Families of the traumatically brian-injured : a case study approach to perceptions of quality of service, degree of satisfaction, and family needs /

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to foster an understanding of the rehabilitation counselling practice offamilies of the brain-injured. Specifically, the study explores the perceptions of stakeholders in regards to the degree of satisfaction with the quality of service received. Questionnaires were administered, and semi-structured, openended interviews were conducted, with six participating families (n=8). Preliminary data were collected via two instruments: (i) the Family Participant Questionnaire, consisting of participants' sample characteristics, information pertaining to the history of the family, details of the injury, and information relating to the type, use, and need offamily services utilized; and (ii) the Community Integration Questionnaire, a measurement of the degree of social displacementllevel of community integration of the injured family member. Utilizing the procedural steps outlined by Colaizzi's (1978) method of protocol analysis, recommendations for a future program based on related and current family needs are discussed in detail. Substantiating and supporting information are offered to rehabilitation practitioners, educational planners, and policymakers alike, concerning the degree of satisfaction with rehabilitative service, and the means of improving upon the overall quality of health care to families of the brain-injured. Implications for clinical practice and research are also raised for discussion.

Linking of stress offset score (SOS), work satisfaction, and organizational commitment to intentions to quit

The purpose of this study was to identify the impact of stressors and offsetting satistiers, measured in this study with Stress Offset Score (SOS), on intentions to quit and examine the mediating and moderating effects of three facets of work satisfaction (job satisfaction, pay satisfaction, and satisfaction with supervisor) and two facets of organizational commitment (affective and nonnative commitment) on this relationship. The sample was composed of 2990 employees from 21 public and private organizations. The interaction of each type of work satisfaction and organizational commitment, with SOS, was tested using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) procedures. Intentions to quit was the dependent variable. The research questions were determine: (1) Does SOS predict intentions to quit? (2) Does work satisfaction mediate the predictive relationship of SOS on intentions to quit? (3) Does organizational commitment mediate the predictive relationship of SOS on intent to quit? (4) Does work satisfaction moderate the predictive relationship of SOS on intentions to quit? and (5) Does organizational commitment moderate the predictive relationship of SOS on intentions to quit? The results indicated that SOS was negatively correlated with intentions to quit. Each of the types of work satisfaction and organizational commitment variables showed a partial mediated relationship with SOS and each relationship was highly significant, while normative commitment explained more of the relationship then other mediators. The study also tested for interactions but no statistical significant relationships where established between any of the interaction terms (e.g., SOSxJob Satisfaction and SOSxAffcctive Commitment) and intentions to quit.

Effect of combined care nursing on patient satisfaction, staff satisfaction, and quality of care /

This research evaluates the effect of combined care nursing on three outcomes: i) patient satisfaction; ii) staff satisfaction; and iii) quality of care. Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital was in the early planning stages of changing to combined care nursing from the traditional method of providing separate postpartum and nursery care to mothers and babies. The opportunity existed to evaluate formally the change to combined care. There were three hypotheses to be investigated. Data were collected from four sources: patient surveys, staff surveys, informal interviews, and internal hospital documents. Both quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed. The surveys were administered on three different occasions to patients and staff. Other sources of data included informal interviews with patients and staff who responded to the surveys, and chart audits.The study findings revealed that the majority of respondents had increased levels of satisfaction and perceptions of increased quality of care following implementation of combined care. These findings, related to combined care and the role of change in its implementation and evaluation, indicate that there are no right or easy answers about how to make new ideas become reality in a smooth, pleasant way.

A comparison of life satisfaction, job satisfaction, and happiness using demographic variables

This study examined the interrelationships among life satisfaction, job satisfaction, and happiness and the selected demographic variables of income, age, marital status, education, sex, job tenure, job title, type of school, and location of employment. Survey data were collected from 1,993 elementary, high school, and community college teachers in the southern Ontario area, representing ten public school boards, three Roman Catholic school boards and three community colleges. Several theories were utilized in developing thirteen hypotheses and eleven experimental hypotheses. A thorough review of the literature (to January, 1980) was undertaken and major conclusions noted. Hoppock's (1935) Job Satisfaction Measure, Gurin, Veroff, and Feld's (1960) Happiness Scale, and Converse and Robinson's (1965) Life Satisfaction Scale were used as the instrument. Chi-square analysis was employed as the statistical method. Indicative of the findings: the level of education taught was significantly related to all three organizational variables, sex was unrelated to life satisfaction though positively related to job satisfaction, and income was found not to be related to either happiness or life satisfaction. A minority of findings were contrary to hypothesized relationships. Specifically, age was found to be unrelated to any of the three organizational variables, and educational achievement was not significantly related to happiness. A model was developed to illustrate the interrelationships of the organizational and demographic variables. This model was designed specifically to reflect teacher attitudes, though it may have reasonable application for other relatively homogeneous groups of employees such as nurses, engineers, or social workers.

A contingency model of job satisfaction

The present research study was designed to test a contingency model of job satisfaction based on participation in decision making as the antecedent variable and job involvement as the intervening variable. The instruments used to measure the variables were the participation in decision making scale developed by Siegel and Ruh (1973), the job involvement scale by Lodahl and Kejner (1965) and the job satisfaction construct derived from Hoppock (1935). The findings indicate that statistically significant correlations do exist for the 1995 educators surveyed in this study. Educators who reported high levels of participation in decision making consistently reported high levels of job involvement (p!: 0.001). Also, teachers reporting high levels of job involvement consistently scored high on their levels of job satis faction (p!: 0.001). All major hypotheses were sUPFOrted by the data. Through exploratory hypotheses, the study attempted to develop statements of relationships between criteria of job satisfaction and sex and marital status of employees in the system. The hypotheses received only minimal support, but the results did highlight the impracticability of attempting to develop any such relationships without using definite personality and situational variables as moderators. Differences between male and female socialization, sex discrimination and multiplicity of roles are briefly discussed as possible explanations for the reported findings.

An examination of the effects of locus of control on perceptions of core job dimensions and job satisfaction

This study examined the moderating effects of locus of control on core job dimensions (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, feedback) and job satisfaction. Survey data were collected from 1995 educators in Southern Ontario. When core job dimensions were perceived to be high, job satisfaction scores were high. The converse relationship was also true; when core job dimensions were perceived to be low, job satisfaction scores were also low. As well, the investigation explored the effect of educators' locus of control of reinforcement on the relationship between core job dimensions and job satisfaction. Internals (N = 483-486) perceived more skill variety, more task identity, more task significance, more autonomy, more feedback and greater job satisfaction than externals (N = 626-629). However, contrary to expectation, the correlations between specific core job dimensions namely autonomy and feedback, were not systematically greater for internals compared to externals. In addition the findings reported here suggest some appropriate directions and strategies for measuring and increasing job satisfaction among teachers.

A Study of role conflict, role ambiguity, locus of control, job satisfaction and participation in decision making among front-line vocational service workers for mentally retarded adults

This study was an investigation of individual and organizational factors, as perceived by front-line vocational service workers from Adult Rehabilitation Centres (ARC Industries) for mentally retarded adults. The specific variables which were measured included role conflict/role ambiguity (role factors), internal/external locus of control (individual differences), job satisfaction with work and supervision (job attitudes) and participation in deci~ion making (organizational factor). The exploration of these constructs was conducted by means of self-report questionnaires which were completed by sixty-nine out of a total of ninety front-line employees. The surveys were distributed in booklet form to nine distinct rehabilitation facilities from St. Catharines, West Lincoln, Greater Niagara, Port Colborne, WeIland, Fort Erie, Hamilton, Guelph and Brantford. The survey data was evaluated by the statisti.cal Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) which used the Pearson Product Moment Correlation procedure and a compar~son of means test. A comparison of correlation coefficients test was also conducted. This statistical procedure was calculated mathematically. The results obtained from the statistical evaluation confirmed the prediction that self-reported measures of participation in decision making and satisfaction (work and supervision) would be negatively correlated with role conflict and role ambiguity. As well, the speculation that perceived satisfaction (work and supervision) would be positively correlated with participation in decision making was empirically supported. Internal and external locus of control did not contribute to a significant difference in r~sponses to role perceptions (conflict and ambiguity) , satisfaction (work and supervision) or the correlational relationship between participation in decision making and satisfaction (work and supervision). Overall, the findings from this study substantiated the importance of examining employee perceptions in the workplace and the interrelationships among individual and organizational variables. This research was considered a contribution to the general area of occupational stress and to the study of individuals in work organizations.

Children's rights and parenting beliefs : a study of attitudes, values and emotions

The conceptualization of childhood has changed over the centuries and appears to be undergoing further change in our post-modern culture. While the United Nations Convention on the Right of the Child is designed to give children everywhere basic human rights while taking into consideration their special needs, no recent research has examined adult attitudes toward those rights. In an attempt to understand the attitudes adults hold regarding autonomy rights and to look for some factors that could predict those attitudes, the current study considers values, parenting style, emotions and the issue of parent status as possible predictor variables. A total of 90 participants took part in the research, which had both written and interview components. Results generally failed to establish a reliable set of predictors. However, some interesting information was obtained regarding the endorsement of children's autonomy rights and some general conclusions were reached about our view of children and their rights at the end of the twentieth century.

Job satisfaction and dissatisfaction : comparison of behavioural and regular classroom teachers

Each of the forty Toronto Board of Education behavioural teachers was matched as closely as possible .with a regular cIassroom teacher from the same schooI, 0f the same sex, and teaching approxiately the same age group of chiIdren. A II of these teachers were sent a questionnaire (based on Herzberg's model) whose content reflected various aspects of job satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Demographic data was also gathered to be used in the study for examining correlations between satisfaction and various factors . T 10 additional questions were asked regarding factors that IOU Id influence the i r staying or Ieaving and one question was asked about lIerit pay . Chi Square tests and t-tests were conducted on the results. The majority of each group of teachers was very satisfied with their job while the behavioural teachers were significantly more satisfied than the regular teachers. Intrinsic factors played a more signi ficant role than did extrinsic ones. The demographic factors couId be found to be predictors of job satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

The impact of meaningfulness of and responsibility for work on the relationships among work values, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction for part- time faculty in a community college

One hundred and thirty four subjects participated in this survey. Quantitative data were obtained and correlational analyses were used to test a model to study the relationships among the achievement of work values and organizational commitment and job satisfaction and to identify the moderating effects of the meaningfulness of work and responsibility for work on these relationships. Part-time faculty in the Faculty of Continuing Education of a community college were mailed a questionnaire on all the variables of the model. Several reliable, valid instruments were used to test the variables. Data analysis through Pearson correlation and stepwise multiple regression analyses revealed that the achievement of the work values of recognition and satisfaction with promotions did predict organizational commitment and job satisfaction, although the moderating effects of the meaningfulness of work and responsibility for work was not supported in this study. This study suggests that the revised model may be used for determining the relationships between the achievement of work values and organizational commitment and job satisfaction in a community college setting.

Job satisfaction among nurses and its relationship to reflective practice /

This study was undertaken to explore job satisfaction among nurses and its relationship to reflective practice. It is a qualitative study that listens to the perspectives of 7 mental health nurses who work In a conmiunity hospital in southern Ontario. A pilot survey was conducted prior to the face-to -face interviews in order to develop meaningful questions to utilize in the interviews. Nurses participating in the study were ensured anonjnnlty and an opportunity to have their own personal perspectives heard. A convenient sample was obtained from the hospital in which the researcher worked as an educator and professional practice consultant. The concept of job satisfaction was found to be driven by the desire to do important work and to make a difference in patients' lives. The nurses articulated that it is directly related to other factors, such as the opportunity to work in one's area, of preference, involvement in decisionmaking processes, better patient/ staff ratios, and affordable, accessible continuing educational opportunities. Those nurses who have embraced reflective practice for many years seem to be able to sort out that which drives them to stay in nursing and that which will influence them to leave. The constraints of the study cO-e that it is a small qualitative study; therefore, the results are not generallzable. Reflection is integral to the practice of mental heallth nursing find a tool that is used extensively in therapy with patients. Future research could involve studing a different group of nurses who may be more task focused than mental health nurses.

Linking community variables to parenting behaviours and youth risk behaviours

The puq)ose of this thesis is to test a model Hnking community disadvantage and urbanicity factors to parenting variables (i.e., monitoring, warmth, and knowledge) and to youth risk behavior (i.e., substance use and delinquency), measured both concurrently and one year after the assessment of parenting variables. The model builds on the work of Fletcher, Steinberg, and Williams-Wheeler (2004) but a) includes a more comprehensive measure of SES than that conceptualized by Fletcher et al.; b) considers whether the role of community disadvantage is indirectly as well as directly linked to youth risk behavior, by way of its association with parenting variables; c) considers whether level of community urbanicity plays a direct role in predicting both parenting variables and risk behaviors, or whether its influence on risk behaviours is primarily indirect through parenting variables. Both community disadvantage and urbanicity had virtually no relation to parenting and risk behaviour variables. Results found for relations of parenting variables and risk behaviour were similar to Fletcher et al. Although urban youth are typically perceived as being more at risk for substance use and delinquency, no evidence was found for a distinction between urban and rural youth within this sample. Targeting risk behaviour prevention/reduction programs toward only urban youth, therefore, is not supported by these findings.

Investigating the association between motor proficiency and body satisfaction in grade 5 children

The inverse relationships between motor proficiency and overweight, and between overweight and body satisfaction have been well documented. However, the association between motor proficiency and body satisfaction has been largely neglected in the literature. Knowledge of the influence that low motor proficiency may have on body satisfaction is essential if the full burden that those children with poor motor abilities face is to be fully recognized, as low body satisfaction has been linked to an increased risk for low self-esteem, depression, and disordered eating. The cohort investigated in this report included 1907 (971 males, 936 female) Grade 5 students from the Physical Health Activity Study Team (PHAST) project in the Niagara Region of Southern Ontario. Children were grouped as overweight or healthy weight (using BMI cut offs for age and gender), and as low motor proficiency or normal motor proficiency (cut-off set at lowest 10% Bruininks Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-short form (BOTMPsf). It was apparent from analyses of variance (ANOVAs) by gender that boys demonstrated significantly higher motor proficiency scores. As a result separate multiple logistic regressions by gender were used to determine the relationship between body satisfaction, BMI, and motor proficiency. There was a significant relationship between BMI and body satisfaction for both genders (p<0.01) and for males a significant relationship between motor proficiency and body satisfaction (p<0.03). Overweight females were less likely to be satisfied with their bodies with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.33 (CI: 0.23-0.47). The same trend was found in overweight males (OR: 0.42, CI: 0.29-0.59). Males with low motor proficiency were significantly less satisfied with their bodies (OR: 0.53, CI: 0.29-0.97). Males with poor motor proficiency were at greater risk for low body satisfaction regardless of their overweight status. Overweight is known to be prevalent among children with low motor proficiency and, these results indicate that low body satisfaction is also a significant concern. These findings confirm that attention needs to be paid to perceptions of body satisfaction among children with low motor proficiency. This is particularly true for boys, as their bodies may fail them in two common societal expectations, shape and skill and for whom their risk of low body satisfaction is heightened by their poor motor proficiency.

Relation of temperament and authoritative parenting on subtypes of adolescent behaviour

Over the years, researchers have investigated direct, conditional, and meditational pathways of adolescent aggression in relation to both temperament and parenting behaviours. However, no study to date has considered these relations with respect to a measure of aggression differentiated by form (e.g., overt, relational) and function (e.g., proactive, reactive). The present study examined the differential association of adolescent temperament and authoritative parenting on four subtypes of aggression. Participants included mothers, fathers, and one adolescent (between the ages of 10-19) from 663 families, recruited through random digit dialing. Parents reported on their child's temperament and occurrence of aggressive behaviours in addition to the perception of their own authoritative parenting. Adolescents reported on their own temperament and aggressive behaviours as well as on both their mother and father's authoritative parenting. Multiple regression analyses confirmed predictions that some aspects of temperament and authoritative parenting provide motivation towards the engagement of different aggressive behaviours. For example, higher negative affect was related to reactive types of aggression, whereas a strong desire for novel or risky behaviours related to proactive aggression. However, differences in effortful control altered the trajectory for both relationships. Higher levels of self-regulation reduced the impact of negative affect on reactive-overt aggression. Greater self-regulation also reduced the impact of surgency on proactive-overt aggression when age was a factor. Structural equation modeling was then used to assess the process through which adolescents become more or less susceptible to impulsive behaviours. Although the issue ofbi-directionality cannot be ruled out, temperament characteristics were the proximal correlate for aggression subtypes as opposed to authoritative parenting dimensions. Effortful control was found to partially mediate the relation between parental acceptancelinvolvement and reactive-relational and reactive-overt aggression, suggesting that higher levels of warmth and support as perceived by the child related to increased levels of self-regulation and emotional control, which in tum lead to less reactive-relational and less reactive-overt types of aggression in adolescents. On the other hand, negative affect partially mediated the relation between parental psychological autonomy granting and these two subtypes of aggression, supporting predictions that higher levels of autonomy granting (perceived independence) related to lower levels of frustration, which in tum lead to less reactive-relational and reactive-overt aggression in adolescents. Both findings provide less evidence for the evocative person-environment correlation and more support for temperament being an open system shaped by experience and authoritative parenting dimensions. As one of the first known studies examining the differential association of authoritative parenting and temperament on aggression subtypes, this study demonstrates the role parents can play in shaping and altering their children's temperament and the effects it can have on aggressive behaviour.