Organizational survey response: previous findings and an integrative framework

"This chapter discusses nonresponse to organizational surveys focusing on methodological and theoretical issues related to nonresponse. The first section provides an overview of methodologies for the study of nonresponse, including archival databases, the wave approach, the follow-up approach, and population profiling, as well as a discussion of methodological challenges in nonresponse research. The second section summarizes previous nonresponse research by examining demographics, attitudes, and organizational and survey characteristics as antecedents of nonresponse. The third section provides an integrated framework for the study of survey response. Building on previous research, we develop a model that posits several mechanisms that explain why nonresponse occurs. This model incorporates multiple levels of analysis and acknowledges the role of individual differences and situational characteristics on nonresponse behavior. In addition, we also discuss the future of nonresponse research by exploring the role of narrow personality traits, advances in technology, and organizational and national culture in survey nonresponse." (author's abstract

Shouldering a silent burden: The toll of dirty tasks

Dirty work involves tasks that are stigmatized owing to characteristics that the public finds disgusting, degrading, or objectionable. Conservation of resources theory suggests such experiences should induce strain and decreased work satisfaction; social identity theory suggests such work should lead to strong psychological investment in the work, among other outcomes. Integrating these two perspectives, this study hypothesizes and presents quantitative evidence from 499 animal-shelter workers, demonstrating how dirty-work engagement relates to higher levels of strain, job involvement, and reluctance to discuss work while negatively influencing work satisfaction. Additionally, this study takes a unique perspective on dirty work by focusing on dirty tasks within a dirty-work occupation. The data suggest meaningful differences between the outcomes of dirty-task frequency and dirty-task psychological salience, providing additional insight into the complexity of stigmatized occupations and ways in which future research and theory benefit as a result

Euthanasia-related strain and coping strategies in animal shelter employees

Objective—To identify and evaluate coping strategies advocated by experienced animal shelter workers who directly engaged in euthanizing animals. Design—Cross-sectional study. Sample Population—Animal shelters across the United States in which euthanasia was conducted (5 to 100 employees/shelter). Procedures—With the assistance of experts associated with the Humane Society of the United States, the authors identified 88 animal shelters throughout the United States in which animal euthanasia was actively conducted and for which contact information regarding the shelter director was available. Staff at 62 animal shelters agreed to participate in the survey. Survey packets were mailed to the 62 shelter directors, who then distributed them to employees. The survey included questions regarding respondent age, level of education, and role and asked those directly involved in the euthanasia of animals to provide advice on strategies for new euthanasia technicians to deal with the related stress. Employees completed the survey and returned it by mail. Content analysis techniques were used to summarize survey responses. Results—Coping strategies suggested by 242 euthanasia technicians were summarized into 26 distinct coping recommendations in 8 categories: competence or skills strategies, euthanasia behavioral strategies, cognitive or self-talk strategies, emotional regulation strategies, separation strategies, get-help strategies, seek long-term solution strategies, and withdrawal strategies. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Euthanizing animals is a major stressor for many animal shelter workers. Information regarding the coping strategies identified in this study may be useful for training new euthanasia technicians

Shorter can Also be Better: The Abridged Job in General Scale

The Job Descriptive Index family of job attitude measures includes the Job in General (JIG) scale, a measure of global satisfaction with one’s job. The scale was originally developed and validated by Ironson, Smith, Brannick, Gibson, and Paul. Following structured scale reduction procedures developed by Stanton, Sinar, Balzer, and Smith, the current authors developed an abridged version of the JIG for use by practitioners and researchers of organizational behavior. They report the results of three validation studies documenting the process of scale reduction and the psychometric suitability of the reduced-length scale

Erkenntnis als soziale Praxis : Ludwik Flecks Wissenschaftstheorie aus sprachwissenschaftlicher Sicht

Mit dem Beitrag werden zwei Ziele verfolgt. Erstens wird anhand zentraler Begriffe und grundlegender Prämissen des wissenschaftstheoretischen Ansatzes „vom Denkstil und vom Denkkollektiv“ von Ludwik Fleck systematisch präsentiert. Ergänzend zu den bekanntesten Fleck'schen Ausdrücken und Lesarten werden weitaus weniger bekannte Konzepte hervorgehoben und hierbei aufgezeigt, dass diese zentrale Bausteine in der Gesamtkonzeption darstellen. Das zweite Ziel dieses Kapitels ist es, Flecks Theorie für Analysen disziplinärer Erkenntnisprozesse und -bedingungen nutzbar zu machen. Die von Fleck mit Blick auf laborwissenschaftliche Disziplinen aufgezeigten Prinzipien disziplinären Denkens, Sehens, Auswählens, Bestimmens, Kategorisierens und Distribuierens können für das Feld der Geistes-, Sozial- und Kulturwissenschaften adaptiert und operationalisiert werden, so zum Beispiel für die germanistische Sprachwissenschaft