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Today Izabel is 14 months old and growing up faster and faster. She is so funny now. She has so many different expressions and even when she is mad she is constantly making me laugh. She is still in the rear-facing car seat because she isn't quite big enough to turn around even though she is old enough. She needs to gain a little bit more but hopefully by the first of the year! I think she'll really like being able to see us and out the window when we are in the car. She still eats with her fingers for the most part but she uses a fork at times and she is so proud of herself when she gets the food into her mouth with it. She's almost on all sippy cups. We're still holding on to the last bottle but slowly weaning her off of it now. She loves fruit and if you give it her with her other food she will eat it all first. She'll eat vegetables but only if you give them to her first with nothing else on her plate. She loves to play and she especially loves when Daddy gets down on the floor and gets her laughing. Her favorite toys right now are her baby doll and her cookie jar. She also loves to play with things she shouldn't like our cell phones or the remote (forget the toy ones, she knows they aren't real!) She has eight teeth in front and two of her molars are coming in the back. Those have been difficult and I know she has been in pain but she's handling it pretty well. Her language skills have really developed. She says mama, dada, nana, no, and please (please sounds like sssss). She also signs all done, eat, up, bye bye, and she almost has thank you down. I love that she uses them at the appropriate times! She knows when she needs her diaper changed and she'll make a stinky face if we ask her if she's stinky. She's so much fun and we're really enjoying experiencing all of the holiday fun with her! I can't wait to see what she is able to do by this time next month!!!
Monday, December 8, 2008
14 Months!
Posted by Noah, Whitney, Izabel and Tanner Ketchledge at 11:11 AM
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Rihanna Closes 2012 Barclaycard Wireless Festival With a Medley of Hits
Rihanna may be mourning her grandmother, but it was as though she channeled her grief into a spellbinding performance at the Barclaycard Wireless Festival in the U.K., delivering a medley of hits and closing Sunday night's show on July 8. The weather was not cooperating, at all, as rain fell from the skies, but most attendees stayed to enjoy RiRi while sopping wet.
"Thanks for staying to watch me in the rain … Only in London would you guys stay to watch this show," the Bajan beauty, wearing her hair dark and natural, said, per Ace Showbiz.
Reportedly, the first-ever female headliner for this fest was Pink in 2010 and RiRi took the "female topliner" baton and ran with it, turning in a greatest hits set, including 'You Da One' along with a medley of 'Only Girl (In the World), 'Disturbia' and 'S&M.' She proved that ladies belong at the top of this fest, for sure.
When she performed her huge 'Talk That Talk' smash 'We Found Love,' the crowd was right there with here, singing along, just as loud as she was. There was an exchange of love and electric energy between RiRi and her adoring fans.
Jessie J was also a strong female presence, saying, "I was here five years ago in the audience watching Jay-Z. And now I'm up here, supporting one of my favourite artists Rihanna." Times have changed, for the better for Jessie J.
Rita Ora was also another female who rocked it on the second day of the three day festival, encouraging fans not to stay away despite the rain!
Other standouts were Drake, who headlined on Saturday, July 7, calling London "a second home" to him. When he performed 'Take Care,' RiRi didn't come out and perform with him; her vocals were patched in via sample. It garnered a huge singalong. He also incorporated pyro effects and of course a surprise cameo from his Twitter "wife" Nicki Minaj.
Deadmau5 closed out Friday night (July 6), twiddling his knobs, with an assist from Sofie.
While there was some fine talent spread over three days, it was RiRi's set that got the lion's share of attention. Rawr!
Watch Rihanna Perform 'We Found Love'
Watch Rihanna Perform 'Where Have You Been'
Watch Rihanna Perform 'Take a Bow' + 'Cheers (I'll Drink to That)'
Watch Rihanna Perform 'Don't Stop the Music'


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Bill could protect patients when new generics reach market, but could also limit Medicaid savings
One of Florida lawmakers' biggest gripes is the rising cost of Medicaid, the $21 billion federal-state health care program for the poor and disabled.
Legislators have taken dramatic steps in recent years to curb the costs, including moving most patients into managed care and reimbursing hospitals differently.
But this year, momentum is building for a measure that could limit annual savings for one of Medicaid's largest annual expenses — prescription drugs — at a cost of tens of millions of dollars.
Two powerful lawmakers, Rep. Matt Hudson, R-Naples, and Sen. Denise Grimsley, R-Sebring — who lead the House and Senate budget subcommittees that oversee Medicaid spending — are sponsoring legislation that critics say could hinder the use of a new wave of pharmaceutical drugs called biosimilars.
Biosimilars — essentially cheaper generic versions of a class of drugs known as biologics — are not well known because they are not allowed in the United States. But with federal approval expected in the next few years, biosimilars are set to become as commonplace as they are now in Europe. The biologics include drugs like Humira, which is used for rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer-treatment drugs like Herceptin and Avastin.
Florida, like more than a dozen other states, has become a battleground between the companies that manufacture the biologics and the biosimilars, driven by the reality that the patents for a number of the brand-name biologics will be expiring in the next few years.
The financial stakes are high for both sides in this health care debate. The generic drug makers say the legislation is being pushed by biotech firms that could lose $60 billion through patent expirations by 2020.
The biosimilar manufacturers also would gain from a more wide-open market, with a Senate analysis showing a projected biosimilar market in the U.S. of $11 billion to $25 billion by 2020.
Unlike the wave of generic drugs that replaced the simpler chemical-compound drugs beginning in the 1980s, the biologic drugs and their biosimilars are more complex. As the name implies, the biosimilars are "similar" but not exact copies of the brand-name biologics, which are made from human and animal material rather than chemicals.
Huge savings
Legislation (HB 365 and SB 732) moving this session would create standards for the use of biosimilars.
Supporters say the legislation will allow biosimilars to be substituted for the biologic drugs. And proponents, including the Florida Medical Association, say the standards — which include notification of the treating physicians when substitutions are made — will protect patient safety.
Opponents say the legislation will create barriers that could discourage pharmacists from automatically substituting the biosimilars for the more costly brand-name biologics.
They also say the legislation is premature, given that the federal Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved any biosimilars. Once they are approved, the FDA, after rigorous testing and review, will determine which biosimilars will be "interchangeable" with the brand-name biologics.
Testimony by the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, which opposes the bill to the Senate Health Policy Committee last week underscored the potential Medicaid savings that could be impacted if the legislation curbs future use of biosimilars.
In 2011, Florida spent more than $104 million on biologic drugs in its Medicaid program. The generic drug makers say the biosimilars could reduce those costs by 40 to 50 percent — although Senate staff analysts used a more conservative 20 to 30 percent savings.
Nonetheless, the savings could be substantial and would grow as more biologics are developed and could eventually be replaced by biosimilars. By 2016, eight of the top 10 drugs in the U.S. will be biologics, according to the testimony.
Another area of savings for the state would its own health insurance program for its employees.
David Dederichs, a lobbyist for Express Scripts, a company that manages pharmacy benefits for the Florida government and more than 100 million Americans nationally, said a review of his company's records showed Florida spent $99 million on biologics in 2012 for its own employees, with a potential savings of $40 million.
"This legislation will create impediments to doing that," he told the Senate panel.
Patient safety
But lawmakers also heard from doctors and other medical groups that support the legislation, including the provision that physicians be given notice within five days if a pharmacist substitutes a biosimilar for brand-name biologic. The pharmacists also would be required to keep records of the substitution for at least two years.
"For things such as antibiotics, if something gets substituted it's not a big deal," Marc Inglese, a Tallahassee dermatologist told the Senate panel. "But for something complex like this where I'm really following the patient closely, long-term for side effects, both of us need to know exactly what they're on."
Opponents of the notification standard say Florida doctors, like Inglese, have the right under current law to block any substitution, including biosimilars, by specifying on the prescription that the brand-name drug is "medically necessary."
But in practice, Inglese said "there are many instances . . . due to either oversight or something, the patient doesn't get the right medicine." For patients suffering from chronic ailments that the biologics treat, "that could be a problem," Inglese said.
Grimsley, the Sebring Republican, noted the "parade of special interests" that had testified about the legislation, saying she was motivated by how it would help consumers by allowing biosimilars to be substituted if the pharmacists met the notification and record-keeping provisions.
"I think it's prudent for notification to be given to the physician," Grimsley said.
But Grimsley, who is a nurse with more than 30 years of experience, said the lobbying over the legislation — which has led to packed hearing rooms in the Senate and House — underscored one her major concerns about health care.
"It's become all about the money," she said. "If you think there is no money in health care, look around this room."


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SA Journal of Industrial Psychology
versão On-line ISSN 2071-0763
versão impressa ISSN 0258-5200
SA j. ind. Psychol. vol.37 no.2 Johannesburg Jan. 2011
Integrating psychosocial safety climate in the JD-R model: a study amongst Malaysian workers
Mohd A. IdrisI,II; Maureen F. DollardI; Anthony H. WinefieldI
IWork & Stress Research Group, Centre for Applied Psychological Research, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia
IIDepartment of Anthropology and Sociology, Faculty of Art and Social Science, University of Malaya, Malaysia
ORIENTATION: Job characteristics are well accepted as sources of burnout and engagement amongst employees; psychosocial safety climate may precede work conditions.
RESEARCH PURPOSE: We expanded the Job Demands and Resources (JD-R) model by proposing psychosocial safety climate (PSC) as a precursor to job demands and job resources. As PSC theoretically influences the working environment, the study hypothesized that PSC has an impact on performance via both health erosion (i.e. burnout) and motivational pathways (i.e. work engagement).
MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY: So far, integration of PSC in the JD-R model is only tested in a Western context (i.e. Australia). We tested the emerging construct of PSC in Malaysia, an Eastern developing country in the Asian region.
RESEARCH DESIGN, APPROACH AND METHOD: A random population based sample was derived using household maps provided by Department of Statistics, Malaysia; 291 employees (response rate 50.52%) from the State of Selangor, Malaysia participated. Cross-sectional data were analysed using structural equation modelling.
MAIN FINDINGS: We found that PSC was negatively related to job demands and positively related to job resources. Job demands, in turn, predicted burnout (i.e. exhaustion and cynicism), whereas job resources predicted engagement. Both burnout and engagement were associated with performance. Bootstrapping showed significant indirect effects of PSC on burnout via job demands, PSC on performance via burnout and PSC on performance via the resources-engagement pathway.
PRACTICAL/MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS: Our findings are consistent with previous research that suggests that PSC should be a target to improve working conditions and in turn reduce burnout and improve engagement and productivity.
CONTRIBUTION/VALUE-ADD: These findings suggest that JD-R theory may be expanded to include PSC as an antecedent and that the expanded JD-R model is largely valid in an Eastern, developing economy setting.
The aim of this research was to examine empirically a theoretical model of psychosocial safety climate (PSC). This emerging construct is defined as the 'policies, practices and procedures for the protection of worker psychological health and safety' (Dollard & Karasek, 2010, p. 208) that are largely influenced by senior management in organisations. We propose an integrative model where PSC is a precursor to work conditions (i.e. job demands and job resources) and in turn burnout, engagement and performance via mediation pathways. In particular, our theory builds on the premises of Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007) and we see PSC as precursor for the health and motivation pathways espoused in that model. The research addresses a gap in the literature about the origin of job demands and job resources and in turn the model pathways.
The second aim is to examine the integrative PSC model in an Eastern culture and in an emerging economy to determine whether the assumptions of the model are emic (specific) or etic (general). So far, the JD-R model (Bakker, Demerouti, & Verbeke, 2004) and the PSC integrative model (Dollard & Bakker, 2010) have mainly been tested in Western nations. Research on psychosocial factors and work stress in Eastern countries such as Malaysia is lacking (Sadhra, Beach, Aw, & Sheikh-Ahmed, 2001), as it is in most developing countries (Chopra, 2009). Moreover, work and organisational (psychology) research is less advanced in Eastern countries (Burke, 2010). In short, knowledge development in the area is lacking precisely where it may be needed most (Kortum, Leka & Cox, 2008).
Psychosocial safety climate
Psychosocial safety climate theory brings together insights from the work stress and safety science literatures. Although numerous work stress studies have identified a range of important psychosocial aspects, none has specifically identified a psychosocial safety climate. Further, two disparate lines of research separately explain workplace physical and psychological health (Dollard & Bakker, 2010). The first, safety climate research, examines safety behaviours and perceptions and their influences on employees' physical health (Flin, Mearns, O'Connor, & Bryden, 2000; Zohar & Luria, 2005). The second focuses mainly on work conditions, job demands and resources, worker psychological health and motivational related outcomes.
Psychosocial safety climate is largely an indicator of the true priorities of an organisation towards competing climate interests, for example, a climate for productivity vs. a climate for psychological health. According to leading theorists in the safety climate literature, the best way to make sense of an organisation's true priorities is via perceptions of enacted policies, practices and procedures (Zohar & Luria, 2005). Other perceptual or sense-making cues may be derived from the divergence or convergence between what management say and what they do in relation to these operational aspects. These perceptions in aggregate provide a measure of climate, because PSC is argued to be a property of the organisation, team, or unit. Knowing about the climate will provide a good indication of the working conditions (i.e. job demands and job resources), worker psychological health, engagement and productivity of employees.
Psychosocial safety climate is characterised by:
1. management commitment
2. management priority
3. management and employee participation and involvement in stress prevention
4. organisational communication.
Evidence from the work stress literature highlights these factors as important components of successful organisational stress intervention projects (European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2002; Jordan, Gurr, Tinline, Giga, Faragher& Cooper, 2003; Kompier & Kristensen, 2001). Evidence of these characteristics within organisations indicates varying levels of PSC, which will predict the kind of work environment experienced and the psychological reactions to these characteristics. Not unsurprisingly, these characteristics converge with factors identified in safety science research that typify a strong safety climate (Cox & Cheyne, 2000).
In consideration of the characteristics of PSC, an organisation which strongly emphasises employee psychological health and safety will create job demands that are both motivating and conducive to health (Dollard & Bakker, 2010). Communication systems will be in place so that risks can be prevented, identified and managed, for example, through better allocation of workload or greater opportunity for recovery. There will be strong participation and involvement of all levels of the organisation in stress prevention. This will lead to better information for continuous improvement and will render jobs less stressful. Managers who have little regard, priority, or commitment for worker well-being (as in a low PSC environment) will ignore high demand scenarios and will not supply adequate resources. If PSC is an antecedent to working conditions, then conceivably it will lead to better health and work performance via these conditions.
Psychosocial safety climate as the other construct, not another construct
Despite a plethora of organisational climate constructs (for a review, see Kuenzi & Schminke, 2009), none appear to relate specifically to psychological health and safety (freedom from psychological harm) climate. The PSC construct shares some similarities with other safety climate constructs (Zohar, 1980) and team psychological safety (Edmondson, 1999) but is also different. PSC is an antecedent to working conditions that relate to psychological health and safety. The concept of PSC is derived in part from the notion that external factors affect how working conditions are created (see Sauter & Murphy, 2003); how senior management within the organisations reacts to such external forces determines PSC (Dollard & Karasek, 2010). For instance, the pressure of external competition may lead senior management to introduce lean production systems that are detrimental to workers' health. By using this principle, we believe that working conditions (i.e. job demands and resources) derive from initiatives of senior managers as discussed in the previous section.
It might be argued that PSC is related to psychological safety as defined by Edmondson (1999). Psychological safety is related to employees being safe and able to speak out without being rejected or punished (Baer & Frese, 2003); in turn employees' perception should enhance their work performance (Baer & Frese, 2003), or team learning behaviour (Edmondson, 1999). We expect that in high PSC climates, psychological safety will be an outcome. High PSC environments would also lead to greater safety in the form of freedom from more serious psychological injury that could arise from psychologically damaging actions of others, including bullying (see Bond, Tuckey, & Dollard, 2010).
Most climate studies have focussed on climate as an outcome variable, or as a mediator variable of working conditions. One unique aspect that distinguishes PSC from other climates (e.g. safety climate) is the fact that PSC is viewed as a precursor or antecedent variable to working conditions and not as an outcome or mediator. Empirically, recent studies demonstrate that PSC is clearly an antecedent to the work context and is associated with psychological health through its relationship with the working environment (Bond et al., 2010; Dollard & Bakker, 2010). These studies show that PSC is a valid and reliable construct in relation to work conditions, psychological health and work engagement.
Extended JD-R theory
The Job Demand-Resources (JD-R) model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007) is a parsimonious heuristic model that synthesises a number of important health and performance related constructs. So far, the JD-R model has received much attention from scholars and has been tested in various countries, mainly in Western nations (Bakker, Demerouti, & Verbeke, 2004). PSC reflects management priorities, for example, where job resources will be allocated and what the workload will be; consequently, PSC will be associated with working conditions. In this paper, we explain how PSC triggers the key operational paths described in JD-R theory via its effect on job entities. A central assumption of the JD-R model is that every occupation has its own specific characteristics, described in terms of job demands and job resources.
Job demands refer to any aspect of the job that requires people to expend physical, cognitive and emotional effort (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). In other words, they refer to 'things that have to be done' (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004, p. 296). Job resources (e.g. job control and supervisory support), energise workers towards work goals and stimulate personal growth (Demerouti et al., 2001) and can minimise the impact of job demands on employees' well-being (Bakker, Demerouti, & Euwema, 2005).
The JD-R model postulates that job demands and job resources trigger two kinds of psychological processesnamely, health impairment and motivational processes (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004). Job demands may require sustained physical and/or psychological effort, hence, are associated with certain physiological or psychological costs (Bakker et al., 2004). High demands without the opportunity for recovery will lead to overtaxing, resulting in exhaustion and health impairment. Job resources, by contrast, play either an intrinsic (e.g. fulfill human needs) or extrinsic motivational role (e.g. fulfill work goals) (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007) therefore will energize employee motivation (e.g. engagement) and lead to increased performance (Bakker et al., 2007). In general, whilst job resources refer to any aspects of a job that facilitate work goals and reduce demands job resources also play a motivational role (intrinsic and extrinsic) for employees (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007).
Theoretically, the way PSC functions can be understood by augmenting the JD-R model. Firstly, we expect that in high PSC environments managers will be cognisant of the negative impact of chronic job demands and will have in place policies, practices and procedures to ensure that workers are not unduly exposed to stress inducing work conditions. We expect that PSC is negatively related to job demands (Hypothesis 1, see Figure 1 with hypotheses identified).
There is some empirical evidence for this. Dollard and Bakker (2010) found that organisational-level PSC predicted change in emotional demands and work pressure over time in education workers. Bond, Tuckey and Dollard (2010) also found that PSC was associated with bullying both cross-sectionally and longitudinally amongst police officers. In the present study, we investigated emotional demands and role conflict. Role conflict may be a particularly important predictor of burnout in Malaysia as suggested by recent research in nurses (Yunus, Mahajar, & Yahya, 2009) and in a Malaysian-based multinational company (Jamal, 2008). We investigate emotional demands on the basis that in Western studies there is strong evidence of the importance of emotional demands as a key stressor (Bakker, Demerouti & Schaufeli, 2003; Kristensen, 2002), however, there is scant research on this in Malaysia.
Next, turning to the assumptions of the JD-R model, job demands are positively related to burnout (Hypothesis 2). There is very strong empirical evidence for this strain process and dozens of studies convincingly show that job demands are positively related to burnout (Korunka, Kubicek, Schaufeli, & Hoonakker, 2009; see Schaufeli, Bakker & Van Rhenen, 2009 for a review).
Theoretically, burnout is negatively related to performance in JD-R theory as well (Hypothesis 3). There is empirical evidence for a negative relationship between burnout and (objective) performance (Bakker et al., 2008; Demerouti, Verbeke, & Bakker, 2005). Following Hockey's (1997) assumption regarding the passive coping mode, we assume that people who are trapped in negative affective-cognitive states (including burnout) are likely to reduce their work accuracy and effort as a mechanism to cope. In extreme cases, people may not pursue their tasks at all (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004). In sum burnout may be related to reduced performance through an erosion of personal energy (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004) and less striving for achievement (Halbesleben & Bowler, 2009).
Bringing these three hypotheses together, we propose (see Figure 1) that PSC is a trigger to the health erosion pathway of the JD-R model. Specifically, PSC is positively related to performance first through job demands and then through burnout (Hypothesis 4).
The motivational process of the JD-R model is driven by the availability of resources (Schaufeli et al., 2009). We argue that in high PSC environments, managers will ensure that adequate job resources are available for employees; in other words, PSC is positively related to job resources (Hypothesis 5). Therefore, managers will understand through good communication and feedback systems with employees, what job resources are required to help employees achieve both personal and work related goals. If management is concerned about employees' psychological health and safety, this will lead to a better working environment via a supply of various job resources (e.g. decision authority, supervisory support).
Whilst decision authority will give employees a lot of choice, such as more control over their tasks (Bakker et al., 2005), supervisory support will help them to cope better with their job demands (Bakker et al., 2005). Consequently, this will enable employees to remain engaged with their work. Social exchange theory is relevant here as well: employees supplied with adequate job resources, will react with more effort toward the organisation (Blau, 1964), with more organisational commitment (Hakanen, Bakker, & Schaufeli, 2006) and personal initiative (Hakanen, Perhoniemi, & Toppinen-Tanner, 2008).
There is some indication that job resources such as job control and support are an issue in Malaysian work environments. For example, low decision authority is a source of job dissatisfaction in Malaysian academics (Huda, Rusli, Naing, Tengku, Winn & Rampal, 2004) and lack of supervisor support is associated with depression and stress (Edimansyah, Rusli, Naing, Rusli, Winn, & Ariff, 2008).
Turning again to the JD-R model, the next proposition is that job resources will be positively related to work engagement (Hypothesis 6). Again there is a large body of evidence to support this claim (Bakker & Leiter, 2010; Hakanen, Schaufeli, & Aloha, 2008; Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004; Schaufeli et al., 2009) and job resources relate to employee engagement more strongly than job demands. However, neither of the two Malaysian studies examined the relationship between job resources and work engagement.
Finally, we expect that work engagement will be positively related to performance (Hypothesis 7). Although there is currently a lack of studies that examine the link between engagement and work performance (Bakker & Demerouti, 2008) there are several reasons why engaged workers should perform better than non-engaged workers (Bakker, 2009). Engaged workers often experience positive emotions such as happiness and enthusiasm. According to the broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson & Branigan, 2005), positive emotions broaden one's focus and attention to a more expansive set of stimuli in the environment; when attention is broad the individual can develop and build personal skills and resources. For example, joy may encourage the exploration of novel situations and the development of new skills in problem solving. Secondly, engagement is related to health and this implies that workers are able to perform better. Finally, engagement may be closely related to positive work performance because of the focus and energy engaged worker bring to the task (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004).
A recent meta-analysis that operationalised work engagement in terms of satisfaction with motivating resources, found that work engagement related positively to a range of business-unit performance outcomes (i.e. customer satisfaction, profitability, productivity, employee turnover and accidents) (Harter, Schmidt, & Hayes, 2002). The JD-R model disaggregates this relationship by defining work engagement separately from job resources and positive work outcomes (Bakker & Leiter, 2010; Bakker & Schaufeli, 2008). In consideration of this and bringing the motivational propositions together, we postulate that PSC triggers the motivation pathway; PSC is positively related to performance firstly through job resources and secondly through work engagement (Hypothesis 8).
Research design
Research approach
Recent studies of job stress in Malaysia show that employees experience stress, depression and anxiety symptoms due to high job demands (Rusli, Edimansyah, & Naing, 2008). They also report workers being trapped in jobs with high psychological demands and low job security (Edimansyah et al., 2008). There is evidence of increased job insecurity in recent times with more than 100 000 local employees terminated from their jobs between 2002 and 2006 (Malaysian Trades Union Congress Bulletin, 2007). In insecure work contexts, employees are likely to endure work stressors. Neither the PSC nor the JD-R model has been tested in Malaysia, an Eastern developing economy and one of the most successful economies in South East Asia.
This study is a part of our project on psychosocial risk factors in Malaysia; the study furthermore trials a psychosocial surveillance tool within one state of Malaysia, namely Selangor. The sampling technique like most surveillance systems (71%) is random sampling from the working population (Dollard, Skinner, Tuckey, & Bailey, 2007). Ideally, climate studies focus on shared perceptions of climate and aggregate individual data to the organisational or unit level. However, according to data presented in a recent meta-analysis by Clarke (2006), only 17% of safety climate studies actually appear to do this. Population sampling poses a challenge when assessing climate phenomena as aggregation at the organisational level is not possible. Nevertheless, it is important to note that our study theorises and considers PSC as a property of the organisation. Despite this drawback, the population sample enables us to test the theories across many organisations, occupations and sectors to determine their general veracity.
Research method
Participants and procedure
We used a population-based sample in the present study. We used a household map provided by the Department of Statistics in Malaysia that provides a stratified random sample of houses representative of the wide socio-economic variations by location in the state of Selangor. This method is similar to that used in a study of job security in Taiwan (Chang & Lu, 2007). A questionnaire was distributed to every household and was collected three days after its distribution. Our sampling strategy required only one working adult participant from each household. We approached 576 employees and a total of 291 employees agreed to participate (response rate is 50.52%). The study was approved by University of South Australia Human Research Ethics Committee.
The proportion of males to females was 53% males and 47% females, with 87.9% of participants aged between 20 and 49 years old. In total, 47.4% of respondents had a secondary school education and 58.1% lived in urban areas. The respondents were mainly Malay (68.7%), 24.1% were Indian, 3.8% were Chinese and the rest consisted of other ethnic groups.
Measurement instruments
Most of the instruments used in this study were translated using back-to-back translation, unless otherwise indicated.
Psychosocial safety climate: This was assessed using the PSC-12, a twelve item scale derived from Dollard and Kang's (2007) original 26-item version (Hall, Dollard, & Coward, 2010). The questionnaire measures four sub-dimensions of PSC each with three items. The response scale ranges from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree); example on questions in each subscale:
'In my workplace senior management acts quickly to correct problems/issues that affect employees' psychological health' (management commitment; α = 0.86).
'There is good communication here about psychological safety issues which affect me' (organisational communication; α = 0.67).
'Senior management clearly considers the psychological health of employees to be of great importance' (management priority; α = 0.80).
'Participation and consultation in occupational health and safety issues occurred with employees, unions, and occupational health and safety representatives' (organisational participation, α = 0.77).
These dimensions are inter-related and considered as underlying indicators of the latent construct PSC and are used as such in the SEM analysis.
Job demand: These were assessed using emotional demands (three items) and role conflict (four items), from the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ; Kristensen, Hannerz, Hogh, & Borg, 2005). Answers were on a 5-point scale: 0 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). A sample question for emotional demands comprises 'Does your work put you in emotionally disturbing situations?' A sample question regarding work role conflict is 'Do you do things at work that are accepted by some people but not by others?' The reliability of the scales is α = 0.82 and 0.82, respectively.
Job resources: We examined job resources by using two subscales: supervisor support and decision authority from the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) (Karasek et al., 1998). Supervisor support was assessed using five items including; 'My supervisor/manager is concerned about the welfare of those under him/her' (α = 0.85). The response formats used four points: 1 (strongly disagree) and 4 (strongly agree). However, this scale also includes an additional point, 5 (I have no supervisor) for those people where supervision is not applicable. As there were only 2.8% of non-applicable responses, we treated these as missing values. Decision authority was assessed using two of the original three items, for example, 'My job allows me to make a lot of decisions on my own' (α = 0.63). Response formats to both scales used four points: 1 (strongly disagree) and 4 (strongly agree). We omitted a reversed item due to low reliability. Both of these scales are from the Malay version of the JCQ (Edimansyah et al., 2008).
Burnout: This was examined using two sub-scales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS: Schaufeli, Leiter, Maslach, & Jackson, 1996). For emotional exhaustion, we used five items, for example, 'I feel emotionally drained from my work'. For cynicism, we used four of the original five items. Consistent with Bakker et al. (2008) and Schutte, Toppinnen, Kalimo and Schaufeli (2000), we omitted one item, 'I just want to do my job and not be bothered' due to low reliability. An example item is: 'I doubt the significance of my work'. Responses were scored on a 7-point scale: 0 (never) to 6 (always) (α = 0.83 and 0.67, respectively).
Work engagement: We used the vigor and dedication subscales derived from a shortened version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES; Schaufeli, Bakker, & Salanova, 2006) to measure work engagement. Each subscale was examined with three items and a seven point scale from 0 (never) to 6 (always). Two sample questions include (α = 0.86 and 0.83 respectively):
'At my work, I feel bursting with energy' (vigor)
'I am enthusiastic about my job' (dedication).
Performance: This was assessed using two questions from the World Health Organization Work Performance Questionnaire (HPQ; Kessler et al., 2003). The self-report HPQ has been validated by comparing it with objective organisational performance amongst 3200 employees from four organisations (airline reservation agents, customer services, automobile company executives and railroad engineers). Good concordance was found between measures in all groups. The questions included in the present study were:
'Using the 0 (the worst job performance) to 10 (top performance) scale, how would you rate your usual job performance over the past year or two?'
'Using the 0 (the worst performance) to 10 (top performance) scale, how would you rate your overall job performance on the days you worked during the past 4 weeks (28 days)?'
The reliability for this short scale is acceptable (α = 0.83); inter-item correlation for the two items is 0.71.
Statistical analysis
Firstly, we conducted a descriptive analysis to examine inter-correlations between all variables (see Table 1). Secondly, as we conducted a cross sectional study, we used Harman's one factor test to determine whether common-method variance is a serious problem (Podsakoff & Organ, 1986). An unrotated factor analysis of all study items yielded 11 factors in total explaining 60% of the variance. Given that a single factor did not appear and that a general factor did not account for most of the variance, common method bias is not viewed as a significant threat in our study (Podsakoff & Organ, 1986). Moreover the factors were generally the same as those used as indicators in Figure 2.
Thirdly, we tested a variety of models with structural equation modeling using AMOS version 17 (Arbuckle, 2003) and tested the progressive fit of models using the chi-square difference test. We evaluated our model by using five absolute fit indices (cf. Joreskog & Sorbom, 1986): the chi-square statistic (χ2), goodness-of-fit index (GFI), comparative fit index (CFI), Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) and the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA). For GFI, CFI and TLI, values greater than 0.90 are acceptable whereas for the RMSEA a value equal to or smaller than 0.08 is acceptable (Byrne, 2001).
We first assessed the null hypothesis model (M0). Then we tested the proposed full mediation model (M1) as shown in Figure 1. Note that in the research model, we allowed the structural residuals (i.e. measurement errors) of job demands and job resources and also burnout and engagement to covary. We then tested a partial mediation model (M2) with the following paths:
PSC job demands burnout performance, PSC job resources engagement performance, with PSC to all model variables, PSC burnout, PSC engagement and PSC performance.
Further, we tested an alternative model that only included direct effects of PSC to more distal mediators and the dependent variable (M3), with the following paths:
PSCburnout; PSC engagement
PSC performance.
Hypotheses were assessed against results in the final accepted model (M4). One-tailed significance levels are reported given that the hypotheses were directional.
Descriptive statistics
Means, standard deviations and correlations between all variables are shown in Table 1.
Fit indices and comparisons of alternative models are shown in Table 2. Starting with the initial null hypothesis model (M0), the fit of the model was poor as expected. We then tested the mediation model (M1) with the paths:
PSC job demands burnout performance, PSC job resources engagement performance.
The proposed mediation model fit the data adequately (GFI = 0.94; CFI = 0.94; TLI = 0.93; RMSEA = 0.06). Against the M0 model, the M1 model showed a significant improvement with Δχ2 significant at p < 0.001 (see Table 2).
We then tested a partial mediation model (M2) with paths between:
PSC job demands burnout performance, PSC job resources engagement performance
and a path from PSC to all model variables,
PSC burnout, PSC engagement and PSC performance
We found that this model fit the data well with all fit indices showing reasonable values: GFI = 0.94; CFI = 0.95;
TLI = 0.93 and RMSEA = 0.06. When contrasted to the previous proposed mediation model (M1), we found that the model showed an improvement and Δχ2 was significant at p < 0.01. All other fit indices were similar to the M1 model. Additional significant paths that accounted for the improved model and could be reasonably theoretically defended were:
PSC burnout (β = -0.15; p < .05) and PSC performance (β = 0.17; p < 0.05).
Theoretically, low PSC may be experienced as stressful in line with psychological safety theory, because they are a threat to the self (Semmer, McGrath, & Beehr, 2005). High PSC may result in a direct boost to performance that could be explained through social exchange theory but via factors other than the demands and resources specified in the model, or by psychological states other than engagement (e.g. commitment) and burnout.
Next, we tested an alternative direct effects model (M3) with only the following paths:
PSC burnout; PSC engagement
PSC performance.
We found that M3 was not as good a fit with GFI = 0.89; CFI = 0.86; TLI = 0.83 and RMSEA = 0.10. Nevertheless, results here showed that PSC was related to performance (β = 0.34, p < 0.001); in other words, this provides some evidence that there is a direct effect to be mediated.
Our final model (M4), as illustrated in Figure 2, indicated that the best fitting model was:
PSC job demands burnout performance
PSC job resources engagement performance
with additional paths PSCburnout and PSCperformance (M1 plus the two additional direct paths).
As shown in Table 2, adding these additional paths led to a significant improvement in M1 with GFI = 0.94, CFI = 0.95, TLI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.06; Δχ2 was significant at p < 0.01. Moreover, it is important to note the sizeable standardised loadings of each PSC dimension on the latent PSC measure:
commitment; 0.78
priority; 0.88
communication; 0.74
participation; 0.77.
Our findings supported Hypothesis 1 that PSC is negatively related to job demands (emotional demands and work conflict); with β = -0.14, p < 0.05. Our finding also supported Hypothesis 2 that job demands are positively related to burnout (i.e. emotional exhaustion and cynicism) with β = 0.59, p < 0.001. Our analysis also revealed that burnout is negatively related to performance (Hypothesis 3), β = -0.12, p < 0.05 confirming the significant negative relationship between burnout and performance.
To test whether PSC is a trigger to the health erosion pathway of the JD-R model (Hypothesis 4), such that
job demands carries the indirect effect of PSC on burnout and
burnout carries the indirect effect of job demands onto work performance
We utilised a bootstrapping method using AMOS software. Although the Sobel test is often used to test the mediation process, tests that are more direct are suggested. In particular, because the product of the effects of the paths comprising the indirect effect is non-normal, bootstrapping is recommended (Hayes, 2009; Preacher, Rucker, & Hayes, 2007). Bootstrap samples were derived by repeatedly estimating the coefficients with a minimum of 1000 bootstrap samples, each of which comprises N cases randomly sampled with replacement from the original sample (N = 291). Convention suggests the effect is significant if the 95% confidence intervals (CI) denoted by lower and upper bounds excludes the value of 0.
Our 1000 samples bootstrapping analysis indicated that the indirect effect of PSC on burnout via job demands was significant (indirect effect is = -0.09, 95% lower bootstrap CI = -0.233, upper CI, -0.005, p < 0.05). However, the indirect effect of job demands on performance via burnout was not supported (indirect effect = -0.053, 95% lower CI = -0.544, upper CI = 0.65; n.s.). The indirect effect of PSC on performance via burnout was significant, (indirect effect is = 0.81, 95% lower bootstrap CI = 0.47, upper CI, 1.26, p < 0.01). Thus, Hypothesis 4 is partially supported; PSC triggers the health erosion reaction via job demands to burnout, but not to performance. However, the effect of PSC on performance was additionally carried by burnout.
In Hypothesis 5, we predicted that PSC is positively related to job resources and this was confirmed with a significant relationship (β = 0.67, p < 0.001). Hypothesis 6 that job resources are positively related to work engagement was also supported (β = 0.61, p < 0.001). Hypothesis 7 proposed that work engagement will be positively related to performance and this was confirmed in our study (β = 0.32, p < 0.001).
Again, we used a direct test of the mediation motivation pathway as indicated in Hypothesis 8. Bootstrapping results showed that the indirect path between PSC and engagement was influenced by job resources (indirect effect = 0.938, 95% lower CI = 0.06, upper CI, 9.00, p < 0.01). Additionally, our analysis showed that engagement carried the effect of job resources on work performance (indirect effect = 1.030, 95% lower CI = 0.50, upper CI = 2.81, p < 0.05). Together, our finding suggests that when PSC is high, higher levels of job resources are supplied to fulfill employees' needs and this increases employees' engagement. In turn, engagement carries the effect of resources on performance.
We argued for an integrative model where PSC theoretically influences working conditions and influences work performance via the health erosion (burnout) and motivational (engagement) pathways espoused in the JD-R model. We tested the integrative model and, by implication, the JD-R model in a non-Western culture (i.e. Malaysia), to see whether the basic arguments derived from Western thinking are applicable in a different work context. Recently, Burke (2010) commented on how difficult it was to obtain details about workplace stress and engagement outside the Western context, due to a limited organisational research tradition in those areas. Whilst most psychological theories are developed in the Western tradition, we argued for the need to investigate how well the theories apply in other countries and cultures. Moreover, we tested the veracity of the extended JD-R model in a population-based sample: previous research integrating PSC in the JD-R model is restricted to single organisations or occupations.
We found support for the expanded health erosion pathway, that PSC has a negative relationship with burnout through job demands. Consistent with previous Western findings, we confirmed that role conflict and emotional demands contribute to burnout (e.g. Bakker et al., 2005; Bakker & Demerouti, 2007; Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004). Further, we found that in high PSC organisations, lower levels of job demands (i.e. emotional demands and role conflict) were evident. Although the concept of PSC and demands are grounded in the Western context, our Eastern findings are similar to those reported in the Western studies (Bond et al., 2010; Dollard & Bakker, 2010). In general, the findings are consistent with our argument that working conditions are designed and created by managers (Morgeson & Humprey, 2008). Against expectations, we did not find that burnout carried the effects of job demands on performance.
Instead, we found that PSC was related to performance via burnout. Although we proposed that the negative direct effect of PSC to burnout may be plausible as an 'offence to self' stressor (Semmer et al., 2005), the direct effect may also be explained by other demands not assessed in this study.
In the present study, we also predicted that PSC would enhance performance through its positive relationship with job resources and engagement. We found full support for this expanded motivation hypothesis. Managers who are concerned about employee psychological health, provide enough job resources for their employees (i.e. supervisor support, decision authority) which boosts employee engagement and in turn work performance.
Although we proposed a fully mediated model, we did find significant direct effects between PSC and burnout and between PSC and performance as well. These relationships may indicate that additional job demands and job resources are at play in the mediated paths that were not measured in the study. Alternatively, it could indicate substantive direct effects. This needs to be explored in future research. Despite the finding of partially rather than fully mediated pathways the results support the major claim of PSC theory that PSC precedes work conditions.
The theoretical implications of our research are in general that the integrative PSC model is applicable in an Eastern, developing economy. In other words, the integrative model has etic qualities. Taken together, the evidence point towards the benefit of expanding the JD-R model to include PSC as a trigger to the main pathways of the model. Importantly, the evidence supports the proposition that PSC is a source of job demands and job resources and helps to answer the question, 'from where do job demands and resources arise?' When managers in organisations prioritise psychological health over productivity concerns we expect working conditions to be designed to be conducive to both health and work engagement (Dollard & Karasek, 2010).
In short, even though we were unable to discover relevant previous theory driven research from Malaysia to describe the psychological health and engagement in the workplace, our hypothesised model is largely applicable in an Eastern, collective, developing economy context.
Practical implications
Our findings are consistent with previous research that confirms that PSC could be a target to improve job resources and engagement (Dollard & Bakker, 2010). Indirectly and directly, high PSC contexts (high commitment from management, priority, communication and participation for worker psychological health and safety) should lead to increased performance. Although the impact of job stress on employee well-being and performance is well acknowledged (Bakker et al., 2008; Demerouti et al., 2005) we see that measurement of PSC could provide a useful tool to assist in the change of management practices and in turn worker health and effectiveness. Given that job stress prevention strategies are now becoming more popular in organisations (Noblet & LaMontagne, 2006) and also in Malaysian workplace settings with initiatives from the government to promote healthy working conditions, we consider building a strong PSC may play a key role. Criticisms regarding current practices of job stress prevention suggest that they focus too much on the individual without consideration of working conditions (Noblet & LaMontagne, 2006). We believe that focussing on PSC can remedy this problem. Managers should be informed about of the importance of PSC in the workplace.
Limitations and future research
There are some limitations to the current research. The current study used cross-sectional data therefore causal conclusions regarding the direction of the proposed relationships cannot be drawn. However, previous longitudinal research lends some support to the proposition that PSC precedes work conditions (Bond et al., 2010; Dollard & Bakker, 2010). Further, our population-based study did not provide the opportunity for aggregation of data, therefore it is plausible that the perceptions of organisational PSC could be influenced by individual factors. Additionally one of the possible problems caused by cross-sectional research is common-method variance (Demerouti et al., 2005). To assess this problem, we conducted the Harman test and found no common factor underlying all of our measures. Therefore, we believe that the relationships we report are substantive and not based on common method effects.
Consistent with previous research, we used a self-rated questionnaire to assess performance (i.e. Demerouti et al., 2005). Although objective measurement could more reliably assess employee performance (i.e. Bakker et al., 2008; Janssen, Lam & Huang, 2010), our respondents were from a variety of occupations and organisations, so it was impractical to use objective performance measures.
We operationalised PSC in terms of perceptions but another way to capture PSC would be to evaluate the change process in work stress interventions, as an effective intervention should lead to changes in PSC, that is, changes to policies, practices and procedures in relation to worker psychological health. One study has operationalised PSC in terms of actions, progress and process in a work stress intervention (Dollard & Karasek, 2010). The authors showed that high PSC enabled the utilisation of resources (i.e. decision influence); in other words, under conditions of high PSC the beneficial negative relationship between decision influence and change in emotional exhaustion and psychological distress held, whereas the strength of the relationship was reduced under conditions of low PSC. Further, the dual functionality of PSC as a precursor to working conditions, as well as a potential ameliorator of them requires further investigation.
Future research could give attention to other types of job demands and job resources and other types of psychological symptoms (e.g. depression, anger) or other positive reactions (e.g. flow; Csikszentmihalyi, 1990) This is important, as recent Malaysian research found that employees are likely to express anger (Idris, Dollard & Winefield, 2010) and depression in the face of high job demands (Edimansyah et al., 2008). Future research should also employ a longitudinal design to confirm the directional effects suggested by the models.
The present study adds to the literature in several ways. It proposes and provides support for the proposition that PSC is a precursor to job demands and job resources and therefore is a likely trigger of the health erosion and work motivation paths as formulated in the JD-R model. The propositions of the PSC model and, by implication, the JD-R model are confirmed in a Malaysian sample quite diverse from those usually investigated, that is, an Eastern developing economy, which is largely Muslim. The research helps to build a more inclusive world picture of healthy productive work.
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Rusli, B.N., Edimansyah, B.A., & Naing, L. (2008). Working conditions, self-perceived stress, anxiety, depression and quality of life: A structural equation modelling approach. BMC Public Health, 8,1-12. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-8-48, PMid:18254966, PMCid:2267182 [ Links ]
Sadhra, S., Beach, J.R., Aw, T.C., & Sheikh-Ahmed, K. (2001). Occupational health research priorities in Malaysia: A Delphi study. Occupational and Environment Medicine, 58,426-431. doi:10.1136/oem.58.7.426, PMid:11404445, PMCid:1740156 [ Links ]
Salanova, M., Agut, S., & Peiro, J.M. (2005). Linking organizational resources and work engagement to employee performance and customer loyalty: The mediation of service climate. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90,1217-1227. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.90.6.1217, PMid:16316275 [ Links ]
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Schaufeli, W. (2003). Past performance and future perspectives of burnout research. South African Journal of Industrial Psychology/SA Tydskrif vir Bedryfsielkunde, 29,1-15. [ Links ]
Schaufeli, W., & Bakker, A.B. (2004). Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement: a multi-sample study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25,293-315. doi:10.1002/job.248 [ Links ]
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Correspondence to:
Mohd Idris
Postal address: Work & Stress Research Group, Centre for Applied Psychological Research, School of Psychology, University of South Australia
Adelaide, South Australia
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Received: 27 Nov. 2009
Accepted: 01 Dec. 2010
Published: 23 May 2011


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Line-Up Includes Broad Range of Highly Regarded Fund Families
Public Company Information:
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Schwab Charitable, one of the country's largest national donor-advised funds, announced today an expanded selection of investment pools for its Charitable Gift Accounts. The new investment line-up includes a broad range of highly regarded mutual fund families, including American Century, Janus, Manning & Napier, Parnassus, PIMCO and Schwab.
Schwab Charitable's twelve investment pools include three asset allocation pools (which enable a diversified investment strategy with one investment) and nine individual investment pools (for those who prefer a customized investment strategy that combine pools with differing objectives). The underlying investments for these pools include index and actively-managed funds as well as a socially responsible fund. All were selected as among the best in class by Schwab Charitable using extensive research provided by the Schwab Center for Financial Research.
"We are proud of the breadth and quality of underlying investments in this new expanded offer, which include some of the highest rated mutual funds in their categories," said Schwab Charitable President Kim Wright-Violich. "Given the recent volatility in the markets, it is more important than ever to ensure that Charitable Gift Accounts are appropriately invested to meet philanthropic goals, and we also expect our new advice tool to be very helpful to donors," she added.
In conjunction with the launch of its new investment options, Schwab Charitable will also make available an easy-to-use tool to help donors recommend an appropriate investment allocation for their accounts based on their time horizon, granting behavior and risk tolerance. It is the first tool of its kind specifically designed for Charitable Gift Accounts.
"We welcome this effort to offer a broader set of investment options", said Tim Kochis of Aspiriant, an investment advisory firm with more than $4 billion in assets under management. "It can enable clients to eventually give more money to charity by providing them greater flexibility to meet the growth objectives of their charitable gift accounts."
Donor-advised funds are one of the fastest growing charitable giving vehicles in the United States. They save donors time, simplify recordkeeping for charitable tax deductions, and are lower cost, easier to use and offer more privacy than other charitable vehicles.
Wright-Violich noted that, despite the recession, grants to charities from Schwab Charitable increased six percent during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009. "This increase demonstrates that donor-advised funds can act as a charitable reserve. They enable donors to recommend grants to charities from money set aside in better times to help buffer some of the volatility of revenues charities often experience that can undermine their stability."
"In an environment in which philanthropy is more important than ever, I am continually impressed by the generosity of Schwab Charitable donors and pleased that we can facilitate their giving," she continued. "In order for us to continue to keep donors in a position where their capacity to give is resilient, we need to constantly monitor and improve our investment options, and that is precisely what these additions are all about."
About Schwab Charitable
Schwab Charitable is an independent nonprofit and national donor-advised fund founded by Charles Schwab & Co. that has raised over $3.75 billion and made more than $1.5 billion in grants to charity since inception. Individuals can open a Charitable Gift Account with a charitable contribution of as little as $5,000. For more information, visit www.schwabcharitable.org or call 1-800-746-6216.
Schwab Charitable has entered into service agreements with certain affiliates of The Charles Schwab Corporation. The Schwab Center for Financial Research is a division of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Prospectuses for the registered underlying mutual funds are available from the Fund upon request. Donors should read prospectuses carefully before making contributions or recommending investment of funds. Market fluctuations may cause the value of investment pool shares held in a Charitable Gift Account to be worth more or less than the value of the original contribution to the pools. Past performance does not guarantee future performance.
Schwab Charitable
Kim Laughton, 415-636-7663
Communications Strategy Group
Morrison Shafroth, 720-470-3653


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The RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed is identical to the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report minus some features including the header information (latitude and longitude and summit elevation), the Geologic Summary, and a link to the volcano's page from the Global Volcanism Program. Each volcano report includes a link from the volcano's name back to the more complete information in the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report on the Smithsonian website.
The CAP (Common Alerting Protocol) feeds are XML files specifically formatted for disaster management. They are similar in content to the RSS feed, but contain no active links.
A Google Earth network link for the Weekly Volcanic Activity Report can be loaded into the free Google Earth software, and in turn will load placemarks for volcanoes in the current weekly report. Placemark balloons include the volcano name, report date, report text, sources, and links back to the GVP volcano page for that volcano and to the complete Weekly Report for that week.


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Problem Solvers
Korallen-Zucht has a complete line of products to replace elements in your reef tank as well as combating nuisance algae and organisms in your tank.
- ZEOmag Magnesium Granulate is commonly used in a mixture with calcium carbonate and used in a calcium reactor to replace magnesium in the tank without adding additional chloride or sulfate.
- All-in-One KZ Sea Water Complex (Meerwasser Komplex) contains all trace elements needed by corals - strontium, barium, magnesium, iodine, bromium, fluorine, manganese, chromium, copper, nickel, potassium, zinc, lithium, boron, cobalt and rubidium. Do not use in conjunction with the ZEOvit System.
- Strontium Complex contains strontium, barium and additional elements with will enhance the growth of many stony and soft corals.
- Trace Element Complex contains many important minerals especially for stony corals. Do not use in conjunction with the ZEOvit System.
- Iodide Complex Concentrate is used for improved coloration.
Problem Solvers
- Coral Snow helps eliminates and prevents slime algae and cyanobacteria while neutralizing unwanted acids and reducing yellowing of water
- Flatworm Stop helps to reduce parasitic flatworms on Acropora and SPS corals
- Bio-Mate will help to reduce mulm and phosphate while cleaning live rock and substrates
- ZEOlife will help to speed up metabolic processes and boosts the effectiveness of the ZEOvit System.


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It was one year ago this week that Simon Cowell announced he was leaving "American Idol." And, as with all things Simon, there's no in-between: we'll soon learn whether his departure will prove to be the best or worst thing ever to happen to the show.
In the weeks leading up to Wednesday's 10th season premiere, we've been fed tidbits about format changes (online voting, possible music videos). But this week, the producers and judges signaled a major philosophy shift: get ready for a kinder, gentler "Idol."
"We're not here to break people down, but we're here to guide people through it," Jennifer Lopez, who joins Steven Tyler as a new judge, told reporters.
Randy Jackson, generally a pussycat over the last nine seasons, is positioning himself – by default, it seems – as the tough judge, promising to be "an assertive dawg."
Which says a lot about where the show apparently is headed.
Cowell, who became the scowling face of "American Idol" early on, was at his best with Paula Abdul as his kindly, loopy foil – and with a talented pool of contestants to prod through his often sarcastic, if generally accurate, pronouncements.
The balance got thrown off last year with Abdul's departure and a weak crew of contestants that brought out the worst in short-timer Cowell, who no longer seemed to relish the love-to-hate-him role he created.
The best advertisement for the show always has been the contestants, not the judges. Carrie Underwood, nearly six years later, is still a star. Lee DeWyze, eight months later, is a footnote.
Cowell didn't pick the winners – the public did. But he had much to do with choosing the finalists, and his predilection for clean-cut pop idols singing old music not only earned him the animus of those with more hard-core tastes, but wore thin as it became harder to tell one fresh face from another.
Perhaps the most telling indications about the show's new direction came in comments from Jimmy Iovine, the program's new in-house mentor and head of Interscope Geffen A&M Records. He told reporters the goal is find someone who is "going to sing with their own voice rather than sing like someone else, which is not attractive to a record company."
That dovetails nicely with plans to add more coaching in-between shows and release songs by "Idol" finalists during the season, ala "Glee," helping contestants develop as artists – with download sales potentially serving as a de facto, secondary voting system.
The emphasis on building up talent rather than tearing down young hopefuls for sport appears to be a good long-term strategy for the show. But we'll see whether the new approach will draw big audiences week to week – and whether a year from now anybody is talking about the next season of "Idol."
Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multi-media NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is the former City Editor of the New York Daily News, where he started as a reporter in 1992. Follow him on Twitter.


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There may be a future for infants that is determined by their genetic blueprint. Scientists at Virginia's Inova Fairfax Hospital are participating in the first study of its kind exploring and mapping the genetic code of newborns.
"Genomics really is about determining what variance we have in our genome that are unique to us as individuals and that might predict risk of disease," said CEO for Inova Translational Medicine Institute John Niederhuber, who is overseeing the study.
The research is in the experimental stage, but parents may one day use this information to plan ahead, says Niederbuber.
"If I know I have a risk for certain heart disease, I might manage my life with a little better diet, a little better nutrition than I currently do," Niederbuber said.
However, parents may be hesitant to find out if their child is more susceptible to heart disease or cancer in the future.
"If we do detect it early, how do you communicate that to the parents, what's the responsibility?" said Natasha Bonhomme, Vice President of Strategic Development for Genetic Alliance and Director of Baby's First Test.
Only actionable results from the study will be shared with the patients' physicians, who will then advise the families on proper steps to take. But the question of what's "actionable" forms the heart of the debate.
"We know where the technology is going, we want to find out more information and find it out faster," Bonhomme said. "But really, to have that, to put that into the context of, 'what should we be giving back to families and to patients?'"
Parents like Holly Sloan, a registered nurse who helps with labor and delivery at Fairfax Hospital and mother of a five-month-old baby, would prefer to have the information either way, worrisome or not.
"Even if it's something that I didn't want to hear, I'd rather know, so I can take steps to try to correct any health problems," Sloan said.


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Combining theatrics and an outrageously flamboyant stage persona with his fine natural-born talent (he possessed one of the greatest voices in all of music and penned some of pop's most enduring and instantly recognizable compositions), one of rock's greatest all-time entertainers/showmen was unquestionably Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury.
Born Farrokh Bulsara on September 5, 1946, in Zanzibar to Persian parents (his father worked as a high court cashier for the British government), young Farrokh soon adopted the name Freddie by fellow classmates while attending an English boarding school.
Freddie soon discovered his love for art and music, both subjects that he explored voraciously (he began taking piano lessons around this time), putting his newly found piano talent to use as he played in rock & roll bands with friends.
Due to political upheaval in Zanzibar, Freddie and his family fled Zanzibar for England in 1964. Back in England, Freddie enrolled in the Ealing College of Art and fell under the spell of guitar wizard Jimi Hendrix.
It was while attending Ealing that Freddie befriended a fellow aspiring musician, bassist Tim Staffel, who was a member of a local band called Smile.
Freddie soon began attending Smile's rehearsals and struck up a friendship with the group's other members, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor.
Inspired by his new friends, he began playing in bands himself, but instead of just playing piano as he did back in Zanzibar, he began singing.
To pay the bills, Freddie opened up a stall on Piccadilly Circus with Taylor, selling clothing geared toward fellow rock musicians.
By 1970, Freddie had become frustrated that his music career had yet to blossom, and when he heard that Staffel had left Smile, Freddie promptly took his place, finally uniting musically with May and Taylor.
Inspired by the heavy rock of Led Zeppelin/Hendrix as well as the vocal harmonies of the Beatles and the over-the-top look of the burgeoning glam rock movement (David Bowie and T. Rex), the new group decided to mix up all these influences in one big melting pot, resulting in the formation of Queen.
Sensing that it was only natural that a soon-to-be rock star should have an equally grand name, Bulsara soon became Freddie Mercury.
The new band honed their sound throughout the early '70s (ultimately signing with EMI in England and Elektra in the U.S.), and after going through a succession of bassists, finally found a permanent member, John Deacon, just prior to the recording of their first album.
But just before the release of Queen's self-titled debut in 1973, Freddie issued the solo single "I Can Hear Music"/"Going Back" (with his Queen bandmates backing him) under the pseudonym Larry Lurex.
The single sank from view shortly after release, while Queen's debut fared little better.
It was during an early Queen show that Freddie's mic stand accidentally snapped in half, and instead of replacing it, Mercury carried on with the damaged stand, which ultimately became an on-stage trademark for the singer.
Dressed in outrageous Zandra Rhodes-designed threads, dolled up in makeup/eyeliner, and wearing black nail polish on his right hand, Freddie instantly stood out from the rest of the then-current rock pack.
Although there was speculation about his sexuality throughout his career, Mercury refused to confirm or deny that he was bisexual during his lifetime. Slowly but surely, Queen built up an enormous and dedicated worldwide following due to their bombastic stage show and such hit releases as 1974's Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack, but it was the Mercury-penned "Bohemian Rhapsody" off 1975's breakthrough A Night at the Opera that solidified Queen as one of rock's top bands.
Further hit albums followed: 1976's A Day at the Races, 1977's News of the World, 1978's Jazz, and 1979's Live Killers, during which Freddie penned such hit songs (and eventual rock radio staples) as "Killer Queen," "Somebody to Love," "We Are the Champions," "Don't Stop Me Now," and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love."
By the late '70s, Freddie had become one of rock's leading frontmen as his image changed from his early glam rock look to an image that was met with some consternation from fans: he cut his hair short, grew a moustache, and dressed in all leather.
In addition to his work with Queen, Mercury fulfilled a longtime dream by performing with the Royal Ballet in October of 1979. The '80s would prove to be puzzling time for Queen, as they kicked off the new decade with their biggest album yet, The Game — scoring one of 1980's biggest hits, the dancefloor anthem "Another One Bites the Dust" — and most successful tour.
But instead of treating the successful musical experiment as a brief detour, Queen decided to explore dance music more thoroughly on their follow-up, Hot Space, resulting in their worst-selling release since Queen II.
While Queen was quickly able to recapture their following everywhere in the world on the strength of such solid releases as 1984's The Works and 1986's A Kind of Magic (and a showstopping performance at the mammoth Live Aid benefit concert in 1985), the band's popularity in the U.S. dwindled considerably.
Mercury also issued his first solo album in 1985, Mr. Bad Guy. By the late '80s, Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS, but decided to keep his condition under wraps as he focused on recording further albums with Queen (1989's The Miracle and 1991's Innuendo) as well as issuing sporadic solo singles ("The Great Pretender," "Time") and an opera-meets-pop album with Montserrat Caballé entitled Barcelona.
But by 1991, Mercury's battle with AIDS had taken a turn for the worse, and on November 24, 1991 (just one day after deciding to go public with his ailment), Mercury died at his home in London.
~ Greg Prato for iHeart Radio Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Corporation. © 2013 Rovi Corporation.
Listen to Freddie Mercury and Queen at iHeart Radio iheart.com


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One of my favorite games of the last generation was EA's Skate series. Sure they got to be bug-riddled messes by the time the third game rolled out, but that was part of the charm. The game offered you plenty of places to produce some mind-blowing video clips, and setting up spot challenges against friends made you search for that perfect line, over and over again. What does all this have to do with OlliOlli? It takes that pursuit of perfection to the next level, giving players one of the most technically challenging, but also one of the most satisfying, skateboarding games that gamers out there didn't even know they needed.
I say that this game is needed because it will challenge players like no other game out there. If you played the Tony Hawk games of old you know how tough it was to find that perfect line that gave you that penultimate score that was only heard about in the schoolyard — before the days of Twitch and YouTube. Playing OlliOlli is like going back to those times, except now we've got global leaderboards, so you can sit and stare after what you thought was the perfect run, only to see that you're nowhere near the top. Or you can curse furiously at this game as you flub a landing and ruin that insane combo you were racking up.
OlliOlli has a fairly simplistic control scheme. All tricks are done by moving the left analog stick in various directions. Doing motions like a fireball from Street Fighter will result in a more difficult trick that will require more time to land. You can also spin your skater by pressing the left or right shoulder buttons, further augmenting your tricks. And to string it all together, there's plenty of places to grind, which is done by holding a direction on the left analog stick just as you land on a rail. In order to seal the deal though, you need to be able to land, which you do with a simple tap of the X button. The closer to the ground you are when you hit X, the better your landing. This all requires a bit of a deft touch, requiring precise timing and a great deal of patience.
It's simply a matter of survival in order to progress through the game. Make it to the end of a run and you can proceed to the next stage. If you really want to make some progress though, you'll have to complete some objectives. These vary from level to level, but the consistent missions will require you to get a high score or a high combo, and the rest will be something specific to the stage, like collecting items, or grinding a specific rail, or not kicking off to give yourself a speed boost which is necessary to clear some gaps. There's also a Daily Grind challenge map that you can practice to your heart's content, but then when it comes time to run it for real, you have one shot to make it count.
OlliOlli's got some simplistic visuals, but really solid animation that make each trick look grand, and wipeouts painful. It's bright and colorful and has some interesting art direction that's borderline stereotypical at times, but we're really all here for the gameplay. The soundtrack also stands out on its own, offering a few different genres, all with really good production values. Hopefully they can release the soundtrack on Bandcamp or something because I would totally be down to buy a copy.
If there's anything holding OlliOlli back it would have to be the buggy nature of the game. It's crashed a number of times, and it's not like I was doing anything out of the ordinary. A crash would most commonly occur when I'd land a trick, or even when I'd wipeout, making each attempt at landing a combo a game of Russian Roulette with my Vita. While the controls are simple, it's kind of hard to make the game do what you want to when coming out of a grind, resulting in a lot of ollies or simple kick-flips.
If what I've listed above doesn't seem like a dealbreaker, then give OlliOlli a go. It's a great indie title that has some incredibly fun gameplay and offers up a challenge that is unlike any other game of its kind. Skate may have given players the thrill of the hunt in looking for the perfect place to spot up and ride, but OlliOlli wants you to put up or shut up. It gives you some of the most well-designed levels, with a perfect balance of fun and challenge that makes it one of the Vita's must-play titles.
Olli Olli is an impressive effort that is only hampered by a few bugs. But if you can look past them you'll find one of the best games on the Vita.
In a past life I worked with Interplay, EA, Harmonix, Konami, and a number of other developers. Now I'm working for a record label, a small arm of casual games in a media company along with Gaming Nexus, and anywhere else that sees fit to employ me.