Representational predicaments for employees: Their impact on perceptions of supervisors\u27 individualized consideration and on employee job satisfaction

A representational predicament for a subordinate vis-à-vis his or her immediate superior involves perceptual incongruence with the superior about the subordinate\u27s work or work context, with unfavourable implications for the employee. An instrument to measure the incidence of two types of representational predicament, being neglected and negative slanting, was developed and then validated through an initial survey of 327 employees. A subsequent substantive survey with a fresh sample of 330 employees largely supported a conceptual model linking being neglected and negative slanting to perceptions of low individualized consideration by superiors and to low overall job satisfaction. The respondents in both surveys were all Hong Kong Chinese. Two case examples drawn from qualitative interviews illustrate and support the conceptual model. Based on the research findings, we recommend some practical exercises to use in training interventions with leaders and subordinates. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Genetics of Taste and Food Preferences in Communities Along the Silk Road

Food preferences are the main factor driving food intake and choice and there are good reasons to suspect some genetic influence on food acceptance. Although taste has been widely studied in regards of pure tastes such as bitter or sweet perception, the relationship between taste related genes and food preferences has seldom been explored. In this work we investigated relationship of 37 taste-related genes with food preferences in communities coming from 5 different countries along the Silk Road. More than 400 subjects completed a food preference questionnaire comprised of common foods specific to each culture. Subjects rated their liking of each item on a 5-point scale ranging from \u201clike extremely\u201d to \u201cdislike extremely\u201d. Liking rating was used as a quantitative variable in the statistical analyses. DNA sample was also obtained and other information, such as age, sex, life style and anthropometrical measures, were collected. Statistically significant associations were detected between variants of candidate genes and liking ratings for specific foods. Interestingly, liking of vodka (p=1.6x10-3) and white wine (p=4.0x10-4) was associated with the sweet receptor T1R2, supporting the idea that sweet taste contributes to variation in liking for alcohol. Liking of tea was associated with the PCLB2 gene (p=8.0x10-4) which is expressed in type II taste buds cells and in olfactory epithelium, and is involved in the response to caffeine. Preferences for both lamb meat (p=5.8x10-4) and sheep cheese (p=8.9x10-4) were associated with ITPR3 gene, expressed in the taste and olfactory systems. Finally, liking for beet was associated with TRPV1 (p=3.8x10-5) which has been implicated in oral irritation from isothiocynates. These findings give a new insight on a better understanding of genetic factors influencing food preferences which is critical to the development of effective dietary interventions, especially for people that may be genetically not predisposed for liking specific nutrients

A \u201cPopulation-based Approach\u201d To Study The Impact Of PROP Perception On Food Liking In Populations Along The Silk Road

Responsiveness to certain bitter tasting compounds, such us PROP (6-n-propylthiouracil), is a variable trait both within and between human populations. Genetic variations in the TAS2R38 taste gene accounts for a major portion of phenotypic variation in PROP taste sensitivity. PROP-related differences have been also shown to influence food preferences and dietary behaviour, but this relation is extremely complex and findings are not always uniform. In this study we first examined the link between taste responses to PROP and self-reported food preferences in six different populations of the Caucasus and Central Asia, located along the ancient Silk Road. In addition, we performed a candidate gene study aimed to identify if other genes of the TAS2R family contribute to the PROP phenotype, in association with TAS2R38. We found a strong relationship between PROP tasting and food preferences (Mantel test r=0.67, p-value=0.009) using a \u201cpopulation-based approach\u201d, in which we exploit phenotypic differences between populations comparing a distance matrix based on PROP taste responses and a matrix based on food preferences. No evidence of correlation was found between the distance matrix of food preferences and the matrix of genetic distance based on TAS2R38. Preliminary results of candidate gene analysis allow us to identify other TAS2R genes that could cooperate with TAS2R38 in the modulation of PROP perception and as consequence also food liking. Our results suggest that PROP status is probably a marker for general taste sensitivity and as such is a major driver of food preferences. The \u201cpopulation-based approach\u201d proved to be a good method to clarify the controversial relation between PROP perception and food liking and could possibly be applied to other traits as well. In addition, our work represents a starting point to study the involvement of multiple genes in PROP perception and food liking