Psychometric properties of scales in the General Nordic Questionnaire for Psychological and Social Factors at Work (QPSNordic): Confirmatory factor analysis and prediction of certified long-term sickness absence

Psychometric properties, particularly predictive validity, of scales in the General Nordic Questionnaire for Psychological and Social Factors at Work (QPS_Nordic) were assessed. The analysis is confined to the scales in the QPS_Nordic, and 24 of the 26 scales are included. A large group of Swedish county council employees ( n = 3,976; response rate = 65%) participated in a study and were given the QPS_Nordic. Register data for long-term sick leave (>90 days), with diagnosis, were used for predictive analysis. The following main results were obtained: Reliability was generally satisfactory, confirmatory factor analysis indicated good fit, concurrent validity was good, some less often investigated organizational variables predicted sickness absence, and scales were differentially associated with absence due to psychiatric and musculoskeletal disorders. In conclusion, the psychometric testing of the QPS_Nordic so far suggests that it is a good instrument for assessing health-related factors at work.     

Perceived organizational support, organizational commitment and psychological well-being: A longitudinal study

Using longitudinal data (N = 220), we examined the contribution of perceived organizational support and four mindsets of organizational commitment (affective, normative, perceived sacrifice associated with leaving and perceived lack of alternatives) to employee psychological well-being. In order to assess the contribution of support and commitment independently from workplace stressors, we controlled for the effects of role ambiguity, role conflict and role overload. Analyses showed affective organizational commitment to mediate a positive relationship between perceived organizational support and well-being. In addition, perceived organizational support negatively related to perceived lack of employment alternatives which, in turn, was negatively related to well-being. Normative commitment and perceived sacrifice associated with leaving were unrelated to well-being. The implications of these findings are discussed under the lenses of social exchange and conservation of resources theories.     

Interpersonal trust and organizational citizenship behavior

This study investigates the relationship between certain individual level determinants of interpersonal trust and its impact on organizational citizenship behavior. The participants (N=303) were top, middle, and lower level executives from manufacturing and services sectors. The results indicate that interaction frequency, consistency, and competence are significant predictors of interpersonal trust. Interpersonal trust is positively associated with organizational citizenship behavior, and it also partially mediated the relationship between individual level factors and organizational citizenship behavior. The results imply that the development of trust at the interpersonal level may be used as a strategy to motivate the employees to engage in extra role behaviors to ensure improved individual and organizational performance.     

超越个体：组织公民行为跨层次研究

以往的研究认为组织公民行为是个人行为,并且大多数研究是在个体层次上展开的。事实上,由于组织中的个体嵌入在群体和组织中,组织公民行为会受到群体和组织等不同层次因素的影响。本文从层次问题入手,对国外文献深入系统研究的基础上,对组织公民行为的研究层次和研究模型进行梳理,以期明晰组织公民行为的层次研究现状,并在此基础上探讨中国本土化情境下开展组织公民行为跨层次研究的必要性和可行性。     

Maintaining an open mind to closed individuals: The effect of resource availability and leadership style on the association between openness to experience and organizational commitment

This paper examines whether workplace characteristics, particularly resource availability and transformational leadership, moderate the association between openness to experience and organizational commitment. In Study 1, 205 employees completed a questionnaire that assessed their openness, organizational commitment, and perceived availability of resources at their organization. Openness reduced the extent to which individuals felt obliged to remain loyal to the organization, although this association diminished as resources became more accessible. In Study 2, 312 employees completed a similar questionnaire that also gauged the perceived leadership style of their supervisors. Transformational leadership amplified the positive relationship between openness and organizational commitment. These findings align with the proposition that individuals are more committed in work environments that facilitate the expression of their traits.     

International justice and individual self-preservation

The article explores the fundamental difference between two aspects of justice: international and global. It is then argued that for the sake of global justice, the difference can be overcome by taking a closer look at the basic human right of self-preservation in relation to moral agency, human well-being and social/distributive justice at both global and national levels. In an endeavour to attain global justice, the article defends an absolute moral right to a human minimum.     

Artificial consciousness, artificial emotions, and autonomous robots

Nowadays for robots, the notion of behavior is reduced to a simple factual concept at the level of the movements. On another hand, consciousness is a very cultural concept, founding the main property of human beings, according to themselves. We propose to develop a computable transposition of the consciousness concepts into artificial brains, able to express emotions and consciousness facts. The production of such artificial brains allows the intentional and really adaptive behavior for the autonomous robots. Such a system managing the robot’s behavior will be made of two parts: the first one computes and generates, in a constructivist manner, a representation for the robot moving in its environment, and using symbols and concepts. The other part achieves the representation of the previous one using morphologies in a dynamic geometrical way. The robot’s body will be seen for itself as the morphologic apprehension of its material substrata. The model goes strictly by the notion of massive multi-agent’s organizations with a morphologic control.     

从道德本位到权利本位的转换——梁启超《新民说》审视

梁启超《新民说》是对以《大学》为代表的中国传统“新民”思想的改造和发展。他以民权、独立、自由的资产阶级“公德”代替以伦理道德为核心的封建主义的“私德” ,用中西文化中的优秀道德传统构建新国民 ,实现了从以伦理道德为本位的旧道德向以权利为本位的新道德的转换 ,“旧国民”向“新国民”的转换。     

正当与相称:公正之内涵界定

公正是当前伦理学研究的热点问题,又是个跨学科的难题解决这个难题的起点就是——公正是什么？本人认为公正是人们社会交往活动中利益的正当的相称关系（或行为）“正当”是其质的规定;“相称”是其量的规定,“正当与相称”体现了公正范畴之历史性和客观性的统一。     

经济正义:当代伦理学面临的重大课题

正义是一个历史范畴。人类对正义的追求经历了一个由个人正义到社会正义、由政治正义到经济正义的过程。随着经济关系成为支配社会发展的主要力量,经济发展的单向度价值取向的危害日益严重,社会不公正现象在经济领域中日益凸现,经济正义已成为当代社会正义理论中最重要、最具有社会意义的内容和形式。