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Environment Factors (environment + factor)
Selected AbstractsSap flow of Artemisia ordosica and the influence of environmental factors in a revegetated desert area: Tengger Desert, ChinaHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 10 2010Huang Lei Abstract Artemisia ordosica is considered as an excellent sand-fixing plant in revegetated desert areas, which plays a pertinent role in stabilizing the mobile dunes and sustaining the desert ecosystems. Stem sap flows of about 10-year-old Artemisia ordosica plants were monitored continuously with heat balance method for the entire growing season in order to understand the water requirement and the effects of environmental factors on its transpiration and growth. Environment factors such as solar radiation, air temperatures, relative humidity, wind speed and precipitation were measured by the eddy covariance. Diurnal and seasonal variations of sap flow rate with different stem diameters and their correlation with meteorological factors and reference evapotranspiration were analysed. At the daily time scale, there was a significantly linear relationship between sap flow rate and reference evapotranspiration with a correlation coefficient of R2 = 0·6368. But at the hourly time scale, the relationship of measured sap flow rate and calculated reference evapotranspiration (ET0) was affected by the precipitation. A small precipitation would increase the sap flow and the ET0; however, when the precipitation is large, the sap flow and ET0 decrease. Leaf area index had a coincident variation with soil water content; both were determined by the precipitation, and meteorological factors were the most significant factors that affected the sap flow of Artemisia ordosica in the following order: solar radiation > vapour pressure deficit > relative humidity > air temperature > wind speed. The close correlation between daily sap flow rate and meteorological factors in the whole growing season would provide us an accurate estimation of the transpiration of Artemisia ordosica and rational water-carrying capacity of sand dunes in the revegetated desert areas. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Employee perceptions and their influence on training effectivenessHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 1 2003Amalia Santos Studies of the benefits of human resource development (HRD) for organisations have assumed a direct connection between training strategy and a hierarchy of performance outcomes: learning, behavioural change and performance improvement. The influence of workplace practices and employees' experiences on training effectiveness has received little attention. This study investigates evaluation strategies designed to elicit greater training effectiveness, and explores the influence of trainees' perceptions and work environment factors on this. Drawing on detailed case study findings, the authors highlight the importance of management practices, trainees' perceptions of the work environment and systems of reward in explaining behaviour change after training. [source] The relationship between nursing leadership and nurses' job satisfaction in Canadian oncology work environmentsJOURNAL OF NURSING MANAGEMENT, Issue 5 2008GRETA G. CUMMINGS PhD Background, Current Canadian oncology work environments are challenged by the same workforce statistics as other nursing specialties: nurses are among the most overworked, stressed and sick workers, and more than 8% of the nursing workforce is absent each week due to illness. Aim, To develop and estimate a theoretical model of work environment factors affecting oncology nurses' job satisfaction. Methods, The sample consisted of 515 registered nurses working in oncology settings across Canada. The theoretical model was tested as a structural equation model using LISREL 8.54. Results, The final model fitted the data acceptably (,2 = 58.0, d.f. = 44, P = 0.08). Relational leadership and physician/nurse relationships significantly influenced opportunities for staff development, RN staffing adequacy, nurse autonomy, participation in policy decisions, support for innovative ideas and supervisor support in managing conflict, which in turn increased nurses' job satisfaction. Conclusions, These findings suggest that relational leadership and positive relationships among nurses, managers and physicians play an important role in quality oncology nursing environments and nurses' job satisfaction. Implications for nursing management, Oncology nursing work environments can be improved by focusing on modifiable factors such as leadership, staff development and staffing resources, leading to better job satisfaction and hopefully retention of nurses. [source] The Nursing Worklife Model: Extending and Refining a New TheoryJOURNAL OF NURSING MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2007CCRN, MILISA MANOJLOVICH PhD Aims, We tested a modification of Leiter and Laschinger's Nursing Worklife Model by examining the impact of structural empowerment on professional work environment factors that lead to nursing job satisfaction. Background, The original model explains how five magnet hospital practice domains described by Lake (2002) interact to influence nurses' work lives by either contributing to or mitigating burnout. Methods, A non-experimental design was used. Five hundred randomly selected nurses in Michigan were surveyed (response rate 66%, n = 332). Instruments included the Conditions for Work Effectiveness Questionnaire-II, the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index, and the Index of Work Satisfaction. Path analysis was used to test the model. Results, The final model fit the data well (,2 = 96.4, d.f. = 10, NFI: 0.90, CFI: 0.43, RMSEA: 0.18), supporting both hypotheses. Conclusions, The expanded Nursing Worklife Model demonstrates the role of empowerment in creating positive practice conditions that contribute to job satisfaction. [source] Social Environments and Physical Aggression Among 21,107 Students in the United States and CanadaJOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 4 2009William Pickett PhD ABSTRACT Background:, Physical aggression is an important issue in North American populations. The importance of students' social environments in the occurrence of physical aggression requires focused study. In this study, reports of physical aggression were examined in relation to social environment factors among national samples of students from Canada and the United States. Methods:, Students in grades 6-10 from the United States (n = 14,049) and Canada (n = 7058) who had participated in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey (HBSC) were studied. Rates of students' physical aggression were compared between the 2 countries. School, family, socioeconomic, and peer-related factors were considered as potential risk factors. A simple social environment risk score was developed using the US data and was subsequently tested in the Canadian sample. Results:, Risks for physical aggression were consistently higher among United States versus Canadian students, but the magnitude of these differences was modest. The relative odds of physical aggression increased with reported environmental risk. To illustrate, US boys in grades 6-8 reporting the highest social environment risk score (5+) experienced a relative odds of physical aggression 4.02 (95% CI 2.7-5.9) times higher than those reporting the lowest score (adjusted OR for risk scores 0 through 5+ was 1.00, 1.19, 2.10, 2.01, 3.71, and 4.02, respectively, ptrend < .001). Conclusions:, Unexpectedly, rates of physical aggression and associations between social environments and students' aggression were remarkably similar in Canada and the United States. Family, peer, and school social environments serve as risk or protective factors, with significant cumulative impact on physical aggression in both countries. Given the observed high rates and the many negative effects of aggression on long-term health, school policies aimed at the reduction of such behavior remain a clear priority. [source] The software maintenance project effort estimation model based on function pointsJOURNAL OF SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE AND EVOLUTION: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE, Issue 2 2003Yunsik Ahn Abstract In this study, software maintenance size is discussed and the software maintenance project effort estimation model (SMPEEM) is proposed. The SMPEEM uses function points to calculate the volume of the maintenance function. Ten value adjustment factors (VAF) are considered and grouped into three categories of maintenance characteristics, that is the engineer's skill (people domain), its technical characteristics (product domain) and the maintenance environment (process domain). Finally, we suggest an exponential function model which can show the relationships among the maintenance efforts, maintenance environment factors, and function points of the software maintenance project. Regression analysis of some small maintenance projects demonstrates the significance of the SMPEEM model. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Childhood asthma epidemiology: Insights from comparative studies of rural and urban populations,PEDIATRIC PULMONOLOGY, Issue 2 2008Gary W.K. Wong MD Abstract Asthma is one of the most common chronic respiratory disorders. Many epidemiology studies have suggested an increasing trend of asthma in many different regions of the world but the exact reasons explaining such trend remain unclear. Nevertheless, changing environmental factors are most likely important in explaining the trend of asthma. Studies in the past decade have clearly shown a mark difference in the prevalence between urban and rural regions. The consistent findings of a markedly lower prevalence of asthma in children and adults who have been brought up in a farming environment clearly indicate the importance of environmental influence of asthma development. Although the exact protective environmental factors in the rural region remain to be defined, there have been many studies suggesting that early exposure to microbes or microbial products may play a role in modulating the immune system so as to reduce the future risk of asthma and allergies. Advances in the understanding of the genetic predisposition and how these genetic factors may interact with specific environment factors are of paramount importance for the future development of primary preventive strategies for asthma. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2008; 43:107,116. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The influence of maternal and child characteristics and paternal support on interactions of mothers and their medically fragile infants,RESEARCH IN NURSING & HEALTH, Issue 1 2007Tzu-Ying Lee Abstract The influences of maternal characteristics, infant characteristics, and paternal support on maternal positive involvement and developmental stimulation were examined over time in 59 mothers and their medically fragile infants using an ecological framework. Higher maternal education was associated with greater maternal positive involvement. More maternal depressive symptoms, more infant technological dependence, and lower birthweights were associated with less maternal positive involvement at 6 months but greater involvement at 12 months. Higher paternal helpfulness facilitated positive involvement in mothers with low depressive symptoms but not in those with elevated symptoms. Higher maternal education and more depressive symptoms were associated with more developmental stimulation. Thus, maternal interactive behaviors are affected by maternal, infant, and environment factors, and these effects change over time. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 30: 17,30, 2007 [source] Conduct problems, IQ, and household chaos: a longitudinal multi-informant studyTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 10 2009Kirby Deater-Deckard Background:, We tested the hypothesis that household chaos would be associated with lower child IQ and more child conduct problems concurrently and longitudinally over two years while controlling for housing conditions, parent education/IQ, literacy environment, parental warmth/negativity, and stressful events. Methods:, The sample included 302 families with same-sex twins (58% female) in Kindergarten/1st grade at the first assessment. Parents' and observers' ratings were gathered, with some collected over a two-year period. Results:, Chaos varied widely. There was substantial mother,father agreement and longitudinal stability. Chaos covaried with poorer housing conditions, lower parental education/IQ, poorer home literacy environment, higher stress, higher negativity and lower warmth. Chaos statistically predicted lower IQ and more conduct problems, beyond the effects of other home environment factors. Conclusions:, Even with other home environment factors controlled, higher levels of chaos were linked concurrently with lower child IQ, and concurrently and longitudinally with more child conduct problems. Parent self-reported chaos represents an important aspect of housing and family functioning, with respect to children's cognitive and behavioral functioning. [source] | ||||||||||