Diversity and the perceived barriers to participation in volunteer activity by older people

The first chapter introduces the subject from a psychological and sociological perspective emphasising the basic human activity of helping those in need. Governmental prominence for policies that assist this activity is briefly discussed with special mention of the programmes that encourage volunteering. Programmes particularly directed at older people, such as the Age Concern ‘Debate of the Age’ are considered briefly. An extensive review of the extant literature is the subject of the second chapter. The pervious research is explored to discover the formulae used to define a volunteer. A definition relative to this research is created. Volunteering issues aggravated by the demographic situation of older people are explored. Empirical volunteer survey research by mutual organisations is explored to ascertain the extent and nature of the already recorded volunteer population. The penultimate section of this chapter investigates the nature of old age and the strategies that older people adopt to enjoy the benefits and contain the problems. The issue of diversity arises from consideration of the literature suggesting that, although it is an essential voluntary sector strength, it is also a further barrier to recruitment. A model diversity is proposed. Chapter three reviews the theoretical processes, procedures and technologies used to collect and analyse the data required to discover the answer to the research problem. Analysis of the questionnaire survey data received is the subject of chapter four. The discovery of the agency uniqueness of volunteer profiles is the principle finding of this part of the research. The fifth chapter is the qualitative analysis of the oral and written statements received. A content analysis of the scripts and texts provided rich data covering motivational factors. Motivational factors were the same for volunteers in the same organisation, but differed between organisations. Finally, the analysed data is collated and discussed progressively toward a theory of diversity. The individuality of each branch of each agency is progressively described culminating in the creation of a model that infers that diversity is a barrier that aggravates all other barriers. The personal realisations of the researcher are described.

The role of emotional labour and role stress on burnout and psychological strain in high contact service employees

This study examines the relationships between job demands (in the form of role stressors and emotional management) and employee burnout amongst high contact service employees. Employees in customer facing roles are frequently required to manage overwhelming, conflicting or ambiguous demands, which they may feel ill-equipped to handle. Simultaneously, they must manage the emotions they display towards customers, suppressing some, and expressing others, be they genuine or contrived. If the in-role effort required of employees exceeds their inherent capacity to cope, burnout may result. Burnout, in turn, can have serious detrimental consequences for the psychological well being of employees. We find that both emotional management and role stressors impact burnout. We also confirm that burnout predicts psychological strain. In line with the Job Demands and Resources Model, we examine the mitigating impact of perceived support on these relationships but do not find a significant mitigating impact.

Triggering trust : to what extent does the question influence the answer when evaluating the perceived importance of trust triggers?

Trust is a critical component of business to consumer (B2C) e-Commerce success. In the absence of typical environmental cues that consumers use to assess vendor trustworthiness in the offline retail context, online consumers often rely on trust triggers embedded within e-Commerce websites to contribute to the establishment of sufficient trust to make an online purchase. This paper presents and discusses the results of a study which took an initial look at the extent to which the context or manner in which trust triggers are evaluated may exert influence on the importance attributed to individual triggers.

Perceived environmental uncertainty in scenario planning

Scenarioplanning is a strategy tool with growing popularity in both academia and practical situations. Current practices of scenarioplanning are largely based on existing literature which utilises scenarioplanning to develop strategies for the future, primarily considering the assessment of perceived macro-external environmentaluncertainties. However there is a body of literature hitherto ignored by scenarioplanning researchers, which suggests that PerceivedEnvironmentalUncertainty (PEU) influences the micro-external as well as the internal environment of the organisation. This paper reviews the most dominant theories on scenarioplanning process and PEU, developing three propositions for the practice of scenarioplanning process. Furthermore, it shows how these propositions can be integrated in the scenarioplanning process in order to improve the development of strategy.

The effects of perceived business uncertainty, external consultants and risk management on organisational outcomes

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relations between perceived business uncertainty (PBU), use of external risk management (RM) consultants, formalisation of RM, magnitude of RM methods and perceived organisational outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based on a questionnaire survey of members of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the UK. Using AMOS 17.0, the paper tests the strength of the direct and indirect effects among the variables and explores the fit of the overall path model. Findings: The results indicate significant and positive associations exist between the extent of PBU and the level ofRMformalisation, as well as between the level ofRMformalisation and the magnitude of RMmethods adopted. The use of externalRMconsultants is also found to have a significant and positive impact on the magnitude of RM methods adopted. Finally, both the extent of RM formalisation and the magnitude of RM methods adopted are seen to be significantly associated with overall improvement in organisational outcomes. Research limitations/implications: The study uses perceptual measures of the level of business uncertainty, usage of RM and organisational outcomes. Further, the respondents are members of a management accounting professional body and the views of other managers, such as risk managers, who are also important to the governance process are not incorporated. Originality/value: This study provides empirical evidence on the impact ofRMdesign and usage on improvements in organisational outcomes. It contributes to the RM literature where empirical research is needed in order to be comparable with the traditional management control system literature.

Functional and perceived benefits of wearing coloured filters by patients with age-related macular degeneration

Background: The aim was to investigate the visual effect of coloured filters compared to transmission-matched neutral density filters, in patients with dry age-related macular degeneration. Methods: Visual acuity (VA, logMAR), contrast sensitivity (Pelli-Robson) and colour vision (D15) were recorded for 39 patients (average age 79.1 ± 7.2 years) with age-related macular degeneration, both in the presence and absence of glare from a fluorescent source. Patients then chose their preferred coloured and matched neutral density transmission filters (NoIR). Visual function tests were repeated with the chosen filters, both in the presence and absence of glare from the fluorescent source. Patients trialled the two filters for two weeks each, in random order. Following the trial of each filter, a telephone questionnaire was completed. Results: VA and contrast sensitivity were unaffected by the coloured filters but reduced through the neutral density filters (p < 0.01). VA and contrast sensitivity were reduced by similar amounts, following the introduction of the glare source, both in the presence and absence of filters (p < 0.001). Colour vision error scores were increased following the introduction of a neutral density filter (from 177.6 ± 60.2 to 251.9 ± 115.2) and still further through coloured filters (275.1 ± 50.8; p < 0.001). In the absence of any filter, colour vision error scores increased by 29.1 ± 55.60 units in the presence of glare (F2,107 = 3.9, p = 0.02); however, there was little change in colour vision error scores, in the presence of glare, with either the neutral density or coloured filters. Questionnaires indicated that patients tended to gain more benefit from the coloured filters. Conclusions: Coloured filters had minimal impact on VA and contrast sensitivity in patients with age-related macular degeneration; however, they caused a small reduction in objective colour vision, although this was not registered subjectively by patients. Patients indicated that they received more benefit from the coloured filters compared with neutral density filters. © 2013 The Authors © 2013 Optometrists Association Australia.

A multi-level investigation of psychological contract breach and organizational identification through the lens of perceived organizational membership:testing a moderated-mediated model

Drawing on the perceived organizational membership theoretical framework and the social identity view of dissonance theory, I examined in this study the dynamics of the relationship between psychological contract breach and organizational identification. I included group-level transformational and transactional leadership as well as procedural justice in the hypothesized model as key antecedents for organizational membership processes. I further explored the mediating role of psychological contract breach in the relationship between leadership, procedural justice climate, and organizational identification and proposed separateness–connectedness self-schema as an important moderator of the above mediated relationship. Hierarchical linear modeling results from a sample of 864 employees from 162 work units in 10 Greek organizations indicated that employees' perception of psychological contract breach negatively affected their organizational identification. I also found psychological contract breach to mediate the impact of transformational and transactional leadership on organizational identification. Results further provided support for moderated mediation and showed that the indirect effects of transformational and transactional leadership on identification through psychological contract breach were stronger for employees with a low connectedness self-schema.

Weight-based discrimination, body dissatisfaction and emotional eating:the role of perceived social consensus.

Objective: Discrimination can have a negative impact on psychological well-being, attitudes and behaviour. This research evaluates the impact of experiences of weight-based discrimination upon emotional eating and body dissatisfaction, and also explores whether people's beliefs about an ingroup's social consensus concerning how favourably overweight people are regarded can moderate the relationship between experiences of discrimination and negative eating and weight-related cognitions and behaviours. Research methods and procedures: 197 undergraduate students completed measures about their experiences of weight-based discrimination, emotional eating and body dissatisfaction. Participants also reported their beliefs concerning an ingroup's attitude towards overweight people. Results: Recollections of weight-based discrimination significantly contributed to emotional eating and body dissatisfaction. However, the relationships between experiencing discrimination and body dissatisfaction and emotional eating were weakest amongst participants who believed that the ingroup held a positive attitude towards overweight people. Discussion: Beliefs about ingroup social consensus concerning overweight people can influence the relationships between weight-based discrimination and emotional eating and body dissatisfaction. Changing group perceptions to perceive it to be unacceptable to discriminate against overweight people may help to protect victims of discrimination against the negative consequences of weight-based stigma.

Triggering trust:to what extent does the question influence the answer when evaluating the perceived importance of trust triggers?

Trust is a critical component of business to consumer (B2C) e-Commerce success. In the absence of typical environmental cues that consumers use to assess vendor trustworthiness in the offline retail context, online consumers often rely on trust triggers embedded within e-Commerce websites to contribute to the establishment of sufficient trust to make an online purchase. This paper presents and discusses the results of a study which took an initial look at the extent to which the context or manner in which trust triggers are evaluated may exert influence on the importance attributed to individual triggers.

Perceived risks in cross-border transactions in agri-food chains

Nowadays, agri-food chains are more global than ever and are characterized by increased imports and exports and global sourcing of products, resulting in increased cross-border transaction risks. The objective of this paper is to identify the typical risks regarding agri-food supply chains involved in cross-border transactions and to assess their importance as perceived by agri-food managers. The analysis takes into consideration four different agrifood value chains (meat, grain, olive oil, fresh vegetables and fruits). Following an explorative approach and a qualitative technique, a series of face to face in-depth interviews was conducted. Results indicate that risk perception may be quite different across countries, value chains, tiers of the supply chain, as well as across respondents. The prevalence of Market dynamics risks was pointed out in most of the interviews, yielding the impression that many operators identify the market as the most difficult environment. Differences in risk perception between fresh produce (fruit/vegetables and meat) and processed food chains (grain and olive oil) are probably interrelated to the different degree of integration within these supply chains, the different level of standardization achieved and the different causes of risks that are inherent to the nature of the product.

Knowledge management in support of enterprise risk management

Risk management and knowledge management have so far been studied almost independently. The evolution of risk management to the holistic view of Enterprise Risk Management requires the destruction of barriers between organizational silos and the exchange and application of knowledge from different risk management areas. However, knowledge management has received little or no attention in risk management. This paper examines possible relationships between knowledge management constructs related to knowledge sharing, and two risk management concepts: perceived quality of risk control and perceived value of enterprise risk management. From a literature review, relationships with eight knowledge management variables covering people, process and technology aspects were hypothesised. A survey was administered to risk management employees in financial institutions. The results showed that the perceived quality of risk control is significantly associated with four knowledge management variables: perceived quality of risk knowledge sharing, perceived quality of communication among people, web channel functionality, and risk management information system functionality. However, the relationships of the knowledge management variables to the perceived value of enterprise risk management are not significant. We conclude that better knowledge management is associated with better risk control, but that more effort needs to be made to break down organizational silos in order to support true Enterprise Risk Management.

Bioenergy decision support systems:worth the effort?

The purpose of this research is to explore the disparity between the existing model-orientated bioenergy decision support system (DSS) functions and what is desired by practitioners, in particular bioenergy project developers. This research has compiled the published bioenergy project development models, to highlight the characteristics emphasised by academics. When contrasted against a UK practitioner’s perspective through the administration of a Likert style questionnaire, it is clear that the general DSS issues still persist. Finally, the research suggests how this ’theory-practice’ divide could be addressed. The research contribute