Volunteer Engagement: Does Engagement Predict the Degree of Satisfaction among New Volunteers and the Commitment of Those who have been Active Longer?

This study examines the concept of engagement in samples of volunteers from different non-profit organisations. Study 1 analyzes the psychometric properties of the abbreviated version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) (Schaufeli, Bakker, & Salanova, 2006a). Two factorial structures are examined: one-dimensional and three-dimensional structures. Based on the Three-Stage Model of Volunteers’ Duration of Service (Chacón, Vecina, & Dávila, 2007), Study 2 investigates the relationship between engagement, volunteer satisfaction, and intention to remain in a sample of new volunteers and the relationship between engagement, organisational commitment, and intention to remain in a sample of veteran volunteers. Moderated mediation analysis is provided using duration of service as a moderator in order to set a splitting point between new and veteran volunteers. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis suggest that the three-factor model fits better to the data. Regarding the structural models, the first one shows that engagement is crucial to volunteer satisfaction during the first stage, while volunteer satisfaction is the key variable in explaining intention to continue. The second structural model shows that engagement reinforces the participant’s commitment to the organisation, while organizational commitment predicts intention to continue. Both models demonstrate a notable decline when samples are changed.

Performance Management: Can Coaching Result in Improved Employee Satisfaction and Motivation?

The goal of this project is to determine whether or not coaching, as a part of performance management, results in increased employee motivation, ultimately impacting employee performance. Teletech's customer service group was a case study where their effectiveness of performance management through coaching was analyzed. The data for this research was gathered from interviews of two of TeleTech's managers, and an employee survey created by the author. The results reveal that most participants felt more motivated after their coaching sessions, changed their behavior based on feedback during coaching, resulting in improved performance. Therefore, the results of the project show that regular coaching, as part of performance management, results in improved employee satisfaction and motivation, resulting in increased productivity.

Life satisfaction and health related quality of life during pregnancy and puerperium

Poster submitted to the 22nd International Conference Stress and Anxiety Research Society (STAR), Palma de Mallorca, July, 12-14, 2001.

Satisfaction of clinical nurses with the formation of a university tutorial program

Degree in nursing from the Universitat Jaume I (UJI) maintains the continuity of learning with an integrated learning methodology (theory, simulated practice and clinical practice). The objective of this methodology is to achieve consistency between the knowledge, abilities and skills acquired in the classroom, laboratory and clinic to ensure skills related. Reference Nurse is a key figure in this process, you receive accredited training on Educational Methods, assessment of competence, and Evidence-Based Practice that plays the role of evaluating in conjunction with the subjects. It does not perceive economic remuneration. The main objective of this study is to determine the level of satisfaction of clinical nurses on the Nurses Training Program Reference in UJI (Castellon- Spain). A cross sectional study was performed and conducted on 150 nurses. 112 questionnaires were completed, collected and analysed at the end of training. The survey consists of 12 items measured with the Likert scale with 5 levels of response and two open questions regarding the positive and negative aspects of the course and to add in this formation. The training is always performed by the same faculty and it's used four sessions of 2012. We perform a quantitative analysis of the variables under study using measures of central tendency. The completion rate of the survey is 95.53% (n=107). Anonymity rate of 54,14% The overall satisfaction level of training was 3.65 (SD = 0.89) on 5 points. 54.2% (n = 58) of the reference nurses made a contribution in the open questions described in the overall results. The overall satisfaction level can be considered acceptable. It is considered necessary to elaborate a specific survey to detect areas of improvement of nurse training program reference and future recruitment strategies. The main objective of the present work is the selection and integration of different methodologies among those applicable within the framework of the European Higher Education Area to combine teaching methods with high implication from both lecturers and students.

Social determinants of sexual satisfaction in Spain considered from the gender perspective

Aims: To describe gender- and social class-related inequalities in sexual satisfaction and analyze their relationship with self-perceived health status. Methods: This population-based, cross-sectional study included 7384 sexually active people aged 16 years and over residing in Spain in 2009 (3951 men and 3433 women). The explanatory variables were gender, age, social class, share in performing domestic tasks, spend time looking after oneself, collaborate economically in supporting the family, caring for children, self-perceived health status, and the desire to increase or decrease frequency of having sexual relations. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were fitted. Results: Among women, sexual satisfaction declines progressively after age 45. Sexual satisfaction is 1.7 times higher among women who look after themselves and who feel good compared with those who do not. The odds of wanting to increase sex is 3.3 times higher for women who are satisfied compared with women who desire a lower frequency of sexual intercourses; and good perceived health was associated with sexual satisfaction. In satisfied men, the corresponding odds is 1.9 times that of men desiring to reduce their frequency of sex. Conclusions: Gender and social class inequalities are found in sexual satisfaction. This is associated with perceived health status, adding evidence in support of the World Health Organization definition of sexual health.

Assessment of University External Internships. Towards a Mixed Model for Measuring the Acquisition of Skills and the Satisfaction of Parties Involved

The continuous improvement of management and assessment processes for curricular external internships has led a group of university teachers specialised in this area to develop a mixed model of measurement that combines the verification of skill acquisition by those students choosing external internships with the satisfaction of the parties involved in that process. They included academics, educational tutors of companies and organisations and administration and services personnel in the latter category. The experience, developed within University of Alicante, has been carried out in the degrees of Business Administration and Management, Business Studies, Economics, Advertising and Public Relations, Sociology and Social Work, all part of the Faculty of Economics and Business. By designing and managing closed standardised interviews and other research tools, validated outside the centre, a system of continuous improvement and quality assurance has been created, clearly contributing to the gradual increase in the number of students with internships in this Faculty, as well as to the improvement in satisfaction, efficiency and efficacy indicators at a global level. As this experience of educational innovation has shown, the acquisition of curricular knowledge, skills, abilities and competences by the students is directly correlated with the satisfaction of those parties involved in a process that takes the student beyond the physical borders of a university campus. Ensuring the latter is a task made easier by the implementation of a mixed assessment method, combining continuous and final assessment, and characterised by its rigorousness and simple management. This report presents that model, subject in turn to a persistent and continuous control, a model all parties involved in the external internships are taking part of. Its short-term results imply an increase, estimated at 15% for the last course, in the number of students choosing curricular internships and, for the medium and long-term, a major interweaving between the academic world and its social and productive environment, both in the business and institutional areas. The potentiality of this assessment model does not lie only in the quality of its measurement tools, but also in the effects from its use in the various groups and in the actions that are carried out as a result of its implementation and which, without any doubt and as it is shown below, are the real guarantee of a continuous improvement.

Information systems outsourcing satisfaction: some explanatory factors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse Information Systems outsourcing success, measuring the latter according to the satisfaction level achieved by users and taking into account three success factors: the role played by the client firm’s top management; the relationships between client and provider; and the degree of outsourcing. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was carried out by means of a questionnaire answered by 398 large Spanish firms. Its results were examined using the partial least squares software and through the proposal of a structural equation model. Findings – The conclusions reveal that the perceived benefits play a mediating role in outsourcing satisfaction and also that these benefits can be grouped together into three categories: strategic; economic; and technological ones. Originality/value – The study identifies how some success factors will be more influent than others depending which type of benefits are ultimately sought with outsourcing.

Interpersonal relations and nurses' job satisfaction through knowledge and usage of relational skills

Background/rationale: Many interpersonal labor disputes stem from the lack of communication skills and the relational problems in the interactions between health professionals. Aims/methods: A qualitative study was conducted in a Spanish hospital in order to get to know how the communicative interaction between hospital nurses is like in relation to the nurses' interpersonal interaction and communication skills developed in their working relationships. Twenty-one hospital nurses between 29 and 55 years old, working in different wards, were interviewed. Open-ended interview discourses were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results: The following four key themes were analyzed: communication and sender; communication and awareness of who has the problem; non-verbal communication; communication and recipient. Conclusion: The results of this study highlight the need to broaden nurses' relational–communication skills in order to increase job satisfaction.

Validation of the Spanish version of mackey childbirth satisfaction rating scale

Background: The “Mackey Childbirth Satisfaction Rating Scale” (MCSRS) is a complete non-validated scale which includes the most important factors associated with maternal satisfaction. Our primary purpose was to describe the internal structure of the scale and validate the reliability and validity of concept of its Spanish version MCSRS-E. Methods: The MCSRS was translated into Spanish, back-translated and adapted to the Spanish population. It was then administered following a pilot test with women who met the study participant requirements. The scale structure was obtained by performing an exploratory factorial analysis using a sample of 304 women. The structures obtained were tested by conducting a confirmatory factorial analysis using a sample of 159 women. To test the validity of concept, the structure factors were correlated with expectations prior to childbirth experiences. McDonald’s omegas were calculated for each model to establish the reliability of each factor. The study was carried out at four University Hospitals; Alicante, Elche, Torrevieja and Vinalopo Salud of Elche. The inclusion criteria were women aged 18–45 years old who had just delivered a singleton live baby at 38–42 weeks through vaginal delivery. Women who had difficulty speaking and understanding Spanish were excluded. Results: The process generated 5 different possible internal structures in a nested model more consistent with the theory than other internal structures of the MCSRS applied hitherto. All of them had good levels of validation and reliability. Conclusions: This nested model to explain internal structure of MCSRS-E can accommodate different clinical practice scenarios better than the other structures applied to date, and it is a flexible tool which can be used to identify the aspects that should be changed to improve maternal satisfaction and hence maternal health.

Is video-case an efficient tool to complement the practical learning in real contexts? Effects on satisfaction and performance in Social Work Degree students

Este documento es un artículo inédito que ha sido aceptado para su publicación. Como un servicio a sus autores y lectores, Alternativas. Cuadernos de trabajo social proporciona online esta edición preliminar. El manuscrito puede sufrir alteraciones tras la edición y corrección de pruebas, antes de su publicación definitiva. Los posibles cambios no afectarán en ningún caso a la información contenida en esta hoja, ni a lo esencial del contenido del artículo.

Coach Behaviors and Athlete Satisfaction in Team and Individual Sports

The coach can have a profound impact on athlete satisfaction, regardless of the level of sport involvement. Previous research has identified differences between coaching behavior preferences in team and individual sport athletes. The present study examined the moderating effect that an athlete's sport type (i.e., individual or team) may have on the relationships among seven coaching behaviors (mental preparation, technical skills, goal setting, physical training, competition strategies, personal rapport, and negative personal rapport) for predicting coaching satisfaction. Moderated multiple regression analyses indicated that each of the seven coaching behaviors were significant main effect predictors of coaching satisfaction. However, sport type (i.e., team or individual sports) was found to moderate six of the seven relationships: mental preparation, technical skills, goal setting, competition strategies, personal rapport, and negative personal rapport in predicting satisfaction with the coach. These findings indicate that high coaching satisfaction for athletes in team sports is influenced to a greater extent by the demonstration of these behaviors than it is for individual sport athletes.

Just Need Some Satisfaction: Examining the Relationship between Passion for Exercise and the Basic Psychological Needs

Individuals often pursue activities for which they are passionate about, and this passion is operationalized as being harmonious (an autonomous desireto engage in the activity) or obsessive (a controlled desire to engage in the activity) in nature (Vallerand et al., 2003). With regard to harmonious passion, Vallerand et al. (2003) suggests that it is fostered in environments that nurture innate needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The purpose of the present study was to explore the nature of the passion-basic psychological needs (competence, autonomy, relatedness) relationship. Kinesiology students (N = 917; Mage = 18.54 SD = 1.66) completed the Passion Scale (Vallerand et al., 2003) and the Psychological Need Satisfaction in Exercise Scale (Wilson et al., 2006). Results from the SEM path analysis indicated that harmonious passion was positively related to competence (SPE = .43) and relatedness (SPE = .43) and obsessive passion was negatively related to autonomy (SPE = -.18)(CFI = .90, RMSEA = .07, SRMR = .07). Implications for exercise participation/enjoyment are discussed.

Experience in Competitive Youth Sport and Needs Satisfaction: The Singapore Story

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between sport experiences and psychological needs satisfaction of Singapore high school athletes who were involved in inter-school competition. A total of 1250 school athletes from 22 sports participated in the study. The athletes were between 13 and 18 years old and had an average of 3 years of experience in school sport (SD=.18). Cluster analysis was employed to identify homogenous groups based on the seven developmental experiences domains of the Youth Experience Survey (YES 2.0; Hansen & Larson, 2005). A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to determine whether differences existed among the clusters in terms of psychological needs satisfaction (i.e., sense of autonomy, perceived competence and relatedness). The results of the cluster analysis showed that there were different subgroups of athletes with distinct developmental experiences, and they varied in the degree to which their psychological needs were satisfied. Generally, subgroups that had high levels of positive experiences and low levels of negative experiences in sport had better fulfillment of psychological needs. It is important to ensure that policies and programmes are formulated, delivered and monitored effectively to promote positive experiences for youth who are involved in competitive sports.

Caesarean Birth vs. Vaginal Delivery: Effects upon Maternal Satisfaction, Maternal Confidence and Maternal Perception of the Newborn Behaviour

In order to test the hypothesis that caesarean birth has negative consequences upon newly mothers’ satisfaction and perceptions, women delivering by caesarean birth (WCB) were compared with women delivering by vaginal birth (WVB). Subjects: 180 newly mothers; 93 WCB and 87 WVB. Instruments: A Socio-Demographic Questionnaire developed for this research, the Childbirth Perceptions Questionnaire and the Mother and Baby Scales. Results: WCB had significantly lower scores in perceptions of baby as alert/responsive and nearly significant lower scores for baby as alert during feeds. WVB showed a significantly higher level of satisfaction with delivery and conduct during labour, as also had significantly lower scores for perceptions of baby as irritable during feeds and for lack of confidence in feeds. After controlling for the kind of anesthesia received in labour, three conclusions must be taken into account: 1) between WCB with regional anaesthesia and WCB with general anaesthesia there is only one significant difference, with the former having higher scores for perception of baby as alert during feeds; 2) between WVB with regional anaesthesia and WVB with no anaesthesia there are only two significant differences, with the former having higher scores for lack of confidence in feeding and having lower scores for global confidence; 3) between WCB with regional anaesthesia and WVB with regional anaesthesia four significant differences emerge, with the former having a lower level of satisfaction with delivery and conduct in labour and having lower scores for perception of baby as alert responsive, and also having higher scores of perception of baby as irritable in feeds and higher scores for lack of confidence in feeding. Data seem compatible with the hypothesis that caesarean birth has some negative consequences upon mothers’ satisfaction and perceptions and, for this reason, psychological surveys should constitute a routine procedure in maternity hospitals, especially when newly mothers pertain to families affected by risks of psychological or social nature.