Employee reactions to ergonomic job design: The moderating effects of health locus of control and self-efficacy.

A field survey of 180 municipal government office employees (82% women, 21–75 years old) investigated the potential moderating effects of internal health locus of control (HLOC) and self-efficacy on employees' reactions to ergonomic job design. Internal HLOC moderated the associations between ergonomic job design and somatic complaints and turnover intentions, and, to a lesser extent, job satisfaction. Self-efficacy moderated the associations between job design and job satisfaction, somatic complaints, and, to a lesser extent, persistent pain. Employees with low self-efficacy or low internal HLOC were influenced more by their physical job conditions than those with high self-efficacy or high internal HLOC. Implications for the ergonomic design of offices are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Role of Age in the Perceptions of Politics--Job Performance Relationship: A Three-Study Constructive Replication.

This research examined the interaction of organizational politics perceptions and employee age on job performance in 3 studies. On the basis of conservation of resources theory, the authors predicted that perceptions of politics would demonstrate their most detrimental effects on job performance for older workers. Results across the 3 studies provided strong support for the hypothesis that increases in politics perceptions are associated with decreases in job performance for older employees and that perceptions of politics do not affect younger employees' performance. Implications of these results, strengths and limitations, and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of job insecurity on employee safety outcomes: Cross-sectional and longitudinal explorations.

Job insecurity research has focused primarily on attitudinal (e.g., job satisfaction), behavioral (e.g., employee turnover), and health outcomes. Moreover, research in the area of workplace safety has largely focused on ergonomic factors and personnel selection and training as primary antecedents of safety. Two cross-sectional structural equational modeling analyses and 1 longitudinal regression analysis of 237 food-processing plant employees unite these 2 disparate areas of research by exploring the relatively uncharted relationship between job insecurity and safety outcomes. Results indicate that employees who report high perceptions of job insecurity exhibit decreased safety motivation and compliance, which in turn are related to higher levels of workplace injuries and accidents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Racial differences in sensitivity to behavioral integrity: Attitudinal consequences, in-group effects, and "trickle down" among Black and non-Black employees.

Recent research has suggested that employees are highly affected by perceptions of their managers' pattern of word-action consistency, which T. Simons (2002) called behavioral integrity (BI). The authors of the present study suggest that some employee racial groups may be more attentive to BI than others. They tested this notion using data from 1,944 employees working at 107 different hotels and found that Black employees rated their managers as demonstrating lower BI than did non-Black employees. Mediation analyses were consistent with the notion that these differences in perceived BI in turn account for cross-race differences in trust in management, interpersonal justice, commitment, satisfaction, and intent to stay. Results of hierarchical linear modeling were consistent with the idea that middle managers' perceptions of their senior managers' BI "trickle down" to affect line employee perceptions of the middle managers and that this trickle-down effect is stronger for Black employees. The authors interpret these results as indicative of heightened sensitivity to managers' BI on the part of Black employees. They also found a reverse in-group effect, in that Black employees were substantially more critical of Black managers than were non-Black employees. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perception of difficulties for the back related to assembly work: general findings and impact of back health

The study objective was to describe the perceptions of airplane assemblers on job demand for the back and how back pain modulated these perceptions. One hundred and seventy-six workers answered two questionnaires concerning back pain and the perception of work related difficulties (work activities, work contexts, tools, work positions, efforts). Results show that positions and work contexts are perceived as greater sources of difficulty than efforts or dynamic activities. The duration of a given position is more important than its frequency. Back pain has a significant but complex impact on the perception of difficulty. Assemblers appear to integrate several factors when evaluating their difficulties as opposed to individual aspects, as it is often measured in ergonomic studies. The results have important implications for the measurement of ergonomic factors in the genesis of back pain and illustrates the potential for misclassification and biases in current epidemiologic studies.     

Correlates of employee evaluations of pay increases.

In a sample of 1500 white-collar, industrial employees, average perceptions of small, average, or large increases in salary formed a relatively constant function of level of current salary. The analogy to the psychophysical Weber/Fechner model, while explaining much of the variance in perceptions of salary increases was not complete. Additional variability was related to a series of demographic variables, with higher dollar expectations registered by college-educated vs. noncollege, younger vs. older, exempt vs. nonexempt, and among nonexempt, male vs. female employees. Results suggest that probable earnings potential, in addition to current earnings level, contributes variance to differences in perceptions of equitable salary increases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Health risk behaviors of adolescent and young adult siblings.

The present study tested the effects of older siblings' outcome expectancies, health risk behaviors, and consequences on the behavior and health-related expectancies of their younger adolescent siblings. Data were analyzed for 140 matched pairs of younger (n?=?147) and older (n?=?195) siblings. Younger siblings' alcohol use and expectancies were significantly associated with perceptions of their older siblings' drinking. Younger siblings' positive expectancies for other health risk behaviors (e.g., sex without a condom) were associated with their perceptions about the positive consequences their older sibling had experienced and with their older siblings' positive expectancies. These results suggest that vicarious learning from an older sibling is one mechanism through which adolescents form expectancies about health risk behaviors. Prevention strategies are discussed that focus on expectancies and older sibling influence on adolescent involvement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectations for communication with positive and negative subtypes of older adults

The study uses a recently-developed scale for eliciting perceptions, expectations, and evaluations of intergenerational communication. As predicted, it is found that younger adults expect to experience more anxiety, receive more complaining, and receive lower levels of attunement from an older adult who is portrayed as "despondent" than one who is portrayed as a "perfect grandparent." In addition, younger adults with more negative attitudes toward older adults expect to experience more negative effect, anxiety, and communication apprehension, to feel more compassion for the older adult, and to receive lower levels of attunement and more complaining from the older adult than those with more positive attitudes. Surprisingly, younger adults with higher levels of young age identification expect to experience lower levels of apprehension, more attunement from the older adult, and to feel more compassion for the older adult than those with lower levels of age identity. These findings are discussed in terms of theoretical models of intergenerational communication, in particular the communication predicament model. In addition, younger people's feelings of having "helped" an older person are discussed in the context of intergroup theory.     

The role of person-environment fit in the job satisfaction and tenure intentions of African American employees.

In light of speculation that the determinants of job satisfaction and tenure for African American employees may not be adequately captured by the theory of work adjustment (TWA; Dawis & Lofquist, 1984), in the present study the authors tested assumptions of the TWA with an African American sample by (a) examining the strength of fit-satisfaction and fit-turnover intentions relationships, (b) testing the ability of racial climate to moderate the fit-satisfaction and fit-turnover intentions relationships, (c) analyzing qualitative data related to the determinants of job satisfaction, and (d) investigating potential differences in the fit-satisfaction and fit-turnover intentions relationships for African Americans and European Americans. Self-report data were collected from African American employees (n = 204) that assessed fit perceptions, departmental racial climate, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions. African American employees' reports of fit perceptions explained variance in job satisfaction (43.20%) and turnover intentions (20.20%); however, racial climate did not emerge as a moderator. Qualitative results supported these findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The convergent and discriminant validity of subjective fit perceptions.

This study examined whether employees develop perceptions about 3 different types of fit: person-organization fit, needs-supplies fit, and demands-abilities fit. Confirmatory factor analyses of data from 2 different samples strongly suggested that employees differentiate between these 3 types of fit. Furthermore, results from a longitudinal design of 187 managers supported both the convergent and discriminant validity of the different types of fit perceptions. Specifically, person-organization fit perceptions were related to organization-focused outcomes (e.g., organizational identification, citizenship behaviors, turnover decisions), whereas needs-supplies fit perceptions were related to job- and career-focused outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction, career satisfaction, occupational commitment). Although demands-abilities fit perceptions emerged as a distinct construct, they were not related to hypothesized outcomes (e.g., job performance, raises). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental perception of emotional expressiveness in children with autism.

Parents' perceptions of their children's emotional expressiveness, and possible bases for these perceptions, were investigated in a study comparing older, nonretarded autistic and normal children and in another study comparing young autistic, mentally retarded, and normal children. Both groups of autistic children were perceived as showing more negative emotion and less positive emotion than comparison children. In the younger sample, parental perceptions correlated with the children's attention and responsiveness to others' displays of emotion in 2 laboratory situations. Findings contradict the view that autism involves the "absence of emotional reaction." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpretation of CT studies: single-screen workstation versus film alternator

A prototype single-screen workstation with a 2,048 x 2,560-pixel high-brightness monitor, 0.11-second image display time, and simple ergonomic design was compared to a conventional horizontal film alternator in diagnostic interpretation of chest computed tomography (CT) studies. Four radiologists used either the workstation or film alternator in interpretation of studies obtained in 10 patients. A counterbalanced within-subject repeated measures experimental design was used. Response times were analyzed for both methods of interpretation. Grades of excellent, acceptable, and unacceptable were assigned by a blinded "grader" to reports of the radiologists. The average time needed for an interpretation at the workstation was 5.65 minutes. No interpretations were graded unacceptable. Retrospective power analysis showed that 16 observers rather than four would have been required to show that use of the workstation was faster than the alternator. With this 95% confidence interval, the workstation interpretation time is clinically equivalent to that with the alternator. These data show that this type of workstation has practical application in interpretation of CT, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasound studies.     

Aging and social satisfaction: Offsetting positive and negative effects.

Social satisfaction in late adulthood originates from competing sources. Older adults tend to be more positive and less negative than younger adults, but social contact and working memory often decrease with age, both of which might limit older adults' social functioning. In the current study of younger and older adults, these socially facilitative vs. socially debilitative changes were found to underlie stasis in social satisfaction. These findings show that the lack of an overall effect for age can mask competing changes in social functioning in late adulthood, as the sources of social satisfaction might change even if the outcome does not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improving office work: a participatory ergonomic experiment in a naturalistic setting

In a Department of Salary Records where VDU tasks were performed at a high work rate, a participative ergonomic study was undertaken. First, the 'old' workplace was investigated for all 45 employees. Work stations appeared to be of poor ergonomic quality. Second, 12 employees participated in an experiment at the actual workplace. Objective and subjective effects were recorded under three conditions: the 'old' workplace, the recommended ('ideal') workplace, and the self-chosen workplace. Based on this data 'ergonomic' furniture and additional accessories were ordered and all 45 employees received tailor-made instructions and training with respect to their ideal workplace. After 5 months data for their 'objective' workplaces and subjective reports about the workplace were recorded. The study focuses on the comparison of the three conditions and of the two groups of employees: 33 who received thorough instruction and training only, and 12 who also participated in the experiment. Both objective and subjective improvements are demonstrated in the recommended situation when compared to the original situation. Although some employees deliberately chose to deviate from the recommended situation--owing to task and individual characteristics--self chosen workplaces still constituted a much better workplace in comparison to the old workplace. The 12 employees who participated in the experiment chose a better self-preferred workplace when compared to their 33 colleagues. It is concluded that experimental measurements in a naturalistic setting may contribute significantly to workplace improvements (1) by presenting adequate and 'objective' information for workplace improvement and ergonomic redesign, and (2) as a change agent itself, that is as an 'intensified treatment'.     

Windows NT无盘工作站

WindowsNT界面友好,易学好用,逐渐成为网络服务器操作系统的主流;无盘工作站以其成本低廉、便于管理的优点得到了广泛的应用．本文以WindowsNT作为服务器,主要介绍了DOS无盘工作站和Windows95无盘工作站的创建,此方法是建立教学网的一个比较经济的方案．     

Longitudinal links between older sibling features and younger siblings' academic adjustment during early adolescence.

This study investigated prospective relations between older siblings' support and academic engagement and younger siblings' academic adjustment from 7th to post-8th grade. The study was unique in that it incorporated a sample of both African American and European American adolescents. Also investigated was the extent to which the gender constellation (same sex vs. mixed sex) of sibling dyads moderated prospective associations. Findings revealed that, in mixed-sex dyads only, younger siblings' perceptions of support received from the older sibling and their positive image of the older sibling predicted declines in the younger siblings' academic self-perceptions and performance over time, even after controlling for younger siblings' background characteristics and support from parents. Older siblings' reported support to younger siblings also predicted declines in younger siblings' academic adjustment, whereas the older siblings' own level of academic engagement predicted an increase in younger siblings' academic adjustment over time. Overall, findings did not differ substantially for African and European American adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal pathways linking family factors and sibling relationship qualities to adolescent substance use and sexual risk behaviors.

This 3-wave, 5-year longitudinal study tested the contributions of family contextual factors and sibling relationship qualities to younger siblings' substance use, sexual risk behaviors, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted disease. More than 220 non-White families participated (67% Latino and 33% African American), all of which involved a younger sibling (133 girls and 89 boys; mean age=13.6 years at Time 1) and an older sister (mean age=17 years at Time 1). Results from structural equation latent growth curve modeling indicated that qualities of the sibling relationship (high older sister power, low warmth/closeness, and low conflict) mediated effects from several family risks (mothers' single parenting, older sisters' teen parenting, and family's receipt of aid) to younger sibling outcomes. Model results were generally stronger for sister-sister pairs than for sister-brother pairs. Findings add to theoretical models that emphasize the role of family and parenting processes in shaping sibling relationships, which, in turn, influence adolescent outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age differences in choice satisfaction: A positivity effect in decision making.

The authors tested the possibility that older adults show a positivity effect in decision making, by giving younger and older adults the opportunity to choose 1 of 4 products and by examining the participants' satisfaction with their choice. The authors considered whether requiring participants to explicitly evaluate the options before making a choice has an effect on age differences in choice satisfaction. Older adults in the evaluation condition listed more positive and fewer negative attributes than did younger adults and were more satisfied with their decisions than were younger adults. There were no age differences among those who did not evaluate options. This evaluation-dependent elevation of satisfaction among older adults was still present when participants were contacted 2 weeks after the experiment. Age did not influence the accuracy with which participants predicted how their satisfaction would change over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Body thiamine level in acute alcohol psychoses

PURPOSE: To compare admission data and academic performances of medical students younger and older than 25, and to qualify older students' experiences and perceptions in medical school. METHOD: The authors reviewed 1988-1991 data for applications to the McGill University Faculty of Medicine. Data included GPAs and MCAT scores, as well as ratings for reference letters, autobiographical statements, and interviews. For those same years, the authors measured students' academic performances in the preclinical and clinical years. The authors compared the data by students' age: "younger" students, aged 17 to 24; and "older" students, aged 25 and above. All enrolled students took the Derogatis Stress Profile, and the older students participated in focus groups. RESULTS: The older applicants had lower GPAs and MCAT scores, but higher interview and reference letter ratings. For older accepted students, basic science course scores were lower than those of younger students, but clinical scores did not differ significantly between the groups. The two groups had similar stress levels, although older students tested lower in driven behavior, relaxation potential, attitude posture, and hostility. In focus groups, the older students spoke of learning style differences, loss of social support, and loss of professional identity. CONCLUSION: Different scores in admission criteria suggest that McGill uses different standards to select older medical students. Older students admitted under different criteria, however, do just as well as do younger students by their clinical years. A broad-based study of admission criteria and outcomes for the older student population is warranted.