Qualitative Research on Work–Family in the Management Field: A Review

Despite a proliferation of work–family literature over the past three decades, studies employing quantitative methodologies significantly outweigh those adopting qualitative approaches. In this paper, we intend to explore the state of qualitative work–family research in the management field and provide a comprehensive profile of the 152 studies included in this review. We synthesise the findings of qualitative work–family studies and provide six themes including parenthood, gender differences, cultural differences, family‐friendly policies and non‐traditional work arrangements, coping strategies, and under‐studied populations. We also describe how findings of qualitative work–family studies compare to those of quantitative studies. The review highlights seven conclusions in the current qualitative literature: a limited number of qualitative endeavours, findings worth further attention, convergent foci, the loose use of work–family terminology, the neglect of a variety of qualitative research approaches, quantitative attitudes towards qualitative research, and insufficient reporting of research methods. In addition, implications for future researchers are discussed.     

Semantic priming of person recognition: Categorial priming may be a weaker form of the associative priming effect

An interactive activation and competition account (Burton, Bruce, & Johnston, 1990) of the semantic priming effect in person recognition studies relies on the fact that primes and targets (people) have semantic information in common. However, recent investigations into the type of relationship needed to mediate the semantic priming effect have suggested that the prime and target must be close associates (e.g., Barry, Johnston, & Scanlan, 1998; Young, Flude, Hellawell, & Ellis, 1994). A review of these and similar papers suggests the possibility of a small but non-reliable effect based purely on categorial relationships. Experiment 1 provided evidence that when participants were asked to make a name familiarity decision it was possible to boost this small categorial effect when multiple (four) primes were presented prior to the target name. Results from Experiment 2 indicated that the categorial effect was not due to the particular presentation times of the primes. This boosted categorial effect was shown to cross domains (names to faces) in Experiment 3 and persist in Experiment 4 when the task involved naming the target face. The similarity of the pattern of results produced by the associative priming effect and this boosted categorial effect suggests that the two may be due to the same underlying mechanism in semantic memory.     

Kierkegaard's Critique of Eudaimonism: A Reassessment

Interpreters are less univocal than one might think in assessing Søren Kierkegaard's attitude toward eudaimonism. Through an analysis of several key texts from across Kierkegaard's authorship, I argue that existing interpretations do not convincingly address the relationship between Kierkegaard's critique of eudaimonism and his mid‐nineteenth‐century context, which was dominated by post‐Kantian idealists. While I am sympathetic to aspects of deontological and aretaic interpretations, a contextual reading shows that his critique centers on what he diagnoses as the enclosure of the modern self. This puts his critique of eudaimonism in the purview of his moral psychology and in continuity with his critique of romanticism.