The development and validation of the Addiction-like Eating Behaviour Scale

Background: Overeating and obesity are frequently attributed to an addiction to food. However, there is currently a lack of evidence to support the idea that certain foods contain any specific addictive substance. An alternative approach is to focus on dimensions of observable behaviour, which may underpin a behavioural addiction to eating. To facilitate this, it is necessary to develop a tool to quantify addiction-like eating behaviour, which is not based on the clinical criteria for substance dependence. The current study provides initial validation of the Addiction-like Eating Behaviour Scale (AEBS). Methods: English speaking male and female participants (N=511) from a community sample completed the AEBS, alongside a range of other health- and eating-related questionnaires including the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) and Binge Eating Scale (BES). Participants also provided their height and weight to enable calculation of body mass index (BMI). Finally, to assess test–retest reliability, an additional 70 participants completed the AEBS twice, 2 weeks apart. Results: Principle components analysis revealed that a two-factor structure best accounted for the data. Factor 1 consisted of items that referred to appetitive drive, whereas factor two consisted of items that referred to dietary control practices. Both subscales demonstrated good internal reliability and test–retest reliability, and a confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the two-factor scale structure. AEBS scores correlated positively with body mass index (BMI) (P<0.001) and other self-report measures of overeating. Importantly, the AEBS significantly predicted variance in BMI above that accounted for by both the YFAS and BES (P=0.027). Conclusions: The AEBS provides a valid and reliable tool to quantify the behavioural features of a potential ‘eating addiction’. In doing so, the AEBS overcomes many limitations associated with applying substance-dependence criteria to eating

The disruption of proteostasis in neurodegenerative diseases

Cells count on surveillance systems to monitor and protect the cellular proteome which, besides being highly heterogeneous, is constantly being challenged by intrinsic and environmental factors. In this context, the proteostasis network (PN) is essential to achieve a stable and functional proteome. Disruption of the PN is associated with aging and can lead to and/or potentiate the occurrence of many neurodegenerative diseases (ND). This not only emphasizes the importance of the PN in health span and aging but also how its modulation can be a potential target for intervention and treatment of human diseases.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Are we doing enough to develop students' self-efficacy for teamwork?

Employers today are increasingly interested in employing management graduates who are able to work in teams. Using data from 163 graduate management students this paper examines students’ self-efficacy for twelve specific teamwork skills. Irrespective of their managerial experience, some students had a relatively low level of self-efficacy about their ability to perform important teamwork skills including conflict resolution and being assertive. Individual difference variables of gender, extroversion, and managerial experience, were also found to be differentially related to students’ self-efficacy for some teamwork skills. The paper concludes that graduate management programs need to do more to develop students’ self-efficacy for teamwork skills. Suggestions for the development of students’ self-efficacy are outlined, along with future research directions

Developing the negotiation skills of graduate managment students

Negotiation skills are considered integral to managerial effectiveness. Yet, little research has examined the systematic development of negotiation skills in management education. This paper describes a university course that was developed to improve MBA students’ negotiation skills. Results from a quasi-experimental study show that the course significantly improved students’ knowledge of negotiation and their distributive and integrative self-efficacy. There was also a significant increase in the extent to which negotiation course students believed competitive bargaining tactics were acceptable, and misrepresenting yourself unacceptable. Implications for the design of courses directed at developing negotiation skills among graduate students are discussed, together with directions for future research

Winning the soul by discourse : the persuasiveness of figurative language in management communication

Persuasive communication is critical to the effectiveness of leadership and organisational change. This paper proposes that figurative language plays an important role in the persuasiveness of communication. Figurative language is language that uses figures of speech, such as metaphors and rhetorical questions. Founded on the Aristotelian theory of persuasion this paper conceptualises an ascending order in the persuasiveness of particular figures of speech, that is moderated by the thinking orientation of the listener. Plato once described the creation of the (civilised) world as the victory of persuasion over force. In that tradition, this paper seeks to gain a clearer understanding of persuasion in the management context and to contribute to the advancement of civilised behaviour inside organisation

What about me? : a conceptual model of interpersonal deviance from the victim's perspective

Workplace deviance costs organisations billions of dollars every year. Research to date has largely focussed on the perpetrators’ perspective, to the detriment of victims of deviant behaviour. Little is known about the characteristics of victims, what strategies they select in response to being victimised or the individual consequences of interpersonal deviance. The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual model of interpersonal deviance that encompasses personal and contextual factors that potentially influence who becomes a victim, and to identify possible victim strategies based on the EVLN model and research into retaliation. The paper concludes by suggesting that there are attitudinal, behavioural and psychological consequences for victims of interpersonal deviance that justify further research in this area

Measuring emotional labour : a construct validation and cross-validation study

Emotional labour (EL) refers to mechanisms employees use to adjust their outward expression of emotion, during customer-employee exchanges, and in order to meet organisational expectations. Consistent with guidelines for demonstrating the psychometric properties of a construct, it is important to measure the reliability and validity of such instruments to determine their usefulness for future research. To date, no research known to the current researchers has validated the commonly-used EL scale through a cross-validation procedure. The results of this study provide support for a two-factor model of EL, with dimensions of surface and deep acting, which is invariant across the two samples of nurses. This research confirms the generalisability and usefulness of this scale in measuring EL in the workplace