Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Psychosocial Effects Of Beryllium Sensitization And Chronic Beryllium Disease, Jeffrey Robert Miller

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a theoretical model that explains the psychosocial effects of beryllium sensitization (BeS) and chronic beryllium disease (CBD). Sequential, mixed research methods were used. The study population was current and former workers from Department of Energy laboratories and manufacturing facilities who have either BeS or CBD. A theoretical model based on uncertainty in illness and psychosocial adjustment to illness theories was developed. It was hypothesized that uncertainty had a negative effect on health quality of life unless mediated by the ability to make psychosocial adjustments to illness. Qualitative study results supported …

Safety Climate Perceptions Of Contingent And Permanent Employees Associated With The Manufacturing Of Office Products, Anthony Jeffery Depietro

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate if there were differences in the perceived safety climate experienced by contingent employees as compared to the perceptions of permanent workers’ safety climate. Knowledge of these differences will help safety professionals provide better safety training and working conditions for contingent workers. Safety climate is defined as employees’ perceptions of safety polices, procedures, and practices (Kath, Marks, & Ranney, 2010). The population for the study included employees who work for a manufacturer of office products located in Tennessee. A total of 813 employees participated in the study with a response rate of 87% …

Linking Authentic Leadership To Positive Employee Health, Behavioral Engagement, And Job Performance, Yan Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the emerging field of positive organizational behavior. The field of Positive Organizational Behavior (POB) has its roots in the concept of "positive psychology" (Bakker & Schaufeli, 2008) but is more narrowly defined as "the study and application of positively oriented human resources strengths and psychological capacities that can be measured, developed, and effectively managed for performance improvement in today's workplace" (Luthans, 2002, p.698). More and more researchers have begun to emphasize what is right with people rather than focusing on what is wrong with people.

Given this opportunity, this dissertation explicitly …