Is the boundaryless career an organisational benefit, liability or irrelevance? : an investigation into boundaryless career competencies, career success and intention to leave : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University

This thesis asked whether contemporary organisations are faced with a paradox: are boundaryless career competencies linked to career success but also organisational turnover? Employees of a large New Zealand organisation (n= 568) were surveyed using an intranet based questionnaire. Through analysis using structural equation modelling, the best fit model showed that people who demonstrate a high level of investment in career competencies were also likely to show a high level of career success but, contrary to expectations, people who are successful in their careers are less likely to think about leaving the organisation. Therefore, contrary to boundaryless career theory, inter-organisational movement is not necessarily the goal for contemporary career actors. It may be that people stay in an organisation despite, or even because, they are investing in boundaryless career competencies. Furthermore, people who see internal opportunities for mobility are less likely to consider leaving, while people who see external opportunities for mobility will have a higher intention to leave. Hence whether people with high career success stay or go may depend on whether the organisation allows for expression of career competencies. It may be that internal opportunities trump external opportunities, or vice versa. This research is valuable in three key ways, providing: (1) the operationalisation of career competencies, tentatively shown to link to career success, for use in career management and further research (2) findings which question the key boundaryless career assumptions of mobility and the end of the organisational career (3) an interpretation of results suggesting non-significant effects of age and gender may be due to allowance for shifting priorities and context in the model. In light of these findings the Chameleon Career is suggested as an alternative metaphor to the boundaryless career, to reflect the need for the individual and the organisation to adapt to the changing environment

Re-examining the 'More People Less Erosion' Hypothesis:\ud Special Case of Wider Trend?

Recent research into natural resource rehabilitation based on in-depth case studies has highlighted situations where population growth and agricultural intensification have been accompanied by improved rather than deteriorating soil and water resources(e.g. Tiffen et al., 1994). Drawing on new case studies in six countries (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda), this paper examines how widespread are the prospects for positive outcomes of the ‘more people, less erosion’ type

Dirty laundry: The nature and substance of seeking relationship help from strangers online

Interpersonal relationships are vital to our well-being. In recent years, it has become increasingly common to seek relationship help through anonymous online platforms. Accordingly, we conducted a large-scale analysis of real-world relationship help-seeking to create a descriptive overview of the nature and substance of online relationship help-seeking. By analyzing the demographic characteristics and language of relationship help-seekers on Reddit (N = 184,631), we establish the first-ever big data analysis of relationship help-seeking and relationship problems in situ among the general population. Our analyses highlight real-world relationship struggles found in the general population, extending beyond past work that is typically limited to counseling/intervention settings. We find that relationship problem estimates from our sample are closer to those found in the general population, providing a more generalized insight into the distribution and prevalence of relationship problems as compared with past work. Further, we find several meaningful associations between relationship help-seeking behavior, gender, and attachment. Notably, numerous gender differences in help-seeking and romantic attachment emerged. Our findings suggest that, contrary to more traditional contexts, men are more likely to seek help with their relationships online, are more expressive of their emotions (e.g., discussing the topic of "heartache"), and show language patterns generally consistent with more secure attachment. Our analyses highlight pathways for further exploration, providing even deeper insights into the timing, lifecycle, and moderating factors that influence who, what, why, and how people seek help for their interpersonal relationships

Estimating abundance of an elusive cetacean in a complex environment: Harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) in inland waters of Southeast Alaska

The harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) is common in temperate waters of the eastern North Pacific Ocean, including Southeast Alaska inland waters, a complex environment comprised of open waterways, narrow channels, and inlets. Two demographically independent populations are currently recognized in this region. Bycatch of porpoises in the salmon drift gillnet fisheries is suspected to occur regularly. In this study, we apply distance sampling to estimate abundance of harbor porpoise during ship surveys carried out in the summer of 2019. A stratified survey design was implemented to sample different harbor porpoise habitats. Survey tracklines were allocated following a randomized survey design with uniform coverage probability. Density and abundance for the northern and southern Southeast Alaska inland water populations were computed using a combination of design-based line- and strip-transect methods. A total of 2,893 km was surveyed in sea state conditions ranging from Beaufort 0 to 3 and 194 harbor porpoise groups (301 individuals) were detected. An independent sighting dataset from surveys conducted between 1991 and 2012 were used to calculate the probability of missing porpoise groups on the survey trackline (g[0]=0.53, CV=0.11). Abundance of the northern and southern populations were estimated at 1,619 (CV=0.26) and 890 (CV=0.37) porpoises, respectively. Bycatch estimates, which were only obtained for a portion of the drift gillnet fishery, suggest that mortality within the range of the southern population may be unsustainable. Harbor porpoises are highly vulnerable to mortality in gillnets, therefore monitoring abundance and bycatch is important for evaluating the potential impact of fisheries on this species in Southeast Alaska

Natural emotion vocabularies and borderline personality disorder

Background Emotion dysregulation is a characteristic central to borderline personality disorder (BPD). Valuably, verbal behaviour can provide a unique perspective for studying emotion dysregulation in BPD, with recent research suggesting that the varieties of emotion words one actively uses (i.e., active emotion vocabularies [EVs]) reflect habitual experience and potential dysregulation therein. Accordingly, the present research examined associations between BPD and active EVs across two studies. Methods Study 1 (N = 530) comprised a large non-clinical sample recruited from online forums, whereby BPD traits were measured via self-report. Study 2 (N = 64 couples) consisted of mixed-gender romantic couples in which the woman had a BPD diagnosis, as well as a control group of couples. In both studies, participants’ verbal behaviours were analysed to calculate their active EVs. Results Results from both studies revealed BPD to be associated with larger negative EV (i.e., using a broad variation of unique negative emotion words), which remained robust when controlling for general vocabulary size and negative affect word frequency in Study 2. The association between BPD and negative EV was insensitive to context. Limitations Limitations of this research include: 1) the absence of a clinical control group; 2) typical constraints surrounding word-counting approaches; and 3) the cross-sectional design (causality cannot be inferred). Conclusions Our findings contribute to BPD theory as well as the broader language and emotion literature. Importantly, these findings provide new insight into how individuals manifesting BPD attend to and represent their emotional experiences, which could be used to inform clinical practice

Local public sector allocation of scarce emergency assets : an evaluation of the fire service.

The methodology utilized by public sector managers to allocate scarce resources determines the level, efficiency, and effectiveness of service delivery. These decisions are influenced by a myriad of factors, not the least of which is the ideal goal to distribute services in a fair and equitable manner. This ideal becomes problematic if service outcomes are important to public decision-makers, because the level of need for these resources is not spread equally across local jurisdictions. Therefore, when goods and services are located or distributed equally to all “customers,” many do not receive enough assistance and others receive more than they prefer. This causes inefficient service delivery that fails to maximize potential positive outcomes with the available limited resources. This is particularly true with the geographic distribution of fire service resources across most communities in this country. This research effort attempts to model the demographic characteristics that drive emergency service demand and workload across local jurisdictions. Specifically, data about demographic characteristics was collected at the Census block group level and compared to emergency response data collected by the Charlotte Fire Department. The findings from this effort are promising, as the bivariate correlation and multivariate regression analyses indicate that economic and structural factors common to all local communities can be used to confidently predict demand and workload on local public safety systems. Measuring these characteristics at the block group level permitted the opportunity to isolate homogenous groups within the population that have risk characteristics associated with more or less demand for these services. These findings provide a solid base to support the development of an alternative model for locating these critical emergency resources according to demand and workload to better meet the needs of individual communities