Use of cognitive-behavioral career coaching to reduce work anxiety and depression in public employees

BACKGROUND Public employees worldwide are increasingly concerned about work anxiety and depression.Cognitive-behavioral career coaching has emerged as a promising strategy for addressing these mental health disorders,which can negatively impact on a person's overall well-being and performance.AIM To examine whether cognitive-behavioral career coaching reduces work anxiety and depression among Nigerian public employees.METHODS A total of 120 public employees(n=60)suffering from severe anxiety and depression were randomly assigned to the treatment or control groups in this study.Cognitive behavioral coaching was provided twice a week to those in the treatment group,whereas no treatment was given to those in the control group.As part of the study,the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scales and Beck Depression Inventory were used to collect data.RESULTS Analysis of covariance of the data from participants indicates a significant effect of cognitive-behavioral career coaching on work anxiety and depression.CONCLUSION Insights into the underlying mechanisms by which cognitive behavior career coaching exerts its effects have been gained from this study.Also,the study has gathered valuable data that can inform future practice and guide the development of strategies for supporting mental health at work.

MKEAH:Multimodal knowledge extraction and accumulation based on hyperplane embedding for knowledge-based visual question answering

Background External knowledge representations play an essential role in knowledge-based visual question and answering to better understand complex scenarios in the open world.Recent entity-relationship embedding approaches are deficient in representing some complex relations,resulting in a lack of topic-related knowledge and redundancy in topic-irrelevant information.Methods To this end,we propose MKEAH:Multimodal Knowledge Extraction and Accumulation on Hyperplanes.To ensure that the lengths of the feature vectors projected onto the hyperplane compare equally and to filter out sufficient topic-irrelevant information,two losses are proposed to learn the triplet representations from the complementary views:range loss and orthogonal loss.To interpret the capability of extracting topic-related knowledge,we present the Topic Similarity(TS)between topic and entity-relations.Results Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of hyperplane embedding for knowledge representation in knowledge-based visual question answering.Our model outperformed state-of-the-art methods by 2.12%and 3.24%on two challenging knowledge-request datasets:OK-VQA and KRVQA,respectively.Conclusions The obvious advantages of our model in TS show that using hyperplane embedding to represent multimodal knowledge can improve its ability to extract topic-related knowledge.

What is the role of cognitive-behavioral career coaching in mitigating work anxiety and depression among public employees?

This editorial explores the study by Mkpoikanke Sunday Otu and Maximus Monaheng Sefotho on the use of cognitive-behavioral career coaching(CBCC)to reduce work anxiety and depression among public employees.Public sector workers often face significant psychological stressors,leading to mental health issues that impair well-being and job performance.The study employed a grouprandomized trial design,involving 120 public employees diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression.Participants were divided into a treatment group,receiving CBCC,and a control group with no intervention.Results showed a significant reduction in anxiety and depression levels in the treatment group,sustained through follow-up assessments.The findings underscore the clinical relevance of CBCC as an effective intervention for improving mental health among public employees.Future research should explore the scalability of CBCC across different sectors and cultural contexts,as well as its integration with other mental health interventions.This editorial advocates for the broader implementation of CBCC practices in public service to enhance employee productivity and psychological well-being.By addressing cognitive distortions and fostering adaptive coping mechanisms,CBCC can help public employees navigate complex professional environments,ultimately contributing to a healthier and more efficient workforce.

Management Practices:Shaping Employee Satisfaction and Commitment in Large German Companies

The rapid evolution of the political,economic,and social landscape has generated increased interest in understanding the contextual application of management styles and behaviours toward employees.In this context,organizations must comprehend and assess employee satisfaction to enhance productivity and realize their strategic and economic goals.Therefore,this study aims to investigate the prevailing and significant management behaviours toward employees in large German companies and their impact on employee satisfaction and job commitment.To achieve the research objective,the study will employ a qualitative method to explore management behaviours toward employees.Data were collected through interviews with randomly selected managers from different companies and departments.The study aims to uncover discrepancies or variations in employee expectations regarding management behaviour.The findings will provide a better understanding of the most prevalent and significant management behaviours toward employees in large German companies and their impact on employee satisfaction and job commitment.The results will be valuable to management in adopting suitable leadership styles and improving employee satisfaction,leading to increased productivity and organizational performance.The research will contribute to the existing body of knowledge in the field of management and human resource management by providing insights into the impact of management behaviours on employees.It will also offer recommendations to management on how to enhance employee satisfaction and job commitment,leading to improved organizational performance.In conclusion,this study will investigate the prevailing management behaviours toward employees in large German companies and their impact on employee satisfaction and job commitment.

The Impact of Supervisory Career Support on Employees’Well-Being:A Dual Path Model of Opportunity and Ability

Background:In the pursuit of fostering employees’well-being,leaders are recognized as playing a vital role.However,so far,most of the existing research has focused on leadership behavior and the superficial interaction between leaders and members but has unexpectedly ignored the specific supporting role of supervisors in the career development of employees,that is,supervisory career support.Additionally,the internal mechanism of how career support from supervisors is related to and promotes employees’wellbeing is still unclear.Based on social cognitive career theory(SCCT),this study aimed to explore whether,how,and when supervisory career support affects employee well-being by introducing the two paths of‘career prospect’and‘career confidence.’Methods:During July 2023,this study employed a cross-sectional design.We gathered participants from corporate situated in Southern China.Results:Results based on a large sample of 14,533 employees showed that supervisory career support was positively related to employees’well-being through the dual path of career prospects(opportunity)and career confidence(ability).Employees high in proactive personality experienced the above positive effects most.Conclusion:This study provides meaningful implications for managers to implement personalized support strategies to improve employees’well-being.

Research on Work-Life Balance of Female Employees

Nowadays,the pace of work and life is accelerating rapidly,accompanied by significant changes in work content and family structure.Enterprises and employees are encountering various pressures and conflicts.Female employees,in particular,are experiencing increasing pressure in both social labor and family affairs,resulting in ongoing conflicts between work and life.Achieving a balance between these two domains is crucial for female employees.This article aims to analyze the influencing factors of work-life balance for female employees and to propose useful strategies to help them improve it.

A Study on the Problem of Employee Punch Card Substitution in Enterprise Management:The Case of Jingdong Enterprise

With economic progress and the continuous advancement of science and technology,the issue of employees substituting punch cards has gradually become a significant challenge in enterprise management.The purpose of this paper is to discuss the causes,effects,and countermeasures of the employee punch card phenomenon,with the aim of providing effective management recommendations for Chinese enterprises.In practice,enterprises should flexibly apply the countermeasures proposed in this paper according to their specific circumstances to prevent substitute punch card incidents and improve overall management efficiency.

Knowledge-Based Classification in Automated Soil Mapping

A machine-learning approach was developed for automated building of knowledgebases for soil resources mapping by using a classification tree to generate knowledge from trainingdata. With this method, building a knowledge base for automated soil mapping was easier than usingthe conventional knowledge acquisition approach. The knowledge base built by classification tree wasused by the knowledge classifier to perform the soil type classification of Longyou County,Zhejiang Province, China using Landsat TM bi-temporal images and CIS data. To evaluate theperformance of the resultant knowledge bases, the classification results were compared to existingsoil map based on a field survey. The accuracy assessment and analysis of the resultant soil mapssuggested that the knowledge bases built by the machine-learning method was of good quality formapping distribution model of soil classes over the study area.

Knowledge-based bridge detection from SAR images

Automatic bridge detection is an important application of SAR images. Differed from the classical CFAR method, a new knowledge-based bridge detection approach is proposed. The method not only uses the backscattering intensity difference between targets and background but also applies the contextual information and spatial relationship between objects. According to bridges＇ special characteristics and scattering properties in SAR images, the new knowledge-based method includes three processes： river segmentation, potential bridge areas detection and bridge discrimination. The application to AIRSAR data shows that the new method is not sensitive to rivers＇ shape. Moreover, this method can detect bridges successfully when river segmentation is not very exact and is more robust than the radius projection method.

Coping Strategies Adopted by Construction Employees to Deal with the Causes and Effects of Occupational Psychological Disorders: A Study in Ghana

Coping strategies adopted to deal with psychological health issues could have influences on the general health, productivity and task performance of the employee. This study sought to investigate the coping strategies adopted by construction employees to deal with the causes and effects of occupational psychological disorders such as burnout and workaholism. To achieve this aim, the methods of focus group discussions were first employed. A total of 16 semi-structured focus group discussions were held in Ghana, with 90 construction employees. The focus group study revealed 25 coping strategies adopted as efforts to mitigate the causes and 22 coping strategies adopted as responses to moderate the effects of occupational psychological disorders. A quantitative study involving 150 construction professionals and 150 construction trade workers were also conducted in Ghana to investigate the coping strategies that were highly adopted by the two construction working groups. The findings from the study revealed that the construction professionals adopted delegating complicated tasks and seeking medical attention as the most common coping strategies to manage the causes and effects respectively. The construction trade workers were also revealed to adopt withdrawing from work duties or changing jobs and taking in more caffeinated drinks as the most common coping strategies to manage the causes and effects respectively. Exploratory factor analysis was employed, and the findings were put into the main constructs. The causes focused coping strategies were categorized under avoidance, alteration, adaptation, and acceptance. The effects focused coping strategies were also categorized under healthy and unhealthy coping strategies. This study recommends appropriate coping strategies and interventions in the construction industry such as education of construction personnel on the consequences of various coping strategies.

New Knowledge-based Genetic Algorithm for Excavator Boom Structural Optimization

Due to the insufficiency of utilizing knowledge to guide the complex optimal searching, existing genetic algorithms fail to effectively solve excavator boom structural optimization problem. To improve the optimization efficiency and quality, a new knowledge-based real-coded genetic algorithm is proposed. A dual evolution mechanism combining knowledge evolution with genetic algorithm is established to extract, handle and utilize the shallow and deep implicit constraint knowledge to guide the optimal searching of genetic algorithm circularly. Based on this dual evolution mechanism, knowledge evolution and population evolution can be connected by knowledge influence operators to improve the conflgurability of knowledge and genetic operators. Then, the new knowledge-based selection operator, crossover operator and mutation operator are proposed to integrate the optimal process knowledge and domain culture to guide the excavator boom structural optimization. Eight kinds of testing algorithms, which include different genetic operators, arc taken as examples to solve the structural optimization of a medium-sized excavator boom. By comparing the results of optimization, it is shown that the algorithm including all the new knowledge-based genetic operators can more remarkably improve the evolutionary rate and searching ability than other testing algorithms, which demonstrates the effectiveness of knowledge for guiding optimal searching. The proposed knowledge-based genetic algorithm by combining multi-level knowledge evolution with numerical optimization provides a new effective method for solving the complex engineering optimization problem.

Structural Topology Design of Container Ship Based on Knowledge-Based Engineering and Level Set Method

Knowledge-Based Engineering （KBE） is introduced into the ship structural design in this paper. From the implementation of KBE, the design solutions for both Rules Design Method （RDM） and Interpolation Design Method （IDM） are generated. The corresponding Finite Element （FE） models are generated. Topological design of the longitudinal structures is studied where the Gaussian Process （GP） is employed to build the surrogate model for FE analysis. Multi-objective optimization methods inspired by Pareto Front are used to reduce the design tank weight and outer surface area simultaneously. Additionally, an enhanced Level Set Method （LSM） which employs implicit algorithm is applied to the topological design of typical bracket plate which is used extensively in ship structures. Two different sets of boundary conditions are considered. The proposed methods show satisfactory efficiency and accuracy.

Prevalence and risk factors of dry eye disease in young and middle-aged office employee:a Xi’an Study

AIM:To estimate the prevalence of and risk factors for dry eye disease(DED)in young and middle-aged office employee in Xi’an.METHODS:This cross-sectional study of the prevalence of and risk factors for DED investigated 486 young and middle-aged Chinese office employee in Xi’an.DED symptoms and potential risk factors were assessed using the ocular surface disease index combined with a risk factors questionnaire,and tear function was evaluated using the tear film break-up time and Schirmer’s test.Possible risk factors for DED were estimated by binary Logistic regression analysis.RESULTS:DED was diagnosed in 100 females and 96 males,giving a prevalence of 40.3%[95%confidence interval(CI)=36.0%-44.7%].The multivariate binary Logistic regression model indicated that the possible risk factors for DED were being female(OR=1.592,95%CI=1.034-2.451,P=0.035),being aged≥40 y(OR=1.593,95%CI=1.034-2.454,P=0.035),using a VDT daily for>6 h(OR=1.990,95%CI=1.334-2.971,P=0.001),the presence of central air conditioning(OR=1.548,95%CI=1.053-2.276,P=0.026),and self-reported dryness of the mouth and nose(OR=1.589,95%CI=1.071-2.357,P=0.021).CONCLUSION:There is a high prevalence of clinically diagnosed DED in young and middle-aged video displayterminal(VDT)users.Interventions against the modifiable risk factors should be taken to prevent the occurrence and development of DED in this population.

Exploring Personal Factors That Might Influence the Vulnerability of Construction Employees to Occupational Psychological Disorders

Personal factors could act as intervening variables between the causes and effects of psychological health conditions of employees. This study focused on six personal intervening factors that were associated with the risks of occupational psychological disorders namely: low self-esteem, negative personality trait, unproductive core beliefs, poor self-concept evaluation on performance, poor relationship with others and poor time management skills. An investigation on the level of severity of these personal intervening factors was conducted involving 150 construction professionals and 150 construction trade workers, who were purposively selected in Ghana. The personal factors that were found to be prevalent among the construction employees were low self-esteem and poor time management skills. Correlation analysis and regression analysis were used to determine the relationships between the personal intervening factors and demographic factors such as the age, educational levels and marital status of the research participants. The results of the study indicated that the age and marital status of the respondents had no significant relationship with any of the personal intervening factors. Personal factors such as personality trait and relationship with others also had no relation with any of the demographic factors analyzed. The educational level of the respondents, however, had a significant relationship with the factors of self-esteem, productive core beliefs, self-evaluation on performance and time management skills. An independent two-sample T-test was used to compare the means of the factors with significant relations. This study revealed that construction employees who were highly educated had better self-esteem and time management skills than those who were less educated. The findings from this study broaden the view of moderators on influential sources of psychological health conditions of employees.

FAULT DIAGNOSIS OF ROTATING MACHINERY USING KNOWLEDGE-BASED FUZZY NEURAL NETWORK

A novel knowledge-based fuzzy neural network （KBFNN） for fault diagnosis is presented. Crude rules were extracted and the corresponding dependent factors and antecedent coverage factors were calculated firstly from the diagnostic sample based on rough sets theory. Then the number of rules was used to construct partially the structure of a fuzzy neural network and those factors were implemented as initial weights, with fuzzy output parameters being optimized by genetic algorithm. Such fuzzy neural network was called KBFNN. This KBFNN was utilized to identify typical faults of rotating machinery. Diagnostic results show that it has those merits of shorter training time and higher right diagnostic level compared to general fuzzy neural networks.

Knowledge-based potentials in bioinformatics: From a physicist's viewpoint

Biological raw data are growing exponentially, providing a large amount of information on what life is. It is believed that potential functions and the rules governing protein behaviors can be revealed from analysis on known native structures of proteins. Many knowledge-based potentials for proteins have been proposed. Contrary to most existing review articles which mainly describe technical details and applications of various potential models, the main foci for the discussion here are ideas and concepts involving the construction of potentials, including the relation between free energy and energy, the additivity of potentials of mean force and some key issues in potential construction. Sequence analysis is briefly viewed from an energetic viewpoint.

A Knowledge-based System for the Analysis of the Ability of Paying back Loans

This paper describes the development of a knowledgebased system (KBS) for determining whether or not, and under what conditions, a bank Ioan officer should grant a business loan to a company. The prototype system developed focuses on what is bank loans risks management, how to prevent risk by the analysis of the ability of paying back loans. The paper makes the structural analysis involved in the system's decision situation, the structured situation diagram or model, dependency diagram and the document needed by the KBS prototype system thus are developed. Through testing the samples from loan business, the quality for the analysis of the ability of paying back loans can be effectively evaluated by the KBS prototype system.

Psychological Influence Factors Analysis of the New Generation Employees’ Moral Choices from the Perspective of Cognitive Neurology

At present,the academic researches on moral choices focus mainly on the individuals’external behaviors,without fully considering the influences of the individuals’internal psychological factors.Based on the model of complete information static games in the Non-cooperative Game theory,the present research has designed a“Red and Blue Experiment”to explore the psychological influencing factors of the new generation employees’moral choices.The research has conducted psychoanalysis on the new generation employees through experiments and interviews with 118 data sources,and concluded the characteristics in relation to the different stages of psychological processes and moral choices of the experimental population.Through comparative analysis,it is found that:the psychological factors,such as trust,doubt,and guilt will influence the new generation employees’moral choices,guiding them to make choices,such as risk aversion and mutual benefit and win-win,in the process.Additionally,the research has also provided effective scientific evidence for the new generation employees’mental health development and career planning.

Effects of Job Burnout on Employees Satisfaction in Selected Health Service Sector in Southwestern Nigeria

This paper examined the effects of job burnout on job satisfaction among selected health service employees in Southwestern Nigeria. The issue of job burnout has been researched, with limited attention to the health service employees in Southwestern Nigeria. The state of health of the people is vital to the survival of any economy as well as the development of any Nation. Data were obtained from the administration of questionnaires to 400 employees who were Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists & Administrators with permanent employees’ status. Multiple regression was used to analyze the data. Major causes of burnout discovered include emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation while personal achievement increases employee job satisfaction. Results of the study showed that insufficient motivation, low organisational support and high job demand could lead to job burnout. The study revealed an inverse relationship between job burnout and employee satisfaction which makes them to perform below expectations. The study concluded that since job burnout inhibits performance and manifests significantly in their service delivery, employers should put policies in place to mitigate it.

The Impact of Spiritual Leadership on Employee’s Work Engagement--A Study Based on the Mediating Effect of Goal Self-Concordance and Self-Efficacy

The average stress of people in China’s workplace is reaching the peak in recent two years.To improve employee’s positive psychological factors,Spiritual leadership has a good performance in this regard.Based on the mediating effect of goal self-concordance and self-efficacy,this paper further studies the impact of spiritual leadership on employee’s work engagement.Through the empirical study,the following conclusions are drawn:(1)Spiritual leadership significantly positively affects the employee’s work engagement.(2)Spiritual leadership has a significant positive effect on goal self-concordance and self-efficacy.(3)Goal self-concordance and self-efficacy have significant positive effects on employee’s work engagement.(4)Goal self-concordance and self-efficacy play a partial mediating role in the process of spiritual leadership’s impact on employees’work engagement.This study found the new mediator which partly revealed the mechanism between the effectiveness of Spiritual Leadership and employee’s work engagement.This study may serve as one of the researches for improving the effectiveness of leaders in organizations and promoting the motivation of employees in the workplace.