Using the Internet for Organizational Research: A Study of Cynicism in the Workplace

The Internet can be a valuable data collection tool for organizational psychology researchers. It can be less expensive than traditional paper-and-pencil survey methods, and the potential pool of participants is much larger. In addition, it can be used in situations where traditional data collection methods are not feasible, such as research involving sensitive issues such as negative employee attitudes or deviant behaviors at work. In this study, we examined the organizational attitudes of employees from various companies using (a) a snowball sample, who completed a traditional paper and pencil survey (n = 135), and (b) a sample recruited over the Internet, who completed an on-line survey (n = 220). Participants in both the non- Internet and the Internet group were asked to describe a negative incident involving their company, and answer a number of questions regarding how they felt about their company and how they behaved toward their company following the negative event. They also completed measures of organizational cynicism and job satisfaction. The two groups were compared on demographic characteristics and on their attitudes toward their organization. There were very few demographic differences between the two groups. The Internet group tended to be more cynical and to judge their organization more harshly than the non-Internet group; however, the response patterns of both groups were similar. These results suggest that, when used with caution, the Internet can be a viable method of conducting organizational research

Human rights education : educating about, through and for human rights

The United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training (2011) is the first instrument in which international standards for human rights education are officially proclaimed by the United Nations. Most importantly, it contains a framework of key components necessary for the provision of holistic human rights education – education about, through and for human rights. This article highlights the usefulness of this framework for assessing and comparing state practice in the provision of human rights education. But it argues that comprehensive and effective national strategies for human rights education are likely to follow only from more detailed guidance and support for states at the international level

The underdeveloped transformative potential of human rights education : English primary education as a case study

In order for learners to become empowered human rights activists, they must be equipped with relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes. Learner empowerment therefore forms a central element of international Human Rights Education provisions. This article draws upon empirical research to gauge the nature and extent of empowerment in English primary schools, and seeks to better understand the reasons for any deficiencies in its practice. It argues that whilst empowerment-related concepts may be encouraged to a certain extent, learners are unlikely to be emerging from formal schooling with the means to contribute significantly to transformation of the broader human rights culture. Two important barriers are identified: (i) teacher attitudes towards empowerment; and (ii) current government curriculum policy. The article argues on the first of these points that teachers are only likely to become comfortable and confident about such teaching if they are equipped with human rights knowledge, skills and experience in their own training. And on the second, that there needs to be a shift in government policy towards greater learner engagement with empowerment-related skills and relevant community engagement if the current trend towards didactic rote learning is to be reversed

Breaking down boundaries : voice and participation in English primary education

Pupil voice and active participation form two central elements of international Human Rights Education (HRE) provisions. This article draws upon empirical research conducted in primary schools across England to gauge the nature and extent of these processes at classroom and school level and to better understand the reasons for apparent deficiencies in their practice. It argues that whilst there is good practice regarding both concepts, they are nevertheless constrained within tightly controlled boundaries. The underlying reasons for these constraints – including concerns about loss of control and reservations about the value and efficacy of school councils – are explored by drawing upon data from qualitative interviews with teachers. Suggestion is made that in order to break down the boundaries that currently restrict voice and participation, teachers need to become comfortable with the idea of rights respecting learning environments and this will only happen through the provision of HRE in their own teacher training

Copyright protection for magic tricks : a danger lurking in the shadows?

The historical lack of interaction between IP regulation and the magic profession has entered a new chapter following the ground-breaking judgment in the US case of Teller v Dogge. Whilst there has been much commentary about the decision in the US, it has received little attention in the UK. This article therefore explores UK copyright protection for magic tricks and investigates the important question of how magic should be protected

‘Debunking the “criminals’ charter”: education as an antidote to human rights sensationalism

This article explores the issue of human rights sensationalism. The proliferation of human rights stories in the UK media and on the political stage that are exaggerated at best or entirely apocryphal at worst has arguably contributed to widespread hostility and scepticism towards the topic. Whilst not a panacea, formal education has the potential to alleviate the attitudinal problems caused by hyperbolised or erroneous accounts of human rights. The next generation should be equipped with the knowledge, skills and values necessary for questioning and challenging populist and reductive human rights stories, in particular those that perpetuate divisive “them and us” dichotomies. The English education system, however, appears to be moving away from supporting teaching practices that would provide learners with the tools required for this task, and this article argues that this is particularly detrimental at a time when teaching young learners about human rights is becoming of increasing importance

Teaching British values in our schools : but why not human rights values?

Determining exactly what ‘British values’ are is a problem with which successive governments have grappled. This article considers in detail the most recent attempt to explicate the meaning of the term through the 2014 fundamental British values (FBV) curriculum guidance for English schools. It suggests that the articulation of FBV included in the guidance conflicts with the UK’s existing international obligations concerning the teaching of human rights values in schools, arguing that the guidance is a threat to such teaching on two levels: (i) it counters the ethical aims of educating about human rights by facilitating potentially subversive or discriminatory interpretation of the values it promotes; and (ii) it is likely to perpetuate anti-human rights sentiment by entrenching, or at least doing nothing to challenge, existing misconceptions and misunderstandings of human rights. Human rights values, by contrast, are rooted in universality and the idea of a common humanity. Couching British values in the broader framework of human rights would therefore not only address much of the current anti-human rights sentiment, but would also be likely to contribute to societal cohesion and harmony to a far greater extent than the vague and potentially discriminatory FBV guidance

Effective teaching in the college classroom: current perspectives and future directions

La efectividad de la enseñanza en la educación superior es importante tanto para los estudiantes, profesores e investigadores, como para los administradores, y, en consecuencia, ha originado un considerable interés. El propósito de este artículo es realizar una revisión de las evidencias empíricas acerca de cuál sea la enseñanza más eficaz en el nivel universitario, con el objetivo puesto en los siguientes problemas: las cualidades o conductas que caracterizan al profesor eficaz; el impacto que estas conductas tienen en los estudiantes, y las implicaciones de los hallazgos empíricos en la mejora de la enseñanza eficaz que se extraen de diversas experiencias, como son las de organización, claridad y expresividad; las distintas perspectivas principales para la obtención y acumulación de resultados de investigación, fundamentalmente, la descriptiva, la correlaciona y la experimental, y, por último, algunas de las virtualidades y limitaciones conceptuales y metodológicas de estas perspectivas. Esperamos que este artículo proporcione al lector una idea suficiente acerca del estado actual, métodos y preocupaciones de la investigación sobre la enseñanza en las instituciones universitarias de América del Norte

Pretreatment with beta-blockers and the frequency of hypokalemia in patients with acute chest pain

Plasma potassium concentration was measured at admission in 1234 patients who presented with acute chest pain. One hundred and ninety five patients were on P blockers before admission. The potassium concentrations of patients admitted early (within four hours of onsetof symptoms) were compared with those admitted later (4-18 hours after onset of symptoms). There was a transient fall in plasma potassium concentrations in patients not pre-treated with , B blockers. This was not seen in patients who had been on P blockers before admission. Nonselective, B blockers were more effective than cardioselective agents in maintaining concentrationsof plasma potassium. These findings suggest a mechanism for the beneficial effects of ,B blockers on morbidity and mortality in acute myocardial infarction