Introduction to the Thematic Section

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Translators and (lack of) power - a study of Danish company translators’ occupational status

Translators’ occupational status has received very little attention as a research topic in its own right. However, when we go through the translation literature, we frequently come across references to translation as a low-status profession

Cheating on Unproctored Internet Intelligence Tests: Strategies and Effects

A crucial issue concerning unproctored Internet-based testing (UIT) of cognitive ability is its susceptibility to cheating. Whereas evidence indicates that cheating during UIT occurs, there is still little information about possible cheating strategies and their effects on (sub)test performance. Using a randomized experimental design, this study investigated the direct effects of cheating on an Internet-based test of cognitive ability by comparing test performance of cheaters (participants who were instructed to cheat) and successful cheaters (participants who thought their cheating had been successful) with that of non-cheaters. Successful cheaters obtained substantially higher scores compared to cheaters who thought they had been unsuccessful in cheating and non-cheaters. The effect of cheating depended on subtest type and the number and type of cheating strategy being used. Suggestions are made for further research and for safeguarding future UIT procedures from cheating. Keywords: unproctored Internet testing, cognitive ability test, cheating, experimen

Learning climate and workplace learning: Does work restructuring make a difference?

In the current study, we propose that organizational learning climate in terms of facilitation learning climate, appreciation learning climate, and error-avoidance climate has the capacity to enhance employees’ level of newly acquired competences. Additionally, we investigated whether this relationship holds when employees face work-restructuring. Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the hypotheses on a large sample of the Dutch working population (N = 1013). The results showed that work restructuring moderated the hypothesized relationships. Under conditions of high restructuring, facilitation learning climate was an important predictor of learning outcomes; yet, under conditions of low work restructuring, appreciation learning climate was more effective. The current paper contributes to research on organizational change and workplace learning by providing evidence that organizational change can impact the way organizational learning climate supports employee learning

Supervisor idea adoption scale:Construction, reliability and initial validity evidence

Despite the importance of workplace innovation, the adoption of creative ideas at workplace level has received little attention due to a lack of measures for idea adoption. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a scale that measures employees’ perceptions of the process of idea adoption. Specifically, the scale assesses employee perceptions of their supervisor's behavior in terms of idea openness, selection and application. Three studies were conducted to develop the supervisor idea adoption scale and investigate the scale scores’ psychometric properties (Study 1, n = 326); concurrent, convergent and divergent validity (Study 2, n = 333); and test–retest reliability over a three month period (Study 3, n = 189). The findings indicated good psychometric properties: the 3-factor structure was supported, and the scales scores showed internal consistency and retest reliability. Furthermore, the scale scores’ associations with other variables provided initial evidence for concurrent, convergent and divergent validity. Several recommendations are made for the application of the scale in research and practice.</p

An Open Time Perspective and Social Support to Sustain in Healthcare Work: Results of a Two-Wave Complete Panel Study

Based on lifespan developmental psychology and psychosocial work characteristics theory, we examined longitudinal relations between calendar age, occupational time perspective, different types of job demands and job resources in relation to sustainable employability (i.e., work ability, vitality and employability) among healthcare workers in Netherlands (N = 1478). Results of our two-wave complete panel study revealed satisfactory fit indices for the metric invariance of the included variables across the two waves (6-month time lag). Our results revealed a negative relation between calendar age and external employability of healthcare workers (limited support for hypothesis 1), and more consistent evidence for positive relations between an open future time perspective and across-time changes in vitality, work ability and external employability (supporting hypothesis 2). Few significant findings were found for relations between specific job demands or job resources and indicators of sustainable employability of healthcare workers (mixed results hypotheses 3 and 4). Our explorative tests of possible moderating effects of age or occupational time perspective in predicting relations between psychosocial work characteristics and indicators of sustainable employability revealed only a significant interaction effect of supervisor support and future time perspective in explaining across-time changes in external employability of healthcare workers (rejecting hypothesis 5 and confirming hypothesis 6). We discuss the practical as well as theoretical implications of these findings, and present recommendations for future research.publishedVersio

Who said low status? A study on factors affecting the perception of translator status

ABSTRACT This article is a follow-up to a questionnaire-based investigation on the status of Danish company translators reported on elsewher