Attachment,decay, and social network

To study decay in attachment to an organization, I analyse data on women who obtained an MBA from the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business (GSB). I measure attachment in terms of network embedding: an alumna is attached to the GSB to the extent that people close to her graduated from the GSB. Behavioral data corroborate the network data in that alumnae measured to be more attached are more likely to have joined an alumni club and made a financial contribution to the school. The hypothesis is that alumnae attachment will decay over time, more slowly when the school is deeply embedded in an alumna's network, more quickly when disruptive events compete for the alumna's time and energy. As expected, attachment declines across the years after graduation (linearly for the first 20 years to about half its initial level), and decay is inhibited when connections with GSB graduates are embedded in stable relations of family, work, or long-term friendship. Decay is remarkably robust to events after graduation (which account for only 2 per cent of explained variance in attachment). In other words, an alumna's attachment today was largely determined while she was in school. The results should be of practical value to people who design programmes to build personal attachment to organizations, and of theoretical interest to scholars who study such connections. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Integrated manufacturing,empowerment, and company performance

There is controversy over whether integrated manufacturing (IM), comprising advanced manufacturing technology, just‐in‐time inventory control and total quality management, empowers or deskills shop floor work. Moreover, both IM and empowerment are promoted on the assumption that they enhance competitiveness. We examine these issues in a study of 80 manufacturing companies. The extent of use of IM was positively associated with empowerment (i.e., job enrichment and employee skill enhancement), but, with the minor exception of AMT, bore little relationship with subsequent company performance. In contrast, the extent of empowerment within companies predicted the subsequent level of company performance controlling for prior performance, with the effect on productivity mediating that on profit. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Underemployment,job attitudes,and turnover intentions

We surveyed three distinct samples of employees (Ns of 238, 102, and 981) in order to examine relations among various types of underemployment, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions. Each dimension of underemployment is explored as a case of poor person‐job fit, and the fit literature is used to produce hypotheses about these relations. We also developed and validated the 9‐item Scale of Perceived Overqualification (SPOQ) to tap employee perceptions of surplus education, experience, and KSAs (knowledge, skills, and abilities). In general, perceptions of underemployment were associated with poor job satisfaction, particularly for facets with a direct causal relationship with the specific dimension of underemployment, such as overqualification and satisfaction with work. Perceived overqualification was also related to lower affective commitment, and higher intentions to turnover. For part‐time work, negative attitudes were only found when employees expressed a preference for full‐time work; a similar trend was not found for temporary workers, however. Implications for theory, research, and practice are delineated. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Construction safety in Kuwait: issues, procedures, problems, and recommendations

The building construction industry plays a major role in the economy of the state of Kuwait. This paper evaluates existing safety regulations, describes safety procedures adopted by owners, designers, contractors and insurance companies, and assesses the suitability of these regulations and procedures for Kuwait's environment and workforce. It also discusses problems associated with enforcing safety regulations at construction sites. Furthermore, the study identifies the role played by different construction parties in safety programs and policies, taking into consideration cost and time effectiveness. Management in government, owners, and contractors are all aware of the importance of safety in construction, but do not actively pursue effective ways to maximize the achievement of the safety goal. It was observed that the problems arise due to: (1) disorganized labor; (2) poor accident record keeping and reporting system; (3) extensive use of foreign labors; (4) extensive use of subcontractors; (5) lack of safety regulations and legislation; (6) the low priority given to safety; (7) the small size of most construction firms; (8) competitive tendering; and (9) severe weather conditions during summer.     

Political will,political skill,and political behavior

The current study used Mintzberg's (1983) conceptualization of political will and political skill to evaluate the predictors and consequences of political behavior at work. As elements of political will, we hypothesized that need for achievement and intrinsic motivation would predict the use of political behavior at work. Furthermore, we argued that political skill would moderate the relationship between political behavior and emotional labor. Data gathered from employees (N = 193) representing a wide array of organizations substantiated the proposed relationships. Specifically, need for achievement and intrinsic motivation were positively associated with political behavior. In turn, those opting to employ political behavior at work experienced a higher degree of emotional labor, but this relationship was found to operate differently at low and high levels of political skill. Specifically, emotional labor was a consequence of political behavior for those low in political skill, but emotional labor reactions from political behavior were neutralized for individuals high in political skill. Implications of these results, strengths and limitations, and directions for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Goal striving,idiosyncratic deals,and job behavior

Two important gaps remain to be filled in the idiosyncratic deals (i‐deals) literature. First, it is unclear which employees are predisposed to seek and receive i‐deals. Second, it is unclear how employees' perceptions of whether their coworkers are receiving i‐deals affect their own i‐deal experiences. This study proposed a theoretical model suggesting that (a) three key motivational goals identified in human development research, that is, achievement, status, and communion striving, predispose employees to seek and receive i‐deals; (b) employees' perceptions of whether their coworkers are receiving i‐deals moderate these relationships; and (c) employees' i‐deals are related to their job behavior. Data collected from more than 400 working adults in Italy showed that employees' motivational goals (particularly achievement and status striving) were positively related to the levels of i‐deals they received, and that these i‐deals were in turn positively related to supervisors' assessments of their in‐role job performance, voice behavior, and interpersonal citizenship behavior. High perceptions of the extent to which coworkers received i‐deals further strengthened the relationship between status striving and employees' perceptions of their own i‐deals, highlighting a trait‐situation interactionist perspective on employees' i‐deal experiences. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Underage drinking: frequency, consequences, and interventions

OBJECTIVES: To examine the frequency of underage drinking, driving after drinking and alcohol-related crashes, trends in these behaviors, and promising interventions. METHODS: We examined drinking and drinking- and-driving behaviors reported in the United States in the 2001 U.S. National Household Survey of Drug Abuse, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2001 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the 1992 National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Study, and the 1999 National Survey of Drinking and Driving conducted for the National Highway Traffic Administration. We also examined the 1999 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs. Alcohol-related fatal crashes were examined from the U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Evaluation of interventions to reduce teenage drinking and driving after drinking were reviewed. RESULTS: In the United States, 19% of youth ages 12-20 consumed five or more drinks on an occasion in the past 30 days. Although European nations have lower legal drinking ages (16-18) than in the United States (21), similar proportions engage in underage drinking. In two-thirds of European countries, a greater percentage of 15-16 year-olds drank five or more drinks on an occasion in the past month than in the United States. In both the United States and Europe, the earlier people begin to drink, the greater the likelihood of developing alcohol dependence and other alcohol-related problems, including alcohol-related crash involvement, during adolescence and adult years. During the past 20 years alcohol-related traffic deaths among people younger than 21 have been cut in half in the United States, but progress has halted since 1995 and the problem is still large. Interventions shown by research to reduce alcohol-related crashes among youth include raising the legal drinking age to 21, zero tolerance laws, and some interventions that are family, school, or community based. CONCLUSIONS: Despite research showing that a variety of interventions can reduce underage drinking and alcohol-related crash fatalities, the frequency of these behaviors remains high and the average age of drinking initiation is declining in the United States. Efforts are needed to enhance publicized enforcement of underage drinking laws. Comprehensive community interventions that include enforcement of these laws also are needed.     

记录历史见证成长携手明天

对于<中国安防产品信息>杂志社来说,2004年是一个特殊的年份,是我们创刊的第十个年头.回首十年历程,<中国安防产品信息>杂志锐意进取,改革创新,共出版杂志62期,其学术性、权威性为业内所公认.作为安防行业的首家专业媒体,我们记录历史,见证成长,推动了中国安防行业的进步与快速发展.     

绿色、科技、人文与安全奥运

1 引言 随着奥运申办成功,“奥运安全”的课题已经提上日程。2003年5月,北京市科学技术研究院组织专家、学者承接了“2008年北京奥运安全科技发展战略”的研究课题。所谓奥运安全科技发展战略主要包括三层含义:(1)依靠科技解决奥运全     

Discriminating among organizational politics,justice, and support

The discriminant validity of perceptions of organizational politics, organizational support, and procedural and distributive justice was examined as the distinctions between these variables have been blurred in past research. Results from a sample of 418 full‐time employees provided evidence of discriminant validity for these variables. First, structural equation modelling was used to isolate the best structural representation of these four variables. Then, six theoretically relevant predictors (i.e., leader–member exchange, centralization, formalization, co‐worker cooperation, role conflict, and locus of control) were examined in an effort to provide further conceptual separation. Five of the six antecedents distinguished among politics, justice, and support. Suggestions for additional research that can shed light on the distinctions and similarities of these variables are offered based on the results of this study. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Age,work experience,and the psychological contract

The purpose of the current paper is to examine the ways in which age and work experience shape how individuals experience psychological contract breaches. We first introduce the concepts of contract malleability (the degree to which individuals can tolerate deviations from contract expectations) and contract replicability (the degree to which individuals believe that their psychological contracts can be replicated elsewhere). Next, we discuss the variety of reasons why contract malleability and replicability become greater with age and work experience and how contract malleability and replicability may temper negative reactions to psychological contract breaches. We also address the different ways contract malleability and replicability mediate the relationships between age and work experience, on one hand, and exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect behaviors on the other. We consider the moderating effects of age similarity and dissimilarity here as well. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for future research designs and for managing older and more experienced workers. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flammability of methane,propane, and hydrogen gases

This paper reports the results of flammability studies for methane, propane, hydrogen, and deuterium gases in air conducted by the Pittsburgh Research Laboratory. Knowledge of the explosion hazards of these gases is important to the coal mining industry and to other industries that produce or use flammable gases. The experimental research was conducted in 20 L and 120 L closed explosion chambers under both quiescent and turbulent conditions, using both electric spark and pyrotechnic ignition sources. The data reported here generally confirm the data of previous investigators, but they are more comprehensive than those reported previously. The results illustrate the complications associated with buoyancy, turbulence, selective diffusion, and ignitor strength versus chamber size. Although the lower flammable limits (LFLs) are well defined for methane (CH₄) and propane (C₃H₈), the LFLs for hydrogen (H₂) and its heavier isotope deuterium (D₂) are much more dependent on the limit criterion chosen. A similar behavior is observed for the upper flammable limit of propane. The data presented include lower and upper flammable limits, maximum pressures, and maximum rates of pressure rise. The rates of pressure rise, even when normalized by the cube root of the chamber volume (V^1/3), are shown to be sensitive to chamber size.