Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Motivation ; A Psychological Force

I was saying "I'm the greatest” long before I believed it.
-Muhammad Ali
The word "motivation" is derived from the Latin "movere" which means "to move". Motivation refers to psychological forces which move people, bring them to an action and keep them going. Motivation explains the degree of the effort that is spent while performing an activity, the level of performance in achievement tasks and satisfaction and well-being that is derived from an activity and/or its outcome.

The three components of motivation as listed by Arnold et al (1991) are :
(i) Direction - what a person is trying to do
(ii) Effort - how hard a person is trying
(iii) Persistence - how long a person keeps on trying

There are two different categories of motivation theories such as content theories, and process theories. Content theory is also known as need theory. Another type of motivation theory is process theory. Process theories of motivation provide an opportunity to understand thought processes that influence behavior. The major process theories of motivation include Adams' equity theory, Vroom's expectancy theory, goal-setting theory, and reinforcement theory.


Need Theory
Also known as content theory, need theory of motivation mainly focuses on the internal factors that energize and direct human behavior. Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Alderfer's ERG theory, Herzeberg's motivator-hygiene theory (Herzeberg's dual factors theory), and McClelland's learned needs or three-needs theory are some of the major content theories.
- Maslow's Hierarcy of Needs -

- Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory -

Expectancy Theory

Expectancy theory is about the mental processes regarding choice, or choosing. It explains the processes that an individual undergoes to make choices. This theory was originally contained in the valency-instrumentality-expectancy (VIE) theory, proposed by Victor Vroom (1964).

Motivation is only likely when a clearly perceived and usable relationship exists between performance and outcome, and the outcome is seen as a means of satisfying needs. Vroom suggests that “for a person to be motivated, effort, performance and motivation must be linked”.

Motivation can be expressed as ; M = f(E*V), or as function of valence times expectancy.

This theory was then developed by Porter and Lawler (1968) into a model.


Lawler/Porter Diagram


Instrumental Theory
Another approach is known as the instrumental theory, pioneered by Goldthorpe and his colleagues' who concluded that for some people, work is only a means to gain financial reward.It stresses that for certain people, extrinsic reward such as high economis gains are valued more than intrinsic rewards like job satisfaction.

Goal Theory

Although setting goals was nothing new, it wasn't until the 1960s that an American called Dr Edwin Locke began to formally examine the relationship between motivation and the setting of goals. His main conclusions were :
  • specific goals are more motivating than vague goals.
  • challenging goals are more motivating than easy goals.
  • when people are given positive feedback, both during and after taking action on theor goals this spurs them to achieve even more.
Equity Theory
John Stacey Adams, a workplace behavioural psychologist, put forward his Equity Theory on job motivation in 1963. When people feel fairly or advantageously treated they are more likely to be motivated; when they feel unfairly treated they are highly prone to feelings of disaffection and demotivation.

Social Learning Theory
The social learning theory of Bandura emphasizes the importance of observing and modelling the behaviours, attitudes and emotional reactions of others.
"Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behaviour is learned observationally through modelling : from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviours are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action."
-Albert Bandura (1977))


More :
1. Wikipedia

2. Evolution of a Motivation Theory

3. Motivation Theory

4. Motivation by Leslie Radford

5. Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Across The Globe


I remembered we were told by our JPA agent to avoid from eating at the stalls beside the road when we first arrived Yogyakarta. The surrounding was not that clean, with its location near the dusty road, we could easily get diarrhea or food poisoning.

If centuries ago, less people travel out of their hometown, but as the modes of transportation nowadays varies, people can go anywhere in this world in just several hours, or even minutes. Travelling across countries has promote globalization around the world.

Generally, globalization can be defined as a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology. In a way, globalization facilitates the spread of disease and increases the number of travelers who will be exposed to a different health environment.Travellers often experience abrupt and dramatic changes in environmental conditions(altitude, temperature and humidity), which may have negative effects on health and well-being.

Travel medicine is the discipline devoted to the maintenance of the health of international travelers through health promotion and disease prevention. Tropical infectious diseases are in a classical sense are limited geographically to areas where specific conditions of tropical climate and ecology must be present as a conditio sine qua non for the transmission and spread of the pathogen responsible (specific diseases of the tropics). Today, the problem of this tropical infectious diseases are not only a problem to the tropical countries, but to all other countries a sweell since any travellers who go to the tropical countries are at risk of getting it.

Figure : Causes of death in developed and developing world in 1997 (WHO, 1998)

In the last two decades infectious diseases have regained considerable significance and interest even in high-income countries. This is due to ;
  • changes in modern lifestyles (travel, outdoor activities, drug abuse) have created new risks of acquiring certain infections.
  • Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases as well as emerging resistance against anti-infective drugs have clearly shown their potential global spread.
  • Medical advances for the treatment of malignancies and chronic diseases have resulted in a growing population of immunocompromised patients susceptible to opportunistic infections that may limit severely the success of modern therapies ( e.g. transplantation)

Some of the modes of transmission of infectious diseases are as listed below :
  1. Food borne and waterborne diseases - Examples of diseases acquired through food and water consumption are traveller's diarrhea, hepatitis A, thyphoid fever and cholera. Taking a hygienic precautions with all food, drink and drinking-water consumed when travelling and by avoiding direct contact with polluted recreational waters.
  2. Vector-borne diseases - Insects such as mosquitoes and other vectors such as ticks can transmit serious infections. Examples of vector-borne diseases are malaria, dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya.
  3. Zoonoses - Infections can also be transmitted to humans through animal bites or contact with animals, contaminated body fluids or feces, or by consumption of foods of animal origin, particularly meat and milk products. Rabies, tularaemia, brucellosis amd leptospirosis are some of the diseases of zoonoses.
  4. Sexually transmitted diseases - STIs (HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B and syphillis) can be reduced by avoiding casual and unprotected sexual intercourse and by use of condoms.
  5. Blood borne diseases - Direct contact with infected blood or other fluid can trasmit blood borne diseases such as Hepatitis B and C, HIV/AIDS and malaria. Travellers should avoid direct contact with blood and body fluids, avoid the use of potentially contaminated needles and syringes for injection or any other medical or cosmetic procedures that penetrate the skin and avoid transfusion of unsafe blood.
  6. Airborne diseases - Droplets nuclei (<5μm)>5μm) as a result of coughing, sneezing or even talking can transmit diseases such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), pneumonias, pertussis, mumps and meningitis.
  7. Diseases transmitted via oil - In places where soil-transmitted infections are likely to be present, protect the skin from direct contact with the soil to reduce the risk of infections. Certain intestinal parasitic infections (ascariasis and trichuriasis) are transmitted via soil, and infection may result from consumption of soil-contaminated vegetables. Tetanus and anthrax are examples of bacterial diseases transmitted via soil. Fungal infections may be acquired by inhalation of contaminated soil.


Further readings :
1. International Travel and Health WHO 2010 ; Chapter 5 - Infectious Diseases of Potential Risk for Travellers

2. Travel Medicine by J. S. Keystone

3. Principles and Practice of Travel Medicine by Jane N. Zuckerman

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Managing Disaster


Emergency management is necessary to improve public safety and security to a creation of disaster-resilient communities. This is accomplished by structuring programs based on the four pillars of emergency management :
  1. Prevention-Mitigation ; Includes any activities that prevent emergency, reduce the chance of an emergency happening, or reduce the damaging effects of unavoidable emergencies. Mitigation phase take place before and after emergencies.
  2. Preparedness ; This phase takes place before a disaster occurs. The activities include plans or preparation made to save lives and help to respond and rescue operations. Examples are evacuation plans and stocking food and water.
  3. Response ; Responding safely to an emergency. This is when the preparedness plans are put into action during the disaster.
  4. Recovery ; Activities that take place after an emergency which includes financial assistance to help pay for the repairs. The actions in recovery phase are taken to return to a normal or an even safer situation following disaster.


From the earthquake and tsunami in Acheh and Nias (2004), the people of Indonesia realized the importance of a proper disaster management system to anticipate the occurrence of disaster. Therefore, a National Agency for Disaster Management or known as Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana(BNPB) is set up. Its mission is to prepare the nation's resilience in facing any kinds of disaster.


organizational structure of BNPB

Some of the policies and strategies are to plan an integrated, coordinated and organized disaster management which involves all parties (the government, the NGO's, the community) and the media as well at pre-disaster, during disaster and post disaster level. BNPB stresses more on disaster risk reduction, while still giving away a fast and precise treatment of emergency. Last but not least, BNPB support and promote voluntarism in the community in order to act when disaster strikes. Some of the programs prioritized by BNPB are :
  1. Increase local capacity through; (i) training of community-based disaster management, (ii) implementation of the rehearsal or simulation preparedness and (iii) preparation of national disaster management plan.
  2. Application of technical standards in; (i) analysis of disaster risk, (ii) disaster mitigation and (iii) early warning system.
  3. Develop logistic systems and equipments to support disaster-relief operations.
  4. Increase the capacity in facing a disaster by conducting an effective emergency response; (i) enables the operation control centers and (ii) quick reaction team.
  5. Disaster relief efforts by mobilizing all the potentials and capabilities of sources.
So far BNPB (and the previous incarnations) has formed a partnership with several similar institutions, bilaterally and regionally. Bilateral cooperation includes :
  • Ministry of Disaster Management, Cabinet Office of Japan
  • Emergency Management Australia (EMA), Australia
  • Civil Defense (DDSC), France
  • Ministry of Emergency Situations (Emercom), Russia
  • Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), US
For regional organizations, BNPB has been cooperating with ASEAN Committee for Disaster Management (ACDM), Asian Disaster Risk Reduction (ADRC), and UN agencies such as UNDP, UNOCHA, WFP UNHCR, WHO, UNESCO and so forth.


Readings :
1. The Four Phases of Emergency Management

2. eMedicine : Disaster Planning

3. Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB)