"Employee of the Month" in Romania: a Study on Perceptions

Author(s): Sabina Irimie,Bianca Armean / Language(s): English Issue: 5/2012

An important and complex problem of labor economics in general and of human resource management in particular, is to effectively motivate employees. At the current juncture, under the spectrum of economic crisis, the controversies of theoretical and practical interest such as the importance of the money, the relationship between motivation, satisfaction and performance at work, are more pronounced and more focused on non-financial forms of motivation. At least in part, this is because the usual ways of saving costs in today's organizations seem to aim primarily the expenses on staff (wages, rewards, training funds and so on). In this context, the paper aims to highlight the perceptions of employees on the program "Employee of the Month", as it was implemented in a Romanian organization (in a hybrid approach, combining monetary rewards and recognition awards specific to most common forms of program). Thus, the main results of our study reflect the opinions of people involved in this program, and allow us to sketch some possible changes based on the feedback from employees, in order to further improve the effectiveness of the program.

"I could easily get professional help if I wanted to": Professional help-seeking intentions and the Theory of planned behaviour

Author(s): Katerina Naumova / Language(s): English,Serbian Issue: 4/2022

This study used path analysis to evaluate the ability of the Theory of planned behaviour to predict professional help-seeking intentions in an adult community sample (N = 470, 51% female, age range: 18–64 years). The results showed that perceived behavioural control was the most significant antecedent of help-seeking intentions, positive attitudes increased the likelihood to seek professional help, however, their effect was small, while subjective norms were not relevant. Past help-seeking had a small direct effect on intentions, yet equally strong as the total indirect effect via attitudes and perceived behavioural control. Psychological distress affected intentions only indirectly. Difficulties with self-disclosure were the only barrier that had a partially mediated effect on intentions through perceived behavioural control. The findings are discussed with respect to the utility of the TPB model, as well as in the wider context of professional help-seeking and interventions to encourage the utilization of mental health services.

"Kwestionariusz przekonań politycznych": własności psychometryczne

Author(s): Gabriela Czarnek,Piotr Dragon,Paulina Szwed,Bogdan Wojciszke / Language(s): Polish Issue: 41/2017

The goal of this article is to present the psychometric properties of the Political Beliefs Questionnaire. It consists of four subdimensions: religious fundamentalism and xenophobia, which form the dimension of cultural beliefs; and acceptance of capitalism and anti-welfare, which form the dimension of economic beliefs. We present evidence for the validity of the questionnaire in identifying political beliefs on the rightleft dimension. Analyses were performed on a set of multiple samples (total N = 1673). Evidence for the theoretical validity was provided by confirmatory factor analysis, correlations with other – conceptually related – constructs, and a moderation of the strength and direction of the correlation between the cultural and economic beliefs dimensions by political sophistication. Concurrent validity of the questionnaire has been demonstrated based on the criterion of declared voting choices. The reliability of the questionnaire was evaluated based on a measure of homogeneity and absolute stability. The results indicate the good psychometric properties of "Political Beliefs Questionnaire".

"Skala typów przywiązania do miejsca" według typologii Davida M. Hummona (1992): ustrukturyzowana jakościowa metoda badania przywiązania do miejsca zamieszkania

Author(s): Alan Mandal,Marcin Moroń / Language(s): Polish Issue: 41/2017

The article presents the description of the construction stages and results of the validity analysis of Type of Attachment Scale, based on the typology of place attachment by David M. Hummon (1992). The Scale consist of descriptions of two types of attachment: everyday and active attachment, and three types of lack of place attachment: alienation, place relativity, and placelessness. A subject is ask to indicate which out of the five that are presented the description best suits their own relation toward their place of living. An examination of psychometric properties and validity of the Scale was conducted in a series of 3 studies on 912 participants. In the study 1 were 586 participants in age between 18 and 72 years (50% female). The participants filled out the prepared Type of attachment scale, Place attachment scale (Williams, & Vaske, 2003), a sociodemographic survey, and series of questions about the affective attitude toward their place of living. In the study 2 were 274 participants in age from 16 to 72. The participants filled out the Type of attachment scale, Place attachment scale and identity scale (Lewicka, 2012), and Scales measuring agency and communion (Wojciszke, Szlendak, 2010). In the study 3, with 52 participants, the reliability of the Scale was examined by test-retest procedure. The obtained results showed that Types of attachment scale is a reliable and valid measure of person-place relations according to categorization by Hummon (1992). Types of place attachment, included in Type of attachment scale, demonstrate a distinguishable profiles of sociodemographic and psychological characteristics. Individuals who identified themselves with everyday and active attachment were significantly stronger attached to the place than the other types of lack of attachment, differing with each other according to the length of residence and a level of place inherited dimension. Non-attached types have a similar profiles, that indicates a low place attachment. The place relativity type can be described as the lowest attached, with the highest mobility, the shortest length of residence and the weakest bond according to earlier generation presence in the place of living. Alienation was connected with neutral of negative attitude toward the place, and was described by a positive correlation with the European identity. A placeless type was reflected by a weak place attachment and low local identity, but a positive correlation with agency.

"Жизнь по доктору Комаровскому": конструирование родительства в советах по уходу за детьми

Author(s): Elena Strelnyk / Language(s): Russian Issue: 2/2015

The article analyzes constructions of parenthood and childcare in childcare advice—disseminated through books, TV broadcasts, and websites—by popular Ukrainian pediatrician Evgenii Komarovskii. The article consists of three parts. The first part deals with the public, social, and pedagogical discourses of parental (ir)responsibility and (in)competence in Ukraine, as well as conceptions of parental competence in Doctor Komarovskii’s advice as the alternative to this discourse. The second part aims to evaluate the peculiarities of constructions of maternal and paternal roles and childcare in his advice. The author explores Evgenii Komarovskii’s role in the discursive actualization of parenting and childcare as important sociopolitical issues in the third part. The article draws on work in the sociology of parenting, exploring the role of expert knowledge in its construction.

A comparison of WISC-R and WAIS-R (PL) scores of children and adolescents in a longitudinal study

Author(s): Krystyna Sochacka / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2016

D. Wechsler’s tests were used to examine the same group of subjects within the intellectual norm (N = 31) twice over an interval of 13 years: the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-R; the subjects’ mean age was 8 years) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-R; mean age – 21 years). Each measurement was carried out by the same person. Based on 62 protocols (answer sheets), intelligence quotients, scaled subtest scores, and factor scores obtained using WISC-R were compared both with the normalized version of WAIS-R (PL) (2004) and with the version of WAIS-R (PL) from before normalization (1996). Statistically significant differences were found between the results obtained using WISC-R and the normalized version of WAIS-R (PL). There is no such difference between WISC-R and the earlier version of WAIS-R (PL), from before normalization. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.

A Longitudinal Study of Factors Explaining Attitude Change Towards Gambling Among Adolescents

Author(s): Ståle Pallesen,Daniel Hanss,Helge Molde,Mark D. Griffiths,Rune Aune Mentzoni / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2016

No previous study has investigated changes in attitudes toward gambling from under legal gambling age to legal gambling age. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate attitudinal changes during this transition and to identify predictors of corresponding attitude change. Methods: In all 1239 adolescents from a national representative sample participated in two survey waves (Wave 1; 17.5 years; Wave 2; 18.5 years). Results: From Wave 1 to Wave 2 the sample became more acceptant toward gambling. A regression analysis showed that when controlling for attitudes toward gambling at Wave 1 males developed more acceptant attitudes than females. Neuroticism was inversely related to development of acceptant attitudes toward gambling from Wave 1 to Wave 2, whereas approval of gambling by close others at Wave 1 was positively associated with development of more acceptant attitudes. Continuous or increased participation in gambling was related to development of more acceptant attitudes from Wave 1 to Wave 2. Conclusions: Attitudes toward gambling became more acceptant when reaching legal gambling age. Male gender, approval of gambling by close others and gambling participation predicted development of positive attitudes toward gambling whereas neuroticism was inversely related to development of positive attitudes toward gambling over time.

A MULTIFACETED APPROACH TO THE FEELING OF LONELINESS – THE PHENOMENON OF LONELINESS AMONG POLISH WOMEN IN GREAT BRITAIN

Author(s): Urszula Walczak / Language(s): English Issue: 10/2019

Loneliness is a condition more and more often experienced by people regardless of their gender or age. The phenomenon of loneliness can be observed, among other things, in relation to cultural, social, economic, political transformations and life in emigration. The article is a proposal to define the circumstance of loneliness and show its multi-level structure. The text presents the causes and consequences of this state through which a person passes and experiences symptoms. The text is an attempt to answer the question whether Polish women living in Great Britain feel a sense of loneliness.

A MULTISPECTRAL STRATEGIC APPROACH IN DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING IN STUDENTS

Author(s): Nina Bîrnaz,Nadejda Butnari,Lilian Rață / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This paper highlights the importance of critical thinking in an era of rapid change. Critical thinking is a system of judgements that contributes to formulating conclusions, ideas, interpretations, and their applicability to concrete situations and problem-solving. Therefore, the educational approach aimed at developing critical thinking in students combines two different dimensions, namely, the axiological and the cognitive dimensions. Based on these directions, we propose the "4 What" strategy for the development of critical thinking in students. The strategy involves a matrix of four interrelated components: critical thinking development attitudes, critical thinking development skills, manifestations of critical thinking behaviour, and critical thinking development methods, as well as ten stages reflecting the consecutiveness of the critical thinking process.

A New Perspective on Safety Measures Imposed on Mentally Retarded Criminal Offenders

Author(s): Iuliana Hunea,Tatiana Iov,Simona Irina Damian,Nona Gîrlescu,Anton Knieling,Diana Bulgaru-Iliescu / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2019

Safety measures are both a way of isolating the person who committed a criminal offence from society, with the purpose of protecting citizens, and at the same time a form of protection for the perpetrator, against whom the most appropriate measures are taken - from from the point of view of the the criminal justice system - in consideration of their particular situation. Among the categories of perpetrators to whom safety measures are addressed, those with mental retardation represent a specific category in that, unlike other psychically ill offenders, their degree of perceiving the consequences of their actions and their own guilt is extremely low, and sometimes it is even impossible for them to understand the significance of their own deeds. The present article aims to highlight the specific elements of safety measures imposed on mentally retarded criminal offenders from a theoretical perspective, analyzing the concepts of deviance and delinquency by correspondence with irresponsibility.

A Polish Adaptation and Validation of the Positive–Negative Relationship Quality (PN-RQ) Scale

Author(s): Anna Papińska,Dariusz Kuncewicz / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2021

The Positive–Negative Relationship Quality (PN-RQ) scale is used to test the quality of close relationships, taking into account their positive and negative dimensions. The aim of our study was to check the factor structure and criterion validity of the Polish version of this scale, and the possibilities offered by two-dimensional estimation of relationship quality. The validation study involved 740 people (369 female and 371 male) who were in romantic relationships. In addition to the PN-RQ scale, the respondents completed two other relationship quality measures: the Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS) and the Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR) attachment questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the bi-factor model is suitable for the multidimensional nature of PN-RQ. The results showed the following: high internal consistency of the subscales and the entire scale; compliance with the results obtained with RAS; the possibility of a nuanced assessment of the quality of close relationships, also taking into account the unique differences that arise as a result of anxious or avoidant attachment. The Polish version of the PN-RQ scale is characterized by good psychometric properties and measurement sensitivity; it could be useful in both research and clinical diagnostics.

A PRUDENTIAL PERSONALIST ETHICAL APPRAISAL OF HUMAN CLONING

Author(s): Peter O.O. Ottuh / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2021

Numerous uncertainties are hanging over the biotechnology of human cloning which has prompted medical ethicists and religious organizations to ask questions that bordered on its ethical and religious considerations. In cloning humans, ethical and religious issues arise both in its clinical and laboratory settings hence, the morality of manipulating human genes is the foremost ethical issue among scientists and religious scholars. Therefore, this paper evaluated the human cloning technology using the personalism and prudential personalism ethical-religious models to arrive at a workable moral paradigm. To achieve this objective, the paper employed the phenomenological and critical-literary literature review methods. The paper argued that previous ethical and religious researches have not adequately employed the ‘ideal’ ethical models to appraise the morality of human cloning hence; using the personalism and prudential personalism ethical-religious models were appropriate to reveal that every human life has worth and its commodification is an aberration. The paper concluded that based on the paradigm of prudential personalist ethics, cloning humans (especially, human reproductive cloning) negates respect for human life, human dignity, and communal goods hence it should not be practiced.

A szexuális zaklatásról

Author(s): Annamária Sólyom / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 11/2017

A validation study of the self-compassion scale-short form (SCS-SF) with ant colony optimization in a Turkish sample

Author(s): Hakan Koğar,Esin Yılmaz Koğar / Language(s): English,Serbian Issue: 1/2023

The general purpose of this study is to validate the Turkish version of the short form of Self- Compassion Scale (SCS) by Ant Colony Optimization (ACO). For this purpose, data were collected from two different samples. Sample-1 (n = 398) and Sample-2 (n = 233) consist of young and middle-aged adults. Short forms were created by selecting the most suitable items for unidimensional, two-factor correlated, six-factor correlated, six-factor higher-order, bifactor-CFA and bifactor- ESEM factor structures using ACO over Sample-1, and the best short form was determined using model-data fit indices. After the determination of the bifactor-ESEM with Sample-1 as the best factor structure, the model data fits and reliability indices of the relevant factor structure were cross-validated on Sample-2. Strict measurement invariance was established between age groups. The results indicate that the SCS-SF developed in this study is a valid and reliable measurement tool with a bifactor-ESEM structure with 12 items, 6 specific factors, and a general factor.

Acculturation Process and Ethnic Identity of Immigrants in Germany

Author(s): Liudmyla Smokova / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2015

In the present study, we discuss psychological acculturation, by which we mean the internal processes of change that immigrants experience when they come into direct contact with members of the host culture. The model we present builds on research in the areas of social and ethnic identity. Each of these perspectives is discussed in accordance with its relevance to the acculturative processes operating in immigrants. We understand ethnic identity as a dynamic state, that is determined by three components: (1) by the degree of inclusion in the group of one’s cultural origin; (2) the tendency to assimilate to the ethnic group of origin; and (3) the complementary tendency to differentiate from one’s own ethnic group. Social identity conveys belonging of the individual to different social categories and the value as well as emotional significance of this membership. We have sought to explain how the processes of social categorization, inand out-group identification and social comparison predetermine the direction of the acculturation process and hence the intercultural interaction and wellbeing of the youth from immigrant backgrounds in Germany. Results indicated that immigrants who have more identified themselves with dominant society have expressed the strong preference to integration strategies. The immigrants that had a high degree of ethnic identification have expressed the low preference to the integration as well to marginalization and assimilation. In its turn, the powerful feeling of belonging to an ethnic group and attitude towards the group promotes immigrants segregation choice.

Activity matters: Physical exercise and stress coping during the 2020 COVID-19 state of emergency

Author(s): Stanislava Popov,Jelena Sokić,Dušan Stupar / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2021

Recent studies have demonstrated that social isolation during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the mental and physical health of people worldwide. However, it remains unknown whether physical activity can improve mental health in a state of emergency. The present study aimed to examine the importance of physical exercising and stress management mechanisms (problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant) in the context of mental health indicators (depression, anxiety, and nonspecific stress) in conditions of social isolation during COVID-19-induced lockdown in Serbia. The sample consisted of 680 adults (66% female), mean aged 35.91years (SD = 12.45). The results indicated a significant relation between physical exercising and a reduced stress response and confirmed the usefulness of the already well-known problem-focused strategies. Avoidant and emotion-focused coping were associated with poorer mental health outcomes. However, as a moderator, physical activity lowered anxiety levels in individuals prone to emotion-focused coping.

Adaptation of RULS-6 loneliness scale (6-item short form) into Turkish: A validity and reliability study

Author(s): Abdulhakim Inanç,Halil Ekşi / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2022

This study includes the adaptation of the 6-item UCLA (Developing a Measure of Loneliness) loneliness scale developed into the Turkish language and the findings of its reliability and validity values. The study was conducted with the data obtained from the study group (n = 327), including university students. As a result of the analyses, it was determined that the scale showed a single-factor structure in accordance with its original structure. Furthermore, the criterion validity of the scale is also computed using the UCLA loneliness scale version 3. The reliability of the scale was computed by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient technique and it was found to be .84. Findings have shown that the Turkish adaptation of the 6-item UCLA loneliness scale is reliable and valid and can be used in measuring loneliness in Turkey.

Addiction in Extreme Sports: An Exploration of Withdrawal States in Rock Climbers

Author(s): Robert M. Heirene,David Shearer,Gareth Roderique-Davies,Stephen D. Mellalieu / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2016

Extreme sports athletes are often labeled “adrenaline junkies” by the media, implying they are addicted to their sport. Research suggests during abstinence these athletes may experience withdrawal states characteristic of individuals with an addiction (Celsi, Rose, & Leigh, 1993; Franken, Zijlstra, & Muris, 2006; Willig, 2008). Despite this notion, no research has directly explored withdrawal experiences of extreme sports athletes. Methods: Using semi-structured interviews, we explored withdrawal experiences of high (n = 4) and average-ability (n = 4) male rock climbers during periods of abstinence. We investigated the psychological and behavioral aspects of withdrawal, including craving, anhedonia, and negative affect; and differences in the frequency and intensity of these states between groups. Results: Deductive content analysis indicated support for each of the three categories of anhedonia, craving, and negative affect. Consistent with existing substance addiction literature, high-ability climbers recalled more frequent and intense craving states and negative affect during abstinence compared with average-ability climbers. No differences in anhedonic symptoms between high and average-ability participants were found. Conclusions: Rock climbing athletes appear to experience withdrawal symptoms when abstinent from their sport comparable to individuals with substance and behavioral addictions. The implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Adolescents’ Social Emotional Health and Empathy in Lithuanian Sample

Author(s): Ala Petrulytė,Virginija Guogienė / Language(s): English Issue: 22/2018

Non-decreasing extent of bullying, increasing rates of various dependencies and suicides, high level of adolescents’ behavioural and emotional problems are observed in Lithuanian schools at present. Academic literature sources have revealed that adolescents’ mental health is mainly researched from the deficitoriented perspective, i.e. factors under research are related to various impairments, encountered difficulties or their risk. It is particularly important to conduct research on the positive adolescent development, its strengths, emotional and social areas of health that can be developed. The present research emphasizes a positive development of youth and social emotional aspects of such development. Aim. To investigate differences in adolescents’ social and emotional health and empathy by age and gender in the Lithuanian sample. Method. Social and Emotional Health Survey (Furlong et al., 2014) and Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) (Davis, 1980). The sample: 600 adolescents (12–18 year olds) from various Lithuanian schools. Research results and conclusions. The scores of SEHS–S scales of belief-in-self and engaged living are statistically significantly higher in the group of junior adolescents (12–15 year olds) and those of empathy (IRI) are higher among senior adolescents (16–18 year olds); significantly higher scores of empathy scales are observed in the group of girls compared to boys. The results of the conducted research contribute to the development of expression of school learners’ social and emotional health and empathy.

Afektywna topografia współczesnego Tokio w powieści Yoriko Shōno „Kombinat zakrzywionej czasoprzestrzeni” (Taimu surippu konbināto )

Author(s): Beata Kubiak Ho-Chi / Language(s): Polish Issue: 6/2015

Kubiak Ho-Chi reads Yoriko Shōno’s novel ‘Time Slip Kombinat” (1994) in the light of Brian Massumi’s theory of affect. She highlights the importance of affect and the cognitive potential of studying the emotional interaction between the individual and the place (Tokyo) in Shōno’s novel. She also emphasizes the correspondence between the chaos of the city and the chaos of feelings, which becomes apparent in the novelistic world after the industrial catastrophe. While Shōno is still untranslated into Polish, in Japan she is counted among the most revolutionary contemporary writers. Saturated with an atmosphere of surrealism and a nightmarish combination of dream and wakefulness, her experimental prose represents a postmodern Japan as well as a modern individual lost in the globalized world, filled with fear and lacking all faith in the future.