Conceptualizing workplace cyberbullying: Toward a definition for research and practice in nursing.

AIMS: To explore nurses' understandings and perceptions of workplace cyberbullying, in order to develop a relevant and meaningful definition of the phenomenon for future research and practice. BACKGROUND: Although previous research places nurses at an elevated risk of exposure to traditional workplace bullying, there is a notable absence of research investigating workplace cyberbullying within this profession. Considering the detrimental outcomes experienced by the targets of workplace cyberbullying, this is an issue that warrants focus. METHODS: Utilizing relevant scenarios as prompts, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 nurses (practising and in training) to explore their understanding of the concept and dynamics of workplace cyberbullying. RESULTS: Three high-level themes were identified and discussed: (1) cyber-specific features that make cyberbullying more damaging than traditional bullying; (2) the importance of context; and (3) the work environment factors that facilitate the occurrence of workplace cyberbullying. CONCLUSIONS: Our refined definition facilitates the investigation of a broader and more inclusive range of behaviours that targets may experience as workplace cyberbullying, and our findings in general highlight potential antecedents in common with traditional workplace bullying. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Given the work environment and the challenges faced by the nursing profession, a system-wide approach to intervention and management is recommended, along with utilizing a nursing-specific definition.

Understanding workplace violence: the value of a systems perspective.

Workplace violence is a leading form of occupational injury and fatality, but has received little attention from the ergonomics research community. The paper reports findings from the 2012 New Zealand Workplace Violence Survey, and examines the workplace violence experience of 86 New Zealand organisations and the perceptions of occupational health and safety professionals from a systems perspective. Over 50% of respondents reported violence cases in their organisation, with perpetrators evenly split between co-workers and external sources such as patients. Highest reported levels of violence were observed for agriculture, forestry and construction sectors. Highest risk factor ratings were reported for interpersonal and organisational factors, notably interpersonal communication, time pressure and workloads, with lowest ratings for environmental factors. A range of violence prevention measures were reported, although most organisations relied on single control measures, suggesting unmanaged violence risks were common among the sample.

Allocating time to future tasks: the effect of task segmentation on planning fallacy bias.

The scheduling component of the time management process was used as a "paradigm" to investigate the allocation of time to future tasks. In three experiments, we compared task time allocation for a single task with the summed time allocations given for each subtask that made up the single task. In all three, we found that allocated time for a single task was significantly smaller than the summed time allocated to the individual subtasks. We refer to this as the segmentation effect. In Experiment 3, we asked participants to give estimates by placing a mark on a time line, and found that giving time allocations in the form of rounded close approximations probably does not account for the segmentation effect. We discuss the results in relation to the basic processes used to allocate time to future tasks and the means by which planning fallacy bias might be reduced.

Categorical ethnicity and mental health literacy in New Zealand.

OBJECTIVE: Public social policies in New Zealand assume that there are fundamental differences between Maori views of health phenomena and non-Maori perceptions. The biomedical model and a Maori model known as Te Whare Tapa Wha are commonly employed to characterise these differences. Using the categorical ethnicity demarcation 'Maori/non-Maori' we investigate this claim with respect to mental health literacy about depression. DESIGN: Participants were randomly selected from the General and Maori Electoral Rolls and recruited by post (N=205). A vignette methodology was employed and involved the development of a fictional character as a target stimulus who exhibited the minimum DSM-IV-R criteria for a major depressive disorder. Participants responded to items regarding problem recognition, well-being, causal attributions, treatment preferences, and likely prognosis. RESULTS: The majority of Maori and non-Maori participants correctly identified the problem the vignette character was experiencing and nominated congruent attributions for the causes of the problem. In relation to treatment strategies and likely prognosis, independent of self-assigned ethnicity, participants rated professional treatments above alternative options. Overall the categorical ethnicity distinction 'Maori and non-Maori' produced no systematic variation with regards to individual evaluative responses about a major depressive disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to the embedded assumption within New Zealand's public health strategies that there are essential differences between the way Maori and non-Maori view health problems, and that the categorical ethnicity demarcation reliably reflects these differences, we found no evidence for the veracity of this claim using a major depressive disorder as a target for judgements. Alternative explanations are canvassed as to why this assumption about fundamental differences based on categorical ethnicity has gained ascendancy and prominence within the sphere of New Zealand health.