Diversity work in community sport organizations: Commitment, resistance and institutional change

Diversity is a key term used in a range of public and private organizations to describe institutional goals, values and practices. Sport is a prominent social institution where the language of diversity is frequently and positively used; yet, this rhetoric does not necessarily translate into actual practice within sport organizations. This paper critically examines diversity work in community sports clubs. Drawing upon qualitative research at 31 amateur sports clubs in Australia, the findings show that diversity work in community sport organizations is often haphazard and accidental, rather than a strategic response or adaptation to policy. This paper concludes that while individual champions are critical to the promotion of diversity, persistent tensions and resistance arise when they seek to translate the language of diversity into institutional practice and culture change

The Impact of Cross Cultural Communication on Collective Efficacy in NCAA Basketball Teams

This research contributes to the knowledge and theory on cross cultural communication by investigating the impact of cross cultural communication competence on the collective efficacy of multicultural National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball teams. Data was collected from 140 U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball coaches via the Cross Cultural Communication Competence Questionnaire and the Collective Efficacy Questionnaire for Sports. Principle component analysis was conducted on the data, revealing that the cross cultural communication competence and collective efficacy of basketball teams are multidimensional. The hypothesized relationship between cross cultural communication competence and collective efficacy was confirmed and statistically measured through regression analysis. It was found that four of the cross cultural communication competence dimensions produced by the principle component analysis exhibited a significant positive relationship with one of the two dimensions within collective efficacy. Given the well-supported relationship between collective efficacy and team performance in business, this study produces important implications for scholars and practitioners working with multicultural sporting teams

The longitudinal relationship between job mobility, perceived organizational justice, and health

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The main purpose of the present study was to examine the 2-year longitudinal and reciprocal relationship between job mobility and health and burnout. A second aim was to elucidate the effects of perceived organizational justice and turnover intentions on the relationship between job mobility (non-, internally and externally mobile), and health (SF-36) and burnout (CBI).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study used questionnaire data from 662 Swedish civil servants and the data were analysed with Structural Equation Modeling statistical methods.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results showed that job mobility was a better predictor of health and burnout, than health and burnout were as predictors of job mobility. The predictive effects were most obvious for psychosocial health and burnout, but negligible as far as physical health was concerned. Organizational justice was found to have a direct impact on health, but not on job mobility; whereas turnover intentions had a direct effect on job mobility.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The predictive relationship between job mobility and health has practical implications for health promotive actions in different organizations.</p

Cooperation of cancer drivers with regulatory germline variants shapes clinical outcomes

Pediatric malignancies including Ewing sarcoma (EwS) feature a paucity of somatic alterations except for pathognomonic driver-mutations that cannot explain overt variations in clinical outcome. Here, we demonstrate in EwS how cooperation of dominant oncogenes and regulatory germline variants determine tumor growth, patient survival and drug response. Binding of the oncogenic EWSR1-FLI1 fusion transcription factor to a polymorphic enhancerlike DNA element controls expression of the transcription factor MYBL2 mediating these phenotypes. Whole-genome and RNA sequencing reveals that variability at this locus is inherited via the germline and is associated with variable inter-tumoral MYBL2 expression. High MYBL2 levels sensitize EwS cells for inhibition of its upstream activating kinase CDK2 in vitro and in vivo, suggesting MYBL2 as a putative biomarker for anti-CDK2-therapy. Collectively, we establish cooperation of somatic mutations and regulatory germline variants as a major determinant of tumor progression and highlight the importance of integrating the regulatory genome in precision medicine

Intercellular Transfer of Oncogenic H-Ras at the Immunological Synapse

Immune cells establish dynamic adhesive cell–cell interactions at a specific contact region, termed the immunological synapse (IS). Intriguing features of the IS are the formation of regions of plasma membrane fusion and the intercellular exchange of membrane fragments between the conjugated cells. It is not known whether upon IS formation, intact intracellular proteins can transfer from target cells to lymphocytes to allow the transmission of signals across cell boundaries. Here we show by both FACS and confocal microscopy that human lymphocytes acquire from the cells they scan the inner-membrane protein H-Ras, a G-protein vital for common lymphocyte functions and a prominent participant in human cancer. The transfer was cell contact-dependent and occurred in the context of cell-conjugate formation. Moreover, the acquisition of oncogenic H-RasG12V by natural killer (NK) and T lymphocytes had important biological functions in the adopting lymphocytes: the transferred H-RasG12V induced ERK phosphorylation, increased interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor-α secretion, enhanced lymphocyte proliferation, and augmented NK-mediated target cell killing. Our findings reveal a novel mode of cell-to-cell communication—allowing lymphocytes to extend the confines of their own proteome—which may moreover play an important role in natural tumor immunity

Antecedents and Outcomes of Managing Diversity in a UK Context: Test of a Mediation Model

Extant research on diversity management has primarily examined the main effects of diversity management practices on outcomes from an organizational perspective. Meta-analysis in this field corroborates the conclusion that this approach is unable to account for the outcomes of diversity management effectively. The current study extends the literature by examining organizational antecedents of diversity management practices (DMP). This study also examines the mediating influences of perception of overall justice (POJ) and social exchange with organization (SEWO) on the relationships between DMP and work outcomes of career satisfaction and turnover intention. Results of data obtained from a cross section of 191 minority employees in UK revealed: (i) the reasons why organisations adopted and implemented DMP influenced employees’ outcomes of turnover intention and career satisfaction; (ii) the relationship between diversity management and social exchange with organization is mediated by perception of overall justice; (iii) social exchange with organization relates to increased career satisfaction; and (iv) DMP related positively to career satisfaction through perception of overall justice and SEWO

Evaluating the quality of social work supervision in UK children's services: comparing self-report and independent observations

Understanding how different forms of supervision support good social work practice and improve outcomes for people who use services is nearly impossible without reliable and valid evaluative measures. Yet the question of how best to evaluate the quality of supervision in different contexts is a complicated and as-yet-unsolved challenge. In this study, we observed 12 social work supervisors in a simulated supervision session offering support and guidance to an actor playing the part of an inexperienced social worker facing a casework-related crisis. A team of researchers analyzed these sessions using a customized skills-based coding framework. In addition, 19 social workers completed a questionnaire about their supervision experiences as provided by the same 12 supervisors. According to the coding framework, the supervisors demonstrated relatively modest skill levels, and we found low correlations among different skills. In contrast, according to the questionnaire data, supervisors had relatively high skill levels, and we found high correlations among different skills. The findings imply that although self-report remains the simplest way to evaluate supervision quality, other approaches are possible and may provide a different perspective. However, developing a reliable independent measure of supervision quality remains a noteworthy challenge

Why organizational and community diversity matter:Representativeness and the Emergence of Incivility and Organizational Performance

Integrating sociological and psychological perspectives, this research considers the value of organizational ethnic diversity as a function of community diversity. Employee and patient surveys, census data, and performance indexes relevant to 142 hospitals in the United Kingdom suggest that intraorganizational ethnic diversity is associated with reduced civility toward patients. However, the degree to which organizational demography was representative of community demography was positively related to civility experienced by patients and ultimately enhanced organizational performance. These findings underscore the understudied effects of community context and imply that intergroup biases manifested in incivility toward out-group members hinder organizational performance

The Perils of Gender Beliefs for Men Leaders as Change Agents for Gender Equality

This article examines the potentially damaging role that gender beliefs can play in hindering women's equal representation in leadership positions. Based on a secondary analysis of a large‐scale EU‐wide survey (Eurobarometer 76.1), the article shows that essentialist gender beliefs lower support for equality interventions such as quotas or targets, particularly among men as leaders. The results show that discriminatory gender beliefs partially mediate this relationship and produce a more negative effect among men leaders. The paper contributes to understanding the role essentialist gender beliefs often lay the groundwork for gender discriminatory beliefs. Those in turn hinder support for effective gender equality measures. Gender essentialist beliefs can be held by everyone but are more prevalent among men leaders. We conclude that greater gender balance in leadership cannot be achieved without tackling underlying gender beliefs, particularly among men leaders since they are called upon to enact change. We thereby argue that simply asking for men to become change agents for gender equality is not an effective strategy if underlying gender beliefs are left unchallenged