Six types of psychological contracts: their affective commitment and employability.

The purpose of this study is to identify a variety of employment relationships based upon an economy-wide, representative sample. We turn to psychological contract studies examining different types of psychological contracts. We expand two existing typologies by incorporating multiple features or underlying dimensions of psychological contracts. Such a feature-oriented approach allows us to construct a meaningful conceptualization of employer and employee obligations across different settings and to identify multiple types of psychological contracts in which combinations of different dimensions are prevalent. The cluster analysis indicates the existence of six types of psychological contracts, all having different patterns of mutual expectations: an instrumental, weak, loyal, unattached, investing and strong psychological contract. To validate the six-cluster solution, we develop clusters' profiles based upon individual, job, formal contract and organizational characteristics and further differentiate between the clusters by examining their outcomes in terms of affective commitment and employability.Characteristics; Cluster analysis; Contracts; Employability; Employment; Studies;

Assessing the nature of psychological contracts: conceptualization and measurement.

The purpose of this study is to clarify a feature-oriented assessment of psychological contracts, an underdeveloped approach to psychological contracts. From a theoretical perspective, the study aims to conceptualize the nature or different dimensions of a psychological contract drawing upon theoretical frameworks and cross-national research. Reviewing the 13 nation-studies of psychological contracts organized by Rousseau and Schalk (2000), we find support for the relevance of four theoretical dimensions: time frame, tangibility, scope and stability, as well as indications for two additional dimensions: power distance and individualization. From an empirical perspective, the 6 conceptualized dimensions are being operationalized in terms of employees' expected entitlements as well as their expected obligations and tested in a large, representative sample of 1,106 employees across industries, organizations and legal contracts. The analyses resulted in 12 scales and indicated that the expected entitlements and obligations of scope, stability, power distance and individualization do not highly correlate with each other while high correlations between entitlements and obligations of time frame and tangibility exist.Measurement;

Multiple types of psychological contracts : a six-cluster solution.

The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the existence of particular types of psychological contracts. We take a feature-oriented approach towards psychological contracts, which allows more generalizability across settings than content-oriented assessments. In defining the types of psychological contracts, we rely on 10 dimensions that indicate the employees' expected entitlements as well as their expected obligations towards their employer. We assess the existence of types of psychological contracts based upon an economy-wide, representative sample. The analysis indicates the existence of six types of psychological contracts, all having different patterns of mutual expectations: an instrumental psychological contract, a weak psychological contract, a loyal psychological contract, an unattached psychological contract, an investing psychological contract and a strong psychological contract. Based on the profiles of the six types and its number of respondents, we conclude that the so-called transformation from traditional employment relationships towards 'new deals' is restricted to a very small group of young and highly educated professionals and managers.Employment; Expected; Managers; Studies;

Het concept psychologisch contract: het gevoerde debat.

In deze paper wordt het debat dat er rond de betekenis van het concept psychologisch contract wordt gevoerd, in kaart gebracht. We gaan van start met een 'historisch' overzicht van de definities van psychologisch contract. Vervolgens bespreken we een aantal punten van eensgezindheid en een aantal belangrijke discussiepunten die naar voor komen in het debat rond het concept psychologisch contract. In een vierde paragraaf brengen we verdere verduidelijking aan in het concept psychologisch contract door het te onderscheiden van een aantal verwante concepten. Op basis van de verschillende discussies komen we in de laatste paragraaf tot een eigen afbakening van het concept.

Expression of inflammation-related genes is associated with adipose tissue location in horses

Background : In humans, adipose tissue (AT) originating from different depots shows varying gene expression profiles. In horses, the risk of certain metabolic disorders may also be influenced by the impact of specific AT depots. Macrophage infiltration in human and rat AT is considered to be a source of inflammatory changes. In horses, this relationship has not been extensively studied yet. Reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), a useful method to evaluate differences in mRNA expression across different tissues, can be used to evaluate differences between equine AT depots. For a correct interpretation of the RT-qPCR results, expression data have to be normalized by the use of validated reference genes. The main objectives of this study were to compare mRNA expression of inflammation-related genes, as well as adipocyte morphology and number between different equine AT depots; and in addition, to investigate the presence of antigen presenting cells in equine AT and any potential relationship with adipokine mRNA expression. Results : In this study, the mRNA expression of inflammation-related genes (leptin, chemokine ligand 5, interleukin 1β, interleukin 6, interleukin 10, adiponectin, matrix metalloproteinase 2, and superoxide dismutase 2) and candidate reference gene stability was investigated in 8 different AT depots collected from the nuchal, abdominal (mesenteric, retroperitoneal, and peri-renal) and subcutaneous (tail head and loin) AT region. By using GeNorm analysis, HPRT1, RPL32, and GAPDH were found to be the most stable genes in equine AT. The mRNA expression of leptin, chemokine ligand 5, interleukin 10, interleukin 1β, adiponectin, and matrix metalloproteinase 2 significantly differed across AT depots (P 0.05). Adipocyte area and number of antigen presenting cells per adipocyte significantly differed between AT depots (P < 0.05). Conclusions : Adipose tissue location was associated with differences in mRNA expression of inflammation-related genes. This depot-specific difference in mRNA expression suggests that the overall inflammatory status of horses could be partially determined by the relative proportion of the different AT depots

Het empirisch onderzoek naar psychologisch contract: een overzicht.

In deze paper wordt een overzicht gegeven van het bestaande empirisch onderzoek naar psychologisch contract. Achtereenvolgens worden besproken: het onderzoek naar de inhoud van het psychologisch contract, het onderzoek naar de aard van het psychologisch contract, het onderzoek naar de schending en vervulling van het psychologisch contract, en het onderzoek naar het proces van 'psychological contracting'. Voor elk type onderzoek bespreken we telkens welke meetinstrumenten voorhanden zijn, wat de belangrijkste onderzoeksbevindingen zijn en welke beperkingen of mogelijkheden er verbonden zijn aan het betreffende onderzoek. In de laatste paragraaf vatten we de belangrijkste conclusies samen en geven we weer wat het bestaande onderzoek ons leert met betrekking tot toekomstig onderzoek.

A new look at an old dog : Bonn-Oberkassel reconsidered

The Bonn-Oberkassel dog remains (Upper Pleistocene and 14223 þ- 58 years old) have been reported more than 100 years ago. Recent re-examination revealed the tooth of another older and smaller dog, making this domestic dog burial not only the oldest known, but also the only one with remains of two dogs. This observation brings the total known Magdalenian dogs to nine. Domestication of dogs during the final Palaeolithic has important implications for understanding pre- Holocene hunter-gatherers. Most proposed hunter-gatherer motivations for domesticating dogs have been utilitarian. However, remains of the Bonn-Oberkassel dogs may offer another view. The Bonn-Oberkassel dog was a late juvenile when it was buried at approximately age 27e28 weeks, with two adult humans and grave goods. Oral cavity lesions indicate a gravely ill dog that likely suffered a morbillivirus (canine distemper) infection. A dental line of suggestive enamel hypoplasia appears at the 19-week developmental stage. Two additional enamel hypoplasia lines, on the canine only, document further disease episodes at weeks 21 and 23. Pathological changes also include severe periodontal disease that may have been facilitated by immunodeficiency. Since canine distemper has a three-week disease course with very high mortality, the dog must have been perniciously ill during the three disease bouts and between ages 19 and 23 weeks. Survival without intensive human assistance would have been unlikely. Before and during this period, the dog cannot have held any utilitarian use to humans. We suggest that at least some Late Pleistocene humans regarded dogs not just materialistically, but may have developed emotional and caring bonds for their dogs, as reflected by the survival of this dog, quite possibly through human care

The impact of a preventive and curative oral healthcare program on the prevalence and incidence of oral health problems in nursing home residents

Aims: To assess the impact of an oral healthcare program in nursing homes on the initial treatment backlog and residents' oral health stability. Materials and methods: The study is a longitudinal cohort study in nursing home residents in Flanders, Belgium, to evaluate the oral healthcare programme Gerodent. The program consisted of: (1) the introduction of an oral healthcare team, (2) oral health education, (3) the implementation of oral health guidelines and protocols, and (4) regular visits of a mobile dental team. Data were extracted from the oral health records of 381 residents from 21 nursing homes who received treatments from the mobile dental team between October 2010 and March 2014 (mean follow-up period of 22.5 months). Oral health and treatment need between baseline and follow-up were compared. Results: The mean age at baseline was 82.4 years and the mean number of consultations per resident was 3.61 during the follow-up period. The proportion of residents with an oral treatment need was reduced from 65.9% to 31.3%. Among residents with natural teeth, there was significantly lower prevalence of caries (from 70.5% at baseline to 36.5% at follow-up; p<0.001), residual roots (from 54.2% to 25.1%; p<0.001), and need for fillings (from 31.9% to 17.1%; p<0.001) or extractions (from 64.3% to 31.6%; p<0.001). In the group with partial or full dentures (n = 223), 38.1% needed a repair, rebasing or renewal of their existing dentures at baseline and the respective figure at follow-up was 9.0% (p<0.001). In terms of oral health stability, 53% of the residents had no incident restorative and prosthetic treatment need throughout the follow-up period. A lower number of natural teeth at baseline (p<0.001) and a shorter follow-up period (p = 0.002) were associated with higher chances of oral health stability. Conclusion: The oral healthcare program Gerodent significantly reduced the treatment backlog and contributed to a considerable proportion of residents being stable in terms of oral health without any incident treatment needs

Trace Element Imbalance in Vegetation as a Threat to Free Ranging Cattle in the Gilgel Gibe Valley, Ethiopia

As in many tropical countries, natural pastures are the main source of nutrients for cattle in Ethiopia. However, there is limited information available with regard to trace element concentrations in Ethiopian forages. In this study, 58 plants were sampled in the Gilgel Gibe valley based on the observed ingestion by zebu cattle (Bos indicus) herds, grazing at different elevation and soil types, and analysed for copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), iron (Fe), molybdenum (Mo), manganese (Mn), sulfur (S), selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn). The effect of elevation, soil type and plant type on the above trace element concentrations was investigated. Deficient Cu concentrations were present in 71% of samples. Plant samples contained at least marginally antagonistic concentrations of Mo, S and Fe towards Cu in 36, 48 and 88% of cases respectively, and deficient Se and Zn concentrations in 57 and 45% of cases respectively. For Mn and Zn, plant concentrations differed according to elevation region. Plants on Nitisol-Acrisol-Ferralsol associations contained higher amounts of Fe than on Planosol-Vertisol associations. Concentrations of Cu and S were higher in herbaceous and woody plants than in grasses and crop resides, whereas concentrations of Co were higher in herbaceous than in other plant types. Differences between plant types were also present for Fe. Overall, micro mineral deficiency is very likely to develop in cattle ranging at the studied area. Plant mineral concentrations were affected by a variety of factors, such as elevation, soil type and plant group, calling for a nuanced assessment of plant survey results