To report or not to report: The impact of organizational justice perceptions on sexual harassment coping

Much of the previous research on predictors of sexual harassment coping and reporting has been atheoretical. However, the present study was guided by two theoretical frameworks: Feminist theory and Theories of Organizational justice. This study investigated whether perceptions of distributive, procedural and interactional justice as well as global organizational justice were related to sexual harassment coping. Participants were 257 female employees who were recruited using the Study Response Project. Multiple regression analyses showed that as their perceptions of organizational justice decreased, sexually harassed women were more likely to avoid their harasser. Sexually harassed women who had experienced more frequent sexual harassment were also more likely to report their harasser as their perceptions of organizational justice increased. However, when the frequency of the sexual harassment was low, perceptions of organizational justice were not related to reporting. Overall, the three types of justice (distributive, procedural and interactional justice) were not related to sexual harassment coping. However, it is still important to examine the factors that encourage women to report their harasser. A discussion of a revised conceptual model is provided

Protecting the Democratic Role of the Press: A Legal Solution to Fake News

It is difficult to discuss the 2016 presidential election without including the impact of fake news in the conversation, and most commentators deplore the effect of fake news’ proliferation across the internet on American politics and the public. These conversations have centered on the impact fake news had on the presidential election, as well as concerns that the general public is unable to identify fake news. There have even been more immediately dangerous consequences stemming from fake news, such as a gunman showing up to a D.C. pizzeria to liberate children he believed Hillary Clinton was holding hostage there based on a widely-circulated fake news article. Fake news has been shared widely on social media platforms, primarily Facebook, and these platforms’ failure to contain the spread of blatantly false articles has exacerbated these problems. Fake news is a social problem threatening the public’s ability to trust legitimate press outlets and, ultimately, the ability of the press to serve its role in preserving our democracy. Many commentators so far have focused on social solutions to fake news, such as better education for citizens to recognize fake news online, to the exclusion of legal solutions. But the threat fake news poses to the role of a free press in sustaining our democracy necessitates a legal solution to the problem as well. Congress could curb the far-reaching problems of fake news by clarifying the intended implications of § 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) on defamation liability for internet distributors. Applying a modified standard of common law distributor liability specifically targeted to address fake news to internet service providers (ISPs) and websites would hold social media websites like Facebook responsible for fake news that site administrators have been informed is defamatory. This would drastically reduce the oversharing and spreading of fake news. A modified standard of distributor liability would be the best legal solution to the problem of fake news because it merely applies a traditional area of tort law to a new technology. Additionally, it would not create ruinous liability for internet companies because most websites already implement similar monitoring requirements to comply with federal copyright law. This Note will explain the function of the free press in preserving our society, how fake news threatens the press’s legitimacy, and why a legal solution is necessary to protect the press’s democratic role. It will then propose a legal solution to curb the spread of fake news. Part II will explain that there is a consensus among First Amendment theorists that the role of the free press in a democratic society is to inform the public, allowing them to actively participate in elections and the governmental process. It will also explain how fake news undermines the informing function of the press by eroding the legitimacy and credibility of traditional, reliable news outlets, creating an uninformed public unable to participate effectively in our democracy. Part III will explain the history of defamation liability and the development and legal interpretation of the CDA, which eliminated common law distributor defamation liability for ISPs and social media websites. Part IV will outline how the immunization of websites from distributor defamation liability has created a legal environment in which it is impossible for the subjects of fake news to bring defamation lawsuits against distributors to stop the spread of blatantly false and potentially dangerous material about them. It will also explain how amending § 230 of the CDA to reinstate common law distributor defamation liability on a modified basis would be a workable legal solution to the threat fake news poses

Random Goods

I walked into Random Goods expecting your run-of-the-mill thrift store. That was a mistake. First step into the store and I’m staring at dress forms decked out in crazy costumes, from a gorgeous white Greek goddess costume (really, truly fabulous) to 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s attire

Exploring Perceptions of Workplace Bullying in Nursing

Introduction: Bullying is experienced by all levels of nurses and in all practice settings. The impact of bullying in the workplace environment can have significant negative effects on morale and may lead to increased turnover. As a result of a referral to the Nursing Quality Council for bullying, the Nursing Quality and Caring Council set forth to explore bullying in the workplace. The purpose of this study was to identify registered nurse/clinical partner perceptions of the frequency and prevalence of bullying in the workplace and to assess registered nurses’ (RNs) experiences of bullying by physicians, coworkers, patients and direct supervisors. Methods: Using a descriptive cross sectional survey design, RNs were offered two surveys; the Nursing Incivility Scale (NIS) and the Negative Acts Questionnaire (NAQ). Clinical Partners were offered the NAQ only. Results: Participants included 386 RNs and 98 clinical partners (CPs). Nurses reported patient and families take their frustrations out on the nurse as the highest score on the Nursing Incivility Scale. Both RNs and CPs reported being exposed to an unmanageable workload as the number one source of bullying in the Negative Acts Questionnaire. Overall, the results revealed 31% of participants reported experiencing bullying on some level within the last 6 months. Discussion: The results of this study support the literature suggesting bullying continues to be present in the workplace. These findings support the need for an organizational action plan designed to eliminate bullying in the workplace

Attribution of surface ozone to NOx and volatile organic compound sources during two different high ozone events

Increased tropospheric ozone (O3) and high temperatures affect human health during heat waves. Here, we perform a source attribution that considers separately the formation of German surface ozone from emitted NOx and volatile organic compound (VOC) precursors during two peak ozone events that took place in 2015 and 2018 which were associated with elevated temperatures. Results showed that peak ozone concentrations can be primarily attributed to nearby emissions of anthropogenic NOx (from Germany and immediately neighboring countries) and biogenic VOC. Outside of these high ozone episodes, baseline ozone concentrations are attributed primarily to long-range transport, with ozone due to remote anthropogenic NOx emissions and methane oxidation adding to the tropospheric ozone background. We show that a significant contribution to modeled O3 coming from German NOx or VOC emissions occurs mostly in southern Germany, emphasizing that the production of ozone depends on the local interplay between NOx and VOC precursors. Shipping activities in the Baltic and North seas have a large impact on ozone predicted in coastal areas, yet a small amount of ozone from these sources can also be seen far inland, showing the importance of transported ozone on pollution levels. We have also shown that changes in circulation patterns during the peak O3 episodes observed in Germany during the 2015 and 2018 heat waves can affect the contribution of different NOx emission sources to total O3; thus, the possible influence of multiple upwind source regions should be accounted for when mitigation strategies are designed. Our study also highlights the good correlation between ozone coming from German biogenic VOC emissions and total ozone, although the diurnal variation in the ozone coming from biogenic sources is not dominated by the diurnal variation in biogenic emissions, and the peaks of ozone from biogenic sources are disconnected from local emission peaks. This suggests that the formation of O3 from local German biogenic VOC emissions is not the sole factor that influences the ozone formation, and other meteorological and chemical processes affect the diel variation of ozone with a biogenic origin. Overall, this study helps to demonstrate the importance of a source attribution method to understand the sources of O3 in Germany and can be a useful tool that will help to design effective mitigation strategies

The Effects of Organizational Justice Perceptions Associated with the use of Electronic Monitoring on Employees\u27 Organizational Citizenship and Withdrawal Behaviours: A Social Exchange Perspective

The number of organizations choosing to electronically monitor their employees is increasing. Many of these organizations choose to implement these systems without fully understanding what effect they will have on their employees\u27 attitudes and behaviours. The current study explored how fairness perceptions associated with the use of electronic monitoring impacts the extent to which employees are willing to engage in two types of discretionary behaviours--organizational citizenship and withdrawal behaviours. A social exchange approach was adopted. Data were obtained from 208 employees working for a Municipal government, a Police department and a call centre. Results confirmed that perceptions of justice associated with the use of electronic monitoring affect employees\u27 willingness to engage in both organizational citizenship and withdrawal behaviours. It was also found that the relationship between perceptions of fairness associated with the use of electronic monitoring and citizenship and withdrawal behaviours was mediated by perceived organizational support, organizational trust, and affective commitment. Overall, the findings of the current study contribute to our understanding of the factors influencing employees\u27 willingness to engage in loyal boosterism and withdrawal behaviours when organizations electronically monitor their employees. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed