title: Job demands and work-related psychological responses among Malaysian technical workers: The moderating effects of self-efficacy

authors: Panatik, Siti A.

subjects: job design

abstract: Job design has long been found to affect the work-related psychological responses of employees, such as psychological strain, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions, but scholars have begun to question whether established theoretical relations regarding job design continue to hold given the enormous changes in the nature of work during the past two decades. It is also increasingly recognized that individual differences affect work behaviours in substantial ways, but few studies on work design have investigated these differences. We addressed these concerns with a two-wave longitudinal study among 245 technical workers at a telecommunications company in Malaysia, a country that has a collectivist culture and a high power distance between managers and subordinates. We examined the moderating effects of job control and self-efficacy on the relationships between job demands and employee responses. The results failed to support the job demands-control model, as job control variables did not moderate the impact of demands on employee work-related psychological responses. However, self-efficacy moderated their impact on psychological strain (although not on job satisfaction or turnover intentions). Our findings provide insight into the moderating effect of self-efficacy, and suggest that practitioners interested in reducing psychological strain should consider making efforts to increase self-efficacy among employees.

text: Job demands and work-related psychological responses among Malaysian technical workers: The moderating effects of self-efficacy Job design has long been found to affect the work-related psychological responses of employees, such as psychological strain, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions, but scholars have begun to question whether established theoretical relations regarding job design continue to hold given the enormous changes in the nature of work during the past two decades. It is also increasingly recognized that individual differences affect work behaviours in substantial ways, but few studies on work design have investigated these differences. We addressed these concerns with a two-wave longitudinal study among 245 technical workers at a telecommunications company in Malaysia, a country that has a collectivist culture and a high power distance between managers and subordinates. We examined the moderating effects of job control and self-efficacy on the relationships between job demands and employee responses. The results failed to support the job demands-control model, as job control variables did not moderate the impact of demands on employee work-related psychological responses. However, self-efficacy moderated their impact on psychological strain (although not on job satisfaction or turnover intentions). Our findings provide insight into the moderating effect of self-efficacy, and suggest that practitioners interested in reducing psychological strain should consider making efforts to increase self-efficacy among employees.

year: 2011

title: Kitiaga mo fakamahani e hikihikiaga matagi he tau fifine Niue: tau pūhala he tau hiapo Niue women’s perspectives and experiences of climate change: a hiapo approach

authors: Pasisi, Jessica Lili

subjects: Niue

abstract: Indigenous communities in the Pacific are on the front-line of some of the most severe climate change impacts. Pacific leaders have consistently stated the urgent need for climate action (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2019) and fought for larger emitting nations to be more accountable for their inaction. While Pacific leaders fight to be heard, our people are also fighting to reclaim and draw attention to Indigenous knowledge, language and cultural practice as key areas for strategies of sustainability and resilience. To understand the complexities of climate change in the Pacific, people of Oceania must have control in framing and voicing their diverse narratives. As a daughter of Niue, I have a vested interest in the conservation of a dynamic and diverse Niue environment and culture, and the stories of Niue people, by Niue people. In the face of global climate change, drawing attention to the specific experiences and lived realities of Niue people contributes to local, regional and global Indigenous narratives that come from a place of strength and self-determination and challenge dominant Euro-centric coverage of climate change. 
This thesis is about starting conversations that provide a greater platform to recognise and amplify the voices of Niue people. Specifically, this research focuses on Niue women’s experiences of and perspectives on climate change. Niue women are important holders of Niue knowledge and culture. Stories of Niue’s female ancestors are full of strength, resourcefulness, ferocity, and capability; unapologetic women who protect, nurture, provide and lead. Yet, very rarely do these stories make their way into primary school education, let alone any academic spheres. The perspectives and experiences of Niue women are important because in knowing them, it is possible to learn from their insight and culturally specific knowledge that has value and benefit in grappling with complex changes. 
From the intersection of Management Communication and Pacific studies this research draws on specific values around voice; communication that centres and values cultural identity. While interdisciplinary work is common in both fields, very rarely have these two disciplines come into contact. I used my background in Management Communication to critically engage in conversations about the possibilities of meaningful engagement with Niue stories and perspectives to better craft relevant communication that has both strategic and social relevance. This thesis adds to critical thinking in the spaces of Pacific Studies and Management Communication, raising questions of how these two fields might shape and be shaped by each other.
To have a conversation about climate change in Niue, clear and considered attention needs to be given to the specificity and uniqueness of Niue women’s voices and lived experiences. This calls for a Pacific research methodology and methods that centre Niue culture and the diversity of perspectives of Niue women. I developed hiapo methodology as a Niue-specific way to approach this research and create a space where Niue women’s voices are privileged throughout the research process. Drawing on existing Pacific research methodologies, I explore the metaphor of the hiapo as a qualitative methodology that has particular relevance in culturally respectful research of Niue women’s narratives. Hiapo is known to be the domain of women, an embodiment of process, practice, ancestry, herstories, and relationships in and of Niue culture. Metaphors from hiapo allowed me to explore the complexity of climate change through the narratives of Niue women in ways that respect the cultural and gendered relationships that entwine in Niue lived experience. Hiapo methodology necessitates greater dimensionality in foregrounding and privileging Niue knowledge and culture through visual, written, and oral narratives and archives. 
Centring Niue women’s voices highlights intricate culturally-laden meanings and actions in response to the realities of vastly changing environments. Twelve Niue women, all of whom were based in Niue, collaborated with me on this study. Their narratives form precious tāoga for this study and – importantly for Niue people – for generations to come. These women’s voices are thematically analysed which brings into focus a multi-dimensional conceptualisation of climate change that reflects across their life stories and experiences. Climate change perspectives and experiences for these women are not just related to the physical impacts of the environment but much more diverse ancestral and cultural connections to the land, the sea, and our people.
Climate change in this context involves paying attention to family, stories of genealogy and generational knowledge. There is a richness to the insights of thinking about climate change in the stories of Niue grandmothers, mothers and daughters that teach Niue values of strength, resilience and resourcefulness. Niue women’s voices offer different perspectives on how climate change impacts are considered and dealt with in every-day experiences. Paying attention to personal and specific stories that seem beyond the realm of climate change in fact offer sites to challenge dominant perspectives and consider the capabilities embedded in Niue culture and practice that comes from generations of experience and observation. How a vanilla farmer pollinates her flowers, how a mother teaches her children how to live without electricity, how a young mother navigates the convenience of imported foods, are just some of the factors that contribute to lived experiences that are exacerbated by climate change impacts. Yet these narratives also provide insight into the opportunities of climate change, the ability to become more aware of key issues that these women prioritise in order to provide for their families, make a living and how cultural and ancestral practices are vitally embedded in these actions. 
These women’s narratives provide insights into climate change and Niue cultural knowledge that has relevance both in Niue and beyond our rugged coastlines to Pacific and Indigenous communities who are also on the front-line of climate change.

text: Kitiaga mo fakamahani e hikihikiaga matagi he tau fifine Niue: tau pūhala he tau hiapo Niue women’s perspectives and experiences of climate change: a hiapo approach Indigenous communities in the Pacific are on the front-line of some of the most severe climate change impacts. Pacific leaders have consistently stated the urgent need for climate action (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2019) and fought for larger emitting nations to be more accountable for their inaction. While Pacific leaders fight to be heard, our people are also fighting to reclaim and draw attention to Indigenous knowledge, language and cultural practice as key areas for strategies of sustainability and resilience. To understand the complexities of climate change in the Pacific, people of Oceania must have control in framing and voicing their diverse narratives. As a daughter of Niue, I have a vested interest in the conservation of a dynamic and diverse Niue environment and culture, and the stories of Niue people, by Niue people. In the face of global climate change, drawing attention to the specific experiences and lived realities of Niue people contributes to local, regional and global Indigenous narratives that come from a place of strength and self-determination and challenge dominant Euro-centric coverage of climate change. 
This thesis is about starting conversations that provide a greater platform to recognise and amplify the voices of Niue people. Specifically, this research focuses on Niue women’s experiences of and perspectives on climate change. Niue women are important holders of Niue knowledge and culture. Stories of Niue’s female ancestors are full of strength, resourcefulness, ferocity, and capability; unapologetic women who protect, nurture, provide and lead. Yet, very rarely do these stories make their way into primary school education, let alone any academic spheres. The perspectives and experiences of Niue women are important because in knowing them, it is possible to learn from their insight and culturally specific knowledge that has value and benefit in grappling with complex changes. 
From the intersection of Management Communication and Pacific studies this research draws on specific values around voice; communication that centres and values cultural identity. While interdisciplinary work is common in both fields, very rarely have these two disciplines come into contact. I used my background in Management Communication to critically engage in conversations about the possibilities of meaningful engagement with Niue stories and perspectives to better craft relevant communication that has both strategic and social relevance. This thesis adds to critical thinking in the spaces of Pacific Studies and Management Communication, raising questions of how these two fields might shape and be shaped by each other.
To have a conversation about climate change in Niue, clear and considered attention needs to be given to the specificity and uniqueness of Niue women’s voices and lived experiences. This calls for a Pacific research methodology and methods that centre Niue culture and the diversity of perspectives of Niue women. I developed hiapo methodology as a Niue-specific way to approach this research and create a space where Niue women’s voices are privileged throughout the research process. Drawing on existing Pacific research methodologies, I explore the metaphor of the hiapo as a qualitative methodology that has particular relevance in culturally respectful research of Niue women’s narratives. Hiapo is known to be the domain of women, an embodiment of process, practice, ancestry, herstories, and relationships in and of Niue culture. Metaphors from hiapo allowed me to explore the complexity of climate change through the narratives of Niue women in ways that respect the cultural and gendered relationships that entwine in Niue lived experience. Hiapo methodology necessitates greater dimensionality in foregrounding and privileging Niue knowledge and culture through visual, written, and oral narratives and archives. 
Centring Niue women’s voices highlights intricate culturally-laden meanings and actions in response to the realities of vastly changing environments. Twelve Niue women, all of whom were based in Niue, collaborated with me on this study. Their narratives form precious tāoga for this study and – importantly for Niue people – for generations to come. These women’s voices are thematically analysed which brings into focus a multi-dimensional conceptualisation of climate change that reflects across their life stories and experiences. Climate change perspectives and experiences for these women are not just related to the physical impacts of the environment but much more diverse ancestral and cultural connections to the land, the sea, and our people.
Climate change in this context involves paying attention to family, stories of genealogy and generational knowledge. There is a richness to the insights of thinking about climate change in the stories of Niue grandmothers, mothers and daughters that teach Niue values of strength, resilience and resourcefulness. Niue women’s voices offer different perspectives on how climate change impacts are considered and dealt with in every-day experiences. Paying attention to personal and specific stories that seem beyond the realm of climate change in fact offer sites to challenge dominant perspectives and consider the capabilities embedded in Niue culture and practice that comes from generations of experience and observation. How a vanilla farmer pollinates her flowers, how a mother teaches her children how to live without electricity, how a young mother navigates the convenience of imported foods, are just some of the factors that contribute to lived experiences that are exacerbated by climate change impacts. Yet these narratives also provide insight into the opportunities of climate change, the ability to become more aware of key issues that these women prioritise in order to provide for their families, make a living and how cultural and ancestral practices are vitally embedded in these actions. 
These women’s narratives provide insights into climate change and Niue cultural knowledge that has relevance both in Niue and beyond our rugged coastlines to Pacific and Indigenous communities who are also on the front-line of climate change.

year: 2020

title: Re-presenting Māori and Indigenous understandings of Being: Deconstructing the notion of mental illness

authors: Southey, Kim Marie

subjects: Maori

abstract: This thesis examines metaphysics in order to re-present Māori and indigenous understandings of Being and deconstruct the notion of mental illness.  A holistic understanding of Being is crucial to Māori and indigenous worldviews and takes priority as a focus for this thesis. Holistic notions of Being allow indigenous peoples to reimagine potentiality in general and the possibility of a renewed experience of being-in-the-world more specifically. Through an exploration of Māori and indigenous (complex) holism, I seek to re-turn to the influence of things in the world that exist outside of the self-contained individual - that is, beyond the cognitive rational agent.  Doing so shifts the concept of well-being to reside not simply within the person (or the individual’s reactions), but within the entire world in which we live.  

It is posited that a dominant Western metaphysics poses a fundamental risk to Māori and indigenous expressions of Being.  This deeper layer of influence – the metaphysics of presence - is examined to expose its structure – one that insists that things in the world will be represented as fully discernible objects.  The implications that a dominant Western metaphysics has for the notion of mental illness are explored within the context of the metaphysics of presence that sets up things in the world as Beings whose essential meaning is identified only through qualities that can be seen, measured, described and defined.  Within this view of the world, the notion of mental illness is solidified, reflected in a focus on the most discernible aspects of Being – the observable and physical parts of a person that can be examined through science.  To counter this, the more mysterious and unthinkable aspects of Being reflected in Māori and indigenous metaphysics are highlighted as a way of re-turning to holism, to the extent that they resist the expectation that things in the world will be reduced to fit the dominant (metaphysical) framework.  

I engage the relational holistic research approach of whaiwhakaaro (a non-method implicating the more-than-human entities that push thinking and characterised by a free-flowing style of reflection), to draw out the possibilities that exist for re-presenting Māori and indigenous metaphysics and the notion of mental illness.  Eleven interviews were conducted with participants from varying professional and community-based backgrounds.  While the participants represent different views on metaphysics and mental illness, each has a passion for exploring the philosophies that shape the experience of being-in-the-world and how we understand ourselves in relation to all other things.  Their responses provide important signals for how human nature, more-than-human nature, and (mental) well-being are re-conceptualised.  

The main ideas that emerged through the interviews and the process of reflecting on participant responses (whaiwhakaaro) provoked thinking about the possibilities of holism in reconsidering the notion of mental illness.  Māori and indigenous understandings of Being were used to re-turn to ideas of well-being as a collective experience. I posit that, if there is illness, then it resides in the world rather than being centred solely on the individual who experiences the world.  If there is a way to talk about illness and well-being, then it need not be restricted to assigned concepts or pre-determined categories that explain behaviour.  Through a re-turn to complex holism – to Māori and indigenous metaphysical premises – I suggest we can engage with people’s experiences on different terms.  These are the terms that carry excessive meaning, that allow for mystery – to break from conventions and categories. These terms support a different view of individualism where the person is free to express their experience of thorough interconnection – of whakapapa.  In its broadest sense, the re-turn to holism is an understanding of the self as part of a thoroughly connected whole.

text: Re-presenting Māori and Indigenous understandings of Being: Deconstructing the notion of mental illness This thesis examines metaphysics in order to re-present Māori and indigenous understandings of Being and deconstruct the notion of mental illness.  A holistic understanding of Being is crucial to Māori and indigenous worldviews and takes priority as a focus for this thesis. Holistic notions of Being allow indigenous peoples to reimagine potentiality in general and the possibility of a renewed experience of being-in-the-world more specifically. Through an exploration of Māori and indigenous (complex) holism, I seek to re-turn to the influence of things in the world that exist outside of the self-contained individual - that is, beyond the cognitive rational agent.  Doing so shifts the concept of well-being to reside not simply within the person (or the individual’s reactions), but within the entire world in which we live.  

It is posited that a dominant Western metaphysics poses a fundamental risk to Māori and indigenous expressions of Being.  This deeper layer of influence – the metaphysics of presence - is examined to expose its structure – one that insists that things in the world will be represented as fully discernible objects.  The implications that a dominant Western metaphysics has for the notion of mental illness are explored within the context of the metaphysics of presence that sets up things in the world as Beings whose essential meaning is identified only through qualities that can be seen, measured, described and defined.  Within this view of the world, the notion of mental illness is solidified, reflected in a focus on the most discernible aspects of Being – the observable and physical parts of a person that can be examined through science.  To counter this, the more mysterious and unthinkable aspects of Being reflected in Māori and indigenous metaphysics are highlighted as a way of re-turning to holism, to the extent that they resist the expectation that things in the world will be reduced to fit the dominant (metaphysical) framework.  

I engage the relational holistic research approach of whaiwhakaaro (a non-method implicating the more-than-human entities that push thinking and characterised by a free-flowing style of reflection), to draw out the possibilities that exist for re-presenting Māori and indigenous metaphysics and the notion of mental illness.  Eleven interviews were conducted with participants from varying professional and community-based backgrounds.  While the participants represent different views on metaphysics and mental illness, each has a passion for exploring the philosophies that shape the experience of being-in-the-world and how we understand ourselves in relation to all other things.  Their responses provide important signals for how human nature, more-than-human nature, and (mental) well-being are re-conceptualised.  

The main ideas that emerged through the interviews and the process of reflecting on participant responses (whaiwhakaaro) provoked thinking about the possibilities of holism in reconsidering the notion of mental illness.  Māori and indigenous understandings of Being were used to re-turn to ideas of well-being as a collective experience. I posit that, if there is illness, then it resides in the world rather than being centred solely on the individual who experiences the world.  If there is a way to talk about illness and well-being, then it need not be restricted to assigned concepts or pre-determined categories that explain behaviour.  Through a re-turn to complex holism – to Māori and indigenous metaphysical premises – I suggest we can engage with people’s experiences on different terms.  These are the terms that carry excessive meaning, that allow for mystery – to break from conventions and categories. These terms support a different view of individualism where the person is free to express their experience of thorough interconnection – of whakapapa.  In its broadest sense, the re-turn to holism is an understanding of the self as part of a thoroughly connected whole.

year: 2020