title: Foci-specific Psychological Contracts: Target-similarity effects on foci-specific OCB and Job satisfaction

authors: Khan, Khalid

subjects: Psychological Contracts

abstract: Psychological contracts provide a framework for understanding the employment relationship. The literature on psychological contracts has focused on the relationship of a focal-employee with a 'unitary employer'. This thesis employees the target-similarity model, proposed by Lavelle, Rupp, and Brockner (2007), to extend the psychological contract  framework to include the foci-specific psychological contracts s a focal-person establishes with his/her organisation, supervisor, and peers. Three independent studies were carried out for this thesis. The first two studies concurrently tested the effects of foci-specific psychological contracts breach on work-related outcomes. The first study investigated the effect of foci-specific psychological contracts s breach on OCBs directed at the specific foci. The results from this study indicate that foci-specific psychological contract breach had a target-similarity effect on the OCBs directed at the foci breaching the psychological contracts. Results from this study also indicate that the psychological contract breach by the supervisor has a spill-over effect on the OCBs directed at the organisation and the peers. The results from the second study also confirmed that the foci-specific psychological contract breach had a target-similarity effect on the focal-person's satisfaction with the foci breaching the psychological contracts. Results from this study also confirmed that foci-specific psychological contract breach had spillover effect on the focal-person's satisfaction with the various organisational foci. Study three was designed to empirically test the effects of peer-to-peer psychological contract breach on a focal-person's satisfaction with his/her peers. The results from this study included the identification of the content of the peer-to-peer psychological contract, and confirmed the negative relationship between the breach of peer-to-peer psychological contracts s and satisfaction with peers. Implications for the psychological contract  theory, future research, and practice are discussed at the end of the thesis.

text: Foci-specific Psychological Contracts: Target-similarity effects on foci-specific OCB and Job satisfaction Psychological contracts provide a framework for understanding the employment relationship. The literature on psychological contracts has focused on the relationship of a focal-employee with a 'unitary employer'. This thesis employees the target-similarity model, proposed by Lavelle, Rupp, and Brockner (2007), to extend the psychological contract  framework to include the foci-specific psychological contracts s a focal-person establishes with his/her organisation, supervisor, and peers. Three independent studies were carried out for this thesis. The first two studies concurrently tested the effects of foci-specific psychological contracts breach on work-related outcomes. The first study investigated the effect of foci-specific psychological contracts s breach on OCBs directed at the specific foci. The results from this study indicate that foci-specific psychological contract breach had a target-similarity effect on the OCBs directed at the foci breaching the psychological contracts. Results from this study also indicate that the psychological contract breach by the supervisor has a spill-over effect on the OCBs directed at the organisation and the peers. The results from the second study also confirmed that the foci-specific psychological contract breach had a target-similarity effect on the focal-person's satisfaction with the foci breaching the psychological contracts. Results from this study also confirmed that foci-specific psychological contract breach had spillover effect on the focal-person's satisfaction with the various organisational foci. Study three was designed to empirically test the effects of peer-to-peer psychological contract breach on a focal-person's satisfaction with his/her peers. The results from this study included the identification of the content of the peer-to-peer psychological contract, and confirmed the negative relationship between the breach of peer-to-peer psychological contracts s and satisfaction with peers. Implications for the psychological contract  theory, future research, and practice are discussed at the end of the thesis.

year: 2016

title: A Breathing Stabilization System

authors: Ling, Heping

subjects: Breathing Stabilization System

abstract: Breathing Stabilization System is a new idea and method. The purpose of this system is to produce a device to control a patient’s breathing for gated radiotherapy.

This thesis focuses on building a simple Breathing Stabilization System that includes five solenoids, a power supply and five force sensors to build up the whole system.

Significantly, this thesis will introduce the modeling of solenoids in detail that include how to build a mathematical model of the solenoids. The simulation of the electromagnetic in professional multi-physics software COMSOL will also be explained.

To drive the solenoid system, a voltage-to-current converter is used. This part will be introduced as well as the operational amplifier circuit used by the force sensors.

text: A Breathing Stabilization System Breathing Stabilization System is a new idea and method. The purpose of this system is to produce a device to control a patient’s breathing for gated radiotherapy.

This thesis focuses on building a simple Breathing Stabilization System that includes five solenoids, a power supply and five force sensors to build up the whole system.

Significantly, this thesis will introduce the modeling of solenoids in detail that include how to build a mathematical model of the solenoids. The simulation of the electromagnetic in professional multi-physics software COMSOL will also be explained.

To drive the solenoid system, a voltage-to-current converter is used. This part will be introduced as well as the operational amplifier circuit used by the force sensors.

year: 2008

title: Lost in translation: western representations of Māori knowledge

authors: Mika, Carl Te Hira

abstract: We recently attended a conference at which a non-Māori presenter, drawing on a particular metaphor already established by Māori writers, related Māori natural world features to a research method. The presentation was useful because it highlighted several issues that call for our concern as Māori philosophers. In this article, we outline these concerns, which are: first, that a blunt response to such a presentation is not undertaken lightly from a Māori viewpoint; and, second, that the presenter’s talk exemplifies a wider problem of warping Māori concepts and labels to fit a Western philosophical approach. We call this latter problem ‘Translation’, because it involves moving the Māori world and its phenomena over into one that is palatable for policy and research. The aim of the article is not to single out the presenter, but rather to refer to his presentation in order to consider the prior issue of Translation. In cases where Translation occurs, a Māori critical philosophical stance is clearly needed, in order to both investigate the warping of Māori thought on which it relies, and review the place of Māori philosophy and philosophical response in the arena of educational research.

text: Lost in translation: western representations of Māori knowledge We recently attended a conference at which a non-Māori presenter, drawing on a particular metaphor already established by Māori writers, related Māori natural world features to a research method. The presentation was useful because it highlighted several issues that call for our concern as Māori philosophers. In this article, we outline these concerns, which are: first, that a blunt response to such a presentation is not undertaken lightly from a Māori viewpoint; and, second, that the presenter’s talk exemplifies a wider problem of warping Māori concepts and labels to fit a Western philosophical approach. We call this latter problem ‘Translation’, because it involves moving the Māori world and its phenomena over into one that is palatable for policy and research. The aim of the article is not to single out the presenter, but rather to refer to his presentation in order to consider the prior issue of Translation. In cases where Translation occurs, a Māori critical philosophical stance is clearly needed, in order to both investigate the warping of Māori thought on which it relies, and review the place of Māori philosophy and philosophical response in the arena of educational research.

year: 2017