The moderating role of calling in the work–family interface: Buffering and substitution effects on employee satisfaction

This research seeks for improved understanding regarding the interaction of meaningful work and the work–family interface. Existing literature suggests that experiencing a sense of calling toward work makes the work domain particularly salient to employees compared to other life domains. In this article, we draw on this idea, rooted in identity theory, to hypothesize that a sense of calling toward work diminishes the effects of work–family conflict and work–family enrichment on employee's job and life satisfaction. We test these ideas in two studies. First, we surveyed an alumni sample of 598 employees from various jobs, industries, and job levels. Then, in a constructive replication, we surveyed 327 employees using a time-lagged design. Calling was found to significantly buffer the effect of work–family conflict on job satisfaction in Study 2, but not Study 1. Calling did not buffer the effect of conflict on life satisfaction in either study. However, both studies demonstrated that calling attenuated (substituted for) the effect of work–family enrichment on job satisfaction. Study 1 supported the idea that calling attenuates the effect of enrichment on life satisfaction; however, this interactive effect was reversed in Study 2, contrary to expectations. We discuss implications for theory and practice related to callings and career choices, as well as for the role of calling and work identity in the work–family interface.     

Conspecific brood parasitism in an upland-nesting bird: cues parasites use to select a nest

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology - In the animal kingdom, conspicuous colors are often used for inter- and intra-sexual communication. Even though primates are the most colorful mammalian taxon,...     

Applying the zoo model to conservation of threatened exceptional plant species

Maintaining a living plant collection is the most common method of ex situ conservation for plant species that cannot be seed banked (i.e., exceptional species). Viability of living collections, and their value for future conservation efforts, can be limited without coordinated efforts to track and manage individuals across institutions. Using a pedigree-focused approach, the zoological community has established an inter-institutional infrastructure to support long-term viability of captive animal populations. We assessed the ability of this coordinated metacollection infrastructure to support the conservation of 4 plant species curated in living collections at multiple botanic gardens around the world. Limitations in current practices include the inability to compile, share, and analyze plant collections data at the individual level, as well as difficulty in tracking original provenance of ex situ material. The coordinated metacollection framework used by zoos can be adopted by the botanical community to improve conservation outcomes by minimizing the loss of genetic diversity in collections. We suggest actions to improve ex situ conservation of exceptional plant species, including developing a central database to aggregate data and track unique individuals of priority threatened species among institutions and adapting a pedigree-based population management tool that incorporates life-history aspects unique to plants. If approached collaboratively across regional, national, and global scales, these actions could transform ex situ conservation of threatened plant species.     

Muskox status,recent variation,and uncertain future

Ambio - Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) are an integral component of Arctic biodiversity. Given low genetic diversity, their ability to respond to future and rapid Arctic change is unknown, although...     

Outsourcing,trade, technology,and greenhouse gas emissions

Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - U.S. output has steadily outpaced the rise in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the past several decades. The decoupling of these two trends...     

Determinants of CO2 emissions in upper middle-income group countries: an empirical investigation

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study investigates the kinked exponential growth, degree of association, and causation between economic growth, energy consumption, population,...     

Molecular,functional, and cellular alterations of oocytes and cumulus cells induced by heat stress and shock in animals

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Global warming is considered as the main environmental stress affecting ecosystems as well as physiological and biochemical characteristics, and...     

Dengue fever awareness: effect of an educational intervention on nursing students,Tanta, Egypt

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Dengue fever (DF) is one of the world’s most important vector-borne illnesses. In 2017, Egypt experienced a dengue outbreak. This study aimed to...     

Point Sampling Digital Imagery with ‘Samplepoint’

Measuring percent occurrence of objects from digital images can save time and expense relative to conventional field measurements. However, the accuracy of image analysis had, until now, not reached the level of the best conventional field measurements. Additionally, most image-analysis software programs require advanced user training to successfully analyze images. Here we present a new software program, ‘SamplePoint,’ that provides the user a single-pixel sample point and the ability to view and identify the pixel context. We found SamplePoint to allow accuracy comparable with the most accurate field-methods for ground-cover measurements. Expert use of the program requires minimal training and its ease of use allows rapid measurements from image data. We recommend SamplePoint for calibrating the threshold-detection level of image-analysis software or for making direct measurements of percent occurrence from digital images.     

Can we gain precision by sampling with probabilities proportional to size in surveying recent landscape changes in the Netherlands?

Seventy-two squares of 100 ha were selected by stratified random sampling with probabilities proportional to size (pps) to survey landscape changes in the period 1996–2003. The area of the plots times the urbanization pressure was used as a size measure. The central question of this study is whether the sampling with probabilities proportional to size leads to gain in precision compared to equal probability sampling. On average 1.03 isolated buildings per 100 ha have been built, while 0.90 buildings per 100 ha have been removed, leading to a net change of 0.13 building per 100 ha. The area with unspoiled natural relief has been reduced by 2.3 ha per 100 ha, and the length of linear relicts by 137 m per 100 ha. On average 74 m of linear green elements have been planted per 100 ha, while 106 m have been removed, leading to a net change of −31 m per 100 ha. For the state variables ‘unspoiled natural relief', ‘ linear relicts', ‘removed linear green elements', and ‘new – removed linear green elements' there is a gain in precision due to the pps-sampling. For the remaining state variables there is no gain or even a loss of precision (`new buildings', ‘removed buildings', ‘new – removed buildings', ‘new linear green elements'). Therefore, if many state variables must be monitored or when interest is not only in the change but also in the current totals, we recommend to keep things simple, and to select plots with equal probability.