Not What It Was and Not What It Will Be: The Future of Job Design Research

This summary commentary explores the likely future directions of research and theory on the design of organizational work. We give special attention to the social aspects of contemporary work, the process by which jobholders craft their own jobs, the changing contexts within which work is performed, and the increasing prominence of work that is performed by teams rather than individualsPsycholog

Motivation through the Design of Work: Test of a Theory

A model is proposed that specifies the conditions under which individuals will become internally motivated to perform effectively on their jobs. The model focuses on the interaction among three classes of variables: (a) the psychological states of employees that must be present for internally motivated work behavior to develop; (b) the characteristics of jobs that can create these psychological states; and (c) the attributes of individuals that determine how positively a person will respond to a complex and challenging job. The model was tested for 658 employees who work on 62 different jobs in seven organizations, and results support its validity. A number of special features of the model are discussed (including its use as a basis for the diagnosis of jobs and the evaluation of job redesign projects), and the model is compared to other theories of job design

Win or lose the battle for creativity: The power and perils of intergroup competition

Integrating and refining social interdependence theory and structural adaptation theory, we examined the effects of intergroup competition on the creativity of 70 four-person groups engaged in two idea generation tasks. We manipulated both group membership change (change, no change) and intergroup competition level (low, intermediate, high). Competition had the expected U-shaped relation with creativity in open (membership change) groups but failed to produce the hypothesized inverted U-shaped pattern in closed (no membership change) groups. In the latter, effects were positive for low to intermediate competition and flat for intermediate to high levels. Within-group collaboration mediated these effects

Intergroup Competition as a Double-edged Sword: How Sex Composition Regulates the Effects of Competition on Group Creativity

Building on social role theory, we extend a contingency perspective on intergroup competition proposing that having groups compete against one another is stimulating to the creativity of groups composed largely or exclusively of men but detrimental to the creativity of groups composed largely or exclusively of women. We tested this idea in two separate studies: a laboratory experiment (Study 1) and a field study (Study 2). Study 1 showed that competition had the expected positive effects on the creativity of groups composed mostly or exclusively of men and produced the predicted negative effects on the creativity of groups composed of women, even though the latter effects emerged at the high end of the competition spectrum and for sex-homogeneous groups only. Results of Study 1 also revealed that within-group collaboration mediated the joint effects of competition and sex composition on group creativity. Study 2 replicated the results of Study 1 in a field setting involving research and development teams. We discuss the implications of these findings for theory and practice. </jats:p

Herpetological observations from field expeditions to North Karnataka and Southwest Maharashtra, India

The Western Ghats of India are one of the 34 global hotspots of biodiversity. They are one of the most important large natural areas in the world and are fast becoming recognised for their biological importance. The herpetofauna of the Western Ghats is hugely diverse, with many species exhibiting rare, endemic styles of autecology and niche preference that could equal that of countries such as Borneo and Madagascar. In this report we detail 18 amphibian and 37 reptile species from eight sites following three expeditions to the Western Ghats from 2007-2009. The report details species descriptions, habitat, ecology and conservation to alert the herpetological community to the importance of future research to address the lack of knowledge in species ecology. It also presents newinformation on species distribution and behaviour

Compendium of Single Event Effects for Candidate Spacecraft Electronics for NASA

We present the results of single events effects (SEE) testing and analysis investigating the effects of radiation on electronics

Networks of Neuronal Genes Affected by Common and Rare Variants in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders with phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity. Recent studies have reported rare and de novo mutations in ASD, but the allelic architecture of ASD remains unclear. To assess the role of common and rare variations in ASD, we constructed a gene co-expression network based on a widespread survey of gene expression in the human brain. We identified modules associated with specific cell types and processes. By integrating known rare mutations and the results of an ASD genome-wide association study (GWAS), we identified two neuronal modules that are perturbed by both rare and common variations. These modules contain highly connected genes that are involved in synaptic and neuronal plasticity and that are expressed in areas associated with learning and memory and sensory perception. The enrichment of common risk variants was replicated in two additional samples which include both simplex and multiplex families. An analysis of the combined contribution of common variants in the neuronal modules revealed a polygenic component to the risk of ASD. The results of this study point toward contribution of minor and major perturbations in the two sub-networks of neuronal genes to ASD risk

The motivational strategies used by supervisors : relationships to effectiveness indicators / 224

Includes bibliographical references