Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Participation in decision making: a case study of job satisfaction and commitment (part one)

Purpose – When employees believe in and trust their management it motivates and encourages employees’ participation in decision making which improves employees’ efforts, benefits their job satisfaction and commitment to work. All of these factors, in turn, contribute to a trustworthy manager-employee relationship. While the literature supports this premise, there is little empirical evidence that patterns of causal inference in the relationship are clearly understood. This three part empirical case aims to focus on studying the relations between employee trust in management in a Quebec manufacturing company and their job satisfaction, intention to quit, level of employee participation in decision making and their commitment. Design/methodology/approach – This empirical case will test five hypothesis regarding seven variables influencing the level of employee engagement and commitment, employee turnover, employee participation in decision making processes and job satisfaction. Findings – The article finds that employee trust in management is an important determinant of their willingness to participate in decision making. Insufficient employee participation in decision making in turn leads to low level of employee job satisfaction and employee commitment. Lack of employee commitment and engagement affects the employee’s intention to quit. Research limitations/implications – The sample size of the office workers was not sufficient in order to have statistically significant results of the correlations between the variables for the production department employees, and for the office/administrative staff. This could have helped to determine the level of internal communication specifically, but also the level of all of the other variables for the two different groups of employees. Practical implications – This article offers useful insights for management in relation to strengthening interpersonal trust within an organization and introducing employee empowerment practices. Social implications – Owing to lack of trust in management, there will be high employee turnover. This in its turn will have a negative effect on both the performance of management and employees’ welfare, job satisfaction and commitment. Originality/value – The findings provide empirical evidence to support theoretical models that link employee trust in management, participation in decision making, job satisfaction, commitment, turnover intentions and highlight the impact of these factors on organizational performance.
Developing Expertise in Judgement Artistry in Occupational Therapy Practice

This paper presents a follow-up to an earlier paper (Paterson et al 2005) on the topic of judgement artistry. Here the expertise literature is reviewed and the research findings related to developing judgement artistry are presented. Experts use cognitive, metacognitive and humanistic aspects of professional artistry to make highly skilled micro-, macro- and meta-judgements that are optimal for the given circumstances of the client and the context. The professional practice judgement artistry (PPJA) model presented in the earlier paper makes a unique contribution to professional development by offering a creative and challenging perspective on expertise. Finally, the overall research approach is critiqued, considering issues of credibility and rigour, and suggestions for future research are provided.
The Effects of Self-Efficacy and Relationship Harmony on Depression Across Cultures

Cross-cultural theories of individualism and collectivism have stimulated the development of the personal constructs of independence and interdependence to help us understand the working out of their cultural dynamics. To delineate the contributions of both personal or independent and interpersonal or interdependent predictors of depressive symptomatology, this study assessed self-efficacy and relationship harmony (peer and family) among adolescents in Hong Kong and the United States. By applying both level- and structure- oriented techniques, the authors tested cultural differences in the levels of the constructs and their linkage across gender and culture. The path leading from self-efficacy to depressed symptoms was significantly stronger for American adolescents than for Hong Kong adolescents, whereas the path of relationship harmony was statistically equivalent across the two cultures. Both pathways supplemented one another in their effects on depressive symptomatology in both cultures, underscoring the importance of managing both agency and communion in promoting psychological health.
Typology of the Eight Domains of Discretion in Organizations

Discretion (an individual's latitude of action) is a fundamental element of work, with extensive individual and organizational consequences. Research has demonstrated the importance of discretion, but there is not yet a mature theory of discretion in organizations. Towards that end, this paper derives a multidimensional typology of discretion in organizations, integrating previous empirical results and archival interview data. It is found that discretion comprises eight distinct domains. This eight-part typology casts new light on previous findings and contributes towards a mature theory of discretion. This article discusses the circumplex structure of the eight domains and their potential utility in characterizing fundamental aspects of work.
Design and Evaluation of a Cross-Layer Framework for Improving 802.11 Networks: An Empirical Study

This paper reports on the design and evaluation of a class of cross-layer design (CLD) framework for improving the performance of 802.11-based wireless local area networks (WLANs). While various CLD approaches have been proposed for improving the performance of WLANs in recent years, the problem of efficient channel utilization, higher throughput, lower packet delay, and fairness has not been fully solved yet. To overcome the performance problems of 802.11, we propose a CLD framework which is based on a cross-layer medium access control (MAC) protocol called the channel-aware buffer unit multiple access (C-BUMA). In the framework, the radio propagation (i.e. physical layer) is combined with the MAC sub-layer to develop a robust cross-layer communication. By sharing channel information with the MAC protocol, the approach reduced unnecessary packet transmissions, and hence reduced bandwidth wastage and significantly improved the system performance. The proposed CLD method is evaluated by extensive simulation experiments. A comparison with 802.11 standards is provided. Results obtained show that the network achieves up to 13.5% higher throughput, 56% lower packet delay, 40% better fairness, and 38% lower packet dropping with the proposed CLD. We also found that the proposed CLD outperforms Pham’s CLD with respect to network throughput and packet dropping. The analysis and empirical results reported in this paper provide some insights into the design and evaluation of a CLD framework for improving data rate of 802.11 networks which may help researchers in this field to overcome the remaining design issues and challenges. Design and Evaluation of a Cross-Layer Framework for Improving 802.11 networks: An Empirical Study Nurul I Sarkar, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
Profiles of Reading Motivation among African American and Caucasian Students

Previous research has investigated motivations for reading by examining positive or affirming motivations, including intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy. Related to them, we examined two negative, or undermining, motivations consisting of avoidance and perceived difficulty. We proposed that the motivations of intrinsic motivation and avoidance are relatively independent and thus can be combined to form meaningful profiles consisting of avid, ambivalent, apathetic, and averse readers. With Grade 5 students we found that these motivations were relatively independent for both Caucasian and African American students. The two motivations uniquely explained a significant proportion of variance in reading comprehension and other cognitive reading variables. Although intrinsic motivation correlated higher with achievement than avoidance for Caucasians, avoidance correlated higher with achievement than intrinsic motivation for African Americans. For both groups, the profile of avid readers showed higher reading achievement than the other profiles.
APOYO A LA AUTONOMÍA, SATISFACCIÓN DE LAS NECESIDADES, MOTIVACIÓN Y BIENESTAR EN DEPORTISTAS DE COMPETICIÓN: UN ANÁLISIS DE LA TEORÍA DE LA AUTODETERMINACIÓN*

A model of the hypothesized motivational sequence among the autonomy support, basic needs, self determined motivation, self-esteem and life satisfaction was tested on the basis of the self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan, 1985, 2000). A multi-part questionnaire was administered to 301 athletes (171 females, 130 females; M Age= 24.1 + 4.7 years) who participated in a variety of sports. The robust method structural equation modelling analysis using maximum likelihood (LISREL 8.54) showed that athletes’ perceptions of autonomy support from coaches predicted their satisfaction of the needs for autonomy and relatedness. These needs, along with perceived competence, predicted self-determined motivation, which in turn corresponded to greater self esteem and life satisfaction.
Using Cloze Procedure as an Overall Language Proficiency Test.

Teachers of English as a second language are beginning to recognize the value of overall language proficiency tests in their programs. One such test of global proficiency is the cloze test, a type of fill-in-the-blank test constructed by randomly deleting words from a prose passage, and replacing them with blanks. Cloze tests appear to be valid, reliable language proficiency tests that can easily be constructed and used by any ESL teacher (Aitken 1975; Stubbs and Tucker 1974; and Oiler 1973). The purpose of this paper is to provide some guidelines on the construction, administration, scoring, and interpretation of cloze tests, as well as to discuss a possible explanation of the cognitive processes involved in taking a doze test. It is hoped that this discussion of the cloze procedure will be comprehensive enough to allow ESL teachers to use the cloze procedure in their own classrooms.
Everyday Life in Distance Education: One family’s home schooling experience

This article offers a narrative portrait of one family enrolled in a school of distance education in Queensland, Australia. Most of the families own or manage sheep and/or beef grazing properties, and their children receive their education by correspondence papers and daily UHF radio lessons. The students complete their school work at home with a home tutor, who is most often the mother, with support and assistance provided by the school of distance education’s teaching and support staff. As part of a larger inquiry focused on what home schooling is like as a component of living and working on sheep or cattle properties, and as but one part of the families’ everyday lives, the portrait includes biographical information about Louise Michaelson as home tutor, narrative sketches of her children Thomas and Timothy, and descriptive discussions of daily routines both within and outside of the schoolrooms used for the distance education programs.
Enabling Ethical Economies: Cooperativism and Class

This paper situates contemporary evaluations of the `success' of Spain's Mondragon cooperative complex within a tradition of debate about the politics of economic transformation. It traces the long-standing suspicion of worker cooperatives among political and social analysts on the left, revisiting both the revolutionary and gradualist socialist critiques of cooperativism. Taking the set of problems identified by Beatrice and Sidney Webb as leading to the inevitable failure of producer cooperatives, the paper examines Mondragon for evidence of `degeneration. ' The ethical decisions made by Mondragon cooperators with respect to product, pay, profit, innovation, management, disputes and membership are discussed with a particular focus on the management of surplus production, appropriation and distribution. The paper calls for more sophisticated analyses of the economics of surplus distribution and the centrality of ethical debate to the construction of diverse economies and non-capitalist economic subjects.
Induced mood and accessibility of memories: An effect of mood state or of induction procedure?

Previous studies have shown that inducing elated and depressed moods by verbal mood inductions differentially affects the accessibility of memories of past happy and unhappy experiences. This study examined whether the accessibility effects obtained resulted from differences in moods induced or from differences in the procedures used to induce moods. Mood induction procedures from which all references to the subjects' life experience had been eliminated were used to induce elated and depressed moods. Subjects were then asked to retrieve past life experiences associated to each of a series of stimulus words. The experiences retrieved were subsequently rated for their original happiness/unhappiness and pleasantness/unpleasantness. Happy and pleasant experiences were more probable in elated than in depressed mood. Unhappy and unpleasant experiences were more probable in depressed than in elated mood. The extent of differences in accessibility between mood conditions correlated with the extent to which mood actually differed between conditions. There was no relationship between the extent of differences in accessibility and the extent to which subjects reported thinking about their life circumstances during the mood inductions. The results replicate previous findings and suggest that the observed differences in accessibility result from the differences in mood induced rather than directly from the differences in mood induction procedures.
AN ETCH HOLE-FREE PROCESS FOR TEMPERATURE-COMPENSATED, HIGH Q, ENCAPSULATED RESONATORS

A process is presented for the fabrication of high quality factor (Q), temperature-compensated silicon resonators without release-etch perforations within the epitaxial polysilicon encapsulation (epi-seal). Electrostatically actuated Lame-mode square resonators up to 400 μm wide with frequencies from 8 to 107 MHz are released with no etch perforations, resulting in high f-Q products of up to 2e13 Hz. Temperature compensation with a turnover point is achieved using an epitaxially grown, highly boron-doped device layer.
Implementation of an Indoxacarb Susceptibility Monitoring Program using Field-Collected German Cockroach Isolates from the United States

ABSTRACT Indoxacarb, a sodium channel-blocking insecticide, has been in widespread use for German cockroach control in the United States since 2006. A two-tiered indoxacarb susceptibility monitoring strategy was previously developed as a first step toward determining indoxacarb susceptibility levels in German cockroach field populations. This strategy entails: (tier 1) testing field-collected populations in vial bioassays at two diagnostic concentrations; and (tier 2) testing populations at three diagnostic doses in oral (feeding) bioassays with treated bait matrix. In the current study the two-tiered technique was implemented to evaluate field (n = 14) and susceptible laboratory (n = 2) strains collected from 13 different U.S. locations. Our hypothesis was that at least some of the field-collected populations would display significant survivorship in both bioassays relative to susceptible laboratory populations. In agreement with this hypothesis, significantly reduced susceptibility was detected in 13 and 7 field strains with vial and feeding bioassays, respectively. In general, the lower number of strains displaying reduced susceptibility in feeding bioassays (seven strains) supports previous findings that indoxacarb is more toxic via ingestion. Although these findings suggest a reduced risk for resistance selection via feeding on indoxacarb-containing baits, they also suggest a need for proactive resistance management with respect to both spray and bait products.
Performing Decolonization: Lessons Learned from Indigenous Youth, Teachers and Leaders’ Engagement with Critical Indigenous Pedagogy

This article presents a “cross dialogue” that examines how Indigenous participants in two separate Critical Indigenous Qualitative Research (CIQR) studies responded to the decolonization process and notions of developing a critical Indigenous consciousness. The first CIQR study engaged Hopi/Tewa educators and educational leaders in the process of praxis and dialogue around their decisions regarding the curriculum and pedagogy selected for Hopi/Tewa students (Garcia, 2011). The second CIQR study engaged Dine youth (ages 11-14) in an examination of their identities/subjectivities (Shirley, 2011). With a strong purpose of bringing about empowerment, social change, justice and transformation within, for and by Indigenous communities, each of the studies are framed within critical Indigenous pedagogy (CIP). CIP is grounded in a theoretical framework and pedagogical methods that resist colonization and oppression in the educational context, privilege Indigenous knowledge systems and promote Indigenous sovereignty.
The Under-Representation of Women in Coaching: A Comparison of Male and Female Canadian Coaches at Low and High Levels of Coaching

There are disproportionately few women in high level coaching positions. Explanations vary for this under-representation of women as coaches, but the focus of this research is the disproportionate gender ratio within the profession as based upon Kanter's framework of occupational sex segregation. Two studies examining Canadian coaches undertaking introductory coaching certification (Study 1) (n = 809) and high-performance coaches (Study 2) (n = 819) were conducted. Both studies contribute evidence of decreasing proportions of women coaches from early certification and recreational positions to high-performance positions despite little difference between men and women in terms of qualifications including education and competitive experience. The results are discussed in terms of Kanter's proposition of proportion, along with references to power and opportunity within the coaching profession. Potential administrative practical solutions to the problems are suggested.
Private tutoring intensity in schools: a comparison between high and low socio-economic schools

Private tutoring (PT) is becoming a worldwide phenomenon. In Israel too, about a third of elementary school students participate in PT. Based on sociological and school quality considerations, we examined school characteristics that are associated with PT intensity at school. The data encompassed a random state wide sample of 389 Israeli elementary schools collected by the Ministry of Education in 2012. The results showed that in high school socioeconomic status (SES) schools the percentage of students who participated in PT was higher compared to low SES schools. In high SES, schools with high PT intensity were characterized by high school achievements whereas in low SES, schools were characterized with low school achievements. PT seems to be a factor that increases the social distinction between high and low SES schools. In Israel, PT seems to create distinct ‘school enclaves’ that reproduce social inequality.
HDL-Associated Lysosphingolipids Inhibit NAD(P)H Oxidase–Dependent Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 Production

Objectives—High-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels are inversely proportional to the risk of atherosclerosis, but mechanisms of HDL atheroprotection remain unclear. Monocyte chemoatractant protein-1 (MCP-1) constitutes an early component of inflammatory response in atherosclerosis. Here we investigated the influence of HDL on MCP-1 production in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and rat aortic explants. Methods and Results—HDL inhibited the thrombin-induced production of MCP-1 in a concentration-dependent manner. The HDL-dependent inhibition of MCP-1 production was accompanied by the suppression of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which regulate the MCP-1 production in VSMCs. HDL inhibited NAD(P)H oxidase, the preponderant source of ROS in the vasculature, and prevented the activation of Rac1, which precedes NAD(P)H-oxidase activation. The HDL capacity to inhibit MCP-1 production, ROS generation, and NAD(P)H-oxidase activation was emulated by sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) and sphingosylphosphorylcholine (SPC), two lysosphingolipids present in HDL, but not by apolipoprotein A-I. HDL-, S1P-, and SPC-induced inhibition of MCP-1 production was attenuated in VSMCs pretreated with VPC23019, an antagonist of lysosphingolipid receptors S1P1 and S1P3, but not by JTE013, an antagonist of S1P2. In addition, HDL, S1P, and SPC failed to inhibit MCP1 production and ROS generation in aortas from S1P3- and SR-B1–deficient mice. Conclusion—HDL-associated lysosphingolipids inhibit NAD(P)H oxidase-dependent ROS generation and MCP-1 production in a process that requires coordinate signaling through S1P3 and SR-B1 receptors.
Responses of Heart Rate and Vagus Tone to Treadmill Walking on Land and in Water in Healthy Older Adults

To determine water immersion’s effect on heart rate (HR) and vagal tone, the authors examined HR and high-frequency R-R-interval variability in 7 healthy older adults at rest and during treadmill walking, starting at 3.0 km/hr and increasing 0.5 km/hr every 3 min at a 5% grade to exhaustion. Participants performed the test on land and then immersed in water to the xiphoid. HR at rest did not differ between water and land. During walking at 3.0 km/min, HR was significantly lower in water than on land, whereas at 4.5 and 5.0 km/min it was significantly higher (each p < .05). Peak HR at exhaustion was not significantly different between water and land. High-frequency amplitudes at rest and during exercise in water were not significantly different from those on land. The results suggest that resting vagus tone and vagal changes in response to walking exercise in elderly adults are not greatly affected by water immersion.
Gender Discrimination and Growth: Theory and Evidence from India

Gender inequality is an acute and persistent problem, especially in developing countries. This paper argues that gender discrimination is an inefficient practice. We model gender discrimination as the complete exclusion of females from the labor market or as the exclusion of females from managerial positions. The distortions in the allocation of talent between managerial and unskilled positions, and in human capital investment, are analyzed. It is found that both types of discrimination lower economic growth; and that the former also implies a reduction in per capita GDP, while the latter distorts the allocation of talent. Both types of discrimination imply lower female-to-male schooling ratios. We discuss the sustainability of social norms or stigma that can generate discrimination in the form described in this paper. We present evidence based on panel-data regressions across Indian states over 1961-1991 that is consistent with the model? s predictions.
Does Feminism Spoil Girls? Explanations for Official Rises in Female Delinquency

Abstract Official rates of female delinquency have been rising steadily in countries such as Australia, England, Canada and the United States since the 1960s.They have also generally been rising at a rate faster than that for boys. As yet there is little consensus about the reasons for these rises or even whether such rate rises reflect any real increase in female delinquency at all. Against this backdrop of rising official crimes rates for young women, this article revisits the various criminological explanations for these trends.