The Impact of Strategic Planning on Job Satisfaction among Hospital Staff: a case study

Background & Objectives: Hospital staff's job satisfaction has a significant role in improving the quality of hospital productivity. This study aimed to examine the impact of strategic planning on hospital staff's job satisfaction. Methods: This participatory action research was carried out in a selected private hospital in Isfahan/ Iran during 2012-2014. The hospital strategic plan, with a goal for improving job satisfaction was designed and implemented. Employees’ job satisfaction was measured before and after implementing the strategic plan through 9-item Job Satisfaction Questionnaire. Data were analyzed through SPSS22 software package. Results: The rate of subjects' job satisfaction in 2012 was approximately 58.6%. The highest satisfaction rate was found for the nature of job and job and coworkers' needs and the lowest was obtained for salary, job promotion, work conditions and job security. Employees’ job satisfaction increased to 64.7% in 2014 (10.1% improvement). Employees’ tendency for job quit decreased by 61.4% (from 42.2% in 2012 to 16.3% in 2014). Strategic plan had the most impact on dimensions of job promotion, management and supervision, coworkers and salary. Conclusion: Adequate designing and implementation of a strategic plan can improve job satisfaction of employees and reduces their tendency for job quit. Key¬words: Strategic planning, Employees, Job satisfaction, Hospital, Case study ¬Citation: Mosadeghrad AM, Ebneshahidi A, Abdolmohammadi N. The Impact of Strategic Planning on Job Satisfaction among Hospital Staff: a case study. Journal of Health Based Research 2017; 3(2): 99-114

E-Commerce Audit Judgment Expertise: Does Expertise in System Change Management and Information Technology Auditing Mediate E-Commerce Audit Judgment Expertise?

A global survey of 203 E-commerce auditors was conducted to investigate the perceptions about the potential determinants of expertise in E-commerce audits. We hypothesize and find evidence indicating that information technology and communication expertise are positively related to expertise in E-commerce audit judgment. We also find that system change management expertise and information technology audit expertise mediate this relationship.E-commerce Audit Judgment, IT Audit, Structural Equations Modeling

The revival of nationalism and secularism in modern Iran

Iran is currently facing a time of demographic and ideological change. As the post-revolutionary generation has emerged into political awareness, there has been a revival of interest in democracy, nationalism, secularism and constitutionalism, and a heterogenic protest movement has gathered strength – particularly among young Iranians. This working paper aims to investigate these ongoing trends of secularisation and nationalism, as well as the response of the government. While the younger generation is not yet able to compete on a political level with the élite of the Islamic Republic, they do have potential, in the next decade, to establish a new ruling class able to change the political landscape of Iran

The Iranian Presidential Election: Will Rouhani be Stopped by the Conservatives?

With less than four days till the Iranian presidential elections, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, one of six candidates, announced his withdrawal from the race endrosing Ebrahim Raisi. The six candidates were pre-selected by the Guardian Council from amongst 1,653 hopefuls. This means they met all the requirements to eventually become President of the Islamic Republic

Iran’s Hardliners: The unexpected winners of the US elections

With the surprise election of Donald Trump, many are concerned about the future of the nuclear deal with Iran. But this new direction in the US will not only affect Iran’s foreign relations. The rise of conservative ideology in American politics will also have impact on internal balances of power in the Islamic Republic. It will strengthen conservative fronts, led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and weaken pragmatists like President Rouhani, Minister of Foreign Affairs Zarif, and former President Rafsanjani. This will be seen on three different fronts

E-Commerce Audit Judgment Expertise: Does Expertise in System Change Management and Information Technology Auditing Mediate E-Commerce Audit Judgment Expertise?

A global survey of 203 E-commerce auditors was conducted to investigate the perceptions about the potential determinants of expertise in E-commerce audits. We hypothesize and find evidence indicating that information technology and communication expertise are positively related to expertise in E-commerce audit judgment. We also find that system change management expertise and information technology audit expertise mediate this relationship

Preparation, characterization, and antimicrobial activities of ZnO nanoparticles/cellulose nanocrystal nanocomposites

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were synthesized within cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) as a new stabilizer by a precipitation method for antimicrobial applications. For fabrication of ZnO/CNC nanocomposites, solutions with different molar ratios of Zn to CNC were prepared in ethanol as the solvent. ZnO/CNC was separated from the suspension and then dried at 120 °C for 1 hour. The nanocomposites were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and thermogravimetric (TG) analyses. According to the XRD and TEM results, the ZnO nanoparticles with a hexagonal wurtzite structure were easily prepared and dispersed in the CNC with an average size of less than 20 nm. The average size of the ZnO nanoparticles increased with increasing molar ratio of ZnO to CNC. The best ratio of Zn:CNC was chosen based on the small size of the ZnO nanoparticles that yielded better antimicrobial and thermal properties. The UV-vis absorption spectra of the ZnO/CNC nanocomposites showed absorption peaks in the UV region that were ascribed to the band gap of the ZnO nanoparticles. The antibacterial effects of ZnO/CNC were stronger compared to ZnO nanoparticles

Electrochemical conversion of bio-derived dicarboxylic acid into high value added chemicals

Recently, from both environmental and economic points of view, green polymers (or biobased polymers), which can be produced partially or entirely from renewable and sustainable natural resources, is of growing interest compared to conventional petroleum-based monomers and polymers. In this regard, lignocellulose biomass represents promising renewable source for production of renewable fuels, chemicals, organic solvent, and polymers. Here, we present a new rout to convert bio-derived unsaturated dicarboxylic acid via electrochemical hydrogenation into bioadvantaged monomer (trans-3 hexenedioic acid) that has a potential for synthesizing a new family of unsaturated polyamides (bioadvantaged Nylon 6,6). A bioadvantaged nylon 6,6 was prepared via polycondensation reaction between trans-3 hexenedioic acid (t3-HDA), adipic acid (AA) and hexamethylendiamine (HMDA). The produced bioadvantaged nylons were characterized by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA). The results of thermal properties indicate that the addition of t3-HDA doesn’t change the thermal stability of bioadvantaged nylon, however, incorporation of t3-HDA can change the crystalline structure of Nylon 6,6 from semi-crystalline to amorphous

Clinicopathological evaluation of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in players of American football

IMPORTANCE: Players of American football may be at increased risk of long-term neurological conditions, particularly chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). OBJECTIVE: To determine the neuropathological and clinical features of deceased football players with CTE. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Case series of 202 football players whose brains were donated for research. Neuropathological evaluations and retrospective telephone clinical assessments (including head trauma history) with informants were performed blinded. Online questionnaires ascertained athletic and military history. EXPOSURES: Participation in American football at any level of play. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Neuropathological diagnoses of neurodegenerative diseases, including CTE, based on defined diagnostic criteria; CTE neuropathological severity (stages I to IV or dichotomized into mild [stages I and II] and severe [stages III and IV]); informant-reported athletic history and, for players who died in 2014 or later, clinical presentation, including behavior, mood, and cognitive symptoms and dementia. RESULTS: Among 202 deceased former football players (median age at death, 66 years [interquartile range, 47-76 years]), CTE was neuropathologically diagnosed in 177 players (87%; median age at death, 67 years [interquartile range, 52-77 years]; mean years of football participation, 15.1 [SD, 5.2]), including 0 of 2 pre–high school, 3 of 14 high school (21%), 48 of 53 college (91%), 9 of 14 semiprofessional (64%), 7 of 8 Canadian Football League (88%), and 110 of 111 National Football League (99%) players. Neuropathological severity of CTE was distributed across the highest level of play, with all 3 former high school players having mild pathology and the majority of former college (27 [56%]), semiprofessional (5 [56%]), and professional (101 [86%]) players having severe pathology. Among 27 participants with mild CTE pathology, 26 (96%) had behavioral or mood symptoms or both, 23 (85%) had cognitive symptoms, and 9 (33%) had signs of dementia. Among 84 participants with severe CTE pathology, 75 (89%) had behavioral or mood symptoms or both, 80 (95%) had cognitive symptoms, and 71 (85%) had signs of dementia. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In a convenience sample of deceased football players who donated their brains for research, a high proportion had neuropathological evidence of CTE, suggesting that CTE may be related to prior participation in football.This study received support from NINDS (grants U01 NS086659, R01 NS078337, R56 NS078337, U01 NS093334, and F32 NS096803), the National Institute on Aging (grants K23 AG046377, P30AG13846 and supplement 0572063345-5, R01 AG1649), the US Department of Defense (grant W81XWH-13-2-0064), the US Department of Veterans Affairs (I01 CX001038), the Veterans Affairs Biorepository (CSP 501), the Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence (grant B6796-C), the Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Alzheimer’s Research Program (grant 13267017), the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, the Alzheimer’s Association (grants NIRG-15-362697 and NIRG-305779), the Concussion Legacy Foundation, the Andlinger Family Foundation, the WWE, and the NFL

Are Corporate Codes of Ethics and Risk Assessment by Internal Auditors Associated with Sustainability Audits by Internal Auditors?

An increasing number of organizations engage in sustainability reporting to the public. However, assurance of this disclosure is relatively new. In this study we investigate corporate codes of ethics and risk assessment by internal auditors as correlates of organizations’ engaging their internal audit functions (IAFs) in sustainability audits. Using data from a large sample of chief audit executives (CAEs) we find significant and positive associations between code of conduct and risk assessment and sustainability audits by IAFs. Also, we find positive and significant association between industry (environmentally sensitive vs. others), CAE experience, and CAE major (accounting vs. others) and sustainability audits by IAFs. Other control variables (organization size, CAE grad/undergrad degrees, and CAEcpe do not indicate significance in their association with sustainability audits by IAFs. These results have implications for design of sustainability reporting by various organizations and assurance of such reporting by internal auditors