Caregiver role strain of older workers

The purpose of this study was to measure role strain in older adult workers who were also caregivers of frail elders according to Komarovsky's role strain theory, and to determine whether different patterns of role strain exist for male worker-caregivers than females. METHOD: Researchers developed the Job-Caregiver Role Strain Scale Survey, which was adapted from a survey that measured role strain in working parents and spouses. Surveys were distributed to 11 male and 34 female older workers who were also caregivers. RESULTS: A factor analysis was completed, which isolated four factors of role strain. Researchers named the factors time management and arrangements, health and competing role demands, low rewards, and reactions to perceptions. Role strain in older adult worker-caregivers is complex and involves multiple variables. A discriminant function analysis predicted differences in the way older male and female worker-caregivers perceived role strain. Use of role strain theory can assist employers and occupational therapists in developing and maintaining work environments that support not only the older employee's work performance, but participation in the role of elder caregiver as well.     

Notes on Metalib® Implementation at Texas A&M University

Between late 2004 and January 2006, Texas A&M University Libraries implemented Metalib®, Ex Libris'â?¢ federated search software. This article outlines the implementation process, including selection criteria, implementation decisions, and staff and faculty training techniques. Special attention is paid to describing search configuration changes and user interface modifications. The implementers made many of their implementation choices based on usability training, which is briefly described. The article ends with a set of conclusions as to successes and failures in the project and a list of recommended features to look for in selecting a federated search system.     

Measurement biases in user involvement research

Considerable research has been conducted to demonstrate user involvement's effect on information system success. User involvement and system success typically have been measured by asking users for their perceptions of these variables. This paper reports on a field study conducted to investigate the possibility that this approach to measuring study variables tends to overstate the benefits of user involvement. The link of user involvement to user satisfaction is found to be significantly weaker when user involvement is assessed by systems analysts than when it is self reported. Further, this difference is found to be greater for systems with few users than for systems with many users. The findings suggest that common method variance and self-serving bias may have overstated the apparent benefits of user involvement in past research on information systems. Suggestions for future research are presented.