Crafting scholarly life: Strategies for creating meaning in academic careers

Job crafting, which occurs when individuals proactively make changes to their jobs, can be a useful tool for academics seeking more meaningful careers. We suggest changes to the cognitive, task, and relational aspects of academic jobs that can infuse scholarly work with more personal meaning. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86956/1/708_ftp.pd

Job Crafting via Decreasing Hindrance Demands:The Motivating Role of Interdependence Misfit and the Facilitating Role of Autonomy

Job crafting theory suggests that misalignment between an employee’s preferred and actual amount of job characteristics acts as a motivational trigger for job crafting. We test this unexplored, yet key proposition underlying job crafting theory. To do so, however, we take a more comprehensive misfit perspective than previously applied, evaluating person-job undersupply and oversupply. We propose that task interdependence misfit motivates a reductive form of job crafting, decreasing hindrance demands. We also propose that low autonomy mitigates the misfit to decreasing hindrance demands relationship. To empirically evaluate this direction, we employ moderated polynomial regression and response surface analysis. Study 1 (N = 159 English-speaking respondents) findings suggest that task interdependence misfit (both undersupply and oversupply) is positively related to decreasing hindrance demands. Study 2 (N = 363 Dutch-speaking respondents) findings replicate and support our misfit hypothesis. Further, as expected, low levels of autonomy neutralize the relationship between task interdependence misfit and decreasing hindrance demands. Theoretical and practical implications regarding the misfit-as-motivation hypothesis, and the simultaneous investigation of job crafting facilitators (i.e., autonomy) and motivators (i.e., misfit) are discussed

The construct validity and reliability of the Turkish version of Spreitzer's psychological empowerment scale

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Today, many organizations have adopted some kind of empowerment initiative for at least part of their workforce. Over the last two decades, two complementary perspectives on empowerment at work have emerged: structural and psychological empowerment. Psychological empowerment is a motivational construct manifested in four cognitions: meaning, competence, self-determination and impact. The aim of this article is to examine the construct validity and reliability of the Turkish translation of Spreitzer's psychological empowerment scale in a culturally diverse environment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The scale contains four dimensions over 12 statements. Data were gathered from 260 nurses and 161 physicians. The dimensionality of the scale was evaluated by exploratory factor analyses. To investigate the multidimensional nature of the empowerment construct and the validity of the scale, first- and second-order confirmatory factor analysis was conducted. Furthermore, Cronbach alpha coefficients were assessed to investigate reliability.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Exploratory factor analyses revealed that four factors in both solutions. The first- and second-order factor analysis indicated an acceptable fit between the data and the theoretical model for nurses and physicians. Cronbach alpha coefficients varied between 0.81-0.94 for both groups, which may be considered satisfactory.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The analyses indicated that the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the scale can be considered satisfactory.</p

Structural Changes, Dielectric and Ferroelectric Properties of Tribophysically Activated BaTiO3

In order to obtain nanocrystalline material which can be used in MLCC production, the investigations of the influence of BaTiO3 powder tribophysical activation (TPA) on its structural changes, dielectric and ferroelectric properties have been performed. Microstructure development and crystal structure have been studied by mercury porosimetry method, SEM, EDS and X-ray powder diffraction analyses. The modifications of dielectric and ferroelectric properties of sintered samples have been examined and correlated with observed structural changes induced by TPA of starting powders. It has been found that dielectric and ferroelectric properties of tribophysically activated BaTiO3 could be tuned by controlling the grain size and lattice strain of activated nanostructured material

Structural Changes, Dielectric and Ferroelectric Properties of Tribophysically Activated BaTiO3

In order to obtain nanocrystalline material which can be used in MLCC production, the investigations of the influence of BaTiO3 powder tribophysical activation (TPA) on its structural changes, dielectric and ferroelectric properties have been performed. Microstructure development and crystal structure have been studied by mercury porosimetry method, SEM, EDS and X-ray powder diffraction analyses. The modifications of dielectric and ferroelectric properties of sintered samples have been examined and correlated with observed structural changes induced by TPA of starting powders. It has been found that dielectric and ferroelectric properties of tribophysically activated BaTiO3 could be tuned by controlling the grain size and lattice strain of activated nanostructured material

Trust and control interrelations: New perspectives on the trust control nexus

This article is the post-print version of the published article that may be accessed at the link below. Copyright @ 2007 Sage Publications.This article introduces the special issue on New Perspectives on the Trust-Control Nexus in Organizational Relations. Trust and control are interlinked processes commonly seen as key to reach effectiveness in inter- and intraorganizational relations. The relation between trust and control is, however, a complex one, and research into this relation has given rise to various and contradictory interpretations of how trust and control relate. A well-known discussion is directed at whether trust and control are better conceived as substitutes, or as complementary mechanisms of governance. The articles in this special issue bring the discussion on the relationship between both concepts a step further by identifying common factors, distinctive mechanisms, and key implications relevant for theory building and empirical research. By studying trust and control through different perspectives and at different levels of analysis, the articles provide new theoretical insights and empirical evidence on the foundations of the trust-control interrelations

Robust SrTiO3 Passivation of Silicon Photocathode by Reduced Graphene Oxide for Solar Water Splitting

Development of a robust photocathode using lowcost and high-performing materials, e.g., p-Si, to produce clean fuel hydrogen has remained challenging since the semiconductor substrate is easily susceptible to (photo)corrosion under photoelectrochemical (PEC) operational conditions. A protective layer over the substrate to simultaneously provide corrosion resistance and maintain efficient charge transfer across the device is therefore needed. To this end, in the present work, we utilized pulsed laser deposition (PLD) to prepare a high-quality SrTiO3 (STO) layer to passivate the p-Si substrate using a buffer layer of reduced graphene oxide (rGO). Specifically, a very thin (3.9 nm ∼10 unit cells) STO layer epitaxially overgrown on rGO-buffered Si showed the highest onset potential (0.326 V vs RHE) in comparison to the counterparts with thicker and/or nonepitaxial STO. The photovoltage, flat-band potential, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements revealed that the epitaxial photocathode was more beneficial for charge separation, charge transfer, and targeted redox reaction than the nonepitaxial one. The STO/rGO/Si with a smooth and highly epitaxial STO layer outperforming the directly contacted STO/Si with a textured and polycrystalline STO layer showed the importance of having a well-defined passivation layer. In addition, the numerous pinholes formed in the directly contacted STO/Si led to the rapid degradation of the photocathode during the PEC measurements. The stability tests demonstrated the soundness of the epitaxial STO layer in passivating Si against corrosion. This study provided a facile approach for preparing a robust protection layer over a photoelectrode substrate in realizing an efficient and, at the same time, durable PEC device