But wait, before you go... the effect of psychological contract breach on employee commitment targets and retention

La rétention des employés semble être un problème chronique pour les organisations nord-américaines. La théorie du contrat psychologique a fréquemment été utilisée dans le contexte de la rétention des employés. La rupture du contrat psychologique est souvent utilisée comme initiateur d'attitudes ultérieures, telles que l'engagement affectif et les intentions de quitter. Des écrits récents sur l'engagement affectif ont raffiné ce concept clé de rétention pour l'orienter vers plusieurs cibles simultanées. La rétention est souvent mesurée par l'intention de quitter. Comme l'engagement affectif, les intentions de quitter peuvent être orienter vers des entités précises. L'objectif principal de cette thèse était d'identifier les conditions qui influencent l'engagement affectif d'un employé et les intentions de quitter. Ceci a été réalisé en examinant comment la rupture peut influencer l'engagement affectif envers le superviseur, l'organisation et la profession. L'influence de la rupture du contrat psychologique sur ces trois cibles d'engagements affectifs et l'intention de quitter l'organisation et la profession a ensuite été examiné. Cette thèse semble être l'une des premières à examiner ce système de relations d'une manière aussi spécifique et bien définie. Une méthodologie quantitative longitudinale a été adoptée pour tester le modèle de recherche. La collecte de données ciblait les travailleurs professionnels de la région de Québec provenant de divers domaines professionnels. Les données ont été recueillies en deux temps, séparés par trois mois. 205 participants valides des ordres professionnels et enseignants du Québec ont été retenus. Les données ont été traitées à l'aide du logiciel de modélisation d'équations structurelles AMOS et des macros SPSS PROCESS. Les modèles ont testé les effets directs et indirectes entre les variables. Les résultats des tests d'hypothèses et des analyses ad hoc suggèrent trois tendances généralisées : l'organisation semble être l'entité la plus importante pour la rétention, la relation avec le superviseur peut favoriser ou nuire à la rétention, la rupture du contrat psychologique n'est pas nécessairement directement responsable pour les intentions de quitter, mais c'est son effet érodant sur l'engagement affectif qui semble être responsable des intentions de quitter. Les effets impliquant l'engagement affectif organisationnel suggèrent que l'organisation est l'entité la plus importante pour la rétention des employés professionnels. La rupture semble être liée plus fortement à l'engagement affectif organisationnel, suivi par l'engagement envers le superviseur, suivi de l'engagement professionnel. En outre, les résultats suggèrent que les nouveaux employés professionnels peuvent également considérer leurs organisations comme des proxys pour leurs professions. Bien que l'organisation et la profession aient tous deux eu des effets importants, l'influence de l'organisation semble être plus importante. Cette thèse suggère également que la relation employé-superviseur est essentielle dans la rétention. Les résultats semblent indiquer que le superviseur n'est peut-être pas nécessairement tenu responsable pour des attentes non satisfaites, mais néanmoins semble tenu responsable pour ne pas avoir contribué à les prévenir ou à les atténuer. Les résultats semblent également indiquer que la qualité relative de la relation entre un employé et son superviseur peut favoriser ou nuire à la rétention. La recherche ici suggère que la rupture n'a aucun effet direct sur les cibles de l'intention de quitter. Les résultats suggèrent plutôt que c'est l'influence négative de la rupture sur l'engagement affectif organisationnel et professionnel qui provoque l'effet sur les intentions de quitter. Cette thèse contribue à la littérature sur la rétention. Cette recherche semble être la première à examiner les effets de la rupture sur trois engagements affectifs simultanés et deux cibles d'intention de quitter. Cette thèse contribue à la littérature du contrat psychologique et introduit la notion d'instrumentalité du superviseur. Cette thèse propose aussi que les organisations peuvent être considérées comme des proxys pour la profession d'un employé professionnel. Empiriquement, cette thèse semble être la première à différencier et mesurer les effets de la rupture sur l'engagement envers son superviseur, l'organisation et la profession, et l'intention de quitter l'organisation et la profession, simultanément. La recherche présentée ici peut également être utilisée pour aider les organisations qui emploient des professionnels à développer leurs stratégies de rétention, particulièrement les organisations du système de santé québécois qui sont actuellement en difficulté. En examinant l'importance de trois entités d'engagement affectif en milieu de travail et en échantillonnant un large éventail d'employés professionnels dans la province de Québec, la recherche présentée ici donne un aperçu de quels aspects de la réalité du travail des nouveaux employés professionnels peuvent contribuer à la rétention.Employee retention seems to be a chronic issue for organizations across North America. Psychological contract theory has often been used within the context of employee retention. Psychological contract breach is often used as an initiator to subsequent attitudes, such as affective commitment and quitting intentions. Recent research on affective commitment, a key retention construct, has refined it to be directed towards multiple simultaneous foci identified in the workplace. Employee retention is often measured by the psychological proxy of quitting intentions. Like affective commitment, quitting intentions can also be directed towards precise workplace entities. The primary aim of this thesis was to identify the conditions that influence an employee's commitment disposition and subsequent quitting intentions. This was achieved by examining how psychological contract breach may influence affective commitment towards the supervisor, the organization and the profession. The impact of breach and these three foci of commitment on intention to quit the organization and profession was then examined. This thesis seems to be one of the first to examine this system of relationships in such a specific and well-defined fashion. A longitudinal quantitative methodology was adopted to test the research model. Data collection targeted professional workers in the Quebec region from a variety of professional fields. Data was collected at two points, separated by three months. 205 valid participants from Quebec's professional orders and teachers were retained. Data was treated using AMOS structural equation modelling software and SPSS PROCESS macros. The models tested direct effects, moderation, mediation, and moderated mediation between substantive variables. Results from hypotheses testing and ad hoc data analyses suggest three generalized tendencies: the organization is likely the most important overall entity for employee retention, the relationship with the supervisor may prevent or worsen employee retention, and that psychological contract breach may not necessarily be directly responsible for quitting intentions, but its eroding effect on affective commitment may be responsible for quitting intentions. Affective organizational commitment's relationship effects suggests that the organization is the most important entity for professional employee retention. Psychological contract breach seems to be more strongly related to affective organizational commitment, followed by affective commitment to the supervisor, and then affective professional commitment. Furthermore, the results infer that newer professional employees may also view their organizations as proxies for their professions. Although the organization and the profession both had demonstrably important effects, the organization's influence seems to be more important. This thesis also suggests that the employee-supervisor relationship is essential in retaining employees. The results seem to indicate that the supervisor may not be necessarily held responsible for unmet expectations, but seems nonetheless held responsible for not being instrumental in preventing or mitigating it. The results also seem to indicate that the relative quality of the relationship between an employee and their supervisor may either foster or damage employee retention. The research here suggests that psychological contract breach has no direct effect on either quitting intention targets. Instead, the research results from this thesis suggest that it may not be the direct response to psychological contract breach that influences the decision to quit the organization and the profession, but it is breach's negative influence on affective organizational and professional commitment that causes the effect on quitting intentions. This thesis contributes to the literature on employee retention. This research is likely the first to examine psychological contract breach's effects on three simultaneous affective commitments, and two targets of intention to quit. This thesis extends the psychological contract literature and introduces supervisor instrumentality as an explicative mechanism. This thesis proposes that organizations may be viewed as proxies, or the embodiment for a professional employee's own profession. Empirically, this thesis may the first to clearly differentiate and measure psychological contract breach's simultaneous extended effects on commitment towards one's supervisor, organization and profession, and intention to quit the organization and profession. The research presented here can also be used by organizations who employ professionals to help develop their retention strategies, especially organizations in Quebec's currently struggling healthcare system. By examining the importance of three workplace affective commitments, and sampling a diverse range of professional employees in the province of Quebec, the research presented here provides insight on what aspects of newer professional employees' working realities may be contributing to employee retention

Technical Integration of Hippocampus, Basal Ganglia and Physical Models for Spatial Navigation

Computational neuroscience is increasingly moving beyond modeling individual neurons or neural systems to consider the integration of multiple models, often constructed by different research groups. We report on our preliminary technical integration of recent hippocampal formation, basal ganglia and physical environment models, together with visualisation tools, as a case study in the use of Python across the modelling tool-chain. We do not present new modeling results here. The architecture incorporates leaky-integrator and rate-coded neurons, a 3D environment with collision detection and tactile sensors, 3D graphics and 2D plots. We found Python to be a flexible platform, offering a significant reduction in development time, without a corresponding significant increase in execution time. We illustrate this by implementing a part of the model in various alternative languages and coding styles, and comparing their execution times. For very large-scale system integration, communication with other languages and parallel execution may be required, which we demonstrate using the BRAHMS framework's Python bindings

Square-Wave Electric Impulses of 10 ms and 100 V/cm of Field Force, Produced by PGen-1 Impulse Generator Device, Affect the Proliferation Patterns of Different Animal Cells

The influence of the medium-strength electric forces (MSE) on the proliferation of adherent chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEF), VERO, MDBK, MRC-5, and HeLa; lymphoblast cells, FB1 and K562; and cell multiplications were analyzed by growth index (GI). Impulse generator device PGen-1 provided 100 V/cm square-wave impulses of 10 ms. Treatment: Samples were subjected to one or three MSE. GIs were compared with controls after 72 hours and one or three treatments: Monolayers: CEF: GI in the control is 16.76, and after one and three MSE, it is 15.81 and 7.09. Vero cells: GI in the controls is 8.39, and after one and three MSE, it is 5.39 and 5.69. MDBK cells: GI in controls is 8.39, and after one and three MSE, it is 5.39 and 5.69. MRC-5 cells: GI in controls is 5.58, and after one and three MSE, it is 4.18 and 2.60. HeLa cells: GI in controls is 13.69, and after one and three MSE, it is 10.16 and 5.37. Suspension cells: Lymphoblast FB1: GI in controls is 6.55, and after one and three MSE, it is 13.48 and 12.25. Lymphoblast K562: GI in controls is 9.07, and after one or three MSE, it is 12.37 and 13.55. To conclude: MSE in monolayer cells inhibits the GI, depending on the nature of cells. MSE enhances the multiplication of lymphoblast FB1 or K562

Novel Neuroprotective Strategies in Ischemic Retinal Lesions

Retinal ischemia can be effectively modeled by permanent bilateral common carotid artery occlusion, which leads to chronic hypoperfusion-induced degeneration in the entire rat retina. The complex pathways leading to retinal cell death offer a complex approach of neuroprotective strategies. In the present review we summarize recent findings with different neuroprotective candidate molecules. We describe the protective effects of intravitreal treatment with: (i) urocortin 2; (ii) a mitochondrial ATP-sensitive K+ channel opener, diazoxide; (iii) a neurotrophic factor, pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide; and (iv) a novel poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor (HO3089). The retinoprotective effects are demonstrated with morphological description and effects on apoptotic pathways using molecular biological techniques

Protective Intestinal Effects of Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase Activating Polypeptide

Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) is an endogenous neuropeptide widely distributed throughout the body, including the gastrointestinal tract. Several effects have been described in human and animal intestines. Among others, PACAP infl uences secretion of intestinal glands, blood fl ow, and smooth muscle contraction. PACAP is a well-known cytoprotective peptide with strong anti-apoptotic, anti-infl ammatory, and antioxidant effects. The present review gives an overview of the intestinal protective actions of this neuropeptide. Exogenous PACAP treatment was protective in a rat model of small bowel autotransplantation. Radioimmunoassay (RIA) analysis of the intestinal tissue showed that endogenous PACAP levels gradually decreased with longer-lasting ischemic periods, prevented by PACAP addition. PACAP counteracted deleterious effects of ischemia on oxidative stress markers and cytokines. Another series of experiments investigated the role of endogenous PACAP in intestines in PACAP knockout (KO) mice. Warm ischemia–reperfusion injury and cold preservation models showed that the lack of PACAP caused a higher vulnerability against ischemic periods. Changes were more severe in PACAP KO mice at all examined time points. This fi nding was supported by increased levels of oxidative stress markers and decreased expression of antioxidant molecules. PACAP was proven to be protective not only in ischemic but also in infl ammatory bowel diseases. A recent study showed that PACAP treatment prolonged survival of Toxoplasma gondii infected mice suffering from acute ileitis and was able to reduce the ileal expression of proinfl ammatory cytokines. We completed the present review with recent clinical results obtained in patients suffering from infl ammatory bowel diseases. It was found that PACAP levels were altered depending on the activity, type of the disease, and antibiotic therapy, suggesting its probable role in infl ammatory events of the intestine

Parallel Computational Subunits in Dentate Granule Cells Generate Multiple Place Fields

A fundamental question in understanding neuronal computations is how dendritic events influence the output of the neuron. Different forms of integration of neighbouring and distributed synaptic inputs, isolated dendritic spikes and local regulation of synaptic efficacy suggest that individual dendritic branches may function as independent computational subunits. In the present paper, we study how these local computations influence the output of the neuron. Using a simple cascade model, we demonstrate that triggering somatic firing by a relatively small dendritic branch requires the amplification of local events by dendritic spiking and synaptic plasticity. The moderately branching dendritic tree of granule cells seems optimal for this computation since larger dendritic trees favor local plasticity by isolating dendritic compartments, while reliable detection of individual dendritic spikes in the soma requires a low branch number. Finally, we demonstrate that these parallel dendritic computations could contribute to the generation of multiple independent place fields of hippocampal granule cells