Clergy work-related satisfactions in parochial ministry: the influence of personality and churchmanship

The aim of this study was to test several hypotheses that clergy work-related satisfaction could be better explained by a multidimensional rather than a unidimensional model. A sample of 1071 male stipendiary parochial clergy in the Church of England completed the Clergy Role Inventory, together with the short-form Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Factor analysis of the Clergy Role Inventory identified five separate clergy roles: Religious Instruction, Administration, Statutory Duties (conducting marriages and funerals), Pastoral Care, and Role Extension (including extra-parochial activities). Respondents also provided an indication of their predispositions on the catholic-evangelical and liberal-conservative dimensions. The significant associations of the satisfactions derived from each of the roles with the demographic, personality, and churchmanship variables were numerous, varied, and, with few exceptions, small in magnitude. Separate hierarchical regressions for each of the five roles indicated that the proportion of total variance explained by churchmanship was, in general, at least as great as that explained by personality, and was greater for three roles: Religious Instruction, Statutory Duties, and Role Extension. It was concluded that clergy satisfactions derived from different roles are not uniform and that churchmanship is at least as important as personality in accounting for clergy work satisfaction

Group Incentives and Pay Satisfaction: Understanding the Relationship Through an Identity Theory Perspective

The goal of this paper is to develop a conceptual model based on identity theory to specify the relationship between group incentives and pay satisfaction. Pay satisfaction, as currently measured, does not include items that directly assess group-based rewards, therefore, any changes in pay satisfaction associated with group incentive implementation would be the result of some spillover effect. Identity theory is employed to model this effect by delineating how group incentives tap salient work-related roles; the theory also has implications for various behavioral consequences. The research described in this paper tests two hypotheses derived from the conceptual model. These hypotheses are tested in two quasi-experimental field studies conducted in a high technology firm and a consumer products company that both implemented gain sharing programs. The findings indicate that gainsharing plans can be viewed as either a benefit or as part of individual pay based on the ability of the incentive plan to activate salient work roles

Stochastic modeling of regulation of gene expression by multiple small RNAs

A wealth of new research has highlighted the critical roles of small RNAs (sRNAs) in diverse processes such as quorum sensing and cellular responses to stress. The pathways controlling these processes often have a central motif comprising of a master regulator protein whose expression is controlled by multiple sRNAs. However, the regulation of stochastic gene expression of a single target gene by multiple sRNAs is currently not well understood. To address this issue, we analyze a stochastic model of regulation of gene expression by multiple sRNAs. For this model, we derive exact analytic results for the regulated protein distribution including compact expressions for its mean and variance. The derived results provide novel insights into the roles of multiple sRNAs in fine-tuning the noise in gene expression. In particular, we show that, in contrast to regulation by a single sRNA, multiple sRNAs provide a mechanism for independently controlling the mean and variance of the regulated protein distribution

A two-dimensional model for extensional motion of a pre-stressed incompressible elastic layer near cut-of frequencies

A two-dimensional model for extensional motion of a pre-stressed incompressible elastic layer near its cut-off frequencies is derived. Leading-order solutions for displacement and pressure are obtained in terms of the long wave amplitude by direct asymptotic integration. A governing equation, together with corrections for displacement and pressure, is derived from the second-order problem. A novel feature of this (two-dimensional) hyperbolic governing equation is that, for certain pre-stressed states, time and one of the two (in-plane) spatial variables can change roles. Although whenever this phenomenon occurs the equation still remains hyperbolic, it is clearly not wave-like. The second-order solution is completed by deriving a refined governing equation from the third-order problem. Asymptotic consistency, in the sense that the dispersion relation associated with the two-dimensional model concurs with the appropriate order expansion of the three-dimensional relation at each order, is verified. The model has particular application to stationary thickness vibration of, or transient response to high frequency shock loading in, thin walled bodies

The relative roles of CO2 and palaeogeography in determining Late Miocene climate: results from a terrestrial model-data comparison

The Late Miocene (∼11.6–5.3 Ma) palaeorecord provides evidence for a warmer and wetter climate than that of today and there is uncertainty in the palaeo-CO2 record of at least 150 ppmv. We present results from fully coupled atmosphere-ocean-vegetation simulations for the Late Miocene that examine the relative roles of palaeogeography (topography and ice sheet geometry) and CO2 concentration in the determination of Late Miocene climate through comprehensive terrestrial model-data comparisons. Assuming that the data accurately reflects the Late Miocene climate, and that the Late Miocene palaeogeographic reconstruction used in the model is robust, then results indicate that the proxy-derived precipitation differences between the Late Miocene and modern can be largely accounted for by the palaeogeographic changes alone. However, the proxy-derived temperatures differences between the Late Miocene and modern can only begin to be accounted for if we assume a palaeo-CO2 concentration towards the higher end of the range of estimates

Modelling and validation of off-road vehicle ride dynamics

Increasing concerns on human driver comfort/health and emerging demands on suspension systems for off-road vehicles call for an effective and efficient off-road vehicle ride dynamics model. This study devotes both analytical and experimental efforts in developing a comprehensive off-road vehicle ride dynamics model. A three-dimensional tire model is formulated to characterize tire–terrain interactions along all the three translational axes. The random roughness properties of the two parallel tracks of terrain profiles are further synthesized considering equivalent undeformable terrain and a coherence function between the two tracks. The terrain roughness model, derived from the field-measured responses of a conventional forestry skidder, was considered for the synthesis. The simulation results of the suspended and unsuspended vehicle models are derived in terms of acceleration PSD, and weighted and unweighted rms acceleration along the different axes at the driver seat location. Comparisons of the model responses with the measured data revealed that the proposed model can yield reasonably good predictions of the ride responses along the translational as well as rotational axes for both the conventional and suspended vehicles. The developed off-road vehicle ride dynamics model could serve as an effective and efficient tool for predicting vehicle ride vibrations, to seek designs of primary and secondary suspensions, and to evaluate the roles of various operating conditions

From electronic structure to catalytic activity: A single descriptor for adsorption and reactivity on transition-metal carbides

Adsorption and catalytic properties of the polar (111) surface of transition-metal carbides (TMC's) are investigated by density-functional theory. Atomic and molecular adsorption are rationalized with the concerted-coupling model, in which two types of TMC surface resonances (SR's) play key roles. The transition-metal derived SR is found to be a single measurable descriptor for the adsorption processes, implying that the Br{\o}nsted-Evans-Polanyi relation and scaling relations apply. This gives a picture with implications for ligand and vacancy effects and which has a potential for a broad screening procedure for heterogeneous catalysts.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Criminal narrative experience: relating emotions to offence narrative roles during crime commission

A neglected area of research within criminality has been that of the experience of the offence for the offender. The present study investigates the emotions and narrative roles that are experienced by an offender while committing a broad range of crimes and proposes a model of Criminal Narrative Experience (CNE). Hypotheses were derived from the Circumplex of Emotions (Russell, 1997), Frye (1957), Narrative Theory (McAdams, 1988) and its link with Investigative Psychology (Canter, 1994). The analysis was based on 120 cases. Convicted for a variety of crimes, incarcerated criminals were interviewed and the data were subjected to Smallest Space Analysis (SSA). Four themes of Criminal Narrative Experience (CNE) were identified: Elated Hero, Calm Professional, Distressed Revenger and Depressed Victim in line with the recent theoretical framework posited for Narrative Offence Roles (Youngs & Canter, 2012). The theoretical implications for understanding crime on the basis of the Criminal Narrative Experience (CNE) as well as practical implications are discussed