The meaning of work for South African women: A phenomenological study

This study sought to gain an in-depth understanding of the meaning that women attribute to their work in the South African context. The six women informants were 27–32 years old, all with tertiary education, in senior positions, without children. Data on the meaning of work for South African women were collected using semi-structured interviews. Findings indicate that the meaning of work for South African women changes when they experience work autonomy. Working women also report having a sense of identity and self-worth, meeting instrumental needs, achieving social relatedness, and being of service to others. The meaning of work also comes from intrinsic satisfaction, a sense of power and authority.     

The development of the Sport Commitment Questionnaire-2 (English version)

ObjectivesThe purpose of this research was to develop the Sport Commitment Questionnaire-2 (SCQ-2) and establish its psychometric properties. The SCQ-2 measures the updated Sport Commitment Model (SCM: Scanlan, Russell, Scanlan, Klunchoo, & Chow, 2013) and replaces the outdated Sport Commitment Questionnaire (SCQ) that assessed the original SCM (Scanlan, Simons, Carpenter, Schmidt, & Keeler, 1993).DesignBased on prior commitment research, items were generated to refine and expand the original SCQ subscales and to measure new candidate constructs to the SCM. A multiphase study was then conducted.MethodsPhase 1 participants were 753 male/female adolescent athletes (ages 13–19 years) from six sports representing varying levels of task interdependence. Using similar methodology as Phase 1, Phase 2 assessed 982 male/female adolescent athletes.ResultsExploratory factor analysis of Phase 1 data revealed 13 factors: two types of commitment (Enthusiastic and Constrained) and 11 sources. Confirmatory factor analysis of Phase 2 data supported a 58-item, 12-factor structure. In addition, all subscales were internally consistent. Structural equation modeling revealed that the sources explained 81.8% of the variance in Enthusiastic Commitment and 63.9% in Constrained Commitment.ConclusionsThe SCQ-2 assesses the sources and types of commitment in the updated SCM. Based on several indices of fit and the composite reliabilities, psychometric support for the SCQ-2 was established.     

Microphenomena research,intersubjectivity and client as self-healer

This article describes an approach to counselling and psychotherapy which complements dominant discourse approaches to clinical evaluation based on New Public Management systems which underpin the Improved Access to Psychological Therapies scheme within the field of therapy. It is based on an approach to research and practice development which I will call practitioner microphenomena research. In order to demonstrate the method, I will examine an extract from a single case study of a client with major depressive disorder from the point of view of intersubjective theory and a little-known approach to therapy called anthroposophic psychotherapy based on the work of Rudolf Steiner. I will show how the two clinical methods are well suited to examining the microphenomena of practice and can be integrated into a coherent whole. A central feature of the account will be the anthroposophical view about the central importance of our individuality or ‘I’ which has similarities with the Jungian self but is still distinct from it.     

Boundary research: Tools and rules to impact emerging fields

Boundary research can be risky, but it can also move academic disciplines into wider areas of influence. To help reduce the risk and increase the reward, this article describes new tools that boundary researchers can use to get started, published, and promoted. These include writing for surprising impact, positioning their research against a larger theme, developing a research impact matrix for promotion, and estimating a 10‐year citation record. These tools can help move a boundary research area from fringe to focus. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Consumer Behaviour published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Beyond barbarity and concealment: animal sacrifice and religious slaughter in Islamic responses to postdomesticity

In a society where animals to be consumed as food are produced using modern industrial animal farming system (described as postdomestic in Bulliet [2005 Bulliet, R. W. 2005. Hunters, Herders, and Hamburgers: The past and Future of Human–Animal Relationships. New York: Columbia University Press. [Google Scholar]]), most people who consume animals are very much removed from the production process. Most consumers do not participate actively or have intimate knowledge of the rearing and slaughtering of animals for food. In this article, I critically analyse existing Islamic responses to problems arising from the postdomestic condition with regard to consuming animal as food. In this article, my analysis focuses on making explicit the connection between the assumption of barbarity in the civilising discourse surrounding religious requirement for animal slaughter and the problem of postdomestic concealment of animals we consume. Furthermore, I analyse the role that the Islamic requirement for animal slaughter (zabiha) and the tradition of Festival of Sacrifice (eid al-adha) can have potential solutions that religion can offer to the problems of postdomesticity.     

Researching stigma as an outsider: considerations for qualitative outsider research

In this article, we discuss a number of important considerations that we have encountered in the process of researching health stigma topics as “outsiders”: researchers (personally) unfamiliar with the experience or topic under study. In particular, we discuss the importance of the following: a reflective stance, challenging negative representations, flexible and sensitive recruitment strategies, validating experiences of stigma, and participant control and power. We see these points as particularly important in the context of researching stigma as outsiders, where our privilege may contribute to unhelpful, narrow, de-politicized or overly simplistic representations of particular “groups” or experiences. We share these considerations in hope of assisting other researchers to reflect on, and articulate, how they negotiate their positionings within their research and the ways in which they shape and construct the research agenda and, by implication, the people or topics under examination.     

An Ethical Exploration of Barriers to Research on Controlled Drugs

We examine the ethical, social, and regulatory barriers that may hinder research on therapeutic potential of certain controversial controlled substances like marijuana, heroin, or ketamine. Hazards for individuals and society and potential adverse effects on communities may be good reasons for limiting access and justify careful monitoring of these substances. Overly strict regulations, fear of legal consequences, stigma associated with abuse and populations using illicit drugs, and lack of funding may, however, limit research on their considerable therapeutic potential. We review the surprisingly sparse literature and address the particular ethical concerns pertinent to research with illicit and addictive substances, such as undue inducement, informed consent, therapeutic misconception, and risk to participants, researchers, and institutions. We consider the perspectives of key research stakeholders and explore whether they may be infected with bias. We conclude by proposing an empirical research agenda to provide an evidentiary basis for ethical reasoning.     

Family incivility and counterproductive work behavior: A moderated mediation model of self-esteem and emotional regulation

Drawing from the work–home resources model, we examined the relations of family incivility, counterproductive work behaviors (CWB), state self-esteem, and emotional regulation. Results from three-wave lagged data (N = 284) indicated that family incivility was positively correlated with counterproductive work behaviors, and this relationship was mediated by state self-esteem. In addition, emotional regulation mitigated the relationship between family incivility and state self-esteem. The findings suggested that family incivility, as an emotional contextual demand in the home domain, is related to negative outcome (deviant behavior) in the work context (i.e., CWB) through the depletion of the personal resource—state self-esteem, while emotional regulation is a key resource that mitigates this relationship. This paper discusses the implications of these findings with respect to applications and developments of the work–home resources model.     

Prompting reflection and learning in career construction counseling

Adopting the overall framework provided for an international inquiry into career counseling interventions, this article reports on a qualitative study into the efficacy of a relatively new approach to practice in England. Using career construction interviews as the counseling intervention, research involving two adult participants was undertaken. Interpersonal process recall (IPR) was used to explicate the perceptions and understandings of both the participants and the counselor in the process. Outcome analysis framed the approach used to making sense of the data collected. Two contrasting responses were immediately evident from participants in the counseling intervention: one positive and one negative. The use of the IPR process enabled an understanding of the value of a structured process of reflection.