Academic writing as autocommunication – the case of doctoral dissertations on CSR

In this article, we explore the self‐oriented rather than socially‐oriented reasons why a doctoral dissertation in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is written. We base our article on Yuri M. Lotman’s idea on autocommunication which we use as tool in analysing a group interview conducted with six doctoral students studying in the field of CSR. We suggest that autocommunicational aspects might play a much more important role in rationalized Western culture and science than is often realized, and our main thesis is that one essential reason for writing a doctoral dissertation in the field of CSR might be to communicate with oneself and that this even might contain a therapeutic dimension. Implications for students, supervisors and future research are discussed at the end of the article.     

News: University prizes

Abstract

Stressful working environments are often assumed to create conditions that may lead to bullying. However, few studies have investigated how factors experienced in the work environment may trigger perpetrators to engage in bullying of others. Drawing on Spector and Fox's (2005) stressor–emotion model of counterproductive work behaviour, the present study investigated the predictive effects of both individual and situational factors as predictors of being a perpetrator of workplace bullying, as applied to a representative sample of the Norwegian workforce (N=2359). Results from logistic regression analysis show that being oneself a target of bullying, regardless of the frequency, and being male strongly predicted involvement in bullying of others. Among the situational factors, only role conflict and interpersonal conflicts significantly predicted being a perpetrator of bullying. The present findings support the notion that bullying will thrive in stressful working environments and thus yield an important contribution in identifying antecedent conditions to counteract the development of bullying at workplaces.     

Stimulating lifelong professional growth by guiding job characteristics

This article reports some findings from a broader study concerning the development of professional expertise. The aim of the part that is described in this article was to find out whether certain job-related factors situated in the domain of socio-technical systems design (STSD), that is, control capacity, job satisfaction, and learning value of the job, influence the development of professional knowledge, skills, and capabilities throughout the career. The sample consisted of 559 middle- and higher-level employees working in eight large Dutch companies. Theoretical contributions from learning theory, human resource management and work, and organizational psychology are used to conceptualize the phenomenon of professional expertise and to develop a theory of expertise development in careers. By providing insight into the relationships between several job-related factors, on the one hand, and the development of professional expertise, on the other, this research is intended to contribute to theory building in adult development and learning. Influential job characteristics that are situated in the domain of STSD seem to be of high importance in view of a further human resource development. Paying close attention to an individual's job and its content is indispensable in order to guide growth throughout the career and to enable life-long development of professional expertise.     

Second-order refined peaks-over-threshold modelling for heavy-tailed distributions

Modelling excesses over a high threshold using the Pareto or generalized Pareto distribution (PD/GPD) is the most popular approach in extreme value statistics. This method typically requires high thresholds in order for the (G)PD to fit well and in such a case applies only to a small upper fraction of the data. The extension of the (G)PD proposed in this paper is able to describe the excess distribution for lower thresholds in case of heavy-tailed distributions. This yields a statistical model that can be fitted to a larger portion of the data. Moreover, estimates of tail parameters display stability for a larger range of thresholds. Our findings are supported by asymptotic results, simulations and a case study.     

Psychosocial factors and safety behaviour as predictors of accidental work injuries in farming

Farming is one of the most hazardous occupations in terms of the incidence and seriousness of accidental injuries. Research with other occupational groups has drawn attention to the role of psychosocial factors and stress. Such research needs to be extended to agriculture. Since stress may be a problem faced by farmers, there is a particular need to investigate the associations between farm accidents and work stressors and stress reactions. Using multivariate logistic regression analyses, this study aimed to uncover the best psychosocial predictors of injury, while controlling for exposure-related confounders. From a randomly selected sample of 794 farms, 10% of all farms in Ringkoebing County, Denmark, 393 farmers completed completed weekly accident registration over 12 months. The study sample consisted of 310 farmers who also completed questionnaires on psychosocial factors. Results indicated that farm stressors (including perceived economic problems), stress symptoms, and safety behaviour were predictors of occupational farm accidents. Higher levels of stressors and stress symptoms and poor safety behaviour were all associated with an elevated risk of injury. In the case of stress symptoms, the relation with accidents occurred via an interaction with safety behaviour. The combination of high levels of stress symptoms and poor safety behaviour was associated with a particularly high accident risk.     

The legal framework and taxation of Scandinavian non-profit organisations

The Scandinavian countries are part of the same legal tradition. No Scandinavian country has any written statute on non-profit associations. Their association law is flexible, common-sensical and easy to comply with. To obtain subsidies, the associations may have to submit to regulations regarding organisational structures (open membership and one person, one vote). The law on foundations is more formalised, and the foundations are subject to considerably more control and scrutiny. Scandinavian NPOs are usually exempt from income tax, but do not to any great extent benefit from deductibility for donations. They are subject to payroll tax, and usually to value added tax. The Scandinavian taxation policies may make the NPOs economically dependent upon the government, and subject to regulation through ‘subsidy law’.     

A Risk Management Procedure for the Washington State Ferries

The state of Washington operates the largest passenger vessel ferry system in the United States. In part due to the introduction of high-speed ferries, the state of Washington established an independent blue-ribbon panel to assess the adequacy of requirements for passenger and crew safety aboard the Washington state ferries. On July 9, 1998, the Blue Ribbon Panel on Washington State Ferry Safety engaged a consultant team from The George Washington University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute/Le Moyne College to assess the adequacy of passenger and crew safety in the Washington state ferry (WSF) system, to evaluate the level of risk present in the WSF system, and to develop recommendations for prioritized risk reduction measures, which, once implemented, can improve the level of safety in the WSF system. The probability of ferry collisions in the WSF system was assessed using a dynamic simulation methodology that extends the scope of available data with expert judgment. The potential consequences of collisions were modeled in order to determine the requirements for onboard and external emergency response procedures and equipment. The methodology was used to evaluate potential risk reduction measures and to make detailed risk management recommendations to the blue-ribbon panel and the Washington State Transportation Commission.     

Disentangling the sources of variation in the survival of the European dipper

The population growth rate of the European dipper has been shown to decrease with winter temperature and population size. We examine here the demographic mechanism for this effect by analysing how these factors affect the survival rate. Using more than 20 years of capture-mark-recapture data (1974-1997) based on more than 4000 marked individuals, we perform analyses using open capture-mark-recapture models. This allowed us to estimate the annual apparent survival rates (probability of surviving and staying on the study site from one year to the next one) and the recapture probabilities. We partitioned the variance of the apparent survival rates into sampling variance and process variance using random effects models, and investigated which variables best accounted for temporal process variation. Adult males and females had similar apparent survival rates, with an average of 0.52 and a coefficient of variation of 40%. Chick apparent survival was lower, averaging 0.06 with a coefficient of variation of 42%. Eighty percent of the variance in apparent survival rates was explained by winter temperature and population size for adults and 48% by winter temperature for chicks. The process variance outweighed the sampling variance both for chick and adult survival rates, which explained that shrunk estimates obtained under random effects models were close to MLE estimates. A large proportion of the annual variation in the apparent survival rate of chicks appears to be explained by inter-year differences in dispersal rates.     

Integrated OU Processes and Non-Gaussian OU-based Stochastic Volatility Models

Abstract. In this paper, we study the detailed distributional properties of integrated non-Gaussian Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (intOU) processes. Both exact and approximate results are given. We emphasize the study of the tail behaviour of the intOU process. Our results have many potential applications in financial economics, as OU processes are used as models of instantaneous variance in stochastic volatility (SV) models. In this case, an intOU process can be regarded as a model of integrated variance. Hence, the tail behaviour of the intOU process will determine the tail behaviour of returns generated by SV models.