Silence is golden? Characteristics and experiences of self-reported whistleblowers

This study investigates the characteristics of whistleblowers, the prevalence and nature of whistleblowing, and the occurrence of retaliation after whistleblowing using a randomly selected and representative sample of Norwegian employees. The results showed that 12 per cent self-reported as whistleblowers according to an operational definition. Being a leader, or a union or personnel safety representative was significantly related to whistleblowing. The most frequently reported wrongdoing was harassment conducted by a single colleague. Wrongdoer(s) received mixed responses, from no reaction to reprimand. Even though most whistleblowers were not sanctioned, they reported less job satisfaction and more workplace bullying than did nonwhistleblowers. Only a few were rewarded. For the most part, wrongdoing was stopped or reduced. However, whistleblowing was only partially effective, because whistleblowers reported lack of feedback about the result of their report. Results also showed that the status of the wrongdoer was related to the reaction he or she received afterwards, as were the type of wrongdoing and the effect on the wrongdoing, and the type of wrongdoing and the effect on the wrongdoer(s). Potential explanations for the results, such as the type of sample and power distance, are discussed. Practical implications of the study are also addressed, such as the importance of providing feedback to whistleblowers.     

Gender minority as a risk factor of exposure to bullying at work: The case of male assistant nurses

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that male assistant nurses, representing a small gender minority in their profession and in the work organizations they inhabit, are more often exposed to bullying at work than their female colleagues. In 1999, a random sample of the assistant nurses organized in the Norwegian Union of Health and Social Workers were mailed a questionnaire; 7478 out of 12,000 (62.3%) completed the questionnaire. The sample of the present study comprised the 6485 respondents who were vocationally active and not on leave. 3.8% (n?=?247) of the respondents were men; 10.2% (n?=?25) of the men and 4.3% (n?=?265) of the women reported that they had been exposed to bullying at work during the previous 6 months, χ²?=?19.12, df?=?1, p?<?.0001. The association between gender and exposure to bullying at work remained strong and significant (odds ratio?=?2.29; 95% confidence interval?=?1.39?-?3.78; p?=?.001) even after adjustment for a series of background factors. The study supports the hypothesis that male assistant nurses are more often exposed to bullying at work than their female colleagues.     

How do job characteristics contribute to burnout? Exploring the distinct mediating roles of perceived autonomy,competence, and relatedness

This study aimed to better understand the psychological mechanisms, referred to in the job demands–resources model as the energetic and motivational processes, that can explain relationships between job demands (role overload and ambiguity), job resources (job control and social support), and burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment). Drawing on self-determination theory, we examined whether psychological resources (perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness) act as specific mediators between particular job demands and burnout as well as between job resources and burnout. Participants were 356 school board employees. Results of the structural equation analyses provide support for our hypothesized model, which proposes that certain job demands and resources are involved in both the energetic and motivational processes—given their relationships with psychological resources—and that they distinctively predict burnout components. Implications for burnout research and management practices are discussed.     

The world turns at 33 and 45: Defining simple cutoff scores for the Negative Acts Questionnaire–Revised in a representative sample

Workplace bullying is a serious hazard in every day working life that needs to be assessed carefully. In order to achieve such a goal, both victims of severe bullying as well as targets of less intensive bullying need to be identified, the latter in order to prevent further escalation into severe bullying. Previous research has mainly offered simple and crude measures of who is and who is not a victim of bullying. In this article we show how cutoff scores for the scale Negative Acts Questionnaire–Revised (NAQ-R) can be calculated. Based on a representative sample of the Norwegian workforce, we formulated 2 cutoff points or thresholds for the NAQ-R with a Receiver Operation Characteristic curve. Employees with a score lower than 33 are not bullied, employees with a score between 33 and 45 may be considered as being bullied occasionally, and employees who score above 45 can be considered to be victims of workplace bullying. As the NAQ-R is used in more than 300 research projects worldwide, we hope to inspire other scholars to define similar cutoff points. In addition, we hope that clear cutoff scores may be of assistance to practitioners for designing interventions regarding workplace bullying in line with the identified problems.     

Defining disease beyond conceptual analysis: an analysis of conceptual analysis in philosophy of medicine

Conceptual analysis of health and disease is portrayed as consisting in the confrontation of a set of criteria—a “definition”—with a set of cases, called instances of either “health” or “disease.” Apart from logical counter-arguments, there is no other way to refute an opponent’s definition than by providing counter-cases. As resorting to intensional stipulation (stipulation of meaning) is not forbidden, several contenders can therefore be deemed to have succeeded. This implies that conceptual analysis alone is not likely to decide between naturalism and normativism. An alternative to this approach would be to examine whether the concept of disease can be naturalized.     

个人幸福指数-中小学生版(PWI-SC)在中国的适用性——兼与澳洲中学生比较

探讨个人幸福指数-中小学生版(PWI-SC)在中国的适用性以及中澳两国中学生个人幸福指数的跨文化差异。采用PWI-SC施测522名中国中学生、185名澳洲中学生,进行区分度、信度和效度检验,发现该问卷可运用于中国中学生个人幸福指数的调查,个别项目需稍加修改。比较中澳中学生的施测结果,中国中学生的个人幸福指数低于澳洲中学生,中国中学生得分为47-70,澳洲中学生得分为51-72;中国中学生除在个人已有成就项目上得分高于澳洲中学生外,其他方面均较低;中澳两国初中生的个人幸福指数均显著高于高中生,两国初高中生个人幸福指数的差异体现在不同方面;中澳两国中学生个人幸福指数的年龄差异均显著,进一步事后分析发现,两国中学生个人幸福指数的基本趋势均为随年龄增长,个人幸福指数降低,中国15岁中学生的个人幸福指数较高。PWI-SC基本适用于中国中学生;中学生随年龄增长,个人幸福指数降低;中国中学生的个人幸福指数低于澳洲中学生。     

意外考试悖论的博弈分析

本文从博弈的角度分析了意外考试悖论,指出了以往解决方案的不足,给出了一种新的方案。根据这个新方案,考试悖论的推理中使用了倒推法和弱下策反复剔除法。本文接着讨论了这些博弈推理方法的不足。然后把这个新的博弈方案用到卡片悖论和方格悖论这些考试悖论的变种里。最后指出,在考试悖论里,比起倒推法,弱下策剔除法是引起悖论的更根本的原因。     

The influence of parafoveal typographical errors on eye movements in reading

Three experiments are reported, examining the effects of a typographical error in parafoveal vision on aspects of foveal inspection time and saccade targeting. All the experiments involved reading for comprehension. A contingent presentation procedure ensured that typographical errors were restored to their correct form before they were viewed in foveal vision: They were never available for foveal processing. In Experiment 1, the error was formed by replacing the first letter of the target word with a second occurrence of its second letter, producing an illegal nonword. This manipulation had no significant effect on foveal inspection time, but lowered the probability that a short word (“de” or “du”) prior to the target would be skipped. In Experiment 2 the familiarity of the target's initial letters was maintained constant across conditions. This manipulation removed the target 1 skipping effect, suggesting that the outcome of Experiment 1 was due to orthographic rather than lexical illegality, but revealed shorter foveal inspection times as a function of the presence of the error. Experiment 3 manipulated lexical and sublexical properties of the parafoveal typing error. Properties of the parafoveal error again influenced prior foveal inspection times. The pattern of results suggested that the determining properties were sublexical rather than lexical. The results as a whole are incompatible with a view of information processing in reading in which foveal processing remains immune from concurrent parafoveal influences.     

The link between anger and admiration toward governmental actions and self-reported preventive behaviour in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, across six correlational studies in four different countries (total N = 4937), we examined the link between citizens' anger with and admiration for the government's actions and decisions (i.e., system-based anger and admiration) and engagement in preventive behaviour. The internal meta-analyses showed that individuals who admired the government's actions were more likely to adopt personal hygiene and social distancing behaviour. Yet, the link between emotions and preventive behaviour differed concerning the target of emotions, especially for anger. Specifically, anger about restrictions imposed by the government was negatively related to preventive behaviours, but this relationship was not significant when the target of anger was the government's overall handling of the pandemic. Our findings emphasise the importance of citizens' emotions and the targets of those emotions during the crisis.     

Associations among Challenge Stress,Hindrance Stress,and Employees' Innovative Work Behavior: Mediation Effects of Thriving at Work and Emotional Exhaustion

Employees' innovative work behavior (IWB) is one of the key factors in improving organizational competitiveness. Previous studies show that challenge and hindrance stress can impact employees' IWB, but our understanding of the exact mechanism underlying the impact is still limited. The present study employed four scales (Challenge and Hindrance Stress Scale, Thriving at Work Scale, Chinese Emotional Exhaustion Scale, and Employee Innovative Behavior Scale) to collect questionnaire data from 789 employees in diverse organizations via an online platform. A two-path mediation model was constructed. The results show that: (a) challenge stress positively predicted thriving at work and IWB; (b) thriving at work played a partial mediation effect between challenge stress and IWB; (c) hindrance stress negatively predicted thriving at work and positively predicted emotional exhaustion; and (4) hindrance stress did not directly impact IWB while thriving at work and emotional exhaustion were main mediators in the relationship between hindrance stress and IWB. These findings suggest that employees should sensibly cope with different work stresses, while managers should plan work tasks scientifically and give employees adequate opportunities to learn and rest in order to keep them in a positive state to solve problems and work creatively.