Olav Muurlink

Fatal consequences: an analysis of the failed employee voice system at the Bundaberg Hospital

In this paper we discuss the failure of the employee voice system at the Bundaberg Base Hospital (BBH) in Australia. Surgeon Jayant Patel was arrested over the deaths of patients on whom he operated when he was the director of surgery at the hospital. Our interest is in the reasons the established employee voice mechanisms failed when employees attempted to bring serious issues to the attention of managers. Our data is based on an analysis of the sworn testimonies of participants who participated in two inquiries concerning these events. An analysis of the events with a particular focus on the failings of the voice system is presented. We ask the following: how and why did the voice systems in the case of the BBH fail?

Influence of shiftwork on greek nursing personnel.

Background The aim of this study was to investigate the burden experienced by nursing personnel working irregular shifts in Greece and to conduct the first test of a Greek version of the Standard Shiftwork Index (SSI). Methods A cross-sectional survey was carried out. The SSI was completed by 365 nurses and nursing assistants working shifts, including nights. Results Female nursing personnel and those suffering from a chronic disease were most affected by working rotating shifts as they had elevated scores on the majority of the SSI scales, such as sleep, chronic fatigue, digestive and cardiovascular problems, general health questionnaire, cognitive and somatic anxiety, shift time satisfaction, engagement and disengagement strategies, languidity, flexibility, and neurotisicm. Nurses with longer working experience and those with family responsibilities also scored higher on some of the SSI scales, such as the sleep, shift time satisfaction, social and domestic disruption, disengagement strategies, morningness, and languidity scales. Conclusion Shiftwork affects female nurses, those with chronic disease, older age, and domestic responsibilities more severely. Therefore management should take these factors into account when designing work schedules to alleviate the burden caused by shiftwork.

Circadian gene variants and breast cancer.

The endogenous and self-sustained circadian rhythm generated and maintained in suprachiasmatic nucleus and peripheral tissues can coordinate various molecular, biochemical and physiological processes in living organisms resulting in the adaptation to environmental cues, e.g. light. Multifactorial breast cancer etiology also involves circadian gene alterations, especially among individuals exposed to light at night. Indeed, shift work that causes circadian disruption has been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a probable human carcinogen, group 2A. Thus it seems extremely important to recognize specific susceptible gene variants among around 20 candidate circadian genes that may be linked with breast cancer etiology. The aim of this review was to evaluate recent data investigating a putative link between circadian gene polymorphisms and breast cancer risk. We summarize fifteen epidemiological studies, including five studies on shift work that have indicated BMAL1, BMAL2, CLOCK, NPAS2, CRY1, CRY2, PER1, PER3 and TIMELESS as a candidate breast cancer risk variants.

Does age affect the relationship between control at work and sleep disturbance for shift workers

Among miners, shift work, aging and lack of control at work may be factors leading to increased sleep problems. Such risk factors may also operate in interaction, resulting in an even increased harm for sleep disruption. The present study aims at evaluating these relationships drawing on a sample of Australian mine and energy workers and their partners. The workers were mainly men. All performed shift work that included either nights (95%) or multiple shifts (92%), usually both (87%), while 36% were aged 50 years or above. The results show that low latitude over work activities is associated with higher sleep disturbances across the sample, though the effects are clearer amongst younger workers. By contrast, for younger workers, control over shift scheduling is not associated with sleep disturbances but for workers aged 50 or more, low control results in more sleep disturbance. Misalignment between shift workers and partner work schedules, and partner dissatisfaction with shift workers employment and shift workers work-life balance, are also associated with more sleep disturbances amongst shift workers.

From romance to rocket science: speed dating in higher education

This article is the first comprehensive review of speed dating in the tertiary sector. While speed dating has its origins as a networking technique to connect singles, it has only more recently made its way into the academy. Since 2005 universities world-wide have begun to adopt speed dating protocols as a tool for building research culture. An extensive review of the brief history of speed dating in university settings indicates that the motivation for organising events tends to fall into six clusters. Each motivation is discussed here, as well as two potential as-yet-unexplored outcomes for research students in academe: increasing wellbeing through improving social relations and aiding the conceptualising of theses. Finally the authors raise the need for further research in this area to establish its real impact and to identify best practices.

Work-related influences on marital satisfaction amongst shiftworkers and their partners: a large, matched-pairs study

This study details a large cross-sectional couples-level exploration of work-related variables and marital satisfaction (MSAT) in a shift work context. It uses a recognized MSAT scale and a number of existing and new instruments to examine work characteristics that include: support, safety climate, work–life balance, and sleep, in combination with scales for other commonly used explanatory variables in MSAT studies. The study shows that work-specific variables explain significant proportions of the variance in MSAT in both shiftworker and partner samples. We see the operation of spillover effects (work affecting other aspects of life), primary crossover effects (where the partners perception of the shiftworkers job affects their own MSAT), and secondary crossover effects (where aspects of the shiftworkers attitudes or behavior, measured in the shiftworker survey, influence partner MSAT in the partner survey). Work–life interference influences marital dissatisfaction, with negative views on the part of the partner to their spouses work–life interface being more important than partner perceptions about the partners own work–life balance. Social support for both parties, sleep quality, shiftworker morningness, psychological health, workplace risk culture, and job insecurity all played some role in MSAT, as did demographic variables such as age and the presence of children.

Narrative risks in science writing for the lay public

The narrative method of presenting popular science method promises to extend the audience of science, but carries risks related to two broad aspects of story: the power of narrative to impose a compelling and easily interpretable structure on discrete events and the unpredictability and mystique associated with story.

Circadian disruption of ICU patients: A review of pathways, expression, and interventions

&NA; Intensive care unit patients typically exhibit pathologic wakefulness, poor quality of daytime sleep, nocturnal sleep fragmentation, and sleep patterns that feature the absence of slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement. This article offers a review of the existing literature examining circadian desynchronization in critically ill patients, highlighting contributing factors identified by scholars, and circadian abnormalities observed in these patients. It discusses potential implications for clinical practice and suggests avenues of future research. Elucidating the role of circadian rhythms in the management of critical illness can guide future chronotherapeutic approaches and optimize patient outcomes. HighlightsLight, noise, medication, and illness contribute to circadian disruption in the ICU.Circadian dysrhythmias affect sleep, melatonin levels, immunity, and neurocognition.Lighting, noise reduction, and melatoninergic interventions aim at chronoenhancement.

Ad libitum and restricted day and night sleep architecture.

ABSTRACT This study represents a first controlled comparison of restricted versus unrestricted sleep in both day and night sleep categories. A repeated measures study of a homogenous group of young women without sleep disorders (n=14) found that stage 1, 2, 3 and REM sleep, as well as sleep latency were not statistically different between day ad libitum sleep (DAL) and day interrupted (DI) sleep categories, while night interrupted (NI) and ad libitum (NAL) sleep showed strikingly different architecture.

Work–life interference and gender in the mining and energy industry

In the context of the widespread adoption of 12-hour shifts in the male-dominated mining and energy industry, and using data gathered from 2566 unionised mining and energy workers and 1915 partners, we investigate the extent and gendering of work–life interference in that industry. We ask about the ways, if any, in which work–life interference occurs; whether patterns of interference differ between male and female mineworkers; whether patterns of interference differ between mineworkers and their partners; and how working time preferences affect work–life interference among mineworkers and their partners. We find extensive interference, mitigated by predictability and ‘blocks of time’, but these are not enough to offset the impact of the length and rotation of shifts. Gendering takes several forms. The interaction between the domestic and market spheres leads female mine and energy workers to experience greater interference. Long hours and long shifts create significant work–life interference, and part of the burden is shifted to mineworkers’ (mostly female) partners, manifested in shortfalls in full-time labour force participation and in stresses upon the partner. We discuss the implications of the findings for policy and practice.