Call centres: A decade of research

Call centres have, over the past decade, become a central element in the way information services are produced and delivered to the public. Much as automobile factories or textile mills were treated as both objects of curiosity and as metaphors for their age, call centres have garnered attention both in their own right as a new means of organizing particular types of work and as an important venue from which to undertake the study of other elements of management practice, including human resource management. This paper critically examines all aspects of research that has been undertaken on call centres, from the publication of the first novel pieces of research up to the most recent contributions. A good deal of effort has gone into classifying call centres, comparing the organization of work in them with other types of work and considering the extent of variation between call centres. Depending upon the theoretical lens that is used (e.g. labour process theory, high‐performance work systems theory, HR perspectives, gender theory, etc.) different aspects of call‐centre work are emphasized and different conclusions regarding call‐centre employment and its possibilities are reached. These contrasting results are compared and evaluated in this review. It is also the case that the study of call centres invites critical reflection upon theories of management, and this is also entered into in this paper. Additionally, the continuous spread of call centres into new realms of professional work activity and into new spaces of the global economy throws up challenges that are brought to the reader's attention for our understanding of this approach to managing informational work.     

Bias at the Ballot Box? Testing Whether Candidates' Gender Affects Their Vote*

Objective. This study examines whether women's electoral fortunes in Australia have improved in line with changing social norms over the past century. We use new strategies to explore whether female candidates face discrimination by the voting public, or by political parties' preselection systems. Methods. Using data from all elections to the House of Representatives between 1903 and 2004, we examine the relationship between candidates' gender and their share of the vote. We consider the electoral performances of female independent candidates, female incumbents, and female candidates from the Australian Labor Party (after 2001) in order to determine whether the bias against female candidates is driven by voters or preselectors. We also make use of gender pay gap and attitudinal data to examine how the ballot box penalty has shifted in line with changing social norms. Results. We find that the vote share of female candidates is 0.6 percentage points smaller than that of male candidates (for major parties, the gap widens to 1.5 percentage points), but find little evidence that the party preselection system is responsible for the voting bias against women. Over time, the gap between male and female candidates has shrunk considerably as a result of changes in social norms (as proxied by the gender pay gap and attitudinal data) and the share of female candidates running nationwide. Conclusions. A statistically significant gender penalty has been a consistent feature of Australian federal elections since 1903. The penalty against female candidates has narrowed since the 1980s, and this bias lies with the voting public rather than with the political parties themselves. We find little evidence that party‐based affirmative action policies have reduced the gender penalty against female candidates.     

Participatory research to promote physical activity at congregate-meal sites

The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of an on-site physical activity (PA) program offered with congregate meals. Study 1 surveyed meal-site users on their likelihood to participate. Study 2 used meal-site-manager interviews and site visits to determine organizational feasibility. Study 3, a controlled pilot study, randomized meal sites to a 12-week group-based social-cognitive (GBSC) intervention or a standard-care control. Studies 1 and 2 indicated that most meal-site users would participate in an on-site PA program, and meal sites had well-suited physical resources and strong organizational support for this type of program. In Study 3, GBSC participants increased their weekly PA over those in the control condition (p < .05, ES = .79). Results indicated that changes in task cohesion might have mediated intervention effectiveness. These studies demonstrate that a PA program offered in this venue is feasible, is effective in promoting PA, and could have a strong public health impact.     

Emotional processes following disclosure of an extramarital affair

In-depth interviews with individuals who had experienced marital infidelity revealed a three-stage process following disclosure of an affair. The process starts with an "emotional roller coaster" and moves through a "moratorium" before efforts at trust building are recognized. Implications for the literature on forgiveness and the process of change in couples therapy are discussed as well as implications for future research and for practice.     

Is the Good Life the Easy Life?

Three studies examined folk concepts of the good life. Participantsrated the desirability and moral goodness of a life as a function of thehappiness, meaning, and effort experienced. Happiness and meaning weresolid predictors of the good life, replicating King and Napa (1998).Study 1 (N = 381) included wealth as an additional factor. Resultsshowed little desire for exorbitant (over moderate) wealth, but also adesire to avoid poverty. When effort was operationalized as number ofhours worked, respondents desired the easy life, particularly atmoderate levels of income. When effort was operationalized as effortfulengagement (Study 2), 186 undergraduates and 178 community adults ratedthe hardworking life as morally superior to the easy life. Communityadults preferred meaningful lives of ease, while college studentspreferred meaningful lives that involved effort. Study 3 (N = 359) foundthe meaningful, effortful life was rated as most morally good, and thehappy effortful life was rated as most desirable, happy, and meaningful.The role of hard work in naïve notions of The Good Life is discussed.     

Leader‐member exchanges and board performance of voluntary sport organizations

Using leader‐member exchange theory developed by Dansereau, Graen, and Haga (1975), this chapter analyzes the dyadic relationship between leaders (board chairs and paid executives) and members (volunteer board members) within the boards of Australian voluntary sport organizations. The chapter specifically examines the quality of leader‐member exchanges that exist within a sample of thirty‐four Queensland State Sporting Organizations and their relationship with board performance. It was found that board chairs and executives perceived the quality of their leader‐member exchanges to be higher than their respective relationships with board members, and that higher‐quality leader‐member exchanges among all three possible pairings of executives, board chairs, and board members were positively related to higher levels of board performance. The chapter discusses implications and directions for further research into leader‐member exchanges within voluntary sports organizations.     

Uncertainty and Variation in Indirect Exposure Assessments: An Analysis of Exposure to Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin from a Beef Consumption Pathway

Indirect exposures to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p -dioxin (TCDD) and other toxic materials released in incinerator emissions have been identified as a significant concern for human health. As a result, regulatory agencies and researchers have developed specific approaches for evaluating exposures from indirect pathways. This paper presents a quantitative assessment of the effect of uncertainty and variation in exposure parameters on the resulting estimates of TCDD dose rates received by individuals indirectly exposed to incinerator emissions through the consumption of home-grown beef. The assessment uses a nested Monte Carlo model that separately characterizes uncertainty and variation in dose rate estimates. Uncertainty resulting from limited data on the fate and transport of TCDD are evaluated, and variations in estimated dose rates in the exposed population that result from location-specific parameters and individuals'behaviors are characterized. The analysis indicates that lifetime average daily dose rates for individuals living within 10 km of a hypothetical incinerator range over three orders of magnitude. In contrast, the uncertainty in the dose rate distribution appears to vary by less than one order of magnitude, based on the sources of uncertainty included in this analysis. Current guidance for predicting exposures from indirect exposure pathways was found to overestimate the intakes for typical and high-end individuals.     

Employment Breaks,Pay, and Career Development among Australian Women

Career breaks may be associated with women’s relatively poorer pay and promotion prospects. To test this and other hypotheses, a sample of Australian women was asked to review their lives as paid and unpaid workers. About half of the women reported that they were currently working at the same skill level as in their first job, a quarter had improved, while about 20% were currently in lower-skilled work than in their first job. Tertiary education and further education after first entering the labour force is associated with continuing to work at the same skill level after a break. Breaks from working were found to last typically for up to one year and were thus unlikely to account for a sustained skill loss. Women’s responsibilities for household tasks rose during breaks, and persisted at a higher level after the return to work. Different models are appropriate for the analysis of earnings of continuous workers and those with breaks. There appear to be no relative pay penalties for broken work experience for the highly educated or those in highly skilled jobs. Continuous workers in ‘women’s’ occupations receive a higher return than others to their human capital.