J.R.F. Lillywhite, P. Sant and S.B. Saville
The formation of sludgy deposits in gasoline engines first became a major problem during the early 1960s, prompting a considerable amount of investigative work and resulting in…
Abstract
The formation of sludgy deposits in gasoline engines first became a major problem during the early 1960s, prompting a considerable amount of investigative work and resulting in changes both to engine design and lubricant formulation. Some 20 years later during 1984 and 1985, the accumulation of semi‐solid materials in the gasoline engine again became an operational problem in Europe, the deposits being described as “hot sludge” or “black sludge”. The most serious occurrences were first noted in Germany. The deposits varied in consistency from a soft oily paste to a hard black brittle layer. These were usually found on the cooler inner surfaces of the crankcase and in particular, tended to accumulate initially in the engine top cover or on the top of the cylinder head (valve deck). Engine malfunctions and in extreme cases, total engine failure sometimes resulted from accumulation of these deposits, the most serious engine damage usually arising from blockage of the oil pump pick‐up screen and the attendant loss of oil supply. A number of European engine manufacturers were experiencing this type of failure within warranty periods, and the elimination of the problem became of major importance. Formation of sludge in gasoline engines has since been seen in countries outside Europe, notably the USA and Japan.
Siri Wilder, Christina L. Scott and Micaela A. Chavarin
For many emerging adults, committed romantic relationships are perceived as offering the ideal context for sexual exploration and companionship. However, these relationships are…
Abstract
For many emerging adults, committed romantic relationships are perceived as offering the ideal context for sexual exploration and companionship. However, these relationships are often short-term and breakups between committed partners can be emotionally intense and create a significant amount of distress. While casual sex relationships appear to be an increasingly popular alternative, providing many of the same benefits of committed relationships without the emotional involvement, they are also consistently associated with sexual regret. Previous research indicates that both emotional reactions are reported at higher levels by women, but the extent to which breakup distress and sexual regret differ by relationship type remains unclear. The current study examined differences in breakup distress and sexual regret as a function of sex and type of sexual relationship (committed vs casual) among a sample of 230 undergraduate college students. As expected, women reported more breakup distress and sexual regret as compared to men, and men and women in committed relationships reported more breakup distress than those in casual relationships. Contrary to previous findings, there was no significant difference in sexual regret between committed and casual relationships, and this was consistent for both men and women. In addition, participants reported relatively low levels of both breakup distress and sexual regret overall. The results suggest that, in general, breakups may not pose a severe emotional threat to young adults, who seem to be confident in their sexual decision making regardless of relationship type.
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Heilwine Bakker, Marc van Veldhoven, Tony Gaillard, Remy Hertogs and Margot Feenstra
Since policemen have a highly demanding job, they have a high risk of developing mental health problems, which may have a negative influence on their private life. The purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
Since policemen have a highly demanding job, they have a high risk of developing mental health problems, which may have a negative influence on their private life. The purpose of this paper is to present a new questionnaire for measuring the functioning of rescue workers in life tasks outside of work.
Design/methodology/approach
The internal consistency, factor structure and concurrent validity of this life tasks test (LTT) were examined in a group of 108 policemen.
Findings
The test measures perceived effectiveness in the following five domains: social life, maintaining mental health, household and finance, giving meaning and maintaining positivity. Cronbach’s α was acceptable for two scales (>0.60) and good for the other three (>0.70). The hypothesized five-factor structure of the LTT was corroborated in a confirmatory factor analysis. Concurrent validity was examined by correlating the scores on the LTT with two established questionnaires, one for personality characteristics and one for work characteristics and work stress. All LTT scales, with the exception of social life, showed significant correlations with social support, workload and personality.
Research limitations/implications
This provides support for the concurrent validity of the questionnaire. Practical uses and future research are discussed.
Practical implications
The items are close to everyday clinical practice. It adds valuable information to the commonly used questionnaires on mental health complaints. The test may also provide insight on which life tasks domains are functioning well and which are in need of attention to improve the effectiveness.
Social implications
In both preventive and curative mental health support, it is important to enhance the effectiveness in life tasks, because it works as a buffer for the adversity of rescue work. Moreover, it gives rescue workers mastery of their personal life, makes self-management stronger, as well as it gives feelings of confidence and positive energy.
Originality/value
This is the first questionnaire to be designed and implemented for rescue workers.
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ONE of the rising stars in the machine tool rebuild business is Saville Machine Tools of Halifax. In mid‐1989 the company moved into its new 28,000ft2 factory. This was the…
Abstract
ONE of the rising stars in the machine tool rebuild business is Saville Machine Tools of Halifax. In mid‐1989 the company moved into its new 28,000ft2 factory. This was the culmination of nine years of consistent growth.
Thomas J. Caruso, Juan Luis Sandin Marquez, Melanie S. Gipp, Stephen P. Kelleher and Paul J. Sharek
No studies have examined preoperative handoffs from the intensive care unit (ICU) to OR. Given the risk of patient harm, the authors developed a standardized ICU to OR handoff…
Abstract
Purpose
No studies have examined preoperative handoffs from the intensive care unit (ICU) to OR. Given the risk of patient harm, the authors developed a standardized ICU to OR handoff using a previously published handoff model. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether a standardized ICU to OR handoff process would increase the number of team handoffs and improve patient transport readiness.
Design/methodology/approach
The intervention consisted of designing a multidisciplinary, face-to-face handoff between sending ICU providers and receiving anesthesiologist and OR nurse, verbally presented in the I-PASS format. Anticipatory calls from the OR nurse to the ICU nurse were made to prepare the patient for transport. Data collected included frequency of handoff, patient transport readiness, turnover time between OR cases, and anesthesia provider satisfaction.
Findings
In total, 57 audits were completed. The frequency of handoffs increased from 25 to 86 percent (p<0.0001) and the frequency of patient readiness increased from 61 to 97 percent (p=0.001). There were no changes in timeliness of first start cases and no significant change in turnover times between cases. Anesthesia provider satisfaction scores increased significantly.
Practical implications
A standardized, team based ICU to OR handoff increased the frequency of face-to-face handoffs, patient readiness and anesthesia provider satisfaction within increasing turnover between cases.
Originality/value
Although studies have identified the transition of patients from the ICU to the OR as a period of increased harm, the development of a preoperative ICU to OR handoff had not been described. This intervention may be used in other institutions to design ICU to OR transitions of care.
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Sarah Louise Parry, Natalie A. Carr, Leanne J. Staniford and Lucy Walker
Young adults have been particularly adversely affected by COVID-19-related disruptions, especially in relation to industries with an over-representation of young adults. This…
Abstract
Purpose
Young adults have been particularly adversely affected by COVID-19-related disruptions, especially in relation to industries with an over-representation of young adults. This study, a report, aims to discuss the findings from survey data from young adults who reported poorer mental health comparative to older generations prior to the pandemic. Drawing on the international literature and the research findings, the authors propose recommendations for rebuilding the workplace post-pandemic to support young adult's mental health.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from 1,999 respondents from 200 organisations in the UK were sought in relation to workplace well-being and mental health through a 15-item multiple choice online survey. Overall, 17% of the sample were senior management, 31% junior management, 37% in non-management roles and a further 15% stated “other”. Exploratory quantitative analyses were undertaken to assess differences in responses to questions between age groups.
Findings
Participants in the 16–25-year-old age group were more likely than any other age group to report that work adversely affected their mental health, that their mental health challenges influenced their performance at work, that they had witnessed colleagues' employment negatively influenced by mental health challenges and they felt more comfortable citing physical health challenges for absence than mental health difficulties.
Originality/value
COVID-19-related disruptions meant a large-scale move to remote working for many people. As we return to physical workplaces, we have an exciting opportunity to reform and improve the status quo. The findings, in relation to the mental health of young adults, highlight key risk factors that need to be addressed.
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Fiona Ward, Helen St Clair-Thompson and Alex Postlethwaite
Mental toughness describes a set of attributes relating to how individuals deal with challenges, stressors, and pressure. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships…
Abstract
Purpose
Mental toughness describes a set of attributes relating to how individuals deal with challenges, stressors, and pressure. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between mental toughness and perceived stress in police and fire officers.
Design/methodology/approach
The participants were 247 police officers and 130 fire fighters. Participants completed questionnaire measures of mental toughness and perceived stress, and provided information about their age, rank, and length of service within the force.
Findings
Mental toughness was found to be significantly related to perceived stress, with control of emotion, control of life, and confidence in abilities being particularly important. There was no consistent relationship of age, rank, or length of service with mental toughness and perceived stress. However, police officers reported lower levels of mental toughness and higher levels of perceived stress than fire officers.
Practical implications
The results suggest that assessing police and fire officers on a measure of mental toughness could provide a means of identifying individuals more likely to suffer from stress and stress-related physical and psychological illness. In addition, interventions that may enhance mental toughness could have beneficial effects within this population.
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine mental toughness and perceived stress within this population, and the findings have important implications for the management of stress.
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Bongi Bangeni, Carla Fourie and June Pym
Co-authored by three South African academics working in higher education development, this chapter uses the transition from professional practice to academic contexts as an entry…
Abstract
Co-authored by three South African academics working in higher education development, this chapter uses the transition from professional practice to academic contexts as an entry point into a discussion of transitions broadly. We reflect on the role of mentoring in supporting the multiple transitions which dual professionals navigate and what this means for the provision of inclusive, quality education (SDG 4) with a focus on higher education. In reflecting on this Sustainable Development Goal, we approach the topic of mentoring from a critical perspective which allows us to attend to the themes of power, access and equity that it invokes. The body of scholarship on the transition experiences of practitioners into academia has challenged the assumption that professional expertise translates into teaching expertise in the classroom. The opening vignette contextualizes this challenge. The vignette protagonist offers to support an academic colleague and approaches a mentoring expert to explore her guiding principles for mentoring within and beyond the classroom. The dialogue surfaces the need for mentoring that considers the various transitions that dual professionals navigate. We engage critically with international literature on the role and positionality of dual professionals in academia and reflect on selected concepts from this literature to highlight the importance of an adaptive mentoring approach for meeting academics in transition at their point of need. We offer a synthesis of literature on holistic approaches to mentoring, critically reflecting on how they enable inclusive quality education for the benefit of society.
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Chieh‐Chen Bowen, Beth Ann Martin and Steven T. Hunt
The current study extends previous research by comparing empirical data on ipsative and normative versions of the 30‐scale Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ)…
Abstract
The current study extends previous research by comparing empirical data on ipsative and normative versions of the 30‐scale Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ). Participants were randomly assigned to “honest” or “faking” groups. Results support the proposition that when the number of scales is large, the measurement dependency problem associated with the ipsative format is negligible. There was satisfactory convergent validity between ipsative and normative forms in both groups. On both forms, the distance between an ideal profile and participants' ratings were narrower in the faking group than in the honest group. The results suggest that though ipsative measures were not completely free from faking, they were relatively more effective in guarding against faking than more commonly used normative measures.
Peter Saville and Andrew Munro
That R. B. Cattell, in the development of his model of personality in the late 1930s and early 1940s, made an outstanding contribution to the measurement of personality is widely…
Abstract
That R. B. Cattell, in the development of his model of personality in the late 1930s and early 1940s, made an outstanding contribution to the measurement of personality is widely recognised, and needs no further comment here. But it has, of course, been the potential applications of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) in the occupational field that has been of most interest to those working within personnel. Certainly, the 16PF came to be the preferred instrument for the assessment of personality in many organisations, and is now extensively used in occupational selection, placement and counselling.