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1 – 6 of 6Sharan Srinivas, Kavin Anand and Anand Chockalingam
Prior research suggests that 80% of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events can be prevented by modifying certain behaviors, yet it remains the primary cause of mortality worldwide…
Abstract
Purpose
Prior research suggests that 80% of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events can be prevented by modifying certain behaviors, yet it remains the primary cause of mortality worldwide. Early detection and management of critical modifiable factors have the potential to improve cardiovascular care quality as well as the associated health outcomes. This study aims to assess the independent impact of psychological well-being in adolescence, a modifiable factor, on long-term CVD risk and promote targeted early interventions through quality management principles.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from the Add Health study, which employed a series of surveys and health tests (Wave 1 – Wave 4) on individuals for 14 years (from adolescence to adulthood), were obtained and analyzed longitudinally. Psychological well-being in adolescence was assessed using four Wave 1 survey questions, and 30-year CVD risk was estimated 14 years later with Wave 4 data. Three different logistic regression models were examined to understand the impact of adding covariates.
Findings
This study’s sample included 12,116 individuals who responded to all the relevant questions and underwent clinical risk factor measurements in Wave 1 (adolescence) and Wave 4 (young adulthood). Psychological well-being was protective with reduced risk for CVD across the three models tested. There is a statistically significant association, where increasing psychological well-being reduced the 30-year CVD risk exponentially in all the models. The analysis also suggested an exposure–response relationship, where the 30-year risk category of adulthood CVD decreased with an increase in psychological well-being.
Practical implications
This research uncovers an inverse association between adolescent psychological well-being and adulthood CVD risk. This study also identifies quality management-based preventive tools/techniques to improve psychological well-being in adolescence and therefore reduce CVD risk later in life.
Originality/value
This study is among the first to establish a long-term association between positive well-being and CVD risk. Also, unlike the existing literature, this work provides implications for improving CVD care from a quality management perspective.
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Sharan Srinivas, Kavin Anand and Anand Chockalingam
While cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death globally, over 80% of the cases could be prevented through early lifestyle changes. From the perspective of…
Abstract
Purpose
While cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death globally, over 80% of the cases could be prevented through early lifestyle changes. From the perspective of quality management in healthcare, this may offer an effective prevention window if modifiable CVD risk factors are identified and treated in adolescence. The purpose of this research is to examine the negative emotions in adolescents and determine if it independently increases CVD risk later in life.
Design/methodology/approach
Longitudinal data from 12,350 participants of the Add Health study, which conducted a multi-wave survey for 14 years from adolescence (Wave 1) through adulthood (Wave 4), were used to test the research hypothesis. Four items (perception of life, self-reported depression, perceived loneliness and fearfulness) reflective of adolescent negative emotion were identified from the Wave 1 questionnaire, and factor analysis was conducted to confirm the hypothesized structure. The outcome variable, 30-year adulthood CVD risk category (high or low risk), was estimated using biomarkers, biological data and other factors collected during the 14-year follow-up in Wave 4. A logistic regression analysis was employed to assess the impact of adolescent negative emotions on adulthood CVD risk after adjusting for common risk factors such as sociodemographic characteristics, socioeconomic status and medical conditions in adolescence.
Findings
The results indicated adolescent negative emotion to be significantly associated with CVD risk category (p-value < 0.0001), even after controlling for common risk factors. A unit increase in the level of adolescent negative emotion increased the chance of being in the high CVD risk group in adulthood by 8% (odds ratio = 1.08 ± 0.03).
Practical implications
Healthcare providers and organizations could capitalize on the research findings by screening for negative emotions early in life through individual and societal interventions. The findings also provide an opportunity for implementing quality improvement initiatives to deliver robust preventive care, which, in turn, could improve the overall population health, reduce healthcare costs and improve care quality.
Originality/value
Although previous studies showed a strong link between adolescent physiological factors (e.g. obesity) and adulthood cardiovascular disease (CVD), the association between adolescent outlook/attitude (negative emotion) and CVD risk has not been examined.
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Suchithra Rajendran, Sharan Srinivas and Emily Pagel
Although insurance companies contribute to about $600 billion of the US gross domestic product and employ 2.7 million people, the overall perception of clients and workers…
Abstract
Purpose
Although insurance companies contribute to about $600 billion of the US gross domestic product and employ 2.7 million people, the overall perception of clients and workers employed in this domain is poor. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to propose recommendations to improve the service quality of insurance companies using the voice of customers and employees that are available online.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed methodology consists of four stages: extracting text reviews posted by employees and customers, reviewing feedback using bigrams and trigrams, determining topics and identifying quality-associated managerial recommendations using the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) and root cause analysis techniques.
Findings
Our results indicate that primary causes for client dissatisfaction are improper client assistance services, inefficient claims processing, issues related to payments/fees and unresponsive ancillary services. Offering different types of payment methods, immediate car replacement policy and features such as smartphone applications are commended very well. The major reasons for workforce frustrations include long and overly complex training, lack of social events and incentive programs. Coworkers, workplace facilities, clean work environment and other amenities are shown to have a positive impact on employees' satisfaction level.
Originality/value
To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to propose recommendations to improve the service quality of insurance companies using the voice of customers and employees that are available online. The proposed quality-related insights can assist insurance companies in improving the outlook of their workers as well as customers.
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Nivethitha Santhanam and Sharan Srinivas
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of engagement on job burnout and turnover intention (plan to leave the organization) among blue-collar workers in manufacturing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of engagement on job burnout and turnover intention (plan to leave the organization) among blue-collar workers in manufacturing facilities. In addition, this study also explores the role of happiness as a moderator in explaining the effect of engagement on burnout and turnover intention.
Design/methodology/approach
The data required to examine the hypothesis were collected using well-established research instruments from 1,197 blue-collar employees working at three manufacturing facilities that are owned and operated by the same company in India. The hypotheses were examined and the conceptual model was validated using structural equation modeling. The statistical analyses were conducted using two statistical packages, namely, SPSS and SPSS–AMOS.
Findings
The results indicate that a disengaged employee is at higher risk of burnout and is likely to leave the organization in the near future. Furthermore, employee burnout was positively associated with turnover intentions. Happiness was established as a significant moderating factor in the relationship between employee engagement and burnout and turnover intention. Besides, the prevalence of happiness and turnover intention was higher in males.
Practical implications
The results showed the importance of engagement and happiness on reducing burnout and turnover intention. Organizations could capitalize on these findings by implementing new and improving their existing quality management initiatives, which, in turn, could improve the employee’s organizational commitment.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the industry and academia by exploring the perceptions of working-class, blue-collar employees, which has received limited attention till date, despite specific negative job characteristics.
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The 12th South Asian Games were held in India in Guawhati and Shillong in February 2016, after repeated rescheduling. There were a number of challenges to organizing the games…
Abstract
The 12th South Asian Games were held in India in Guawhati and Shillong in February 2016, after repeated rescheduling. There were a number of challenges to organizing the games such as lack of infrastructure, legacy of corruption from past games, shortage of time etc. However, the games were held within 90 days of the announcement of venues and final dates. Sri Yadav, the Secretary, Department of Sports wants to understand the key drivers of success behind organizing the event. He also wants to understand how the success of Indian athletes at SAG could be leveraged for success at larger events.
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Kalpana Kasilingam and Paulchamy Balaiah
The nano-router would be a mastery device for providing high-speed data delivery. Here nano-router with a space-efficient crossbar scheduler is used for making absolutely less…
Abstract
Purpose
The nano-router would be a mastery device for providing high-speed data delivery. Here nano-router with a space-efficient crossbar scheduler is used for making absolutely less consumption in power.
Design/methodology/approach
In the emerging modern technology, every one of us is expecting a delivery of data at a high speed. To achieve high-speed delivery the authors are using the router. The router used here is at nanoscale reading which provides a compact size.
Findings
This can be implemented using the modern tools called Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA) which is operated without the use of a transistor. As conventional complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) designs have some limitations such as low density, high power consumption and requirement of a large area.
Research limitations/implications
To overcome these limitations the QCA is used. It characterizes capability is used to substituting CMOS technology. The round-robin fashion is used in a high-speed space-efficient crossbar scheduler.
Practical implications
The simulation of the planned circuit with notional information established the practical identity of the scheme.
Social implications
The proposed nano router can be stimulated in the QCA environment using the QCADesigner tool and the power of the router can be calculated with the QCADesigner–E tool.
Originality/value
The proposed nano router can be stimulated in the QCA environment using the QCADesigner tool and the power of the router can be calculated with the QCADesigner–E tool. In this work, the performance of the router can be done in both the QCA environment and CMOS technology.
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