Varying Responsibilities Across Job & Home Domains and Employee Well Being

This study is aimed at signifying the importance of the management of employee well being. We identify that when individuals are involved in different roles at job and at home, such interaction affects the wellbeing of employees. Specifically, the effect of work family conflict and facilitation on employee satisfaction is studied. Data was collected from a sample of 291 employees of different organizations in the service sector. Structured equation modeling was used to test the fit of two proposed models and to validate the hypothetical relationships among the study variables. Both, job and home directions, of work family conflict and facilitation were found related to satisfaction at job and at home. The results indicate that the management of work family conflict and facilitation is inevitable for ensuring the well being of employees.     

Commanding good and prohibiting evil in contemporary Islam: cases from Britain, Nigeria, and Southeast Asia

This paper examines the concept of (public) sin as well as efforts to counteract sin from the perspective of Islam. The understanding that hisba, the prohibition of vice and enjoining of virtues, are a responsibility of both the state and the community is common in historical and contemporary Muslim societies. Where the state cannot or does not provide means for countering (public) sin, the perception for some Muslims is that the responsibility on the community and individuals to do so increases. Based on ethnographic research in Britain, Nigeria, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, the paper highlights examples of how sin has been defined amongst Muslim communities as well as the methods and rationales given to justify the forbidding of sin as a collective and communal public obligation. As the world becomes more integrated, there is growing concern amongst Muslim communities that sin is becoming the norm, leading society to degeneracy, that people who would not have otherwise sinned are influenced to do so. Common features in forbidding sin across Muslim communities have appeared, often focusing on what are seen as moral issues such as dress codes, music, gambling, alcohol, smoking, and the mixing of men and women in public. The forbidding of sin has resulted in attempts to introduce “Shari’a Zones” in some predominantly Muslim areas of London, whilst in Indonesia, this has given rise to the Islamic Defenders Front and in some Northern Nigerian states to the reintroduction of the criminal codes of the Shari’a.     

Career Adapt-Abilities Scale—Iran Form: Psychometric properties and relationships with career satisfaction and entrepreneurial intentions

This study examined the psychometric properties of a Persian translation of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS—Iran Form) and its relationships with career satisfaction, business opportunity identification, and entrepreneurial intentions. It was hypothesized that career adaptability relates positively to these three outcomes, even when controlling for demographic and employment characteristics. Data were provided by 204 workers from Iran. Results showed that the overall CAAS score and sub-dimension scores (concern, control, curiosity, and confidence) were highly reliable. Moreover, confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the CAAS—Iran Form measures four distinct dimensions that can be combined into a higher-order career adaptability factor. Findings also demonstrated criterion-related validity of the scale with regard to career satisfaction and entrepreneurial intentions. In contrast, overall career adaptability was not significantly related to opportunity identification, while concern related positively, and control related negatively to opportunity identification. Overall, the CAAS—Iran Form has very good psychometric properties and predicts important career outcomes, suggesting that it can be used for career counseling and future research with Persian-speaking workers.     

Comparison Study of the Effects of Resistance and Endurance Exercise Interventions for the Treatment of Depression: A Meta-Analytical Review

Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy - With an increase in depression rates and medication and psychotherapy being the primary treatment interventions for decreasing depressive symptoms, exercise...     

Analysis of drivers’ behavior under reduced visibility conditions using a Structural Equation Modeling approach

One way to improve safety under reduced visibility conditions (i.e., reduce the chances of visibility related crashes) is to improve drivers’ behavior under such adverse weather conditions. The aim of this paper is to thoroughly examine drivers’ responses under low visibility conditions and quantify the impacts and values of various factors found to be related to drivers’ compliance and drivers’ satisfaction with variable speed limit (VSL) and changeable message signs (CMS) instructions in different visibility, traffic conditions, and on two types of roadways; freeways and two-lane roads.The data used for the analyses were obtained from a self-reported questionnaire survey carried out among 566 drivers in Central Florida, USA. To achieve these goals, Explanatory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approaches were adopted.The results revealed that drivers’ satisfaction with VSL/CMS was the most significant factor that positively affected drivers’ compliance with advice or warning messages displayed on VSL/CMS under different fog conditions followed by human factors. Moreover, it was found that roadway type affected drivers’ compliance to VSL instructions under medium and heavy fog conditions. Furthermore, drivers’ familiarity with VSL and human factors were the significant factors affecting drivers’ satisfaction with VSL/CMS advice under reduced visibility conditions. Based on the findings of the present study, several recommendations are suggested as guidelines to improve drivers’ behavior in such reduced visibility conditions by enhancing drivers’ compliance with VSL/CMS instructions.     

Multi-Informant Assessment of High-Achieving Students’ Behavioral and Emotional Strengths

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Multi-informants, such as parents and teachers, are commonly considered as resources when evaluating students’ emotional and behavioral skills. This...     

What It Is to Pretend

Pretense is a topic of keen interest to philosophers and psychologists. But what is it, really, to pretend? What features qualify an act as pretense? Surprisingly little has been said on this foundational question. Here I defend an account of what it is to pretend, distinguishing pretense from a variety of related but distinct phenomena, such as (mere) copying and practicing. I show how we can distinguish pretense from sincerity by sole appeal to a person's beliefs, desires, and intentions – and without circular recourse to an ‘intention to pretend’ or to a sui generis mental state of ‘imagining.’