In the present study a daily event‐recording method, the DIRO (Daily Interaction Record in Organizations), was employed for assessing social interactions, stressful events and negative affect at work. Forty‐one secretaries filled out the records during the course of a week. This made it possible to consider both between‐and within‐subject effects of social interactions. The results showed that the social interactions of secretaries were characterized by three dimensions: intimate support, instrumental support and rewarding companionship. These three dimensions appeared to have different relationships with occupational stress. Instrumental support seemed to play the most important role in the work of secretaries, whereas rewarding companionship played no role at all in alleviating occupational stress. In the discussion some explanations are offered for this unexpected result.
In order to answer the question whether changes in students' self‐efficacy levels co‐vary with similar changes in engagement and performance, a field study and an experimental study were conducted among university students. In order to do this, we adopted a subgroup approach. We created “natural” ( S tudy 1) and manipulated ( S tudy 2) subgroups based upon their change in self‐efficacy over time and examined whether these subgroups showed similar changes over time in engagement and performance. The results of both studies are partly in line with S ocial C ognitive T heory, in that they confirm that changes in self‐efficacy may have a significant impact on students' changes in cognition and motivation (i.e. engagement), as well as behavior (i.e. performance). More specifically, our results show that students' increases/decreases in self‐efficacy were related to corresponding increases/decreases in their study engagement and task performance over time. Examining the consequences of changes in students' self‐efficacy levels seems promising, both for research and practice.
Ethnic diversity in the workforce is a subject of growing interest for western organizations. In EU countries, continuous immigration flows of post-war guest workers and their family members, ex-colonial immigrants, political refugees, and highly educated workers have led to an increase of people with a foreign nationality (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2003). However, foreign population percentages vary significantly between EU countries. For instance, Luxemburg (39.9%), Austria (10.3%), Germany (9.5%), and Belgium (9.1%) have relatively high rates, whereas the lowest rates, of about 2%, are found in Greece, Finland, Portugal, Spain, and Italy. Other EU countries fall somewhere in between these two extremes, such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, the UK, and France, with percentages ranging from 4.3 to 6% (OECD, 2003). In the future, ethnic diversity in many EU countries is likely to increase even further as demographic figures indicate that net-migration flows (immigration minus emigration) are larger than the natural growth of national populations (Ekamper and Wetters, 2005; OECD, 2003).
The present study was carried out among a sample of 667 Dutch nurses and assesses three aspects of the construct validity of the two most widely used self‐report burnout questionnaires: The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Burnout Measure (BM). Although the factorial validity of the three‐dimensional structure of the MBI was convincingly demonstrated by confirmatory factor analysis with LISREL, four weak and ambiguous items were identified. Regarding the BM, some doubts have arisen about its one‐dimensionality. The congruent validity of the questionnaires was well established: They both refer to the core element of the burnout syndrome (i.e. exhaustion). Moreover, linear structural analyses suggested that burnout is a two multi‐dimensional construct consisting of an affective component (i.e. exhaustion) and an attitudinal component (i.e. a negative attitude towards recipients and towards one's job performance). However, the discriminant validity of the first component is rather poor since it considerably overlaps with self‐reported somatic complaints and psychological strain. It is concluded that the MBI can be employed as a reliable and valid multi‐dimensional indicator of burnout in professionals who work with people. The BM assesses the non‐specific affective component of burnout (i.e. exhaustion) and should therefore be supplemented by a scale that measures the attitudinal component of the syndrome.
This research investigated the construct and criterion validity of the English version of the Dutch Work Addiction Scale (DUWAS) within the South African financial services context ( n = 345). A quantitative research approach with a cross-sectional design was utilized to determine the psychometric properties of the Dutch Work Addiction Scale (DUWAS-10). Confirmatory factor analysis was used with a latent variable modeling approach for the construct validity and a structural path model for criterion validity. One of the working compulsively items did not perform well and was omitted to establish a 9-item scale. Additionally, due to problematic discriminant validity between the working compulsively and working excessively factors, the results did not corroborate the expected two-factor structure. However, a revised second-order structure of the DUWAS showed an acceptable fit to the data indicating that an overall workaholism score is appropriate in this context. Furthermore, the results showed that workaholism had positive relationships with work overload, work hours, and burnout but negatively related to work engagement and organizational commitment. All in all, evidence suggested that an adapted 9-item version of the DUWAS performed well.
The human female reproductive tract (FRT) is a complex system that combines series of organs, including ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix, vagina, and vulva; each of which possesses unique cellular characteristics and functions. This versatility, in turn, allows for the development of a wide range of epithelial gynecological cancers with distinct features. Thus, reliable model systems are required to better understand the diverse mechanisms involved in the regional pathogenesis of the reproductive tract and improve treatment strategies. Here, we review the current human-derived model systems available to study the multitude of gynecological cancers, including ovarian, endometrial, cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancer, and the recent advances in the push towards personalized therapy.
Work engagement in Europe: an ultra-short work engagement scale and its relation with related concepts. Research and policy attention on work-related stress, mental health and well-being has increased, both in the international scientific literature as well as in society. Within the latter sphere, the size and burden of mental disorders has shown to be huge (e.g. Wittchen et al, 2011). In addition, it has been suggested that the workplace certainly is not only a place where one is exposed to risks and develops ill-health. It is also a place where one can learn and develop oneself, and which adds to well-being and mental health, where one contributes to organizational productivity and the work place is also considered a good and efficient place to implement. Particularly, the positive psychological approach to stimulate commitment and productivity by addressing worker engagement has received more and more attention.
