RACISM IN DIGITAL ERA: DEVELOPMENT AND INITIAL VALIDATION OF THE PERCEIVED ONLINE RACISM SCALE (PORS V1.0)

Racism continues to thrive on the Internet. Yet, little is known about racism in online settings and the potential consequences. The purpose of this study was to develop the Perceived Online Racism Scale (PORS), the first measure to assess people’s perceived online racism experiences as they interact with others and consume information on the Internet. Items were developed through a multi-stage process based on literature review, focus-groups, and qualitative data collection. Based on a racially diverse large-scale sample (N = 1023), exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses provided support for a 30-item bifactor model with the following three factors: (a) 14-item PORS-IP (personal experiences of racism in online interactions), (b) 5-item PORS-V (observations of other racial/ethnic minorities being offended), and (c) 11-item PORS-I (consumption of online contents and information denigrating racial/ethnic minorities and highlighting racial injustice in society). Initial construct validity examinations suggest that PORS is significantly linked to psychological distress.

Development NGOs, semiclientelism, and the state in the Philippines: from “crossover” to double-crossed

Civil-society participation continues to be a considerable focus of debate surrounding politics and public-policy making at international and national scales, especially in the developing world. Important examples of such processes have occurred in the Philippines. The Philippine polity is widely regarded as embodying a culture of clan-based politics entailing considerable relationships of clientelism and semiclientelism. Yet there is also considerable evidence of widespread civil-society activism. This paper examines how politically left-of-center development nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and people’s organizations (POs) have attempted to “cross over” to state positions in order to implement social and economic reforms. Select engagement by key personnel from the NGO sphere has often been premised on the notion that it was aimed at transforming these features of Philippine politics. Engagement with two recent and (claimed to be) reforming governments has not led to positive outcomes. The Philippine experience, for the most part, is an expression of the problematic assumptions that have tended to inform the debate over civil society and state interaction in many developing-country contexts. Such conceptions have been inserted into an all-encompassing notion of democratic transition, whereby political and economic liberalization are supposed to emerge in synergy, with civil society acting as a form of “stabilizer” compensating for and complementing the role of the state. Given the predominance of such weak states as the Philippines in the developing world, it is important to consider what the impacts of development NGOs participation may be. Most important, what may be the impacts of such forms of participation in a society and polity characterized by entrenched clientelist relationships? Contrasting a Gramscian analysis with Putnam-inspired conceptions of civil society that underpin the transition model, the paper argues that far from being a conditioning force on the state, civil society is itself a sphere where clientelism and semiclientelism predominate. So powerful are these forces, that arguably well-intentioned NGO personnel who previously adopted a critical stance toward neo-clientelism ultimately become absorbed by these relationships.

The breakdown of the workplace ‘family’ and the rise of personnel management within an Australian financial institution 1950–1980

The management of its people defines the way in which an organisation develops the capabilities to successfully compete in the market environment. Since the 1950s, approaches to staff management have evolved from traditional bureaucratic foundations to strategic planning exercises. This article uses a case study approach to investigate the way in which the process of organisational learning evolved in the development of personnel management practices. It suggests that although old and new practices were often overlaid on each other, ‘bridges’ developed which allowed the progressive development of new managerial processes.

Quality in palliative care from the patient perspective : Instrument development, perceptions of care received and the importance of care

The overall aim was to investigate the quality of palliative care from the patient perspective, to adapt and psychometrically evaluate the Quality from Patients’ Perspective instrument specific to palliative care (QPP-PC) and investigate the relationship between the combination of person- and organization-related conditions and patients’ perceptions of care quality. Methods: In the systematic literature review (I), 23 studies from 6 databases and reference lists in 2014 were synthesized by integrative thematic analysis. The quantitative studies (II–IV) had cross-sectional designs including 191 patients (73% RR) from hospice inpatient care, hospice day care, palliative units in nursing homes and home care in 2013–2014. A modified version of QPP was used. Additionally, person- and organization-related conditions were assessed. Psychometric evaluation, descriptive and inferential statistics were used. Main findings: Patients’ preferences for palliative care included living a meaningful life and responsive healthcare personnel, care environment and organization of care (I). The QPP-PC was developed, comprising 12 factors (49 items), 3 single items and 4 dimensions: medical–technical competence, physical–technical conditions, identity–oriented approach, and socio-cultural atmosphere (II). QPP-PC measured patients’ perceived reality (PR) and subjective importance (SI) of care quality. PR differed across settings, but SI did not (III). All settings exhibited areas of strength and for improvement (II, III). Person-related conditions seemed to be related to SI, and person- and organization-related conditions to PR, explaining 18–30 and 22-29% respectively of the variance (IV). Conclusions: The patient perspective of care quality (SI and PR) should be integrated into daily care and improvement initiatives in palliative care. The QPP-PC can measure patients’ perceptions of care quality. Registered nurses and other healthcare personnel need awareness of person- and organization-related conditions to provide high-quality person-centred care.

The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Training, Development, and Performance Improvement

This handbook is a unique contribution to the field, as it joins together training and appraisal as tools for promoting individual development within organizations. The handbook is divided into four sections: training, e-learning, personal and professional development in organizations, and performance management.