Purpose Previous studies have not integrated the impact of the area of study into the notion of employee engagement. The purpose of this study is to empirically measure the association between employee engagement and the two antecedent factors of perceived organizational support (POS) and employee loyalty across different areas of study. Design/methodology/approach A nationally representative survey of 2,408 adults in the USA collected by the worker representation and participation survey (WRPS) was used. A multinomial logit regression was used to estimate the impact of POS and loyalty across different areas of study. Findings The findings of this study consistent with the previous studies showed that POS and employee loyalty are positively and significantly associated with employee engagement. This study found by a decline in the level of support from a “lot of support” to “somewhat support,” the degree of engagement declines by about 50 per cent. Further, it found that the level of engagement changes across different areas of study. For instance, professional and skilled workers are more engaged compared to other groups of workers. The findings were similar for the variables of loyalty to supervisors and loyalty to organizations. Moreover, the findings showed that conditioned on being loyal, women are more engaged than men. Originality/value This is the first study that uses WRPS to understand how the level of engagement varies across different kinds of study.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a method to find a generally accepted employee engagement scale, particularly in the presence of various alternatives and objectives. Design/methodology/approach To find the measurement scales, seminal works encapsulating organizational engagement, job engagement and work engagement in Cinhal, PsycINFO and ABI/INFORM database have been reviewed. For finding the optimal choice from available scales, multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method was used. Findings An agreed-upon measurement scale is achievable through the knowledge of alternatives and consequences, as well as consistent preference ordering and a decision rule. However, choice of the most effective scale varies according to the preference of decision makers. Practical implications This study proposes MCDM method as an intervention for practitioners who aim to assess the level of employee engagement in their organizations. It also provides a decision-making method to scholars to surmount conflicting objectives in their measurement. Originality/value While previous studies have developed manifold measurement scales, there is no study to indicate which scale best measures employee engagement. This paper attempts to define how to choose one scale among the various existing gauges of engagement.

Objectives: The objectives were to assess the efficacy and safety of methylprednisolone or dexamethasone in treatment of ASCI. Methods: A literature search was conducted on PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library from their establishment date through 02/18/18 for studies evaluating the utility of steroids alone in ASCI. Pooled effect estimates were calculated using the random-effects model. Results: 2,956 articles were screened and 10 articles were included in the meta-analysis: three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and seven observational studies. No article was found on dexamethasone that met the inclusion criteria. Comparing ASCI patients who received methylprednisolone alone to patients who received no treatment or other therapeutic agents results from the RCTs demonstrated overall standardized mean difference for motor score of 0.42 (95%CI=-0.47, 1.31) and pooled RR of 6.55 (95% CI=0.82, 52.6) for gastrointestinal related diseases; 0.97 (95%CI=0.54, 1.77) for urinary tract infection; 2.01 (95%CI=0.43, 9.40) for sepsis; and 0.99 (95%CI=0.48, 2.03) for pneumonia. Results from observational studies demonstrated that overall standardized mean difference for motor score was 0.66 (95%CI=-0.63, 1.95) and pooled RR was 2.12 (95%CI=0.98, 4.61) for gastrointestinal related diseases; 1.00 (95%CI=0.65, 1.53) for urinary tract infection; 1.41 (95%CI=0.39, 5.17) for sepsis; and 2.74 (95%CI=1.59, 4.73) for pneumonia. Conclusions: In patients with ASCI, methylprednisolone in comparison with no treatment, placebo, or other therapeutic agents was not significantly associated with an improved motor score, improved urinary tract infection, worsened gastrointestinal related diseases, or worsened sepsis. The increased risk with pneumonia was only seen in observational studies and merits further investigation.

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PurposeThis study draws on resource dependence theory (RDT) to explain a board's governance function in the United States (US) nonprofit healthcare industry. Specifically, while various nonprofit research studies have appealed to agency theory (AT) to explain the monitoring role of an outside board, RDT offers an alternative explanation that emphasizes an outside board's resource gathering role.Design/methodology/approachIn drawing on the nonprofit GuideStar database, a fixed effect (FE) panel estimation was conducted on a sample of 230 US Non Profit Healthcare Organizations (NPHCOs). This panel estimation examines the relationship between the composition of an outside board and an NPHCO’s revenue and public support performance.FindingsA key finding of this study is that the composition of an outside board involving its' number, compensation and gender impacts an NPHCO’s revenue and public support.Research limitations/implicationsThis study shows that the composition of an outside board impacts an NPHCO’s ability to gain access to external resources. As NPHCOs face increasing pressure to seek external forms of revenue support, this study suggests that boards should favor a larger number, compensation and female representation of outside members.Practical implicationsThe composition of an outsider board can offer external sources of revenue support that lower the poor's requirements for financial assistance and thus affirm an NPHCO’s identity as a charitable organization.Originality/valueAs an NPHCO’s identity as a charitable organization is dependent on serving the medical needs of the poor, an outside board not only introduces a resource gathering function that is absent in the monitoring explanations of AT, but that this resource gathering function is important to affirming this identity.