Pride in task completion and organizational citizenship behaviour: Evidence from the ethnographic literature

Abstract

Pride in task completion has been observed to be consistently important to workers, although these self-conscious emotions have received little attention as a construct worthy of investigation in the workplace. Organizational ethnographies provide a unique opportunity for an in-depth look at pride and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB), An analysis of the existing set of published book-length workplace ethnographies (n = 108) reveals that both job satisfaction and pride in task completion are significantly associated with OCB. Associations between pride and OCB appear to be stronger than associations between job satisfaction and OCB. Workers' characteristic mood states, such as the pleasurable emotions created by pride in work and unpleasant feelings of shame from perceptions of chronic failure, appear to be highly relevant to the promotion of desirable outcomes for organizations. The results of this study illustrate the value of ethnographic data in the study of workplace emotions, cognitions, and their potential behavioural sequelae     

The Influence of Ethnicity on Listening,Communication Competence,Approach, and Avoidance

The purpose of study reported in this article was to examine differences in communication and listening predispositions and communication competence across ethnicity, as well as contribute to the discussion of the growing cultural diversity in the educational and work contexts of the United States. Subjects were 275 undergraduates enrolled in a basic “Introduction to Communication Studies” course. Results were that Whites are perceived as more “approaching” and communicatively competent and African Americans are perceived as less expressive and communicatively competent. Hispanics and Asian Americans rank somewhere in between Whites and African Americans. However, what must be kept in mind is what one perceives as characteristics of a “good listener” or a “good communicator” is often determined by subtle, yet powerful influences and rules characteristic of one's own ethnic background.     

Significant Family Dynamics Related to Postdivorce Adjustment in Parents and Children

ABSTRACT

This study concentrates on the postdivorce adjustment of parents and children in families with shared parenting time arrangements. Thirty divorcing parents with children aged 12 to 59 months old were interviewed using a semistructured telephone interview regarding their early experiences in the divorce process. Findings showed that work–family balance issues were related to postdivorce parental adjustment for mothers. Interparental hostility was related to child alienation and paternal overnight stays. Length of time since physical separation was related to number of overnight stays. These results shed light on the early experiences of families with young children going through the divorce process.     

What is Most Important: Social Factors, Health Selection, and Adolescent Educational Achievement

This paper explores the relative importance of social factors and health measures in predicting educational achievement in early and late adolescence using population-based administrative data. The sample was made up of 41,943 children born in Manitoba, Canada between 1982 and 1989 and remaining in the province until age 18. Multilevel modeling nests each individual (level 1) within a family (level 2) residing within a neighborhood (level 3). Most important in predicting adolescent achievement were a broad socioeconomic status index (and a narrower measure of household income), being on social assistance, mother’s age at first birth, gender, residential mobility, the presence of ADHD/Conduct disorders, and measures of family functioning (child taken into care or offered protection services and family structure history). Family size, birth order, and newborn characteristics (birthweight, APGAR, gestational age) were statistically significant but of little importance in explaining the outcomes. Both examining regression coefficients and systematically omitting variables showed social factors (often emphasized by epidemiologists) to have markedly greater effects than the combination of health measures (often stressed by economists) in predicting achievement. However, mental health in childhood is identified as among the important predictors. Record linkage across population datasets from health, education, and family services ministries allowed: tracking health and educational attainment at different times in a child’s life, following a large number of cases across childhood, considerable sensitivity testing, controlling for unmeasured family and neighborhood effects, generating an extensive list of predictors, estimating effect sizes, and comparing Manitoba results with those of well-known American studies.     

Family/work roles' relation to perceived stress: Do gender and ethnicity matter?

This exploratory research examines whether gender and ethnic differences exist in family- and work-related variables that best predict perceived stress. The Anglo male (N=115) and female (N=199) and Mexican-American male (N=35) and female (N=85) respondents each had the roles of employee, spouse, and parent. Data were collected by mail questionnaire from state-classified employees at the three land-grant universities in Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming as part of Cooperative Regional Research Project W-167. Regression analysis indicates that role overload is a significant predictor of stress for Anglo males and females and Mexican-American females, thus providing some support for the role strain theory, which suggests that increasing the number of roles drains personal resources and may increase stress. Satisfaction with family roles enters regression equations as significant predictors for two sample groups. Other variables enter only one of the four regression equations; thus ethnicity and gender differences are found in the variables predicting perceived stress and should be considered in future research in this area. The research was funded by the Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Stations as part of Cooperative Regional Research Project, W-167, “Work, Stress, and Families.” Her research interests include issues related to balancing work and family and to family resource management. She received her Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests include grief and loss issues and family support systems. She received her Ph.D. from Arizona State University. His research interest is minority families, and his Ph.D. is from Florida State University. Her research interest is Latino family functioning. Her Ph.D. is from New Mexico State University. His research interest is human resource development emphasizing ranching families. He received his Ph.D. from Iowa State University.     

Using an Objective Structured Clinical Examination for Bachelor of Midwifery students’ preparation for practice

BackgroundContemporary midwifery practice needs a rigorous and standardised assessment of practical skills, and knowledge to ensure that safety is maintained for both women and neonates before, during and after childbirth.AimTo evaluate the use of Best Practice Guidelines (BPG) for Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE) as a standardised tool to develop clinical competence of Bachelor of Midwifery students.MethodA pragmatic mixed method approach with surveys, focus groups and interviews was used to evaluate the OSCEs for first year students. Quantitative and qualitative data were combined to understand student and academic perceptions of students’ confidence for clinical practice following the OSCE.FindingsThirty-four students responded to surveys (response rate 94%); and 13 participated in focus groups. Two academic lecturers participated in an interview (100%). Two main themes emerged (1) the OSCEs improved student confidence (2) the OSCEs were relevant and prepared students for practice. Most students indicated that they practised for the OSCE using an integrated approach (70%), and that this assisted them in their approach to the assessment of the neonate or post-partum mother.ConclusionThe use of BPGs to ensure that OSCEs focus on important aspects of knowledge and practice helped students to learn and to perform well. Students’ confidence in their ability for the imminent professional experience placement was high. OSCEs designed with the BPGs should be implemented broadly across midwifery education to enhance students’ competence and provide rigorous meaningful assessment.     

Climate Change Communication: Examining the Social and Cognitive Barriers to Productive Environmental Communication

Objectives. This study explores the efficacy of visual appeals that may be used to communicate environmental risk.Methods. To better understand the social and cognitive barriers present in environmental risk communication associated with climate change, we conducted a series of six focus groups. Groups were asked to view images of environmental issues and select the best representation of their feelings out of a range of preselected emotions. While further research is required, preliminary investigation based on the focus groups suggests several themes. Results. First, an individual's familiarity with both an area and an event will decrease the individual's perception of urgency; conversely, the participants expressed greater concern for events that were local and new—in other words, familiarity diminishes urgency, while emergent problems create alacrity. Second, participants expressed a sentiment of tacit blame, in which the participant's own contribution to the issue received less emphasis when ascribing fault. Last, the participants reacted positively toward messages that emphasized a hopeful and solution-based narrative and were seemingly less motivated by images that relied on fear-based messaging. Conclusions. Preliminary findings suggest that hopeful, solution-based messaging may be more effective in facilitating pro-environmental behavior than either fear- or guilt-based appeals.     

The relationships among childhood abuse, borderline personality, and self-harm behavior in psychiatric inpatients

The current study was undertaken to explore the relationships among childhood abuse subtypes (sexual, physical, and emotional abuse; witnessing violence), three diagnostic screenings for borderline personality disorder (BPD), and self-harm behavior. Psychiatric inpatients (N = 77) were evaluated for childhood abuse histories through a survey. Participants also underwent assessment for BPD using a self-report measure, clinical diagnosis, and a DSM-IV checklist. Finally, each was assessed for self-harm behavior using the 22-item Self-Harm Inventory (SHI). Compared with non-abused participants, those with abuse histories (with the exception of witnessing violence) had a significantly greater number of BPD confirmations (i.e., self-report, clinical diagnosis, DSM-IV checklist) as well as self-harm behaviors. When examining the total number of endorsed abuse subtypes, there was a significant correlation with the number of self-harm behaviors, but not the number of BPD diagnoses. Among psychiatric inpatients, childhood abuse demonstrates a complex relationship to BPD diagnoses and self-harm behavior.