Organizational Demography and Individual Careers: Structure, Norms, and Outcomes

[Excerpt] As the terms career choices and opportunity structure suggest, demographic influences on careers operate at multiple levels of analysis: at the individual level, on individuals\u27 perceptions of work environments and career decisions, and at the organization level, on group dynamics and organizational selection processes. However, there are few theories that explicate the processes that bridge these levels. What are the dynamics by which demographic patterns influence an individual\u27s career choices? Similarly, how do individual actions shape the processes of demographic change within organizations? This chapter presents one approach to exploring such questions

Outcome-based theory of work motivation

This paper introduces an outcome-based theory of work motivation. This theory focuses on the individual's expected consequences of his or her action. We identify four different types of expected consequences, or motives. These motives lead to four types of motivation: extrinsic, intrinsic, contributive, and relational. We categorize these outcomes using two criteria: the perceived locus of causality, which defines the origin of the motivation, and the perceived locus of consequence, which defines who receives the consequences of the action. Individuals generally act based on a combination of extrinsic, intrinsic, contributive, and relational motivations, each one having a particular weight. We use the term motivational profile to refer to the particular combination of an individual's motivations in a certain context. Individuals may experience conflict when different alternatives convey different expected consequences (or motives). Resolution of conflicts among motives results in motivational learning. Specifically, the resolution of conflicts among motives of the same type results in calculative learning. On the other hand, the resolution of conflicts among motives of different types results in evaluative learning. Evaluative learning implies a change in the individual's motivational profile.work motivation; locus causality; motivational profile; extrinsic motivation; intrinsic motivation; contributive motivation; relational motivation;

Influence of social and work exchange relationships on organizational citizenship behavior, The

Previous studies explain situational antecedents of OCB using social exchange theory. However, the effects of factors such as perceptions of job characteristics on OCB seem to require a different explanatory mechanism. We propose that these effects can be explained through a new exchange relationship that we call work exchange. We develop a theory for the situational antecedents of OCB that includes economic, work, and social exchange relationships. The theory is tested using structural equations.exchange relationship; organizational citizenship behavior; organizational commitment; perceived organizational support; job characteristics;

Women\u27s and Men\u27s Career Referents: How Gender Composition and Comparison Level Shape Career Expectations

This study examines how women\u27s and men\u27s career referents-the people they see as having similar careers-affect career expectations. We raise two questions. First, what is the relative effect of the gender composition and comparison level of career referents on such expectations? Second, what happens to career expectations when women and men identify career referents at the same comparison level? Current research suggests that women have lower career expectations than men because they compare themselves with women who hold lower-level positions than the career referents identified by men. Thus, if women and men identify with career referents at a similar level, their career expectations should be equal. However, this chain of reasoning has not been tested. Using data collected from a large organization, we identify both the specific individuals that women and men perceive as having similar careers and these referents\u27 career levels, defined as their hierarchical level in the firm. The results show that the level of career referents is more important than their gender composition in explaining individuals\u27 career expectations. In contrast to extant explanations, the results show that even when women identify career referents at the same levels as men do, they still exhibit significantly lower career expectations. Drawing on social comparison theory, we speculate that this occurs because men\u27s expectations are bolstered by extreme upward comparisons, whereas women\u27s expectations are dampened, perhaps because they see high-achieving others as representing a less probable goal

A Commentary: The Basic Communication Course, General Education and Assessment

The importance of developing student communication skills in a general education program is a focal point of each college and university accrediting agency in the United States. However, course directors and faculty frequently find themselves at the center of a controversy when trying to include a basic communication course in skill development in a general education program. This article develops a case for the inclusion of a basic communication course in a general education program

Commentary: The Research Foundation for Instruction in the Beginning Public Speaking Course

The history of public speaking instruction is rooted in classical rhetorical theories. There is a lack of recent communication research findings cited in textbooks to support instruction in the beginning public speaking course. This research examined five leading public speaking texts in the hopes of finding contemporary communication research findings to support the advice given to students. This survey reveals little research being cited in beginning public speaking texts. The authors conclude with a discussion of reasons why research is not cited and offer communication scholars a challenge to conduct research to support pedagogical claims

Assessing Technological Literacy of Middle School Students

Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is a rigorous and relevant pre-engineering curriculum implemented in middle schools and high schools throughout the United States. PLTW has a hands-on approach using activities and project-based learning. The College of Engineering at Wichita State University has partnered with three local school districts to implement the PLTW program to increase interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). This study begins to assess the impact of the PLTW program on student perceptions and attitudes toward engineering and technology as part of an ongoing three-year assessment. A pre- and post-assessment were administered to middle school students (N=1063 and N=800, respectively) at the beginning and end of the 2010-2011 academic school year. The assessment consisted of 67-questions addressing students’ attitudes toward engineering and technology. This assessment was a combination of subscales from the Pupils’ Attitude Toward Technology (PATT-USA) and the Middle School Attitudes to Engineering, Science & Mathematics survey. Dependent variables of interest included attitude differences between PLTW students and nonPLTW students, gender differences, and differences attributed to length of involvement in the PLTW program. Results indicated PLTW students have a greater interest in technology, however there were notable gender differences and differences attributed to length of involvement in the program. Males had a greater interest in technology and longer involvement (0-3 years) in the program resulting in more positive attitudes. Females tended to have more negative opinions about technology at both pre- and post-assessment

The SAMI Galaxy Survey: energy sources of the turbulent velocity dispersion in spatially-resolved local star-forming galaxies

We investigate the energy sources of random turbulent motions of ionised gas from H$\alpha$ emission in eight local star-forming galaxies from the Sydney-AAO Multi-object Integral field spectrograph (SAMI) Galaxy Survey. These galaxies satisfy strict pure star-forming selection criteria to avoid contamination from active galactic nuclei (AGN) or strong shocks/outflows. Using the relatively high spatial and spectral resolution of SAMI, we find that -- on sub-kpc scales our galaxies display a flat distribution of ionised gas velocity dispersion as a function of star formation rate (SFR) surface density. A major fraction of our SAMI galaxies shows higher velocity dispersion than predictions by feedback-driven models, especially at the low SFR surface density end. Our results suggest that additional sources beyond star formation feedback contribute to driving random motions of the interstellar medium (ISM) in star-forming galaxies. We speculate that gravity, galactic shear, and/or magnetorotational instability (MRI) may be additional driving sources of turbulence in these galaxies.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables. Accepted by MNRA

Meta-Analyses of the Relation between Silicone Breast Implants and the Risk of Connective-Tissue Diseases

BACKGROUND: The postulated relation between silicone breast implants and the risk of connective-tissue and autoimmune diseases has generated intense medical and legal interest during the past decade. The salience of the issue persists, despite the fact that a great deal of research has been conducted on this subject. To provide a stronger quantitative basis for addressing the postulated relation, we applied several techniques of meta-analysis that combine, compare, and summarize the results of existing relevant studies. METHODS: We searched data bases and reviewed citations in relevant articles to identify studies that met prestated inclusion criteria. Nine cohort studies, nine case-control studies, and two cross-sectional studies were included in our meta-analyses. We conducted meta-analyses of the results of these studies, both with and without adjustment for confounding factors, and a separate analysis restricted to studies of silicone-gel-filled breast implants. Finally, we estimated the annual number of new cases of connective-tissue disease that could be attributed to breast implants. RESULTS: There was no evidence that breast implants were associated with a significant increase in the summary adjusted relative risk of individual connective-tissue diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, 1.04 [95 percent confidence interval, 0.72 to 1.51]; systemic lupus erythematosus, 0.65 [95 percent confidence interval, 0.35 to 1.23]; scleroderma or systemic sclerosis, 1.01 [95 percent confidence interval, 0.59 to 1.73]; and Sjögren's syndrome, 1.42 [95 percent confidence interval, 0.65 to 3.11]); all definite connective-tissue diseases combined (0.80; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.62 to 1.04); or other autoimmune or rheumatic conditions (0.96; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.74 to 1.25). Nor was there evidence of significantly increased risk in the unadjusted analyses or in the analysis restricted to silicone-gel-filled implants. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of our meta-analyses, there was no evidence of an association between breast implants in general, or silicone-gel-filled breast implants specifically, and any of the individual connective-tissue diseases, all definite connective-tissue diseases combined, or other autoimmune or rheumatic conditions. From a public health perspective, breast implants appear to have a minimal effect on the number of women in whom connective-tissue diseases develop, and the elimination of implants would not be likely to reduce the incidence of connective-tissue diseases

The SAMI Galaxy Survey: mass-kinematics scaling relations

We use data from the Sydney-AAO Multi-object Integral-field spectroscopy (SAMI) Galaxy Survey to study the dynamical scaling relation between galaxy stellar mass $M_*$ and the general kinematic parameter $S_K = \sqrt{K V_{rot}^2 + \sigma^2}$ that combines rotation velocity $V_{rot}$ and velocity dispersion $\sigma$. We show that the $\log M_* - \log S_K$ relation: (1)~is linear above limits set by properties of the samples and observations; (2)~has slightly different slope when derived from stellar or gas kinematic measurements; (3)~applies to both early-type and late-type galaxies and has smaller scatter than either the Tully-Fisher relation ($\log M_* - \log V_{rot}$) for late types or the Faber-Jackson relation ($\log M_* - \log\sigma$) for early types; and (4)~has scatter that is only weakly sensitive to the value of $K$, with minimum scatter for $K$ in the range 0.4 and 0.7. We compare $S_K$ to the aperture second moment (the `aperture velocity dispersion') measured from the integrated spectrum within a 3-arcsecond radius aperture ($\sigma_{3^{\prime\prime}}$). We find that while $S_{K}$ and $\sigma_{3^{\prime\prime}}$ are in general tightly correlated, the $\log M_* - \log S_K$ relation has less scatter than the $\log M_* - \log \sigma_{3^{\prime\prime}}$ relation.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, Accepted 2019 May 22. Received 2019 May 18; in original form 2019 January