644 research outputs found

    A Holistic Work System Approach to Creating Flow During Transactional Work

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    Psychological flow is a positive mental state where one is so fully concentrated in a challenging task that self-consciousness falls away, time seems to stand still, and the reward is the experience of meeting the challenge. Previous research on flow in the workplace has been performed on how to create conditions to promote its occurrence in workers, to describe its attendant individual and organizational benefits, and to measure it through self-reported means and physiologically. Such research has been focused on creative endeavors (such as the arts, sports, medicine, teaching), where individuals have high agency over the execution of activities needed to successfully complete the work. This research focuses on flow in back-office transactional work, which has been little studied to date. Transactional work are those tasks that are largely rote, repetitive, and prescribed by standardized procedures, leaving little room for agentic options. Examples of such work include data entry and bookkeeping A theory is next discussed that offers the notion of a holistic system of non-task variables working together with job tasks to create conditions conducive to increasing the likelihood of transactional workers experiencing flow. Flow will next be compared to similar constructs and their relatedness to flow will be discussed. Various flow measurement methods will be presented, along with their advantages and disadvantages. These discussions set the stage for the present set of qualitative and quantitative research efforts, whose objective is to offer support for the holistic work system approach to creating flow. First, a phenomenological study of flow in transactional workers is presented, where their lived experiences of flow are documented and the extent to which certain non-task work system variables support the occurrence of flow. Next, a proof-of-concept laboratory experiment is reviewed, where seat comfort (a non-task work system factor) is shown to be a first-order influencer of flow in the study\u27s participants. Finally, the results of a designed experiment incorporating multiple non-task work system factors are presented and the interaction of high seat comfort and low computer screen contrast are shown to directly impact the occurrence of flow in that study\u27s participants. Flow is also shown to predict productivity improvements in participants when combined with high seat comfort and low computer screen contrast. Additionally, certain physiological functions thought to correlate to flow are selected and measured in the participants. Lower heart rate variation partially correlates to flow. The results are applicable to the design of holistic work systems in organizations employing back-office transactional workers. Recommendations for future research are presented that will strengthen and build on the current results

    Cyberbullying in educational context

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    Kustenmacher and Seiwert (2004) explain a man’s inclination to resort to technology in his interaction with the environment and society. Thus, the solution to the negative consequences of Cyberbullying in a technologically dominated society is represented by technology as part of the technological paradox (Tugui, 2009), in which man has a dual role, both slave and master, in the interaction with it. In this respect, it is noted that, notably after 2010, there have been many attempts to involve artificial intelligence (AI) to recognize, identify, limit or avoid the manifestation of aggressive behaviours of the CBB type. For an overview of the use of artificial intelligence in solving various problems related to CBB, we extracted works from the Scopus database that respond to the criterion of the existence of the words “cyberbullying” and “artificial intelligence” in the Title, Keywords and Abstract. These articles were the subject of the content analysis of the title and, subsequently, only those that are identified as a solution in the process of recognizing, identifying, limiting or avoiding the manifestation of CBB were kept in the following Table where we have these data synthesized and organized by years

    The evaluation of relationship mapping as a tool for understanding the experience of change

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    The research for this dissertation was conducted at the Western Cape site of a national manufacturing organisation in the food and beverages industry. The study set out to attain two primary goals. The first was to examine the effectiveness of relationship mapping (a method for graphically depicting mental models) as a tool for exploring the participants' experience of, and evaluation of 'planned organisational change'. The second goal was to investigate the possible impact of relationship mapping on those using the method. Research results for both of these goals were examined through three 'lenses' or frames of analysis, 'empowerment', 'communication', and 'understanding the change'. These frames of analysis were derived from reviewed literature and interaction with the organisation. Incorporated into the design was an analysis of group processes, as an additional check on the impact of the relationship mapping procedure. The study assessed the above goals across four, hierarchically-divided organisational levels, with a total of 56 participants. A classical control group design was used, incorporating qualitative and quantitative methods. Control group participants underwent in-depth interviews, semi-structured focus group discussions and a group process scale (assessing group interaction). In addition to these, the experimental groups underwent relationship mapping, use of the group process scale, and a post relationship mapping questionnaire. Thematic and statistical analyses were used for the examination of qualitative and quantitative results, respectively. Although causality cannot be inferred with certainty, results indicate that these experimental groups paid increased attention to inter-relationships, questioning and problem solving, and the production of new information. Participants recognised that relationship mapping impacted on their sense of 'empowerment' by allowing for participation, facilitating thinking, and provoking personal realisations. Relationship mapping was seen as altering participant perception of communication and improving their understanding of the change

    In the Face of Adversity

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    In the Face of Adversity explores the dynamics of translating texts that articulate particular notions of adverse circumstances. The chapters illustrate how literary records of often painful experiences and dissenting voices are at risk of being stripped of their authenticity when not carefully handled by the translator; how cultural moments in which the translation of a text that would have otherwise fallen into oblivion instead gave rise to a translator who enabled its preservation while ultimately coming into their own as an author as a result; and how the difficulties the translator faces in intercultural or transnational constellations in which prejudice plays a role endangers projects meant to facilitate mutual understanding. The authors address translation as a project of making available and preserving a corpus of texts that would otherwise be in danger of becoming censored, misperceived or ignored. They look at translation and adaptation as a project of curating textual models of personal, communal or collective perseverance, and they offer insights into the dynamics of cultural inclusion and exclusion through a series of theoretical frameworks, as well as through a set of concrete case studies drawn from different cultural and historical contexts. The collection also explores some of the venues that artists have pursued by transferring artistic expressions from one medium into another in order to preserve and disseminate important experiences in different cultural settings, media and arts

    A self-study in middle school social studies engagement

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    We live in a time of great challenge and great opportunity. Neoliberal socioeconomic paradigms have become a global norm. Economic and military competition are driving forces on the world stage. Postmodern thinking has cast considerable and justified doubt upon traditional narratives and ideologies. The digital age has connected people, places, things, and ideas in ways that have never before been seen. For a young person who is trying to make sense of it all, authentic humanizing education has never been more necessary. Social studies teachers are uniquely positioned to empower young people to construct meaning and forge connections in a world of nonstop information. Despite the seemingly obvious need for powerful social studies education, like many other social studies teachers, I have experienced profound disinterest and disengagement from my students. To address student disengagement in social studies classes at my middle school I considered academic literature regarding engagement as a construct, the potential factors that could influence student disengagement, and the pedagogical frameworks and philosophies that might be useful in improving student engagement. I found that modeling my educational practice in the style of Paulo Freire’s (1970) problem-posing education had an altering effect on my perception of my role as a teacher and a positive effect on my relationships with my students and my perceived self-efficacy. I grew to perceive many aspects of American public-education as unhelpful, oppressive, and harmful for students and teachers. My findings implicate problem-posing as a powerful framework for a reconstructed social studies curriculum to address contemporary social issues and create solidarity among all stakeholders in public education

    How does access to Assistive Technology mediate recourse to Disability Justice for urban poor people? A study centring the experiences of disabled slum dwellers in Freetown, Sierra Leone

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    This thesis addresses the central question of the role of Assistive Technology (AT) in mediating recourse to disability justice, centring the experiences of disabled slum dwellers in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Taking evidence from six datasets collected across four years, the study maps the local experience to the national and global picture offering a strategic reflection on the current state of work in the sector. The evidence from Sierra Leone (SL) reveals that quality AT is missing for almost all poor, disabled people. A novel finding from the research is that the lack of AT is most apparent for those who live in mainstream mixed urban settlements where disability identity is stigmatised and often hidden. Disabled people living together in an autonomously-organised settlement did – mostly - have AT, indicating further investigation into the role of collective action and autonomous organisation would be fruitful. Picking up themes emerging from the SL evidence globally, the study reveals that the AT interventions of core actors do not align with a single common operational framework. Borrowing from Amartya Sen’s seminal provocation Equality of What? (Sen, 1980), AT for what? becomes a pertinent question in the face of this dissensus. The study finds that the provision of AT within an operational framework of Disability Justice would better ensure the needs and aspirations of poor disabled people were prioritised in investment and priority setting. The thesis proposes, and tests, the potential configuration of a disability justice framework, as a basis future work can build from. Taken as a whole, the evidence presented in this study suggests that the claims for disability justice (including access to AT) of urban poor disabled people are often subjugated to background conditions, sitting behind the life-and-death claims for the basic need of life for the whole community (water, shelter, food). Therefore, any framework for disability justice must itself be linked to a broader push for justice for all poor people to be meaningful and impactful. Similarly, any broad social justice movement should place disability justice at its heart if it intends to drive for progressive change that benefits all. Finally, this study finds that AT is more than a commonplace element of the struggle for justice due to its fundamental necessity as an enabler of participation. The evidence suggests that AT can be viewed as a transitional demand of Disability Justice

    Winds of change in a ‘Saffronised’ Indian Borderland: dispossession and power in rural Kutch

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    Renewables are imagined in India around features of ‘greenness’ and ‘cleanness’ and are presented as the key solutions towards sustainable development and unlimited growth. But this narrative entails a problematic land politics and the reconfiguration of territories for capital accumulation: following the 2001 earthquake, Kutch district has been framed as a major resource frontier and experienced several waves of land liberalisation and industrialisation programs. Being a borderland district, the proximity with Pakistan and the presence of Muslim pastoral populations on both sides of the border have also fostered important ‘saffron’ Hindu nationalist discourses since 1947. What do the new territories of ‘green’ energy extraction look like in this context of sensitive borderland? This research focuses on the land politics of extracting wind energy as embedded within relations of caste and class, citizenship, and religious identities. Land is being imagined ‘empty’ and ‘waste’, shifting from one user to another via bureaucratic means, while it is materially aligned with companies’ interests. This process affects social differentiation and creates new trajectories of accumulation and domination for ground-level brokers and fixers who mediate consent and resistance. These actors merge the companies’ endless appetite for land with their own socio-economic and political gains affiliated with nationalist projects of territory revivalism. As the thesis argues, wind infrastructures align with broad ethno-religious conceptions of Indian citizenship and space as Hindu and their expansion over new border areas serves the enforcement of a racialised citizenship and security regime. Finally, the emergence of everyday resistance and political reactions to the arrival of wind power reveals continuity with traditional agrarian struggles, but also with caste politics and exclusive forms of mobilisation. This research adopts perspectives from political ecology, human geography, and critical agrarian studies and is grounded in a 7-month ethnographic investigation in mainland and borderland Kutch

    What\u27s Your Currency and How Do You Use It? Exploring the Ways Staff on Campus Use Non-Monetary Forms of Payment: A Grounded Theory Study of Nonmaterial Culture

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    The purpose of this grounded theory study was to create a model that illustrates different types of personal currency among staff at Freedom One University (a pseudonym) and how that currency is being used, by exploring motives for this behavior and gathering information on awareness of this behavior. A constructivist grounded theory approach was utilized as it allows for the analysis of data to construct what is needed from the next set of gathered data (Cooney, 2011). Through grounded theory, a reason for an event, or possibly the cause for an event will become clear, which a theory will explain (Corbin & Strauss, 2015). This research and its findings fill a gap in the literature by way of empirical report of university culture centered on a metaphor of currency. The theories guiding this research are those that have an impact on, what (self-determination theory) (Ryan & Deci, 2000) motivates adults to make decisions within a peer culture, and why an informal rewards system (social learning theory) (Bandura, 1977) contributes to staff using their skills, personality, and influence to persuade the employee’s environment. The data analysis strategy used in this study is borrowed from Braun and Clark’s thematic analysis which reminds this experimenter to be strict about explaining the reasons for every action performed (Braun & Clark, 2006). A question of this study is, “How is one to influence, compel, be awarded favor, be liked, socially bond with peers, obtain advancement, or receive favors at work, in an environment where money is not a suitable form of exchange?” This research generated a model that shows what types of currency staff are using on campus at Freedom One University and which of their talents and skills are being traded with one another
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