The demands on people in the 21st century pose enormous threats to their psychological well-being (PWB). Because people high in PWB are happier, healthier, and more productive than those who are low, ...it is morally and economically important for organizations to do what they can to promote the PWB of its members. Based on job demands/resources theory, this study explores how organizations can use knowledge about work design and individual differences to bolster the PWB of its members. We propose that organizations can increase the PWB of members by enhancing job autonomy, thereby increasing organization-based self-esteem (OBSE), which is positively related to PWB. In addition, we propose that resilience might act as a moderator of this indirect relationship, such that high resilience enhances the positive relationship autonomy has with OBSE, and subsequently with PWB. Measures of autonomy, resilience, OBSE, and PWB were obtained online from a sample of 674 organizational managers. SEM results indicated that high job autonomy most benefited (in terms of OBSE) those participants who were low in trait resilience, while providing fewer benefits to high resilient people. Results are discussed in terms of how organizations might enhance member PWB by increasing member OBSE and/or resilience.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infections are predominantly those affecting skin and soft tissues. Although progress has been made, our knowledge of the ...molecules that contribute to the pathogenesis of CA-MRSA skin infections is incomplete. We tested the hypothesis that alphahemolysin (Hla) contributes to the severity of USA300 skin infections in mice and determined whether vaccination against Hla reduces disease severity. Isogenic hla-negative (Δhla) strains caused skin lesions in a mouse infection model that were significantly smaller than those caused by wild-type USA300 and Newman strains. Moreover, infection due to wild-type strains produced dermonecrotic skin lesions, whereas there was little or no dermonecrosis in mice infected with Δhla strains. Passive immunization with Hla-specific antisera or active immunization with a nontoxigenic form of Hla significantly reduced the size of skin lesions caused by USA300 and prevented dermonecrosis.We conclude that Hla is a potential target for therapeutics or vaccines designed to moderate severe S. aureus skin infections.
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BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Creativity of employees is a major focus of research in the organization sciences. In this study we examine the relationships between both micro (intrinsic and extrinsic motivation) and molar (team ...climate) variables with manager-rated creativity of R&D employees. Specifically, we hypothesize that (a) extrinsic motivation has a direct relationship with creativity, (b) intrinsic motivation is more strongly related to creativity when extrinsic motivation is low compared to when it is high, (c) team collaborative and competitive climates have direct effects on creativity as well as indirect effects through individual motivation, and (d) intrinsic motivation mediates relationships of the climate variables with creativity, which in turn is moderated by extrinsic motivation. Data were collected from R&D engineers and their managers at a large high-tech company headquartered in Taiwan. Results indicate that a collaborative team climate has a direct positive relationship with creativity as well as one that operates through intrinsic motivation, which in turn was moderated by employee’s extrinsic motivation level. A competitive team climate positively related to extrinsic motivation, but extrinsic motivation did not directly relate to creativity. However, extrinsic motivation did have strong relationships with creativity when intrinsic motivation was low. Results suggest that perhaps the different types of motivation relate to different types of creativity (incremental versus radical). Managerial and theoretical implications of results are discussed as are the study’s limitations.
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NUK, OILJ, SAZU, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
On numerous occasions it has been suggested that an individual’s self-esteem, formed around work and organizational experiences, plays a significant role in determining employee motivation, ...work-related attitudes and behaviors. We review more than a decade of research on an organization-based conceptualization of self-esteem. It is observed that sources of organization structure, signals about worth from the organization, as well as, success-building role conditions predict organization-based self-esteem. In addition, organization-based self-esteem is related to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, motivation, citizenship behavior, in-role performance, and turnover intentions, as well as, other important organization-related attitudes and behaviors. Explanations for these effects and directions for future research are discussed.
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IJS, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
PurposeSocial comparison and job-based psychological ownership (JPO) are compared and contrasted as explanations for relationships between organization relational psychological contract fulfillment ...(ORPCF) and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs).Design/methodology/approachSurvey data were collected from 241 employees and 82 of their managers at an information services company. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling to test for hypothesized and exploratory indirect relationships.FindingsConsistent results were found for sequential mediation from ORPCF to employee investment of the self into the job, to JPO, to supervisor-rated helping and voice OCBs. Employees' perception of their relational psychological contract fulfillment (social exchange) did not simultaneously mediate the relationships between ORPCF and employees' OCBs.Research limitations/implicationsPsychological ownership presents a complement to social exchange to explain effects of relational psychological contract fulfillment on employee outcomes. Because of the cross-sectional nature of the data conclusions about causality are quite limited.Practical implicationsOrganizations and managers should emphasize that fulfillment of relational psychological contract obligations represent a significant investment in employees, who reciprocate by investing themselves into their work. This in turn bolsters JPO and its positive employee outcomes.Originality/valueThis is the first study to directly compare social exchange and psychological ownership explanations for effects of psychological contract fulfillment on employees.
Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infections are frequently associated with strains harboring genes encoding Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL). The role of ...PVL in the success of the epidemic CAMRSA strain USA300 remains unknown. Here we developed a skin and soft tissue infection model in rabbits to test the hypothesis that PVL contributes to USA300 pathogenesis and compare it with well-established virulence determinants: alpha-hemolysin (Hla), phenol-soluble modulin-alpha peptides (PSMα), and accessory gene regulator (Agr). The data indicate that Hla, PSMα, and Agr contribute to the pathogenesis of USA300 skin infections in rabbits, whereas a role for PVL could not be detected.
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BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Severe infections caused by multidrug-resistant
sequence type 258 (ST258) highlight the need for new therapeutics with activity against this pathogen. Bacteriophage (phage) therapy is an alternative ...treatment approach for multidrug-resistant bacterial infections that has shown efficacy in experimental animal models and promise in clinical case reports. In this study, we assessed microbiologic, histopathologic, and survival outcomes following systemic administration of phage in ST258-infected mice. We found that prompt treatment with two phages, either individually or in combination, rescued mice with
ST258 bacteremia. Among the three treatment groups, mice that received combination phage therapy demonstrated the greatest increase in survival and the lowest frequency of phage resistance among bacteria recovered from mouse blood and tissue. Our findings support the utility of phage therapy as an approach for refractory ST258 infections and underscore the potential of this treatment modality to be enhanced through strategic phage selection.
Infections caused by multidrug-resistant
pose a serious threat to at-risk patients and present a therapeutic challenge for clinicians. Bacteriophage (phage) therapy is an alternative treatment approach that has been associated with positive clinical outcomes when administered experimentally to patients with refractory bacterial infections. Inasmuch as these experimental treatments are prepared for individual patients and authorized for compassionate use only, they lack the rigor of a clinical trial and therefore cannot provide proof of efficacy. Here, we demonstrate that administration of viable phage provides effective treatment for multidrug-resistant
(sequence type 258 ST258) bacteremia in a murine infection model. Moreover, we compare outcomes among three distinct phage treatment groups and identify potential correlates of therapeutic phage efficacy. These findings constitute an important first step toward optimizing and assessing phage therapy's potential for the treatment of severe ST258 infection in humans.
Methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) remains a major problem in hospitals, and it is now spreading in the community. A single toxin, Panton‐Valentine leukocidin (PVL), has been linked ...by epidemiological studies to community‐associated MRSA (CA‐MRSA) disease. However, the role that PVL plays in the pathogenesis of CA‐MRSA has not been tested directly. To that end, we used mouse infection models to compare the virulence of PVL‐positive with that of PVL‐negative CA‐MRSA representing the leading disease‐causing strains. Unexpectedly, strains lacking PVL were as virulent in mouse sepsis and abscess models as those containing the leukotoxin. Isogenic PVL‐negative (lukS/F‐PV knockout) strains of USA300 and USA400 were as lethal as wild‐type strains in a sepsis model, and they caused comparable skin disease. Moreover, lysis of human neutrophils and pathogen survival after phagocytosis were similar between wild‐type and mutant strains. Although the toxin may be a highly linked epidemiological marker for CA‐MRSA strains, we conclude that PVL is not the major virulence determinant of CA‐MRSA.
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BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Staphylococcus aureus produces numerous factors that facilitate survival in the human host. S. aureus coagulase (Coa) and von Willebrand factor-binding protein (vWbp) are known to clot plasma through ...activation of prothrombin and conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin. In addition, S. aureus clumping factor A (ClfA) binds fibrinogen and contributes to platelet aggregation via a fibrinogen- or complement-dependent mechanism. Here, we evaluated the contribution of Coa, vWbp and ClfA to S. aureus pathogenesis in a rabbit model of skin and soft tissue infection. Compared to skin abscesses caused by the Newman wild-type strain, those caused by isogenic coa, vwb, or clfA deletion strains, or a strain deficient in coa and vwb, were significantly smaller following subcutaneous inoculation in rabbits. Unexpectedly, we found that fibrin deposition and abscess capsule formation appear to be independent of S. aureus coagulase activity in the rabbit infection model. Similarities notwithstanding, S. aureus strains deficient in coa and vwb elicited reduced levels of several proinflammatory molecules in human blood in vitro. Although a specific mechanism remains to be determined, we conclude that S. aureus Coa, vWbp and ClfA contribute to abscess formation in rabbits.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine predictors of leader flow (well-being) at work, based on conservation-of-resources theory. The authors also introduce the concept of fuel, the ...proactive and strategic use of physical wellness behaviors to generate the energy needed to manage personal stress, maximize performance and to thrive in life. Specifically, the authors examined the main and interactive relationships of leader self-reports of ideal self and fuel on flow at work.
Design/methodology/approach
Three different samples of leaders were surveyed online over a three-year period.
Findings
In all three samples, leaders high in self-reported fuel had strong, positive relationships between their ideal selves and flow at work. Leaders low in self-reported fuel had negative or non-significant relationships between ideal selves and flow.
Practical implications
Leaders can be coached to develop and use a healthy ideal self and to proactively engage in physical wellness behaviors, to enhance their workplace well-being. This coaching can be strengthened by emphasizing the connection between possessing an ideal self, and engaging in physical wellness behaviors, and resulting leader well-being.
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine and demonstrate that a combination of proactive leader wellness behaviors is critical to their experience of flow at work, an indicator of work-related well-being.
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