The impact of parent-created motivational climate on adolescent athletes' perceptions of physical self-concept

This is a preliminary version of this article. The official published version can be obtained from the link below.Grounded in expectancy-value model (Eccles, 1993) and achievement goal theory (Nicholls, 1989), this study examined the perceived parental climate and its impact on athletes' perceptions of competence and ability. Hierarchical regression analyses with a sample of 237 British adolescent athletes revealed that mothers and fathers' task- and ego-involving climate predicted their son's physical self-concept; the father in particular is the strongest influence in shaping a son's physical self-concept positively and negatively. It was also found that the self-concept of the young adolescent athlete is more strongly affected by the perceived parental-created motivational climate (both task and ego) than the older adolescent athlete's self-concept. These findings support the expectancy-value model assumptions related to the role of parents as important socializing agents, the existence of gender-stereotyping, and the heavy reliance younger children place on parents' feedback

Development of an instrument to assess social functioning in dementia: The Social Functioning in Dementia scale (SF-DEM)

INTRODUCTION: Social functioning is a core domain in the life of people with dementia, but there is no accepted instrument to measure it. We aimed to develop the Social Functioning in Dementia (SF-DEM) scale and test its psychometric properties for assessing social function in people with dementia. METHODS: We interviewed people with mild dementia and family caregivers to develop patient and caregiver-rated SF-DEM versions and refined them through interviews with health care professionals. We tested its psychometric properties in 30 dyads of people with dementia and family caregivers. RESULTS: Both SF-DEM versions had content validity and demonstrated concurrent validity against a single item rating overall social functioning (patient rated r = 0.42, 95% CI [0.07–0.68]; caregiver rated r = 0.59, 95% CI [0.29–0.78]). All participants found it acceptable. Analyses showed reliability (test–retest, inter-rater, internal consistency) and indications of responsiveness to change. DISCUSSION: SF-DEM shows promise as a valid, reliable, acceptable measure of social functioning in dementia

What makes mindful self-initiated expatriates bounce back, improvise and perform:Empirical evidence from the emerging markets

Drawing upon the self-determination theory (SDT), this study examines what makes individual employees leverage improvisational capability to act extemporaneously to find relevant solutions for enhanced task performance. Using supervisor-subordinate dyadic self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) samples, we used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine this study's hypotheses. We found that mindfulness influences resilience and improvisation in the workplace. Furthermore, we found improvisation to mediate the influence of resilience on task performance. We discussed in detail the essential findings and their contributions to advance theory and practice in the field

Workplace Alignment: An evaluation of office worker flexibility and workplace provision

Purpose – The paper aims to explore the relationship between office occupier work activity and workplace provision. It tests the proposition that location-fixed office workers are not as well-supported in the working environment as location-flexible office workers. The research also explores the perceptions of the workplace provision based upon the types of tasks completed at the desk-location, whether this was collaborative or focused. Design/methodology/approach – The research adopts a cross-sectional approach using an online questionnaire to collect data from several offices in the Middles East. The dataset consists of 405 responses. One-way ANOVA was conducted to understand the relationship between location flexibility and perception of productivity. In addition, a series of T-Test were used to evaluate the relationship between work activities and office environment. Findings – The results show that those workers who were location-fixed perceived the workplace provision to have a more negative impact on their productivity than those who had a greater level of location-flexibility, particularly with regards to noise levels and interruptions. In terms of types of activities, those that undertook more collaborative tasks valued the facilitation of creativity and interaction from the workplace provision. Research limitations/implications – The research has limitations as data collection was at one-point in time and therefore lacks the opportunity to undertake longitudinal analysis. However, the research gives greater insights into the alignment of office environments based on flexibility and work activity. Practical implications – The paper identifies implications for the design and development of office environments by identifying the need for office occupier activity profiles. These profiles can underpin data led design which should promote a tailored choice appropriate work setting that can maximise productivity. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the research area of workplace alignment. It establishes that optimal workplace alignment requires a better understanding of office occupier needs based on location-flexibility and work activity

Antecedents and outcomes of consumer environmentally friendly attitudes and behaviour

With the intensification of problems relating to the environment, a growing number of consumers are becoming more ecologically conscious in their preferences and purchases of goods. This paper presents the results of a study conducted among 500 Cypriot consumers, focusing on the factors that shape consumer environmental attitudes and behaviour, as well as on the resulting outcomes. The findings confirmed that both the inward and outward environmental attitudes of a consumer are positively influenced by his/her degree of collectivism, long-term orientation, political involvement, deontology, and law obedience, but have no connection with liberalism. The adoption of an inward environmental attitude was also found to be conducive to green purchasing behaviour that ultimately leads to high product satisfaction. On the other hand, an outward environmental attitude facilitates the adoption of a general environmental behaviour, which is responsible for greater satisfaction with life. The findings of the study have important implications for shaping effective company offerings to consumers in target markets, as well as formulating appropriate policies at the governmental level to enhance environmental sensitivity among citizens

Brand origin identification by consumers: A classification perspective

The authors apply a classification perspective to (1) examine the extent to which consumers can identify the correct country of origin (COO) of different brands of consumer durables, (2) investigate the factors facilitating/hindering correct COO identification, and (3) trace the implications of correct/incorrect COO identification on brand evaluation. The results from a U.K. sample indicate that consumers' ability to classify brands correctly according to their origin is limited and also reveal substantial differences in the classification of different brands to their COO. Moreover, the key antecedent of correct COO identification is consumer ethnocentrism, with sociodemographics (e.g., age, gender) also playing a role. Finally, the authors find that though there are differences in brand evaluations depending on whether the correct COO was identified, such differences are not observed for all brands investigated

Emotional intelligence and British expatriates’ cross-cultural adjustment in international construction projects

© 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Today’s internationalized business demands global mindset, intercultural sensitivity and the ability to skilfully negotiate through cross-cultural interactions. Therefore, the overall aim was to investigate the influence of emotional intelligence (EI) on cross-cultural adjustment (CCA) of British expatriates working on International Architectural, Engineering and Construction assignments in Sub-Saharan Africa, China, Middle East and Indian Sub-Continent. Specifically, the causal relationship between EI and three facets of CCA i.e. work, general and interaction adjustment was explored. A sequential exploratory mixed methods design was adopted. These include extensive review of existing literature, eighteen unstructured interviews, and questionnaire survey of 191 British expatriates operating in 29 different countries from the four regions under investigation. Structural equation modelling was used to assess the causal relationship between EI and CCA. Results show that EI accounted for 91, 64 and 24% of the variance in work, interaction and general adjustment respectively. Overall, the model was able to explain 60% variance in CCA, suggesting that EI competencies play a huge role in facilitating an expatriate understand and adapt to host country culture. The findings would help decision-makers (HR managers) during expatriate selection process, in understanding that along with technical skills, it is the emotional competencies that are crucial in assisting expatriates adjust to foreign way of life

The Intentional Use of Service Recovery Strategies to Influence Consumer Emotion, Cognition and Behaviour

Service recovery strategies have been identified as a critical factor in the success of. service organizations. This study develops a conceptual frame work to investigate how specific service recovery strategies influence the emotional, cognitive and negative behavioural responses of . consumers., as well as how emotion and cognition influence negative behavior. Understanding the impact of specific service recovery strategies will allow service providers' to more deliberately and intentionally engage in strategies that result in positive organizational outcomes. This study was conducted using a 2 x 2 between-subjects quasi-experimental design. The results suggest that service recovery has a significant impact on emotion, cognition and negative behavior. Similarly, satisfaction, negative emotion and positive emotion all influence negative behavior but distributive justice has no effect

Exposure Path Perceptions and Protective Actions in Biological Water Contamination Emergencies

This study extends the Protective Action Decision Model, developed to address disaster warning responses in the context of natural hazards, to “boil water” advisories. The study examined 110 Boston residents’ and 203 Texas students’ expectations of getting sick through different exposure paths for contact with contaminated water. In addition, the study assessed respondents’ actual implementation (for residents) or behavioral expectations (for students) of three different protective actions – bottled water, boiled water, and personally chlorinated water – as well as their demo-graphic characteristics and previous experience with water contamination. The results indicate that people distinguish among the exposure paths, but the differences are small (one-third to one-half of the response scale). Nonetheless, the perceived risk from the exposure paths helps to explain why people are expected to consume (or actually consumed) bottled water rather than boiled or personally chlorinated water. Overall, these results indicate that local authorities should take care to communicate the relative risks of different exposure paths and should expect that people will respond to a boil water order primarily by consuming bottled water. Thus, they should make special efforts to increase supplies of bottled water in their communities during water contamination emergencies

Aphasia and Stroke Therapeutic Alliance Measure (A-STAM): Development and preliminary psychometric evaluation

Purpose: The therapeutic alliance, also known as the therapeutic relationship, may influence treatment process and outcome in aphasia rehabilitation; however, we currently lack a reliable tool to measure this relationship. This study aimed to develop a novel measure of the therapeutic alliance applicable to this population and provide preliminary evidence of the measure’s psychometric properties. Method: Statements were generated from the: (1) therapeutic alliance literature, (2) qualitative interviews with stakeholders, and (3) Q methodological insights with people with aphasia (PWA) (n = 455). A representative sample of statements was identified from the data set (n = 57) and reviewed by expert panels (professionals and PWA), culminating in a 42-item clinician and patient version of the aphasia and stroke therapeutic alliance measure (A-STAM). Reliability and validity of both the clinician and patient versions of A-STAM were investigated with 34 Clinician-patient dyads engaging in therapy. Result: Internal consistency and test–retest reliability were excellent for both clinician (α = 92; ICC = 0.93) and patient versions of A-STAM (α = 0.92; ICC = 0.97). In both versions, scores correlated highly with psychotherapeutic measures of therapeutic alliance, indicative of good construct validity (rs = 0.75; rs = 0.77). Conclusion: The findings establish the preliminary reliability and validity of A-STAM and support further investigation into the measure’s psychometric properties in larger samples