How similar is similar enough? Job profile similarity benchmarks using occupational information network data

Job comparison research is critical to many human resources initiatives, such as transporting validity evidence. Job analysis methods often focus on critical attribute (e.g., tasks, work behaviors) overlap when assessing similarity, but profile similarity metrics represent an alternative or complementary approach for job comparisons. This paper utilizes Occupational Information Network (O*NET) data to establish a distribution of job profile correlations across all job pairs for five attributes – generalized work activities, knowledge, skills, abilities, and work styles. These correlations represent effect sizes, or degree of shared variance between jobs. Practitioners may reference these correlational distributions as benchmarks for gauging the practical significance of the observed degree of similarity between two jobs of interest compared to the broader world of work.     

Self and peer nominations of bullying: An analysis of incident rates,individual differences,and perceptions of the working environment

Within workplace bullying research, the use of different criteria to identify victim samples, and a tendency to rely on self-reported victimization without including reports from other stakeholders have been considered major methodological problems associated with incidence studies (Cowie, Naylor, Rivers, Smith, & Pereira, 2002; Hoel, Rayner, & Cooper, 1999; Randall, 2001). Using diverse criteria to identify victim and perpetrator samples (such as self report, peer report, and self- and peer report), this study found rates of victimization and bullying varied quite considerably. Rates for victims ranged from 3.9% to 39.6% and for perpetrators from 2.7% to 19.3%. Differences in personality and perceptions of the organizational environment were then examined between victim/bully groups and a control sample. Results indicated that all victim samples differed significantly from controls on stability. However, self- and peer-reported victims differed significantly from controls on both the poised and relaxed subscales, whereas self-reported victims only differed significantly on the relaxed subscale. Additionally, self- and peer-reported victims were the only group that significantly differed from controls in their views of the negative aspects of the work environment. The notion that victim and perpetrator samples are not homogenous groups and considerations of why this is the case are discussed.     

Mood-dependent memory

Have you ever noticed that when you are in a bad mood the whole world seems to be against you? More negative things seem to happen, and you even remember past episodes of your life in a more negative way than usual. Most of us have experienced this phenomenon, but few will have thought about how this mood might interact with our ability to remember. In a recent paper, Susanne Erk et al. shed light on a possible neural basis for this phenomena.     

Musical minds

Music might be described as just a special form of noise, but evidence is accumulating to show that listening to it can lead to pronounced physiological and emotional responses. In a recent article, Trainor et al. have shown that specific aspects of musical structure are processed automatically in the human brain, raising the question of whether our response to music has specifically evolved or merely occurs as a side-effect of neural architecture.     

Psychological impact of women's name change at marriage: Literature review and implications for further study

Abstract

Because the custom of wives assuming husbands' surnames at marriage is now in question, we reviewed the published research on the psychological significance of names and name changes. Although names and name changes are relevant psychological variables, little data pertain to the implications of a woman's changing or retaining her surname at marriage. Research on such implications would have relevance for individual personality development, marital and family relationships, and social and cultural systems.     

Understanding Interdisciplinary Collaborations as Social Networks

The dynamics of interdisciplinary collaboration invite further investigation if we are to make this endeavour more rewarding and productive. We are using social network analysis to track the development of a new interdisciplinary collaboration on complex interventions to improve population health. It involves nineteen scholars across four countries. We report the Baseline network of formal relationships among the scholars, along with the impact of the collaboration on these relationships in the first 18 months. We observed statistically significant increases in the density of six types of relationship networks: citing publications by other members of the collaboration, email contact, meeting with each other (outside of the formal annual meeting), visiting one another's institution, submitting research grants together and working on research projects together. The initial strategic role in the network of key 'gate keepers' has not altered substantially (betweenness centralization of the networks), but reciprocity has increased, that is, people are more likely to cite those who have cited them and work together. Increased collaboration is also reflected in the rise in number of subgroups over time and the increase in the average number of subgroup memberships. Use of social network analysis to understand the dynamics of interdisciplinary collaborations is a relatively new field. It invites reflection about what the optimal network structures for interdisciplinary collaborations would look like.     

Tampering with Tradition: Rationales Concerning Women��s Married Names and Children��s Surnames

Despite advances in gender equality in recent decades, the majority of women continue to change their names upon marriage and parents overwhelmingly opt to give children the father??s surname. In two correlational studies, both involving undergraduate samples from Toronto, Canada, we examined gender differences in naming preferences and in justifications underlying a traditional name choice. Men were more likely to prefer traditional choices in both women??s married names (Study 1; N?=?68) and children??s surnames (Study 2; N?=?63), and were also more likely to endorse most potential rationales for these choices. Traditional choices were associated with such factors as concern regarding family dynamics, whereas nontraditional choices were associated with such factors as a desire to increase gender equality.     

Child care before 6 months of age: a qualitative study of mothers' decisions and feelings about employment and non‐maternal care

Employment of women while their children are infants has increased in the UK in the last decade. This study of 57 employed mothers of infants less than seven months old examined their retrospective reports of planning child care and their contemporaneous feelings about the child care they were using, based on qualitative interviews. Issues addressed included mothers' reasons for returning to employment at that time, their theoretical preferences among a range of child care types and providers and the process of making actual choices, including the range and types of advice received and the involvement of fathers. Mothers were also encouraged to discuss their feelings about how child care was working out once the infant was settled. Continuing concerns expressed by mothers included the importance of open communication with caregivers, their desire to keep control over infants' daily lives and upbringing, worries about infants' safety and concerns about the levels of cognitive stimulation they received. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Is there a psychopathic element in adolescent drinking? A longitudinal study

While previous studies have examined the relationship between psychopathic traits and alcohol use in adolescents, limited empirical investigations of the longitudinal bidirectional effects of psychopathic traits and alcohol use have been conducted for this age-group. The purpose of the present study was to examine the longitudinal associations among adolescent’s psychopathic traits and their alcohol use, in order to illustrate the directional causal relationship between the two constructs, taking into account demographic effects. Participants were 334 adolescents from Cyprus. The participants responded to self-report questionnaires in two consecutive measurements within a six-month interval. Data were analyzed with cross-lagged structural equation modelling. Results indicated that the Dependence alcohol symptoms in Time 1 were significant predictors of the Interpersonal dimension of psychopathy in T2, and the Behavioural dimension of psychopathy in T1 was a significant predictor of Dependence alcohol symptoms in T2, regardless of previous levels of psychopathy and alcohol use, gender and age effects. Implications for research are discussed.