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1 – 5 of 5Rebecca Martland, Lucia Valmaggia, Vigneshwar Paleri, Natalie Steer and Simon Riches
Clinical staff working in mental health services experience high levels of work-related stress, burnout and poor well-being. Increased levels of stress, burnout, depression and…
Abstract
Purpose
Clinical staff working in mental health services experience high levels of work-related stress, burnout and poor well-being. Increased levels of stress, burnout, depression and anxiety and poorer mental well-being among health-care workers are associated with more sick days, absenteeism, lower work satisfaction, increased staff turnover and reduced quality of patient care. Virtual reality (VR) relaxation is a technique whereby experiences of pleasant and calming environments are accessed through a head-mounted display to promote relaxation. The purpose of this paper is to describe the design of a study that assesses the feasibility and acceptability of implementing a multi-session VR relaxation intervention amongst mental health professionals, to improve their relaxation levels and mental well-being.
Design/methodology/approach
The study follows a pre–post-test design. Mental health staff will be recruited for five weeks of VR relaxation. The authors will measure the feasibility and acceptability of the VR relaxation intervention as primary outcomes, alongside secondary outcomes evaluating the benefits of VR relaxation for mental well-being.
Findings
The study aims to recruit 20–25 health-care professionals working in both inpatient and specialist community mental health settings.
Originality/value
Research indicates the potential of VR relaxation as a low-intensity intervention to promote relaxation and reduce stress in the workplace. If VR relaxation is shown to be feasible and acceptable, when delivered across multiple sessions, there would be scope for large-scale work to investigate its effectiveness as an approach to enable health-care professionals to de-stress, relax and optimise their mental well-being. In turn, this may consequently reduce turnover and improve stress-related sick leave across health-care services.
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Eugine Tafadzwa Maziriri, Brighton Nyagadza, Tafadzwa C. Maramura and Miston Mapuranga
This study aims to examine how couplepreneurs foster an entrepreneurial mindset in their kids.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine how couplepreneurs foster an entrepreneurial mindset in their kids.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative research approach with semi-structured interviews was used as the data collection technique. Narrative analysis was conducted on a sample of 20 couplepreneurs in Mthatha, South Africa.
Findings
Narratives of how couplepreneurs foster an entrepreneurial mindset in their kids included purchasing toys and games for kids that encourage entrepreneurship; competition and team activities among kids that are related to entrepreneurship; the piggy bank; encouraging kids to read entrepreneurial books; and kid entrepreneur showcases.
Research limitations/implications
Sample size challenges are a notable limitation, including research being conducted in only one province of South Africa. Caution is advised when attempting to generalise the results to other contexts.
Practical implications
Understanding the strategies used by couplepreneurs to instil an entrepreneurial mindset in children can help parents to influence and encourage their children's entrepreneurial growth, resulting in more creative and innovative people who make a positive contribution to society, economy and the community.
Originality/value
While there is a body of literature on couple entrepreneurship, there are shortcomings in studies examining how coupleprenuers in African countries instil an entrepreneurial mindset in their children. As a result, this study aims to complement the current corpus of African literature on entrepreneurship, particularly in the context of South Africa.
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Do Uyen Tam and Nguyen Thi Mai Trang
Workplace incivility (WI) has been extensively studied. However, less is known about how WI spills over into employees' lives. Building on the work-home resources model, the…
Abstract
Purpose
Workplace incivility (WI) has been extensively studied. However, less is known about how WI spills over into employees' lives. Building on the work-home resources model, the authors develop a conceptual model investigating work-family enrichment (WFE) as the mediator between WI and subjective well-being (SWB) and coping strategies as the moderator of this indirect relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were gathered from 266 frontline employees (FLEs) working in different banks in Vietnam, using a convenience sampling technique. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique was employed.
Findings
The results show that coworker incivility (COWI) predicts a lower level of WFE, which in turn is associated with SWB, while supervisor incivility is not. The authors also found that coping strategies moderate the adverse influence of COWI on employees' WFE.
Originality/value
Although much research has been conducted on the predictors of SWB, little is known about how WI and WFE together impact SWB, and insight into how to buffer the effects of WI are also lacking. This study thus fills a gap in the literature. Implications for theory, practice and future research are discussed.
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Mohamed M. Hendy and Magdy A. Ezzat
Whereas, the classical Green-Naghdi Type II (GN-II) model struggles to accurately represent the thermo-mechanical behavior of thermoelectric MHD due to its inability to account…
Abstract
Purpose
Whereas, the classical Green-Naghdi Type II (GN-II) model struggles to accurately represent the thermo-mechanical behavior of thermoelectric MHD due to its inability to account for the memory effect. A new mathematical model of the GN-II theory incorporates a fractional order of heat transport to address this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The employment of the matrix exponential method, which forms the basis of the state-space approach in contemporary theory, is central to this strategy. The resulting formulation, together with the Laplace transform techniques, is applied to a variety of problems. Solutions to a thermal shock problem and to a problem of a layer media both without heat sources are obtained. Also, a problem with the distribution of heat sources is considered. The numerical technique is used to achieve the Laplace transform inversion.
Findings
According to the numerical results and its graphs, the influences of the fractional order parameters, figure-of-merit factor, thermoelectric power and Peltier coefficient on the behavior of the field quantities are investigated in the new theory.
Originality/value
The new modeling of thermoelectric MHD has advanced significantly as a result of this work, providing a more thorough and precise tool for forecasting the behavior of these materials under a range of thermal and magnetic conditions.
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Paraskevi El Skarpa and Emmanouel Garoufallou
In the digital era individuals are overwhelmed by huge amount of readily available information. The information provided at the time of COVID-19 crisis is increasingly available…
Abstract
Purpose
In the digital era individuals are overwhelmed by huge amount of readily available information. The information provided at the time of COVID-19 crisis is increasingly available. The purpose of this paper was to investigate individuals’ perceived feelings due to the plethora of information during COVID-19 pandemic in Greece in Spring 2020.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was conducted through a Web-based questionnaire survey posted on the Google Forms platform. The questionnaire consisted of closed-ended, seven-point Likert-scale questions. The data collected were subjected to a principal component analysis. The retained principal components (PCs) were subjected to statistical analysis between genders and among age groups and professional status with the nonparametric criteria Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis.
Findings
Responses by 776 individuals were obtained. Seventeen original variables from the questionnaire were summarized into three PCs that explained the 71.7% of total variance: “affective disorders,” “uncertainty issues and inaccurate information worries” and “satisfaction and optimism.” Participants partly agree that the received amount of information on the disease caused them feelings of uncertainty about the future and worries about relatives’ lives, but also satisfaction with developments in the country. Females seem to experience stronger perceived feelings of “affective disorders” (p < 0.001) and reported higher degree of agreement about “uncertainty issues and inaccurate information worries.”
Originality/value
The recorded feelings caused by the volume of available information may have forced people accept the necessary precautionary behavioral changes that had contributed to the Greek success in preventing spread of the disease in Spring 2020.
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