The influence of the perception of a familial climate on job performance: mediation of loyalty to supervisors and moderation of filial behaviour

With a collectivist cultural perspective, we examined the positive effects of employees' perceptions of a familial climate on loyalty to supervisors, the mediation of loyalty between perception of a familial climate and job performance, and the moderation of employees' filial behaviour on the relationship between perception of a familial climate and loyalty. The participants consisted of 247 supervisor-and-subordinate dyads in Taiwan. The results supported our hypotheses. Through the mechanisms of family behaviour transference, social identification and supervisor-subordinate exchange, perception of an organizational familial climate enhanced loyalty to supervisors. Furthermore, loyalty to supervisors mediated the relationship between perception of a familial climate and job performance. Filial behaviour moderated the relationship between perception of a familial climate and loyalty; thus, the relationship of perception of a familial climate and loyalty was stronger for employees with low levels of filial behaviour and weaker for employees with high levels of filial behaviour. These findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications for future research and management practices.     

The Concerns about Counseling Racial Minority Clients scale

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Concerns about Counseling Racial Minority Clients (CCRMC) scale among counselor trainees. Sample 1 was used for an exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Four factors were identified, Managing Cultural Differences (α = .82), Offending or Hurting Clients (α = .87), Biased Thoughts and Behaviors (α = .81), and Client Perceptions (α = .77). The coefficient alpha for the CCRMC was .90. The results support the validity of the scale. The scores on the CCRMC and its subscales have positive associations with fear of negative evaluation from others (r = .19 to .40) and negative associations with general counseling self-efficacy (r = -.30 to -.46) and multicultural intervention self-efficacy (r = -.30 to -.64). The CCRMC significantly predicted fear of negative evaluation, session management self-efficacy, and multicultural intervention self-efficacy over and above multicultural social desirability. The validity evidence was not different between White and minority graduate trainees. In Sample 2, the estimated 1-week test-retest reliabilities ranged from .75 to .96 for the CCRMC and its four subscales.     

Food Security and Perceived Well-being among Household Heads in Ghana

Access to food as a critical factor in determining individuals’ well-being in low income countries is of grave importance both in theory and public policy. Therefore this study, designed to enhance our understanding of food (in)security’s impact on quality of life, presents a micro-level analysis of factors associated with food provision, food satisfaction, and happiness in Ghana. Our empirical analysis first investigates the patterns and variations of food provision among Ghanaian households, and then evaluates how the provision factors, along with other socio-economic status and reciprocal behaviors, affect avowed well-being as measured by (1) the household heads’ subjective sense of being nonpoor and (2) reported feelings of happiness. The data are drawn from the Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire (CWIQ) survey conducted in 2003, with a sample of 40,481 households. Regression outcomes reveal that the usage of land, owning of livestock and amount of food spending particularly favor male-headed households’ food security, which in turn leads men not to endorse “feeling poor” and, instead, to report greater happiness than is the case, in most instances, for women. Familial reciprocity also strengthens subjective well-being by way of increasing food security among Ghanaians. Family values as such, rather than decline in significance, appear to play a critical role in food security in Ghana.     

Ethical Work Climate and Organizational Citizenship Behavior in the Taiwanese Military

This is the first study to examine how types of ethical work climates (EWCs) are related to facets of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in military units. Research hypotheses were examined using sample data collected from 508 military officers in Taiwan. The results indicated that the overall EWC and some climate types are significantly positively or negatively associated with overall OCB, OCB-organization (OCBO), OCB-individual (OCBI), and in-role behavior (IRB). Implications of EWC and practical management are discussed, and directions for future research are suggested.     

Stable icosahedral quasicrystals in the Ag-In-Ca,Ag-In-Yb,Ag-In-Ca-Mg and Ag-In-Yb-Mg systems

On the basis of the idea that a quasicrystal is a compound in which the average number of valence electrons per atom is around 2.0 and that its formation is dominated by atom size, stable icosahedral quasicrystals have been successfully synthesized in Ag-In-Ca, Ag-In-Yb, Ag-In-Ca-Mg and Ag- In-Yb-Mg systems. The Ag-In-Ca and Ag-In-Yb icosahedral quasicrystals have stoichiometry around Ag 42 In 42 Ca 16 and Ag 42 In 42 Yb 16 . The Ag-In-Ca-Mg and Ag-In-Yb-Mg quasicrystals form in the composition ranges Ag42 x /2 In 42 x /2 Ca 16 Mg x ( x =0-7.5 at.%) and Ag 42 x /2 In 42 x /2 Yb 16 Mg x ( x =0-10 at.%). Electron diffraction studies confirmed that the icosahedral quasicrystals have a primitive lattice. The average number of valence electrons per atom in all these quasicrystals is 2.0.     

Production of single quasicrystals and their electrical resistivity in the Al-Pd-Re system

Single Al-Pd-Re icosahedral quasicrystals with a maximum diameter of 5mm have been grown by a slow cooling method on the basis of a partial phase diagram determined in the present study. Laue X-ray and electron diffraction verified the highly ordered structure of the single icosahedral quasicrystals. The electrical resistivity rho of the single quasicrystals was measured to be 2000- 4000muOmegacm at 300K and 3000-6000muOmegacm at 2K, revealing a negative temperature dependence with a rho_4.2K/rho_300K value smaller than 2.     

Knowledge of language in action

Knowledge of a language is a kind of knowledge, the possession of which enables a speaker to understand and perform a variety of linguistic actions in that language. In this paper, I pursue an agency-oriented approach to knowledge of language. I begin by examining two major agency-oriented models of knowledge of language: Michael Dummett's Implicit Knowledge Model and Jennifer Hornsby's Practical Knowledge Model. I argue that each of these models is inadequate for different reasons. I present an Acquaintance Knowledge Model, in which a speaker's knowledge of a language is a combination of the speaker's first-order linguistic ability and second-order acquaintance with his ability and actions.     

Inventory of college challenges for ethnic minority students: psychometric properties of a new instrument in Chinese Americans

The Inventory of College Challenges for Ethnic Minority Students (ICCEMS) is a newly developed instrument that assesses challenges faced by ethnic minority college students across a range of cultural, academic, social, and practical domains. The present study tested the ICCEMS among Chinese American students in an attempt to identify its factor structure and assess its psychometric properties. A total of 13 factor domains emerged. The Cronbach's alpha and 1-month test-retest reliability of the subscales and the overall scale supported their reliability. Both criterion and construct validities were also demonstrated. Chinese American college students faced the greatest challenges in terms of unclear career direction and academic demands.     

Adolescents' perceptions toward the internet: a 4-T framework.

This study could be viewed as one of the initial attempts to probe adolescents' general perceptions toward the Internet. Through interviewing 40 adolescents in Taiwan, this study found the following 4-T categories for interpreting their perceptions toward the Internet, which included Technology, Tool, Toy, and Travel. Most adolescents perceived the Internet as a tool, implying that these adolescents, in general, held pragmatic views about the Internet. This paper further proposes a framework to elaborate the 4-T categories. The framework consists of the following two axes: one axis probably shows the ontology of the Internet, ranging from a "product" to a "process," whereas the other axis indicates the perceived feature of the Internet, varying from "functional" to "technical." It is finally suggested to carefully investigate the effects of people's Internet perceptions on their behaviors, as well as psychological and cognitive activities in Internet-related environments.