title: The Further Analysis of Catania's Concept of the Operant

authors: Zhang, Yi

subjects: Catania

abstract: Catania’s theory of the operant incorporated the continuous characteristic of behaviour, where the response distribution follows a normal distribution. That is, most responses fall within the reinforced range, a few responses persisted outside of the reinforced range. Three roosters and three hens were used as the subjects. A continuous reinforcement (CRF) schedule was implemented throughout both experiments of the study. In Experiment 1, the screen was divided into four quadrants. Only one quadrant was active in each condition and the active area shifted to a different quadrant across conditions. Each peck within the active quadrant was considered as a correct response, which results in reinforcement. Each peck outside the active quadrant was considered as an incorrect response, which results in extinction. In Experiment 2, the screen was divided into vertical strips. During Conditions 1 to 8, the consequences for the correct and incorrect responses are the same as Experiment 1. In Condition 9, the consequence for the incorrect responses changed from extinction to punishment (delay to reinforcement). That is, a 3 second red screen was followed with each occurrence of an incorrect response. It was found that the incorrect responses persisted during each condition of the two experiments for most birds. It was also found that most of the hens’ responses were correct responses by the end of each condition in Experiment 2. However, for all birds in Experiment 1 and the roosters in Experiment 2, most responses were not correct by the end of each condition. The findings of Experiment 2 also indicated that the changes in condition length, active area’s size, and consequence of the incorrect responses might have had some influence on the number of incorrect responses. Overall, the findings demonstrated behavioral continuity through exploring the distribution of response proportion when reinforcement was placed on the correct responses, and when extinction or punishment was placed on the incorrect responses. Thus, the study provided some empirical support towards Catania’s concept of the operant.

text: The Further Analysis of Catania's Concept of the Operant Catania’s theory of the operant incorporated the continuous characteristic of behaviour, where the response distribution follows a normal distribution. That is, most responses fall within the reinforced range, a few responses persisted outside of the reinforced range. Three roosters and three hens were used as the subjects. A continuous reinforcement (CRF) schedule was implemented throughout both experiments of the study. In Experiment 1, the screen was divided into four quadrants. Only one quadrant was active in each condition and the active area shifted to a different quadrant across conditions. Each peck within the active quadrant was considered as a correct response, which results in reinforcement. Each peck outside the active quadrant was considered as an incorrect response, which results in extinction. In Experiment 2, the screen was divided into vertical strips. During Conditions 1 to 8, the consequences for the correct and incorrect responses are the same as Experiment 1. In Condition 9, the consequence for the incorrect responses changed from extinction to punishment (delay to reinforcement). That is, a 3 second red screen was followed with each occurrence of an incorrect response. It was found that the incorrect responses persisted during each condition of the two experiments for most birds. It was also found that most of the hens’ responses were correct responses by the end of each condition in Experiment 2. However, for all birds in Experiment 1 and the roosters in Experiment 2, most responses were not correct by the end of each condition. The findings of Experiment 2 also indicated that the changes in condition length, active area’s size, and consequence of the incorrect responses might have had some influence on the number of incorrect responses. Overall, the findings demonstrated behavioral continuity through exploring the distribution of response proportion when reinforcement was placed on the correct responses, and when extinction or punishment was placed on the incorrect responses. Thus, the study provided some empirical support towards Catania’s concept of the operant.

year: 2014

title: Collegiality under pressure: the effects of family demands and flexible work arrangements in the Netherlands

authors: ten Brummelhuis, Lieke L.

subjects: collegiality

abstract: Collegial relationships at work have become more important now that organizations increasingly use team-based work processes. Collegiality is also facing new challenges, however: more employees are meeting heavy demands beyond the workplace and making more frequent use of flexible work arrangements. This study seeks to explain the effect of employees' family demands on collegiality and evaluates whether the use of flexible work arrangements improves or impedes collegial behaviour. Moreover, we aim to investigate collegial behaviour as an exchange process between co-workers, and therefore also take family demands and the use of flexible work arrangements by co-workers into account as predictors of employee collegiality. Based on a sample of 1114 employees from 30 organizations, the results show that when used by the employee and co-workers, flexitime decreases collegiality. Collegiality is decreased when the employee has young children, but increased when co-workers have older children. The implications of these findings for HR practices are discussed.

text: Collegiality under pressure: the effects of family demands and flexible work arrangements in the Netherlands Collegial relationships at work have become more important now that organizations increasingly use team-based work processes. Collegiality is also facing new challenges, however: more employees are meeting heavy demands beyond the workplace and making more frequent use of flexible work arrangements. This study seeks to explain the effect of employees' family demands on collegiality and evaluates whether the use of flexible work arrangements improves or impedes collegial behaviour. Moreover, we aim to investigate collegial behaviour as an exchange process between co-workers, and therefore also take family demands and the use of flexible work arrangements by co-workers into account as predictors of employee collegiality. Based on a sample of 1114 employees from 30 organizations, the results show that when used by the employee and co-workers, flexitime decreases collegiality. Collegiality is decreased when the employee has young children, but increased when co-workers have older children. The implications of these findings for HR practices are discussed.

year: 2010-12

title: Ngā takenga o te riri

authors: Murphy, Ēnoka

subjects: Pakanga

abstract: Ko te kaupapa ake o tēnei tuhinga, ko te whakawhāriki i ētahi kōrero mō te takenga mai o te riri, o te pakanga ki tā rā ngā kōrero a te Māori. Ko aua take mai rā kei ngā kōrero o tua whakarere, e hokia ana ki a Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku me tā rāua hūnuku. Ko tāna e pātai ake nei, nō hea ake te riri Māori, otirā, te pakanga a te Māori? Nō hea anō hoki āna tikanga? He aha ā ērā kōrero tauiratanga mai ki te toa o te Māori ki te whawhai. Ka mutu, ko te wāhi uaua pea o ngā pātai nei, ko te āhua ki ngā kōrero a te Māori kāore nei i te tapatahi mō te oroko hīmatanga. Ahakoa rā, tērā ōna rite, ōna rerekē. Kua tuhia nuitia te kaupapa o te oroko tīmatanga mai o te ao e ngā momo o te kaituhi Pākehā, ā, tērā anō hoki ko ngā tuhinga a te Māori ake. Inā te rerekē o ngā kōrero mō te oroko hīmatanga mai o te ao, tērā noa ētahi kōrero kua tīkina hei mātaitanga mō tēnei rangahau, mō tēnei tuhinga. Ka mutu, ko tā tēnei tuhinga, he whakaatu i te takenga mai o te riri, o te matawhāura Māori.

text: Ngā takenga o te riri Ko te kaupapa ake o tēnei tuhinga, ko te whakawhāriki i ētahi kōrero mō te takenga mai o te riri, o te pakanga ki tā rā ngā kōrero a te Māori. Ko aua take mai rā kei ngā kōrero o tua whakarere, e hokia ana ki a Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku me tā rāua hūnuku. Ko tāna e pātai ake nei, nō hea ake te riri Māori, otirā, te pakanga a te Māori? Nō hea anō hoki āna tikanga? He aha ā ērā kōrero tauiratanga mai ki te toa o te Māori ki te whawhai. Ka mutu, ko te wāhi uaua pea o ngā pātai nei, ko te āhua ki ngā kōrero a te Māori kāore nei i te tapatahi mō te oroko hīmatanga. Ahakoa rā, tērā ōna rite, ōna rerekē. Kua tuhia nuitia te kaupapa o te oroko tīmatanga mai o te ao e ngā momo o te kaituhi Pākehā, ā, tērā anō hoki ko ngā tuhinga a te Māori ake. Inā te rerekē o ngā kōrero mō te oroko hīmatanga mai o te ao, tērā noa ētahi kōrero kua tīkina hei mātaitanga mō tēnei rangahau, mō tēnei tuhinga. Ka mutu, ko tā tēnei tuhinga, he whakaatu i te takenga mai o te riri, o te matawhāura Māori.

year: 2017