Is there an optimum number of night shifts? Relationship between sleep, health and well-being

By concentrating on the impact of a specific shift-system feature on the well-being of those concerned, rather than on the impact of the shift system as a whole, one might be able to offer more meaningful suggestions as to what constitutes a better form of shift system. The present study focused on the impact of the number of consecutive night shifts worked on the health and well-being of two groups of nurses (permanent night and rotating shift). All nurses completed a copy of the Standard Shiftwork Index, which is a set of questionnaires designed for comparing the effects of different types of shift system on large groups of workers. It includes measurements of psychological ill-health, physical ill-health, chronic fatigue, social and domestic disruption, attitudes towards shiftwork, sleep quality and sleep habits. Results showed clearly the impact of the number of consecutive nights worked on health and well-being, not directly, but indirectly through the impact on sleep duration and sleep quality. Sleep duration was shown to increase with more consecutive nights worked. This in turn was found to predict sleep quality, which in turn was found to be the stronger direct predictor of psychological and physical ill-health: i.e. better health was associated with longer and better quality sleeps. Explanations in terms of circadian adaptation are discussed.     

Implementing workforce development in health care: A conceptual framework to guide and evaluate health service reform

Abstract

The term ‘workforce development’ is increasingly popular in the health-care field. It appears to encompass a range of human and organizational development activity. However, there has been limited explication of the concept of workforce development in Australian health care at area health service levels. It is timely to develop a framework for workforce development and processes to guide any evaluation of the implementation of workforce development strategies. This paper presents a framework that has been developed through consultative processes in an area health service and an associated review of literature.     

Managing key interfaces in production planning and control

Detailed observational research, undertaken in two large and complex manufacturing businesses, identified ways in which work groups interface to employ knowledge to perform production planning and control activities. Eleven interfaces were observed and methods were established to classify them into types based on how knowledge is communicated and shared. Characteristics of the decision-making environment on either side of each interface were identified to explore their impact on interface type. Key differences in decision-makers’ predominant modes of decision-making, their agendas, and the form and scope of their knowledge were found to influence communication and decision-making processes. These findings have implications for production planning and control organisation and process design. In particular, it is seen that the effectiveness of interfaces may be improved through the alignment of decision-making approaches, agendas and knowledge across interfaces and/or through the effective use of interface tools that enable decision-makers to understand the consequences of decisions made.     

Utilizing job resources: Qualitative evidence of the roles of job control and social support in problem solving

Abstract

In resource-based models of job design, job resources, such as control and social support, are thought to help workers to solve problems. Few studies have examined this assumption. We analyzed 80 qualitative diary entries (N=29) and interviews (N=37) concerned with the in-role requirements of medical technology designers in the UK for problem solving. Four themes linked to using the resources of job control and social support for problem solving emerged. These were: (1) eliciting social support to solve problems; (2) exercising job control to solve problems; (3) co-dependence between eliciting social support and exercising job control to solve problems; and (4) using job resources to regulate affect. The results were largely supportive of the assumptions underpinning resource-based models of job design. They also indicated that the explanatory power of resource-based models of job design may be enhanced by considering interdependencies between various factors: how different job resources are used, workers' motivation to use resources, workers' knowledge of how to use resources and the use of resources from across organizational boundaries. The study provides qualitative support for the assumption that social support and job control are used to cope with demands.     

Time,Space and Gender: Understanding ‘Problem’ Behaviour in Young Children

The following article reports on a small‐scale, exploratory study of aggressive and ‘problem’ behaviour in pre‐school children. This project was conceived in the wider context of anxieties about childhood and New Labour’s policy focus on ‘anti‐social’ behaviour in children. Based on interviews with nursery staff and parents in addition to participant observation undertaken in nursery playrooms, this article examines the relevance of time, space and gender for understanding problem behaviour in young children. Taking a social constructionist perspective and drawing on Foucault's ideas in particular, it examines the social processes which regulate and normalise behaviour in young children. © 2006 The Author(s) Journal compilation © 2006 National Children's Bureau.     

Teaching international public relations: An examination of individual and institutional attributes of public relations educators in the U.S.

The study reported here provides an examination of the attributes of selected public relation educators and their institutions in relation to the teaching of international public relations as a course or as a part of a course.     

The Structure and Content of Social Inclusion: voices of young adults with learning difficulties in Guangzhou

The aim of the research described here was to examine the issue of social inclusion in relation to young people with a learning difficulty in Guangzhou. Ten families were included in this study based on their willingness to participate. The young people had to be over the age of 16 and not attending school. In each family the young person and a family carer (usually one of the parents) was interviewed separately. The article focuses mainly on the experience and words of the young people who express their feelings towards work and other social contacts. The conclusion is that despite greater government awareness of the needs of people with a disability, and the formulation of social and economic policies designed to encourage inclusion this is far from happening at grassroots level.     

Work after stroke: focusing on barriers and enablers

Previous research on work after stroke has used quantitative methods and a medical model approach to identify factors that influence return to work. This study uses an inclusive, qualitative methodology (focus groups) to begin to explore stroke survivors' own perspectives about what helps and hinders paid or voluntary work after stroke. The research was conducted in partnership with Different Strokes, a British organisation of stroke survivors. Five focus group discussions were held with 37 stroke survivors and 12 of their supporters. Data was analysed using an adapted Framework approach to identify themes within and across individuals and groups. Factors representing barriers to or enablers of work were identified in four key themes: rehabilitation process, employer agency, social structural and personal. The study found evidence of social oppression via infrastructure, institutional structures and practices, and some individuals' attitudes. Alongside this, some supportive individuals, practices and strategies were identified.     

A novel in statistics

Jane Yardley spends her days organising clinical trials. By night she writes successful novels. Her latest involves mystery, wartime crime and Sibelius; and its heroine is a biostatistician. Why? Chocolate teddybears, a father who worked with toxic chemicals and a bookmaker's clerk made her do it …