Longitudinal modelling of the influence of individual differences and the workplace on well-being and work engagement

A set of non-nested longitudinal models tested the relationships between personal and workplace resources, well-being and work engagement. The reciprocal model, trimmed of trivial paths had the best fit and parsimony. The model showed the strong influences of concurrent functioning, stability of variables over time and weaker reciprocal relationships between variables across time. Individuals with greater confidence in themselves and the future experience better work conditions and have greater well-being and work engagement. These day-to-day influences are equalled by the long term strength and stability of Individual Factors, Positive Workplace Factors, and Overall Well-Being. Whilst the reciprocal paths had only weak to mild effects, there was mutual reinforcement of Individual Factors and Overall Well-Being, with Positive Workplace Factors and Work Engagement counterbalancing each other, indicating a more complex relationship. Well-being, particularly, is anchored in the immediate and distant past and provides a robust stability to functioning into the future.

Financial planning and well-being

The aim of this paper is to provide a review of the theoretical and research literature on the ways in which financial planning can enhance well-being. In reviewing the literature, the paper develops a conceptual framework for thinking about the extended value of financial planning, beyond financial outcomes, by examining the process of planning in the financial domain and its relationship to life satisfaction, living an intentional life, attainment of life goals, and the development of a sense of mastery. An essential element of psychological well-being is engagement in life tasks and roles. Planning can be considered a life management strategy that enables individuals to control and structure their lives. Having meaningful goals and the plans to achieve those goals enable individuals to experience higher levels of life engagement and well-being (MacLeod et al., 2008). Recent research on well-being suggests that domain-specific behaviours contribute to domain-specific satisfactions, which in turn contribute to an individual’s overall satisfaction with life (Easterlin, 2003; 2006). Thus changes in domain satisfaction, such as financial satisfaction, are likely to effect changes in life satisfaction.

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.

Constitutional legitimacy : an international ill and gap in the literature?

The central argument of this work is that “democratic constitutional legitimacy”[2] probably does not currently exist in the politics of any country internationally. This inherent problem in constitutionalism is an endemic governance problem most citizenries should be dealing with, only that we are not in a large extent doing so and haven’t been historically. This position was ascertained using a form of Beck and Grande’s (2010) cosmopolitan methodology in my doctoral thesis (which we shall return to). It is argued that every constitution is in need of considerable rethinking so as to bring its statutes in line with the interests of the plurality of individuals it oversees. Finally, this work attempts to show that research in this area of democratic constitutional legitimacy is lacking in the literature as only a few scholars presently engage the issue (namely Simone Chambers).

Trans digital storytelling : everyday activism, mutable identity and the problem of visibility

Mainstream representations of trans people typically run the gamut from victim to mentally ill and are almost always articulated by non-trans voices. The era of user-generated digital content and participatory culture has heralded unprecedented opportunities for trans people who wish to speak their own stories in public spaces. Digital Storytelling, as an easy accessible autobiographic audio-visual form, offers scope to play with multi-dimensional and ambiguous representations of identity that contest mainstream assumptions of what it is to be ‘male’ or ‘female’. Also, unlike mainstream media forms, online and viral distribution of Digital Stories offer potential to reach a wide range of audiences, which is appealing to activist oriented storytellers who wish to confront social prejudices. However, with these newfound possibilities come concerns regarding visibility and privacy, especially for storytellers who are all too aware of the risks of being ‘out’ as trans. This paper explores these issues from the perspective of three trans storytellers, with reference to the Digital Stories they have created and shared online and on DVD. These examplars are contextualised with some popular and scholarly perspectives on trans representation, in particular embodied and performed identity. It is contended that trans Digital Stories, while appearing in some ways to be quite conventional, actually challenge common notions of gender identity in ways that are both radical and transformative.

The lived experience of being a sole mother in Taiwan

Aim: To explore the lived experience of being a sole mother in Taiwan Background: The number of sole mothers in Taiwan has increased by 55 % in the last decade due to changes in the social and economic status of women (e.g. earlier divorce, the development of national policies for the protection of women, the rise of feminism, and changing work practices which have seen an increase in the number of women in the workforce) (Taiwan Department of Statistics, 2010). Issues confronting sole mothers as part of daily living involve inability to cope with daily life stressors, little social support, experiencing feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, and lack of self-confidence to assume responsibility for the physical and mental health needs of themselves and their children (Cairney, 2007; Loxton, Mooney & Young, 2006; Samuels-Dennis, 2006; Waldron et al., 1996). Although there have been a number of studies conducted concerning what it means to be a sole mother, few Taiwanese studies have been undertaken. In light of the absence of research on this topic from a Taiwanese perspective, this study was undertaken. Design:A descriptive phenomenological approach was used for this study. Methods: In-depth audio-taped interviews were conducted with 15 sole Taiwanese mothers. The audiotapes were later transcribed, translated into English, and then back translated into Chinese to ensure accuracy of participants‘ information. Colaizzi‘s phenomenological approach to analysis with one additional step (eight steps in all) informed the analytical process. Findings: The process of analysis identified six central themes: 1. Enduring the burdensome, 2. Survival means living day-by-day, 3. Living in the shadows of insomnia, depression and suicidal thoughts, 4. Living with rejection and social isolation, 5. Living with uncertainty, and 6. Transcending difficult times through being resilient. Conclusion: For the participants of this study, the lived world of Taiwanese sole mothers was replete with daily difficulties marked by isolation, loneliness, social disapproval and rejection. Feelings of sadness and dejection were their daily companions. However, amid their myriad hardships, the participants found strength and solace in their children and close friends. Rather than succumb to the pressures of being a sole mother, the participants forged new paths spurred on by their own hopes and dreams for a better future. The findings of this study have the potential to make significant contributions to extant knowledge concerning the lived experiences of sole mothers in Taiwan.

Being Grateful : Does it Bring Us Closer? Gratitude, Attachment and Intimacy in Romantic Relationships

To date, little is known about the function of gratitude in romantic relationships. Being grateful has been demonstrated to provide a number of positive benefits for individuals; however, few studies have explored how grateful experiences may be beneficial in enhancing romantic relationships. This study explored the extent to which adult attachment moderates the relationship between dispositional gratitude and the experience of intimacy within romantic relationships. A greater disposition toward gratitude was expected to result in more frequent experiences of gratitude. It was also anticipated that experiences of gratitude would be associated with feelings of closeness. Participants (n = 156) were required to be currently in a relationship of at least six months duration and completed a series of questionnaires assessing dispositional gratitude, attachment and emotional intimacy. Moderation analysis revealed that although a positive, weak correlation existed between dispositional gratitude and intimacy, attachment did not moderate this association. It was concluded that further investigation of the experience of gratitude is necessary to understand the function of gratitude in romantic relationships. Methods focusing on specific experiences of gratitude in romantic relationships, and the associated feelings of closeness experienced by each partner, may yield more conclusive findings and may provide support for therapeutic approaches focused on enhancing closeness between couples by increasing experiences of gratitude.

Being grateful : does it bring us closer? Gratitude, attachment and intimacy in romantic relationships

This study proposed that levels of dispositional gratitude influence experiences of intimacy within romantic relationships and that this influence is moderated by relationship attachment. Gratitude, in this study, was described as feelings of appreciation associated with the perception that one had been the focus of another’s intentionally beneficial actions. A greater disposition toward gratitude was expected to result in more frequent experiences of gratitude. It was also anticipated that experiences of gratitude would be associated with feelings of closeness toward the one responsible for the beneficial act. Participants (n=156) ranged in age from 18 – 70 and, although required to be currently in a relationship of at least six months’ duration, each was studied as an individual. Participants included both males and females, in same-sex or other-sex relationships, and completed a series of questionnaires assessing dispositional gratitude, attachment and emotional intimacy. Moderation analysis was conducted using hierarchical regression and revealed that although a positive, weak correlation exists between gratitude and intimacy, attachment did not moderate that association. However, the measures used did not elicit sufficiently divergent responses. Thus neither complete exploration of the proposed association between gratitude and intimacy, nor of the moderation of that association by attachment were possible. In conclusion, further investigation of experiences of gratitude, particularly in relation to enhancing feelings of closeness, is necessary to understand the function of gratitude in romantic relationships. Methods focusing on specific experiences of gratitude in romantic relationships and the associated feelings of closeness experienced by each partner may yield more conclusive findings. In addition, such findings may provide support for therapeutic approaches focused on enhancing closeness between couples by increasing experiences of gratitude.

Numerical study of two ill-posed one-phase Stefan problems

We treat two related moving boundary problems. The first is the ill-posed Stefan problem for melting a superheated solid in one Cartesian coordinate. Mathematically, this is the same problem as that for freezing a supercooled liquid, with applications to crystal growth. By applying a front-fixing technique with finite differences, we reproduce existing numerical results in the literature, concentrating on solutions that break down in finite time. This sort of finite-time blow-up is characterised by the speed of the moving boundary becoming unbounded in the blow-up limit. The second problem, which is an extension of the first, is proposed to simulate aspects of a particular two-phase Stefan problem with surface tension. We study this novel moving boundary problem numerically, and provide results that support the hypothesis that it exhibits a similar type of finite-time blow-up as the more complicated two-phase problem. The results are unusual in the sense that it appears the addition of surface tension transforms a well-posed problem into an ill-posed one.

Online we are all able bodied : Online psychological sense of community and social support found through membership of disability-specific websites promotes well-being for people living with a physical disability

People with a physical disability are a population who for a number of reasons may be vulnerable to social isolation. Research into Internet-based support sites has found that social support and an online sense of community can be developed through computer mediated communication channels. This study aims to gain an understanding of the benefits that membership of disability-specific online communities may have for people with a physical disability. An online survey was administered to a sample of users of such sites (N = 160). Results indicated that users did receive moral support and personal advice through participating in such online communities. Further, results indicated that online social support and feeling a sense of community online were positively associated with participants' well-being in the areas of personal relations and personal growth.

Journalism at the movies

Welcome to the first of what will be a regular review essay on films about journalism, covering recent releases as well as looking back at established classics and under-rated obscurities. And there is plenty to write about. Since 2008, and the end of the research period which informed my 2010 book on Journalists in Film there has been a steady stream of films in which a journalist is a primary character, and in which the nature and functioning of journalism is a theme. Morning Glory (Roger Michell, 2010), the story of a ‘serious’ news man (Harrison Ford) having to adapt to the infotainment environment of breakfast news, came out early in 2011 in the United Kingdom. The well-received UK indie Monsters (Gareth Edwards, 2010), a sci-fi with a journalist at its heart, was released in 2010. In The Soloist (Joe Wright, 2009) Robert Downey Jr played a feature journalist who befriends a mentally ill street musician and seeks to rescue him through his writing. Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy has produced three Swedish films, all of them focused on the campaigning journalist Mikael Blomkvist. The first of these is being remade by Hollywood as of this writing.