Feedback information and consumer motivation : the moderation role of positive and negative reference values in self-regulation

Marketers spend considerable resources to motivate people to consume their products and services as a means of goal attainment (Bagozzi and Dholakia, 1999). Why people increase, decrease, or stop consuming some products is based largely on how well they perceive they are doing in pursuit of their goals (Carver and Scheier, 1992). Yet despite the importance for marketers in understanding how current performance influences a consumer’s future efforts, this topic has received little attention in marketing research. Goal researchers generally agree that feedback about how well or how poorly people are doing in achieving their goals affects their motivation (Bandura and Cervone, 1986; Locke and Latham, 1990). Yet there is less agreement about whether positive and negative performance feedback increases or decreases future effort (Locke and Latham, 1990). For instance, while a customer of a gym might cancel his membership after receiving negative feedback about his fitness, the same negative feedback might cause another customer to visit the gym more often to achieve better results. A similar logic can apply to many products and services from the use of cosmetics to investing in mutual funds. The present research offers managers key insights into how to engage customers and keep them motivated. Given that connecting customers with the company is a top research priority for managers (Marketing Science Institute, 2006), this article provides suggestions for performance metrics including four questions that managers can use to apply the findings.

The subjective experience of negative symptoms : characteristics of emotional withdrawal

According to the diagnosis of schizophrenia in the DSM-IV-TR (American Psychiatric Association, 2000), negative symptoms are those personal characteristics that are thought to be reduced from normal functioning, while positive symptoms are aspects of functioning that exist as an excess or distortion of normal functioning. Negative symptoms are generally considered to be a core feature of people diagnosed with schizophrenia. However, negative symptoms are not always present in those diagnosed, and a diagnosis can be made with only negative or only positive symptoms, or with a combination of both. Negative symptoms include an observed loss of emotional expression (affective flattening), loss of motivation or self directedness (avolition), loss of speech (alogia), and also a loss of interests and pleasures (anhedonia). Positive symptoms include the perception of things that others do not perceive (hallucinations), and extraordinary explanations for ordinary events (delusions) (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Both negative and positive symptoms are derived from watching the patient and thus do not consider the patient’s subjective experience. However, aspects of negative symptoms, such as observed affective flattening are highly contended. Within conventional psychiatry, the absence of emotional expression is assumed to coincide with an absence of emotional experience. Contrasting research findings suggests that patients who were observed to score low on displayed emotional expression, scored high on self ratings of emotional experience. Patients were also observed to be significantly lower on emotional expression when compared with others (Aghevli, Blanchard, & Horan, 2003; Selton, van der Bosch, & Sijben, 1998). It appears that there is little correlation between emotional experience and emotional expression in patients, and that observer ratings cannot help us to understand the subjective experience of the negative symptoms. This chapter will focus on research into the subjective experiences of negative symptoms. A framework for these experiences will be used from the qualitative research findings of the primary author (Le Lievre, 2010). In this study, the primary author found that subjective experiences of the negative symptoms belonged to one of the two phases of the illness experience; “transitioning into emotional shutdown” or “recovering from emotional shutdown”. This chapter will use the six themes from the phase of “transitioning into emotional shutdown”. This phase described the experience of turning the focus of attention away from the world and onto the self and the past, thus losing contact with the world and others (emotional shutdown). Transitioning into emotional shutdown involved; “not being acknowledged”, “relational confusion”, “not being expressive”, “reliving the past”, “detachment”, and “no sense of direction” (Le Lievre, 2010). Detail will be added to this framework of experience from other qualitative research in this area. We will now review the six themes that constitute a “transition into emotional shutdown” and corresponding previous research findings.

Comparative study of coagulase negative Staphylococci (CoNS) from clinical isolates, skin and nasal sources

Staphylococci are important pathogenic bacteria responsible for a range of diseases in humans. The most frequently isolated microorganisms in a hospital microbiology laboratory are staphylococci. The general classification of staphylococci divides them into two major groups; Coagulase-positive staphylococci (e.g. Staphylococcus aureus) and Coagulase-negative staphylococci (e.g. Staphylococcus epidermidis). Coagulase-negative staphylococcal (CoNS) isolates include a variety of species and many different strains but are often dominated by the most important organism of this group, S. epidermidis. Currently, these organisms are regarded as important pathogenic organisms causing infections related to prosthetic materials and surgical wounds. A significant number of S. epidermidis isolates are also resistant to different antimicrobial agents. Virulence factors in CoNS are not very clearly established and not well documented. S. epidermidis is evolving as a resistant and powerful microbe related to nosocomial infections because it has different properties which independently, and in combination, make it a successful infectious agent, especially in the hospital environment. Such characteristics include biofilm formation, drug resistance and the evolution of genetic variables. The purpose of this project was to develop a novel SNP genotyping method to genotype S. epidermidis strains originating from hospital patients and healthy individuals. High-Resolution Melt Analysis was used to assign binary typing profiles to both clinical and commensal strains using a new bioinformatics approach. The presence of antibiotic resistance genes and biofilm coding genes were also interrogated in these isolates.

Perceptions of data quality dimensions and data roles

Several authors stress the importance of data’s crucial foundation for operational, tactical and strategic decisions (e.g., Redman 1998, Tee et al. 2007). Data provides the basis for decision making as data collection and processing is typically associated with reducing uncertainty in order to make more effective decisions (Daft and Lengel 1986). While the first series of investments of Information Systems/Information Technology (IS/IT) into organizations improved data collection, restricted computational capacity and limited processing power created challenges (Simon 1960). Fifty years on, capacity and processing problems are increasingly less relevant; in fact, the opposite exists. Determining data relevance and usefulness is complicated by increased data capture and storage capacity, as well as continual improvements in information processing capability. As the IT landscape changes, businesses are inundated with ever-increasing volumes of data from both internal and external sources available on both an ad-hoc and real-time basis. More data, however, does not necessarily translate into more effective and efficient organizations, nor does it increase the likelihood of better or timelier decisions. This raises questions about what data managers require to assist their decision making processes.

A Bayesian analysis of an agricultural field trial with three spatial dimensions

Modern technology now has the ability to generate large datasets over space and time. Such data typically exhibit high autocorrelations over all dimensions. The field trial data motivating the methods of this paper were collected to examine the behaviour of traditional cropping and to determine a cropping system which could maximise water use for grain production while minimising leakage below the crop root zone. They consist of moisture measurements made at 15 depths across 3 rows and 18 columns, in the lattice framework of an agricultural field. Bayesian conditional autoregressive (CAR) models are used to account for local site correlations. Conditional autoregressive models have not been widely used in analyses of agricultural data. This paper serves to illustrate the usefulness of these models in this field, along with the ease of implementation in WinBUGS, a freely available software package. The innovation is the fitting of separate conditional autoregressive models for each depth layer, the ‘layered CAR model’, while simultaneously estimating depth profile functions for each site treatment. Modelling interest also lay in how best to model the treatment effect depth profiles, and in the choice of neighbourhood structure for the spatial autocorrelation model. The favoured model fitted the treatment effects as splines over depth, and treated depth, the basis for the regression model, as measured with error, while fitting CAR neighbourhood models by depth layer. It is hierarchical, with separate onditional autoregressive spatial variance components at each depth, and the fixed terms which involve an errors-in-measurement model treat depth errors as interval-censored measurement error. The Bayesian framework permits transparent specification and easy comparison of the various complex models compared.

Renal bioenergetics during early gram-negative mammalian sepsis and angiotensin II infusion

Purpose: To measure renal adenosine triphosphate (ATP) (bioenergetics) during hypotensive sepsis with or without angiotensin II (Ang II) infusion. Methods: In anaesthetised sheep implanted with a renal artery flow probe and a magnetic resonance coil around one kidney, we induced hypotensive sepsis with intravenous Escherichia coli injection. We measured mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate, renal blood flow RBF and renal ATP levels using magnetic resonance spectroscopy. After 2 h of sepsis, we randomly assigned sheep to receive an infusion of Ang II or vehicle intravenously and studied the effect of treatment on the same variables. Results: After E. coli administration, the experimental animals developed hypotensive sepsis (MAP from 92 ± 9 at baseline to 58 ± 4 mmHg at 4 h). Initially, RBF increased, then, after 4 h, it decreased below control levels (from 175 ± 28 at baseline to 138 ± 27 mL/min). Despite decreased RBF and hypotension, renal ATP was unchanged (total ATP to inorganic phosphate ratio from 0.69 ± 0.02 to 0.70 ± 0.02). Ang II infusion restored MAP but caused significant renal vasoconstriction. However, it induced no changes in renal ATP (total ATP to inorganic phosphate ratio from 0.79 ± 0.03 to 0.80 ± 0.02). Conclusions:During early hypotensive experimental Gram-negative sepsis, there was no evidence of renal bioenergetic failure despite decreased RBF. In this setting, the addition of a powerful renal vasoconstrictor does not lead to deterioration in renal bioenergetics.

A prospective study investigating the impact of school belonging factors on negative affect in adolescents

School belonging, measured as a unidimensional construct, is an important predictor of negative affective problems in adolescents, including depression and anxiety symptoms. A recent study found that one such measure, the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) scale, actually comprises three factors: Caring Relations, Acceptance, and Rejection. We explored the relations of these factors with negative affect in a sample of 504 Australian grade 7 and 8 students who completed the PSSM and Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) at three time points. Each school belonging factor contributed to the prediction of negative affect in cross-sectional analyses. Scores on the Acceptance factor predicted subsequent negative affect for boys and girls, even controlling for prior negative affect. For girls, the Rejection factor was also significant in the prospective analysis. These findings have implications for the design of interventions and are further confirmation that school belonging should be considered a multidimensional construct.

Geostatistical analysis of adult Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) in wheat stored at constant temperatures

Insect monitoring and sampling programmes are used in the stored grains industry for the detection and estimation of insect pests. At the low pest densities dictated by economic and commercial requirements, the accuracy of both detection and abundance estimates can be influenced by variations in the spatial structure of pest populations over short distances. Geostatistical analysis of Rhyzopertha dominica populations in 2 dimensions showed that, in both the horizontal and vertical directions and at all temperatures examined, insect numbers were positively correlated over short (0-5cm) distances, and negatively correlated over longer (≥10cm) distances. Analysis in 3 dimensions showed a similar pattern, with positive correlations over short distances and negative correlations at longer distances. At 35°C, insects were located significantly further from the grain surface than at 25 and 30°C. Dispersion metrics showed statistically significant aggregation in all cases. This is the first research using small sample units, high sampling intensities, and a range of temperatures, to show spatial structuring of R. dominica populations over short distances. This research will have significant implications for sampling in the stored grains industry.

The two dimensions of virtual and collocated project teams or what project team members WANT and GET : an empirical study

The current paper compares and investigates the discrepancies in motivational drives of project team members with respect to their project environment in collocated and distributed (virtual) project teams. The set of factors, which in this context are called ‘Sense of Ownership’, is used as a scale to measure these discrepancies using one tailed t tests. These factors are abstracted from theories of motivation, team performance, and team effectiveness and are related to ‘Nature of Work’, ‘Rewards’, and ‘Communication’. It has been observed that ‘virtual ness’ does not seem to impact the motivational drives of the project team members or the way the project environments provide or support those motivational drives in collocated and distributed projects. At a more specific level in terms of the motivational drives of the project team (‘WANT’) and the ability of the project environment to provide or support those factors (‘GET’), in collocated project teams, significant discrepancies were observed with respect to financial and non financial rewards, learning opportunities, nature of work and project specific communication, while in distributed teams, significant discrepancies with respect to project centric communication, followed by financial rewards and nature of work. Further, distributed project environments seem to better support the team member motivation than collocated project environments. The study concludes that both the collocated and distributed project environments may not be adequately supporting the motivational drives of its project team members, which may be frustrating to them. However, members working in virtual team environments may be less frustrated than their collocated counterparts as virtual project environments are better aligned with the motivational drives of their team members vis-à-vis the collocated project environments.

The two dimensions of virtual and collocated project teams or what project team members WANT and GET : empirical evidence

The current paper compares and investigates the discrepancies in motivational drives of project team members with respect to their project environment in collocated and distributed (virtual) project teams. The set of factors, which in this context are called ‘Sense of Ownership’, is used as a scale to measure these discrepancies using one tailed t tests. These factors are abstracted from theories of motivation, team performance, and team effectiveness and are related to ‘Nature of Work’, ‘Rewards’, and ‘Communication’. It has been observed that ‘virtualness’ does not seem to impact the motivational drives of the project team members or the way the project environments provide or support those motivational drives in collocated and distributed projects. At a more specific level in terms of the motivational drives of the project team (‘WANT’) and the ability of the project environment to provide or support those factors (‘GET’), in collocated project teams, significant discrepancies were observed with respect to financial and non financial rewards, learning opportunities, nature of work and project specific communication, while in distributed teams, significant discrepancies with respect to project centric communication, followed by financial rewards and nature of work. Further, distributed project environments seem to better support the team member motivation than collocated project environments. The study concludes that both the collocated and distributed project environments may not be adequately supporting the motivational drives of its project team members, which may be frustrating to them. However, members working in virtual team environments may be less frustrated than their collocated counterparts as virtual project environments are better aligned with the motivational drives of their team members vis-à-vis the collocated project environments.

Dimensions of neuroticism : relationships with gender and personality traits

Reports results of 2 studies into sex-related neuroticism. Measures included sex-free and sex-related neuroticism scales (L. Francis, see record 1994-00056-001), the Psychoticism, Extraversion, and Lie scales of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), and the Beck Depression Inventory. In Study 1 with 69 male and 75 female undergraduates, no support for the validity of sex-free and sex-related measures of neuroticism was found. Although scores on both neuroticism measures were significantly related to depression scores, sex-free neuroticism was also associated with extraversion, psychoticism, and social desirability but only among males. Women tended to have significantly higher neuroticism scores than did men. In Study 2 involving 56 male and 129 female undergraduates, no significant differences in total scale scores were observed between the sexes when a natural language measure of neuroticism was used.

Dimensions of the third sector : comparative perspectives on structure and change

Cross-nationally, the introduction of New Public Management coincides with a significant growth phase of the nonprofit or third sector. This growth has disproportionately been an expansion of the economic dimensions (employment, turnover) and basically involved the greater use of third sector organisations as service providers. Such provision uses complex contract regimes, and typically takes place in some form of public-private partnership with either public or private funding agencies. Other parts of the third sector such as membership, volunteering and giving have generally grown less. The paper suggests that the sector is becoming qualitatively different, although the nature and strength of this change depends on the nonprofit regime type in a given country. Generally, however, third sector growth has led to differentiation processes that involve new organisational forms, and changes in activities and overall composition. The paper explores the measurement aspects of the quantitative-qualitative jump in third sector development by trying to "map" changes in core facts or dimensions over time. In closing, the paper suggests to examine recombination and refunctionality processes in the third sector.

Quality of work life and turnover intention in primary healthcare organisations : a cross-sectional study of registered nurses in Saudi Arabia

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to improve the retention of primary healthcare (PHC) nurses through exploring and assessing their quality of work life (QWL) and turnover intention. Design and methods: A cross-sectional survey design was used in this study. Data were collected using a questionnaire comprising four sections (Brooks’ survey of Quality of Nursing Work Life [QNWL], Anticipated Turnover Intention, open-ended questions and demographic characteristics). A convenience sample was recruited from 143 PHC centres in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. A response rate of 87% (n = 508/585) was achieved. The SPSS v17 for Windows and NVivo 8 were used for analysis purposes. Procedures and tests used in this study to analyse the quantitative data were descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, General Linear Model (GLM) univariate analysis, standard multiple regression, and hierarchical multiple regression. Qualitative data obtained from responses to the open-ended questions were analysed using the NVivo 8. Findings: Quantitative findings suggested that PHC nurses were dissatisfied with their work life. Respondents’ scores ranged between 45 and 218 (mean = 139.45), which is lower than the average total score on Brooks’ Survey (147). Major influencing factors were classified under four dimensions. First, work life/home life factors: unsuitable working hours, lack of facilities for nurses, inability to balance work with family needs and inadequacy of vacations’ policy. Second, work design factors: high workload, insufficient workforce numbers, lack of autonomy and undertaking many non-nursing tasks. Third, work context factors: management practices, lack of development opportunities, and inappropriate working environment in terms of the level of security, patient care supplies and unavailability of recreation room. Finally, work world factors: negative public image of nursing, and inadequate payment. More positively, nurses were notably satisfied with their co-workers. Conversely, 40.4% (n = 205) of the respondents indicated that they intended to leave their current employment. The relationships between QWL and demographic variables of gender, age, marital status, dependent children, dependent adults, nationality, ethnicity, nursing tenure, organisational tenure, positional tenure, and payment per month were significant (p < .05). The eta squared test for these demographics indicates a small to medium effect size of the variation in QWL scores. Using the GLM univariate analysis, education level was also significantly related to the QWL (p < .05). The relationships between turnover intention and demographic variables including gender, age, marital status, dependent children, education level, nursing tenure, organisational tenure, positional tenure, and payment per month were significant (p < .05). The eta squared test for these demographics indicates a small to moderate effect size of the variation in the turnover intention scores. Using the GLM univariate analysis, the dependent adults’ variable was also significantly related to turnover intention (p < .05). Turnover intention was significantly related to QWL. Using standard multiple regression, 26% of the variance in turnover intention was explained by the QWL F (4,491), 43.71, p < .001, with R² = .263. Further analysis using hierarchical multiple regression found that the total variance explained by the model as a whole (demographics and QWL) was 32.1%, F (17.433) = 12.04, p < .001. QWL explained an additional 19% of the variance in turnover intention, after controlling for demographic variables, R squared change =.19, F change (4, 433) = 30.190, p < .001. The work context variable makes the strongest unique contribution (-.387) to explain the turnover intention, followed by the work design dimension (-.112). The qualitative findings reaffirmed the quantitative findings in terms of QWL and turnover intention. However, the home life/work life and work world dimensions were of great important to both QWL and turnover intention. The qualitative findings revealed a number of new factors that were not included in the survey questionnaire. These included being away from family, lack of family support, social and cultural aspects, accommodation facilities, transportation, building and infrastructure of PHC, nature of work, job instability, privacy at work, patients and community, and distance between home and workplace. Conclusion: Creating and maintaining a healthy work life for PHC nurses is very important to improve their work satisfaction, reduce turnover, enhance productivity and improve nursing care outcomes. Improving these factors could lead to a higher QWL and increase retention rates and therefore reinforcing the stabilisation of the nursing workforce. Significance of the research: Many countries are examining strategies to attract and retain the health care workforce, particularly nurses. This study identified factors that influence the QWL of PHC nurses as well as their turnover intention. It also determined the significant relationship between QWL and turnover intention. In addition, the present study tested Brooks’ survey of QNWL on PHC nurses for the first time. The qualitative findings of this study revealed a number of new variables regarding QWL and turnover intention of PHC nurses. These variables could be used to improve current survey instruments or to develop new research surveys. The study findings could be also used to develop and appropriately implement plans to improve QWL. This may help to enhance the home and work environments of PHC nurses, improve individual and organisational performance, and increase nurses’ commitment. This study contributes to the existing body of research knowledge by presenting new data and findings from a different country and healthcare system. It is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia, especially in the field of PHC. It has examined the relationship between QWL and turnover intention of PHC nurses for the first time using nursing instruments. The study also offers a fresh explanation (new framework) of the relationship between QWL and turnover intention among PHC nurses, which could be used or tested by researchers in other settings. Implications for further research: Review of the extant literature reveals little in-depth research on the PHC workforce, especially in terms of QWL and organisational turnover in developing countries. Further research is required to develop a QWL tool for PHC nurses, taking into consideration the findings of the current study along with the local culture. Moreover, the revised theoretical framework of the current study could be tested in further research in other regions, countries or healthcare systems in order to identify its ability to predict the level of PHC nurses’ QWL and their intention to leave. There is a need to conduct longitudinal research on PHC organisations to gain an in-depth understanding of the determents of and changes in QWL and turnover intention of PHC nurses at various points of time. An intervention study is required to improve QWL and retention among PHC nurses using the findings of the current study. This would help to assess the impact of such strategies on reducing turnover of PHC nurses. Focusing on the location of the current study, it would be valuable to conduct another study in five years’ time to examine the percentage of actual turnover among PHC nurses compared with the reported turnover intention in the current study. Further in-depth research would also be useful to assess the impact of the local culture on the perception of expatriate nurses towards their QWL and their turnover intention. A comparative study is required between PHC centres and hospitals as well as the public and private health sector agencies in terms of QWL and turnover intention of nursing personnel. Findings may differ from sector to sector according to variations in health systems, working environments and the case mix of patients.

Do the myths still exist? Revisiting people’s negative beliefs about organ donation upon death

The prevalence of myths preventing people partial to donation in Australia from consenting is unknown. Respondents (N = 468: 381 donors, 26 non-donors, 61 undecided) were surveyed about their (negative) donation beliefs. Approximately 30% of donors were neutral or supported negative beliefs about organ allocation, especially donation to undesirable organ recipients and a black market organ trade. Confusion about brain death, lack of family and religious support, and discomfort with donation were negative beliefs endorsed by some respondents irrespective of donor preference. Proportionally, donors had greater trust in hospitals/doctors than other groups. Some myths still exist but may vary with donation preference.

Outsourcing and cutting choice in private hospital menus – does it impact on patient foodservice satisfaction?

Patient satisfaction with foodservices is multidimensional. It is well recognised that food and other aspects of foodservice delivery are important elements of patients overall perception of the hospital experience. This study aimed to determine whether menu changes in 2008 at an acute private hospital, considered negative by the dietetic staff, would affect patient satisfaction with the foodservice. Changes to the menu, secondary to the refurbishment of the foodservice facilities decreased the number of choices at breakfast from six to four, and altered the dessert menu to include a larger proportion of commercially produced products. The Acute Care Hospital Foodservice Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (ACHFPSQ) was utilised to assess patient satisfaction with the menu changes, as it has proven accuracy and reliability in measuring patient satisfaction. Results of the survey (n=306) were compared to data with previous ACHFPSQ surveys conducted annually since 2003. Data analysed included overall foodservice satisfaction and four dimensions of foodservice satisfaction: food quality, meal service quality, staff/service issues and the physical environment. Satisfaction targets were set at 4 (scale 1–5) for each foodservice dimension. Analysis showed that despite changes to the menu, overall foodservice satisfaction rated high, with a score of 4.3. Eighty-six percent of patients rated the foodservice as either ‘very good’ or ‘good’. The four foodservice dimensions were rated highly (4.2–4.8). Findings were consistent with previous survey results, demonstrating a high level of patient satisfaction across all dimensions of the foodservice, despite changes to the menu. The annual ACHFPSQ was of value to this practice question.