The Role of a Restorative Resource in the Academic Context in Improving Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation and Flow within the Job Demands-Resources Model.

The perceived quality of the learning environment may influence both motivation and concentration. Little is known about how perceived characteristics of the learning environment, and specifically sub-dimensions of Perceived Restorativeness (being away, fascination, compatibility, and extent), can promote these positive effects in an academic context. We addressed, through a correlational study, the possibility that the characteristics of learning environments may promote concentration and involvement in activity (i.e., flow) via intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for academic study within the job demands-resources model. A total of 165 Italian university psychology classes in a 3-year degree course from two different universities context completed an online questionnaire made up of the construct considered in this study. Results in the hierarchical multivariate regression analyses confirm that the restorative quality of learning environments (i.e., being away, compatibility, extent) is positively correlated with flow. However, there is a non-significant relationship between extent and flow. Regression analyses show a significant indirect effect of compatibility, both through intrinsic and extrinsic student motivation. Furthermore, the results confirm a significant indirect effect of extent through intrinsic motivation and being away, and fascination through Extrinsic motivation. Furthermore, intrinsic motivation is a full mediator between the extent and flow relationship. The results underline the importance of considering the restorative quality of the environment for improving place design, concentration, and student learning motivation.

Mea Culpa! The Role of Guilt in the Work-Life Interface and Satisfaction of Women Entrepreneur.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the role of mediator of Guilt (in both directions: Family Interference with Work (FIW) and Work Interference with Family (WIF)) in the relationship between Conflict, Job and Life Satisfaction, also investigating the role of Enrichment as moderator. Using PROCESS Macro, the hypothesized models are tested on a sample of 161 women entrepreneurs. Both the mediating role of guilt and the moderating role of enrichment were analyzed through models of mediation and moderate mediation. Results from the analysis support the hypothesized models. Guilt FIW and Guilt WIF mediate the relationship between work Conflict and Job satisfaction, as well the relationship between Conflict and Life satisfaction, and at the same time, Enrichment moderated the mediating processes by which the Conflict affects Job and Life satisfaction via Guilt FIW and Guilt WIF. This study is one of the few that takes into consideration both Conflict and Enrichment in a sample of women entrepreneurs and examines Guilt, which many times presents itself as an "invisible" factor in studies on the work-family interface.

Don't Call It Smart: Working From Home During the Pandemic Crisis.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic and related social distancing measures have significantly changed worldwide employment conditions. In developed economies, institutions and organizations, both public and private, are called upon to reflect on new organizational models of work and human resource management, which - in fact - should offer workers sufficient flexibility in adapting their work schedules remotely to their personal (and family) needs. This study aims to explore, within a Job Demands-Resources framework, whether and to what extent job demands (workload and social isolation), organizational job resources (perceived organizational support), and personal resources (self-efficacy, vision about the future and commitment to organizational change) have affected workers' quality of life during the pandemic, taking into account the potential mediating role of job satisfaction and perceived stress. Using data from a sample of 293 workers, we estimate measurement and structural models, according to the Item Response Theory and the Path analysis frameworks, which allow us to operationalize the latent traits and study the complex structure of relationships between the latent dimensions. We inserted in the model as control variables, the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the respondents, with particular emphasis on gender differences and the presence and age of children. The study offers insights into the relationship between remote work and quality of life, and the need to rethink human resource management policies considering the opportunities and critical issues highlighted by working full-time remotely.

Gender and Entrepreneurship in Pandemic Time: What Demands and What Resources? An Exploratory Study.

Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, global economies have suffered an exogenous shock never seen before with a strong economic and psychosocial impact on organizations. Italy, in the context of the research, has been severely affected. The economic crisis has mainly affected women. In this scenario, entrepreneurial perceived success (objective and subjective) is influenced by increasingly burdensome job demands that entrepreneurs have to face up. Using the job demand-resources model, the study aims to broaden the knowledge of the determinants of entrepreneurial perceived success in the current emergency moment. In particular, as regards of the demands, alongside the specific entrepreneurial demands (time demands, uncertainty and risk, and responsibility), we also decided to include the negative interface family-work in both directions from-family-to-work (NEGWIF) and from-work-to-family (NEGFIW). Regarding the resources, we considered entrepreneurial self-efficacy (researching, planning, marshaling, implementing people, and implementing financial), proactive and elaborate social strategies (SS), and both directions of the positive interface: from-family-to-work (POSWIF) and from-work-to-family (POSFIW). All participants are women entrepreneurs (N = 137) who have completed a self-report questionnaire. We explored the associations between demands, resources, and the dimensions of success through hierarchical regressions. As for the demands, time demands, uncertainty and risk, NEGWIF, and NEGFIW negatively influenced the perceived entrepreneurial success. Regarding resources, planning, implementing financial, proactive and elaborate SS positively influenced the perceived entrepreneurial success.

Association between cardiac troponin I and mortality in patients with COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Severe pneumonia is pathological manifestation of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), however complications have been reported in COVID-19 patients with a worst prognosis. Aim of this study was to evaluate the role of high sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-TnI) in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. METHODS: we retrospectively analysed hs-TnI values measured in 523 patients (median age 64 years, 68% men) admitted to a university hospital in Milan, Italy, and diagnosed COVID-19. RESULTS: A significant difference in hs-TnI concentrations was found between deceased patients (98 patients) vs discharged (425 patients) [36.05 ng/L IQR 16.5-94.9 vs 6.3 ng/L IQR 2.6-13.9, p < 0.001 respectively]. Hs-TnI measurements were independent predictors of mortality at multivariate analysis adjusted for confounding parameters such as age (HR 1.004 for each 10 point of troponin, 95% CI 1.002-1.006, p < 0.001). The survival rate, after one week, in patients with hs-TnI values under 6 ng/L was 97.94%, between 6 ng/L and the normal value was 90.87%, between the normal value and 40 ng/L was 86.98, and 59.27% over 40 ng/L. CONCLUSION: Increase of hs-TnI associated with elevated mortality in patients with COVID-19. Troponin shows to be a useful biomarker of disease progression and worse prognosis in COVID-19 patients.

Intangible Assets and Performance in Nonprofit Organizations:A Systematic Literature Review.

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) promote citizens' participation in community life through several different kinds of organizations: some more informal (such as associations and volunteering groups), others more formal or public (such as charities and foundations). This heterogeneity, as well as the well-known peculiarities of NPOs when compared to profit and public ones, poses new challenges to their management. In the constant need to find balance between financial constraints and social value, a main resource for NPOs is the management of intangible assets, such as knowledge, positive relationships within the organization and with users, external image, loyalty and commitment, and so on. From the literature on for-profit organizations, it is well known that proper management of intangible assets improves an organization's sustainable competitive advantage, not only by enhancing its members' affiliation and commitment but even by enhancing their productivity. This is particularly relevant when taking into account the main role of volunteers in the third sector. Volunteers, indeed, show different job attitudes and organizational behaviors than paid employees, as their membership and accountability are less formalized and they frequently lack a proper teamwork, due to the high volunteer turnover. At the same time, from the managers point of view, managing volunteers and paid workers require higher skills and competencies than managing human resources in for-profit organizations. Developing these reflections and considerations, we aim to conduct a systematic literature review on the association between intangible assets and performance in NPOs. The literature will be conducted following the indications from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. It provides an evidence-based minimum set of items to be included in the review, as well as a workflow to properly manage and choose the papers to be included. The authors conducted the research using EBSCO, ProQuest, and Scopus databases.

Italian Teachers' Well-Being Within the High School Context: Evidence From a Large Scale Survey.

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between Italian teachers' well-being, socio-demographic characteristics and professional background. Using data from the 2015 wave of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) we considered information collected by the questionnaire completed by a total of 6,491 teachers in the sampled schools. Moving from existing literature on teachers' well-being, we investigate several aspects related to the teachers' working environment, career motivation and investment, and job satisfaction. We assess the variability in the observed outcomes attributable to school factors and heterogeneity between disciplines. Measurement models are combined in a multilevel setting in order to define teachers' well-being on a broad perspective while accounting for the multiple sources of heterogeneity due to several factors (e.g., discipline, teacher professional background, and individual differences) occurring at different levels of the data structure. In general, results show that the teachers' positive perception of the working environment in terms of availability of adequate human and physical resources, and professional development opportunities, provide a substantial state of well-being at work, and are related to teachers' job satisfaction. Moreover, results highlight the key role of transformational leadership in defining a teacher's well-being. Findings and implications are discussed.

Managing Knowledge in Organizations: A Nonaka's SECI Model Operationalization.

PURPOSE: The SECI model (Nonaka, 1994) is the best-known conceptual framework for understanding knowledge generation processes in organizations. To date, however, empirical support for this framework has been overlooked. The present study aims to provide an evidence-based groundwork for the SECI model by testing a multidimensional questionnaire Knowledge Management SECI Processes Questionnaire (KMSP-Q) designed to capture the knowledge conversion modes theorized by Nonaka. METHODOLOGY: In a twofold study, the SECI model was operationalized via the KMSP-Q. Specifically, Study One tested its eight-dimensional structure through exploratory and confirmatory factorial analyses on 372 employees from different sectors. Study Two examined the construct validity and reliability by replicating the KMSP-Q factor structure in knowledge-intensive contexts (on a sample of 466 health-workers), and by investigating the unique impact of each dimension on some organizational outcomes (i.e., performance, innovativeness, collective efficacy). FINDINGS: The overall findings highlighted that the KMSP-Q is a psychometrically robust questionnaire in terms of both dimensionality and construct validity, the different knowledge generation dimensions being specifically linked to different organizational outcomes. RESEARCH/PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The KMSP-Q actualizes and provides empirical consistency to the theory underlying the SECI model. Moreover, it allows for the monitoring of an organization's capability to manage new knowledge and detect the strengths/weaknesses of KM-related policies and programs. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This paper proposes a comprehensive measure of knowledge generation in work contexts, highlighting processes that organizations are likely to promote in order to improve their performance through the management of their knowledge resources.

"You Can See How Things Will End by the Way They Begin": The Contribution of Early Mutual Obligations for the Development of the Psychological Contract.

This study explores dynamic processes in the development of the psychological contract, focusing on the interaction of obligations related to the two parties (i.e., employees' perceptions of both their own and the organization's obligations fulfillment) on attitudinal outcomes (organizational commitment and turnover intention) during the initial stage of the employment relationship. In a twofold cross-sectional and two-wave study on newly hired correctional police officers, we examined: (a) whether perception of organizational obligations fulfillment moderates the relationship between employee obligations and their attitudes (Study 1, n.500); (b) the direct and moderated influence of perceived obligations at the entrance stage on those in the following months (Study 2, n.223). Results confirmed that, in the eyes of the newcomer, the obligations fulfillment of each of the two parties interact, having an additional effect beyond the main direct effects, in influencing both subsequent obligations perceptions and, through this, the outcome variables. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

The role of locally-designed organizational artifacts in supporting nurses' work: an ethnographic study on the wards

INTRODUCTION: This paper aims to describe how nurses' planning and coordination work is performed through the use of locally designed tools (i.e., diaries, planners, reminders, and organizers). These tools are investigated as the materialization of organizational work, thus offering a complementary perspective on nursing practice to that proposed by the professional mandate and supported by official artifacts in use. METHOD: Ethnographic study. RESULTS: By analyzing locally designed artifacts, the rationale that enables nurses to make the flow of activities work is highlighted and explained. Evidence is provided by a description of how nurses' tacit knowledge is reified and embedded into objects produced by the nurses themselves. Implications for the design of digital systems supporting nursing practice are discussed. CONCLUSION: The analysis of these artifacts has allowed an understanding of practices used by the nurses to manage the workflow in the wards.

Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises: The role of work engagement in support of people through the recovery process and in preventing relapse in drug and alcohol abuse.

BACKGROUND: This study, carried out in five Therapeutic Communities (TCs), aims to evaluate the relationship between social support and sense of community for people with pathological addictions and the personal and professional dimensions of hope, resilience, work engagement, future time perspective, and job performance. Support to the person is attained through social support at work by the supervisor and the person's sense of belonging to the community. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to analyze the relationship between social support, sense of community, hope, resilience, work engagement, future time perspective, and job performance. METHODS: In order to verify the relations between those variables, structural equation models with observed variables (path analysis) were estimated using LISREL 8.80. RESULTS: The results show a direct relationship between social support at work by the supervisor and hope, as well as between sense of community and resilience at work, while work engagement plays a mediating role between the two antecedents and the personal and professional variables investigated - hope, resilience, future time perspective and performance at work. Performance was measured through both people's self-perceptions and their supervisors' evaluations. A positive correlation exists between the two assessments. CONCLUSIONS: The positive consequences of the research entail both theoretical and practical aspects.

Male to female gender reassignment: modified surgical technique for creating the neoclitoris and mons veneris.

INTRODUCTION: The principal goal of surgical techniques for male to female gender reassignment is to provide aesthetic and functional external female genitalia. AIM: To present a new surgical technique which permits a safer and faster construction of the neoclitoris and the configuration of a natural-looking mons veneris. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The neoclitoris sensitivity was reported by the patients themselves and checked during the follow-up medical examination. In order to define the degree of the patients' satisfaction with the mons veneris appearance, we used a simple questionnaire. METHODS: From April 2004 to February 2007, 26 patients underwent male to female sex reassignment surgery. The new technique was applied in the last 15 cases. A strip of albuginea, with the penile dorsal neurovascular bundle and a little portion of glans, was prepared, bended on itself, and fixed in the suprapubic area in order to create the mons veneris and the neoclitoris. RESULTS: This technique was easy to perform, permitting the safe preservation of the penile dorsal neurovascular bundle and a reduction in the operation time of 30-45 minutes. No major complications occurred in this series. Neoclitoris trophism and sensitivity were preserved in all patients. At follow-up, ranging from 3 to 20 months, the genital appearance was satisfactory, and the neoclitoris was pleasantly sensitive after a short period of hypersensitivity. Moreover, seven patients reported some form of climax during intercourse. The technical outcome was successful in all cases. The patients' satisfaction was extremely high for the neoclitoris sensitivity (present in all patients) and high in 11 out of 15 for the appearance of the mons veneris. CONCLUSIONS: The neoclitoris and mons veneris configuration with a strip of albuginea is a new, safe, and time-saving surgical procedure. The cosmetic appearance and function of transsexual female external genitalia appears to be improved by using this technique.

INvestigation of STEnt grafts in patients with type B Aortic Dissection: design of the INSTEAD trial--a prospective, multicenter, European randomized trial.

PURPOSE: This study describes the design of an ongoing randomized trial initiated to compare the 2-year outcome of uncomplicated type B aortic dissection when treated by endovascular implantation of a Medtronic Talent stent graft adjunctive to best medical treatment versus best medical treatment alone. METHODS: Patients older than 18 years with type B aortic dissection as diagnosed by computed tomography or magnetic resonance angiography are randomized to either a thoracic aortic endoprosthesis and antihypertensive treatment, called "stent grafting," or a tailored antihypertensive treatment, called "medical treatment." Only patients in a clinically stable condition and without spontaneous thrombosis of the false lumen after 14 days of the index dissection are considered eligible for study inclusion. RESULTS: Primary outcome measure is all-cause mortality. Secondary outcome variables include conversion to stent and/or surgery, induced thrombosis of the false lumen, cardiovascular morbidity, aortic expansion (>5 mm/y of maximum diameter including true and false lumina), quality of life, and length of intensive care unit and hospital stay. The study design calls for 136 patients to be randomized and monitored for 24 months. CONCLUSIONS: The INSTEAD trial is the first randomized trial investigating the role of endoluminal treatment of uncomplicated type B aortic dissection. By the end of December 2004, 125 patients were randomized, accounting for 92% of the target. Final results of the INSTEAD trial should be available in 2006.

Mast cell density: a quantitative index of acute liver inflammation.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate mast cell (MC) density, in liver tissues taken from young and aging rats treated with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) or untreated, as a quantitative marker of acute liver inflammation and to investigate whether the density of MCs varied with the rats' age. STUDY DESIGN: Rats aged 2, 6, 12 and 19 months treated intraperitoneally with CCl4 were killed 2 and 24 hours after intoxication. Hepatocellular damage was established by measuring alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity. Four histologic sections of 12 specimens from each age group were stained with toluidine blue to identify the MCs, which were counted using a computer-assisted image analysis system. RESULTS: Histology showed hepatocellular necrosis with inflammatory infiltration both 2 and 24 hours after intoxication. Serum AST levels were high in the 6- and 12-month-old rats, whereas ALT levels were high in the those aged 2 and 19 months. Two and 24 hours after intoxication, MC density increased considerably in young rats but less so in rats aged 19 months. CONCLUSION: MC density can be a useful marker of acute liver inflammation. The greater density in young rats suggests that older rats have a reduced immune response or recruit fewer MCs.