Perception of Organizational Justice as a Predictor of Organizational Citizenship Behavior: An Empirical Study at Schools in Sri Lanka

The recent literature, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) has received much attention by scholars. Organizational justice perception on the other hand  comprises the employees perceptions associated with rewards, outcomes, decision making and participation in decision making processes and it is one of  the dominating factor in organizational life.  Both of these variables directly linked with organizational efficiency and effectiveness. The main objective of this study is to find the impact of organizational justice perception on organizational citizenship behavior. A stratified random sample of 230 school teachers in the eastern region of Sri Lanka participated in this study. The data were collected using validated questionnaire and were analyzed. The results revealed that the perception of justice is a strong predictor of organizational citizenship behavior. The relationship between each dimensions of organizational justice (distributive, procedural and interactive) and organizational citizenship behavior were also tested. As the scope for performing extra role is much more broader for school teachers, considering the findings of this study it is possible to recommend the educational institutions to increase the level of justice to increase their engagement in organizational citizenship behavior. Keywords: Organizational citizenship behavior, Organizational justice perception, Distributive justice, Procedural justice, Interactive justice

Extending the nomological network of the organizational citizenship behavior: moderating effect of work family conflict self efficacy on the relationship between organizational citizenship behavior and work family conflict

Studies on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) mainly focus on the positive effects, whereas the negative effects of such behavior for employees seem to be not well addressed. Work-family conflict (WFC) may be one of important negative consequences of OCB. The extent to which OCB is related to WFC, may be depending on the level of the work family conflict self efficacy (WFCSE) that employees have. This study examines the moderating effect of WFCSE on the relationship between OCB and WFC. A sample of employees from eastern region of Sri Lanka participated in this study. The study indicates a positive relationship between OCB and WFC. More specifically, results also indicate that the positive relationship between OCB and WFC was moderated by WFCSE. Further the results also revealed that while WFCSE play as a moderator, the relationship between OCB and WFC was stronger for employees with low levels of WFCSE. Implications for future research are also discusse

Challenges of Thesis Work: Towards Minimizing the Non-Completion Rate in the Postgraduate Degree Program

Although the students registering for postgraduate program are increasing in number in Sri Lanka, many postgraduate students dropped out or delayed their graduation because of the challenge of thesis completion. In Sri Lanka, it is frequently quoted that while students are able to complete their all course works in their postgraduate degree program, most of the students do not complete their degrees within the stipulated period. Although, non-completion has many negative consequences, the existing body of literature examining the non-completion at postgraduate level is quite small. Therefore, this study focused on research questions ‘what do candidates of Sri Lankan University postgraduate program perceive as barriers to completion of the degree? And to what extent do PG students perceive these barriers responsible for delay in their thesis completion? Initially this study reviewed the literature to identify any factors which have been identified as hindrance for a thesis completion. Then, this study employed two types of analysis: Exploratory and descriptive. The former explore the situation by generating information from relevant respondent group and do content analysis for finding factors which influence completion of dissertation. The latter describe with frequencies and mean to describe and explain the real situation of the non-completion. The postgraduate students of national universities in Sri Lanka who did not complete their program within the given program duration constituted the population of the study. Exploratory study resulted with six factors, descriptive study suggest that although all  of these factors influence thesis completion rate, student quality has significant influence in completing thesis. Personal situations and financial resources have also been identified as the next important factors in its significance. Implications of findings with recommendations to improve thesis completion also discussed. Keywords: Non-completion, postgraduate, degree, thesis, challenges, Sri Lank

Toxicity induced by Solanapyrone A in Chickpea shoots and its metabolism through Glutathione/Glutathione-S-Transferase system

Solanapyrone A and C were isolated from a Pakistani isolate of Ascochyta rabiei, Pk-1. Two experiments were conducted to investigate the phytotoxic effects of the most potent toxin, solanapyrone A on chickpea cultivars and its subsequent detoxification through glutathion/glutathion-s-transferase(GST) system. When the shoots of cultivars were fed solanapyrone A, symptoms mimicking to Ascochyta blight appeared and extent of manifestation of symptoms varied with the cultivar. In the first experiment, the effect of three different plant ages of 2 cultivars with different levels of resistance to toxin was determined in terms of GST activity unit. GST activity in Balkasar-2000 (a resistant cultivar) increased 1.92 times, 1.72 and 1.65 times in two-week-old seedling, eight-week-old and adult plants (all treated) respectively as compared to their respective controls. In the highly susceptible cultivar, AUG-424, a slight increase (1.14 times) over control was noticed in GST activity at all the three ages. In the second experiment, where shoots of three cultivars were tested against 2 doses of the toxin, an increase in GST activity in Noor-91 (a moderately susceptible cultivar) and AUG-424 was significantly less than resistant cultivar, Balkasar-2000 showing direct relationship between resistance and activity of the enzyme. It may be concluded that it is a reason for difference in response of cultivars to the disease

Working toward decreasing infant mortality in developing countries through change in the medical curriculum

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High infant and maternal mortality rates are one of the biggest health issues in Pakistan. Although these rates are given high priority at the national level (Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5, respectively), there has been no significant decrease in them so far. We hypothesize that this lack of success is because the undergraduate curriculum in Pakistan does not match local needs. Currently, the Pakistani medical curriculum deals with issues in maternal and child morbidity and mortality according to Western textbooks. Moreover, these are taught disjointedly through various departments. We undertook curriculum revision to sensitize medical students to maternal and infant mortality issues important in the Pakistani context and educate them about ways to reduce the same through an integrated teaching approach.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The major determinants of infant mortality in underdeveloped countries were identified through a literature review covering international research produced over the last 10 years and the Pakistan Demographic Health Survey 2006-07. An interdisciplinary maternal and child health module team was created by the Medical Education Department at Shifa College of Medicine. The curriculum was developed based on the role of identified determinants in infant and maternal mortality. It was delivered by an integrated team without any subject boundaries. Students' knowledge, skills, and attitudes were assessed by multiple modalities and the module itself by student feedback using questionnaires and focus group discussions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Assessment and feedback demonstrated that the students had developed a thorough understanding of the complexity of factors that contribute to infant mortality. Students also demonstrated knowledge and skill in counseling, antenatal care, and care of newborns and infants.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A carefully designed integrated curriculum can help sensitize undergraduate medical students and equip them to identify and address complex issues related to maternal and infant mortality in underdeveloped countries.</p

Context specific determinants of performance of informal sector: a study of factor structure

The objective of this study was to identify the factors influencing the performance of the informal sector in war affected regions of Sri Lanka and to examine the factor structure of it. Regarding to this study the researchers had mixed opinions in the factors influencing the informal sector so action was taken to find the major factors. This study was conducted in two stages. Stage one of the research, the exploratory study contained a factor identification study using the triangulation method with a sample size of 100 women headed households from the Vavuniya District in Si Lanka. Information were gathered from three perspectives, motivating factors, hindering factors and factors recommended to improve performance. Items generated by the responded were undergone content analysis. The content analysis of the exploratory study found four major factors. Consequently, the study of factor structure of the determinants of performance of the informal sector, at the second stage with a sample size of 300 women entrepreneurs engaged in the informal sector was conducted. The results revealed four factors, namely training, education, social and economic, matched with the results of the exploratory study. Implications are also discussed

New Genetic Insights from Autoimmune Thyroid Disease

The autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs) (Graves' disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis) are complex genetic diseases which most likely have more than 20 genes contributing to the clinical phenotypes. To date, the genes known to be contributing fall into two categories: immune regulatory genes (including HLA, CTLA4, PTPN22, CD40, CD25, and FCRL3) and thyroid-specific genes (TG and TSHR). However, none of these genes contribute more than a 4-fold increase in risk of developing one of these diseases, and none of the polymorphisms discovered is essential for disease development. Hence, it appears that a variety of different gene interactions can combine to cause the same clinical disease pattern, but the contributing genes may differ from patient to patient and from population to population. Furthermore, this possible mechanism leaves open the powerful influence of the environment and epigenetic modifications of gene expression. For the clinician, this means that genetic profiling of such patients is unlikely to be fruitful in the near future

What sow the seeds of hardship for the poorest of the poor? Towards increasing the performance of informal sector in war affected regions of Sri Lanka

Less performance of informal sector among the poorest of the poor in the war affected regions in Sri Lanka has been caused by many reasons. Findings of an exploratory study and the factor analysis revealed four important factors namely training and skills, education, social and economic. As the extension of the exploratory study, to test this prediction empirically with a larger sample size, the present study applied a survey method using a questionnaire especially designed based on the initial exploratory study which was conducted inductively. A sample of 300 women headed households engaged in the informal sector participated in this study. The results indicates these four factors significantly predict the performance of informal sector. More specifically, while, economic factors contribute more to the performance of the informal sector, training contributes less. The study also discussed the implication of findings and area for future research. Based on the findings and conclusions, few recommendations are also made to enhance the performance of women headed households in the informal sector