Investigation of Middle Woodland population movement in the midwestern United States using strontium isotopes

This research sought to compare levels of population movement in the Illinois and Ohio regions during the Middle Woodland period in Eastern North America. This was accomplished by subjecting 81 human remains at two Illinois sites (Utica Mounds and Albany Mounds) and one Ohio site (the Hopewell Mound Group) to strontium isotopic analysis in order to detect potential immigrants to the site, along with 38 faunal specimens to provide a baseline for comparison. Building on Bolnick and Smith???s (2007) mtDNA research, it was hypothesized that the Illinois sites would demonstrate higher levels of population movement than the Hopewell site. The results of the study did not support the hypothesis. Three potential immigrants were detected in Illinois, all from Albany Mounds, while seven potential immigrants were detected at the Hopewell Mound Group. No potential immigrants were detected at Utica Mounds. Selected samples were also subjected to light isotope analysis (??13C and ??18O). ??13C analysis confirmed that the staple diet at all sites involved primarily C3 food sources, while the ??18O analysis failed to support the strontium data with regards to potential immigrants. This may suggest that ??18O analysis is not an appropriate technique to detect immigration in this region

Extending the Challenge-Hindrance Model of Occupational Stress: The Role of Appraisal

Interest regarding the challenge-hindrance occupational stress model has increased in recent years, however its theoretical foundation has not been tested. Drawing from the transactional theory of stress, this study tests the assumptions made in past research (1) that workload and responsibility are appraised as challenges and role ambiguity and role conflict are appraised as hindrances, and (2) that these appraisals mediate the relationship between these stressors and outcomes (i.e., strains, job dissatisfaction, and turnover intentions). For a sample of 479 employees, we found that although workload, role ambiguity, and role conflict could be appraised primarily as challenges or hindrances, they could also simultaneously be perceived as being both to varying degrees. Support was also found for a model in which primary appraisal partially mediated the stressor-outcome relationship

Toward a Better Understanding of the Effects of Hindrance and Challenge Stressors on Work Behavior

This study investigated the processes whereby hindrance and challenge stressors may affect work behavior. Three mechanisms were examined to explain the differential effects these stressors have demonstrated: job satisfaction, strains, and work self-efficacy. A model is proposed in which both types of stressors will result in increases in strains, but that job satisfaction is primarily involved in the relationship between hindrance stressors and citizenship behavior, and efficacy is involved in the relationship between challenge stressors and job performance. Although the results generally supported the dual-stressor framework showing meaningful relationships to the work outcomes through the proposed processes, the link between work self-efficacy and job performance was not significant. This model was analyzed using multi-source data collected from 143 employees from a variety of organizational settings. Implications for the conceptualization of stressors and the development of interventions are discussed

Core Work Evaluation: The Viability of a Higher-order Work Attitude Construct

A great deal of research examining work attitudes has shown that they are related to important employee behaviors. Most of this research has parsed attitudes into ever more refined assessments of specific features of the work environment. Although this research has yielded valuable insights, for practical, theoretical, and empirical reasons we argue that an examination of a more global evaluative summary of the work environment is needed. In the present study we develop, conceptualize, and provide empirical evidence for a global work attitude construct called Core Work Evaluation (CWE). The conceptual foundation for CWE is drawn from classic and modern theory on attitudes and attitude formation. To test our theoretical assertions we follow recent recommendations for the development of higher order constructs in a series of three empirical studies. The results found that CWE: (1) explains meaningful shared variance across the more specific indicators (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and work engagement) that is not merely the result of common method variance, (2) is distinguishable from nonevaluative features of the work environment and stable individual differences, and (3) predicts important work-related outcomes above and beyond its constituent indicators. Overall the results provided evidence of the viability of the CWE construct

“Dirty” Workplace Politics and Well-Being: The Role of Gender

We build and empirically test an integrative model of gender, workplace politics, and stress by integrating social role theory and prescriptive gender stereotypes with the transactional theory of stress. To examine the effect of gender on the relation between exposure to non-sanctioned political influence tactics (NPITs; e.g., self-serving and socially undesirable behaviors such as manipulation and intimidation) and stress outcomes, we employed a daily diary design with 64 employed adults over the course of 12 working days. In support of our hypotheses, exposure to NPITs––that is, “dirty politics”––elicited a threat appraisal that, in turn, related to the activation of negative emotions. Moreover, unlike men, women who reported higher levels of NPITs experienced heightened levels of threat appraisal and ultimately negative emotions. We demonstrate that pairing social role theory with the transactional theory of stress is a useful approach for researchers interested in better understanding gender differences in the occupational stress process. Anyone interested in reducing stress in the workplace is encouraged not only to reduce the occurrence of NPITs, but also to consider ways to reduce the threat associated with them, especially for women

Stress in agile software development : practices and outcomes

Stress is an important workplace issue, affecting both the health of individuals, and the health of organizations. Early advocacy for Agile Software Development suggested it might help avoid stress, with practices that emphasize a sustainable pace, and self-organizing teams. Our analysis of a 2014 survey, however, suggested that stress might still be commonplace in Agile teams, especially for those with less experience. We also noticed that newcomers to Agile emphasized technical, rather than collaborative, practices, and speculated this might explain the stress. We explored this in our analysis of a follow-up survey conducted in 2016, and report our findings in this paper. We show that there are a variety of factors involved, and that avoiding stress is associated with both collaborative and technical practices, and a range of outcomes

Organizational Stress in High-Level Field Hockey: Examining Transactional Pathways Between Stressors, Appraisals, Coping, and Performance Satisfaction

This study investigated transactional pathways between organizational stressors and their 28 underpinning situational properties, appraisals, coping, perceived coping effectiveness (PCE) 29 and performance satisfaction in athletes. Ten high-level field hockey players were 30 interviewed. Data relating to stressors, situational properties, appraisals and coping were 31 analysed using directed content analysis. Mean PCE scores were calculated and subjective 32 performance satisfaction data were categorised as satisfied, neutral, or dissatisfied. A variety 33 of organizational stressors was reported, which were underpinned by five situational 34 properties. Challenge, threat and harm/loss appraisals were experienced and problem solving 35 was the most commonly reported family of coping. High PCE was not always associated with 36 performance satisfaction. Performance satisfaction was, however, linked to the appraisal 37 experienced. A battery of stress management techniques and ways of coping is useful for 38 optimising appraisals and alleviating negative outcomes of stress

Job satisfaction, retirement attitude and intended retirement age : a conditional process analysis across workers' level of household income

In the contemporary workplace, insight into retirement behaviors is of crucial importance. Previous empirical evidence has found mixed results regarding the relationship between work attitudes, such as job satisfaction, and retirement behaviors, suggesting that further scholarly examination incorporating moderating and mediating variables into retirement models is needed. Drawing on comparative models of attitude to retirement, we hypothesized a direct relationship between job satisfaction and intended retirement age for workers with a high household income and an indirect relationship between job satisfaction and intended retirement age, via retirement attitude, for workers with a low or mean household income. We collected data from a sample of 590 United Kingdom workers aged 50+. Using conditional process analysis, we found that the underlying mechanisms in our research model differ according to socio-economic status. We found no direct effect between job satisfaction and intended retirement age. However, an indirect effect was observed between job satisfaction and intended retirement age, via retirement attitude, for both low- and mean-household income individuals. Specifically, the relationship between job satisfaction and retirement attitude differed according to socio-economic group: for high-household income older workers, there was no relationship between job satisfaction and retirement attitude. However, for low- and mean-household income older workers, we observed a negative relationship between job satisfaction and retirement attitude. Otherwise stated, increases in job satisfaction for mean and low household income workers are likely to make the prospect of retirement less attractive. Therefore, we argue that utmost care must be taken around the conditions under which lower income employees will continue their work when getting older in order to protect their sustainable employability

Workplace Contextual Supports for LGBT Employees: A Review, Meta‐Analysis, and Agenda for future Research

The past decade has witnessed a rise in the visibility of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. This has resulted in some organizational researchers focusing their attention on workplace issues facing LGBT employees. While empirical research has been appropriately focused on examining the impact of workplace factors on the work lives of LGBT individuals, no research has examined these empirical relationships cumulatively. The purpose of this study was to conduct a comprehensive review and meta‐analysis of the outcomes associated with three workplace contextual supports (formal LGBT policies and practices, LGBT‐supportive climate, and supportive workplace relationships) and to compare the relative influence of these workplace supports on outcomes. Outcomes were grouped into four categories: (a) work attitudes, (b) psychological strain, (c) disclosure, and (d) perceived discrimination. Results show that supportive workplace relationships were more strongly related to work attitudes and strain, whereas LGBT supportive climate was more strongly related to disclosure and perceived discrimination compared to the other supports. Our findings also revealed a number of insights concerning the measurement, research design, and sample characteristics of the studies in the present review. Based on these results, we offer an agenda for future research

Toward a mediation model for nurses' well-being and psychological distress effects of quality of leadership and social support at work

Contains fulltext : 169219.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Given the lack of active nurses in industrialized countries throughout the world, in combination with demographic changes, it is of utmost importance to protect nurses’ well-being and to prevent psychological distress, because of their strong association with premature occupational leave. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of quality of leadership and social support at work on well-being and psychological distress of nurses and to determine whether nurses’ overcommitment mediates the relationship between the abovementioned determinants and the outcomes. A cross-sectional survey design was used to gather our data. This study utilized part of the database of the Nurses’ Early Exit Study. A total of 34,771 nurses (covering all nurse qualifications) working in hospitals, nursing homes, and home-care institutions in 8 European countries filled out a questionnaire (response rate?=?51.4%). For all model variables (job satisfaction, satisfaction with salary, positive affectivity, personal burnout, negative affectivity, quality of leadership, social support from immediate supervisor, social support from near colleagues, and overcommitment), psychometrically sound, that is, valid and reliable measures were used. Outcomes from testing a structural equation mediation model indicated that, respectively, positive and negative influences of leadership quality and social support from supervisor and colleagues on nurses’ well-being and psychological distress are partially mediated, that is, reduced, by nurses’ overcommitment. Social work environment is highly important in relation to nurses’ well-being and psychological distress.6 p