts § 634.25 Contracting... agrees to apply his or her water-quality plan. Any person who controls, or shares control, of the farm... basic contract document, special provisions as needed, the participant's water-quality plan, schedule of...

  5. 7 CFR 634.25 - Contracting.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... AGRICULTURE LONG TERM CONTRACTING RURAL CLEAN WATER PROGRAM Participant RCWP Contracts § 634.25 Contracting... agrees to apply his or her water-quality plan. Any person who controls, or shares control, of the farm... basic contract document, special provisions as needed, the participant's water-quality plan, schedule of...

  6. The Joy of Contracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hegarty, Kevin

    This paper is a practical guide that explains and illustrates contracts between libraries and vendors for computerized circulation systems. It describes the elements of a typical contract to include the equipment and services that should be specified in the contract and establishes scheduling and acceptance testing needs. Included in a contract…

  7. Effect of Knee Joint Angle and Contraction Intensity on Hamstrings Coactivation.

    PubMed

    Wu, Rui; Delahunt, Eamonn; Ditroilo, Massimiliano; Lowery, Madeleine M; DE Vito, Giuseppe

    2017-08-01

    This study investigated the effect of knee joint angle and contraction intensity on the coactivation of the hamstring muscles (when acting as antagonists to the quadriceps) in young and older individuals of both sexes. A total of 25 young (24 ± 2.6 yr) and 26 older (70 ± 2.5 yr) healthy men and women participated. Maximal voluntary isometric contraction of the knee extensors and flexors was assessed at two knee joint angles (90° and 60°, 0° = full extension). At each angle, participants performed submaximal contractions of the knee extensors (20%, 50%, and 80% maximal voluntary isometric contraction), whereas surface EMG was simultaneously acquired from the vastus lateralis and biceps femoris muscles to assess the level (EMG root-mean-square) of agonist activation and antagonist coactivation. Subcutaneous adipose tissue in the areas corresponding to surface EMG electrode placements was measured via ultrasonography. The contractions performed at 90° knee flexion demonstrated higher levels of antagonist coactivation (all P < 0.01) and agonist activation (all P < 0.01) as a function of contraction intensity compared with the 60° knee flexion. Furthermore, after controlling for subcutaneous adipose tissue, older participants exhibited a higher level of antagonist coactivation at 60° knee flexion compared with young participants (P < 0.05). The results of the present study suggest that 1) the antagonist coactivation is dependent on knee joint angle and contraction intensity and 2) subcutaneous adipose tissue may affect the measured coactivation level likely because of a cross-talk effect. Antagonist coactivation may play a protective role in stabilizing the knee joint and maintaining constant motor output.

  8. Solid-state vs water-perfused catheters to measure colonic high-amplitude propagating contractions.

    PubMed

    Liem, O; Burgers, R E; Connor, F L; Benninga, M A; Reddy, S N; Mousa, H M; Di Lorenzo, C

    2012-04-01

      Solid-state (SS) manometry catheters with portable data loggers offer many potential advantages over traditional water-perfused (WP) systems, such as prolonged recordings in a more physiologic ambulatory setting and the lack of risk for water overload. The use of SS catheters has not been evaluated in comparison with perfused catheters in children. This study aims to compare data provided by SS and WP catheters in children undergoing colonic manometry studies.   A SS catheter and a WP catheter were taped together such that their corresponding sensors were at the same location. Simultaneous recordings were obtained using the SS and WP catheters (both 8 channels, 10 cm apart) in 15 children with severe defecation disorders referred for colonic manometry. Signals were recorded for a minimum of 1 h during fasting, 1 h after ingestion of a meal, and 1 h after the administration of bisacodyl. Solid-state signals from the data logger were analyzed against the perfused signals. All high-amplitude propagated contractions (HAPCs), the most recognizable and interpreted colonic motor event, were evaluated for spatial and temporal features including their durations, amplitudes, and propagation velocities.   A total of 107 HAPCs were detected with SS and 91 with WP catheters. All WP-HAPC were also observed with SS. Linear regression analysis showed that SS catheters tended to give higher readings in the presence of amplitudes <102 mmHg and lower reading with amplitudes >102 mmHg. An opposite trend was found for the duration of contractions. No significant difference was found for HAPC velocity.   SS catheters are more sensitive in recording HAPCs in children with defecation disorders compared with the more traditional WP assembly. There is a difference in measurements of amplitude between the two systems. Solid-state catheters offer potential advantages over WP catheters in children, being portable, safer to use, and may provide data over a more prolonged period.

  9. Association Between Monetary Deposits and Weight Loss in Online Commitment Contracts

    PubMed Central

    Lesser, Lenard I.; Thompson, Caroline A.; Luft, Harold S.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose To examine the characteristics of voluntary online commitment contracts that may be associated with greater weight loss. Design Retrospective analysis of weight loss commitment contracts derived from a company that provides web-based support for personal commitment contracts. Using regression, we analyzed whether percentage weight loss differed between participants who incentivized their contract using monetary deposits and those who did not. Setting Online. Participants Users (N = 3857) who voluntarily signed up online in 2013 for a weight loss contract. Intervention Participants specified their own weight loss goal, time period, and self-reported weekly weight. Deposits were available in the following 3 categories: charity, anticharity (a nonprofit one does not like), or donations made to a friend. Measures Percentage weight loss per week. Analysis Multivariable linear regressions. Results Controlling for several participant and contract characteristics, contracts with anticharity, charity, and friend deposits had greater reported weight loss than nonincentivized contracts. Weight change per week relative to those without deposits was −0.33%, −0.28%, and −0.25% for anti-charity, charity, and friend, respectively (P < 0.001). Contracts without a weight verification method claimed more weight loss than those with verification. Conclusion Voluntary use of commitment contracts may be an effective tool to assist weight loss. Those who choose to use monetary incentives report more weight loss. It is not clear whether this is due to the incentives or higher motivation. PMID:27502832

  10. Minority business bidding for local government contracts: the complexity of availability.

    PubMed

    Bangs, Ralph L; Murrell, Audrey; Constance-Huggins, Monique

    2007-01-01

    While minority-business enterprises (MBEs) have gained some access to local government contracts during the last three decades, these firms continue to receive a small share of local government contract spending relative to the number of available firms. Researchers have suggested two general explanations for the low representation of MBEs in contract awards: (1) lack of qualifications and capacity among MBEs, and (2) public and private discrimination against MBEs in contracting processes. This study on prime contract opportunities in a Northern central city and county with a large minority population finds that low bid rates greatly contribute to the low MBE shares of prime contracts and that bidding is reduced by both local government processes and characteristics of the firms. Some implications of these findings are that local governments need to: (1) monitor MBE shares of prime contract bids by size of contract and use share of bids as one measure of program and organizational effectiveness; (2) identify MBEs that are qualified for prime contracts and encourage and help interested firms to submit competitive bids; and (3) ensure that local government policies and practices do not diminish access to information about prime contract opportunities for qualified and interested minority firms. Another implication is that bidders lists should not be a primary basis for determining MBE availability, since many qualified and interested MBEs do not bid because of perceived barriers in local government.

  11. 48 CFR 632.705 - Contract clauses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contract clauses. 632.705 Section 632.705 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF STATE GENERAL CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS CONTRACT FINANCING Contract Funding 632.705 Contract clauses. ...

  12. 48 CFR 32.705 - Contract clauses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contract clauses. 32.705 Section 32.705 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION GENERAL CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS CONTRACT FINANCING Contract Funding 32.705 Contract clauses. ...

  13. Toward a domain-specific approach to the study of parental psychological control: distinguishing between dependency-oriented and achievement-oriented psychological control.

    PubMed

    Soenens, Bart; Vansteenkiste, Maarten; Luyten, Patrick

    2010-02-01

    Theory and research suggest that psychologically controlling parenting can be driven by parental concerns in two different domains, that is, interpersonal closeness and achievement. Three studies addressing this hypothesis are presented. Study 1 provides evidence for the validity of the Dependency-Oriented and Achievement-Oriented Psychological Control Scale (DAPCS), a new measure assessing psychological control in these two domains. Study 2 showed that dependency-oriented and achievement-oriented psychological control were related in expected ways to parental separation anxiety and perfectionism in a sample of mothers and fathers. Finally, Study 3 showed that dependency-oriented and achievement-oriented psychological control were differentially related to middle adolescent dependency and self-criticism and that these personality features act as specific intervening variables between the domain-specific expressions of psychological control and depressive symptoms. It is argued that the distinction between two domain-specific expressions of psychological control may allow for a more intricate analysis of the processes involved in intrusive parenting.

  14. Defense Contract Management Agency

    Science.gov Websites

    , May 24. Click the photo above for more information. Members of the Defense Contract Management Agency for more information. Members of the Defense Contract Management Agency International Region conduct Skip to main content (Press Enter). Toggle navigation Defense Contract Management Agency Search

  15. An Analysis of Air Force Service Contract Cases Appealed to the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1988-09-01

    DEM/88S- 1 AN ANALYSIS OF AIR FORCE SERVICE CONTRACT CASES APPEALED TO THE ARMED SERVICES BOARD OF CONTRACT APPEALS THESIS Diane L. Bowden First...CONTRACT CASES APPEALED TO THE ARMED SERVICES BOARD OF CONTRACT APPEALS THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the School of Systems and Logistics of the Air...analyze, and condense information that might be useful to contracting and contract management personnel. Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals

  16. 48 CFR 42.401 - Contract correspondence.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contract correspondence... MANAGEMENT CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT SERVICES Correspondence and Visits 42.401 Contract correspondence. (a) The contracting officer (or other contracting agency personnel) normally shall (1) forward...

  17. 48 CFR 1832.705 - Contract clauses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 true Contract clauses. 1832.705 Section 1832.705 Federal Acquisition Regulations System NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION GENERAL CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS CONTRACT FINANCING Contract Funding 1832.705 Contract clauses. ...

  18. 48 CFR 1242.7000 - Contract clauses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contract clauses. 1242.7000 Section 1242.7000 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION CONTRACT MANAGEMENT CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION AND AUDIT SERVICES Contract Administration Clauses 1242.7000 Contract...

  19. Development and Validation of a Brief Measure of Psychological Resilience: An Adaptation of the Response to Stressful Experiences Scale.

    PubMed

    De La Rosa, Gabriel M; Webb-Murphy, Jennifer A; Johnston, Scott L

    2016-03-01

    Resilience helps determine how people respond to stress. The Response to Stressful Events Scale (RSES) is an existing 22-item measure of resilience. We investigate the psychometric properties of the RSES and develop a 4-item measure of resilience using the most discriminating items from the RSES. Among two samples of military personnel presenting to mental health clinics, we see that the abbreviated resilience measure displays comparable internal consistency and test-retest reliability (versus the existing RSES). Among a sample of deployed military personnel, the abbreviated scale relates to validated measures of psychological strain. The 4-item abbreviated RSES measure is a brief, reliable, and valid measure of resilience. Reprint & Copyright © 2016 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

  20. The relationships between psychological mindedness, parental bonding and adult attachment.

    PubMed

    Bourne, Kathryn; Berry, Katherine; Jones, Lisa

    2014-06-01

    The aims of this study were to clarify the relationship between psychological mindedness and attachment relationships in childhood and adulthood. This analogue study examined associations between psychological mindedness and attachment using a cross-sectional design. Participants completed questionnaire measures of psychological mindedness, parental bonding, and adulthood attachment relationships. As hypothesized, psychological mindedness was strongly, negatively correlated with attachment avoidance in adulthood. Psychological mindedness was also positively correlated with perceived maternal care in childhood, and negatively correlated with perceived paternal over-protection. However, a regression analysis found that attachment avoidance in adulthood was a more significant predictor of psychological mindedness than parental bonding experiences in childhood. Further research is needed to replicate associations between attachment and psychological mindedness in clinical samples and to explore additional constructs which influence psychological mindedness. High attachment avoidance may be a potential risk factor for poor psychological mindedness. Helping individuals to develop more secure attachments in their adult relationships may improve their psychological mindedness. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

  1. Effects of Counseling on Psychological Measures in Caregivers of Patients with Disorders of Consciousness.

    PubMed

    Corallo, Francesco; Bonanno, Lilla; De Salvo, Simona; Giorgio, Antonio; Rifici, Carmela; Lo Buono, Viviana; Bramanti, Placido; Marino, Silvia

    2015-11-01

    Caregivers represent an important and potential resource in the care network of patients due to the amount of time dedicated to the patient and to their emotional involvement. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of psychological support to families of patients with a disorder of consciousness (DOC). A total of 48 DOC caregivers were enrolled. Participants were randomly divided into 2 groups based upon the clinical condition of their family members (vegetative state [VS] versus minimally consciousness state [MCS]). Group 1 underwent psychological support and Group 2 was the control group. The 2 groups were evaluated at T0 (baseline) and at T1 (after 6 months). The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for within-group comparisons whereas the Mann-Whitney-U test was used to test for between-group differences. Results show how the psychological condition of caregivers in Group 1 was modified after the intervention by the healthcare team in the post-acute rehabilitative unit. Our data confirm that psychological support improves caregivers' ability to process the experience of DOC illness, independent of type of diagnosis.

  2. 48 CFR 846.312 - Construction contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Construction contracts. 846.312 Section 846.312 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS CONTRACT MANAGEMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE Contract Clauses 846.312 Construction contracts. The contracting officer shall...

  3. 48 CFR 543.205 - Contract clauses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... Section 543.205 Federal Acquisition Regulations System GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION CONTRACT MANAGEMENT CONTRACT MODIFICATIONS Change Orders 543.205 Contract clauses. The contracting officer shall insert 552.243-71, Equitable Adjustments, in solicitations and contracts containing FAR 52.243-4, Changes. [74 FR...

  4. 7 CFR 1780.61 - Construction contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 12 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Construction contracts. 1780.61 Section 1780.61..., Constructing and Inspections § 1780.61 Construction contracts. Contract documents must be sufficiently.... (a) Standard construction contract documents. If the construction contract documents utilized are not...

  5. 7 CFR 1780.61 - Construction contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 12 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Construction contracts. 1780.61 Section 1780.61..., Constructing and Inspections § 1780.61 Construction contracts. Contract documents must be sufficiently.... (a) Standard construction contract documents. If the construction contract documents utilized are not...

  6. 48 CFR 3443.106 - Contract clause.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contract clause. 3443.106 Section 3443.106 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ACQUISITION REGULATION CONTRACT MANAGEMENT CONTRACT MODIFICATIONS 3443.106 Contract clause. The contracting officer shall insert...

  7. 48 CFR 543.205 - Contract clauses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... Section 543.205 Federal Acquisition Regulations System GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION CONTRACT MANAGEMENT CONTRACT MODIFICATIONS Change Orders 543.205 Contract clauses. The contracting officer shall insert 552.243-71, Equitable Adjustments, in solicitations and contracts containing FAR 52.243-4, Changes. [74 FR...

  8. Contraction of an air disk caught between two different liquids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thoraval, M.-J.; Thoroddsen, S. T.

    2013-12-01

    When a drop impacts a pool of liquid it entraps a thin disk of air under its center. This disk contracts rapidly into a bubble to minimize surface energy. Herein we use ultra-high-speed imaging to measure the contraction speed of this disk when the drop and pool are of different liquids. For miscible liquids the contraction rate is governed by the weaker of the two surface tensions. Some undulations are observed on the edge of the disk for a water drop impacting a pool of water, but not on a pool of lower surface tension. Similar results are observed for a pair of immiscible liquids.

  9. Effect of intermittent eccentric contractions on symptoms of muscle microinjury.

    PubMed

    Teague, B N; Schwane, J A

    1995-10-01

    The purpose was to determine whether varying the duration of rest between contractions affects selected symptoms of eccentric contraction-induced skeletal muscle microinjury. Thirty-three women were assigned to three groups (N = 11). Each performed one bout of exercise with each arm involving 10 eccentric contractions of the elbow flexor muscles, lowering a load equaling 60% of maximal static force. One arm exercised continuously; the other exercised with rest periods of 15 s, 5 min, or 10 min between contractions, depending on the group. Preexercise and 0, 24, and 48 h postexercise, symptoms of microinjury in the elbow flexor muscles were assessed: soreness and changes in strength, resting elbow angle ("musculotendinous stiffness"), and arm girth ("swelling"). For all groups combined, 10 continuous contractions caused changes (P < 0.05) in all variables at every measurement time. For example, soreness ratings (0-10 scale) were 4.3 +/- 2.0 (24 h) and 4.3 +/- 2.1 (48 h) and strength was reduced 18% 0 h postexercise. Responses were similar with 15 s of rest between contractions. Although they were moderated, symptoms occurred even with 5 and 10 min of rest. With 10 min between contractions, soreness occurred (e.g., 2.4 +/- 1.5 [24 h]) and strength was 17% reduced 0 h postexercise. Results are most consistent with a mechanical cause of eccentric contraction-induced muscle microinjury, rather than a metabolic or other factor with a short recovery time, although involvement of the latter cannot be ruled out.

  10. Intelligence Testing and the Emergence of School Psychology.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rickman, David L.

    School psychology, defined as the study and application of psychological principles to the educational setting, encompasses the study of learning and cognition, development, social behavior, individual differences, and measurement and statistics. The purpose of this paper is to provide an historical account of the origins of educational psychology…

  11. Topical and Applied Interests of Introductory Psychology Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stalder, Daniel R.; Stec, Deborah A.

    2007-01-01

    Using forced-choice and continuous measures, introductory psychology students reported highest interest for the topical areas of clinical and social psychology (over biological, cognitive, and developmental) and for the applied areas of education and health (over business, environment, and law) at both the beginning and end of semesters. Among…

  12. Caveats on Contract.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Croxton, Tom A.

    1988-01-01

    Addresses concept of the therapeutic contract in clinical social work and psychotherapy. Defines "contract," describing legal implications, and implications for the professional relationship and course of treatment. Discusses mutuality, penalty clauses, voluntary participation in contractual process, malpractice and professional negligence,…

  13. 48 CFR 46.312 - Construction contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Construction contracts. 46... MANAGEMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE Contract Clauses 46.312 Construction contracts. The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.246-12, Inspection of Construction, in solicitations and contracts for...

  14. 48 CFR 46.312 - Construction contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Construction contracts. 46... MANAGEMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE Contract Clauses 46.312 Construction contracts. The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.246-12, Inspection of Construction, in solicitations and contracts for...

  15. 48 CFR 546.312 - Construction contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Construction contracts... CONTRACT MANAGEMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE Contract Clauses 546.312 Construction contracts. Insert the clause at 552.246-72, Final Inspection and Tests, in solicitations and contracts for construction that include...

  16. 48 CFR 546.312 - Construction contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Construction contracts... CONTRACT MANAGEMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE Contract Clauses 546.312 Construction contracts. Insert the clause at 552.246-72, Final Inspection and Tests, in solicitations and contracts for construction that include...

  17. 48 CFR 46.312 - Construction contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Construction contracts. 46... MANAGEMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE Contract Clauses 46.312 Construction contracts. The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.246-12, Inspection of Construction, in solicitations and contracts for...

  18. 48 CFR 546.312 - Construction contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Construction contracts... CONTRACT MANAGEMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE Contract Clauses 546.312 Construction contracts. Insert the clause at 552.246-72, Final Inspection and Tests, in solicitations and contracts for construction that include...

  19. 48 CFR 46.312 - Construction contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Construction contracts. 46... MANAGEMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE Contract Clauses 46.312 Construction contracts. The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.246-12, Inspection of Construction, in solicitations and contracts for...

  20. 48 CFR 546.312 - Construction contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Construction contracts... CONTRACT MANAGEMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE Contract Clauses 546.312 Construction contracts. Insert the clause at 552.246-72, Final Inspection and Tests, in solicitations and contracts for construction that include...

  1. 48 CFR 46.314 - Transportation contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Transportation contracts... MANAGEMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE Contract Clauses 46.314 Transportation contracts. The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.246-14, Inspection of Transportation, in solicitations and contracts for freight...

  2. 48 CFR 46.314 - Transportation contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Transportation contracts... MANAGEMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE Contract Clauses 46.314 Transportation contracts. The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.246-14, Inspection of Transportation, in solicitations and contracts for freight...

  3. 48 CFR 46.314 - Transportation contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Transportation contracts... MANAGEMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE Contract Clauses 46.314 Transportation contracts. The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.246-14, Inspection of Transportation, in solicitations and contracts for freight...

  4. 48 CFR 46.314 - Transportation contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Transportation contracts... MANAGEMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE Contract Clauses 46.314 Transportation contracts. The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.246-14, Inspection of Transportation, in solicitations and contracts for freight...

  5. 48 CFR 46.314 - Transportation contracts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Transportation contracts... MANAGEMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE Contract Clauses 46.314 Transportation contracts. The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.246-14, Inspection of Transportation, in solicitations and contracts for freight...

  6. 48 CFR 2035.70 - Contract clauses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... CONTRACTING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CONTRACTING 2035.70 Contract clauses. (a) The contracting officer shall insert the following clause in all solicitations and contracts for research and development by private contractors and universities and for other technical services, as appropriate: (1) Section 2052.235-70...

  7. Affine Contractions on the Plane

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Celik, D.; Ozdemir, Y.; Ureyen, M.

    2007-01-01

    Contractions play a considerable role in the theory of fractals. However, it is not easy to find contractions which are not similitudes. In this study, it is shown by counter examples that an affine transformation of the plane carrying a given triangle onto another triangle may not be a contraction even if it contracts edges, heights or medians.…

  8. Army Contract Writing System (ACWS)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-03-01

    2016 Major Automated Information System Annual Report Army Contract Writing System (ACWS) Defense Acquisition Management Information Retrieval...Program Information Program Name Army Contract Writing System (ACWS) DoD Component Army Responsible Office Program Manager References MAIS...UNCLASSIFIED 4 Program Description The Army Contract Writing System (ACWS) will be the Army’s single, next-generation, enterprise-wide contract writing

  9. PERFORMANCE-BASED CONTRACTING IN CONSTRUCTION PHASE AND MAINTENANCE PHASE OF PAVEMENT

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yoshida, Takeshi

    Performance-based contracting for pavement in Japan started as performance warranties in construction phase, in 1999. Recently, road agencies have recognized the applicability of this type of contracting in outsourcing of maintenance activities. The objectives of this study are to clarify the issues of performance specifying in construction phase and maintenance phase of pavement, and to propose measures to be taken. This paper, with the recognition that the life of each pavement depends on performance standards for various attributes, reviews domestic and foreign examples of performance-based contracting. A performance standard based on the average of current practices can enhance product quality and service life with a warranty contract. Repair thresholds and response time for each deficiency should be considered as performance standards in maintenance phase.

  10. Contract Design, Supply Chain Complexity, and Accountability in Federal Contracts

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-04-30

    understanding how organizations, policy makers, and citizens use information to make decisions and influence public and organizational policy. He has...qÜáêíÉÉåíÜ=^ååì~ä= ^Åèìáëáíáçå=oÉëÉ~êÅÜ= póãéçëáìã= qÜìêëÇ~ó=pÉëëáçåë= sçäìãÉ=ff= = Contract Design, Supply Chain Complexity, and Accountability in Federal...Executive Officer, PEO IEW&S Contract Design, Supply Chain Complexity, and Accountability in Federal Contracts Adam Eckerd, Assistant Professor

  11. A Comparison of Costs of Searching the Machine-Readable Data Bases ERIC and "Psychological Abstracts" in an Annual Subscription Rate System Against Costs Estimated for the Same Searches Done in the Lockheed DIALOG System and the System Development Corporation for ERIC, and the Lockheed DIALOG System and PASAT for "Psychological Abstracts."

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Palmer, Crescentia

    A comparison of costs for computer-based searching of Psychological Abstracts and Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) systems by the New York State Library at Albany was produced by combining data available from search request forms and from bills from the contract subscription service, the State University of New…

  12. 25 CFR 502.15 - Management contract.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Management contract. 502.15 Section 502.15 Indians... CHAPTER § 502.15 Management contract. Management contract means any contract, subcontract, or collateral... contract or agreement provides for the management of all or part of a gaming operation. ...

  13. 25 CFR 502.15 - Management contract.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Management contract. 502.15 Section 502.15 Indians... CHAPTER § 502.15 Management contract. Management contract means any contract, subcontract, or collateral... contract or agreement provides for the management of all or part of a gaming operation. ...

  14. 25 CFR 502.15 - Management contract.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Management contract. 502.15 Section 502.15 Indians... CHAPTER § 502.15 Management contract. Management contract means any contract, subcontract, or collateral... contract or agreement provides for the management of all or part of a gaming operation. ...

  15. 48 CFR 37.304 - Contract clauses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contract clauses. 37.304... CONTRACTING SERVICE CONTRACTING Dismantling, Demolition, or Removal of Improvements 37.304 Contract clauses. (a) The contracting officer shall insert the clause at 52.237-4, Payment by Government to Contractor...

  16. 25 CFR 502.15 - Management contract.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Management contract. 502.15 Section 502.15 Indians... CHAPTER § 502.15 Management contract. Management contract means any contract, subcontract, or collateral... contract or agreement provides for the management of all or part of a gaming operation. ...

  17. 24 CFR 232.605 - Contract requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... MORTGAGE INSURANCE FOR NURSING HOMES, INTERMEDIATE CARE FACILITIES, BOARD AND CARE HOMES, AND ASSISTED... Fire Safety Equipment Form of Contract § 232.605 Contract requirements. (a) The contract between the... contract. Either form of contract shall include the cost of fire safety equipment, its installation, and...

  18. 48 CFR 2937.602 - Elements of performance-based contracting.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... objectively measurable incentives (e.g., Firm-Fixed-Price, Fixed-Price-Incentive-Fee, or Cost-Plus-Incentive-Fee) is appropriate. However, when contractor performance (e.g., cost control, schedule, or quality/technical) is best evaluated subjectively using qualitative measures, a Cost-Plus-Award-Fee contract may be...

  19. Beyond medical risk: investigating the psychological factors underlying women's perceptions of susceptibility to breast cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis.

    PubMed

    Gerend, Mary A; Aiken, Leona S; West, Stephen G; Erchull, Mindy J

    2004-05-01

    The relationships of epidemiological (objective) risk indices, perceived disease characteristics, and cognitive heuristics to women's perceived susceptibility to breast cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis in a community sample of 312 women ages 40-86 were examined. Epidemiological indices accounted for a small to moderate proportion of the variance in perceived susceptibility. Psychological factors (perceived similarity to women who contract the target disease and perceived disease prevalence) predicted perceived susceptibility above and beyond medical risk factors. Opposite to actual risk, age correlated negatively with perceived susceptibility to all 3 diseases. Exploratory analyses suggested that perceived similarity, perceived prevalence, and absent/exempt beliefs might mediate this relationship. Confirmatory factor analyses verified that measures of absolute and direct comparative risk assess the same underlying construct of perceived susceptibility. ((c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved)

  20. 42 CFR 423.871 - Contract terms and conditions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... administrative costs and return on investment and are tied to the performance measures established by CMS for the... part, an eligible fallback entity with a contract under this part may not engage in any marketing or...

  1. Socioecological psychology.

    PubMed

    Oishi, Shigehiro

    2014-01-01

    Socioecological psychology investigates humans' cognitive, emotional, and behavioral adaption to physical, interpersonal, economic, and political environments. This article summarizes three types of socioecological psychology research: (a) association studies that link an aspect of social ecology (e.g., population density) with psychology (e.g., prosocial behavior), (b) process studies that clarify why there is an association between social ecology and psychology (e.g., residential mobility → anxiety → familiarity seeking), and (c) niche construction studies that illuminate how psychological states give rise to the creation and maintenance of a social ecology (e.g., familiarity seeking → dominance of national chain stores). Socioecological psychology attempts to bring the objectivist perspective to psychological science, investigating how objective social and physical environments, not just perception and construal of the environments, affect one's thinking, feeling, and behaviors, as well as how people's thinking, feeling, and behaviors give rise to social and built environments.

  2. 48 CFR 52.222-48 - Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Act to Contracts for Maintenance, Calibration...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... of the Service Contract Act to Contracts for Maintenance, Calibration, or Repair of Certain Equipment....222-48 Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Act to Contracts for Maintenance... following provision: Exemption From Application of the Service Contract Act to Contracts for Maintenance...

  3. 48 CFR 52.222-51 - Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Act to Contracts for Maintenance, Calibration...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... of the Service Contract Act to Contracts for Maintenance, Calibration, or Repair of Certain Equipment....222-51 Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Act to Contracts for Maintenance... clause: Exemption From Application of the Service Contract Act to Contracts for Maintenance, Calibration...

  4. Non-price competition in NHS secondary care contracting: empirical results.

    PubMed

    Gray, Keith; Bailey, Mark F

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is, for English acute NHS hospitals, to investigate how they operate their governance systems in the area of secondary care contracting and identify the key determinants of relationship building within the contacting/commissioning of secondary care focusing upon non-price competitive behaviour. A survey instrument was designed and mailed to a sample of all acute NHS hospitals in England of whom 35 per cent responded. This survey was then analysed using logit techniques. The analysis suggests that: those NHS Trusts offering volume discounts, non-price competitive incentives or having a strong belief in performance being by "payment by results" criteria are significantly more likely to offer augmented services to secondary care purchasers over and above contractual minima; those NHS Trusts strongly believing in the importance of non-price factors (such as contract augmentation or quality) in the contracting process are more likely to offer customisation of generic services; and those NHS Trusts using cost-sharing agreements to realign contracts when negotiating contracts or who strongly believe in the importance of service augmentation in strengthening relationships, or that increased hospital efficiency is the most important aspect of recent NHS reform are more likely to utilise default measures to help realign contracts. This paper fills a gap in the area of non-price competition in English NHS acute secondary care contracting.

  5. 24 CFR 891.560 - HAP contract.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false HAP contract. 891.560 Section 891... Assistance § 891.560 HAP contract. (a) HAP contract. The housing assistance payments contract sets forth.... (b) HAP contract execution. (1) Upon satisfactory completion of the project, the Borrower and HUD...

  6. Synthesis of innovative contracting strategies for routine and preventive maintenance contracts.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2010-02-01

    TxDOT is faced with a need to expand their maintenance contracted services due to shortage of in-house : personnel and expertise. As a result, TxDOT had a need to investigate maintenance contracting strategies to : identify those efficient strategies...

  7. Contraction of the Ventral Abdomen Potentiates Extracardiac Retrograde Hemolymph Propulsion in the Mosquito Hemocoel

    PubMed Central

    Andereck, Jonathan W.; King, Jonas G.; Hillyer, Julián F.

    2010-01-01

    Background Hemolymph circulation in mosquitoes is primarily controlled by the contractile action of a dorsal vessel that runs underneath the dorsal midline and is subdivided into a thoracic aorta and an abdominal heart. Wave-like peristaltic contractions of the heart alternate in propelling hemolymph in anterograde and retrograde directions, where it empties into the hemocoel at the terminal ends of the insect. During our analyses of hemolymph propulsion in Anopheles gambiae, we observed periodic ventral abdominal contractions and hypothesized that they promote extracardiac hemolymph circulation in the abdominal hemocoel. Methodology/Principal Findings We devised methods to simultaneously analyze both heart and abdominal contractions, as well as to measure hemolymph flow in the abdominal hemocoel. Qualitative and quantitative analyses revealed that ventral abdominal contractions occur as series of bursts that propagate in the retrograde direction. Periods of ventral abdominal contraction begin only during periods of anterograde heart contraction and end immediately following a heartbeat directional reversal, suggesting that ventral abdominal contractions function to propel extracardiac hemolymph in the retrograde direction. To test this functional role, fluorescent microspheres were intrathoracically injected and their trajectory tracked throughout the hemocoel. Quantitative measurements of microsphere movement in extracardiac regions of the abdominal cavity showed that during periods of abdominal contractions hemolymph flows in dorsal and retrograde directions at a higher velocity and with greater acceleration than during periods of abdominal rest. Histochemical staining of the abdominal musculature then revealed that ventral abdominal contractions result from the contraction of intrasegmental lateral muscle fibers, intersegmental ventral muscle bands, and the ventral transverse muscles that form the ventral diaphragm. Conclusions/Significance These data show that

  8. 48 CFR 52.222-52 - Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Act to Contracts for Certain Services...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... of the Service Contract Act to Contracts for Certain Services-Certification. 52.222-52 Section 52.222... from Application of the Service Contract Act to Contracts for Certain Services—Certification. As... Contract Act to Contracts for Certain Services—Certification (NOV 2007) (a) The offeror shall check the...

  9. Energetics of muscle contraction: further trials.

    PubMed

    Yamada, Kazuhiro

    2017-01-01

    Knowledge accumulated in the field of energetics of muscle contraction has been reviewed in this article. Active muscle converts chemical energy into heat and work. Therefore, measurements of heat production and mechanical work provide the framework for understanding the process of energy conversion in contraction. In the 1970s, precise comparison between energy output and the associated chemical reactions was performed. It has been found that the two do not match in several situations, resulting in an energy balance discrepancy. More recently, efforts in resolving these discrepancies in the energy balance have been made involving chemical analysis, phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and microcalorimetry. Through reviewing the evidence from these studies, the energy balance discrepancy developed early during isometric contraction has become well understood on a quantitative basis. In this situation energy balance is established when we take into account the binding of Ca to sarcoplasmic proteins such as troponin and parvalbumin, and also the shift of cross-bridge states. On the other hand, the energy balance discrepancy observed during rapid shortening still remains to be clarified. The problem may be related to the essential mechanism of cross-bridge action.

  10. Physiological and psychological individual differences influence resting brain function measured by ASL perfusion.

    PubMed

    Kano, M; Coen, S J; Farmer, A D; Aziz, Q; Williams, S C R; Alsop, D C; Fukudo, S; O'Gorman, R L

    2014-09-01

    Effects of physiological and/or psychological inter-individual differences on the resting brain state have not been fully established. The present study investigated the effects of individual differences in basal autonomic tone and positive and negative personality dimensions on resting brain activity. Whole-brain resting cerebral perfusion images were acquired from 32 healthy subjects (16 males) using arterial spin labeling perfusion MRI. Neuroticism and extraversion were assessed with the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised. Resting autonomic activity was assessed using a validated measure of baseline cardiac vagal tone (CVT) in each individual. Potential associations between the perfusion data and individual CVT (27 subjects) and personality score (28 subjects) were tested at the level of voxel clusters by fitting a multiple regression model at each intracerebral voxel. Greater baseline perfusion in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and cerebellum was associated with lower CVT. At a corrected significance threshold of p < 0.01, strong positive correlations were observed between extraversion and resting brain perfusion in the right caudate, brain stem, and cingulate gyrus. Significant negative correlations between neuroticism and regional cerebral perfusion were identified in the left amygdala, bilateral insula, ACC, and orbitofrontal cortex. These results suggest that individual autonomic tone and psychological variability influence resting brain activity in brain regions, previously shown to be associated with autonomic arousal (dorsal ACC) and personality traits (amygdala, caudate, etc.) during active task processing. The resting brain state may therefore need to be taken into account when interpreting the neurobiology of individual differences in structural and functional brain activity.

  11. Space Psychology and Psychiatry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kanas, N.; Manzey, D.

    2003-09-01

    This book deals with psychological, psychiatric, and psychosocial issues that affect people who live and work in space. Unlike other books that focus on anecdotal reports and ground-based simulation studies, this book emphasizes the findings from psychological research conducted during actual space missions. Both authors have been active in such research. What is presented in this readable text has previously been found only in scientific journal articles. Topics that are discussed include: behavioral adaptation to space; human performance and cognitive effects; crewmember interactions; psychiatric responses; psychological counter-measures related to habitability factors, work-design, selection, training, and in-flight monitoring and support; and the impact of expeditionary missions to Mars and beyond. People finding this book of interest will include: psychology and social science students and professors in universities; medical students and residents in psychiatry and aerospace medicine; human factors workers in space and aviation professions; individuals involved with isolated environments on Earth (e.g., the Antarctic, submarines); aerospace workers in businesses and space agencies such as NASA and ESA; and anyone who is interested in learning the facts about the human side of long-duration space missions. Link: http://www.wkap.nl/prod/b/1-4020-1341-8

  12. The Effort and Reward of Teaching Medical Psychology in Germany: an Online Survey.

    PubMed

    Kendel, Friederike; Rockenbauch, Katrin; Deubner, Rolf; Philipp, Swetlana; Fabry, Götz

    2016-01-01

    Background: The increasing significance of university teaching also leads to higher demands for academic teachers. Against this background this study inquires how teachers in the field of medical pychology experience and evaluate their various activities and how their efforts on the one hand and gratifications on the other hand relate to each other (as conceptualized by the effort-reward-imbalance, ERI). Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in 2012 among the academic staff of departments of medical psychology in Germany. The questionnaire was answered by 188 participants (return rate: 39.2%), of whom 62% were women. Work stress was measured according to Siegrist's effort-reward-imbalance (ERI) model. Further questions referred to the distribution of academic activities and meaningfulness. Results: Among all participants, 67.3% were satisfied with the portion of their workload devoted to teaching, while 63% wanted more time for research. The ERI-coefficient was on average M=0.76 (SD=0.45), thus indicating a shift towards reward. There were no associations with gender, age, or fixed-term work contracts. Meaningfulness was associated negatively with the ERI (r=-.21, p=.012), and positively with overcommitment (r=.52, p<.001) and the desire for less administrative tasks (r=.24, p=.017). Conclusions: Teaching medical psychology is evaluated as positive and meaningful by a majority of respondents. In general, the rewarding aspects seem to outweigh the stressful factors. Thus, teaching might be a protective factor with regard to coping with work related burden.

  13. Ethnic Minority Psychological Associations: Connections to Counseling Psychology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Delgado-Romero, Edward A.; Forrest, Linda; Lau, Michael Y.

    2012-01-01

    This article provides the introduction, background and rationale for the Major Contribution focused on five national ethnic minority psychological associations: the Asian American Psychological Association, The Association of Black Psychologists, the National Latina/o Psychological Association, the Society of Indian Psychologists, and the Society…

  14. 48 CFR 16.203-4 - Contract clauses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... AND CONTRACT TYPES TYPES OF CONTRACTS Fixed-Price Contracts 16.203-4 Contract clauses. (a) Adjustment... must agree in writing on the identity of the standard supplies and the corresponding contract line...) The contracting officer shall describe in detail in the contract Schedule— (i) The types of labor and...

  15. The Value of Competitive Contracting

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-09-01

    Research & Engineering) BBP Better Buying Power BOA basic ordering agreement BPA basic purchase agreement CAE Component Acquisition Executive CDSA...competitive procedures for the following contract actions:” a. Contract and purchase orders b. Orders and calls under part 13 Basic Purchase Agreement ( BPA ...Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) c. Government wide acquisition contracts and IDIQ contracts d. BPAs and BPA calls under Federal Supply Schedules

  16. Reports on Some Salient Topics and/or Issues in Educational Psychology, Measurement and Research as Presented by Doctoral Students. A Seminar.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goolsby, Thomas M., Jr., Comp.

    Papers are presented that resulted from a doctoral seminar in the Department of Educational Psychology, Measurement and Research at the University of Georgia. Integration-desegregation, ethics, behavior modification, and accountability are the general areas treated. The papers are: (1) "Segregation--Alias: 'Special Education'" by Margaret C.…

  17. Psychology Degrees: Employment, Wage, and Career Trajectory Consequences.

    PubMed

    Rajecki, D W; Borden, Victor M H

    2011-07-01

    Psychology is a very popular undergraduate major. Examining wage data from a range of degree holders reveals much about the expected career trajectories of those with psychology degrees. First, regarding baccalaureates, psychology and other liberal arts graduates-compared with those from certain preprofessional and technical undergraduate programs-generally fall in relatively low tiers of salary levels at both starting and later career points. Salary levels among baccalaureate alumni groups correlate with averaged measures of salary satisfaction, repeated job seeking, and perceptions of underemployment. These patterns seem to stem from the specific occupational categories (job titles) entered by graduates in psychology compared with other graduates, calling into question the employability advantage of so-called generic liberal arts skills. Second, psychology master's degree holders also generally fall in a low tier of salary among their science, engineering, and health counterparts. Third, psychology college faculty (including instructors) fall in low tiers of salary compared with their colleagues from other academic fields. Such broadly based indications of the relative economic disadvantages of psychology degrees have implications for career counseling in the field. © The Author(s) 2011.

  18. Cost and quality trends in direct contracting arrangements.

    PubMed

    Lyles, Alan; Weiner, Jonathan P; Shore, Andrew D; Christianson, Jon; Solberg, Leif I; Drury, Patricia

    2002-01-01

    This paper presents the first empirical analysis of a 1997 initiative of the Buyers Health Care Action Group (BHCAG) known as Choice Plus. This initiative entailed direct contracts with provider-controlled delivery systems; annual care system bidding; public reports of consumer satisfaction and quality; uniform benefits; and risk-adjusted payment. After case-mix adjustment, hospital costs decreased, ambulatory care costs rose modestly, and pharmacy costs increased substantially. Process-oriented quality indicators were stable or improved. The BHCAG employer-to-provider direct contracting and consumer choice model appeared to perform reasonably well in containing costs, without measurable adverse effects on quality.

  19. Histories of Perceived Job Insecurity and Psychological Distress Among Older U.S. Adults.

    PubMed

    Burgard, Sarah A; Seelye, Sarah

    2017-03-01

    Changes in the labor market and employment contracts over the past several decades and a recent global recession have increased the salience of perceived job insecurity as a risk factor for poor mental health. We use 25 years of prospective data from the Americans' Changing Lives study to examine long-term histories of perceived job insecurity and their link to psychological distress. We build on the prior literature by using a much longer window of exposure and accounting for involuntary job losses over the lengthy observation period. We find that persistent perceived job insecurity is strongly and significantly associated with greater psychological distress among U.S. workers in the latter part of their careers. Moreover, considering histories of exposure reveals more nuance in the sociodemographic characteristics and employment interruptions that predict persistent or intermittent insecurity and that identify contemporary older workers at particular risk.

  20. Histories of Perceived Job Insecurity and Psychological Distress Among Older U.S. Adults*

    PubMed Central

    Burgard, Sarah A.; Seelye, Sarah

    2017-01-01

    Changes in the labor market and employment contracts over the past several decades and a recent global recession have increased the salience of perceived job insecurity as a risk factor for poor mental health. We use 25 years of prospective data from the Americans' Changing Lives study to examine long-term histories of perceived job insecurity and their link to psychological distress. We build on the prior literature by using a much longer window of exposure and accounting for involuntary job losses over the lengthy observation period. We find that persistent perceived job insecurity is strongly and significantly associated with greater psychological distress among U.S. workers in the latter part of their careers. Moreover, considering histories of exposure reveals more nuance in the sociodemographic characteristics and employment interruptions that predict persistent or intermittent insecurity and that identify contemporary older workers at particular risk. PMID:28824825