A Neo-Kantian foundation of Corporate Social Responsibility

‘Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is conceptualized in many ways. We argue that one cannot be indifferent about the issue of its conceptualization. In terms of methodology, our position is that any conceptual discussion must embed CSR in political theory. With regard to substance, we link up with the discussion on whether CSR must be defined on the basis of a tripartite or a quadripartite division of business responsibilities. We share A.B. Carroll’s intuition that a quadripartite division is called for as a basis to define CSR. However, defending the quadripartite division of business responsibilities requires that the distinctions between economic, legal, ethical and discretionary business responsibilities be made intelligible. Carroll’s account is defective in this respect. We argue that contemporary Neo-Kantian political ethics is able to make sense of these distinctions, because of its specific interpretation of liberalism. Interestingly, from a conventional liberal perspective this interpretation of liberalism is atypical, as it extends public morality beyond the domain of the law.

Better than brainstorming? Potential contextual boundary conditions to brainwriting for idea generation in organizations

Organizations and societies all need good, useful ideas to survive and prosper. People often enjoy brainstorming, though it is not as productive as they tend to believe. Groups can potentially generate more and better ideas when ‘brainwriting’; that is, silently sharing written ideas in a time‐ and sequence‐structured group format. This conceptual paper identifies likely boundary conditions to the promising findings from brainwriting laboratory research generalizing to real‐world organizational contexts. Important dimensions of organizational context may be revealed by drawing on the journalistic principle to examine what, who, when, where, and why certain outcomes result from particular organizational practices (Johns, 2006). Multiple potential contextual moderators are suggested in each of these five areas. Subsequent field research will inform the idea‐generation literature as well as those concerned with eliciting high‐quality, useful ideas to address particular organizational and societal challenges.     

Knowing who knows what and who knows whom: Expertise recognition,network recognition,and individual work performance

We tested the relationship between individuals' expertise recognition and work performance, the role of job resourcefulness (i.e. individuals' ability to garner resources to overcome obstacles) as a mediator, and network recognition as a moderator in the link between expertise recognition and job resourcefulness. We found that the positive impact of expertise recognition on work performance was mediated by job resourcefulness, but network recognition did not play a moderating role.     

Prejudice and the function of attitudes relating to Muslim Australians and Indigenous Australians

The aim of the present study was to examine prejudice against Muslim Australians and Indigenous Australians and the function of those attitudes using previously identified functions, direct experiential–schematic and value expressive, and including a new indirect experiential–schematic function. Respondents were categorised into two groups: accepting and rejecting. For the Muslim data there was no difference between accepting and rejecting groups regarding the value‐expressive function, but acceptors reported the experiential–schematic function to a greater extent than did rejectors. For the Indigenous data there was no difference between groups on the value‐expressive or the experiential–schematic function. With both target groups, rejectors reported the indirect experiential–schematic function more than acceptors. The value‐expressive function was higher for the Muslim data and the experiential–schematic function was higher for the Indigenous data. The importance of taking into account the function of respondents' attitudes, the distinction between source and function of attitudes, as well as specific issues surrounding target groups themselves, is discussed.     

The synergistic relationship of perceived autonomy support and structure in the prediction of self‐regulated learning

Background Self‐determination theory defines two important dimensions of teaching style: autonomy support and structure. Aims The purpose of the present study was to investigate the synergistic relationship of perceived teacher autonomy support and the provision of structure in the prediction of self‐regulated learning. Sample and method Students (N = 526) completed questionnaires assessing perceived autonomy support, structure, and self‐regulated learning. Results First, autonomy support and structure were found to be positively correlated, suggesting that the support of student autonomy generally goes hand in hand with the provision of structure and order in the classroom. Second, moderated regression analyses indicated that structure but not autonomy support yielded a main effect on self‐regulated learning, although this main effect was qualified by a structure by autonomy support interaction. Conclusio The interaction suggests that structure was associated with more self‐regulated learning under conditions of moderate and high autonomy support only. Therefore, when teachers want their students to evaluate themselves, to plan their study activities, and to think about themselves as learners, the teachers are encouraged to provide help, instructions, and expectations in an autonomy‐supportive way.     

The effects of simulated stuttering and prolonged speech on the neural activation patterns of stuttering and nonstuttering adults

Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to investigate the neural correlates of passive listening, habitual speech and two modified speech patterns (simulated stuttering and prolonged speech) in stuttering and nonstuttering adults. Within-group comparisons revealed increased right hemisphere biased activation of speech-related regions during the simulated stuttered and prolonged speech tasks, relative to the habitual speech task, in the stuttering group. No significant activation differences were observed within the nonstuttering participants during these speech conditions. Between-group comparisons revealed less left superior temporal gyrus activation in stutterers during habitual speech and increased right inferior frontal gyrus activation during simulated stuttering relative to nonstutterers. Stutterers were also found to have increased activation in the left middle and superior temporal gyri and right insula, primary motor cortex and supplementary motor cortex during the passive listening condition relative to nonstutterers. The results provide further evidence for the presence of functional deficiencies underlying auditory processing, motor planning and execution in people who stutter, with these differences being affected by speech manner.     

Capturing ruminative exploration: Extending the four-dimensional model of identity formation in late adolescence

Identity exploration has been associated with openness and curiosity but also with anxiety and depression. To explain these mixed findings, the four-dimensional identity formation model [Luyckx, K., Goossens, L., Soenens, B., & Beyers, W. (2006b). Unpacking commitment and exploration: Validation of an integrative model of adolescent identity formation. Journal of Adolescence, 29, 361–378.] was extended using data from two late adolescent samples (total N = 703). A fifth dimension, labeled ruminative (or maladaptive) exploration, was added as a complement to two forms of reflective (or adaptive) exploration already included in the model (i.e., exploration in breadth and exploration in depth). Results indicated that ruminative exploration was positively related to distress and to self-rumination. The two forms of reflective exploration, by contrast, were unrelated to well-being and positively to self-reflection. Ruminative and reflective exploration also helped to distinguish between two types of less adaptive identities (i.e., Ruminative Moratorium and Diffused Diffusion) in a six-cluster solution that also contained adaptive types of identity. Implications for current research on identity formation are discussed.     

Family,peer and school connectedness in final year secondary school students

The study aim was to investigate Australian Year 12 students' sense of connectedness to their schools, families, and peers, and examine associations between connectedness and emotional wellbeing. Year 12 students (492 male, 449 female) from 10 secondary schools in Victoria, Australia participated in Phase 1 of the study. of these, 204 participants (82 male, 122 female) returned surveys 1 year later; 175 of these were attending tertiary education institutions. The study found high levels of depression, anxiety and stress among Year 12 students, with higher negative affect associated with lower levels of family, peer and school connectedness. Negative affect 1 year after leaving school was predicted by negative affect and peer connectedness at Year 12. Results suggest there are significant numbers of at‐risk young people in their final year of school, who feel lonely and disconnected from peers, and who maintain concerning levels of depression, anxiety and stress in first year of university.     

Can career self-directedness be improved through counseling?

We examine the learnability, antecedents and outcomes of career self-directedness using a longitudinal dataset of Flemish career counseling clients. The results show that the career counseling clients improved their career self-directedness during the counseling and that this improvement lasted for at least 6 months. Furthermore, we found career self-directedness to be explained in a significant way by self-awareness and adaptability, two competences identified by Hall [Hall, D. T. (1996). Protean careers in the 21st century. Academy of Management Executive, 10(4), 8-16; Hall, D. T. (2004). The protean career: A quarter-century journey. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 65(1), 1-13] as crucial for steering one’s career. Also, career self-directedness related positively to training participation, job mobility and career satisfaction. The main implications of our findings for the protean career and the career counseling literature are discussed.